Chapter 1049: Act 221 – Breaking Through
Medisa rushed through the forest like a silver leopard, her calm expression failing to reflect the anxiety within: “Why hasn’t the Lord summoned Himelam and me? What is he waiting for?”
At that moment, a shadow flashed between the retreating trees. She suddenly hit the brakes, her battle boots carving two grooves into the soil thick with pine needles. After stopping, Medisa saw a figure standing in the forest—specifically, a woman, if one could still consider her ‘human’ given her plant-like lower body beneath her upright chest.
Himelam also halted.
“Who is she?” she asked Medisa.
“Andisha?” Medisa looked incredulously at the woman in front of her.
The woman slowly turned around, revealing herself to be Andisha, the decayed master who had been defeated by Brendel and Veronika and captured to be imprisoned by the Empire. Her appearance seemed markedly different from Medisa’s memories—her once smooth face was now marred with blood vessels that spread up from beneath her neck like crimson roots. Her eyes were filled with nothing but darkness, with bloodstone-like pupils embedded within, giving her an exceedingly eerie look.
Medisa couldn’t help but be shocked; this was a mutated state produced by the blood of the gods. Most of the shepherds had undergone one baptism of divine blood, which caused them to become a blend of human and ghost, but she had never heard of anyone undergoing a second infusion of divine blood. Could it be that the shepherds’ research on divine blood had advanced further?
What puzzled her more was that, in her impression, Andisha should currently be imprisoned deep within the Empire’s dungeons, not appearing here.
“How did you get here, Andisha?”
Upon realizing it was Medisa, Andisha smiled eerily but did not answer, instead turning to walk deeper into the forest.
“Stop right there!” Medisa scolded, frowning.
Andisha paused and looked back, smiling, “Little princess, this time we are friends, not foes.”
“Nobody considers you a friend,” Medisa replied coldly, her frown deepening. “You better explain why you are here.”
“Little princess, if you have time to concern yourself with me, you should focus more on your Lord.” Andisha raised her gaze towards the mountain, where a silver beam of light was rising from the peak where the Cold Dew Manor was located, like a brilliant silver thread splitting the starry sky in two.
The brilliance filled Medisa’s face with light, and she realized that direction was indeed where Cold Dew Manor lay. Her expression shifted slightly as she cast a cold glance at Andisha, temporarily forgetting her questions about Andisha’s appearance, and rushed in that direction.
But just before she left, she remembered something: How did Andisha know to call her ‘little princess’? Where had she learned her true identity?
That thought briefly passed through her mind, but soon her concern for the Lord took precedence, and she forced herself to refocus.
“Is that really Andisha?”
Himelam glanced back. Not having experienced the battle at the Loop of Trade Winds, her understanding of that time was merely fragments of information gleaned from Brendel’s companions, making her far less wary of the other woman than Medisa, and even somewhat curious.
After all, she had once been the Lord’s enemy—
“You should be careful of her,” Medisa warned the High Priestess, glancing at her. “None of the twelve shepherds of the shepherding folk are to be trifled with. Their legacy has existed long before the Holy War, and it seems she is also using such means to identify me, which implies their legacy remains intact.”
Himelam nodded slightly, then sighed, “It’s such a pity that the shepherds were once followers of the goddess.”
In the pitch-black forest behind them, Andisha observed the two with a contemplative expression, her lips curling into a strange smile.
“Your power has risen swiftly,” she murmured. “What a good era this is, but it’s unfortunate that some people are destined not to appreciate it.”
With that, Andisha lifted her right hand, revealing a bloodstone bracelet shimmering in the moonlight. She gently stroked the bracelet and stated, “The Flame Blades have already gone over; that little one has caused quite a ruckus at Cold Dew Manor. That woman underestimated him… By the way, I just encountered his subordinate—it was… that princess.”
She suddenly fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes, I understand now, my lord.”
…
Ruyer, known as the Empire’s strongest wizard, was a magician whose spells would be almost impossible for an average wizard to dispel, yet Charles merely pointed forward, and countless silver lines of magical laws extended from his hand, forming a beam that struck the magical barrier in mid-air. The barrier shook momentarily before collapsing completely, revealing Mephistopheles and Ruyer behind it.
To outsiders, a silver beam of light rose from the peak of Cold Dew Manor, like a brilliant silver thread slicing through the starry sky.
Siban, engaged in battle with Varla, nearly lost his composure at the sight—being Ruyer’s old rival, he understood the latter’s strength well. Ruyer had been among the Empire’s top figures thirty years ago, and although he had never faced the mightiest mage in the Empire, the Silver Queen Varla, their powers were not far apart. This meant Ruyer was on the verge of ultimate invincibility.
Furthermore, as the Lord of Mirrors, Ruyer was exceptionally adept in dismantling incantations and reflecting spells; his profound research in the field of incantations made even Siban feel inadequate. The existence that could easily dispel Ruyer’s spells was certainly a legendary sage, was it not?
But Siban knew that it had been a thousand years since mortals had touched the forbidden realms, and he couldn’t help but feel a jolt—had the Bud people finally decided to intervene personally?
In this moment, he was not alone in this thought; everyone stopped what they were doing and gazed toward the forest:
After all, if the Bud people intervened in this battle, the nature of the situation would be completely different.
“Bud people, how dare you breach the contract—” the Silver Queen’s furious scream echoed through the sky.
Charles was momentarily taken aback, quickly understanding the misunderstanding that had occurred. His thoughts shifted, and he stepped forward confidently, smiling at the sky:
“Your Majesty, the People of Silver have no intention of meddling in earthly affairs, but the sacred covenant was established on the foundation of the Holy War; maintaining the world’s order is also the duty of the People of Silver.”
“It’s you,” the Silver Queen’s voice turned cold. “Charles.”
Brendel found everything happening unexpectedly; he never dreamed the Empire would have such a misunderstanding. He glanced at his wizard servant, knowing the latter had little memory of events from decades ago, yet Charles was smiling confidently, appearing to have it all under control.
“Long time no see,” Charles said with a smile. “Princess.”
Brendel couldn’t help but grit his teeth; he thought smugness suited this guy even better.
“It has been decades; you haven’t changed a bit,” the Silver Queen said coldly, “You are indeed of the People of Silver. Although I suspected this long ago, I didn’t expect the Bud people began laying their plans decades ago. William and Solomon have repeatedly claimed they have no interest in earthly power struggles, but in reality, the Bud people have kept everything under their control.”
In front of the crystal ball illustrating everything, Constance, appearing no more than fifteen years old, narrowed her eyes slightly and disdainfully uttered a single word: “Hypocritical.”
At that moment, William, far away in the Great Glacier, couldn’t help but sneeze several times, the leader of the Silver Alliance, puzzled by the howling icy winds, turned his head back, pondering whether someone was secretly cursing him.
And while Charles let the Bud people take the blame quietly, he smiled without refuting the Silver Queen’s words, confidently responding, “Your Majesty, no one can act as they please, whether you or the People of Silver are the same.”
The Silver Queen remained silent, the situation exceeding her expectations. The Bud people had not interfered on Earth for a thousand years, let alone the agreement they made on the battlefield of the Last War decades ago.
How dare these despicable silver-born people go back on their word; her heart seethed with anger, but for a moment, she realized she had no way to counter the other’s shamelessness.
She had many trump cards in hand, but that was relative; no one would dare to act recklessly in front of the People of Silver. Before her stood just Charles alone, but who knew what else might be lurking behind?
However, the Silver Queen was cautious; Brendel and Charles were equally tense. Others assumed they had reinforcements. Even Mephistopheles seemed thoughtful about it. The only one in attendance who looked slightly puzzled was Varla, the Sage, who quickly glanced around before setting his gaze upon Charles.
He squinted, clearly seeing something but remained silent.
Charles racked his brain, considering how to avoid revealing themselves, while Brendel also contemplated an escape route. Sidney and Veronika were surprisingly absent, which had him feeling somewhat alarmed. There were ways to escape, though some would be troublesome.
In fact, the misunderstanding of the Empire and Charles’ quick thinking provided him with a modicum of relief; ideally, they could intimidate the Silver Queen into retreat, although the likelihood was low—he could only see how much time they could buy.
Yet he understood that dragging this out wouldn’t be to his advantage either. If Sidney didn’t arrive soon, then the Queen’s reinforcements would likely be on their way.
Just moments ago, he had learned from the witch’s message that the Flame Blades were already en route to rescue Xi.
That news had its pros and cons: the good was that the chance of rescuing Xi had increased, but the bad news was if Sidney didn’t arrive soon, then he would be in trouble.
Sometimes, what one fears comes to pass. Brendel initially hoped to delay a little longer but suddenly his expression changed, and he looked up.
A surreal atmosphere suddenly enveloped the air, the surroundings appearing dreamlike—this was similar to the experience he’d had at Fatan Port when a high-ranking witch had arrived on the battlefield.
But that clearly wouldn’t be one of his subordinates.
In just a moment, everyone looked up to the sky—another ultimate expert had arrived.
At that moment, three light portals suddenly opened in the sky, and three witches stepped gracefully through them, the extraordinary aura they emitted causing the entire battlefield to stand in awe.
Indeed, these were ultimate beings.
Brendel squinted, recognizing Agatlith and the Witch Queen among them, but he had no recollection of the final girl.
He felt inwardly distressed; the Flame Blades were already troublesome enough, but now the Silver Queen had sent her personal forces as well.
“We can’t wait any longer; we must retreat,” he forced himself to calm down, glancing at Charles but having no hope resting on ephemeral opportunities.
Though the Bud people were renowned, if just a title could intimidate the Silver Queen, then the series of actions she had taken would be too laughable.
No one here would be naive enough to truly believe in the covenant. As the supreme being of the Empire, the Silver Queen was even less likely to do so; if the Bud people had their strongest fleet positioned there, or if William and Solomon were present personally, she might have hesitated.
But right now, Charles’ words clearly wouldn’t change her determination.
The Silver Queen didn’t speak, but Brendel knew she was making choices, likely moving her secret trump cards behind the scenes. These witches could well be one of her countermeasures.
Charles couldn’t delay for much longer; Brendel realized this acutely at that moment.
Charles also didn’t initiate dialogue, as a once-genius of the Highland Wizards’ younger generation, he possessed remarkable talent too. Everything Brendel figured out, he surely had known as well; he was simply responding to changes with steadiness, trying to buy time for Brendel.
After a moment’s silence, the Silver Queen suddenly said, “Wait—” She frowned at the back of the crystal ball, her voice becoming doubtful: “The Bud people have never broken their promises; this is not their style.”
Brendel’s heart sank; he hadn’t expected the Silver Queen would pinpoint the issue so quickly. If she only made a choice, then she might still hesitate when striking, but if she saw through that Charles was merely pretending to be powerful, she would inevitably attack with full force.
He quickly stepped back a little, subtly signaling to Mephistopheles in the sky. The latter had returned to the battlefield after Ruyer’s spell was dispelled and stood alongside Ruyer; although somewhat puzzled about Brendel’s relationship with the Bud people, he immediately understood upon seeing the gesture.
“There’s a misunderstanding, please remain calm, and I will explain later; execute the predetermined plan first.”
The predetermined plan was to retreat, and Mephistopheles decisively sheathed his sword.
…
