Chapter 412: Act 165 – The Escape
At this moment, Veronika was no longer the composed figure she once was. The initial explosion had damaged her military uniform, even burning several sections of her beautiful sky-blue hair. The teal aura surrounding her could not fully protect her, and the Crusian warrior gazed coldly at Brendel. The importance of hair to a woman went without saying, and at this moment, Veronika was filled with a desire to kill Brendel.
She withdrew her sword, and the flow of air around her vanished. With a twist of her blade, her left fingers pressed against her right hand, gritting her teeth as she thrust her sword toward Brendel. A beam of azure light swept towards Brendel, who reacted just in time, tilting his head aside as the sword light grazed his cheek. The young lord felt a chill against his face and immediately knew that the blow had injured him.
“You are that Erluin noble; I remember now,” officiant Amann interjected, pointing at Brendel with his finger adorned by a cross-shaped glow. “I heard you wield the Celestial Armament?”
Brendel was taken aback, but the saintly attack in Amann’s hand deterred him from reckless action. He shot a hate-filled glance at Veronika—this woman had unexpectedly exposed this matter, which was vastly different from the historical accounts of that warrior maiden. Did it mean he had misjudged her?
“Not that I said it,” Veronika replied coldly.
However, with a raise of her brow, she recalled Faina and the others’ secretive behavior, realizing the implication. With a blank expression, Veronika answered, “But you can seek me for retribution; I’m always available.”
“My lords, isn’t it too shameful to bully the young like this?” Brendel wiped the blood from his face and sneered. He said this out loud, but he was already tense and prepared for a counterattack. It was evident that Veronika would not let this matter rest easily, and Amann would not let him go without a fight. Given that, he had no choice but to go all out.
Brendel grinned, exposing his white teeth as he fixed a cold, wolf-like stare on Amann. He had never been one to leave his fate in others’ hands nor to show weakness or compromise to anyone.
“There is no distinction for heretics—anyone capable of action who is in sight, kill,” Amann disregarded Brendel’s words, his gaze fixed on the sword in Brendel’s hand—thinking it was the famed Earth Sword of Harlan Gea which was not just known among the mountains of Toquinin. If he could acquire it, his position in the Temple would surely rise further.
As for whether Brendel was a member of the Sanctuary, that now seemed unimportant to him.
After speaking, the light of the holy attack on Amann shone brightly, the cross-shaped golden circle expanding in an instant as a beam of light shot forth, aimed directly at Brendel. However, with a flash of azure light, Veronika used her sword like a whip, knocking the light pellet far away as it struck the distant forest, exploding with a loud bang and illuminating the foggy valley with a bright flash. Veronika turned her head, coldly saying:
“If you want to kill him, you must ask for my permission first, Lord Amann.”
“Lady Veronika?” Amann was momentarily taken aback. The cunning priest quickly understood, saying, “I understand, Lady Veronika, you want him alive.”
Veronika neither affirmed nor denied it, while Brendel quietly backed away. Both Amann and Veronika had powers of enlightenment, making it unrealistic for him to take them both on alone. He secretly hoped these two would clash over their differences, but that was clearly an impossible scenario; Amann was obviously brown-nosing Veronika. He lowered his head, silently counting the cooldown time for his charge.
Twenty, nineteen, eighteen…
A sudden cold wind swept through the valley, rustling the trees, but the surrounding fog remained still.
“Alright, Lady Veronika,” Amann said at that moment, “To force a heretic to submit, it’s best to capture him first, but compared to that, starting with his companions is simpler.” With that, the officiant turned his gaze toward the forest to the side. Brendel immediately changed his expression as he realized Amann was looking toward that direction; Xi had just escaped from there, and Amann’s intentions were clear.
Veronika softly replied with a sound of acknowledgment, neither agreeing nor opposing.
“Seeking death!” Brendel could no longer hold back, charging directly at Amann with the Earth Sword in hand.
But when Amann turned back at that moment, he grinned slyly—his expression clearly indicated he had been waiting for this strike. A white glow enveloped the priest, flashing from head to toe, and he vanished into thin air. The next moment, he appeared behind Brendel, emitting a crimson glow from his hand.
This was not a cleric’s spell!
Brendel was genuinely startled this time, but the experience of a century-old warrior kicked in at that moment; by instinct, he ducked just in time to avoid Amann’s seemingly guaranteed strike. The red light shot past Brendel’s hair, landing in the bushes where a flame instantly erupted.
Riding the momentum, Brendel rolled forward in surprise—clerics typically had no spells besides holy ones, yet that previous move was clearly not any holy spell he was familiar with. It resembled something more akin to manipulating space; however, he knew that Amann’s element was ironshield, and as Brendel lunged forward, the smirking cleric pointed ahead:
“Holy Word? Bind!”
As Brendel heard the incantation, his heart sank. In his current state, he had no strength to evade, and as a lower-tier gold being, resisting an elemental-level spell was somewhat challenging. All he could do seemed to be to pray to Martha, hoping that she had not completely forgotten about him. But given how many powerful enemies he had encountered since entering the Loop of Trade Winds, it hardly seemed like Martha was looking out for him.
But when it came to protection, a sudden inspiration struck Brendel.
He saw the golden light from Amann thrusting forward, aimed directly at the downed Brendel. However, the next moment, a light gate suddenly opened between Brendel and Amann, with a majestic white stag stepping forth, the cleric’s spell striking the deer’s chest—should rightfully say, a white stag should have no physical form, thus allowing physical attacks to pass through it, but Amann was executing a spell, and a holy spell at that.
The white stag, manifesting as a holy property magical item, was no exception; as soon as the holy binding struck the white stag, it dissolved before it even produced the most basic binding effect.
“Holy Stag!” Amann could hardly believe Brendel would use this tactic against him, but that brief distraction immediately brought about misfortune.
At that moment, a fierce wind suddenly swept through the forest.
The unexpected gust of wind made all three of them instinctively turn their heads—
“My Lord, be careful!” Xi’s urgent shout echoed from the forest. The red-haired girl had been hiding a distance from the battlefield, hoping to join Brendel once he escaped, but was shocked to find that he had been left behind. She wanted to return to help, but was afraid of dragging him down with her ineptitude. Yet at this moment, she was the furthest away but also the first to see the battlefield’s situation.
She saw a gigantic white head suddenly rising above the thick mist—it was one of the heads of the Holy Multi-headed Dragon.
Veronika was the second to notice the surrounding changes. She was positioned to cover Brendel’s retreat, ready to move, but a sudden warning in her mind saved her life. Instinctively, she withdrew her sword, and the blade of Azure Sky quivered as dozens of azure currents swirled around her, forming an aura. This action saved her life, as the Holy Multi-headed Dragon had already raised its head high and was ready to bite down.
The misty fangs crashed against her aura with a loud bang, shattering; another fang almost grazed Brendel’s face lying on the ground, though the young lord was unharmed, it scared him into a cold sweat.
Among the three, only Amann was unfortunate, as one fang bit into his back, immediately striking against his robe. If not for the last layer of protection from the cleric’s robes saving his life, he would have likely met with the Flame King Gilt. Even so, it was a grim situation; he was thrown far away, rolling several times in mid-air before crashing heavily to the ground. As he landed, a gray gem slipped from his collar, rolling a few times before lying in the grass.
Only Brendel and Veronika, closest to the scene, saw this unfold, even the dazed Amann himself didn’t notice, let alone the knights of the Temple who were further back.
“Young one!” Otaless suddenly called out, “That gem looks familiar!”
Brendel had just recovered from his previous shock, but upon hearing this, his heart skipped a beat. As a heroic spirit from the era of the War of the Saints, Otaless’s knowledge was not to be doubted; if she only had some impression of it, there was no telling its origin. Where did that guy Amann even get this thing? But he had no time to be surprised, as the Holy Multi-headed Dragon went on a rampage, attacking them.
Once it failed to strike, three more heads appeared above the mist.
Six pairs of crimson eyes immediately locked onto everyone present.
Then they collectively let out an earth-shattering roar before launching an attack on those insignificant ants in the forest—
But as those three heads initiated their assault, Brendel joyously realized they were all aimed at Amann and Veronika, and none directed at him. He cautiously lay on the ground, not daring to make a sound; while the fog beast was not a true ancestral divine beast, its strength was no joke, and with its transformation into the Holy Multi-headed Dragon, Amann and Veronika soon found themselves engaged in a tough battle. Even the junior knights of the Sanctuary who tried to rush in to save their cleric were quickly cut down.
Brendel did not know why things had turned out this way, but he could not let this golden opportunity slip by; he quickly rolled away from the bushes, getting up to escape the battlefield.
“Stop right there!” Veronika, while resisting the Holy Multi-headed Dragon’s attacks, kept her attention on Brendel. Seeing him ready to flee, she was filled with rage. The Sword Saint stepped forward, unleashing a sword light toward Brendel, but she regrettably knew that this attack would not hit the young man, forcing her to watch helplessly as he ran further and further away.
She wanted to pursue, but as she lifted her foot, two giant heads of the Holy Multi-headed Dragon obstructed her path.
“You bastard!”
For the first time, Veronika ground her teeth and cursed.
…
(PS: I’ve mostly sorted it out, oh, it’s been painful. But at least it won’t break off again; I apologize for the wait. (To be continued; for more chapters, please log in, support the author, and support legitimate reading!))
