Chapter 994: Act 167 – The War Tablet: Dragon Skin XIII
Medisa had not yet appeared when a silver line shot through the light gate, striking the War Tablet midair with a sharp clang before veering to the side and embedding itself into the crumbling stone wall. It was then that everyone realized the silver line was a spear shaped like a silver shuttle, slanted into the collapsed stone wall. The War Tablet, struck by the spear, flew off in the opposite direction, rolling in the sand before landing at Brendel’s feet.
Brendel spoke: “In the name of knowledge and wisdom, activate!”
The center of the tablet began to rotate inward, a beam of white light shot out, flowing into the patterns on the tablet, which started to shimmer and soon levitated again, stopping directly in front of Brendel. “Get away from me—!” Just then, a furious roar erupted as Bai swept in with a dark ray of light, striking the tablet and sending it flying like a cannonball to the ground, only to bounce high again, drifting towards the distant forest.
However, the enormous power of the Dawn from the book of Marvikarte activated the tablet’s defense system in an instant. As it spun in the air, countless pure white beams shot out from the patterns, piercing through the overlapping dark rays. One beam struck Bai’s waist, while another pierced her chest, causing her to scream and fall towards the ground, her body engulfed in dark flames, as if it would turn to ash in an instant.
The remaining beams dispersed into the air, the ground, and towards the forest, creating a scene reminiscent of a beehive; whenever trees were struck, they burst into flames, turning to white ash in the blink of an eye.
The War Tablet, having lost its radiance, tumbled into a nearby forest. Within five meters of where it landed, a rock was suddenly uprooted from below. Baijia emerged from the dark passage, cradling the bloodied Himelam. She caught a whiff of the burnt scent from the battlefield outside and frowned, but as she raised her head, a bright beam of light reflected in her eyes.
‘Code Arcane 10522031V bookshelf, armor, prefix D, implantation technology, war weapon inheritance—’
‘Heir, Black Iron Bloodline—Bloodline matches.’
‘Inheritance starting…’
‘From: Earth Legion.’
…
At the same instant the sea of white light dissipated, Brendel and the Undead Knight Roslin felt the pressure on their bodies lift—now was the time! Brendel had no time to retrieve his Earth Sword and directly activated elemental powers to teleport towards where Bai had fallen. Roslin was a step slower but followed closely behind. The two arrived at the edge of the deep pit that Bai had fallen into, only to find it completely empty. Brendel’s heart tightened as a claw engulfed in black flames reached out from the side. Without thinking, he raised his fist to block, and with a dull thud, a piercing pain shot through his arm.
Bai did not relent, unleashing punch after punch towards Brendel, the two exchanging blows thirty to forty times in an instant. While Brendel’s swordsmanship far exceeded that of this woman, he was at a complete disadvantage in close combat, not to mention that at this moment Bai wielded the powers of the Marvikarte book, giving her an advantage of nearly two realms over him. After thirty to forty punches, Brendel felt his arms go numb, as if he could no longer feel his hands. Just then, he caught a glimpse of a dark ray sweeping toward him, but he was too weakened to evade—
At that moment, Medisa finally stepped through the portal, only to feel a sudden dark shadow fly towards her and collide heavily against her. She let out a groan and immediately recognized that it was her lord. The light gate behind her began to shatter, and she hurriedly clutched Brendel with one arm, stepping back while raising her right hand. The silver spear stuck in the ground immediately transformed into countless particles of light and disappeared, only to reappear in her hand.
“Thousand Army Strike!” Medisa thrust the spear forward, sending a silver line across the battlefield towards Bai. Bai turned, casting a cold glance as dark rays shot up from the ground, weaving together to form an arc-shaped barrier. The spear struck heavily against it, creating a shower of golden sparks; conversely, the point struck by the spear reflected a black ray back at Medisa at ten times the speed, and before she could react, it pierced her chest. She stared in disbelief, her mouth opened, and a torrent of blood sprayed out.
Brendel was just recovering from a brief daze. He felt droplets on his forehead, almost as if it was raining; instinctively, he reached up to wipe it, and the rich smell of blood made him realize something was wrong. Suddenly alarmed, he remembered he had been on the battlefield, opening his eyes to see Medisa’s pale, fragile face before him. The Elf Princess was covered in blood, with dark rings around her eyes, her hands shielding him, as if she wanted to smile, but the pain twisted that smile into a ghastly grimace.
“Medisa!” Brendel felt his heart stop. He looked down to see the blackened wound on her chest, the silver battle robe soaked in bright red blood, a sight that was hard to bear. His mind went blank for a moment. Medisa and Charles, once transformed into Travelers, no longer had the ability to be resurrected from the grave; if she died here—
Then the pure and kind Silver Elf Princess would truly disappear from this world—
“I… cough… I’m fine, Lord.” Medisa seemed to read the deep fear in Brendel’s eyes, her heart warming slightly as she struggled to speak, touching his face gently.
Brendel immediately opened Medisa’s status menu, discovering she had only a sliver of life left. This realization slightly eased his heart, but a heavy sense of unease and dread surged within him. He sprang to his feet, scanning the battlefield, just in time to see Sir Roslin being swept away by an onslaught of dark rays. His golden extreme plains were completely penetrated by the power of the Marvikarte book, a ray severing his left arm while another cut him in half at the waist. Bai, manipulating the dark rays, wrapped them around his neck, lifting the skeletal knight into the air like a dead dog, forcing him to face the direction of his wife’s spirit.
“I will show you how your wife died, noble Knight.” Bai sneered, enveloped in black flames, with her entire lower body vanishing, her former appearance unrecognizable.
Yet hearing that voice, Medisa instantly recognized her.
“It’s you!” Medisa exclaimed, the unforgettable battle at Cedar Castle flooding her mind.
Her voice was not loud, but Bai still heard her words. Coldly, she turned to face Medisa, her hollow voice resonating in the air: “You still haven’t progressed at all, Medisa. Just now, if my attack had been off by even half a fraction, it would have pierced through your soul’s flame, turning you into a lifeless corpse. A thousand years have passed, and you still rely on my mercy to survive. Don’t you think that’s a little pathetic?”
Hearing this, Medisa’s expression changed dramatically, even Brendel had never seen such fear and unease shine through her silver eyes. She stared at the flame-enshrouded woman in the sky: “You… who are you?”
“I’ll tell you, Medisa, there are some things in this world that only those with power and status are worthy to discuss and possess. Favors are not given without cost. Kindness, what is that rubbish? When humans show mercy to little cats and dogs, it only highlights the absolute dominance one party has over the other. So-called pity is merely leftover scraps from excess power; if you do not understand this, then you will forever wander in sorrow and defeat.”
“Your… your Highness?”
At the sound of this title, Bai fell silent, no longer speaking. She turned, retracting the dark rays in her hand, and the thing encased in the black cocoon finally broke out. A translucent woman in a long dress floated in the air, her eyes tightly shut, a dark orb hovering above her forehead. No words were needed to describe it—it was something Brendel could recognize instantly.
The Dark Orb.
Upon seeing that orb, the black flames in Bai’s eyes flared even brighter, and she immediately reached for it. But Brendel would not allow her to succeed; the power of the Marvikarte book was dwindling, and the woman was merely at her last gasp. He patted Medisa’s shoulder gently and said softly, “Stay back, Medisa.”
Having said that, he flashed to stand directly in front of Bai.
“Lord…” The Silver Elf Princess suddenly felt her knees buckle, collapsing to the ground as if like a puppet.
Bai had barely extended her hand when she saw Brendel reappear before her, fury evident in her eyes: “You seek death, human.”
Brendel said nothing; his eyes burned with rage matching Bai’s, knowing that only one of them would survive this battlefield. As soon as he appeared, he unleashed all his power, charging forward while the Thorn Crown fully activated, defenses completely abandoned, his attacks amplified to the maximum, striking towards Bai in a meteor-like manner.
Bai had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with Brendel; she knew time was not on her side. Coldly, she cast a glance at him, ten dark energy beams rising from behind her, sweeping towards Brendel. At that moment, she ignored even the Undead Knight Roslin, fearing nothing from a mere human on the Side of Truth; her gaze was solely fixated on one thing—the Blood of the Dark God.
But soon, she realized a problem.
Numerous dark beams penetrated Brendel’s body in an instant, tearing his clothes and armor apart, even Bahamut’s grasp shattering to pieces under the strength of the Saintly Domain, his shattered bones, internal organs, and blood scattered through the air, instantly transforming him into a bloodied figure. Yet no matter how dense or horrific the attack was, he continued to advance, unflinching and unwavering, as if he were the mythical war god battling a legion, parting the darkness as he moved forward, creating a blood-soaked path.
With one hand protecting his heart, his long hair flew around chaotically. He lifted his head, his bloodied visage resembling that of a vengeful spirit, but he smiled, his snow-white teeth gleaming coldly.
“Unyielding—!”
At this moment, Bai discovered that she could not prevent any of this.
“Golden Bloodline, perfect form.” A thought filled her with immense dread.
Brendel had grabbed her wrist firmly, and Bai momentarily forgot to react before a fist began to grow larger in her field of vision. Bang—Bai let out a scream, almost sent flying by Brendel’s punch, but she did not move away because one of her hands was still tightly gripped by him. As she finally regained her senses, Brendel’s second punch was already upon her. This time, Bai remembered what she needed to do, shrieking as she swung her own fist at Brendel, who did not flinch, both fists colliding with a resounding crash, causing Brendel’s right hand to twist painfully away and fall limply.
Yet the attack power under the fully activated Thorn Crown was not trivial. Bai also cried out in agony as her right hand emitted a series of cracking sounds, unable to be raised again. No matter how one viewed it, Bai was just a woman, and this blow almost sent her into unconsciousness, a gasp escaping her lips. However, she never anticipated that the damned human man would take this moment to tightly embrace her with his remaining arm, pushing her away from the Marvikarte book.
“You’re going to die!” Bai suddenly realized what he was trying to do and, gritting her teeth against the pain, extended her last few dark rays towards the Dark God Blood in midair, pulling it towards herself. In the next moment, the Marvikarte book lost its final bit of power, flickering twice before vanishing into thin air.
At this point, both of them had completely exhausted their strength, hurtling towards the ground like shooting stars. Bai’s soul had begun to dissolve, leaving behind only the burning obsession in her eyes, fixed on the approaching black orb. She understood that her ritual had only one last step; if she obtained the Blood of the Dark God, there was still hope for turning the tides.
Yet in her terrified gaze, she watched as the black orb unhesitatingly merged into Brendel’s body, as if flowing back to the ocean, and she could even feel the excitement and joy emanating from the Dark God Blood.
“… My ritual…” Bai appeared to see the most unlikely outcome: “You… have the Dark God Blood inside you?”
Brendel was already unconscious.
