Chapter Seventy-Nine: Metamorphosis (Part One)
“All personnel, dismount!”
Lawrence halted his advance. Those two steps he had taken earlier? Just cautious probes. Until he figured out what that thing was, a man as careful as him wouldn’t dare push forward recklessly.
He turned around, leading the antelope back, and began issuing commands to his knights: “Carmel, Charlotte, Darius, head south! Duke, Rud, Dylan, north! Ianlot, keep an eye on the sky! The rest of you, stay put and draw your swords! Be ready for battle… Let’s first give this monster a good shackle and lock it up.”
“Yes!”
The knights snapped into action as soon as they received the orders. They quickly surrounded the sphere from the sides, while the rest dismounted, herding the antelope aside, drawing their blades, and standing at the ready.
The cacophony of battle continued to rumble from the east side of the town, but it sounded far away now. Lawrence led the antelope off to the side of the road, glancing instinctively toward the noise. All he could see was a cloud of dust kicked up like an explosion; he couldn’t see what was happening at all.
The fight between Apheir and the female heretic must be raging out toward the town outskirts…
With that overpowering Power of Order, the heretic surely couldn’t hold out long against her. The battle should be wrapping up soon… Heh, really, there was no need to bring this many people here, was there?
Lawrence thought to himself, Looks like my decision to risk coming into town was right.
Sure, he’d lost a brother unexpectedly, but if he had decisively retreated at the time… this entire eastern continent operation would have been pointless.
And now, he was the only one of significance in this action…
The man thought casually, his mood lifting. After a few glances at the distant battle, he realized he couldn’t see anything, so he turned to the cleric and shouted, “Hey, Faith Organization! How are the injuries? If it’s not too bad, give that sphere a shot with the Holy Lance…”
He wanted to let the cleric take a stab at the giant egg, but suddenly realized the risk of that was way too high. Who knew what that thing might do in retaliation, and whether they could handle its counterattack if it came?
Lawrence was always particularly cautious. For him, right now, keeping that thing confined until Cardinal Aresta arrived was the priority. No unnecessary risks—that was the goal.
So he quickly amended: “No, no Holy Lance just yet. Use the Sin Barrier of Onastas to cover the pile of corpses below and see if we can stop that thing from continuing to s*ck up bl**d. These people are probably not all that d*mn heretical; it’s tragic they died here just to turn into something for demons to feed on… Let’s at least leave them with whole bodies.”
Though he was trying to avoid anything unnecessary, at least…
He had to do what needed to be done.
Otherwise, when Cardinal Aresta arrived, and saw this scene of horror, discovering that the knights had stood by for so long without thinking to take action while that thing kept drinking up bl**d, it could lead to all sorts of troublesome consequences—and he’d have to answer for it later.
With that thought, Lawrence looked up again at the floating, glowing bl**d sphere above.
That thing…
It looked like some massive egg, protected by infernal fire, slowly hatching something… an unknown, horrifying monster.
The man shuddered.
…I hope this is just my imagination.
Maybe it was just a scary trick set up by that female heretic, nothing to worry about…
But still, better to be extremely cautious.
The Captain of Knights stood firm in the center of the road, gazing at the ball, narrowing his eyes. Behind him were over a dozen elite warriors with their swords drawn, poised for action. The young cleric from the Faith Organization wove between the warriors, reaching Lawrence’s back, voice tinged with annoyance: “Could you at least call people by their names, you bunch of rude knights?”
“Hmph.”
He chuckled softly, ignoring him.
After a moment, accompanied by the hum of a divine miracle, a faint golden stream flowed down from above the pile of corpses, gradually forming a thin light barrier that instantly dispersed the burning flames beneath, surrounding the bl**d-sucked remains.
The formation of the light wall cut off the dark streams of bl**d that had been rushing toward the sphere, and with a splash, all of it poured onto the dirt road.
In that moment, Lawrence’s expression tightened. He bent slightly and waved his hand behind him, causing the knights to immediately position their swords at the ready, breath held.
One second, two seconds…
Ten seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
“…Ha!”
With a clang, Lawrence rested his sword back against the ground: “Looks like a dangerous thing, but actually much more docile than I thought… Well done, Faith Organization. Next, let’s lock it up here, and then wait for the Cardinal and the old man to arrive… Carmel, Duke!”
He called to the six knights who had preemptively positioned on either side of the road surrounding the sphere: “Prepare to cast the White Coffin! Lock that thing down from all four sides! No matter what that female heretic is trying to do with her revolting ceremony, we can’t let her proceed any further.”
“Yes!”
The six knights replied in unison, standing firm with their swords, erupting with brilliant holy light. The hum of the divine miracle resonated throughout the town, as the earth began to tremble slightly, producing a nearly deafening rumble. Four stout, golden pillars started rising from the four street corners of the dirt below.
The divine miracle, White Coffin.
It was said to be a powerful divine miracle capable of locking even deities; unless there were several gifted and devout individuals working in concert, it couldn’t even take shape.
In the eyes of the clerics, the White Coffin was on par with the divine miracle known for absolute defense—the “Undying.”
And the elite knights of the First Knights Order, with just six of them, were executing such a magnificent divine miracle. The immense power of faith they wielded was proof of their strength and excellence.
Mission accomplished…
Captain Lawrence looked at the rising four pillars, unable to suppress a smile. After watching for a moment, convinced no variables would arise, he adjusted his slightly misshapen armor, turned around, and planned to mount his antelope and wait here until the Cardinal arrived.
First, let’s think of a way to take credit for this…
Without making a fuss, I want the Cardinal to recognize my series of calm decisions… Even if he is really young and doesn’t have much to show for himself, making that clear shouldn’t hinder him from sharing this with his older brother.
After taking a few steps, the cleric from the Faith Organization followed after him. Hearing footsteps, Lawrence opened his mouth, about to say something when—
Pfft.
A slight strange sound suddenly echoed from behind.
“Ugh—”
The next moment, a shrill scream erupted without warning.
