Chapter 83: Metamorphosis (4)
The scarlet heatwave wreaked havoc in the sky, transforming into a shower of flowing fire that emitted a blinding radiance impossible to stare at directly. A ferocious wind howled, iron hooves clattered loudly, and the knights on beast backs swayed dangerously, some unable to withstand the fierce gusts and tumbling down.
The Old Man waved, and a swirling gale shot off into the distant heights. The terrifying infernal fire meteor was sliced in half, exploding into a downpour of fiery rain that, with a deafening boom, cascaded down but was abruptly halted by an unseen wind barrier two hundred meters above. The scorching air currents seemed to be swept away along with it.
In the end, only a few tiny, flickering sparks managed to fall into the knights’ formation. A few drifting ashes slowly floated down to land on the knights’ armor, flickering a few times like they were breathing before snuffing out.
“Fireflies—!”
As the wind died down and the heat ebbed, the not-so-formed golden Sin Barrier overhead quickly vanished, and the sky began to restore its tranquility. Young Bishop Aresta shouted excitedly from the front, “Injured warriors, hold your positions! Rest for a moment! Second and Third Assault Squads, move out! Get ready to charge into the town with me—”
With his command, the golden radiance at the back of the formation reignited, sparkling like stars as it fell like a gentle rain over the heads of the First Knights Order. This large-scale healing miracle, dubbed ‘Fireflies’, swiftly mended the burns on their bodies and faces, and those who had fallen from their beast backs began to rise one after another.
In front of the formation, the Old Man sheathed his dark blade, the swirling winds around him dissipating in an instant, his robe settling down from behind. He exhaled softly, his head of gray hair perfectly in place, turned, and started walking back. Young Bishop Aresta looked at him with a flush of excitement on his face.
“Old Man, thank you for your assistance! As expected, with you here, all those evil heretics are nothing to worry about! Ha, we don’t need to wait for the scouting knights to report back. It’s clearly a nest of thieves in there! The longer we wait, the worse it’ll get! Would you please join me into the town? With the deity’s blessing, we’ll meet up with Lord Apheir and take care of this—”
“You want to march your people into a d*ath trap? Go ahead, I won’t stop you.”
The Old Man casually climbed onto his beast, his words drenching Aresta’s enthusiasm like a bucket of cold water, leaving his face frozen in shock.
“What… does that mean?”
At this point, what was there to hesitate about…
Confused, Aresta looked at the Old Man, who simply gazed straight ahead at the town, not even casting a glance his way. Hearing the hoof beats of the squad behind him gathering, the boiling bl**d in his chest suddenly cooled, and frustration brewed within him.
The situation was clearly laid out!
When they had first advanced toward the town, they saw the scouting knights unleash the Light of MaFa. Aresta instantly became alert. To ensure everything would go perfectly, he had intended to personally lead the charge into the town; if he did see any heretics, he would just wipe them out, only to be stopped by the Old Man, who claimed it was too reckless. Instead, it was left to Lord Apheir to handle solo.
Lord Apheir could go, but if he goes, it’s considered reckless!?
He simply respected the Old Man and didn’t voice his inner thoughts, yet he understood perfectly—there was no such thing as recklessness; the Old Man just didn’t trust him, perhaps thinking he was too young and inexperienced, worried he would screw things up.
Given the Old Man’s wishes, Aresta, though frustrated, couldn’t rebuke him and thus followed suit, moving the team to wait at the town’s outskirts.
Before long, they heard the sounds of combat from that side.
It was loud—a deep booming sound resonated, but within the small town, flames erupted, and Aresta had no idea what was truly happening. Adding to that, the scouting knights hadn’t reported back in ages, making the young Bishop feel increasingly anxious. He was supposed to shine this time; back at the Holy City, he had fought tooth and nail to convince his brother to let him lead the charge to the Eastern Continent, coordinating with the Old Man to round up the heretics.
Thanks to his previous performance in Silgaya leading Faith Organization members south against the heretics, he barely earned this chance.
Of course, he recalled the incident at the Silent Fortress, where a hasty miracle failed to save that mother and daughter who fell from the terrace…
That incident had planted a knot in Aresta’s heart, but regardless, he had gained the Pope’s recognition after that event, and his readiness to fight had reached his brother’s ears. Without that, he could never have been entrusted with such an important mission.
He remembered his brother saying that this operation was critical—it was about the future of the Rossius family. If it weren’t for his brother being busy with all the issues surrounding the family’s takeover of the Currency Exchange, he would have come himself. Thus, failure was not an option; it had to be executed flawlessly.
Aresta had vowed before his brother.
But it seemed now that the situation was completely different from what he had envisioned. On paper, he was the operational head, but in reality, it was the Old Man and Lord Apheir leading the charge. Most importantly, they didn’t trust this youngling and wouldn’t listen to his opinions, giving him no room to maneuver.
At this rate, he would be nothing more than a silly figurehead standing at the front, yammering away but utterly useless.
How could Aresta not be anxious?
However, just as the sounds of combat subsided, the momentary silence made Aresta flash briefly with relief, thinking perhaps it was all over – that Lord Apheir had finished everything, and dust had settled without him needing to do anything.
But when he saw the fiery meteors gathering in the sky heading their way, a revelation struck him. The situation within the town might not be as he thought.
The heretics…
Still had some tricks up their sleeves.
And he still had the chance to do something!
The scouting knights hadn’t returned, and no other news came. Aresta understood perfectly—they were undoubtedly in deep trouble. If the heretics could send such a massive gift their way, it meant Lord Apheir was in a tough spot too…
Aresta knew he was about to face a terrifying enemy. This crackdown wouldn’t be easy.
But so what?
He had faced scarier foes before.
Back in Silgaya, amidst over ten thousand heretics and ten bl**d sacrifices, he wouldn’t have just hunkered down. When the wave of enemies surged, he would carve out a bloody path.
How could he sit here like this, just watching?!
“Old Man.”
He gazed at the tranquil elder and recalled his earlier words, struggling to control his rising emotions, “With Lord Apheir’s whereabouts unknown, and over twenty knights missing, just how long do you think we should wait here!”
“…”
The old man listened to him, slowly closing his eyes again.
“… just watch.”
Boom—
In the next moment, another explosion rang out from the blazing little town ahead.
