Chapter 114: Moths to the Flame (Part 2)
The scorched earth blazed, thick smoke rising as the scent of charred remains filled the air. In the distance, the Iron Cavalry, a trio of troops leading the charge, galloped directly beneath the demon, beginning their tactical surround. The trio of golden streams twisted and turned, occasionally overlapping. The elite of the First Knights Order looked up in unison, their eyes glued to the ice-white mist hovering nearly a hundred meters in the air. Suddenly, the Holy Lance burst forth from the ranks, crashing into the solidifying glacier with a thunderous boom, sending ice shards raining down from the gray sky, cooling the surrounding inferno.
The knights weaving through the falling ice gradually slowed their steps. The leaders of the three groups exchanged anxious gestures, golden auras radiating from a dozen knights as they awaited the Faith Organization to create an opportunity to yank that demon down from the sky.
However, ten seconds turned to twenty, and the barrage of Holy Lances didn’t waver, yet they still hadn’t received any further instructions from their formation.
“What is going on!?”
Beneath the thunder of hooves, someone voiced their confusion, “Why isn’t the formation moving? Are those Faith guys just messing around—”
Meanwhile, at the front of the knights’ formation, all eyes were instinctively fixated on Bishop Aresta. Expressions of shock and confusion filled the air. The Elder Cleric had caught up from behind, his voice rising with unusual excitement.
“This is an extraordinary moment for the Holy Church and our magnificent Deity! As long as we can live and bring her back alive, the Pope will bestow supreme glory upon all of us knights! Our loved ones, our families will be so proud! I swear it will be so! I take full responsibility for what I say!”
“Do you think you can take full responsibility!?”
The Elder Cleric’s finger jabbed accusingly at the young bishop, eyes blazing with fury, “Do you even have the life left to take responsibility?! You naive little brat, an unreasonable lunatic! You’ve been blinded by greed—”
Despite various reasons keeping the Elder Cleric from becoming a bishop, he was highly respected within the Faith Organization. Now, in his fury, he had little regard for the second son of the Rossius family, who had risen to prominence by mere chance, speaking without any restraint.
“What did you say?!”
These words finally ignited Aresta’s emotions: “You old fool! You don’t realize the consequences of stopping me now! If we let her escape, the Pope is going to have a field day blaming you and me! I can’t even imagine the aftermath! You have no idea how important she is! You don’t know anything! Cowardly old man—”
Buzz!
Fueled by overwhelming rage, the young bishop shot his hand up, golden light bursting forth. In this crucial moment, he had nothing left to hide. After such provocation, Aresta shoved his palm forward, unleashing a shockwave that sent the old cleric tumbling off his beast!
Instantly, chaos erupted among the knights. Someone reflexively reached for their sword, while a cleric in the back saw the action and rushed forward, only to be swiftly held back by comrades; the next wave of Holy Lances was gathering power, and they needed to keep bombarding that demon.
Not far off, Captain Hopes stood stunned, having barely managed to utter a word as he watched the two argue. Now, the young bishop was losing his cool, and his already jittery state got even worse. He was furious at the young man’s reckless actions but knew this wasn’t the time for internal fighting.
Realizing the need for control, he waved his hands to suppress the rising tension among the ranks: “With the demon in front of us, who dares to be careless? Do you all want to live forever?! Vanguard, raise your swords! Be ready to face the enemy—”
As he shouted, he rushed toward the bishop on his beast, halting the creature with a stomp. He was about to speak when young Rossius piped up first: “You listen here.”
The young bishop was still radiating anger, his expression vicious. Though his tone was calm, it left no room for negotiation: “Let me tell you the consequences of going against my orders… Even if you somehow make it out alive this time, when we return, I’ll report everything that happened, like that demon escaping and going MIA, or a whole mess more serious. All of it will go straight to Captain Seattle and the Pope!”
The captain’s brows shot up, his face darkening: “Bishop, what are you—”
“Don’t rush me, let me finish.”
The young man smoothed out his disheveled sleeves, hastily continuing: “Our mission here is to reclaim the lost Fire Seed. You might not fully grasp it, or maybe you do, but regardless, you understand the importance of this operation now. What I need you to know is that the demon that suddenly appeared up there is more critical to the church than the Fire Seed. We must bring it back by any means necessary.”
His fingers trembled uncontrollably, a strained, dark expression frozen on his face as he forced a smile: “You probably don’t understand a word I’m saying, that’s fine. I’ll just tell you what will happen if we mess this up… The outcome will implicate you, your knights, the Faith Organization, that disrespectful old man from earlier, and even my family… everyone here will be dragged into an immense embarrassment because of this.”
“Our rise will come to a halt, sure that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The more serious consequence? We could be dismissed and held responsible, locked away in a dark, dismal underground prison, and who knows, we might even d*e. d*ath is easy, but if our families get dragged into this… your father, mother, siblings, no matter their status, commoners or nobles, they could face repercussions because of this fiasco…”
Aresta paused.
“Don’t ask me why; just blame it on us encountering her. Once we’ve met, there’s no choice but to stake our lives on bringing her back. No alternative. The current situation in the Western Continent isn’t bright; I don’t need to tell you how the Pope’s mood has been lately. If we botch this important task… well, nobody will have a good time. I’ll do my best to justify myself later, but it might not even help. And you… you aren’t dumb, so you know exactly what I’m saying, right?”
As he spoke, he turned his gaze towards the gray sky.
“But if we succeed… well, like I said before. Honor, glory, everything you desire will follow… Captain Hopes, now you know what to do.”
Captain Hopes’ expression fluctuated between doubt and resolve, his gaze shifting towards the sky, where ominous sounds echoed from above.
After a brief silence, he suddenly asked, “That demon… what exactly is it?”
“That’s not for you to know…”
Aresta didn’t finish his sentence.
Suddenly, everyone heard the demon above them let out a bone-chilling, eerie laugh.
“Giggling…”
It sounded like a girl’s cheerful laughter echoing from a deep valley—what should have been a comforting melody now sent shivers down the spines of countless warriors. Aresta’s hands shook even harder as he saw dark mist surging out from the frosty clouds above.
