Chapter 56: The Appearance
Boom boom boom boom boom—!
The rumble of thunder continued, while not too far away, the female swordsman seemed utterly unfazed by her exposed appearance. It was almost like she intended to shut everyone up, and the slaughter revealed itself brutally beneath the night sky. As lightning crackled and bl**d sprayed like a twisted confetti, knights toppled one after another, collapsing under the frantic dance of electricity.
The overwhelming power and agility left the members of the Second Knights Order, who could barely be called battle-tested, powerless to retaliate. They were cut open or had their heads lopped off, slowly scattering from the fierce onslaught, the entire skirmish not lasting half a minute, and the number of people standing in the open was already less than half of what it had been.
“Protect the goods—”
“Don’t run! Running gets you killed!!!”
In the chaos, one knight, who looked suspiciously like a captain, yelled from the back of the fray. Moments later, he was struck by a distant arc of lightning, falling stiffly to the ground along with a few nearby comrades. The cloaked female swordsman continued to swirl and strike as women had already hastily whisked their children away into the dark.
What should I do…
I watched the scene unfold, ears flooded with screams and roars, eyes blinking with the flicker of fire and lightning in the darkness, my mind swirling with hesitation.
Given the sudden situation, I couldn’t determine the cause but was painfully aware that there was a deeper, more complex agenda at play.
That female swordsman, whether or not she was a Pope Knight, was definitely affiliated with the Church—at least she had once taken orders from that Angel guy. But now, she seemed to have lost it and was attacking members of the Second Knights Order with lethal force, as if she were harvesting crops, decimating those knights also under the Church’s banner…
…Is this an internal war?
Is Angel purging someone from within?
But her methods are so extreme… What on earth has transpired in the Church while I’ve been away from the Western Continent? Weren’t they saying that Cardinal St. George had already fallen from power? Has the Second Knights Order turned traitor too?
Or is it because of the goods?
As my mind raced, I shifted my focus away from the female swordswoman, cloaked in violent lightning, to the erratic horned horses not far off. There, two supply carts stood, and the long pegs that had tied the pulling beasts were being ripped from the ground. A few terrified knights were desperately trying to mount the beasts, hoping to escape with the goods.
But, obviously, those horned horses weren’t the well-trained war kind. Frightened and unmanageable, they tossed one knight off with ease and, with a whinny and a hop, broke free of their reins to dash off, leaving the cart behind.
In the next moment, a flash of lightning appeared as the female swordsman suddenly vanished between the downed knights, only to reappear above the carts.
Her diminutive form spun mid-air, and then she swung her sword downward. The knights scrambled to defend themselves, but before they could raise their swords above their heads, fierce thunderbolt brought down upon them—
Crack!
The dazzling lightning spread like countless writhing electric snakes, wildly expanding across the land where the blade struck. In the glaring light, several knights had their hair and faces instantly set ablaze. Their mouths opened wide, but no sounds came out, falling back as stiff as wooden dolls.
The surging current ignited the dry grass at the edge of the clearing, and some “snap, crackle, and pops” climbed up the carts. The white cloth covering the cargo burst into flames, which swiftly spread to the wooden boxes. Before long, a towering inferno engulfed the carts, gradually shrouding them in fire.
“d*mn it…”
“She’s destroying the carts!!”
“We can’t stop her! Let’s go! Go—”
“Don’t throw away your lives here!”
Meanwhile, I noticed that the tents in the clearing had also caught fire. Within the glowing crimson, the surviving knights dropped their longswords and began fleeing, screaming for their lives.
But they couldn’t escape.
The female swordsman had no intention of letting them go. Ignoring the burning carts, she transformed into a flash of lightning, pursuing the fleeing knights amidst the ominous night one by one.
The entire process was quick, too quick to keep track of. In a matter of seconds, these knights barely got a few steps in before an arc of lightning struck them in the back, and down they all went, without exception—an acrid smell began to waft through the air, even I, some meters away, could taste the battlefield’s deathly aroma.
Before I could even decide what to do, the battle had already come to a grim conclusion.
They were all dead…
The female swordsman flicked the dust-free cloak behind her, standing among the corpses, some charred and stuck in bizarre positions while others still burned. In the glow of the fire, she put away her sword, seemed to daze for a moment, then turned to look in the direction the refugees had fled.
“Phew—”
In the dark, I let out a long breath.
What now…
Is killing those knights not enough? Is she going to make a move on the refugees too?
In that case…
You’re going to d*e here today.
Crash—
Suddenly, one of the burning supply carts collapsed, the cart’s charred wheel and frame flying in different directions, followed by the crisp sound of clattering.
Oh…
I saw what appeared to be the “goods” scattered amid the fire after the wooden boxes shattered.
Gold coins…
Bright, shiny gold coins.
Even as the raging flames licked at the shining coins, they retained their nearly blinding luster. Two seconds later, there was another bang, and the two burning carts completely crumbled, revealing yet another shower of coins.
The sheer number of coins, more than one could count, was bewildering and heart-racing. In an instant, I felt the urge to rush over and snag a few for myself.
At the very least, I could use the money to buy more delicious food…
These knights were transporting nothing less than gold coins.
It seems like the high-purity Valun coins…
Were they headed for the Silenced Fortress?
I could barely contain myself, standing up again, my earlier thoughts about the salt completely forgotten. Almost instinctively, my gaze shifted back to that shadowy figure in the flames.
Gold coins that could drive anyone insane lay in abundance, yet that small female swordsman remained unfazed, showing no interest whatsoever. She glanced over briefly, her expression vaguely dismissive, then lifted her foot, seemingly ready to leave.
She wasn’t here to intercept the goods…
But she was heading straight towards the direction where the women and children had fled.
“…Ha.”
This is…
Planning to leave no survivors?
Angel, oh Angel…
Do you even know what you’re doing?
“Moon Step.”
Bang—
My knees bent slightly, and I snatched the fox mask from my bag to place on my face. In the swiftest second, the rock beneath me exploded like fireworks, a gale roaring past my ears. The scene blurred for just an instant, and when my form came to a stop, I had crossed the flames, standing directly before that small cloaked shadow.
Now that the knights were gone…
I could show up in front of her without a care.
Clang—!
The reaction from my opponent was extraordinarily swift; the moment she heard the wind, she darted back and drew her sword in one seamless motion, creating distance between us. She didn’t don her hood again, nor did she recklessly attack. Instead, she gripped her sword tightly, her pretty face betraying shock, surprise, and full-on wariness as she locked her stare onto my face.
Then, she slowly uttered a word.
“Owl…”
“…What?”
I had planned on playing a cat-and-mouse game, teasing her to lure her away while rescuing the refugees and those knights who might return, but instead, her first words left me momentarily flustered.
Huh?
Owl?
Does she think I’m one of those owl people…
What’s going on?
Do I look like them…?
…Wait a minute.
From afar, she had seemed particularly tiny, displaying sharp agility amidst the other knights, making her appear comically out of place—at least in my eyes, which I found humorously mocking…
But up close…
She seems taller than me.
“……”
So unpleasing to the eye.
