Chapter 57: The Chase
That annoying female swordsman completely ignored my question. After a brief standoff that lasted less than a few seconds, she suddenly made her move.
She turned and ran!
Boom—
In an instant, as the blazing thunder lit up around her, the woman made a snap judgment. She twisted her petite frame, vanishing into a bright blue arc of light under the moonlit night. Accompanied by the piercing sound of thunder, she dashed over a hundred meters across the ground before I could even blink, disappearing into the pine forest.
…So fast!
I quickly snapped back to reality.
No way you’re escaping—
Bang!
The next moment, I activated Moon Step again, the wind whipping at my ears as I chased after her in the direction of the lightning.
So fast, so fast, so fast…
The brilliant arc of lightning dashed into the pine forest, bouncing between the trees, changing direction at least three times in just a second. The dizzying speed made it clear that dealing with her wasn’t as easy as I had imagined. My Moon Step might be a tad faster, but I couldn’t match her agility when it came to changing directions. A few times in just over ten seconds, I almost caught up, but she would suddenly twist away, increasing the distance between us once more.
d*mn it…
For a moment, I was reminded of that feeling I had back when I faced Carlos. Even though I have absolute confidence in my abilities now, I couldn’t guarantee that if Carlos really wanted to escape while I went all out to chase him, I could actually catch him.
This female swordsman? She definitely surpassed Carlos in her affinity for the power of order.
I remembered my father telling me that if we purely looked at the talent for the power of order, Carlos was only second-rate among the many mighty Pope Knights. He couldn’t summon devastating thunder like the legendary Grandma Bersa, who, even in her old age and frail condition, could still call down fierce lightning to obliterate her enemies.
In that battle against Teresa in the Royal City, despite being old and unsteady on her feet, Grandma Bersa could still strike down formidable lightning from the sky. That was a level of destructive force Carlos could never achieve.
But judging by how the female swordsman just slashed through those knights, if she wanted to, she could pull off something similar… Her affinity for the power of lightning and order is, in my estimation, top-notch.
However—
Crackling—
Thick arcs of lightning twisted and flowed through the pine forest, creating blinding sparks as they raced through the air. Despite being less than half a meter off the ground, these fierce bolts hadn’t burned a single blade of grass beneath them. I had to say, this woman had an impressive control over the power of order…
But when it comes to techniques…
Carlos would definitely outshine her by a mile!
Bang bang bang bang bang—
In the heat of the chase, I suddenly raised my hand, blue light bursting from my eyes as I spotted a spot ten meters ahead in the direction the lightning was heading. A violent explosion of ice coalesced, and frosty mists erupted, forming a colossal ice wall that nearly towered over the nearby pines in an instant.
Just as the arc of lightning was about to collide with it, she suddenly turned again, making a sharp 90-degree turn right before reaching the ice wall, trying to break through along one side…
Not a chance.
“Ha!”
I called out lightly from behind, balling my hand into a fist. With a deafening crash, the towering ice wall began to rapidly extend outwards, the sound of explosions echoing as the wall stretched like a colossal ice barrier slicing through the forest, almost dividing the woodland in half.
“Where do you think you’re running to—”
In the next moment, I stepped forward with my Moon Step, appearing right in front of the lightning, completely blocking her escape.
“Come…”
The blue light in my eyes intensified as I faced the incoming arc of lightning without flinching. My right fist rose high, and just as my feet touched the ground and my body steadied, I slammed my fist into the earth.
“Let’s have a chat.”
Boom—!!!
The ground erupted around my fist like it was struck by several tons of iron, instantly sinking down. Dirt flew up, grass fragments torn away by the fierce wind, as the cold energy burst out, and countless shards of ice began to erupt from the cracks in the earth.
The arc of lightning tried to soar up and away, but in that moment, as the frost filled the air, it finally slowed down.
“Ha!”
I leapt high from the swirling dirt, my left hand claw-like as I reached into the raging lightning. Grabbing the hem of her cloak, I whipped her downwards into the jagged ice shards below. With a wave of my right hand, even more ice spikes shot up from the ground, creating a symphony of cracking sounds that enveloped the form of the female swordsman, burying her in the frigid spikes.
Got her…
Plop.
I landed in front of the ice spikes, the swirling dirt falling like rain around me, bits of it scattering over me and my hair.
I shook my head, the blue light still flickering in my eyes as I carefully controlled the power of order, preventing the temperature from dropping low enough to freeze her solid. I looked up at the figure now trapped and completely immobilized among countless ice shards.
“Hey…”
I called out, casually brushing off the dirt.
The female swordsman had her head drooped, her cloak ragged, a thin layer of frost covering her, even her hair frozen stiff. Now she was humorously stuck in a bunch of uneven and chaotic ice spikes, looking like a frozen statue—though I intentionally angled the spikes to avoid killing her outright, there was no way she could move for a short while.
“Still alive?”
I asked, waiting for a moment, but she didn’t respond or even budge.
“Don’t worry, I’m not an owl; I just want to ask you a few questions… Hey, lift your head, will you?”
“Hmm?”
Taking a couple of steps closer, standing on the edge of the deep pit I had made, I squinted at the trapped female swordsman… Her eyes were tightly shut, her face pale from the frost, her lips purple as the chilling ice slowly crept over her. Even though it was slow, that was a level of cold no ordinary person could withstand…
Oh no…
It looked like she wasn’t breathing.
Her chest wasn’t rising and falling…
Did I accidentally hit her too hard?
That shouldn’t be the case…
I thought worriedly, but my recent control over my strength had been a bit hit or miss, so I wasn’t entirely sure. Afraid I really had gone and killed her, I hurriedly retracted the power of order, the blue light fading from my eyes as they transformed into a scarlet hue. I waved my small hand forward, sending forth a cluster of crimson flames to ignite the surrounding ice spikes.
The temperature in the air skyrocketed.
But that still wasn’t enough; the female swordsman was almost turning into a statue. I shot out a few more fireballs, the flames erupting and climbing among the ice shards as the ultra-cold ice began to melt, water pooling and seeping into the loose earth beneath.
After waiting a moment longer…
“Hey…”
I was getting a little impatient: “You can’t be that easy to k*ll, can you?”
“If you don’t wake up soon, then I’m going to—”
While I spoke, I wiggled my ankles, feeling the soles of my shoes were a bit wet, coated with thick mud. I instinctively looked down, and then suddenly realized the problem.
Boom!
In the next moment, the lightning lit up again in front of me.
