Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Five: Exiting the City (Part Two)
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—
In my view, the second wave of arrows descended like a swarm of locusts.
On the city wall ahead, the clergy were bustling about, and the Sin Barrier rising at the city gate shot up to nearly ten meters in no time, with countless glowing points shining bright. Chains erupted from the ground in front of the gate, twisting in an attempt to form a second layer of Divine Miracle to intercept us. Some chains were already racing towards the fleeing Hunters!
A hundred meters…
At this point, Mother was less than a hundred meters from the city wall.
“Ha…”
I soared through the Night Sky, my blue eyes glowing, exhaling a breath of deadly frost.
“Stop them, stop them—”
“Shield formation!!!”
In front of the gate, behind that radiant Sin Barrier, two rows of heavily armored Knights raised their large shields, their gazes locking onto the incoming squads of Hunters. Sharp spears quietly poked through the gaps in the shields, and despite the robust barrier in front of them, they stood ready, calmly preparing for whatever crazy chaos might ensue in the next second.
The quality of these soldiers from the Fourth Knights Order was indisputable.
They could easily lay claim to being one of the finest armies in the world.
However…
No matter how fortified the walls, what would it accomplish?
Whoosh—
Like a shooting star, I didn’t flinch, charging straight through the oncoming rain of arrows. In the next moment, I landed with a thunderous crash right at the intersection of the chains and the Sin Barrier, smacking the hard ground into a shallow pit. Rocks and debris flew about as I established my stance, digging my feet almost entirely into the ground, fists clenched, arms pulled back. My rock-solid punches shot out like a cannon!
It all happened in an instant.
No one had time to react.
Boom!!!!!
In the next moment, the wind howled angrily, roaring forth.
An icy blast exploded from my fist, akin to an apocalyptic tornado, roaring forward with the force to crush everything in its path, sweeping everything away.
In my field of vision, people were flying.
A lot of people were flying.
Amidst the earth-shaking commotion, deadly ice explosions radiated from the point of my fists, spreading like a fan towards the horizon, smashing apart those countless golden chains that had stood before me, reducing them to nothingness in an instant.
The towering, seemingly indestructible Sin Barrier shattered under the fury of the frost, providing not even a hint of resistance as it exploded into a shower of golden fragments. The shockwave continued to spread, immediately impacting the Church warriors behind the barrier, wielding giant shields and spears.
In the moment the frigid gale swept in, they threw away their heavy shields, and the finely crafted spears from the central workshops were all swept away. The entire formation crumbled like a house of cards, without a shred of doubt, as bodies tumbled through the air like light paper, “whoosh”-ing off with the turbulent flow of frost and debris.
And then, in the very next heartbeat, they were encased in solid ice.
Not a single scream escaped their lips.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye—although for me, it felt like this astonishing scene unfolded in slow motion.
The horrifying destructive force continued spreading outwards like a trumpet blast, the path leading to the city gate frozen solid. Yet in the next moment, the fierce turbulence tore it to shreds, splintering it apart.
“Boom boom boom” echoed persistently in my ears as the gate burst open, the entire entrance obliterated like a fireworks display, the thick walls crumbling instantly, the opening growing wider by more than double. The earth trembled violently as the clergy on the walls got knocked off, frozen into ice statues, and the castle tower collapsed, countless splintered wood and boulders sent flying outside the city, soaring through the air for ten meters or more.
Clatter clang clatter…
With just one hit, there was no one left standing in my way.
Before they even had a chance to feel fear, they lost all consciousness the moment the chilling temperature invaded their bodies.
“May the moonlight protect us…”
A trembling gasp came from the rapidly approaching clattering of hooves behind me.
That sounded like Hoover.
I brushed off the ice flakes clinging to me, turned around.
Thud thud thud thud—
Mother and the Hunters rode on their jet-black Horned Horses, sprinting towards me from fifty meters away. The massive beasts neighed, startled by the terrifying noise. I heard Mother’s scream blending into the chaotic cacophony around us.
“What a… terrifying power…”
“Yippee—”
“Hahaha! Charge! Let’s burst out of the city in one go!”
“Pepé, let’s hop on the beast and let’s roll—”
I stood my ground, waiting for the rushing troops to sweep past me, bursting out through the still-falling ice crystals, emerging from the shattered doorway, and amidst Hoover’s excited shouts, I leaped onto my own Horned Horse, keeping pace with them.
“Ahh, what a thrill, what a thrill… it’s bloody cold! Hahaha—”
“How’s the Lady? Is she okay!!!”
“We’ve exited the city—”
Outside, the Night Color grew ever darker.
The Hunters on their mounts were buzzing with excitement, even as we ran nearly a hundred meters out of the city, our hair and eyebrows frozen solid, they kept glancing back at the shattered, ice-encased gate. They saw the pursuing Knights reach the entrance, and some hurriedly jumped down from their beasts to check on those who had fallen and broken apart into ice sculptures…
After a while, no one dared to step outside the city gates.
“They’re afraid…”
Someone said, “They won’t dare to chase us anymore, ha!”
“Don’t let your guard down.”
Someone immediately cautioned: “There are plenty of Knights outside the city, everyone stay alert… be careful of their Vice Captain. That guy has some serious faith power.”
“Their Vice Captain has already been dealt with,” I suddenly said.
My words left everyone stunned.
“Pepé, are you saying…”
“When we came earlier, we encountered their ambush on the Shanter Army at the southern part of the city. The leader must’ve been the Vice Captain you mentioned.”
“……”
A brief silence.
“So that means—”
“The strongest force in the Fourth Knights Order has been eliminated?”
Hoover’s face instantly lit up with exhilaration.
…The strongest force?
That androgynous creature was the strongest in the Fourth Knights Order?
“What about their Commander?” I asked.
“Their Commander is a very capable strategist, but he himself is no big deal. We’ve already done our homework… Without that prissy Vice Captain, counting all the strongest from the entire Fourth Knights Order, they still wouldn’t be a match for Bella alone…”
Hoover went on, rubbing his hands on the beast’s back, wearing a crazed expression, as if he couldn’t wait to charge back: “Moreover, with me added in, ha! I’m already planning how to turn the tide back in the city…”
“Captain Hoover, they still have a Pope Knight.” Someone interjected with a warning, “And those guys in black robes, don’t forget about them.”
“So what?”
Hoover scoffed dismissively, unconsciously glancing at me, his grin growing wider: “Sure, they were a threat before, but now, we’ve got someone way more ruthless on our side.”
