Chapter Sixty-Five: The Raging Wildfire (Part Three)
“Edward, don’t run!”
I shouted angrily, pointing my delicate hand at him. A sharp ice spike soared over the heads of the City Guards, screeching towards Edward.
Boom!
The ice spike struck the axle of the War Chariot, causing the massive carriage to crash down. The noise startled the elegant white horned horse, which let out a whinny and sped away, dragging half of the broken carriage with it.
Edward’s face went pale with shock as he spun around, ready to duck behind the remaining half of the carriage. Just as he took a step, a second ice spike shot through his thigh like it was a hot kn*fe through butter.
“Ah—!!”
Edward shrieked and collapsed to the ground, clawing at the dirt, leaving behind a dark red trail of bl**d. At this point, he was terrified out of his wits, screaming, “City Guards! Protect me! City Guards!”
“The prince is injured!”
“Quick, let’s save him!”
A few soldiers at the back of the group rushed towards him, while most of the front-liners stood there completely clueless about what was going on.
Without their leader’s command, the City Guards were like headless chickens. They looked at their wailing comrades strewn across the ground, then at me standing atop an Ice Pillar—an insurmountable enemy in their eyes, and their fighting spirit began to fade.
The frigid cold was turning their faces blue, even frost froze on their eyelashes, and their trembling hands could barely hold onto their swords. Meanwhile, on the other side, Lafael was lined up with the guards, joining the fray. Blue glimmers flashed in his hands, and ice shards erupted from the ground, slicing through the battlefield like a hot kn*fe through butter. Vicious sword lights flickered, and streams of thick, warm bl**d flowed across the snow.
Compared to the gruesome situation over there, I was much more merciful; despite the cries of anguish, there were still signs of life.
I scanned the chaos below, trying to spot Valar in the turmoil.
Voices filled my ears:
“What are you all standing around for… get in there…”
“She… she’s all by herself… we have hundreds of brothers…”
“But she’s so high up…”
“Where are the crossbows? sh**t her!”
After yelling for ages, not a single person dared to make a move.
Just when I thought Edward’s defeat was certain and was about to call for the City Guards to surrender, suddenly, I spotted a fast-moving figure in the crowd, heading straight for Lafael.
It was the Golden Mask.
I nearly forgot about him!
That guy was an assassin, and somehow he’d blended in with the masses without me noticing. He was now approaching Lafael, clearly aiming for a sneak attack. I couldn’t let that happen!
I quickly leaped down from the Ice Pillar, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a cylindrical object flying towards me.
My heart skipped a beat; I recognized it immediately. Wasn’t that the smoke tube those masked men used?
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? Never!
Vroom—
My sickle danced lightly as I kicked away a soldier who was trying to approach me, leaped onto another soldier’s shoulder, and swatted the smoke tube off course.
The extreme cold coated the surface of the smoke tube with a layer of frost. It flew far and landed in the crowd, becoming completely silent.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Countless arrows came flying at me from the west. My eyes narrowed.
Not from the City Guards. Who could it be?
“Pepé, we have an assassin!”
Lafael shouted after taking down a soldier with his sword, still a distance away.
Swish!
I twisted mid-air, using my body to create a small white tornado that froze the incoming arrows before blowing them aside, then began to descend.
At the same time, I noticed several black-robed assassins hidden within the City Guards, reloading their crossbows.
These guys were experts at hiding, and amidst the chaos of battle, I’d let my guard down… When did they even arrive? Or were they mingling with the City Guards from the very start, and I just didn’t catch on?
Forget it, no time to worry about them right now.
The Golden Mask was moving quickly, closing the distance between him and Lafael in no time. He shed his black robe, revealing leather armor similar to that of the City Guards, then pulled out a silver short sword, continuing to approach stealthily.
“Lafael, be careful!”
I shouted as I punched a soldier away, but my voice was drowned out by the chaos of battle, and Lafael remained oblivious. I watched in despair as more black-robed assassins slipped through the crowd to join up with the Golden Mask. My desperation spiked; I unleashed another wave of ice mist to drive away the surrounding soldiers and prepared to leap, but just then, another smoke tube silently landed above my head.
d*mn it!
Swinging my sickle, I knocked the tube aside, and that was when Valar finally burst through the crowd, raising his butcher kn*fe high and aiming a quick slash at me.
I glared at Valar, who was clearly trying to stop me with all his might, fury bubbling inside me.
You won’t hold me back!
Boom!
Ice mist exploded from my palms, engulfing the battlefield. Valar was forced to retreat swiftly on the wind. I leaped high into the air, trailing a brilliant blue starry river as I darted towards Lafael.
Whoosh, whoosh—
Dodging two crossbow bolts, I lifted my extreme ice sickle high.
“How dare you move!”
A sharp cry startled the Golden Mask, who quickly abandoned his ambush and turned to face me.
Clang—!
“Yah—!!”
With the force of a thousand pounds pressing down, the Golden Mask couldn’t withstand it. The icy gust whipped his collar, making it billow as he stumbled back two steps, falling to the ground. He rolled away, but I took a couple of steps forward, only to be surrounded by four assassins.
“Get away!”
I pivoted, executing a spin kick that landed squarely on one assassin’s shoulder. The sound of shattering bones echoed as I broke his arm, sending him flying backward.
Then I retracted my leg, bent down, and dodged an attack from the assassin on my right, swinging my arm in a wide arc.
The extreme ice sickle blazed a perfect arc beside me, its gleaming blade slicing open the leather armor of one assassin as I cut across his chest and then slashed another in the face.
bl**d beaded in droplets, splattering onto me, my face, and sliding down my skirt into the snow. As the screams filled the air, my motions didn’t stop; I turned the sickle upward and flung it directly toward the last assassin’s eye.
With a “thud,” it embedded itself in his right chest, and he collapsed in an instant.
This entire series of actions happened in the blink of an eye. I quickly glanced at Lafael’s shocked expression, not bothering to greet him, and pushed off again.
Moon Step!
Whoosh—
In the next moment, I found myself right in front of the Golden Mask. A flash of blue light sparked in my right hand as I gripped a new extreme ice sickle, bringing it down hard towards him, who was just starting to get back on his feet.
Clang!
It collided with his short sword.
Crack.
The Golden Mask’s stance faltered, and the blade of his sword could not withstand the impact, instantly cracking down the middle. I swiftly unleashed two more strikes; the Golden Mask stumbled back, desperately trying to block, but his mask formed a layer of frost. On the third strike, the short sword broke in two.
The sickle’s momentum didn’t waver as it slashed across his face.
Clang—
The mask shattered.
Golden metal fell to the ground, revealing a severely burned face before my eyes.
It looked as if it had been dipped in flames; the red skin was wrinkled, and the exposed muscle seemed to twitch lightly. His left eyelid was completely fused shut, clearly blind in that eye—the hideous sight made me hesitate for a moment.
But then he opened his mouth, staring past me, yelling, “Valar! What are you waiting for!”
My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately turned to look. Behind me, on the crimson-stained white snow, Valar swung his butcher kn*fe down at Lafael.
Lafael hurriedly blocked it, sparks flew, and both of them stumbled back a step, after which he yelled, “Focus on the fight; I can handle this!”
Clearly directed at me.
In the next instant, I heard the whistle of wind. The Golden Mask… no, the face-melted dude pulled another short sword from his robe and lunged at me, targeting my waist.
Clang!
I used my sickle to parry his attack and kicked at him, aiming for his manhood, but he dodged to the side, twirling his sword in hand and swung again.
Let’s see if I can break your sword once more!
Hiss, hiss—
The blade of the extreme ice sickle exhaled white mist, rising like steam. The frozen chill spread through the air, causing the melted-face man to squint his one good eye.
Suddenly, a crimson flame erupted from his short sword, trailing a blazing tail as it collided with my extreme ice sickle.
Boom!!
The shockwave swept past my ears, my black hair flying wildly.
