Chapter 66: Raging Wildfire (Part 4)
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—
Moisture was evaporating like crazy, and the steam exploded at the clash point, enveloping me. In an instant, I felt as if needles were pricking my face, so I couldn’t help but shut my eyes and quickly step back two paces.
Flame Order? No, it’s…
Once the scorching sensation subsided, I opened my eyes again. Amidst the billowing mist, ice mist and heat waves intertwined, making the wind on my face alternately cold and hot.
I stared incredulously at the man with the messed-up face opposite me. He had been knocked quite a distance away by that last attack and was now rubbing his right elbow, “Crack!” — he popped it back into place and then lifted his head.
“Impressive as always, young Miss… Pope Knight. I must have guessed correctly, right, Miss Peilo? No, maybe I should call you Miss Silvya.”
I furrowed my brows, “Who are you?”
Honestly, I didn’t really care much about that; I just wanted to sneak a glance behind me to check on Lafael.
The fight over there was intense.
Lafael was wielding a sword, shining cold light with every swing, sending sharp ice shards flying out and forcing Valar to continuously retreat. He was totally dominating the battle, and seeing that made me relax a bit.
Turning back, the messed-up face guy continued, “Who I am is not important, Miss Silvya. I want to discuss something with you. I think we could…”
I cut him off immediately, “There’s nothing to discuss. You guys have already lost, just surrender.”
At my words, the corners of his mouth twitched in what seemed to be a smile, but made his already grotesque face look even scarier.
“You just want to ensure your brother’s safety, right? Coincidentally, I also don’t want anything to happen to the Crown Prince. While there’s still a chance to reverse this situation, can we just stop fighting?”
“But you guys have already lost.”
“Not necessarily.”
Suddenly, I heard shouts from the side.
“Ah—!”
“Witch—!”
I turned to see three soldiers shakily charging towards me. They were covered in ice shards, white-faced, and so stiff they could barely lift their swords, with expressions full of terror and some inexplicable determination that made their cries sound like a desperate rallying call.
I frowned impatiently.
From their eyes, it was clear they had already lost their will to fight. What they were doing now was just trying to muster up courage to avoid being seen as cowards; these enemies had lost all meaning in battle.
With a light flick of my scythe, I deflected their incoming attack. I lifted my leg and with three thudding sounds, the soldiers flew back and crashed into the snow; whether they were unconscious or not, I knew they’d never get back up.
In an instant, I saw the messed-up face guy bending down, charging at me.
Hah, calling for peace while plotting to strike… I’d be a fool to trust you.
I raised my left hand to my chest.
Boom—
Ice mist surged forth again, howling as it rushed forward. The messed-up face guy was nimble, dodging my attack to the left. With his right arm’s muscles bulging, he swung his short sword upwards like a tempest aimed at me.
What the heck are you aiming at?!
I stepped forward, feigning a swing with the scythe, then quickly withdrew my attack. My right foot shot forward like a blue hammer, aiming for his right wrist.
He didn’t react in time, and BAM! His wrist was nearly folded in half, broken bone sticking out, and his short sword flew several meters into the air.
In the next moment, the scythe was raised again.
Swish!
The blade cut down from his left shoulder, gliding effortlessly across his chest to leave a horrific wound deep enough to see bone. Thick, sticky bl**d splattered on my face before instantly freezing, milky frost spreading from his injury.
“Cough—”
bl**d trickled from his mouth.
That came way too easy; I raised an eyebrow, immediately feeling tense.
I originally thought he would evade my attack with his skills. I had planned follow-up moves, but unexpectedly he didn’t dodge at all; his actions weren’t as agile as before. It was like he just tanked the hit… Is the broken wrist slowing him down? No, wait…
In a flash of thought, worried he might launch a dangerous counterattack, I quickly leaped back to create some distance.
But to my surprise, he continued charging forward at full speed as if he wasn’t even hurt, gracefully moving without a hint of injury.
What’s going on? With such a serious wound, how can he still move… Is he trying to get himself killed? No, something’s not right.
When I slashed across his chest, there was something red in there that looked rather abnormal, like it was glowing… Oh no, his target is Lafael!
Realizing this, I quickly raised my hand, and ice spikes shot forth like arrows, tearing through the snow with a speed too fast to see. “Thud, thud!” They pierced through the messed-up face guy’s left arm and chest, leaving terrifying bl**d holes.
The force knocked him off balance and he let out a grunt as he looked ready to fall, but in a bizarre manner, he steadied himself and kept running, his speed only increasing as he neared Lafael.
A sense of dread welled up in my heart as I glanced at Valar, who was engaged with Lafael. I suddenly remembered he had been impaled in the shoulder by my ice spikes not long ago. That injury… was serious.
Under normal circumstances, even a hardened warrior would be gritting their teeth in pain and pale from such a severe wound, their movements affected. But Valar, despite being at a disadvantage, sporting multiple cuts now, moved completely unimpeded.
Things were getting out of hand, but… now wasn’t the time to think too much about it.
Snow fell gently, and the light grew dimmer.
I quickly glanced across the battlefield. The City Guards, whose morale had shattered, were scattered across the snowy field, cut down by the guards. bl**d was everywhere and hope was lost. Even those attempting to fight back posed little threat with the guards maintaining tight formations.
More soldiers were slowly gathering towards Edward’s position; some were helping him lean against the damaged half of a carriage, as he gestured passionately to the soldiers, talking incessantly. I couldn’t hear him clearly from this distance, but it looked like he was trying to regroup them.
As for me, no one was brave enough to approach anymore.
Now, I just had to deal with these pesky assassins…
Having assessed the current situation, I took a deep breath, my footwork shifting into a rapid Moon Step as I surged forward. The wind howled in my ears, and my face stung as I dashed, and in the next moment, I was in front of the messed-up face guy.
“Not so fast.”
The messed-up face guy finally stopped, a grotesque smile spreading across his face again.
“Hahaha!”
I frowned deeply as I heard footsteps approaching.
“Boss—”
“Surround her, surround her! You guys go around from the right… what the heck happened here…”
From the side, a dozen black-robed assassins circled around, breaking through the guards’ line and charging straight for me amidst the chaotic battlefield.
“Stay back, you’re no match for her!” the messed-up face guy shouted at them, “Throw the black balls—!”
The approaching assassins hesitated for a moment, catching their breath, only to hear the messed-up face guy yell, “There’s no time to hesitate! If we delay, Skarlij’s people will be here, and we won’t be able to escape!”
What a loudmouth!
I took two steps forward and swung my scythe at the messed-up face guy, who showed no intention of dodging, his eyes filled with malice as he raised his broken arm to block.
You think you can block this?!
Clang—
The cold light flashed, and his severed arm flew up into the air.
Meanwhile, several black balls soared towards my head. My heart skipped a beat as I recognized them as the things Valar tried to hurl at me before.
A blinding light flickered past, and the next instant—
Boom, boom, boom!
The balls exploded in mid-air, a chaotic gray-white smoke billowing towards me. In a split second, I pushed my right foot forward and shot out several meters, narrowly avoiding the smoke’s enveloping range.
Once I steadied myself, I stared in horror as the messed-up face guy was already engulfed in the cloud. I heard him shout, “Valar! Don’t hold back anymore, k*ll him—!”
“Ah—!!”
In the nearby battle, Valar suddenly went mad, leaping forward like a human missile with arms wide open. Sensing something was off, Lafael hurriedly stepped back, but it was too late.
With a thud, Valar’s sword pierced through his chest, and there wasn’t a hint of pain on his face. He grinned wickedly and raised his hand.
Boom!
The gray smoke exploded in front of Lafael’s face, and Valar leaned forward, taking a deep breath from the smoke.
“Ha ha… ha ha…”
Boom—
A scarlet flame shot out from his chest.
