Azure Scepter

Page 132

“Although severed limbs are difficult to restore, they can be treated.” As she spoke, Futia grabbed a lever on the machine. “Don’t give up hope. As long as you find Noi, you can definitely be saved.”

After saying that, Futia directly exerted force with her shoulder, snapped the machine's bearing, and then pushed off the ground, pulling backward sharply. The machine binding the half-human dancer shattered into pieces.

"Bang!" The gears and levers spun and crashed to the ground, splattering blood everywhere.

"What? What happened?" the blind dancer exclaimed, but the next moment Futia grabbed her waist and handed her to Edith beside her.

Edith glanced at the opening and then shook her head: "The opening is too small."

Fytia remained silent. She kicked the wreckage of the machine, and the heavy iron groaned before splitting in two.

—The entrance to the cave suddenly became wider.

"Hurry up." The elf glanced at the trembling Livitt, then jumped into the cave first.

The passageway was extremely narrow; a person of normal build could only crawl forward on their knees. The soft, rotten soil felt like mud. Surrounded by the pungent smell of blood and decay, Futia instinctively thought of a coffin.

In the darkness, only the muffled, rapid breathing and the rustling sound of hands gripping the soil and bodies moving forward could be heard.

"Where does this secret passage lead?" she asked as she struggled to climb forward.

The dancer's muffled voice came from behind: "The tavern on the west bank of the Raven River, it's full of Vercingetorian men too!"

“Those undead jumped down, I heard them hit the ground,” Livitt said, her voice trembling, from the back of the group.

“How much longer until we can climb out?” Edith asked.

The halfling dancer on the princess's shoulder was quite pessimistic: "At most five minutes left, but it's too late. Those undead are incredibly fast, it's too late."

“There’s still time,” Futia said coldly. “Are you halflings all so cowardly?”

The next moment, she slowed down and deliberately fell to the back of the group. Then, she laboriously turned over, took out her longbow, and braced her foot against the hard bow handle.

With her exceptional flexibility, she bent forward, nocked a specially made arrow onto the bowstring, and then pulled the bowstring back sharply with both hands as if she were holding a boat oar.

"Crunch." Under the immense force, the longbow groaned in unbearable pain.

With the bowstring taut all the way to her knees, Futia felt a slight pain in her palms and slowly exhaled.

The next moment, she suddenly released the bowstring.

"boom!"

The arrow shot out and then exploded with a deafening roar. Amid a series of explosions, countless clods of earth poured down from above—Fodia's arrow had destroyed the entire rear route!

The Death Knights who caught up were all buried in the ground.

However, the collapse was not limited to what was behind them; soon the entire secret passage began to tremble.

"Levitra, quickly use the Mud to Stone technique!" Edith shouted, "to solidify the soil above our heads, or we'll be buried alive too!"

The bad news is that as a newly minted sorcerer, Livitt has no ability to turn mud into stone.

The good news is that they were very close to the exit, so they managed to climb out of the tunnel before it collapsed.

"boom!"

Edith slammed her head against the metal plate above her head, and a burst of intense flames and thick, alluring smoke rushed towards her.

Flames, flames everywhere, the entire city was engulfed in flames.

Outside was a street engulfed in flames, shop signs burning and lying on the ground, and people crying out as they scattered and fled in the inferno.

Edith grabbed a city guard who had dropped his weapon and was fleeing. She then realized that the man looked familiar. After a moment's thought, she realized that he was Foyle—the city guard captain who had misunderstood her a few weeks ago.

"How is this going?"

At this moment, Foyle was completely disoriented; he didn't even recognize Edith.

He struggled hysterically, then screamed desperately, "They've broken through the defenses on Raven Black River Bridge! Run! They're going to burn us all alive!"

Edith released his grip, and the captain of the guard immediately scrambled away into the distance.

"Your Highness, what should we do now?" Futia asked rapidly.

“Let’s regroup.” Edith paused for a moment, then said, “If Trier could do it in Beaver Town, we can try too.”

Futia immediately shook her head.

"It's different. Back in Beaver Town, we at least had a basic organization, but now we only have four people at most."

"Is there any other way..." Livitt timidly tugged at Feudia's sleeve. "How about... sacrificing myself? If we can summon Lady Bloodthorn, maybe the demons can fight the people of Oris... Then, maybe people will have a chance to survive..."

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Feudia tapped Levitt on the head. “If you ask me, the only person who can save the city right now is Trier. We have to find him as soon as possible.”

“This situation is all Trier’s doing!” Edith clenched his fist. “He will never save the city until he has achieved his goal.”

“Lord Trier is a good man,” Livitt retorted immediately. “If he were going to massacre the city, why would he help those homeless refugees? Besides, he is a paladin!”

Edith lowered her eyelids and sighed softly.

She couldn't help but recall the words she had blurted out when she first met him: "Your outward sincerity and pious behavior are just the tempting sugar coating to your devilish nature."

“Let’s go find Trier!” Fythia shook Edith’s shoulder. “Your Highness, listen to me this time!”

Just as Edith was about to answer, a head slammed down beside her!

She immediately drew her sword and looked ahead.

A tall knight clad in adamantite plate armor and wielding a serrated greatsword abruptly pushed aside a burning wooden wall panel, then stepped out of the flames and slowly walked towards them.

The knight wore a necklace of human heads around his neck, each head bearing the lingering marks of despair and terror, with crimson tears of blood slowly flowing from their eye sockets and then congealing.

The knight was not wearing a helmet; his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was crazed. Even the demons of the bottomless abyss would not look like him. Edith recognized him; this tall knight was one of Oris's most trusted subordinates, and he served as the standard-bearer in the knightly order.

The enemy's fighting strength was already considerable, but what made things worse was that behind the ruins behind the standard-bearer, there was a large group of fully armed soldiers.

It was a small team composed of humans and Asmos.

At this moment, flames raged across the sky, turning the entire heavens into a vibrant orange-red, with the firelight even obscuring the stars.

Edith cast his gaze into the distance and realized that the small squad was merely a component of a much larger army.

Edith gripped the hilt of her sword, feeling a deep sense of nausea.

When faced with the Silent Whisperers spreading the plague, everyone made excuses about not having enough manpower. But because of the shortage of manpower, the blood plague raged. However, when it came to the infighting and slaughter, they all suddenly appeared.

“He’s no different from a demon,” Edith muttered to herself.

Futia quickly looked around.

"We can't possibly fight so many enemies head-on. Let's take this alley!"

Before he could finish speaking, a rotten iron glove suddenly smashed through the iron door of the secret passage!

The iron gate creaked as it was squeezed, and the next moment, the Death Tomb Knight's moss-covered helmet suddenly emerged. Through the gaps in the helmet, the Death Tomb Knight's bloodthirsty crimson eyes flashed with an unsettling red light.

The collapse of the secret passage only temporarily hindered their movement, but now they have caught up.

dilemma!

However, at that moment, the Death Knight's swift and powerful movements suddenly froze.

For some reason, Edith sensed a feeling of fear in the red light in the other person's eyes.

The next moment, the powerful undead suddenly recoiled like a startled rabbit, quickly pulling its hands and head back from the hole in the iron gate, and then comically curled up into the shadows.

The flag bearer, who was striding forward, suddenly stopped.

Edith followed the other person's gaze and looked back, then saw a large group of transparent corpses that looked like chameleons at the end of the street. In front of the corpses, she saw a familiar figure—Trill.

“It’s Trier!” Futia exclaimed happily.

Chapter 258 Epilogue: The Trial (Part 1)

The moment Trier appeared at the end of the street, the raging fires along the entire street suddenly dimmed, as if an invisible frost hand had seized their flames.

Although there were few people behind Trier, a chilling aura spread silently, and the soldiers following the standard-bearer all stopped as if they had encountered an invisible wall.

At that moment, the streets fell into an eerie silence. The creaking of burning buildings, the dying groans of people, and the unrestrained laughter of the massacrers all turned into complete silence.

“It’s Trier!” Fythia asked softly. “Wait, isn’t he bringing too few men?”

The princess remained silent, watching the sparse horde of undead behind Trier, and the joy and excitement in her heart quickly cooled down.

In any case, it was absurd that Trier brought so few people. Even if all those undead had combat power close to legendary, they still couldn't possibly stand against Oris's army that slaughtered the city.

After all, even the strongest legends have their limits, not to mention that Oris's army was by no means weak.

Despite her inner turmoil, Edith tried her best to maintain a calm expression. She forced herself to look at the standard-bearer in the flames—and the next moment, she felt her heart skip a beat.

Suddenly, a divine servant from another world with emerald green skin and pure white wings appeared behind the flag bearer!

She was an angel!

Edith's pupils suddenly contracted; now she understood why the bridgehead defenses had collapsed so quickly.

“Trill is an angel!” Futia whispered a reminder.

Trier didn't speak; he gave the elf a barely perceptible wave, then slowly stopped.

The otherworldly divine servant stood solemnly before the standard-bearer's judgment, holding a giant sword. The next moment, the otherworldly divine servant raised his golden eyes and coldly looked at Trier in the distance.

“You are a wise man, Trier.” The otherworldly servant’s voice boomed, like a bronze bell. “My lord is right behind me.”

"Our Lord's power far exceeds your imagination," the standard-bearer coldly echoed. "Mortal, don't court death."

Trier didn't speak. He slowly raised his head, his dark eyes as calm as an abyss.

For some reason, Edith felt a sense of relaxation. Looking into Trier's calm eyes, all her unease and anxiety vanished in an instant.

"Finished?" Trier asked softly. "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Trier's voice wasn't loud, but it was clearly audible in the deathly silent street.

The flag bearer was stunned; he subconsciously wondered if he had misheard.

He prided himself on his extensive knowledge, but he never expected that there would actually be a mortal so arrogant as to despise the messenger of the gods!

With that thought in mind, he glared fiercely at Trier in the distance, but when their eyes met, he felt as if a hammer had been swung at his chest.

His breath hitched suddenly, and an indescribable sense of horror swept over him like a tidal wave. In less than half a second, his entire back was soaked in cold sweat.

The standard-bearer barely managed to turn his stiff neck and look at the angel beside him. Then, he was shocked to find that the powerful otherworldly attendant's face was also deathly pale.

"Our lord's plan has succeeded, and there's no use in doing anything now." The otherworldly attendant's voice softened considerably. "Don't... please don't do anything foolish."

Edith stared wide-eyed in surprise.

The angels were actually afraid of Trier?!

But why?

Just as she was surprised, more soldiers surged over from other places, and in an instant, at least dozens of fully armed soldiers surrounded her.

"Yes, don't do anything stupid."

Trier glanced at the soldiers who had surrounded him and spoke slowly.

The next moment, he gently grasped the hilt of the sword, then suddenly pulled it outwards—

The Holy Slash!

The dazzling arc of light from the blade flashed by in an instant, and layers of air currents converged at the tip of the blade like shock waves. Before the longsword was even drawn, the terrifying wind pressure had already transformed into a roaring sonic boom cloud, which blasted straight forward.

Before the white ripples of air even arrived, a line of blood ran straight down the body of the otherworldly attendant who was blocking the way. The next instant, the terrifying sword force, like an axe, embedded itself directly into the wedge-shaped wound on his head.

"Clap!"

Blood and flesh splattered, and the otherworldly divine servant was directly split in two. The two clumps of blood and flesh spun and crashed into the distance. However, before the blood and flesh could leave the body, a pale holy flame storm swept in with the wind pressure, and the white feathers and the giant sword were turned to ashes!

An Asmo soldier had just raised his crossbow to launch a sneak attack when the Holy Flame Storm charged in like a raging dragon. He and his comrades froze, then exploded into a mass of burning flesh and blood.

At this moment, if one were to look down from the sky onto the west bank of the city, one would clearly see a pale cyclone that was constantly rushing forward. The cyclone, like a giant beast, surged forward along the main road, and all obstacles in the way turned into bloody dust as if they were ants encountering a natural disaster—more than sixty elite soldiers silently turned into dust.

Death upon contact!

Half a breath later, the cyclone rapidly expanded to its limit, and then the wind pressure spread out slowly along both sides like outstretched wings. At the same time, the cold frost also covered the burning buildings on both sides with the wind pressure, and then vaporized and rose into one hazy white mist after another.

Trier let out a soft breath and slowly sheathed his sword.

"Om-"

As the longsword returned to its sheath, the rising white mist condensed into rain clouds, and then the drizzling rain fell back to the ground—the raging fire on the west bank was extinguished.

Edith stared at Trier in disbelief.