Chapter 139

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Chapter 139

A man and a woman led a train of Holy Knights clad in white armor on white horses. The man, wearing a priest’s garb, was High Priest Herald—the only one of two High Priests in the Hubalt Empire. The woman wore a lengthy raiment that concealed her body. Most of her face was covered with a white veil as well, and only her long blonde hair could be definitively seen.

“That’s it. That’s the place.” Their guide, a man in blue robes, pointed to an unremarkable castle.

There was no need to doubt the man’s identity because the coat of arms of the nation and organization he was serving under could be seen emblazoned on his surcoat. The Imperial Family of Avalon’s emblem, a golden dragon rampant. The emblem of Avalon’s Imperial Mages, a wide-brimmed triangular mage hat, was also emblazoned on the right side of his surcoat.

In other words, the man in blue robes was affiliated with the Avalon Empire. More specifically, he was an Imperial Mage of the Avalon Empire.

“As I said, there was a battle between two families in our empire only three years ago. We are currently in the former territory of the Rebrecca Family.”

“I know. Everyone was talking about it because it was so close to our kingdom. Count Rebrecca is a foreigner to us, but he had been a man of morals.” High Priest Herald seemed apologetic as he said, “The continent is vast, and there are a great number of people whose true natures cannot be judged by their appearance. Count Rebrecca was one of them.”

“I still can’t believe it, though,” a Holy Knight named Modrian interjected. “A count of the Avalon Empire was actually involved with a group as nasty as that...”

At that, the Imperial Mage of Avalon replied, “We also stumbled upon it by sheer coincidence. A priest passed by here and sensed the traces of black magic. He passed the word in private, but the information could not be disseminated immediately due to its sensitive nature. However, we couldn’t afford to ignore it, so we decided to use our backup plan.”

“About that priest...” Modrian started.

However, the Imperial Mage shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, even Avalon has yet to verify his identity.”

“Ah...” Modrian let out a regretful sigh.

“However, the story has reached the ears of His Majesty the Emperor, and he instructed us to investigate the matter because we are innately sensitive to mana. Our Chief Mage deemed our presence insufficient, so he personally requested assistance from the Magic Tower,” added the Imperial Mage.

“Ah, so that’s the reason why the Magic Tower’s mages are here,” Modrian said with a nod.

“Yes...” The Imperial Mage nodded at Modrian and said, “We’ve spent the past three years investigating a few suspicious points on our own, and we finally arrived at a conclusion. Now, we’re just hoping that the hordes of undead will not threaten the heart of our nation..”

After saying that, the Imperial Mage bowed in front of High Priest Herald and Modrian before saying, “I am ashamed. Matters concerning the undead and dark mages are matters that can implicate the entire continent. We should have revealed the matter sooner rather than later.”

High Priest Herald shook his head and responded, “As faithful devotees of Hermes, we believe that the incidents caused by them are our issues to handle as well.”

High Priest Herald groaned slightly before continuing. “It is also by no means simple to negotiate between nations. With so many vested interests... I completely understand.”

“Thank you for your understanding,” said the Imperial Mage with his head bowed.

“More importantly...” Modrian stared at the unremarkable castle in Rev and asked the veiled lady, “Selene, can you feel anything?”

“...” The veiled lady silently glanced at the crystal ball in her palm. The translucent crystal sphere—also called the Tears of the Gods—was an artifact of the Hermes Temple. Whenever it absorbed divine power, it would glow brilliantly and would agitate the surrounding demonic power.

Wooong.

The crystal ball emitted a faint black light as it hummed. The veiled lady opened her eyes.

‘The fact that there are outsiders here is—they’re not helping at all.’ Mondrian pulled an awkward face and shook his head before saying, “There is almost certainly something here. This is also Sir Christian’s final confirmed location. Given his abilities, it’s unlikely that he’s in danger, but I believe we should make haste just in case.”

High Priest Herald nodded in agreement and said, “Indeed. This place also makes me feel horrible for some reason.”

At that, the Imperial Mage remarked, “I believe we will arrive in the next few hours. Let us go.”

With that, the Imperial Mage led the party, and they picked up their pace, rushing toward Rev.

***

Time had slowed down as hundreds of thousands of black particles filled every cubic centimeter of space, and they were all headed toward Joshua. Joshua knew from experience that the particles held enough destructive force to smash through rock, even though each of them was smaller than the size of a fingernail.

Joshua’s mind spun, looking for a way to defend himself. He briefly considered the technique he used against Jack Steropes, but he quickly shook his head.

‘Asura's Path is a strong attack that is characterized by its ever-changing movements. However, it has its limitations in eradicating the surrounding mana.’

Joshua had several techniques in his arsenal that he could use to defend himself, but he was looking for the most effective way to do that while forcing his enemy to his knees at the same time. Eventually, Joshua’s eyes brightened. He tightened his grip around Lugia as he recalled the distinctiveness of Magic Spear Arts Level 5.

‘Magic Spear Arts Level 5, 1st Form.’

The Magic Spear Arts Level 1 to 4 followed the same formula. The techniques contained within those levels could only be unleashed by following the predetermined motions and mana circulation prior to skill activation.

However, Magic Spear Arts Level 5 was different.

At this level, there weren’t any techniques but rather only “forms”.

One could combine two distinct attributes to create an infinite number of applications with a destructive power that depended on the strength of the combined attributes. In Magic Spear Arts Level 4, the technique ‘Annihilation’ was created with the combination of a powerful force and a suction.

Using that as the foundation, at Magic Spear Arts Level 5, every form had an attribute on top of it.

‘First of all, water...’

Water was extremely capricious. A typically placid river could drown a city when enraged. If the strength of a river was combined with the power of change, the results could be as powerful as a tsunami or a typhoon; it would be an overwhelming force that would sweep everything between heaven and earth.

If the attribute of heaviness and the strength of a river were combined, it would become a dense waterfall that would crush everything beneath it.

Wooong!

Lugia responded to Joshua’s intent by emitting a humming noise.

The sound of heavy rain could be heard everywhere, and Joshua’s muscles bulged to their limits. The motions resembled Asura’s Path, but this technique combined tenderness with the capriciousness of water.

A mass of strong aura coalesced. Obviously, it was not aimed directly at his opponent. Joshua only wanted to annihilate every trace of the black particles in the air.

“Magic Spear Arts Level 5: Torrential Rain,” muttered Joshua with shining eyes.

The spear was subsequently swung hundreds of thousands of times in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a black afterimage. The spear shone not in its typical brilliant red color. Instead, it seemed dark with a tinge of demonic power.

The technique resembled torrential rain, and the black particles started to disappear one by one.

The black particles were small, but each collision with Lugia produced a loud noise.

At the sight, the Death Knight’s eyes seemed to momentarily flicker.

Eventually, the black particles were gone. Immediately afterward, Joshua thrust his spear toward the Death Knight standing in front of him, aiming at where his heart was.

Swik.

Lugia pierced the Death Knight’s chest, and the Death Knight shuddered as Lugia dug even deeper, eventually penetrating the Death Knight’s heart.

- This is unbelievable.

“...!” Joshua's eyes widened at the voice that rang in his mind.

The voice didn’t belong to Lugia.

It was the voice of Duke Altsma, who had become a death knight.

“It is truly an injustice that someone turned you into a death knight, but I know for sure that you have chosen this route.” Joshua stared at the Death Knight in front of him before continuing. “A human soul, particularly a soul of a Master, should never be forced.”

Step, step, step...

“I do not know what your lingering regrets are, and I also do not know if you are seeking that route, but...” Joshua approached the Death Knight and tightened his grip around Lugia before saying, “Choose a path, and I will walk down that path with you.”

- ...!

In response, the Death Knight started trembling.

Kwaaaa!

A burst of energy whirled around the Death Knight and Joshua like a hurricane, and it was unknown whether the terrible energy belonged to Joshua or Lugia.