NOVEL WEB Chapter 502
Chapter 502: Breaking It? (3)
Piote closed his eyes tightly and thought.
“Ugh… Why does this territory’s operations always end up like this?”
Thanks to “Juana’s Blessing,” he had been able to nullify all attacks. Even the powerful Equidema couldn’t leave a scratch on Piote.
Of course, the stronger the attack, the more divine power it consumed, but Piote’s divine power had now become so strong that even Parniel was surprised.
So, he decided to take the hits, allowing Ghislaine to concentrate all her strength on fleeing.
While Kayen was momentarily stunned, Ghislaine reached out her hand.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
A fierce impact struck Kayen’s abdomen. Taking advantage of his stagger, Ghislaine dashed forward again.
Gathros unleashed all his power toward the fleeing Ghislaine. Other priests of the Salvation Society did the same.
They were determined to kill Ghislaine right there.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Black energy flew like lightning, striking Ghislaine’s back. However, it was all blocked by Piote, who was clinging to Ghislaine’s back.
“Who the hell is that?!”
Gathros exclaimed, unable to believe what he was seeing as he pursued them.
His attacks were so powerful that even a superhuman would struggle to withstand them. He had lived sucking the lifeforce out of others more than anyone in preparation for a fight against the Shadow Knight leader.
Yet, what on earth was this woman clinging to Count Penris’s back who could casually take his blows?
Of course, Piote was just holding onto Ghislaine’s back, praying with his eyes shut.
“Please save me…”
He was ready to die for the sake of the gods at any moment, but honestly, he didn’t want to die this way.
The incoming attacks were so fierce that with each hit, chunks of divine power were disappearing.
“Lord… I’m going to die like this…”
In the past, he was almost killed by overwork, and now it felt like he was going to be beaten to death.
Ghislaine ran while laughing.
“It’s alright, it’s alright.”
Every time she blocked and dodged an attack, Ghislaine had to expend a considerable amount of mana herself.
But now, thanks to Piote, she could focus all her effort on fleeing.
“No, I’m going to die…”
“It’s alright, it’s alright.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ghislaine ran confidently, assuring herself that it was okay.
Just a bit further, and Piote would be able to hold out long enough.
Thanks to Piote’s absurd defense, the enemies were flustered and momentarily hesitated. That created a bit more distance.
Kayen solemnly continued to chase Ghislaine.
“It must be divine power. Is that the saint who joined them this time?”
Parniel’s joining the Northern Army was widely known among the Kingdom Army. Naturally, the Duke Faction had received the information too.
However, the information they received didn’t match her appearance, so they couldn’t be sure. The battle style was also different.
After Piote was identified as a man, Raoul had lowered the importance of the information, causing further confusion.
“Still, she can’t hold out for long.”
It was an unbelievable ability, but such a state couldn’t last forever. Kayen gritted his teeth and continued to pursue the two.
Gathros felt the same. Although he was momentarily startled by the opponent’s strange ability, he quickly regained his composure.
“Don’t let them get away!”
Ultimately, if this team pursues, they would win. They just had to chase until they got tired. As long as they didn’t tire out first, they would catch them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The chase continued without a moment’s breath. Still, thanks to Piote, Ghislaine maintained a certain distance from her pursuers.
Before long, another person appeared.
Identify!
“Younger Master!”
Suddenly, darkness rapidly spread, and Belinda appeared, running alongside Ghislaine.
She threw over a hundred daggers at the pursuers all at once.
Swoosh!
Every dagger was laced with aura blades. They zigzagged through the air, targeting the ones chasing them.
Kayen gaped at this ridiculous technique. It was astonishing.
He, as the Kingdom’s Greatest Sword, poured mana into his blade and swung it.
Boom!
With one strike, a dozen daggers fell to the ground. Even though there were still many daggers swirling around, he seized the moment to escape in one quick motion.
However, the other priests and knights of the Salvation Society couldn’t break through as quickly as Kayen had.
“Hurry, fend them off!”
Clang! Clang!
While desperately fending off the living snakes of daggers, their steps faltered for a brief moment.
And Gathros, witnessing Belinda’s technique, felt a drop in his heart and gathered excessive strength.
Boom!
Black energy erupted all around, knocking all the daggers away.
Gathros broke out in a cold sweat, his expression hardening.
“Shadow Knight leader!”
He recognized that technique. It was undoubtedly a technique used by the Shadow Knight leader.
Although Gathros had never personally met the Shadow Knight leader, he’d seen the remarkable results of that technique. A chill shot down his spine at the sight of a foe he had feared most.
“No, it’s different.”
It was certainly the same technique, but something was lacking. If it were the real Shadow Knight leader, several would have died in an instant.
“Could it be a student they trained?”
Only then did a new figure running alongside Ghislaine catch his eye.
Boom!
Gathros chased after them again. He had to catch that person and uncover their identity.
He momentarily hesitated, causing the distance to widen again. The other priests had fallen too far behind to catch up now.
“How dare these arrogant fools pull such tricks…”
His mind boiled with frustration over the slippery individuals getting away. He wanted to catch them and tear them limb from limb.
At least Count Balzac kept up well. If he could even momentarily restrain them, they’d quickly close the distance.
But someone appeared, as if waiting for that moment, blocking Kayen’s path.
It was Ereness and Vanessa.
“That’s enough. We’ve gained sufficient distance.”
Thanks to Belinda’s attack, they had widened the gap a bit more.
“Ereness said, and Vanessa stretched out her hand.
Zing—! Zing—! Zing—!
Her specialty, multi-casting, was activated. Dozens of magic circles emerged in the air, releasing their mana.
Soon, tremendous bolts of lightning poured from the magic circles.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lightning fell indiscriminately. Those in the front lines were of high enough caliber that none fell from it, but a few priests of the Salvation Society were knocked down by the strikes.
Others fell behind as they tried to block or dodge the magic. Only Kayen maintained his speed, dodging all the lightning bolts, while Gathros charged forward, taking the hits directly.
“These bastards…”
Kayen began to feel increasingly anxious. The others struck by the sudden attacks were slowing down their pursuit.
Only Gathros maintained his speed, following closely behind him.
Rumbling!
Suddenly, a massive wall of rock rose in front of him. It was a land spirit summoned by Ereness.
“Ugh!”
Boom!
With a burst of strength in his sword hand, Kayen broke through the wall.
However, as soon as he broke through, a gigantic fire-breathing lizard blocked his path.
“Such tricks!”
Boom!
With fury, he stomped the ground and swung his sword.
Slash!
The fire spirit was split in half before turning into flames. The force was so overwhelming that even the spirit was flattened.
But during that time, Ghislaine and her group had ran much further away.
As Kayen’s eyes tracked them, he spotted something floating high in the sky.
“A hot air balloon?”
It was the flying contraption he had only heard rumors about. It was his first time seeing one in person, but Kayen knew well what role it played.
No, they couldn’t escape on that. If they took off in it, they would completely slip away.
Kayen gritted his teeth and infused all his strength into his sword.
Thud!
As he ran at incredible speed, his arms bulged with raw power.
The sword enveloped in a blue light trembled. He hurled the sword toward Ghislaine’s back.
Slash!
The sword tore through the air, ripping the space apart as it flew. They had to slow down, whether they blocked or dodged it.
But Ghislaine and her companions ignored the sword flying toward them with tremendous force.
Someone else would handle it.
Parniel, who had appeared out of nowhere, infused her mace with divine power. The veins in her substantial arms bulged.
Parniel swung her mace hard at the incoming sword.
Boom!
With a sound that shook heaven and earth, the sword was shattered.
Thud!
Parniel grinned down at her twisted arm, which had jarred painfully. Her mace had also been smashed to pieces.
She was stronger than she had thought. Truly, the title of Kingdom’s Greatest Sword was not mere hype.
She desperately wanted to rush in and test her strength, but she suppressed that desire. No matter how strong she was, she couldn’t take on so many superhumans and the hundred thousand army alone.
Parniel quickly turned her body and followed her companions. As she radiated powerful divine energy that revitalized everyone, their pace quickened.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Though Kayen and Gathros chased fiercely, the walls of earth rose endlessly, and lightning struck down mockingly.
Although the force wasn’t threatening to them, they gradually widened the gap with every block or dodge.
Eventually, Ghislaine and her group reached the hot air balloon without issue.
Slash!
“Grab it quickly!”
Gillian shouted loudly as he tossed down a rope from the hot air balloon.
The mana-infused rope shot out swiftly. As Ghislaine and her group grabbed the rope, the hot air balloon began to move immediately.
Inside the hot air balloon, five captured 6th Circle Mages were on board. As they poured mana into it, the balloon started soaring at a tremendous speed.
Seeing the escape of the hot air balloon rising at breakneck speed, Gathros was left speechless.
“It can’t be…”
It was too late to catch up now. They couldn’t even kill Count Penris and now lost everything.
“That guy… that guy…”
Gathros ground his teeth, a face full of rage. He had never felt such humiliation in his life.
Even when he had poured the full power of the Society against the Shadow Knight leader, he hadn’t felt this level of disgrace. That opponent was strong, and he had lost because of it.
But this time? That guy had hideously infiltrated the Kingdom Army, brazenly stealing their possessions and fleeing.
Even countless strongmen and the hundred thousand army proved useless. Not a single one could catch that crazy bastard.
“Gaaahhhh!”
Gathros let out a monstrous scream, his eyes bloodshot. He couldn’t endure such thorough humiliation for the first time in his life.
Even for someone who had spent years training himself, he could hardly contain his rage.
All the priests of the Salvation Society watched Gathros closely.
They knew that while he was usually laid-back and gentle, he became the cruelest of all when angry.
It wasn’t just Gathros who felt sick. Kayen also stood still, closing his eyes.
“Ghislaine Perdium.”
Everything fell apart because of that one person. Stronger allies were gathering around him.
“I should have killed him then.”
When they met at that banquet, he should have done everything he could to kill him.
At that time, he had been aiming to take over the kingdom naturally, wanting to avoid political risk. But that had been a mistake. The Duke Faction had all made a major error.
That guy had grown unbelievably fast and had now turned into the worst enemy.
“Let’s return.”
Kayen turned his body with a grave expression. There was no point in dwelling on what had happened. It was better to think about how to catch him and kill him.
Gathros asked with a fierce expression.
“What about the king?”
With the royal message gone, there was no reason to curry favor with the king anymore. His brief remark carried the weight of a question about their next actions.
“There’s no benefit in fighting here.”
There was no gain in battling the Kingdom Army or killing the king here. It would be far better to use the Kingdom Army to fight the Northern Army together.
That wasn’t the only reason for sparing him.
“The king is still of use. It’s clear he’ll kill more people and rule with tyranny to survive. It will greatly aid us in wiping out the Northern Army and taking the kingdom.”
The crazier the king became, the more the people would desire a new leader. When the Duke Faction took the kingdom at that time, they would welcomed enthusiasically.
Despite Marquis Branford’s downfall, there were still local lords and nobles not following the king.
If the king continued his tyranny, they would come over to the Duke Faction as well.
Gathros nodded at Kayen’s words.
“Let’s do that. I’ll focus on finding the sacred relic from another kingdom.”
“Understood.”
The two concluded their discussion and turned back. Berhem, who had been waiting, became frantic upon realizing they had lost Ghislaine.
“I will definitely kill that bastard! This traitor! How dare he insult me like this! Spread the word across all regions of the kingdom! The Perdium family and anyone related to them are now the enemies of the kingdom! They are traitors!”
It seemed that this statement alone was not enough, and Berhem addressed Marquis Domont standing next to him.
“Chamberlain! Inform all commanders of the Allied Forces! Immediately instruct them to attack the Northern Army! The ones allied with us are not the Northern Army, but the Kingdom!”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
Marquis Domont’s expression darkened. From the start, the Allied Forces had allied with Marquis Branford and Count Penris.
Setting aside that issue, the Allied Forces wouldn’t help them after allying with the Salvation Society. Their kingdom was also suffering greatly because of the Salvation Society.
But Berhem was causing a ruckus, able to say nothing at the moment.
The commotion didn’t settle until Berhem collapsed from exhaustion. Thus, the Kingdom Army and the Delphine Army had to retreat without any gain.
The 3rd Infantry Division of the 2nd Corps of the Kingdom Army had disappeared, but no one was concerned about them.