N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
Chapter 704
Tsk.
Aris clicked her tongue briefly as she pushed away the First Apostle's hand that was rushing at her.
'My bones are rattling.'
As befitting the second-in-command of the White Blood Religion, the First Apostle had reached a stable state of Transcendence.
Blocking spatial slashes with bare hands, he was definitely not below her level.
'Even so...'
He's not an opponent I can't beat.
Aris crushed the broken wall as she advanced, thrusting her sword toward the First Apostle's heart.
Whoosh!
The First Apostle, as if waiting, brought his hand down. His fingers, appearing to attack rather than defend, flared with blazing heat.
'Is it the Blood Flame Art?'
It was definitely the Blood Flame Art, the White Blood Religion's supreme technique that burns bloody energy to its maximum destructive potential.
Boom!
Aris erased the First Apostle's Blood Flame Art with consecutive spatial slashes, then countered with a thrust of her sword.
Zing!
A surprise spatial sword attack sprang from the First Apostle's temple.
"Crude."
The First Apostle, already familiar with the spatial sword, blocked the one sprouting from his temple with the back of his hand.
After defending, he used his footwork to close the distance with Aris, aiming for close combat where he could better utilize his hands.
"Unfortunately for you..."
Aris deflected the First Apostle's palm strike over her shoulder, a smirk twisting her lips.
"Close-quarters combat is my specialty!"
She twisted the space. The First Apostle's offensive was pushed backward, and she struck his chest with the sword hilt.
Thud!
The First Apostle staggered three steps back after being hit in the solar plexus. However, he immediately pushed off the ground and charged again, as if he hadn't been hurt at all.
"Is he a freaking zombie?"
Aris frowned at the sight of the charging First Apostle. Even though she had hit him with the hilt, his bones should have been crushed, yet he seemed to feel no pain.
"Fine. I'll strip your flesh from your bones!"
She gritted her teeth and unleashed a barrage of sword strikes toward the First Apostle's hand.
Kwaaang!
The sword and hand clashed diagonally, scattering crimson energy waves in all directions.
The shockwave swept away Zieghart’s swordsmen and the White Blood fanatics who were fighting nearby, unable to withstand it.
"Hah."
Aris shook her sword, now stained with bloody energy, and tilted her chin to the side.
"As expected of the White Blood Religion's second-in-command. Annoyingly strong."
"Second-in-command?"
The Second Apostle, who had been toying the swordsman of Zieghart, chuckled.
"That person is not the second-in-command."
The Second Apostle smirked, curling her lips as if mocking.
"......"
The First Apostle, without a word, clenched his trembling fist.
“Then who? I've never heard of something like a vice leader in your cult.”
Aris narrowed her eyes as she looked at the Second Apostle.
“There's no such thing. The leader is our god, then the second-in-command is…”
It was when the Second Apostle was talking about the second-in-command of the White Blood Religion. A very faint whistle-like sound disturbed her ears.
"Found them. Over there."
She turned her gaze to the left, licking her red lips with her tongue.
“I’ll leave it to you here.”
The Second Apostle made a light gesture to the First Apostle and disappeared into a white mist.
"Wait, that way is..."
Aris chewed her lip as she watched the Second Apostle’s white mist.
‘Could it be?’
It was the direction of the annex building, the furthest building from house Zieghart’s main building, located neither in the outer nor inner walls.
‘No!’
The swordsmen of the main building and the senators were stationed in the outer walls to protect the citizens.
Though strong swordsmen were left at the annex building, it was not enough to stop the Second Apostle.
‘There’s no one there.’
Balder was out on external reconnaissance, Denier was on standby at the main building, and the Gambling Monster was defending the outer walls, so none of them could help the annex building.
Although Sylvia has grown to some extent, it was impossible for her current strength to stop the Second Apostle.
“Damn it!”
Aris activated the Phantom Flow Space Steps. As she tried to chase the Second Apostle by slicing through space, a stark white hand burst out of thin air.
Bang!
The First Apostle unleashed his bloody energy, blocking the flow of the Phantom Flow Space Steps. Aris' feet were forcibly stopped, and a sharp pain shot through her.
“Get lost!”
Ignoring the pain, Aris unleashed a flurry of attacks towards the First Apostle's neck.
Creeeak!
However, the First Apostle, seemingly recognizing the desperation in Aris, fortified his defense, solely blocking her path.
“You need to know.”
The First Apostle’s eyes darkened with a chilling hue.
"We will show you, painfully, what happens when you touch the White Blood Religion."
“If you don’t move, you die.”
Aris twisted her lips and sheathed her sword, fully covering her chest as she bent her knees.
“Sword Field Creation.”
She bit her lip as if to end this fight with a single sword.
“Annihilation.”
The blade that sprang from the sheath extended with an elegant demeanor as if capturing the moonlight, with a chilling intent to obliterate the enemy from within.
“Blood Explosion.”
From the First Apostle’s grip, a white radiance of flame blazed. Within the white swirls, a destructive energy seemed to incinerate the world.
Kwaaaaang!
The absolute slash that tore through space and the bloody energy that threatened to erase life and death collided head-on.
* * *
“Huu….”
Sylvia exhaled a low breath and fastened her combat uniform.
'To think there was someone who could face the elder sister...'
The massive energies clashing near the fortress walls reached all the way here.
It seemed there was a monster among the enemies capable of stopping Aris, who had revealed her full strength.
‘Raon was right.’
Before leaving for the duel to death, Raon had told her that the Five Demons might launch an attack and told her to be prepared.
Just as he had said, it seemed the Five Demons had invaded.
“My lady….”
Helen approached and grasped her trembling hand.
“I’ve secured all the maids in the basement of the annex building. Now, my lady should….”
“No, I have to stay here.”
Sylvia looked at Helen and gave a faint smile.
“But….”
“It’s alright.”
She shook her head, stroking Helen’s hair.
"The enemies won’t come this far. Even if they do, it'll only be scouts, so don't worry."
The annex building was located on the outskirts of Zieghart’s main building.
The enemies would likely target the main building of Zieghart or the citizens in the outer walls, not paying attention to this place.
“Then I will stay here too….”
“You should go inside.”
Sylvia hardened her expression and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. The sword in her hand glowed blue and swept past the garden trees.
Shaaak!
A branch and the masked figure standing on it fell to the ground.
“Ugh….”
The masked man, who appeared to be an assassin, clutched his bleeding neck and let out a pained groan.
Puhk!
Without hesitation, Sylvia brought her sword down, ending the assassin’s life. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the fallen masked man.
‘He’s not from the Five Demons.’
Before giving birth to Raon, she had clashed with all of the Five Demons except the Holy Sword Alliance. None of them had people like this.
‘Could it be the group targeting Raon….’
Having clashed with the other four Demons, she could tell. This masked man didn’t belong to any of them.
It was definitely the group that had attacked the Beast King Ogram.
Whoooosh!
Hearing the sound of fierce winds, Sylvia raised her gaze. From the right, enemies enveloped in sharp energy were rushing in.
Boom!
The swordsman Aris had stationed blocked their path, but there were too many enemies for them to hold out long.
“There’s nothing to gain here.”
Sylvia frowned as she stepped forward. As soon as she moved to the front of the garden, assassins and members of the White Blood Religion came charging from all directions.
Shaaak!
Extending her left foot forward, she slashed upwards with her sword.
As the sea-colored energy enveloping the blade brushed past, the heads of the assassins and members of the White Blood Religion fell.
It was a graceful sword technique that concealed its lethal intent within its natural flow.
Sylvia flicked the blood off her sword and bit her lip.
'I have to steel my resolve.'
If she wavered, the damage would be passed on to the swordsmen guarding the annex building and the maids here. She needed to turn this garden into an impregnable fortress.
She spared no aura, cutting down all the approaching white blood fanatics, Eden's monsters, and assassins.
“Haa….”
Sylvia let out a rough breath, looking at the piling corpses.
'What's going on?'
Why are the enemies gathering at the annex building?
There were no treasures or people to protect in the annex building. She couldn't understand why the enemies were converging here.
Slash!
Perhaps because they knew they couldn't break through, the assassins and the white blood fanatics of White Blood Religion surrounded the annex building without making a move.
'Well, I'm grateful for that.'
Sylvia lowered her sword slightly and clicked her tongue.
‘Soon, the swordsmen from the main building will come to support.’
If the swordsmen from the main building came over, she wouldn’t need to protect the maids and could go out and sweep away the enemies.
‘Just a little longer… hmm?’
Just as Sylvia thought to hold on for a bit longer and took a deep breath,
Whoooosh!
A tall woman wrapped in a white energy like a scarf appeared among the white blood fanatics.
She was a beautiful woman with copper skin, draped in a tattered robe, and just looking at her sent chills down Sylvia’s spine.
“Red eyes and radiant blonde hair. I know exactly who you are.”
The copper-skinned woman curled her lips into a smile as she looked at Sylvia.
“You must be Sylvia Zieghart.”
She smiled warmly as if meeting an old friend.
Sylvia lowered her stance and swallowed dryly.
‘An Apostle….’
And not an ordinary one. Judging by the fierce energy emanating from her that paralyzed her arm, she was undoubtedly the Second Apostle.
‘I can’t stop her.’
Sylvia could sense the Second Apostle's intent to kill her. No matter what she did, she couldn't win against her.
“We suffered some humiliation at the hands of your precious son. It's time to repay that debt.”
The Second Apostle approached with a chilling smile. At her gesture, the white blood fanatics who had been standing still began to slowly advance towards the annex building.
‘I can’t win?’
So what.
She received the artificial energy center from Raon to protect this annex building. She couldn’t retreat just because it was a losing battle.
“Step aside. I will fight.”
As Sylvia was about to push aside the swordsmen guarding the annex building and walk towards the Second Apostle, she paused.
Shiiing!
with a chilling slicing sound, the right flank of the encirclement made up of the white blood fanatics was shattered.
A pair of red eyes glimmered menacingly through the faintly visible blood. It was Karoon Zieghart, the criminal who should have been confined in Central Martial Palace, radiating a chilling intent to kill.
Chiiiing!
The moment Karoon's sword tip trembled slightly, the masked figures standing in the center collapsed, their bodies split in half. It was an extreme killing intent that overwhelmed even the Second Apostle.
Squelch.
He stepped on the hot blood and approached the Second Apostle.
“E-elder brother….”
Sylvia exhaled a shaky breath as she looked at Karoon’s eyes, burning with a chilling intensity.
“Karoon Zieghart?”
The Second Apostle frowned as she looked at Karoon's face, twisted like a demon's.
“I heard you were imprisoned. You shouldn’t be here, should you?”
She twisted her lips as she loosened her fingers.
“No matter what crime I am accused of in the future, I don’t care.”
Thick veins bulged on Karoon's forehead.
“I cannot stand to see filthy bastards stepping on Zieghart’s land, even in death.”
Biting his lip until it bled, he charged at the Second Apostle.
“This is getting messy!”
The Second Apostle furrowed her brows and thrust her fist towards Karoon's sword.
“Stop babbling and die.”
Karoon pressed down on the Second Apostle’s fist with his thin sword, his eyes gleaming with a dry light.
“Sword Field Creation: Emperor.”
* * *
Bzzzzzap!
Perhaps due to the massive shock, the blue window showing the battles across Zieghart went out all at once.
Glenn closed his eyes, recalling Karoon standing against the Second Apostle.
‘Karoon….’
Seeing Karoon stepping forward to protect Sylvia made his chest feel like it was about to burst.
His fingers trembled, feeling as though the broken family bonds were slowly being restored.
He wanted to go back immediately and see what faces his two children were making.
“It seems things didn’t go as planned.”
Chamber, the archmage of Eternal Flame, let out a mocking laugh from under her large witch’s hat.
"Well, considering how that Raon kid uses his head, he's not like a Zieghart."
She smiled wryly at the shining eyes within the dragon helmet.
"What scraps are you hoping to pick up here, archmage of Eternal Flame?”
A mocking voice came from within the blue dragon helmet.
"Who else's fault would it be? It's because of you, brat."
Chamber narrowed her eyes, chewing on the lollipop in her mouth.
“Though I tease that muscle pig, I have some affection for him.”
A chilling, killing intent appeared in her eyes.
“I’ll tear you apart limb from limb and kill you.”
"I apologize, but I'd like to take you on."
The Fallen stepped forward, facing the swordsman in the blue dragon helmet. The young man's mask he wore formed a gentle smile.
"I need to know the extent of the archmage's skills to help me strike down Balkar."
“Do as you wish.”
As Chamber smiled sweetly, fitting her appearance, the world turned upside down.
Rivers flew in the sky, and the earth inverted as it soared.
“Is this the famous Reverse Sky World?”
As The Fallen twirled his fingers, the distorted sky and earth returned to their original forms.
Mages who reached Transcendence could cast magic that affected the world itself.
"Then, are we next?"
The South-North Union leader stepped forward, massaging his neck.
“No. Take a break for now.”
The swordsman in the blue dragon helmet stepped forward, waving his hand.
"With the balance of the Six Kings and Five Demons broken, the best they can bring is that little mage."
He chuckled as he looked at Chamber clashing with the Fallen.
“The others need to guard their territories.”
“……”
Glenn remained silent, his red eyes shining quietly.
"Well, the same goes for us."
The swordsman in the blue dragon helmet pulled his gloves inward and raised his blade, burning with the energy of death.
"Shall we have a one-on-one?"
"I have something I want to see."
Glenn raised Heavenly Tremor. Blood-colored lightning exploded above the white blade.
“Let’s end this as quickly as possible.”
