The codex before Renith flipped open, and the earth and stone of the ground rose up in a swirl, instantly piling into a thick barrier that completely cut off Charlson and the other three from her.
At that moment, a golden ray of light pierced through the air like a sharp sword, landing heavily upon the thick earthen wall.
The light bored through the earthen wall, but in the process of penetration, its power had already diminished greatly—barely a tenth of it remained.
The residual light continued forward, ultimately striking Renith, feeling no more than the slightly scorching sun one might experience in a desert—it only caused a small burn on her body.
Compared to the deep sword wound Morrist had inflicted earlier, this little burn was truly negligible.
Even so, Renith could clearly feel that the magic within her body was being rapidly consumed.
Morrist led the assault, his attacks fierce and swift, and Renith found it extremely difficult to block every single move and technique.
Meanwhile, the fellow in the garrison armor flanked from the side, constantly searching for openings in Renith’s defense.
The two cooperated more and more seamlessly in battle, and Renith rarely had the chance to launch effective attacks in the gaps between their coordination.
Finally, in yet another exchange, the one in the garrison armor spotted his opportunity. With a loud shout, he drove a fist hard into Renith’s chest.
The punch carried tremendous force, slamming Renith directly into the ground. Blood surged up from her chest and spilled from the corner of her mouth.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Renith coughed violently, her body trembling uncontrollably. She tried to climb up from the snow, but the searing pain and the drain on her magic left her somewhat powerless.
“You should come with us now—or you can choose the other road.”
The fellow in the garrison armor, who had been addressing Renith respectfully as “you” just moments before, now wore a different face—a savage grin spread across his features.
“It’s not over yet, is it?”
Renith propped herself up and slowly rose to her feet.
Her flesh and blood writhed subtly, beginning to repair the injuries inside and out.
She mobilized the water magic and holy light magic within her, and within a dozen seconds or so, Renith was restored to her original condition.
She moved her body, feeling her control over it gradually return.
Renith looked at the two before her. Morrist had dealt her the most damage, and the one in the garrison armor beside him packed considerable force—every move was extremely solid. He was likely a member of one of the knight orders within the imperial city.
Seeing that Renith could still stand and look so lively after taking one of his blows, the man in the garrison armor’s expression turned ugly.
“I have to admit, you’re the most powerful mage I’ve seen in my one hundred and forty years. But your recovery ability has its limits, doesn’t it? Is your magic still plentiful?”
The man in the garrison armor tried to shake Renith’s confidence with words.
The fellow was right. Although Renith could heal her injuries, there was a limit—and she could only heal wounds. Once her magic ran out, the consequences would be dire.
Losing her identity was a small matter; being slain here was the big one.
Barubalen, you’d better hurry…
Thinking this, Renith drew a sphere of water element from the codex and let it hover beside her.
It seemed the battle had ended and Levi was dead, for Rum, who had been struggling in the snow, slowly regained consciousness.
His eyes were still somewhat dazed, but he quickly came back to his senses.
Seeing that Rum was no longer struggling, Stimt and Grey breathed a sigh of relief. They returned to the snow together and came to Barubalen’s side.
“Teacher, this guy is…”
Stimt felt an inexplicable familiarity with the masked figure before him. He frowned, sizing the masked man up and down.
Rum and Grey went together to check on the students and disciples Barubalen had restrained with his qi.
“I’ll take a look.”
Barubalen, while keeping control of his students who were still in a manipulated state, slowly approached the masked figure.
This fellow had made no move after delivering the statue to Levi. Barubalen’s heart was full of doubt, so he stepped forward, intending to pull off the mask and see just who this fellow was.
But at that moment, a giant axe fell from the sky, instantly blocking Rum’s path—he swung a sword toward the axe in the sky.
“Truly impressive… Mr. Barubalen.”
Squinting at the dark shadow that had suddenly appeared before him, Barubalen narrowed his eyes.
“Oh? Isn’t this Varikira—the one who was expelled from the Royal Knight Order after being convicted of theft, rape, murder, and various other crimes? What brings you to my door personally today?”
Barubalen recognized the fellow before him. Varikira was of the younger generation in the knight order. Despite his honest appearance, dozens of criminal charges had been exposed against him, and he was driven out of the knight order. Then he was taken in by the garrison of Ongler City and became the first general under their command.
Within Ongler City, he ravenously harvested the energy produced by the thorns, and in less than ten years he had become the city’s de facto second-in-command.
” Naturally, I’ve come to take your lives!”
He bared his teeth, pulled the giant axe embedded in the ground free, then lightly swung it toward Varikira’s direction—which, in the other’s eyes, was a gesture of disdain and provocation.
“I’d like to see what you’ve got, former former garrison lord!” The two clashed, and stray qi flew everywhere.
Rum and the other black-clad figure were blown away by the shockwaves of the battle. He instinctively got up and helped the other person who had fallen to the ground.
“Thank you.”
He had just spoken when he seemed to realize something. He frantically checked his body, his hands scrambling over himself, a look of panic in his eyes.
It seemed this very panic became nourishment for the thorns. One by one, thorns rapidly grew and spread from his back, wrapping him up in the blink of an eye.
When his gaze fell on Barubalen, who was fighting, the pain and struggle in his heart grew even more intense, and the vines behind him shook more violently.
“I’m sorry…”
He said only that, and his whole body was wrapped in multiple layers of thorns, leaving only a blurry silhouette visible.
Hearing this, Barubalen was distracted for a moment and turned his head toward the black-clad figure.
Combining this with the fellow’s build, Barubalen recognized the owner of this voice—Gular!
Barubalen was startled. He broke away from the battle and rushed forward, using qi to shatter the thorns wrapping around Gular one by one.
The sound of snapping thorns was especially crisp in the silent air, but new thorns quickly grew to fill the broken places.
“You’re still getting distracted during a fight?!”
Varikira followed behind Barubalen.
“Calm down!”
Barubalen ignored Varikira’s movements and shouted loudly.
He tried to get Gular to stay calm, but Gular didn’t seem to hear Barubalen—he just kept talking on his own.
“Teacher, I seem to have done quite a few wrong things.”
“Take it slow, take it slow…”
Since he couldn’t calm down, then let Gular speak slowly.
Seizing the moment Barubalen was distracted, Varikira unleashed a blade of qi. The surging wave of energy ignited Barubalen, who was already extremely anxious.
Barubalen simply stopped holding back. His mind settled, and the drawn blade returned to its sheath.
“Returning Blade.”
“Over these past few months, I discovered that many of our hiding spots were found by the guard patrols. Every search left us on edge. Not long ago, we were down to only six hiding spots—our space to survive was growing smaller and smaller.”
Varikira, who had just bared his fangs at Barubalen, was cut clean in two with a single sword stroke.
“Impossible… I’m a genius, I’m… a count, the same as you—why could I be defeated in one move?”
Varikira was defeated by Barubalen in a single strike. The giant axe broke diagonally into two pieces and crashed to the ground.
Before dying, Varikira reached out, wanting to ask why, but Barubalen didn’t even look at him directly. He died without getting an answer.
Actually, it was simple.
Varikira was merely a viscount in the knight order who had become a count through the power of a “Chosen One.” He had the rank but lacked the corresponding skill and combat experience.
If one had ever served alongside Barubalen’s generation in the monster offense and defense battles of Ongler City, they would know that what Barubalen and his peers were best at cutting down were the vanguard monsters on the monster battlefield—wild boars. Because they were numerous and formed the main force of the siege, they were also easy to cut down. Every battle, they would kill thousands of them.
As long as you swung your sword at the right angle, these creatures would run themselves onto the blade and kill themselves.
Varikira’s equipment was heavy and his movements clumsy—his charging state was no different from a wild boar’s.
Moreover, Barubalen had squeezed his mental energy and used one hundred and twenty percent of his strength to execute his ultimate technique. It would have been strange if this fellow hadn’t died.
Barubalen, disregarding the old chronic injuries stirred up by overusing his power and secret techniques, swallowed the sweet taste in his throat and continued clearing the thorns from Gular’s body.
“I suspected someone was leaking information about our hiding spots, so I started investigating within the ranks. Eventually I narrowed it down to four people, including Levi. I thought that once I found the culprit, I could protect our organization.”
Gular continued speaking, the thorns growing more and more rapidly—Barubalen’s clearing speed was much slower than the thorns’ growth.
“I planned to report the news, but suddenly Levi appeared at my door. I had been discovered long ago.”
“Levi wasn’t strong. I ran immediately—he shouldn’t have been able to catch me. But he was a master at manipulating people’s hearts. Through years of scheming, he had turned everyone in this space into his puppets.”
“He manipulated my little sister, threatening me with her death. In the end, I was surrounded and captured.”
“Amid my constant struggle, I gradually fell and became their puppet. From then on, I became the one who leaked information—and often ambushed the disciples and students who went out, playing the ‘traitor.'”
“Today I even came here to help Levi deliver the statues that enhance strength and control…”
Guilt completely filled Gular. The thorns wrapped him entirely, and no matter how Barubalen tore at them, they didn’t budge.
“This isn’t your fault!”
Rum, having heard the whole story, rushed forward. He grabbed the thorns, ignoring the bloody cuts the thorns carved into his palms. Blood flowed down his fingers, dripping onto the snow and staining a patch red.
He tore open a gap above Gular’s face so that Gular could see the face of the person before him.
“You were just being controlled—the one really doing these things was Levi, not you. So don’t say such discouraging things…”
“You and I became Barubalen’s disciples at the same time. You and I clearly made a vow together to change this world. We once held dreams, fighting for freedom and justice—and now we’ve ended up like this.”
“We’ve survived countless close calls. Every battle made us stronger. You can survive this time too! We’ll rush to the statue now—there’s still hope!”
But Gular didn’t think so and refused.
“First, four counts came this time—that’s the information I got. If we go out there, we die.”
Barubalen and Rum froze. They hadn’t expected Ongler City to send so many people to deal with this small rebel organization.
“Second, once I worship the statue, I won’t be myself anymore. Devout faith in the statue is a betrayal of my own ideals. I cannot go against my own heart, even if it means death.”
“Uh, I think it’s about time. Rum… Teacher.”
Gular’s gaze turned to the two before him, as if he wanted to etch their figures into his mind.
Threads of stone-like gray-black spread to Gular’s neck. The thorns wrapped around Rum’s arms, blocking Gular’s line of sight.
“Finally, please listen to this traitor’s last request.”
“My teacher, thank you very much for teaching me… Please take care of your health. You can make things easier on yourself—leave some matters to the students.”
“My comrade-in-arms, you’ve saved me twice, but I couldn’t help you at all. Now I have another selfish request—take care of my little sister. She should be in Levi’s cellar right now.”
“After she wakes up, don’t tell her about my situation. Just say I’ve gone out on a mission. I don’t want my last family member to worry.”
Rum’s nose stung, and he agreed to everything. Though he had been on the battlefield and witnessed death, every comrade’s death still cut him like a knife.
“Rest assured, from now on she’s my own sister!”
“Rum, my comrade-in-arms, you’re still so kind. You could be a little more ruthless—that way I wouldn’t feel so much guilt.”
“I hope you can live on strong and keep fighting for our dream.”
Rum was about to speak, but Gular continued:
“It’s time…”
Scenes flickered before Gular’s eyes.
Four months ago, in Ongler City, a single strike from a transmigrator split a house open. The house collapsed instantly, and he was buried in the ruins, unable to move.
Just then, Rum appeared. He heard Gular’s cries for help and, without hesitation, dug through the ruins with his bare hands and carried Gudal out…
Five years ago, to evade the guards’ pursuit, they had to flee outside the city and hide in the desert. The desert sun was scorching, water was scarce, and his supplies had run out. Rum always shared some of his water with him—that was how they barely survived.
Ten years ago, he and Rum stood before Barubalen’s door for a long time.
After much pleading, these two children with mediocre talent became Barubalen’s disciples.
Barubalen was strict but also took good care of his students. He even gave him double meal money to look after his little sister.
Far better than the parents who had planned to sell Gular and his sister—good enough to call him “Father.”
“Finally, I’m sorry.”
Gular
Born: April, Year 231 of the Goddess Calendar
Died: December, Year 256 of the Goddess Calendar
An innocent man, a steadfast comrade.
