Chapter 470

Chapter 93 The “Innocent” One Enveloped by Vengeful Fire Part I

Whoosh—

The howling gale suddenly came from the left. Without turning to confirm, blue light condensed into an ice wall, blocking the sudden attack with a loud bang.

Ice fragments exploded in my peripheral vision. Stepping out with Moonwalk, I leapt off the top of a statue, folding and jumping three times in midair. My gaze instantly locked onto the figure of the enemy not far away.

That person held a sharp sword, wearing armor, and suddenly swung at me from over twenty meters away. The shrill sound of the wind echoed again, as if sharp blades were cutting through the rain, rushing towards me at lightning speed.

…Wind Order!

In the blink of an eye, I twisted my body midair, stepping on the ice formed in the air, leaping forward, barely avoiding the violent current. The sharp whistling sound was still ringing in my ears when my small body, like a cannonball, slammed into the figure.

The distance of twenty meters shortened instantly. Before he could swing his sword for the third time, I had already reached his face. Captain Gray raised high, taking advantage of the momentum, and fiercely slashed down. The figure blocked above his head with his sword—

Clang!

The black scythe blade cut through the longsword, breaking it. The broken sword flew out, and I only felt a slight tremor in my palm, but the scythe’s attack did not decrease, striking his chest, piercing through the silver chest plate, and leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound.

The residual force of the strike made the scythe slam heavily onto the ground. As the fragments of stone and mud splashed up, I used the momentum to collide with him, hitting him so hard that it sent him flying with a loud clang. My momentum suddenly decreased, and the counterforce pressed back. I grabbed the sharp scythe handle diagonally stuck in the ground, circling around it lightly like a graceful butterfly, spinning several times before the momentum dissipated, flipping and landing steadily.

Crack!

Captain Gray was pulled out from the ground, dancing in my hand, then dragged behind me as I walked slowly toward the figure who had fallen ahead.

His limbs supported him on the ground, struggling to stand up. Blood flowed continuously from his chest cavity, mixing with the mud and dirt. His sword had long been dropped. He lifted his head, glaring at me with hatred, emitting a hoarse and unpleasant scream.

“Her… Her… Ahhhhhh—”

Only now did I clearly see his appearance—a middle-aged man with a beard, looking to be less than forty years old, his angular face slightly emaciated. He wore light armor of blue and white, and his cloak was embroidered with complex and beautiful insignia, identical to the flags fluttering atop the castle.

I furrowed my brows slightly.

“Who are you?”

Either he was originally one of the castle’s guards, or perhaps even held a high position given his affinity for the Wind Order… Or, he might have killed the guards here and worn their armor… Regardless of which scenario, the castle has been taken over by heretics. I wanted to understand what happened, so I decided not to kill him first and ask questions instead…

But the man didn’t give me this chance.

“Damn, cough, damn it!”

Blood flowed from his mouth, his face distorted like a demon, his blood-red eyes fixed on me, filled with malevolence.

“Ahhhh—”

Whoosh!

Fierce vengeful fire burned from the wound on his chest, spreading throughout his body instantly. He stood up from the ground, the flesh around the wound wriggling rapidly to heal.

“Knight of the Pope…” His voice was hoarse, as if his vocal cords were burned by flames. A crazed smile appeared on his grotesque face, “Hehehe… Little girl, I know who you are… If I kill you, I can become famous across West Continent… Everyone will remember my name, fear my newly acquired power…”

Ah…

It seems negotiation is impossible.

But the things I wanted to ask, he seemed to have already said…

Whoosh—

The figure enveloped by vengeful fire lunged at me suddenly, his speed completely different from before. His hot body quickly closed the gap, his burning fist carrying the wind啸 rapidly enlarging before my eyes. The heat wave blew my hair, causing it to fly.

There was no time to think; all I could do was react instinctively.

Time seemed to slow down.

An astonishing punch struck my face, the blazing fire roaring, tearing through the rain curtain, reaching me in an instant. I shifted my steps to the side, effortlessly dodging. The punch grazed my nose. I turned my right wrist sharply, stepping forward, and Captain Gray suddenly slashed upward—

Puff!

The sharp scythe blade pierced through his chin and emerged from the top of his head.

In my field of vision, the man’s pupils dilated. The madness in his eyes dissipated, replaced only by confusion and terror.

Puff!

A second uncomfortable sound of flesh being cut echoed as the scythe was pulled out of his head, clattering to the ground. The man’s eyes rolled up, his mouth opened slightly, trying to speak, but only “Uh… Uh…” sounds came out. He subconsciously tried to cover his throat.

Flames-spewing blood spurted out like a fountain due to his movements.

I walked past him.

Hook Moon…

In the old master swordsman’s book recording sword techniques, one of the more basic and practical moves against common soldiers was to sidestep and stab through the opponent’s skull the moment they attacked.

This move requires exquisite skill, using the body to guide the sword from below, with the trajectory of the sword resembling a crescent moon, hence named “Hook Moon”—now, I used Captain Gray to execute it.

One strike, fatal.

Plop.

The corpse behind me fell to the ground in the rain, never to rise again.

I…

I turned my head, watching the flames on the fallen body extinguish, gradually feeling hesitation and confusion.

He…

Here come the heathens…

The thin sunlight gradually faded away.

The sky darkened slowly.

At the end of the square passage, in front of the ancient fortress gate, the slaughter continued unabated.

The battle on that side was one-sided, with Isaac and the knights drenched in blood. Flames crackled as they burned, stone walls shattered, and huge trees collapsed. Most of the ragged heathens had long lost any will to resist, fleeing in all directions; they barely had any combat experience—those people might have been ordinary civilians living on this land not long ago.

“The squad leader is dead…”

“Squad leader is dead, let’s surrender, surrender…”

In the midst of the chaos, scattered individuals in light armor noticed the commotion on this side and shouted as they knelt down… More and more people knelt down.

The counterattack of the heathens weakened, and the battle gradually came to an end.

“Do not kill me, do not kill me…”

Cries came from all corners of the square.

“Why… My family has been farmers for generations, peacefully farming and paying taxes. Why must we suffer such things…”

“Sir Knight—”

“We are subjects of the Church! We were coerced by demons—”

“Great God, please open your eyes and see us…”

In these cries, the knights’ offensive became less fierce, some lowered their swords, and dismounted from their mounts.

Isaac roared from afar, “Do not slack off! Do not be deceived by the enemy—”

“Isaac!”

I consecutively stepped into moonwalk, my figure flickering continuously as I rushed to Isaac’s side, shouting at him, “These are refugees! Many refugees! Stop! Capture them…”

“Refugees?! They swung their swords at us! Their bodies are imbued with the power of sinfire!”

Baldy wiped the red water off his face, his golden blade slicing through a nearby heathen, splattering blood and fire in the rain. A few drops landed on my cheek.

“They might have been forced!”

“They had choices!”

“…”

I had no words to respond.

Isaac aimed his sword at the head of the heathen at his feet, about to stab.

“Sir Knight…”

A person cut in half lay in the rain, struggling to extend a hand, touching Isaac’s leg armor, a painful expression on his face, whether tears or rainwater dripping from his dirty face.

“Save… me…”

Isaac halted his action.

He raised his head, hearing the cries echoing across the square.

What he saw was nothing but rivers of blood and corpses.

The knights were engaged in a final struggle with the last of the rebels, stabbing and crushing their heads. Despite this, more people still threw themselves forward recklessly, but many others had already knelt down. The sinfire, symbolizing their guilt, still burned on their bodies, while their prayers were directed toward the great god served by the Church.

“Sir Knight—” someone cried out in despair, “Demons forced us to drink disgusting blood, turning us into monsters! They took away much of the grain… Those who dared to resist were killed, and their bodies were piled up behind the mountain… I don’t want to die… I am not a heathen, I am not—”

“Have mercy on us…”

“Tsk.”

Baldy’s face darkened, spitting on the ground.

“This fight is truly unsatisfying…”

He turned to shout at the nearby knights, “Follow my orders! Anyone who resists will be executed, those who kneel and surrender will be spared, temporarily detained behind barriers, awaiting my judgment!”

After saying this, he turned and sheathed his sword at his waist.

“Little one, let’s go check the inner fortress.”

“Okay.”

I nodded.

Several knights dismounted and followed Isaac towards the main gate of the inner fortress. At this moment, I saw Saferos riding a beast rushing over, pulling the reins in front of me, his face expressionless as he said, “It’s over, Lady Silvija.”

“Don’t call me Lady.”

I frowned, pointing at the kneeling people in the center of the square, “There are many of them, civilians. Someone mentioned food. Don’t kill them yet, question them first, find out what happened.”

“Understood.” The other person nodded, “I also noticed, there may be many guards and refugees from the castle and nearby villages among them, almost unable to use swords… I’ll interrogate them to see what exactly happened here.”

“Good.”

Saferos rode away, and I immediately ran after Isaac, entering the inner fortress together.

The large front hall was empty, no candles lit, the light dim and faintly emitting a pungent smell of blood and decay. Isaac instructed the knights to take torches from the walls and ignite them, giving orders, “Search every room on the first and second floors, leave no one unchecked.”

The knights dispersed upon receiving the order, starting a thorough search inside the fortress.

Isaac handed me a torch, “Let’s go up to the third floor together, be careful.”

“Got it.”

I carried Captain Gray on my shoulder, holding the torch and following Isaac up to the third floor. It remained pitch-black here, with an unpleasant odor in the air.

The interior of the fortress was vast. The torchlight revealed a row of doors along the corridor, and we searched each room one by one. All we found were ordinary studies and meeting rooms, with no heathens present.

The entire floor was silent.

“Isaac.”

Coming out of a room, I called him.

“Hmm?”

“Those people outside… What do you plan to do with them?”

Baldy fell silent for a moment before shaking his head.

“They are already guilty.”