Chapter 551

Chapter 173 Two Choices

The fierce wind howled before me.

In my field of vision, in the northern part of the town, the intense red flames had gradually spread from the hazy lights at the outskirts of Buckhorn Town.

Damn it…

Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up…

Above the night sky, the tattered dress and petite girl streaked across the scorched earth forest like a meteor, flying toward the town at an extremely fast speed.

Behind her, the diffused golden light buzzed and oscillated among the burning trees, the dull thudding sounds like thunder. Dozens of dark red blood serpents suddenly burst out from the golden light, only to be locked and torn apart by even more brilliant golden chains, emitting ghostly screams mixed with Olivia’s desperate roars.

“Ughaaaaaa—”

That voice echoed far away, making the girl’s eyes slightly reddened when heard.

Fifteen… No, ten minutes…

Within ten minutes, I must kill the clown and return to save them…

Hurry up!!!

Whizzing whizzing whizzing—

The wind whistling past my ears was piercing, almost rupturing my eardrums. I dived from nearly a hundred meters high towards the town, the speed so fast that my eyes could barely open. My body was rigid and stiff, my face felt like it was being slashed by knives, but my palms still stretched backward, continuously spraying frost mist to accelerate further.

It hurts…

So much pain… So uncomfortable… The speed is too fast… I can’t breathe…

Whoosh—

Next moment, black mist surged out from within my body, instantly enveloping me, blocking all the fierce winds and turbulence outside. I took a deep breath, my eyes gleaming with blood-red light, piercing through the dense fog like two bright, eerie lanterns, sweeping directly toward the town where the hellfire raged.

There’s no time for that…

Just this once…

I’ll use the power of the Abyss just this once…

It’s fine, right?

In my vision, the outline of the town gradually grew larger and clearer.

At the outskirts of the town, towards the east, countless tents and felt shelters of the disaster victims were burning fiercely in the flames. Far away, some wooden houses were also ablaze, turning completely charred black. Beams and debris fell off as they were licked by the hellfire—there were no people there either.

My heart sank slightly.

Damn it…

The scorching smoke swirled and rose, the night wind carrying the smoke, blowing the black ashes toward the center of the town. There, the hellfire had not yet risen, but there seemed to be faint shouts and roars. Suddenly, as I approached, a divine light flashed.

… It must be over there!

Boom—

A torrent of frost mist surged out from my palms again. As my body fell, I accelerated toward the center of the town, spreading my arms to glide.

“Ga—”

From the distant side, a raven’s call suddenly echoed. I turned my head in the black mist and saw a black bird approaching.

Goat Cheese…

The foolish bird flew from the left, stretching its neck. The feathers that had fallen out had already regrown. Its wings flapped rapidly, maintaining parallel speed with me. Black smoke touched its body and vanished immediately, its eyes becoming increasingly bloodshot.

It has recovered from the illusion…

Good.

Below my field of vision, the destroyed fence flashed past my peripheral vision, followed by the steep slope at the edge of the town. This was where the Faithful Group was previously located, but my gaze quickly swept over, finding no one there now—no knights, no priests, not even a single corpse.

My bad premonition grew stronger, my chest pounding. I couldn’t help but accelerate again… reaching the limit of my speed.

“Goat Cheese!”

“Ga—”

“Find that naked madman for me!”

“Pepi—”

The foolish bird responded to the command with a scream, turning and ascending higher into the night sky.

Whoosh—

I retracted the black mist, letting my body fall freely from thirty meters above, landing on a wooden beam of a house engulfed by hellfire, its skeleton charred black. The beam collapsed with a “crash,” and I slid down, standing steady and scanning the surroundings… no one was in sight.

“Clown—!”

I shouted angrily, stepping onto the beam opposite me. The black mist around me dissipated, replaced by a misty frost. Orderly power quietly gathered in my palm, jumping between buildings to search for any signs of life. Soon, a raven’s hoarse cry echoed from the sky near the church.

I turned sharply.

Dozens of meters away, on the slope where the town’s church stood, the winding road was almost shattered, pockmarked with charred marks. The tall church was engulfed in crimson flames. Someone screamed and rushed out of the fire. A divine light streaked toward the top of the bell tower next to the church, golden light exploding violently. The bell tower collapsed in the explosion and flames, with maniacal laughter echoing faintly.

“Hahahaha—”

That voice…

No mistake!

Boom—

An ice column shot up, pushing me back into the air. I twisted my body, stepping on the ice platform and performing the Moon Step, swiftly heading toward the church!

The scene was pushed behind by the wind. The collapsing bell tower crashed into the raging fire, causing a deafening thud. Dust and smoke scattered, engulfing countless fleeing people. I saw a squad of gold-armored knights rushing into the swirling dust with a faint glow of divine light. But in the next instant, a crimson light burst out from the rising dust, swallowing everything in an instant, including the knights’ figures. Desperate cries followed.

Damn it, damn it, damn it…

“Is it you—”

Bang bang!

As my figure neared the bell tower, I didn’t wait to land. The frost power condensed in my palm was already swiftly released, the fierce wind and cold current spiraling toward the center of the red light shining in the dust, exploding violently. The dust was blown away, the dazzling red light dimming under the ice mist.

“Plop” landed in front of the church, I lifted my head, gazing at the figure not far away.

In the ruins of the bell tower, the flames burned more fiercely, quickly dispersing the surrounding cold mist, and black smoke and white fog rose up. The eerie red light vanished, and amidst the rubble, a figure shrouded in fire walked out.

I took a deep breath.

“Joker…”

With gritted teeth, I called out his name.

The squad of knights who had charged forward and been swallowed by the red light had all fallen down. They lay scattered around me, lying in burning flames, motionless. Their golden armor gradually deformed and melted, followed by their shriveled, blood-drained bodies.

Life was consumed by the raging fire, turning into bright ashes that scattered across the sky, one by one disappearing.

Behind me, far away, were civilians fleeing from somewhere unknown, not knowing where to go. Many of them, at this moment, were like headless flies, screaming in panic, their chaotic footsteps coming closer and closer from all directions. I dared not turn back to look; my eyes remained fixed on the figure in the flames.

There are still people alive… It’s good…

How long has it been? A minute… or two minutes… I must kill him quickly…

As the thought flashed through my mind, the man in the flames spoke: “You’re here, stand still.”

He emerged from the collapsed ruins, his entire body engulfed in red flames. With each step, he left behind crimson, burning footprints on the ground, making it hard to discern his features clearly. But I knew, that was Joker.

He held a fist-sized crimson sphere in his hand, semi-transparent and half-suspended in his palm, as beautiful as a gemstone, with blood-like liquid flowing inside… no, that was blood… this was the true blood bead, there was no mistake!

I instinctively stepped forward, crouching, ready to launch an attack.

Let’s take him up in one go, move the battlefield away from the town…

“Don’t move. Move even a little, and they all die.”

Buzz—

Instantly, blinding red light burst forth again from the blood bead, almost blinding me. My feet had already taken off in moonstep, but hearing Joker’s words, I was startled and forcibly stopped my advance. “Squeak—” my feet dragged out a long scorched mark on the ground, stopping about seven or eight meters away from him.

“Turn around and look at them,” the man seemed to be laughing.

The crimson light had already dyed the surrounding night as red as blood. Despite my wariness, I still heard increasingly terrified and miserable screams from behind, unable to resist turning my head.

Far away, I saw those trying to escape. On the east side of the flames, beneath the church’s slope, near the row of houses by the lawn, and under the destroyed farm, countless people ran and screamed. Under the red light, they suddenly fell down.

They seemed to be in great pain.

Their screams turned into pitiful moans, innocent civilians rolling on the ground. I saw droplets of blood seeping from their mouths and noses, forming blood lines that seemed to have life, slowly drifting over here.

“Devil, devil! This is the power of the devil…”

“Save us, save us…”

“Aaaaahhhhh—”

Amidst these heart-wrenching cries, I turned my head woodenly, focusing my gaze once more on the man not far ahead, clenching my fists.

“Haha!”

From within the flames, he let out a soft laugh: “Do you know? Everyone thought the church was safe, so they hid here. There are so many people… I deliberately left these lowly lives, not draining their blood immediately, just waiting for you to come… I believe that woman may not be able to stop you, otherwise, it would be too boring, right? Hahaha—”

The man called Joker looked up and laughed wildly: “Miss Silvija, don’t be hasty, don’t get agitated… You don’t understand me yet. Let me tell you, I am actually a very gentle person, always willing to give others a choice… Now, I’ll give you two choices.”

He raised his left hand, extending one finger: “First, you can ignore their fate and continue fighting me. In that case, those people will die instantly, while I will try my best to avoid direct confrontation with you, dragging out the battle… well, we can circle around Woodward Forest.”

“Hehehe, don’t look so surprised. I know you want to kill me, that’s good. Come and kill me then, abandon those worthless lives… but let me make it clear, I will fight tooth and nail to escape. During my escape, I will pass through various villages, killing everyone I see… you don’t need to doubt me, this is what I’m best at.”

“Cursed…”

“Do you dislike it? Then you have a second choice.”

Joker didn’t give me a chance to curse. He extended his second finger: “I release them.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the light from the blood bead instantly weakened. Joker grabbed the floating sphere in the air, tossing it, and behind him, the noisy, painful cries seemed to abruptly weaken.

“I release them,” the man continued, “but you… Miss Silvija, you must reveal your true form here and now, in front of everyone. Your power must be seen by the surviving civilians in this town and by those hypocritical church officials.”

“I know there are still many first knight squad members and believers in Woodward Forest, perhaps heading this way, or maybe not. But… we can find them, right? What do you think of this proposal? Isn’t it more interesting?”

The man called Joker, his blood-red eyes piercing through the flames, his sharp gaze directly aimed at me, gave me no time to think: “So, your choice is—”

“Wait, I…”

I opened my mouth.

Gurgle—

At that moment, my stomach suddenly let out a mournful groan.

… I’m already very hungry.