Chapter 692

Chapter 97: Tempering in Fire Part 9

“Hahaha!”

The laughter echoed from the western sky behind them, hoarse like a crow’s, reaching their ears in an instant. Sir Lawrence squinted his eyes. Under the scorching sun, a blood-red halo illuminated a massive, black figure descending from the heavens, drenched in water and resembling a fat missile.

“That—”

Lawrence immediately recognized who it was.

Apfel Sherry Tranx.

In her youth, she was known as the “Butterfly of Canglan,” wandering the Western Continent, slaying the Abyss, punishing the wicked, and consoling the people. She often accompanied Sir Sage alongside Lady Bertha, who had passed away. Their order powers were water and lightning, which, when combined, were unstoppable. It was said that even Sir Sage had to give way to them, making her one of the most dazzling female Grand Master Knights of her time. She was a legendary hero in the older generation, her strength and righteousness deeply ingrained in the hearts of many elders.

During her era, the current First Knight Order, including Lawrence, had not yet been born.

Although the young Bishop Alersta was nominally in charge of the encirclement, everyone in the knightly order knew that he was just a placeholder. Alersta belonged to the Grace Scales, the younger brother of General Seattlek, and a direct descendant of the Saint City Rosius family. He was a inheritor of sacred principles. The Pope sent him this time as the nominal leader of the operation, but he was essentially just there for training.

The true leaders of this encirclement were Sir Sage and Apfel, two experienced and immensely powerful Grand Master Knights.

Only they could make these brave warriors of the First Knight Order feel genuine respect and faith from the depths of their hearts.

Even though they had grown old…

But—

Under the crimson sunset, Lawrence raised his head.

All the knights on the roads stopped and instinctively looked up.

At this moment, everyone’s eyes were filled with excited anticipation.

That was—

A legendary hero that even their parents revered.

“Female! Heretic—”

In the field of vision, the bulky figure descending from the sky held a war hammer in one hand and seemed to be drinking from a wineskin with the other. She shouted loudly, the wind howling as she swung the hammer, which was as tall as a person and weighed unknown tons, with vigor, like a spinning wheel, stirring everyone’s hearts.

Not far away, the female heretic surrounded by flames suddenly turned to look. The chains binding her were melting into golden sparks and dissipating in the flames. However, she was still not free, tightly bound by the cross.

To escape…

It was already too late.

In the next instant, the figure streaked across the town like a meteor, landing right in front of the female heretic. The heavy hammer she wielded created a chilling wind, the air currents almost visible. That hammer struck like divine retribution, blowing back the flames, directly hitting the heretic’s chest!

“Eat! My! Big! —”

Clang!

Boom—!!!

The moment the hammer touched her chest, the enthusiastic old hero cursed loudly. Water gushed out from the bottom of the giant hammer, like a deep-sea bomb exploding. In the deafening explosion, the flames were instantly extinguished. The golden cross shattered like paper under such force, the chains snapped, and terrifying waves of water surged forward, even blasting apart the burning earthen house beneath her. Dirt and ashes flew everywhere, and the female heretic’s body was like a cannonball, flying backward through the air!

Boom boom boom boom boom—

Unparalleled tremors and explosions. The female heretic’s flying body became a plow destroying everything, crushing buildings and walls as it moved from the west side of the town to the east. High walls were knocked down, earthen houses and wooden sheds collapsed, hay and dirt chunks flew into the air, and doors flew up like paper. Countless debris and fragments…

“Pew” sounded in all directions, dust rose abruptly, drawing a long gray smog at a location slightly south of the town center. Water fell like raindrops, drizzling and dripping onto the faces of the knights who were dumbfounded.

“God above…”

“This is truly…”

Boom!

Another dull sound echoed as the bulky figure fell from mid-air, smashing into the collapsed ruins of the earthen houses and stirring up astonishing amounts of dust. She stared at the continuously collapsing earthen walls and houses in the distance, gazing at the yellow dust flying up to the end, and burst out laughing: “Hahaha! You little girl, you’re really lucky to be alive! I actually see you here again. Could you really be born from a thousand-legged worm—”

Bang!

The massive hammer smashed into the ground, causing more ashes to rise with the dull sound. Not far away, Lawrence, the knight commander, had just dismounted his beast. He felt a slight tremor underfoot, and his heart thumped violently.

Such powerful force, truly worthy of…

He originally wanted to go over and greet the other party, and ask for instructions on the next move. Unexpectedly, after taking a few steps, a huge fire suddenly shot up from the end where the female heretic flew out. The flames were like a second new sun rising in the town, the dazzling light, accompanied by the intense heat, instantly rushed towards them!

Lawrence instinctively raised his hand to shield his face. In the next moment, he saw the bulky figure in the rubble suddenly raise their hand, tilt their head back, and take several large gulps of wine, throwing the wine bag away. Water swirled in their palm, and Lawrence felt the ground tremble even more intensely, with countless pebbles on the roadside starting to jump.

He instinctively took another step back.

Penghua—

A massive water column erupted from between the narrow passages beside the rubble, as thick as four or five people hugging each other. The flood surged through the collapsing earthen courtyard walls, spreading in all directions, but then in the next instant, it flowed back toward the sky, forming a wave dragon over twenty meters long above the town.

In the ruins, the hero named Alpfil lightly waved his hand in the midst of wild laughter.

Boom!

The massive flow surged forward, the roar akin to that of a giant dragon, and in an instant, it swept dozens of meters away, to the blazing fire, and fell down suddenly!

Gurgling…

Sizzling—

A huge cloud of steam suddenly appeared, the water instantly suppressing the raging fire, flooding over the lower, half-collapsed remnants of walls and broken structures. The noise could be clearly heard here. Lawrence’s eyes widened, and in his vision, the fat figure of the old archbishop knight Alpfil leaped up again, soaring dozens of meters into the air, chasing after the female heretic.

May the gods protect us…

If not for seeing it with his own eyes, Lawrence would never have believed that a bloated, fat-nosed old woman, single-handedly holding a massive warhammer possibly heavier than himself, could jump so high…

It was as if she was flying…

He was somewhat stunned.

“Since you’re not dead yet, let’s fight it out to your heart’s content! Hahaha—”

Boom!

The old woman’s mad laughter boomed like thunder in the distance. At the same time, her bulky body plunged like a missile into the swirling mist, followed by another earth-shattering explosion. It was unclear what happened, but the shockwave spread out, the white mist being instantly distorted by the wind, blowing past his ears and making his hair flutter wildly.

This is truly…

A terrifying yet reliable person.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—

The deafening sounds of battle continued to come from the eastern part of the town, tearing apart buildings as flames and water carried all sorts of chaotic debris into the sky. Lawrence watched the scene, marveling for a long time, until someone asked him beside him: “Commander… What should we do? Should we withdraw?”

“…Withdraw?”

Lawrence suddenly jolted awake, gradually coming to his senses: “Withdraw what? There’s nothing for us to do with that heretic woman. Isn’t there still a bloody ball-like thing in the town center! Ianlott, Ianlott! You lead the way; everyone else follow me.”