Chapter 94 – Renia Gate (4)
“Ugh?!”
Patrick, who was facing Taizhu’s subordinates, instinctively raised his sword to block a blow. However, the power behind the swung axe was incomparable to the riffraff he had been dealing with so far.
With a loud thud, his entire body reverberated, and despite his will, he was pushed back.
‘They really showed up!?’
The appearance of a capable opponent had been sensed. It meant that the enemies were gathering, but now that he recognized the opponent’s identity, there was no time to think.
“Die, human!”
The furious axe of the fox tribe warrior pressured Patrick, causing him to lose his grip on his sword.
In that fleeting moment, the axe blade came close to beheading him.
“Ugh!?”
However, at that instant, someone barged in with a strong wind, striking the axe and pushing it away. Both Patrick and the fox warrior Aijin widened their eyes in surprise at the owner of that sword, Lila, who appeared with swirling winds around her.
“Human girl, how dare you!”
However, Lila could not defeat Aijin in a one-on-one battle either. Though she trained as a spirit swordsman with the help of the wind spirit, fundamentally, Lila still needed further training and was at a disadvantage in terms of experience against the seasoned warrior Aijin.
Having exchanged only a few blows, her sword was pushed back, and her complexion turned pale. Although she was quicker in movement, the sheer power behind each of Aijin’s strikes caused her body to flinch with every hit she took.
Soon after, a rough kick hit her chest, and barely managing to raise her arm in defense, Lila was slammed against the opposite wall with a groan.
‘That bastard is Taizhu!’
Hastily, Patrick ran to Lila to support her and gritted his teeth upon recognizing the person behind Aijin. Taizhu, who had appeared in a hurry, was already fixated on the inside of the mansion.
If this continued, they would lose the witnesses again, and all the plans they had set up would be ruined.
“What’s important right now is not those mercenaries over there, but the lives of these people! Hurry and secure them!”
Fortunately for them, Taizhu urged Aijin to secure the witnesses first. Lila seethed with anger at this sight and attempted to charge again, but Patrick grabbed her wrist.
“We’ve done enough, Lila. The most important thing is survival. If we die here, there won’t be a next opportunity!”
“But if we let them go like this, the witnesses will die. Then Iriliana’s plan…”
“Plans can be reworked. We’re doing this so everyone can live; what does it mean if we die?!”
With the emergence of an insurmountable foe, rushing in would only lead them to be slaughtered. Lila huffed, frustrated by her own weakness, but she could not shake off Patrick’s grip.
‘Is it not yet…!?’
The only reliable means left was the flare that was still brightly illuminating the sky.
If Iriliana saw this and rushed in with full force, they could save the witnesses before they were killed and succeed in their plan.
“Look over there.”
At that moment, Lila pointed somewhere to Patrick. He naturally followed her finger, focusing his sight.
Far in the north, someone was swiftly leaping across rooftops, running like the wind.
Clearly, the graceful lines of a petite, slender figure revealed her dancer-like light clothing. Additionally, the fierce wind tossed her long hair about.
“Oh, she’s here.”
The instant he caught sight of the sparkling silver, Patrick sighed and slumped down.
Around him, there were only the groans of his wounded allies, but he felt as though he had won this battle.
*
“How dare you! Do you even know where this place is? This is…”
“A hideout for criminals hiding away sinners!”
Inside the mansion, Taizhu and his group, having pushed the witnesses and their last line of resistance back to a small courtyard with a fountain, all aimed their bows at them.
Their final attempt to escape had failed, and there were no options left for them. Neoru shivered, glancing around.
Everywhere he looked, enemies surrounded them closely.
‘Who knew they would act so brazenly.’
When he was handed over to Tas, he thought there wouldn’t be any issues. He never imagined they would use force to trample the king’s residence. It was clearly treason.
However, common sense shattered. Neoru absentmindedly recalled something Renia had said before. The impending doom that would engulf the world was a disaster that could not be explained by common sense.
“These people are not sinners, but witnesses. They are here to properly reveal the case that you, Taizhu, falsely accused!”
“Shut up. You’ve made quite a mess of things. If it were up to me, I’d want to tear you all to shreds, but… shoot them! There’s no reason to listen any longer!”
Having crossed the line, Taizhu had no reason to hesitate. He commanded to shoot the aimed arrows, planning to massacre the witnesses and all remnants of the royalists right there.
“Ugh, aah!”
Arrows flew in from all directions. For the rare beast-men, there was no way to block them.
“…Huh?”
But at that moment, a strong gust of wind swept through, causing all the flying arrows to stray or fall to the ground.
Thanks to that, not a single person fell to the arrows.
“How is this happening?”
The panicked Taizhu looked around. All he could see were the eerie sounds created by darkness and wind.
“There’s an earthquake!”
Simultaneously, the ground trembled and, between the two opposing groups, a massive earthen wall erupted with a thunderous roar from the split ground.
“I heard an interesting story on my way here.”
Someone lightly stepped onto the earthen wall barefoot. Both those behind the wall and those in front were astonished at the sight.
Especially from Taizhu’s perspective, someone who should not be there had finally appeared.
“Why is everyone fighting? Can’t we solve this by talking?”
Iriliana smiled slyly, shrugging her shoulders as she locked eyes with Taizhu. From the moment she had arrived on time, the conclusion had already been decided.
Aijin also turned back to Taizhu, realizing that if they attacked Iriliana with force now, it would not only be crossing a line but would drive a knife into their own necks.
[Kill her. Stop the High Elf.]
The problem was that Taizhu was not in his right mind.
“Stupid bastard, really…”
Iriliana sighed upon seeing the black aura swirling around Taizhu’s body. The curse dwelling within his body had activated, revealing his hostility.
The enmity that had previously been directed at the witnesses was now focused on Iriliana.
“Kill the High Elf! It’s already too late. This is the only way!”
“Hey, I think you still haven’t fully succumbed, so listen carefully. Think carefully, are you really going to fight me? Are you all going to jump into this madness like moths to a flame?”
Taizhu commanded Aijin to attack Iriliana, but Iriliana, sitting casually on the earthen wall, simply snorted and shook her head.
“External Affairs Officer Taizhu has been corrupted by the curse of corruption and is a madman. He wishes for the world’s destruction. Are you all seriously thinking of committing suicide just to heed his words?”
The words of Iriliana, crossing her legs and fidgeting, swayed Taizhu’s subordinates. The situation was already dire, and if Taizhu was not in his right mind, there was no reason for them to follow him.
“Everyone, drop your weapons.”
The first to make that decision was the warrior Aijin. Even if they killed Iriliana here, there would be nothing left to gain.
Just the fact of having killed a High Elf would turn countless people across the world into enemies.
The elves, who had united as one around their conventions, would undoubtedly seek revenge for decades, even centuries, by any means necessary.
“These vermin!!”
“It’s a mythical weapon!”
Finally, enraged by the hesitance of his subordinates, Taizhu drew out something from his own clothes and aimed it at them.
And seeing this, Iriliana clicked her tongue lightly and leaped in an instant.
Before the bullets shot from the aimed revolver could be wildly fired, she grabbed the barrel with her hand, covered herself with her own body, and delivered a powerful kick right between Taizhu’s legs.
“Ugh…”
As the bullet struck her face, it dissolved into mana and vanished, leaving Taizhu only able to fire a single shot before he collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolled back in his head.
“Crying out… do you think no one has seen you cry…”
Iriliana muttered as she watched Taizhu squirming helplessly.
Contrary to her words, her expression was filled with regret, and her curled-up body rubbed her goosebumped arms.
“High Elf. We are…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t hit you. Now, can we please resolve this through proper procedures? If you plan to fight every time things go wrong, why create laws and live by them?”
In the awkward silence that ensued, Iriliana merely ordered the complete disarmament of Taizhu’s remnants and refrained from taking any action.
Officially, she was supposed to be unaware of what was occurring in this situation. She merely saw the launched flare, hurriedly rushed over, and intervened to stop the fight.
Thus, she could not become deeply involved. Instead, others would take care of the deeper involvement.
