books44 Chapter 547 - 537: Fear
Chapter 547 - 537: Fear
With her cover blown, Fei Ling jumped down from the beam, her short bow fully drawn in mid-air, a feathered arrow aiming straight for Jini’s throat!
However, the arrow did not hit its target.
A black-robed Cultist standing behind the Priest seemed to anticipate this as he stepped sideways, swinging the longstaff in his hand to deflect the arrow, which was pinned into a nearby wooden pillar, its tail feathers trembling dramatically.
Vera also emerged from the shadows behind a stone pillar, holding a curved saber. His gaze swept across Anton and the other sacrifices, finally settling on Jini’s face: "Let them go, we’ll leave immediately."
Jini did not answer, only shook her head gently, as if refusing a child’s unreasonable request.
Then she raised the simply adorned white small magic staff in her hand and gave a slight wave toward the black-robed believers around her.
Potential Activation!
Like a signal, the black-robed Cultists brandished various weapons, growling as they charged forward.
Facing the attacking Cultists, Vera stood at the forefront, maneuvering through the glinting blades and flashing swords, firmly drawing the pressure to within a few feet in front of himself.
Fei Yin was behind, chanting quickly, the pale green binding light bands and occasionally flickering light shield aura always delaying the enemy’s encirclement or deflecting a sneak attack at the crucial moment.
Fei Ling floated up and down, her arrows not seeking a one-hit kill, but always targeting the weakest point in the enemy’s formation or interrupting a forming assault, cutting and disrupting the numerically superior enemies, preventing them from capitalizing on their numbers.
With the three’s tacit cooperation, they managed to hold back the Cultists’ onslaught.
However, the balance was broken by the entry of the Cultist holding a longstaff.
His skills were exceptional, evident when he deflected Fei Ling’s arrow earlier, and now, with Potential Activation, his movements were so fast they left afterimages.
He seized the opportunity as Vera parried a longsword, breaking into the fray, twisting his head to avoid Fei Ling’s arrow, then delivering a powerful, unadorned kick that struck hard against Vera’s hastily defended saber’s back.
Vera’s entire body flew uncontrollably backward, crashing into a row of decaying pews before stopping.
The longstaff-wielding Cultist followed closely, not giving Vera any chance to regroup, his attacks relentless, forcing Vera to retreat continuously, barely managing under continuous pressure.
With Vera suppressed, a gap appeared in the trio’s cooperation, and Fei Ling and Fei Yin felt their pressure increase!
Facing the Cultists rushing in, Fei Ling’s arrows began to shoot rapidly, struggling to fend off enemies from multiple directions, while Fei Yin’s protective spell flickered, appearing precarious amidst increasing attacks.
In this emergency, Vera dared not hold back any longer.
The style in which he wielded his saber changed, his elbow sunk slightly, shifting the trajectory of his arm’s power from resisting to guiding.
The incoming longstaff slid past the saber’s spine, and Vera’s body used this force to flow sideways half a step, not only evading a deadly strike but also, in a moment of passing by, the saber borrowed the impetus from the longstaff’s forward thrust, its tip swinging up in an incredible arc!
Shhh—!
The Cultist who was just in full advantage had a deep visible bone wound slashed across his front, from the left shoulder diagonally to the right rib!
If not for the Cultist leaning back desperately with his battle instinct at the last moment, this strike would have gutted him.
This saber technique was learned by Vera from foreign soldiers within the mist, its style leaning towards ruthless, not one he favored.
But this was obviously not the time for personal preferences.
Vera pressed the advantage mercilessly, the Cultist, overwhelmed, reeled back repeatedly, on the brink of defeat.
As Vera reversed the situation and Fei Ling and Fei Yin attempted to regroup, the previously quiet and detached Jini finally made a new move.
A ball of ghostly blue flame silently ignited in her palm.
"Mortals are always like this, unable to discern right from wrong. I don’t wish to cause you pain, but... the ritual must continue, the High Priest is waiting for me."
With those words, she gently clenched her fingers.
The ghostly blue flame in her palm did not explode but transformed into a light blue halo, spreading out from her center.
As the halo swept through, whether it was the raging Cultists, the struggling trio of Vera, or even the corner-bound Goblins only halfway escaping their bindings, they all suddenly quieted.
...
Vera’s vision changed as if he was back in the fog.
He saw, the fog like a greedy beast, swallowing those familiar faces.
Friends with whom he drank together, the always mature Sirean who refused to disclose his real age, lastly, Fei Ling and Fei Yin, screaming and reaching out, only to be futilely engulfed by the fog.
The fog surged towards him, trying to drag him in.
Retreat? No!
Vera advanced instead toward the fog!
They’re still in there! He was going to pull them out!
The moment he touched the fog, it was like a basin of ice water poured over him, and all the illusory scenes shattered.
He was still kneeling on the cold ground of the abandoned chapel, the saber dropped not far away, his chest heaving with heavy breaths.
"Sister..."
"I was wrong, I was wrong..."
All around, filled with fearful whimpers and mutterings.
Whether the frenzied black-robed Cultists or Fei Ling and Fei Yin, they were all collapsed, either curled up trembling or murmuring blankly, each trapped in the deepest fear within their hearts, unable to escape.
The only ones still conscious on the field were the spellcaster Jini and... the cultist with the staff.
He supported himself with the staff, his figure slightly swaying, cold sweat seeping from his forehead. It seemed he had just broken free from the illusion, but he was slightly quicker than Vera, stepping on Vera’s curved saber.
Seeing Vera also swiftly regain her senses, a flicker of obvious surprise flashed in his eyes.
Seeing Vera wake up, he felt somewhat astonished: "Such a steadfast will, even among the faithful cultists, is very rare. A pity."
The iron staff against his chest, Vera was already in dire straits: "You’re faster."
The staff-wielding cultist shook his head: "It’s not about being faster, it’s just... having experienced it more, gaining some insignificant experience. The first time I sank into it, I was far worse than you."
Though he admired Vera’s will, he showed no intention of holding back.
"Vera... don’t, don’t leave me alone..." Fei Ling’s unconscious muttering pierced Vera’s ears from a short distance away.
"I won’t..." Vera responded softly.
In an instant, it was as if something was activated.
The cultist and the distant observer Jini felt a sudden unease!
The cultist’s staff, originally aimed at Vera’s shoulder, redirected towards Vera’s head!
However, a figure suddenly rushed in from the outside, raising a short dagger and leaping at the cultist’s back!
It was the runaway cultist, his eyes now glowing purple, full of happiness, completely unaware of what he was doing.
The staff had to change trajectory again, sweeping horizontally, striking the ambusher’s chest heavily.
The ambusher’s chest visibly caved in, blood sprayed from his mouth, and he flew backward like a worn-out cloth bag, hitting the wall, silent.
"Useless waste!" In the shadows outside the chapel, the observing Enchanting Demon Mengya stamped her feet angrily. She had just spent effort barely controlling a mentally fragile person, only to see him killed in seconds.
Seeing the situation turn bleak, Mengya prepared to slip away.
Inside the chapel, the battle took a subtle turn due to this unexpected interference.
Attacked by his own, the cultist was puzzled, but didn’t delay, the staff once again heading towards Vera.
This time, when he glanced at Vera, he saw not a prey forced into a desperate situation.
It was a pair of eyes.
Somehow, Vera was standing upright.
In the depths of his eyes, a pure and sacred radiance was flowing, completely contrasting with his current bloodied, disheveled appearance.
The curved saber, previously under the cultist’s foot, was now firmly gripped in Vera’s hand, and the cold blade tip was already fully embedded in the cultist’s chest.
"Is this...?"
Vera’s state seemed somewhat off.
He didn’t answer his opponent’s final question, nor did he glance at Jini, who was retreating amidst the chaos.
He simply slowly withdrew the curved saber, letting his opponent’s corpse slump.
Then, he turned, half-knelt beside Fei Ling and Fei Yin, checking their condition, the radiance in his eyes slowly fading.
Outside, Mengya watched the suddenly reversed situation, unsure if she should jump out.
Gazing at Fei Ling on the ground, a faint, inexplicable envy stirred in her heart.
...
Elsewhere, a peak battle had come to an end.
The battlefield was a mess, the cultists caught up in it lay crisscrossed on the ground, either marked with dark green poisonous stains or embedded with shattered wood fragments.
In mid-air, Slime and Scout Puki crossed paths one last time, scattering final droplets of slime and shattered mycelium.
A gentle breeze swept through the forest clearing, Scout Puki’s damaged mushroom body swayed a couple of times on the spot, finally collapsing, lifeless.
Slime’s condition was equally dire.
Its once full body had shrunk by nearly half, colors dimmed, dark green slime splattered all over the surrounding ground.
Victory.
Though the win was hard-fought, it was, in the end, the last one standing.
Having won, it naturally sought to claim the spoils.
It crawled over, intending to dissolve and digest this opponent.
Fwoosh!
A mushroom cannon landed on the ground less than a foot in front of it, exploding a small pit with earth scattering.
Puki, Puki, Puki—
Three Scout Pukis, resembling almost identically to the corpse on the ground in both appearance and size, quietly revealed themselves, surrounding it.
The exhausted Slime froze in place...