Badge in Azure

Chapter 95: Demon Trick (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Faerun’s body was covered entirely by black magic robes. He was deep in thought.

Whether it was Nailisi or Saleen, they would not lie to him. Their grades were too far from his and his detection magic would be inescapable.

The news Nailisi that had gathered was too shocking. The sacred Holy See had sent a large number of men into the Qin Empire over a decade ago, and before this there might have already been more spies sent to wait in ambush. The few batches of people could not have communicated with each other, and each batch had a special task assigned to them. This silver grand swordmaster that had been ambushed by Bain had been hiding in the Qin Empire for Viscountess Lex. The problem was that even before the viscountess had reached Bitter Water Prefecture back then, those two people had already been in Hadisai City.

Even if there had been Tanggulasi spies by the prince’s side, they would not have been able to receive the news so quickly. There were no teleportation portals between the two empires and there were only a few of these in the big cities of the Qin Empire. Each time they were used, it was recorded down. The intense magic vibrations could never have been kept a secret.

The two countries were separated by thousands of miles of rivers and mountains. Even if the Holy See had learned of the information immediately, they could not have sent someone in advance.

Was this a prophecy spell? However, this had been a prophecy ten years into the future. It was too absurd. Could a god have descended? However, gods could no longer exist in this dimension.

“Faerun, do not think about the affairs of the Holy See. Let father contemplate them. What should we do about Hadisai City?”

“Let’s avoid Hadisai city and continue on our way ahead.” For a moment, Faerun felt as though he could not clear his head. If they continued to entangle themselves with Hadisai City, their enemies would definitely have some other tricks up their sleeve. They might as well just leave it be. So long as the viscountess could reach Holy Rock City, decisions regarding the other affairs could be left to the king and prince.

And as for the framing of the viscountess? With the Ring of Shinra, even if the matter of the feudal estates were to fall through, the viscountess would still have capital. The one that they needed to be cautious of now was the Holy See. The spread of this incessant scheming was the most frightening thing of all.

Saleen wanted to say something and without caring about the looks from other people, he stared fiercely at Nailisi. Faerun’s choice made sense. Leaving Hadisai City behind would mean thwarting any plans the enemy had here. Nailisi was still thinking about the other Grade 8 professional who was surely filled with human essence.

If they stayed in Hadisai City to solve these problems, he would be able to benefit from the shadows. However, it was likely that at least one of the four black metal grand swordmasters would lose their life. Saleen could not allow Nailisi to do as she wanted. Demons were very skilled in confusing people.

Nailisi could feel Saleen’s anger and did not dare continue giving any more ideas.

Viscountess Lex thought for a while. She also knew that if they were to stay, there would definitely be more casualties. If Nailisi’s plan failed, the silver grand swordmaster could target her soldiers purely in a moment of anger, and that would spell trouble. Earl Mokolari? Since he had already decided to side with the lower house, she did not need to care about his survival.

Something that was complicated could be simplified by giving up.

“Alright, let’s continue on our way.” Viscountess Lex took a long look at Nailisi. Then, standing up, she left Faerun’s tent. She had realized the flaws of Nailisi’s plan. Even though there was a chance it could succeed, many lives would be lost.

The Bitter Water Army increased their speed and quickly made their way around Hadisai City, moving rapidly towards the east. If they had not been elites, an arduous journey like this would have exhausted the soldiers long ago and caused them to lose their will to fight.

At the gate of Hadisai City, a middle-aged person in a linen robe looked at the army that was moving further away with his alchemy telescope. He gave a cold laugh and turned to leave, holding a long sword in his hand. The gate of the city was dyed red with blood, and littered everywhere were the corpses of soldiers.

This middle-aged person lifted his hood and covered a part of his face. Jumping down from the city gate which was over ten meters tall, he travelled towards the residence of the city. His long sword was thin and was etched full of patterns. It was kept hidden in his robes. There were many people on the streets and as the man walked past them, the people around him involuntarily let him pass.

He did not exert any authority and only walked forward quickly. As he did so, an invisible road was formed among the crowd.

The city’s residence was large and mighty with over a dozen soldiers outside the door. The middle-aged man did not slow down, and as he walked towards them, the soldiers felt their vision blurring before they grew dizzy, losing their memory for a period of time. Only when the man had disappeared did they regain their senses. They looked at each other and started shouting in a panicked manner.

The man went past the front yard. Walking confidently past the main hall, he headed straight for the study room.

Walking in deeper, there were high-grade swordsmen clad in soft armor. Barely a flash appeared from the middle-aged man’s clothes, and he did not stop walking as he left a dozen soldiers in his wake.

“Stop!”

A loud noise resonated and a large heavy metal shield made its way towards him. This metal shield was taller than the average person by around twenty centimeters. A human’s head appeared from behind the shield. He had short hair that stood upright and a beard as messy as wild grass. He had a pair of rounded eyes that were difficult to focus on because of their movement. He was practically like a homeless drunkard.

A black light emerged from the heavy shield, clearly being the sword aura. If this were to land on anyone, it would hack even a heavily armored swordsman into a meat patty.

The middle-aged man lifted his brows. Withdrawing his left hand from his sleeve, he pressed it against the metal shield.

It was almost as if a giant beast had been stopped by a mountain. The metal shield let out a low clashing sound. The giant behind the shield nearly had his eyes shaken out of his skull as blood flowed from all his orifices.

The middle-aged man’s right hand grasped onto his thin sword as he gave off his own white light. The white light entered directly into the shield, almost as if it were entering a child’s toy puppet.

Boom!

As the middle-aged man pulled out his sword, the metal shield fell onto the floor and a row of tiles cracked into numerous pieces.

The giant could not believe that he had been defeated like this. The middle-aged man had not used any tricks, but had managed to break apart his toughest defense. The giant stared at him, wide-eyed.

He saw the look of defeat on the giant’s face. Giving a cold laugh, he said, “That was hardly any sword aura. You thought you were a grand swordmaster already?”

With that, the man gave him a light push and the giant fell heavily onto the ground. The heavy shield pinned him down as fresh blood spilled everywhere.

“Victor, what are you doing?” From the study, a wealthy man dressed as though he were in his forties emerged. Behind him was a mage in grey magic robes.

“Earl Molokari, I must apologize. I need to borrow your head.” With that, he gave a kick and the heavy metal shield flew into the air, heading straight for the earl.

Buzz…

The air throughout the entire court vibrated and a green shield that could be seen with the naked eye blocked the path of the metal shield. The mage behind Mokolari had instantly released a Grade 5 spell. The metal shield clashed with the magic shield and the sound of an explosion filled their surroundings. The magic shield was broken apart by the impact and the metal shield flew to the side too.

The color on the mage’s face changed. Although the wind shield was only a Grade 5 spell, it was special in that even if it was shattered, it would reform until the spell was over. However, after shattering from the impact with the heavy shield, the wind element throughout the court would not obey his commands any longer and the wind shield was destroyed completely.

White grand swordmaster!

The mage was overcome with fear. He was only Grade 5 and could barely make use of a magic prop to fly. If the enemy was a white grand swordmaster, his speed could not hold a candle to him at all.

“Training is tough. You should leave.” The white grand swordmaster known as Victor looked at the mage, his eyes cold. If the earl fought back, he would not mind things being a little troublesome. In any case, it would take at least half an hour for all the soldiers in Hadisai City to gather, and that was enough time for him to kill an earl who was only a swordsman.

The mage hesitated and backed away. He was only a guest of the prince and there was no need to give up his life.

Mokolari was about to shout for help. At the back of the court were some of his soldiers.

“Earl, if these soldiers are killed by me, your son will be gone in the future.” Victor was mocking as he walked towards Earl Mokolari.

Mokolari was at a loss for words. In order for his son to get the rank of an earl, he had chosen to offend the viscountess and side with the lower house. If this white grand swordmaster only killed him and spared his son, the family’s bloodline would be able to continue. If all of these soldiers were to die, however, his son would naturally lose his supporters. It would be hard to gather these many elites within the household; all of these soldiers were swordmasters.

Pfttt…

A white flash of light cut across him. Victor was holding onto Mokolari’s head, the body beginning to spew fresh blood.

The mage was already gone by the time Victor lifted the head and said to the earl’s deceived face, “Great father, do not worry. I will spare your son.”

Just as Victor finished his words, Mokolari’s body fell to the ground. Heavy footsteps approached from the rear as Victor took the head and flipped over the high walls. He drew a white line across the sky as he flew away from the city’s residence. It was only after he left that chaos ensued within the city residence. A handsome youth with long black hair brought over a dozen soldiers to Mokolari’s body. He bent down and looked in a daze at the familiar clothes, feeling the fire within him being suppressed as his vision went black. He fell onto the floor and lost his consciousness too.

Hadisai City was an important city with five thousand elites. There were over ten thousand reserve troops as well. However, the news of the earl dying had not yet spread. Victor landed and left the city gracefully, without a single person stopping him.

Only after Victor left the city did the black-haired youth regain consciousness. Tears filled his eyes as he shouted, “It must be Lex! That bitch, killing my soldiers wasn’t enough. She actually hired an assassin to murder the empire’s wealthy. Regroup my troops immediately. I must chase after her and kill those despicable men from Bitter Water Prefecture!”

“Master Jay!”

“Master!”

The soldiers ran over and held him back, snatching away his spear. The master was but a beginner swordmaster. Chasing after the enemy was as good as throwing his life away. These soldiers were the fellows of the household and would not let their master die.

“Baron, calm down. The earl is dead but Hadisai City still needs your guidance. All of you will stop the news from spreading. Has anyone found the mage?” The leader of the soldiers held back the black-haired youth as he went to question the city’s sentries.

The black-haired youth shook off the leader’s hand and kneeled on the floor. Holding the corpse in his hands, tears started flowing again.

“You guys carry on. I wouldn’t be so rash. Send someone to those people from Bitter Water Prefecture. I want to see mage Sebastian.” The black-haired youth held back his pain, knowing that if his opponents had been able to kill his father even under the assault of a Grade 5 mage, chasing after them would be futile. He might as well have sought help at the magic tower outside of Hadisai City. Having supported Sebastian for over ten years, he would not reject this request.