Piote tightly shut his eyes and thought to himself.
'Ugh… why are the strategies in this territory always like this?'
Thanks to the "Blessing of Juana," he could nullify all attacks. Even the mighty Equidema couldn't leave a single scratch on Piote.
Of course, the stronger the attacks, the more holy power he consumed, but Piote's holy power had grown so strong that even Parniel would be astonished.
Thus, he was chosen to take on the role of shielding Ghislain, allowing him to focus entirely on escaping.
While Kaien momentarily faltered in shock, Ghislain seized the opportunity and reached out with his hand.
Boom!
"Urgh!"
A powerful impact struck Kaien's abdomen. Taking advantage of the brief moment when Kaien staggered, Ghislain bolted forward again.
Gartros, sparing no effort, continued unleashing attacks at Ghislain. The other priests of the Salvation Church followed suit.
Their only goal was to kill Ghislain right here and now.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Blasts of black energy streaked like light, pounding against Ghislain's back. But all of it was blocked by Piote, who clung to his back.
"Who… what is that thing?!"
Gartros, even while chasing, wore a look of disbelief.
His attacks were so powerful that even superhumans couldn't withstand them easily. He had consumed more life force than anyone else to prepare for a confrontation with the Shadow Knights' leader.
Yet, the woman(?) clinging to Count Fenris' back was somehow enduring his attacks as if they were nothing.
Meanwhile, Piote, still clinging to Ghislain's back, clasped his hands together as if in prayer, his eyes tightly shut.
'Please… let me survive…'
While he was always ready to die for the sake of the goddess, he honestly didn't want to die like this.
The incoming attacks were so overwhelming that his holy power was being drained in large chunks with every hit.
"My lord… at this rate, I'll die…"
In the past, he had nearly died from overwork, but now he felt like he would die from being pummeled.
Ghislain laughed as he ran.
"You'll be fine, you'll be fine."
Dodging and blocking the attacks still cost Ghislain a significant amount of mana.
But now, thanks to Piote, he could focus all his efforts on running.
"I'm telling you, I'm going to die…"
"You'll be fine, you'll be fine."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ghislain confidently reassured Piote as he focused on running.
He only needed to hold out a little longer. Piote would be able to endure until then.
Thanks to Piote's unbelievable defensive power, their pursuers were thrown into confusion, allowing Ghislain to widen the distance slightly.
Kaien, his expression hardened, continued chasing after Ghislain.
'It was definitely holy power. Is this the saintess who joined them?'
It was widely known among the Kingdom's forces that Parniel had joined the Northern Army. Naturally, the Duchy had received the same information.
But the appearance and combat style didn't match the reports.
After Piote was identified as male, Raul had downgraded the importance of the information, leading to the current misunderstanding.
"He won't last much longer, though."
Unbelievable as his abilities were, there was no way they could be sustained indefinitely. Kaien gritted his teeth and pursued the pair.
Gartros felt the same. Though briefly caught off guard by the strange abilities, he quickly regained his composure.
"Don't let them escape!"
With enough people pursuing them, victory was assured. They just needed to keep chasing until the target was exhausted. As long as their side didn't tire first, they would catch him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The relentless chase left no time to breathe. Still, thanks to Piote, Ghislain managed to maintain a consistent distance from his pursuers.
Before long, another figure appeared.
Whoosh!
"Young master!"
Suddenly, darkness spread thickly as Belinda appeared and began running alongside Ghislain.
She hurled a hundred daggers at the pursuing forces in an instant.
Swish!
Each dagger was imbued with aura blades. They zigzagged through the air, targeting the pursuers.
Kaien's eyes widened at the astonishing technique.
As befitting the Kingdom's Finest Sword, he infused his own blade with mana and swung.
Boom!
With a single strike, he knocked down over ten daggers. Though many daggers still hovered nearby, he used the opening to quickly move past them.
However, the other priests and knights weren't as swift as Kaien.
"Hurry and fend them off!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The priests and knights were forced to stop momentarily, deflecting the relentless, snake-like daggers pursuing them.
Meanwhile, Gartros, seeing Belinda's skill, felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively overexerted himself.
Boom!
Black energy exploded outward, knocking all the daggers away.
Beads of sweat formed on Gartros' forehead as his expression hardened.
'The Shadow Knights' commander!'
He recognized the technique. It was the signature skill of the Shadow Knights' leader.
Though Gartros had never faced the leader directly, he had seen the devastating results of her technique. The thought of encountering such a feared enemy made his back tingle.
'No, it can't be.'
Though the technique was identical, something was lacking. If it had been the real Shadow Knights' leader, several of them would already be dead.
'Could it be a successor?'
At last, Gartros noticed the new figure running beside Ghislain.
Boom!
Gartros resumed the chase. He needed to capture the figure and uncover their identity.
The momentary hesitation had widened the gap between them. The other priests were now struggling to keep up.
"These insolent bastards, how dare they…"
The slippery targets eluded them, causing Gartros' frustration to boil over. He desperately wanted to catch and tear them apart.
Fortunately, Count Balzac was keeping up well. If he could slow them down for even a moment, the gap could be closed quickly.
But someone had seemingly been waiting for Kaien and blocked his path.
It was Erenes and Vanessa.
"That's enough. We've gained enough distance."
Thanks to Belinda's attack, they had widened the gap further.
At Erenes' words, Vanessa extended her hand.
Zzzing–! Zzzing–! Zzzing–!
Her specialty, multi-casting, began to take effect. Dozens of magic circles materialized in the air, radiating mana.
Soon, massive bolts of lightning rained down from the magic circles.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The lightning struck indiscriminately. The highly skilled individuals at the front managed to survive, but a few of the Salvation Church's priests were struck and sent flying.
The others slowed as they focused on either blocking or dodging the spells. Only Kaien continued at full speed, dodging every bolt. Gartros, meanwhile, simply absorbed the lightning as he pursued.
"You bastards…"
Kaien began to feel a twinge of anxiety. The sudden attack had slowed down most of the pursuers.
Only Gartros was keeping pace, relentlessly chasing after him.
Rumble!
Suddenly, a massive wall of rock rose up in Kaien's path. Erenes had summoned an earth spirit.
"Hrgh!"
Boom!
Kaien gripped his sword tightly and smashed through the wall in a single blow.
No sooner had he broken through than a giant fire lizard appeared, breathing flames to block his way.
"This nonsense!"
Thud!
Enraged, Kaien stomped the ground hard and swung his sword.
Slash!
The fire spirit was cleaved in two, disintegrating into flames. Such overwhelming power was enough to destroy even spirits.
But by then, Ghislain and his group had already fled far ahead.
As Kaien's gaze followed them, he noticed something floating in the distant sky.
"A hot air balloon?"
It was one of the flying devices he had only heard of in rumors. Though he had never seen one before, Kaien knew exactly what it was for.
He couldn't let them escape. If they boarded that and flew away, they would be completely out of reach.
Kaien gritted his teeth and poured all his power into his sword.
Rumble!
As he sprinted at incredible speed, veins bulged grotesquely on his forearms.
The blade, wrapped in a brilliant blue aura, trembled as Kaien hurled it toward Ghislain's back.
Wham!
The sword tore through the air, shattering space as it flew. Whether Ghislain dodged or blocked it, the attack would slow him down.
But Ghislain and his companions ignored the tremendous sword flying toward them.
Someone else was meant to handle it.
Out of nowhere, Parniel appeared, infusing her mace with holy power. Veins bulged on her thick arms as well.
Parniel swung her mace powerfully at the incoming sword.
Boom!
With an earth-shattering roar, the sword shattered.
Crack!
Parniel looked down at her tingling, twisted arm and let out a fierce grin. Even her mace had been reduced to pieces.
To think it would be this strong—indeed, the reputation of the Kingdom's Finest Sword was no exaggeration.
Though she wanted to rush forward and test her strength against him, she suppressed the desire. No matter how strong she was, she couldn't face so many superhumans and an army of 100,000 on her own.
Parniel quickly turned and followed her group. As she spread her powerful holy energy, it revitalized everyone, allowing them to move even faster.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kaien and Gartros gritted their teeth and gave chase, but the endless walls of earth rising and lightning bolts falling seemed to mock them.
While these obstacles weren't truly threatening, breaking through or fending them off gradually increased the distance between them and their targets.
Eventually, Ghislain and his group reached the area near the hot air balloon.
Whoosh!
"Quick, grab hold!"
Gillian shouted loudly as he threw ropes down from the hot air balloon.
The ropes, infused with mana, shot out swiftly. The moment Ghislain and his group grabbed hold, the balloon began to move immediately.
Onboard the balloon were five captured 6th-circle mages, all pouring mana into it. The balloon rapidly ascended, quickly pulling away from the ground.
As the balloon climbed at tremendous speed, Gartros stared at it in stunned disbelief.
"This… this can't be…"
It was now far too late to catch up. Not only had they failed to kill Count Fenris, but they had also lost all the items.
"That bastard… that bastard…"
Gartros ground his teeth, his face twisted with rage. Never in his life had he felt such humiliation.
Not even when the Salvation Church had poured all its resources into a battle against the Shadow Knights' leader and lost had he felt this ashamed. That loss had been due to their opponent's overwhelming strength.
But this time? That bastard had infiltrated the Kingdom's army in some absurd manner, brazenly stolen the items, and fled.
Neither the many powerhouses present nor an army of 100,000 could stop this deranged fool.
"Aaaaargh!"
Gartros screamed, his eyes bloodshot. It was his first time being so thoroughly mocked, and he could hardly bear it.
Even with years of disciplined self-control, his fury was unbearable.
The priests of the Salvation Church watched him nervously.
They knew Gartros as a normally composed and benevolent figure, but when enraged, he was capable of unspeakable cruelty.
Gartros wasn't the only one feeling bitter. Kaien stood silently, eyes closed.
"Ghislain Perdium."
Because of a single person, everything kept falling apart. Stronger and stronger individuals were gathering around him.
'I should have killed him back then.'
At the banquet, when they first met, he should have killed him, no matter the cost.
At the time, he had refrained to avoid political risks, wanting to take over the Kingdom subtly. But that hesitation had been a mistake. The entire Duchy had made a grave error.
That man had grown at an unbelievable rate and now stood as their greatest threat.
"Let's go back."
Kaien turned with a heavy expression. There was no helping it now. Instead of wasting time on regrets, he needed to think about how to hunt him down and kill him.
Gartros asked with a fierce expression.
"And the King?"
With the Kingdom's treasure gone, there was no longer any reason to appease him. The question, delivered in a single word, was clear—what do we do about him?
"Fighting him now does us no good."
There was nothing to gain from fighting the Kingdom's army or killing the King here. It would be better to use the Kingdom's army against the Northern Army.
But that wasn't the only reason to keep the King alive.
"The King is still useful. To survive, he will undoubtedly kill more and rule with even greater tyranny. That will make it easier for us to eliminate the Northern Army and take over the Kingdom."
The more the King descended into madness, the more the people would long for a new leader. When the Duchy took over, the people would welcome them with open arms.
Even though Marquis Branford had fallen from power, many local lords and nobles still refused to side with the King.
If the King's tyranny continued, they too would eventually turn to the Duchy.
Gartros nodded at Kaien's explanation.
"Let's do that. I'll focus on finding holy relics in other kingdoms."
"Understood."
With that, the two ended their conversation and departed. Waiting nearby, Berhem exploded in fury when he realized Ghislain had escaped.
"I will kill him! That traitor! How dare he humiliate me like this! Announce this to every corner of the Kingdom! The House of Marquis Perdium and all associated with it are now enemies of the Kingdom! Traitors!"
Still unsatisfied, Berhem turned to Marquis Domont.
"Chamberlain! Notify all the commanders of the allied forces! Order them to attack the Northern Army immediately! It was not the Northern Army but the Kingdom that forged the alliance with them!"
"…Yes, Your Majesty."
Marquis Domont's face darkened. The alliance forces had allied with the Kingdom because of Marquis Branford and Count Fenris. Without them, the alliance was meaningless.
Even without that issue, the allied forces would never side with a Kingdom working with the Salvation Church. Their nations were already suffering immense harm because of the Church.
But with Berhem raging so furiously that he seemed ready to spit blood, there was no way to bring this up now.
The commotion finally subsided when Berhem collapsed from exhaustion. The Kingdom's army and the Delphine Army had no choice but to return empty-handed.
Meanwhile, the 3rd Infantry Company of the 2nd Corps had quietly disappeared. But no one seemed to care.
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