The soaring firelight quickly set the forest ablaze. As everyone further away, who was maintaining a strict defense, saw this scene, they couldn't help but worry whether Jeanne and her companion could handle the enemies this time. Although Jeanne had said that the two of them alone could resolve this incident, no one could be completely at ease that the two of them would remain out of danger.
Just as Talulah was gazing into the distance at the rising flames, she suddenly felt a chilly aura spreading toward her position. As Talulah felt this peculiar sensation, a feeling of despair—as if falling into an abyss—slowly crawled into her heart, seemingly wanting to drag her into that boundless sea of despair.
Looking far into the distance, there seemed to be three sturdy figures slowly walking this way, and behind them was a group of red-eyed monsters. However, everyone did not become overly nervous upon seeing this situation; the group merely gazed into the distance with tense hearts and quickly formed a defensive formation.
"Pass the word to everyone: the figures of enemies have been discovered here. Have everyone be on alert... under conditions where it is permitted, draw closer to this location."
Talulah observed the distant enemies expressionlessly. There are three Emperor's Blades here, which meant there are still two others whose whereabouts were unknown. And those behind them... they didn't look like fellows who would be easy to get along with either. Looking at their appearances, they should be Blood Demons, right?
Seeing the enemies gradually walking toward her, Talulah expressionlessly wiped her longsword, while simultaneously and inconspicuously smearing Holy Water onto it. It was unknown exactly what she had done, but the Holy Water on the longsword turned into dots of faint light and then returned to its usual appearance. In any case, whether it was the Emperor's Blades or the Blood Demons, this energy had a certain restraining effect on them; simply using it was all that mattered. Unfortunately, Talulah hadn't learned it very well; it was as if she had no talent at all when learning this technique, and the effect wasn't very good either. However, if it was merely to cooperate with the Shieldguards for a counterattack, it wasn't particularly difficult.
Much like Talulah, those people spotted Talulah standing in the crowd at a single glance. After several Emperor's Blades remained silent for a long time, they finally contacted their teammates via their communicators.
"Calling, calling. The successor of Kashchey has been discovered; the rest of you need not continue the search."
After saying that, black smoke began to diffuse toward the surroundings, as if released malevolent ghosts were swallowing the surrounding space. Because they had heard about the various things—which could be described as impossible—that had happened on this side, for the sake of safety, they were the first to use their Dominion.
Subsequently, they charged toward the distant Talulah and the Shieldguards. The black mist produced by the demons also shrouded them as they advanced, as if wanting to devour them. This was the combat method the Emperor's Blades were most accustomed to; the vast majority of people would suffer incredibly terrifying damage and suppression within this black mist composed of demons.
However, they seemed to have chosen the wrong opponents this time. They only realized something was wrong after Talulah hacked down an Emperor's Blade with a few sword strikes. The faces of these people did not have the expressions they were very familiar with—namely, the despair of knowing they were about to face death upon seeing them. On the contrary, the expression with which they looked at them was like looking at a group of elite soldiers who were so ordinary they couldn't be more ordinary. Just what exactly was going on?
While the Emperor's Blades were still wondering in their hearts, their eyes saw a burst of holy light erupting from the distant position.
"Damn it, this isn't fire condensed from ordinary spells; just what on earth is this creature!"
Meanwhile, on Jeanne's battlefield, the Sarkaz surrounded by black thorns were feeling the angry flames of the several earth dragons surrounding them. Although the Confessarius Leader who had been kicked into this area by Jeanne used spells in time to absorb the damage from the flames, it didn't have much of an effect against these strange flames. This fire was very peculiar; whether in terms of power or the fluctuations of Originium energy, it was something he had never seen before. He was even on the verge of being unable to endure it under this temperature.
Currently, he could only struggle to resist the other party's flames; there were no other better methods for now, and he could only wait for an opportunity to find a suitable moment to attack. Fortunately, he had still guessed correctly: even if it were this kind of strange creature never seen before, it still needed to breathe oxygen to maintain its own survival. Therefore, the situation imagined where it would continuously spray flames without stopping was impossible. There would definitely be a moment when they caught their breath.
He seized that exact moment when they caught their breath. Stepping onto the iron thorns that had already been burned red, he leaped into the air and swung the longsword in his hand, pointing it directly at the earth dragon's head. And this single sword strike, added with that peculiar spell, also caused very considerable damage to the earth dragon. A wound where the bone could be clearly seen appeared at the back of its neck.
"ROAR—!"
Having taken this sword strike, the earth dragon also retreated immediately. Fortunately, this fellow's bones were hard enough to take such a hit; otherwise, its head would have already fallen to the ground by now. That sword had slashed directly into its neck bone, and the cross-section of a portion of the bone could even be clearly seen; it likely wouldn't be able to fight for a short period.
Seeing this situation, Jeanne also hurriedly had this earth dragon leave quickly. If it took another sword strike, its head would fall off. However, she truly hadn't expected that after being beaten by her for so long, this fellow could still execute such a powerful swordsmanship.
After slashing out with this sword, this powerful Confessarius finally reached a point where he couldn't quite endure it. He supported himself with one hand on the longsword planted in the ground, taking deep breaths continuously. He was now so bedraggled that even standing was very difficult. The ram-head mask he had been wearing previously had already fallen to the ground and been destroyed by the flames when he suffered the dragon's breath.
And this also revealed his handsome face. Although at his age, this shouldn't be called handsome, he truly looked like a handsome youth in his twenties. But now, his handsome face had become distorted. He felt as if his body and soul were about to separate; his entire body seemed as if it no longer belonged to him and would not follow his commands. The sword strike just now was already his greatest effort; after using it, he felt the body he had been maintaining with healing spells was about to fail.
"Four ribs broken, spinal damage... internal organs have shifted to a certain degree... and suffered attacks from this strange fire..."
He gasped for breath while checking the condition of his own injuries. Facing a body that could be described as "falling apart", no matter how good one's medical skills were, it couldn't be cured in a short time. Then, should he take the opportunity while this girl was concerned about her fierce beasts to take his subordinates and flee in this incredibly bedraggled manner?
That was impossible! The reason the other party would first go to concern herself with the wild beasts she raised—besides truly not wanting them to die before her—was also because she believed he couldn't escape. He still remembered that in the intelligence the Emperor's Blades told him, there were these strange creatures, and they had also said that among them, there was a kind that could carry people and fly! No matter how fast he ran, it was impossible to be faster than a fellow flying in the sky! Even if he were given ten more legs, he couldn't do it!
"Wait a moment, we surrender! We can talk! There isn't an irreconcilable conflict between us, is there? I can go persuade the Sanguinarch to calm down; we can sit down and have a chat..."
Although he knew he looked very pathetic like this, if he didn't persuade this young girl, his end would definitely be dying here. To survive, he had to beg the other party for mercy. After all, a young girl who didn't look very old wouldn't kill people at the drop of a hat, right? This wasn't Kazdel; a girl of this age should also have some naive thoughts. As long as he could seize that opportunity...
"There is no need to persuade; I have already brought this fellow over."
A muffled voice suddenly sounded behind him, followed by a heavy object being tossed high and then the sound of it hitting the ground. That was the Sanguinarch, who was already like a pile of rotten mud! Currently, he no longer showed a human shape, wriggling like a slime. And the one who had brought this fellow over was indeed Patriot. And he looked as if he hadn't even exerted much effort to finish off the Sanguinarch.
"Eh, old gentleman, didn't you say this fellow was quite troublesome? And how was he purified into this state? I remember this fellow was still alive and kicking when he was running away just now!"