Azure Scepter

Page 35

Neu's crimson eyes were now incredibly bright, and she was staring intently at Trier as if she didn't exist.

Knight Harlan couldn't help but think to himself: These two still haven't finished arguing. Counting the time before the outbreak of the blood plague, they've been arguing for eight days already. Perhaps this is what philosophers mean when they say "lovers in the throes of passion are stern judges"—but then again, Sister Noy, as a renowned clergy member of the church, really shouldn't be involved in such matters between men and women.

Trier is my savior. Following the teachings of the Radiance, even though he's also involved in such immoral matters, I should still help him. Although Trier has become very wise after being enlightened by the Radiance, he lacks the skill to handle such situations. It's time to mediate their conflict!

The knight stole a glance at the paladin behind him, his mind still wandering.

With this thought in mind, the "wise" Harlan said seriously to Noi, "By the light above, Trier was willing to push you aside to save you, and was bitten and seriously injured by the ghouls himself. I think you really shouldn't continue arguing. The cultists were properly dealt with by Trier's wisdom, and your feelings should also be properly dealt with by the same wisdom."

A smile suddenly appeared on Noi's soft, cherry-like lips.

“That’s great,” Noy said in a light tone. “That’s really… great.”

His light voice was full of excitement, and even his tone was trembling.

Her eyes were lowered, misty and hazy, and a blush had crept onto her fair cheeks.

Noi bit her lower lip, her left hand holding the Holy Emblem pressed her palm tightly with her five fingers, even her nails turned white.

Harlan thought to himself: This mediation was a bit too effective, but Noy's reaction was too strange—should he stay away from it?

"Boom!" A clap of thunder sounded at an inopportune moment.

Almost at the instant the thunder roared, Harlan heard the paladin's shout: "Down!"

In the blinding white light, Noy did something that Harlan could never have imagined.

She suddenly raised the holy symbol, and the surging divine power instantly condensed into a terrifying divine spell, which then slammed down on Trier.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

The warm, radiant divine light instantly shattered into a bone-chilling cold. A cluster of icy crystals, like the pale fingers of a drowning person reaching out from the sea, clung to the ground and stretched forward. The frosty mist was biting; in an instant, the rising mist extinguished the firelight from the light spell. The cold was blinding, and the translucent ice crystals reflected the chaotic flashes of lightning.

It is the Frozen Prison, a divine spell that can render the target powerless to resist!

Why? This was Harlan's first thought.

We absolutely cannot retreat! This was his second thought.

In an instant, Harlan made a decision.

Without hesitation, he stood in the way of the spreading frost. Thorny frost immediately wrapped around his calves, then spiraled into icy ice crystals—he blocked it!

The knight raised his greatsword, intending to cleave the restraints beneath his feet, but in the next instant, the holy light of divine magic shone once more.

The radiance was like waves, turning everything in its path into indescribable ruin and decay. Dizziness and nausea pierced Harlan's heart like sharp swords, causing his vision to suddenly go black.

In the boundless darkness, the light of divine magic shone once more...

Suddenly, a silver holy symbol slammed into the back of Harlan's head, jolting him awake. His clear mind instantly dispelled the boundless darkness and illusions. However, just as his vision cleared, a heavy iron ball swung mercilessly across his nose at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.

"Crack!"

The intense sourness burst forth instantly, but the sharp pain and the elusive feeling of being detached from the body quickly replaced the sourness.

The immense force of the impact caused the knight to involuntarily fall backward, but the frost frozen in the Frozen Prison gripped his heels tightly, and he slammed headfirst into the ground in a very contorted position.

"Why didn't you act sooner?" A phantom voice suddenly rang out—a semi-transparent spirit of the dead suddenly appeared on the ceiling. "It's too late now! We've already suffered a crushing defeat! You will surely bear the boundless wrath of your master!"

Noy coldly extended a finger, and a wisp of ash struck the spirit's head. Thunder exploded, and golden light illuminated the spirit, making it exceptionally dazzling. Its translucent edges suddenly transformed into a distorted, hazy golden outline, and then—

"boom!"

The divine magic exploded like the sun, and the weak spirit was blown into dust before it could even scream.

Amidst the ozone smell produced by ionization, golden flashes filled the field of vision. A moment later, the golden burst of light faded, and Trier was incredulous to see an experience point notification flash across the corner of his eye.

[XP+3000]

Trier didn't have time to think about why Noy gained experience points for killing people; he was just quickly pondering the sudden change in the situation before him.

“Harlan shielded me from the Frozen Prison, and I was also spared the Rotten Illusion that followed. What exactly is Noy’s purpose in doing this?” His mind raced. “Now the Silent Whisper Society of Beaver Town has completely failed. Even if she kills both Harlan and me, she can’t turn the tide—what she’s doing is insane and pointless.”

"Stay calm. Now is not the time to consider why Noe took action. We need to figure out how to get out of this predicament first."

The ashes from the burning ghosts drifted down like snowflakes. Trier's eyes flickered, and he quickly scanned the large hole in the building's exterior wall, Noy holding the holy emblem, Harlan lying on the ground, and finally his gaze settled on the hilt of the longsword stuck in the undead corpse.

Chapter 62 Showdown

The cheers of the militiamen mingled with the cold rain, but the dimly lit room seemed to have entered another dimension. The excited cheers were completely drowned out by Harlan's suffocating "hmph" sounds, and the stench of ozone mixed with the increasingly strong smell of blood.

“To take down Noy, I need a weapon, but my sword is stuck in the undead and it’s not realistic to pull it out anytime soon.” Trier took a deep breath, his mind racing. “I have a dagger in my backpack, but it’s too risky to use a dagger against plate armor. If Noy can just trade blows with me, I’ll have no hope of turning the tables.”

“Think about it more carefully. What lethal resources do I still have? A dagger, a magic storage stone, and the Chilling Force. Noyi's release of the anti-death barrier for me and myself is synchronized. My anti-death barrier can last for another two minutes. If I can stall for two more minutes, I can directly use the energy absorption spell and Chilling Force stored in the magic storage stone to deal with her—first, use words to delay; if the plan doesn't work, then use the darkness to maneuver; if neither works, then fight to the death in close combat.” In half a heartbeat, he figured out the basic strategy for the counterattack. “I can't rush. The more this happens, the more I need to slow down and think carefully about any possible oversights or things that don't seem right.”

"—Wait, Noy is a priest. She shouldn't be able to cast Frozen Prison and Rotten Illusion at all. The domain controlled by Radiance doesn't include similar domains, which means..."

Trier's pupils contracted slightly, and with his attention highly focused, he saw the black crystal hidden beneath the Noy emblem—the Magic Storage Stone.

She still had a magic storage stone in her hand, and she deliberately used a light spell to conceal the sound of her crushing the magic storage stone when she was casting the spell.

At this moment, the scalding hot ghost snowflakes had all fallen to the ground, and the black smoke-emitting powder was sprinkled on Harlan's deformed iron helmet, making a hissing sound like strong acid corrosion.

"clatter."

The mud- and blood-stained boots landed lightly about half a step away from the knight's head. The next moment, the dull whistling sound of the flail ball spinning began to solidify like a gathering storm, and the whistling sound that cut through the air grew heavier and faster.

With his last breath, Harlan asked the same question as the dead: "Why?!"

Neu remained silent, and without hesitation, she raised the flail and took aim slightly—

"Wait!" Trier quickly stopped him.

"Bang!" Without the slightest hesitation, Noe's iron ball cleanly and neatly smashed Harlan's skull.

Amidst the grating, dull cracking sound of bones breaking, iron filings, blood, and flesh fragments radiated across the ground like an abstract spiderweb, and Harlan's suffocating, bellows-like breathing abruptly ceased.

The time traveler glanced briefly at the knight's still-heaving chest. He knew Harlan wasn't dead yet, but if he didn't receive timely treatment, he would only live for about twenty more minutes, and in about ten minutes, he would enter a state of complete shock.

Noi raised her head, a few drops of blood running down her long, white eyelashes and landing on the corner of her mouth. She gently wiped away the blood with the back of her hand, then revealed a dangerous smile: "Now, it's just the two of us left."

“It’s too late for you to betray us now. The Silent Whisperers are already on the verge of collapse. What you’re doing is extremely unwise and insane. What is your purpose in doing this?” Trier deliberately asked the same question that the undead and Harlan had raised. Under the cover of the noise, he silently pulled out a dagger from his backpack.

The chill emanating from the grip gave him a jolt, and he instinctively glanced at Noil's exposed, unprotected eyes.

Those misty eyes were staring straight at her. Noi bit the back of her finger as if she was restraining something. She frowned slightly, tilted her head, and took a deep breath.

“Once you acquire a new form of existence, I will have plenty of time to explain it to you slowly.” Suddenly, she changed the subject, “However, if you insist, I can tell you first.”

Trier moved slowly, his boots striking the corpses of the dead with a series of dull thuds; Neuer remained standing still, his gaze fixed firmly on Trier's direction.

“I am indeed very curious, please tell me,” the paladin said very slowly, his feet subtly resting on fragments of the undead rapier, while his left hand gripped the magic storage stone.

There was one and a half minutes left before the anti-death barrier expired—they only had one chance. If they failed, Harlan would be dead, and they themselves would likely be in grave danger.

Noy's breathing quickened, and a blush suddenly appeared on her face: "Nothing is more... more exciting than turning you into a ghost under my eternal domination and enslavement."

Trier was dumbfounded. He had all sorts of guesses and thoughts about Neu's changing attitude and behavior, but he had never thought of this possibility. To be precise, this absurd and ridiculous reason was far beyond his comprehension.

However, it is precisely this absurd and distorted reasoning and thought process that gives this statement, which can almost be called a perverted declaration, a certain degree of reliability.

Before Trier could fully grasp the immense amount of information contained in those words, Noy's tone suddenly took on an undisguised tone of resentment: "This is entirely your own fault! After arriving in Beaver Town, you actually got angry with me! You have no idea how worried I am about losing you! I must possess you, completely possess you, eternally possess you!"

"So you're the one who caused me to get the plague?"

“Under the guise of alcohol therapy, I actually followed you the whole time you went out. If it weren’t for your excellent stealth skills, I would have had you completely three days ago,” Noy explained considerately. “But I really didn’t expect you to suddenly receive the revelation of the radiance and even become a paladin. This was completely beyond my expectations.”

Trier suddenly realized the hidden meaning behind that "great success of stealth".

She continued, seemingly oblivious to her own words, "However, thanks to the protection of the radiance, things eventually returned to their original course; perhaps this is what is meant by fate."

“Look at the bandages beneath our feet. Do those blood-red lines beneath them look familiar?” Noi gave a sly smile. “Do you recognize this ritual circle?”

Trier instinctively looked down at his feet, where the messy, dried bloodstains almost became abstract reddish-brown lines—no, not almost, they were the lines of the ritual.

“Let me introduce you,” Noy said, her enthusiasm seemingly boundless, like an artist introducing a masterpiece. “The spot where you stand is for strengthening our occult connection, ensuring your immortal essence doesn’t immediately travel elsewhere after death; and the spot where I stand is…”

As Noi spoke softly, time ticked by, and soon the protective barrier had only a dozen seconds left to last.

Just then, Noy's explanation of the magic circle beneath his feet came to an end: "In short, Trill, the fact that you came here under the guidance of the radiance proves that this is our destiny, so I suggest you put down your dagger. This is the radiance's revelation to us."

“Besides, I have many, many more divine spells,” Noy said. “Even if you resist, it will be in vain.”

Trier noticed that when she said this, the other person subconsciously tightened her grip on the spell storage stone under the holy symbol in her left hand—she was lying, and the only high-threat spells and divine arts she could still use were those stored in the spell storage stone in her hand.

"And you swore to me that you would stay with me forever, so Trier, lay down your weapons!"

Only a few seconds left.

“7…” Trier murmured to himself.

He gently moved his left foot forward, his toes slightly pointed forward.

"twenty three..."

“You’ve ruined Losevie’s plans, what are you going to do about it?” Trier deliberately drew Noy’s attention.

"twenty three..."

A strong wind, carrying raindrops, lashed in from outside the cave. Noe's silver hair danced in the wind, and her scarlet eyes reflected the electric flashes outside.

"twenty three..."

Dust swirled in the air, the blood-stained particles dancing more and more slowly, and Harlan's breathing grew weaker and weaker.

"twenty three..."

“We can go to the Great Swamp in the South together,” Noy laughed, “and count the stars.”

Trier suddenly realized that he had seen Noy in the game as well. In a flash, he quickly regained his composure and focused his attention.

"twenty three..."

“Trier, do you know why I’ve been talking to you for so long?” Neu’s misty eyes suddenly brightened.

“Distract me and crush the magic storage stone in your hand!” Trier deliberately made a startling statement.

"1!"

Chapter 63 Fulfillment of the Contract (Part 1)

"1!"

"Crack!"

As Trier silently counted to the end, he suddenly clenched his five fingers and crushed the magic storage stone. At almost the same time, Noy also crushed the magic storage stone hidden behind the Holy Symbol.

The paladin couldn't spare any attention to observe the spell his opponent was casting; he was focused solely on sensing the raging death winds around him. As a low, clear syllable escaped his lips, he suddenly pointed his index finger at Noy opposite him, and the chilling, knife-like death winds instantly transformed into eerie green rays.

In the cold, dim magical light, a look of astonishment appeared in Noi's scarlet eyes. She was shocked to discover that her casting speed was actually a whole syllable slower than her opponent's!

The stench of negative energy exploded in her nasal cavity, and Noy recognized the spell Trill had cast—Energy Drain!

She suddenly understood why Trier had patiently listened to her deliberately stalling nonsense—the other party was also waiting for the duration of the anti-death barrier to end!

There is no way to avoid it!

In a flash, Noi made her decision. Without hesitation, she finished uttering the last syllable, then abruptly extended her right index finger, and a surge of emerald green magical light suddenly condensed at her fingertip.

—It's also an energy absorption technique!

The next moment, a deep, dark green light suddenly burst forth on Noi's body. Intense pain and weakness crashed into her consciousness like a tsunami. In a daze, Noi felt as if she had been hit in the head by a sledgehammer. The intense sense of imbalance and alienation even made her lose consciousness briefly.

However, despite the sharp buzzing in her cochlea, she still managed to aim and cast the spell.

"It's over. This energy-draining spell is enough to completely render him incapable of resistance," she thought.

Suddenly, an immense force gripped her ankle, and caught off guard, Noi was pulled back and staggered. At that moment, the energy drain spell with a long-range effect was released, and the eerie green spell almost grazed Trill's right arm before hitting the wall behind her.

"Hurry up!" Harlan's weak voice rang out from beneath him.

Suppressing her resentment, Noi hurled the fragment of the magic stone into Harlan's last eye with a fierce thud, then gripped the holy emblem tightly in her hand.

She was about to unleash the last divine spell she had prepared for the day—Advanced Restoration.

As a strong candidate for the next bishop of the Southern Duchy, Noy could unleash divine magic far faster than using the magic storage stone. The moment she clenched the holy emblem, holy and warm points of light swirled and danced like fireflies. Under the divine magic, the weakness caused by the energy absorption spell was rapidly dissipating...

Suddenly, a flash of silver light pierced the back of her hand. The sudden pain instantly triggered her weakness and surprise, and the holy emblem fell to the ground with a "clink".

Noi stared in disbelief at the holy emblem and the shattered rapier fragments on the ground. She tried to reach for the emblem, but Harlan held her ankle tightly!

The holy light still lingered around her, but at this moment, Noy coldly raised the flail handle and struck Harlan's temple again and again, brain matter and bone fragments splattering onto her eyebrows, but Harlan's fingers still gripped her boots tightly.

"Damn it!" Noi couldn't help but curse. She slammed the spiked weight of the flail handle against the damaged part of Harlan's iron gauntlet and then pulled it fiercely.

The spikes instantly severed the tendons in his fingers, and with a sound of flesh being torn and bones cracking, Harlan helplessly released his grip.