Demon Bible

Chapter 153: One Sword

Previously, when White Fox defected to Nemus, Dartmenerly had confirmed that Nemus would only be an obstacle to the family and would never pledge his loyalty to them. This artifact had played a part in that realization.

Every generation of the Dartmenerly family's patriarch could establish a certain connection with this artifact, using it as a guarantee for the advancement of both themselves and their family.

As long as the patriarch completed the connection, they could borrow this favorable momentum to advance rapidly.

However, at this very moment, Dartmenerly stopped and ceased drawing upon the Saint Road.

He staggered to his feet.

'No, the accumulated driving force of the family is insufficient. It cannot be wasted here.' Dartmenerly suppressed his deep sense of humiliation with this thought.

Although he had been kicked flying, he actually still held the upper hand.

Nemus could only employ minor tricks that were hardly fatal. He had simply suffered a setback because it was his first time encountering them.

But as long as the battle continued, he would definitely win by relying on the immense endurance brought by his superior Attribute Value.

Humiliation and conviction spurred Dartmenerly, rapidly snapping him out of the rustiness of not having fought for many years.As the patriarch, he had received the finest upbringing, and he was certainly not lacking in conviction.

'If not for my father dying so suddenly, and the Saint Road being drained of too much power by him due to an unknown incident, which added so many obstacles...'

'...I might not have been unable to advance to the Golden Rank!'

Having been designated as the family heir from a young age, Dartmenerly naturally possessed extraordinary talent.

To some extent, his success was due to the family, and his failure was as well.

Receiving immense resources and training from the family, he had entered the Iron Rank at a remarkably young age.

However, when his Attribute Value reached seventy, his connection with the Saint Road revealed that it no longer provided any assistance, but was instead filled with obstacles.

These obstacles also spread to him. Thus, despite cultivating for so many years, his Attribute Value had only just reached ninety-three.

Furthermore, because he was riddled with obstacles, he was fundamentally cut off from the qualifications needed to advance to the Golden Rank.

Over the years, the family had continuously worked hard to develop and accumulate some favorable momentum, but those obstacles had never dissipated.

He could naturally use this momentum right now to defeat Nemus, but even if the Golden Elixir was successfully refined afterward, it likely still would not be enough to help him achieve Sublimation to the Golden Rank.

He had to accumulate enough momentum so that, during his advancement, he could briefly shatter the obstacles and grant himself the qualifications for Sublimation.

'It is a pity that due to the obstacles over the years, the talent of our family members is no longer considered high.' Normally, for the descendants of a Saint Family, even if it was difficult to produce a Golden Rank expert, they wouldn't be so inept as to fail at cultivating even a single qualified seed through Bloodline Experiment spells.

Dartmenerly was fully aware of this, but he did not care.

The prosperity of the family was his only conviction.

'Even without relying on the power of the Saint Road, it is not guaranteed that I cannot take down Nels!' Dartmenerly stared at Nemus, a ripple passing through his eyes as his killing intent began to recede.

"Nels," he suddenly spoke up. "Perhaps the family was wrong in the past, and I was too arrogant."

"I will once again offer the family's sincerity." Dartmenerly's expression turned incredibly serious. "Nels, as long as you return to the family, I promise in the name of the Dartmenerly family's patriarch that I will exhaust all of the family's resources to fund your ascension to the Golden Rank."

As soon as these words were spoken, everything in the surroundings trembled slightly, as if resonating with his declaration.

This was already akin to swearing an oath. Even without a formal covenant, as long as Nemus agreed, the Dartmenerly family would absolutely support him with everything they had, just as he promised.

"If you harbor resentment toward me or the family, you can kill me after ascending to the Golden Rank. You can kill those who participated in the events back then, or even eradicate anyone in the family who displeases you."

"As long as you can inherit the name of Dartmenerly, I will let you do as you please!"

"Patriarch!!" The moment Dartmenerly uttered these words, some of the spectators nearby could not help but cry out. The terms Dartmenerly offered were simply too extreme.

They had dedicated their hearts and souls to the family, only to become sacrificial pawns now?

"Shut up!" Dartmenerly spat, not even sparing a glance at those family members. He continued, "Nels, whether you believe it or not, Ron volunteered for what happened back then."

"And if he could sacrifice himself for the family, then naturally, so can they."

"As can I!"

Dartmenerly stared at Nemus, awaiting his response.

"At this moment, Patriarch Dartmenerly must be joking." Nemus was not swayed by the offer in the slightest.

Perhaps half a year ago, Nemus might have been tempted, but at this point, he had already perceived the underlying issues.

The Dartmenerly name was far from being a simple matter of family honor.

He could vaguely sense something amiss from the activation of the Saint Road just moments prior.

Over the years, Nemus had noticed that his battles against the Dartmenerly family always seemed unusually smooth.

When he carefully investigated the details of the Dartmenerly family, he found that the entire household had a "habit" of dropping the ball at critical moments.

Although the reasons always appeared perfectly logical—such as improper family traditions or the arrogance of the individuals involved—it still felt odd.

However, such occurrences happened far too frequently.

This clearly indicated a deeper problem.

There might be fools or wicked people within the Dartmenerly family, but it was impossible for a Saint Family to consist entirely of such idiots who, even after taking a beating so many times, still refused to learn their lesson.

Thus, it was essentially certain that there was something wrong with the family's bloodline or something else entirely.

As Nemus's understanding of Fate grew deeper, he realized the problems hidden within might be even more massive than he thought.

Therefore, a wise man would never knowingly step into a trap.

Receiving Nemus's decisive answer, Dartmenerly could not help but feel disappointed, even though he knew Nemus was not the type to surrender easily.

"What a pity..." Dartmenerly looked at Nemus, then spoke with grave seriousness. "Then let us end this with one final strike."

Dartmenerly had realized that whether he fought steadily or launched a fierce assault using his traits, as long as the battle dragged on, Nemus would inevitably find an opening.

Against someone like this, one could not fight a war of attrition; they had to seize the opportunity and crush him in a single, decisive blow.

Confirming that Nemus would never return to the family, Dartmenerly gathered the aura radiating from his entire body.

He slowly raised the sword in his hand. Upon the blade, a complete sentence of Holy Script began to light up, word for word.

Anyone familiar with Holy Script would undoubtedly recognize the phrase—

"May you grant me the power to sever all obstacles and continue forging ahead!"

The exact moment the sword lit up, Nemus swung his own blade.

Arcane Sword: Rising with the Wind.

The sword and the wind merged together, and with every passing instant, the power within surged rapidly.

The nearby witnesses and the distant Dartmenerly family members all held their breath at this moment, their eyes fixed intently upon the unfolding scene.