novelraw Chapter 492 - 482: Sacrifice and Wrath
Chapter 492 - 482: Sacrifice and Wrath
The entire city wails in flames, black smoke entwines like a giant serpent around the crumbling spires.
Amidst the chaos, a unique army marches in formation through the streets that have turned into ruins.
The knight leading the way holds high a banner embroidered with a golden lion, followed by soldiers in shiny blue armor, chest plates engraved with a winged falcon, their faces beneath the helmets like stone carvings, indifferent to the fallen corpses along the path.
At the center of this elite force, a middle-aged man clad in marshal armor rides on a six-legged warhorse with a body of black scales.
As his gaze casually sweeps past the curled, charred corpses by the roadside, a faint and elusive smile curves his lips.
"Your Majesty, remnants of the Fourth Prince’s forces still resist stubbornly in the eastern district." The general beside him reports quietly.
"My useless brother has fled the city himself, yet loyalists remain?" The middle-aged man addressed as king chuckles, dismissively waving his hand, "Leave them for the follow-up troops to clean up. We head directly to the royal palace."
As Elias’s fleeting smile lingers at his lips, the general beside him suddenly springs into action, grabbing the crown prince from horseback and retreating swiftly.
The courtyard wall on the right shatters in a deafening explosion, and numerous thorny branches as thick as serpents burst through, sweeping over with an overwhelming force.
The silver-armored soldiers don’t even have time to raise their shields before the sudden green tide engulfs them, reducing the elite force to debris in the blink of an eye.
In the swirling dust, Sirean steps out slowly from behind the collapsed courtyard wall.
The elf’s robe is untouched by dust as his emerald eyes coldly fix on Elias, guarded behind the general, his tone distinctly impatient:
"Time is tight. Can’t you just obediently be destroyed? Arthur’s eldest son, Elias."
Having faced such sudden upheaval, Elias remains unflustered, instead examining Sirean with curious interest: "I’ve never seen you in the court. Are you an ally invited by my dear brother? No... Addressing my father directly by name, who are you?"
"There’s nothing to discuss with a fake created by mist." Sirean sighs, his fingertips weaving with a pale green glow.
"A fake?" Elias laughs, "This may be mist, but the memories are real, the will genuine. What makes you think I’m the fake, and you are the real one?"
"Things without a soul pretending to be alive."
Elias’s erstwhile composure finally vanishes, his handsome face instantly darkens: "Kill him."
The general, constantly guarding him, steps forward at the command, a fearsome pressure erupts like a mountain collapsing or waves crashing, cracking the stone slabs beneath the general’s feet.
Sirean merely stomps his foot softly, countless tender green sprouts emerge from the stone slab seams, rapidly growing into myriad fresh branches.
The terrifying battle leveled the entire street instantly.
The combat lasted for a long time, and when the thorns finally pierced Elias’s chest, this self-proclaimed bearer of genuine will shattered into pieces under incredulous eyes.
The surrounding mist begins to churn intensely, dispersing rapidly like receding tide.
Sirean staggers and falls into an enigmatic forest.
He gently pulls down his sleeve, concealing an arm already turning wooden.
Glancing around, a hint of worry flashes through his emerald eyes: "I hope Vera and the others are safe..."
...
"Vera? What has happened to you?" Lucia’s trembling voice sounds particularly helpless.
She kneels in a pool of blood, unable to believe the severely injured warrior before her, barely breathing, is the Vera who always smiled at her, her last glimmer of hope.
Moments ago, the mist about to engulf Golden Valley City suddenly retreated at the last moment, leaving behind the city in chaos.
Lucia found the gravely wounded Vera at the edge of the retreating mist.
Vera’s lips quiver slightly, unable to utter even a complete syllable.
Frantically tearing her dress hem, Lucia awkwardly tries to bandage the wounds so deep they expose bone.
"I, I’ll find someone to help right away, Vera, you must hold on!" Her voice chokes with sobs, running swiftly in the direction of Golden Valley City.
However, the city, having just endured the fright of the mist, has long fallen into chaos among the military and civilians.
In the chaotic crowd, Lucia desperately calls for help, met only with cold pushes.
Some, due to her identity, even unceremoniously swing fists at her face.
Returning to the original spot empty-handed, Lucia finds the ground under Vera drenched in blood, his chest no longer rising or falling.
"Vera? Vera!" Lucia shakes his shoulders in disbelief.
Her cries fail to awaken Vera, but instead attract an unwelcome guest.
A sudden blow to the back of her head blinds Lucia, causing her to faint and fall softly beside Vera.
By the time Sirean finds this place, Lucia is nowhere to be seen.
The elf crouches down, examining the dozens of wounds on Vera’s body.
From the injuries, it’s evident Vera endured several fierce battles, and the large bloodstain on the ground indicates he ultimately ceased breathing due to severe blood loss.
But Sirean can feel that life force hasn’t completely left Vera.
He sighs softly, his voice carrying a hint of apology.
If it weren’t for him, Vera and the others probably wouldn’t have encountered such an unprecedented mist scenario.
"Vera, don’t die. At least... not because of me..."
Sirean brushed away the mycelium trying to spread over his body, and a drop of clear liquid seeped from his fingertip, gently touching Vera’s lips.
A miracle followed, with the savage wounds healing at a visible speed, the pallor giving way to blood, and the silent heart began to beat once more.
If Lin Jun had been paying attention, she would have found the scene of healing quite familiar, but alas, her focus was entirely on the battlefield where Pink Puki was and the feast about to commence.
In the end, Vera was already breathing steadily, lying peacefully under the tree.
But Sirean’s figure gradually transformed into an ancient wooden sculpture, quietly dispersing in the breeze, leaving only a few tender green leaves slowly falling.
[Judgment of Sacrifice in Virtue]
[Hero Acquisition Difficulty Reduced by 50% (×)]
[Reaping Stage (√), Salvation Value (√), Sacrifice Event (√)]
[Judgment Passed]
[Achievement Unlocked: Sacrifice in Virtue]
Vera’s lashes quivered slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.
In the blurred vision, he saw Fei Ling and Fei Yin anxiously rushing towards him...
...
Lucia awoke in searing pain, the first sensation being the cold touch on her ankle.
A rugged iron chain was tightly secured there, with the other end fixed to a wooden stake in the center of the camp.
A Goblin noticed the awakened Lucia, baring its fanged mouth in a shrill laugh.
It casually picked up a stone fragment and hurled it at Lucia’s forehead.
She did not dodge, nor did she raise a hand to block, letting the stone split her brow bone open.
Warm blood trickled down her cheek, leaving a trail on the pale skin due to malnutrition.
The Goblin’s anticipated sobs didn’t occur; Lucia just sat quietly, her eyes vacant, staring at the ground, as if the impact had been on someone else’s body.
This reaction made the Goblin lose interest and it turned away irritably.
Blood dripped onto the soil, making a faint "tap, tap" sound.
Lucia’s thoughts had long drifted away.
She remembered Vera dying from missing the rescue opportunity, remembered her father’s guilty eyes looking at her for the last time before his execution in the square, remembered the head maid standing defensively against the Pigmen, being cleaved by a battleaxe...
They all died.
Why?
This question echoed repeatedly in her mind.
She had clearly had no choice, clearly had done no wrong, so why did everyone who was good to her meet unfortunate ends?
Why must she alone live in a world filled with malice?
With her hands, lacking one finger each, covering her eyes, she no longer prayed for help, no longer hoped for tomorrow, only hatred for the world remained in her heart.
"Humans, demons alike, all should just die."
"If only I could have died with the head maid back then."
[Judgment of Wrath in Seven Sins]
[Hero Acquisition Difficulty Reduced by 50% (×)]
[Reaping Stage (√), Hatred Value (√), Character Importance (×)]
[Judgment Failed]
The mist silently enveloped the camp.
Goblin’s frantically glanced around, Snake-men Warriors raised their scales, hissing.
Yet the mist thickened, quickly swallowing the entire camp.
From the mist came the sound of a chain breaking.
Before dispersing, a hand with only four fingers seized the neck of the earlier Goblin, easily snapping it.
[Judgment of Wrath in Seven Sins]
[Hero Acquisition Difficulty Reduced by 50% (×)]
[Reaping Stage (√), Hatred Value (√)]
[Judgment Passed]
[Achievement Unlocked: Wrath in Seven Sins]
"All... be destroyed..."