novelraw Chapter 64 : Chapter 64
Chapter 64 : Chapter 64
Chapter 64. The Lex Talionis Tribunal
An arrow?
THUD!
The arrow imbued with terrifying lightning power pierced straight through the cultist’s right shoulder.
Lightning exploded instantly.
Violent electric energy rampaged wildly through his body, throwing the evil power within him into complete chaos.
“AAAAAH—!”
The cultist let out a miserable scream.
The tremendous impact hurled his entire body sideways before he crashed heavily into a broken wall.
The air filled with a strange smell of ozone mixed with scorched flesh.
The sudden change stunned everyone present.
But not Esmeralda.
As a top-tier assassin who had danced on the edge of blades for decades, her grasp of battlefield opportunities had long been carved into her instincts.
Now!
She did not even look toward the direction of the arrow.
Her body lunged forward on instinct, instantly merging with a patch of shadow on the ground and vanishing from sight.
“Ugh…”
The cultist struggled to pull himself up from the wall, his eyes filled with fear and confusion.
However, the shadow behind him suddenly began to writhe.
Esmeralda’s figure emerged from that shadow behind him, silent and invisible, like death itself descending.
The two crimson daggers in her hands crossed, drawing a cold yet elegant arc.
The blades swept smoothly and precisely across the cultist’s throat.
A head carrying an expression of shock and hatred shot into the air.
The headless body swayed twice before collapsing to the ground, completely lifeless.
Hoo…
Esmeralda let out a long breath.
Only after looking at the corpse twitching on the ground did she realize her back was already soaked with cold sweat.
She sheathed her beloved daggers, rubbed her still-aching side, and looked toward the direction from which the arrow had been fired.
On the rooftop of an intact house in the distance, a figure stood quietly.
The man wore a full suit of black armor.
Its design was ancient in style, filled with the cold aura of iron and blood.
In his hand he held a massive bow taller than a man, faint arcs of lightning still flickering around it.
His long dark-blue hair swayed slightly in the night wind.
His golden eyes shone brightly within the darkness.
What overwhelming pressure.
Esmeralda narrowed her eyes.
This man’s strength was absolutely no weaker than her own.
Seeing that the target was dead, the man on the rooftop appeared unwilling to involve himself further.
He slowly lowered his bow and turned as if to leave.
“Hey, wait a moment!”
Esmeralda immediately called out to stop him.
“Little brother, shooting and then leaving just like that is not very polite, is it?”
Her playful voice echoed through the silent ruins.
The man paused mid-step.
Esmeralda’s gaze fell upon an inconspicuous emblem on the shoulder armor.
It was a balanced scale pierced through by a sword.
“The Lex Talionis Tribunal…”
She silently recited the name in her mind.
It was a civilian organization considered “extremely dangerous” across many nations.
They believed in the doctrine of retribution—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
They judged criminals with ruthless methods.
They were both allies of justice and enemies of order.
Why would a “Justiciar” of the Lex Talionis Tribunal appear in Winter City?
And why had he coincidentally saved her?
Could it be that he had also come for that cultist?
The man slowly turned around, his cold gaze sweeping across Esmeralda and the Shadow Guards standing behind her in their uniformed attire and chilling presence.
He did not speak.
But his golden eyes were filled with scrutiny and distance, radiating a cold indifference that kept others at arm’s length.
The man’s name was Reynard.
He possessed an almost instinctive dislike for professions like secret agents.
Esmeralda sensed that distance from his unmoving gaze, and the smile on her face deepened instead.
Interesting.
This young man looked colder than an iceberg.
As a Shadow Guard, she could not allow such a “dangerous individual” to wander freely through the city.
Besides, she was a mature woman.
She enjoyed challenges of this difficulty.
She deliberately straightened her posture, emphasizing the curves of her body, and threw a flirtatious wink toward the man on the rooftop.
“Hey there, handsome. You helped your big sister so much. Are you really planning to leave without saying a word?”
Her voice carried a teasing tone.
“Being this cold makes you seem terribly unfriendly.”
Reynard looked at her deliberately seductive pose, and the coldness in his eyes deepened.
What he disliked most were frivolous women who treated danger like a game.
“My target was a sinner,” he finally said.
His voice was deep and steady, completely devoid of emotion.
“The target has been eliminated. My mission is complete.”
The meaning was clear.
There was nothing left for them to discuss.
Esmeralda sensed the same distance in his unwavering gaze.
Not only did she not become angry, she found it even more amusing.
“Oh come on, do not say that.”
She licked her lips.
“You saved me. I should at least show some gratitude. How about I treat you to a drink? The best ale in Winter City. As much as you want.”
Reynard did not respond.
He merely tightened his grip slightly on the massive bow in his hand.
A silent warning.
Esmeralda was about to continue teasing this seemingly pure and inexperienced young man when the air behind her suddenly twisted in a strange way.
A deep-purple rift suddenly tore open in space without warning, unstable magical arcs flickering along its edges.
A tall figure calmly stepped out of the rift.
The newcomer wore a black research robe trimmed with golden threads and a pair of rimless glasses.
Beneath his short black hair, a pair of pale blue eyes calmly surveyed the entire scene.
It was Logaris West.
He had just finished deploying the three hundred and sixty Detection Eyes across the Dragon Mountain Range and was exhausted, wanting nothing more than to collapse and rest.
Then he received Esmeralda’s urgent communication about encountering a Fifth-Tier cultist.
Although he cursed “troublesome” in his heart, Logaris still teleported over immediately.
The moment his foot touched the ruins, an invisible pressure descended.
The pressure was not intentional.
It was simply the overwhelming suppression caused by a higher level of existence.
Reynard, standing on the rooftop, felt it most clearly.
Every muscle in his body tensed instantly.
His golden pupils contracted sharply.
Simply by existing there, Logaris caused this peak Fourth-Tier ranger knight to feel a tremor rising from the depths of his soul.
Fifth-Tier.
And far stronger than the cultist from earlier.
Logaris’s gaze swept across the scene.
The decapitated cultist corpse lying on the ground.
Esmeralda clutching her side while grimacing, a scorched claw mark visible on her leather armor.
And the blue-haired man on the rooftop holding a giant bow, fully alert.
He understood the situation instantly.
“Miss Esmeralda, you have worked hard.”
Logaris spoke calmly.
His voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly to everyone present.
Esmeralda rolled her eyes at him.
“Easy for you to say. I almost had my kidney carved out.”
Logaris ignored her banter.
He turned his gaze toward Reynard on the rooftop and pushed up his glasses.
The lenses reflected the firelight of the ruins, flashing with a cold gleam.
“There is no need for you to be nervous.”
“If you are not an accomplice of that cult, then we are not enemies.”