Azure Scepter

Page 128

However, Edith simply raised the holy sword high, and in the next instant, a blinding light, as bright as the sun, suddenly emerged from the tip of the sword.

"Justice!" Edith roared, almost screaming.

The ultimate power of the Holy Knight of the Oath of Devotion, "The Holy Light Wheel"!

Several beams of holy light pierced through the black mist, then exploded through the entire darkness. Under the holy light, all the charging demons screamed, and their thirty-odd heads burned like candles. Their boiling muscles and fat slowly dripped down like wax, and within a few breaths, they turned into clumps of indescribable paste.

"Sizzle!" The blade struck the ground, sending sparks flying.

Edith coldly glanced around, then looked down at the only surviving soldier-cultist not far away.

The cultist was severely injured. Under the influence of the Holy Light Wheel, his skin melted like wax, and his charred tendons stuck to his clothes.

Without treatment, he won't live much longer.

"No...don't kill me...I have a paralyzed mother..." the cult member stammered incoherently. "I was forced into this, I've never killed anyone..."

The next instant, under the influence of the Realm of Honesty, a red aura symbolizing lying slowly appeared on the cultist's body.

Edith's face was covered in blood. She slightly turned her bloodshot eyes and then coldly raised her longsword.

"No! Good lady! No!" the cultist screamed.

Edith hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and, after a moment, coldly snapped, "Get out!"

The cultist, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, hurriedly scrambled away into the distance, but before he could even reach the street, he completely lost his strength.

“Edith!” Feudia’s voice came from above. “I saw the leader of the Demon Order! I never imagined that the leader of this order that ravaged Eraf was the actress Dorothy! I remember she was the lover of the spymaster Nordman…”

"So the person who has been protecting the Demon Cult all along is the Chief Spy." Edith looked at the limbs and congealed paste on the ground, and the oppression and emptiness in her heart grew even more severe. "Never mind that for now. Did you see Livitt and Granny Laur in the sky?"

"Laure is in the ruins in front of you." A strange female voice suddenly came from above.

Edith was startled. She quickly raised her sword and looked up, only to find that the elf also looked bewildered.

“It’s me, Nina.” Nina snorted in annoyance. “Little Edith, you’d better hurry, Laura is seriously injured.”

"You can talk?!" Fythia exclaimed in surprise, stroking Nina's horsehair. "Nina, you can actually talk?!"

Nina, extremely displeased, brushed Futia's blonde hair with her white ponytail.

“Even savage unicorns can talk, so why can’t I?” Nina questioned.

—Although Edith was surprised that Nina could speak, she did not stay where she was. Instead, she rushed to the ruins ahead. Sure enough, she saw Granny Lor lying dejectedly on the ground amidst a patch of frozen rubble.

However, Levitt was not by Laura's side.

“Your Highness, I failed in my mission…” Granny Lor’s face was contorted with pain. “She was captured by another group long before the demons surrounded me…”

“You’ve done very well.” Edith carefully knelt down and cast a Holy Healing spell. “You should rest well. Can you tell me the characteristics of the group that captured Levitt?”

Roel shook her head in anguish.

"I don't know where they went. All I know is that their group included a bald vampire inquisitor and a goblin wielding a giant axe!"

Edith felt a chill, but the pure white light of Healing still shone in her palm.

Mars leaps, and a pure white glow slowly emerges.

Trier stood before the fireplace, silently gazing at the illusory scene revealed in the flames—he had been closely monitoring Edith's actions through his Arcane Eye.

Meanwhile, Noy sat at the table, staring intently at the torrential rain outside the window.

Noy's voice interrupted the transmigrator's thoughts: "They don't know that the Inquisitor and the earth gnome Jole are Bishop Vercingetorius's men—Master, aren't you going to help them?"

“Now that they have directly offended Saint Sel and Lady Bloodthorn, your plan to protect Edith from conflict has completely failed,” Noy questioned directly. “And are you really willing to see Livitt sacrificed by Bishop Vercingetorius?”

The transmigrator remained silent for a long time. After a while, the usually cold-hearted transmigrator let out a long sigh as if he had lost his composure.

“You’re right,” he said through gritted teeth. “Given the current situation, I’m willing to lend Livitt a hand.”

Noi smiled.

“Edith, where do we go next?” Fythia asked. “If we don’t have any leads, we’ll have to seek Trier’s help.”

"He...he won't help us."

Upon hearing Trier's name, Edith felt a sharp pain in her heart and she clutched her chest, whispering.

“Trier is just a bit… stubborn,” Fythia said sincerely. “He is essentially a very kind person. Back in Beaver Town, he was even willing to personally lead the militia, which served as bait, to fight against the powerful undead army.”

“Teacher Trier is indeed a very kind person—before meeting him, I had never met anyone willing to selflessly share profound magical knowledge.” Granny Lor shook her head weakly. “Although I don’t know why you two were arguing, as long as you clearly state your needs, he will definitely help you.”

“Little Edith, he was just trying to protect you and didn’t want you to get involved in the conflicts between powerful beings.” Tenma Nina also joined in persuading Edith. “Now the situation has completely changed, and his decisions will definitely change as well.”

"Radiance, you can speak!?" Granny Lor stared wide-eyed in shock. "Why can a horse speak human language?" And what is this conflict between powerful beings?

Edith felt her mind was in chaos. She took a deep breath and slowly looked at the dilapidated street.

The next moment, a familiar and gentle voice slowly resounded in her heart.

"It was Vercingetto who kidnapped Livitt, and Livitt is now in the basement of the Lighthouse Theatre."

It's Trier!

For some reason, Edith felt the oppression and emptiness that had been lingering in her heart dissipate, and a warm feeling emerged in her heart.

PS: A big chapter of 5500 words!

Chapter 251 Excerpt: Alex's Death, the Pope, Ambition

The lights were dim, and the thick walls blocked out the sound of the torrential rain outside, as well as the screams from inside.

Severely wounded, Oris stood in the shadows with his arms crossed, looking guiltily at the large number of sacrifices not far away.

—The frequent disappearances in the city of Eraf were not all the work of demon worshippers; Oris also captured many in order to collect enough sacrifices.

The sacrifices were mostly emaciated. They were roughly pushed to the ground by the Asmo soldiers like lambs, followed by the sound of metal cutting through flesh.

Oris couldn't bear to look any longer, so he turned his head and looked back at the stairs he had come up from.

Suddenly, a roar came from behind him, and he instinctively turned around to look.

"By the light above, you will be punished!" A shackled sacrifice suddenly stood up and elbowed the executioner in the face. "Justice will prevail!"

Oris recognized the rebellious sacrifice; it was the paladin Alex—the valiant paladin had barely been in action for a second before several spears pierced his joints, and he collapsed to the ground, trembling.

Encouraged, the other offerings, who were eager to try, immediately gave up their resistance.

A will that is neither here nor there can ultimately prevail over steel.

Above the sacrificial ceremony where blood flowed on the ground, as the slaughter spread, the flames of the nine hundred and sixty purple candles burned ever brighter.

A few minutes later, all the flesh and blood mysteriously disappeared, and five enormous humanoid creatures with white wings suddenly appeared in the gloomy and terrifying dungeon.

These were four powerful Brahma attendants and one even more powerful otherworldly attendant. Behind them, more fully armed Asmos slowly emerged.

“We are here to assist you, Oris, at the command of our Lord.” One of the tallest otherworldly attendants slowly stepped out of the ritual circle. “We are ordered to fight against the evil demon lords and the fallen paladins. We will be your strongest support.”

Oris was about to speak, but the next moment, Saint Ser's solemn voice resounded in his heart.

“This is the reinforcement provided to us by the saint who is in charge of trickery and theft,” Saint Ser said in a deep voice. “Auris, we don’t have much time left—if we can’t stop Losevie, we must at least obtain a divine office to protect ourselves. As long as I can gather the divine office and divinity, I can exalt the divine kingdom, and then Losevie will be unable to deal with us.”

“My lord, I still haven’t found Livitt,” Oris said timidly. “Our men have lost track of Edith.”

Saint Seir was silent for a moment, then said in a chilling tone, "If enough people are sacrificed, Lady Bloodthorn can also come down—greed blinds people's minds, and demons are even more greedy than mortals. She is plotting to seize Losevie's godhood, but she doesn't know that we have our eyes on her too."

“But the offerings have all been used up…” Oris retorted fearfully.

"Oris, you need to open your mind."

Saint-Sel laughed in a low voice.

"There are still so many souls in this city waiting to be saved!"

Oris swallowed hard.

Meanwhile, at the Lighthouse Grand Theater.

The ethereal and sacred hymns echoed in the hall, and Vercingetorius knelt down, bowing his head in humility.

Before him was a mirror formed of holy light, reflecting the Holy City's Royal Palace. At that moment, inside the Royal Palace, a fundamental bishop dressed in a black robe announced the Pope's passing.

"Given the special circumstances we face now, and the conclusions reached by the saints, I hereby declare that the faithful executor of the Church, the devout guide, Vercingetorius, shall assume the duties of the Pope," the Fundamental Bishop said. "Your Holiness, receive the crown and scepter."

Vercingetorie slowly stood up and solemnly nodded to the Mirror of Holy Light before him.

At this moment, Vercingetorius appeared extremely frail. His handsome and youthful face was gone, and his face was as withered as a newly resurrected ghost. His tall body also seemed to have lost half its water content, and even his bishop's robes appeared extremely loose.

He slowly reached out, took off his bishop's hat, and handed it to the accompanying priest beside him.

Then, Vercingetorie turned his head shakily to look at the red-haired angel standing beside the communication mirror.

The red-haired angel holds a holy crown and a scepter symbolizing "a saint walking on earth".

"Faith gives me courage and determination, faith paves the way for me, I will become the kindling in the long night, the light at dawn, dedicating the rest of my life to the well-being and glorious glory of mankind." Vercingetorly recited the oath softly, "From this day forward, I relinquish my former name, from this day forward, I am..."

"Vicientoly".

An uneasy whisper came from the Dharma King's Hall in the Holy Mirror.

"Silence, brothers, silence!" the fundamental bishop commanded. "His Holiness is only acting as papal authority now, so he naturally does not have to abandon his past identity. According to the results of the saints' discussions, the formal appointment of the pope will take place in three months."

“Vercingetori is also the name of a saint,” Vercingetori said in a deep voice. “My brothers, I have cast aside the name of a mortal and received the name of a saint.”

Inside the Royal Palace, the fundamental bishops responsible for electing the new pope were silent for a moment before they all applauded.

After the enthusiastic applause subsided, Vercingetorius received the crown from the angel's hands.

With the completion of the elaborate and fixed rituals, Vercingetorius officially became the new Pope of the Church of Radiant Light.

Instead of leaving immediately, Vercingetori first dismissed the priests who were serving him around him.

“Your Majesty.” The red-haired angel raised his head and looked sincerely at the new Pope. “Death is only the beginning of another journey. It is unwise to fear the end of life in the material plane. Someone as wise and powerful as you would at the very least become a servant of the gods in another world.”

“Thank you for your suggestion,” Vercingtoli replied with a smile, “but I have already made my decision.”

As he spoke, he took the golden scepter from the angel's hand.

The moment his withered fingers gripped the scepter, the red-haired angel instinctively took a step back.

—The oppressive feeling of Vercingetorius suddenly became extremely strong. As he tightened his grip on the scepter, space began to slowly distort. Everything in the Lighthouse Grand Theater bent imperceptibly in Vercingetorius's direction. The angel could clearly feel that the entire building had gained a noticeable curvature, and the flow of time around Vercingetorius had obviously slowed down.

The red-haired angel blinked uneasily, then quickly left the prime material plane.

Vercingetorie turned around and slowly walked out of the hall.

There were few followers outside; on the contrary, the narrow corridor was eerily quiet, with only an elf wearing a gray cloak and carrying a longsword standing quietly in the shadows.

"There are only two hours left until the scheduled time for the sacrificial ceremony," the elf said softly. "You'd better hurry."

“Thank you for the reminder.” Vercingetorius still smiled. “So, Your Excellency, now you can tell me why the Sage of Sunset chose to bet on me?”

—This elf carrying a longsword is a divine messenger sent by the Sage of Sunset. According to Vercingetori's investigation, this divine messenger was once the grandmaster of the Elven Shadow Sword School. He was killed when Lorraine assassinated one of Lorraine's guests and had his throat pierced by Lorraine's spear.

The divine messenger was silent for a moment, then said, "If people's fate is a coin, it is tossed before people are born to determine whether their fate will be good or bad—in the past you were the person whose fate was the coin's tails, but now you are the person whose fate is the coin's edge."

Vercingetorius narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Why do you say that?"

The messenger turned his head: "According to normal fate, you should have died long ago, but now you are not only alive, but have even become the new pope of the Church of Radiance."

Upon hearing the messenger's words, Vercingetor, who had been behaving extremely amiably, suddenly burst into laughter, his eyes turning icy cold.

“Perhaps fate has decreed my death,” Vercingtoli sneered, “but I insist on living. Not only do I want to live, I want to live until the end of the world!”

At this point, with a speed befitting his aged appearance, he abruptly looked down at the messenger of the Sunset Sage.

"Whether they are demons or gods, anyone who stands in my way of survival must die!"

He gripped the scepter tightly in his hand.

This time, his life would no longer be in anyone's hands. He would be in control of his own life and he had to break free from Trier's control completely.

PS: Transitional Chapter

Chapter 252 Plot Summary: Sacrifice, Fear, Opportunity

"Whether they are demons or gods, anyone who stands in my way of survival must die!"

Vercingetorius gripped the papal scepter tightly in his hand.

Although he had claimed to Trier in the tavern that he wanted to stay away from the conflict between the gods, that was just an excuse. In order to truly survive in the long run, Vercingetorius was not afraid to confront demigods.