Chapter 204: Chapter 136: One Strike
Ferdinand’s expression changed drastically. The silver-glowing Alchemy Circuits on his body suddenly constricted out of shock and uncertainty.
Then, like a chain reaction, the surrounding wooden frames toppled one after another, landing sideways in the ground. Wooden strips fell off, and without exception, they all took the shape of Crosses.
If one or two forming Crosses was a coincidence, then what it meant for all twelve to become Crosses was self-evident.
Zod and Maguire held their breath, watching everything unfolding on the stage with a focus they had never before mustered in their lives, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
Ferdinand, refusing to believe it, went to touch one of the wooden frames that had turned into a Cross. But the Cross suddenly hummed and emitted a red glow, directly repelling his touch.
At the same moment, the small wooden spikes that had been embedded in his body all shot out. Some lodged themselves in the Blessing Barrier, and the areas they struck instantly spiderwebbed with cracks.
Others landed on the long table, piercing the areas around the Immortal Scripture, the Undying Bone, and the Corruption Flower, shaking the three great artifacts that sustained the Array so hard they jumped and rattled.
At the same time, these wooden spikes, just like the wooden frames, began to shed strips of wood, forming one small Cross after another.
When the last wooden spike on the Blessing Barrier shed its wood and became a Cross, a cascade of shattering sounds erupted across the barrier.
The web of cracks spread rapidly, like ripples on a lake where several stones had been tossed. Wherever the ripples reached, the barrier shattered completely.
On the stage, Ferdinand felt the undigested Magic Potion within him, his Spiritual Power rapidly fading as the blessing withdrew.
He then looked at the Demon Hunter outside the barrier who had suddenly started muttering, "Dragon God, Blood God, you’re both good Gods. Everything I said before was just trash talk. Your Graces are magnanimous, please don’t take my words to heart," and his eyes nearly burst with fury.
Offstage: Silence. A dead silence, as if a god had pressed the mute button.
Both the Demon Hunters and the Cultists writhing on the ground in their Undying transformation fell deathly silent.
Maguire and Zod stared blankly at the events on stage, the words "How is this possible?" all but written on their faces.
Everything fell quiet, except for the sound of the shattering barrier and the struggles of the Yellow-robed Priest, who was pinned to the ground by a Cross.
"The barrier’s shattered!" Amid the cracking sounds, Maguire spoke, first in surprise, then excitement. "L succeeded!"
Zod took a gulp of wine to sober up, smacked his lips, and confirmed that he wasn’t drunk. He nodded, his voice thick with complex emotions, "L succeeded..."
As Carmen witnessed this scene, the face beneath her hood—beautiful despite its disguise—was etched with profound shock.
’The aura of the Law... The aura of Law that seemed to come from the Immortal Goddess has vanished... No, it hasn’t vanished. It’s been suppressed by an even greater aura of Law!’
’Which deity is it? The Dragon God or the Blood God? Or... both of them!’
’The Blood God is understandable, but didn’t the Dragon God fall long ago in the War of Laws? How is this possible...’
The Dragon Witch suddenly seemed to sense something and looked up, toward the area above the Underground Altar, her red-gold pupils filled with disbelief.
「Aboveground Altar」
Just as the Immortal Monster that Kazela had become was about to struggle after having six of its heads severed simultaneously, Yalilan’s Silver Hand plunged a Canaan Tree Spike directly through its heart.
Kazela writhed in agony for a moment before collapsing.
The Demon Hunters’ faces showed their relief, but it lasted only a moment. They tensed up immediately as they saw the surrounding Undead Cultists, who had started their Undying transformation at some point, begin to close in.
Seeing Kazela fall, Yalilan was just about to order some people to go with her to the altar below when she heard Andre suddenly shout from beside her, "Lady Yalilan! There’s a... Dragon!"
"What!"
Yalilan looked up. A gale blasted her face as a massive, majestic Flying Dragon with magnificent horns descended from the sky.
The wind stirred up by its massive membranous wings froze everyone in place. Their minds went blank, and an immense pressure seemed to crush their chests, making it impossible to breathe.
It was a Flying Dragon, snow-white from head to tail.
But as two of the people closest to the Flying Dragon, Andre and Yalilan could see clearly that its snow-white appearance was an illusion created by sunlight reflecting off its scales.
The true color of the Flying Dragon’s scales was a pale azure, the same color as its Dragon Eyes. At the same time, a heavy stench of sulfur could be smelled up close, and the meaning of this was self-evident.
This was no Flying Dragon at all, but a Fire Dragon.
And a legendary Fire Dragon Subspecies at that...
"An Azure Fire Dragon." In the distance, the Blood Loss Knight, who was standing on a tree branch, murmured as he watched flames erupt from the Flying Dragon’s mouth.
Why would an Azure Fire Dragon be in Fude City?
Almost without thinking, Yalilan roared at her subordinates, "Everyone, get back!"
The Demon Hunters instantly scattered, making space for the Giant Dragon’s sudden arrival.
The Azure Fire Dragon, however, merely circled in the air, its gaze fixed on the altar. Its pale azure Dragon Eyes revealed shock and excitement.
Then, it threw its head back and let out a deafening roar, sending the birds and beasts in the forest fleeing in terror.
"BOOM—"
Azure-green Dragon Flame swept over the altar, like a turquoise tidal wave submerging everything around it.
Fortunately, the Demon Hunters were well-trained and, under Yalilan’s command, had already taken cover in the underground passage of the altar the moment the Azure Fire Dragon appeared.
"RUMBLE..."
After the Giant Dragon let out another roar that seemed to pierce the very heart of the earth and departed from the altar with its shadow, the Demon Hunters emerged from the passage. They saw that Kazela, the Yellow-robed Priest, and the surrounding wooden frames on the altar had been burned to ashes, while the Undying Cultists were writhing on the ground like tangled, twisted tree roots.
Meanwhile, Yalilan, the Pure-blooded Fierce Tiger, watched the Azure Fire Dragon depart with a resolute expression. Without the slightest hesitation, she ordered the Demon Hunters to advance into the passage.
—
「Underground Altar.」
The Dragon Witch Carmen had heard the Azure Fire Dragon’s first roar. Her pretty face went slack with a dazed expression. "The Dragon Law..."
’The Azure Fire Dragon was actually summoned here because it sensed the angry aura of the Dragon Law!’
’The Dragon Law was split into three parts long ago, belonging respectively to the Golden Dragon and the Black Dragon of the Three Great Dragon Kings, as well as the Red Dragon, who was forsaken by Destiny.’
’And she herself possessed the Red Dragon’s one-third of the Dragon Law. She had originally planned to rely on gaining the recognition of the Dragon Law in her possession to ascend to the Gold rank.’
’But because she lacked the Red Dragon Spirit, she could never gain the Dragon Law’s recognition, and couldn’t even use it to command other members of the Dragon Race.’
’But just now, the Azure Fire Dragon was mobilized by the Dragon Law...’
This meant... The Dragon Witch lost her composure for a rare moment, a flicker of horror appearing in her eyes for the first time as she looked at Demon Hunter L.
’No, that’s not the point. The point is, how could Baron attract the attention of the Blood God at the Immortal Goddess’s altar with mere words?’
’If the Azure Fire Dragon, summoned by the Dragon Law, was a sign of the Red Dragon’s affirmation and approval of a Dragon Knight...’
’...then what about the Blood God’s Crosses?’
’Wasn’t he just an ordinary bank clerk before this? A Bloodless whose engagement was broken?’
Deep doubt rose in Carmen’s heart.
’This strange sense of incongruity made her think of a transaction from many years ago. Looking at the timeline, forget Baron, even his father probably hadn’t been born yet...’
’Carmen carefully recalled the details of the transaction and suddenly realized that besides knowing she was to sign a contract with the second person to hold the Knight’s Lawbook, she had no memory whatsoever of the other party’s appearance or identity.’
The Witch frowned. Then, she subconsciously pushed the matter to the back of her mind, once again consumed by the shock that Baron’s conflicting prayers had actually worked.
Meanwhile, on the altar, Ferdinand’s face was flushed with anger. His previous composure was gone, and he practically roared:
"L, what the hell have you done!?"
Such familiar words. The last person who said that, however, had his corpse torn to pieces.
Baron said, "What have I done? I’m sending you on your way, of course."
With that, he sneered, leaped onto the altar, and with a single stroke, lopped off the weakened Ferdinand’s head.
