Azure Scepter

Page 75

Long, long ago, Lady Bloodthorn was merely a lesser demon lord. However, relying on her wisdom and strength, she joined forces with another demon lord and successfully broke through the largest defensive fortress in the region now known to humans as the "Demon Rift." She intended to use blood sacrifice to further tear and expand the passage between the Prime Material Plane and the Abyss, but on the last day of the ritual, an accident still occurred.

A paladin of unimaginable power, wielding the flag-spear before the Balrog, single-handedly and head-on fought his way through the overwhelming demon army. He then charged straight into the bottomless abyss through the gaps between the demons, and with an axe, he directly killed the demon lord presiding over the ceremony amidst the demon horde. Lady Bloodthorn was also severely injured by the paladin's axe.

As one of the demons most favored by Lady Bloodthorn for a long time, the Fiery Demon Rosat knew that the reason why Lady Bloodthorn was so anxious to find a vessel to descend into the Prime Material Plane was that she wanted to take revenge on that almost invincible paladin after successfully advancing to the level of a demon lord.

The paladin is currently in dire straits and isolated, making this the perfect opportunity for revenge. However, this opportunity is extremely short-lived, because if the gloomy and ruthless god of the Radiant pantheon is telling the truth, the paladin named "Losevier Lorinman" will recover rapidly within three months.

The roaring axe blade, the pure white cloak fluttering behind the paladin, and the whistling crimson banner spears always carried a certain secret fear from the depths of his soul, deeply imprinted in the memories of the fire demon Rosat.

Staring at the knight carrying the flag, the Balrog even felt a kind of absurd fear.

Is it possible that the leading knight is Lothaway?

As he hesitated, the flames that were bursting forth all over Rosat shrank by a few inches.

It narrowed its eyes slightly and immediately gave a mental command to the last remaining Valkyrie to hold off the charging knights. However, the Valkyrie, with its chaotic nature, changed its mind the next moment.

Because it sensed the growing cowardice within itself—Rosat suddenly flew into a rage again, for it hated cowards!

Retreat? Absolutely not!

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" The Balrog lashed out furiously with its multi-sectioned chain whip, lashing out and shattering a trembling ferocious demon beside it.

"We will tear through the darkness, break through destruction, for we are the dawn, we are justice. Knights of the Kingdom of Orko, for the light, for honor, for justice—lower your lances!" The leading knight swung his banner sharply, the cold tip of his lance pointing straight at the Balrog. At the same time, a second, resounding horn blared, "Forward! Charge!"

"Charge!" A hundred knights shouted in unison, their deafening cries seemingly pausing the torrential rain for a moment before erupting into a roar of thunderous hooves!

It plunged straight down, and the earth roared!

The lead knight was as fast as a silver meteor, and in an instant, she blasted into the ranks of the demons from the flank.

Several high-ranking hybrids, each with a different appearance but all clad in enchanted heavy armor and wielding enchanted polearms, swarmed in. They shouted and echoed each other while swinging their weapons at the leading knight. But in the next instant, they crashed into the spear tip, armor and all, their bones snapping and exploding into a bloody mess.

Anyone who blocks my way shall die!

Amidst the blood mist, heavily armored knights roared past, their hooves pounding the ground, and the hastily assembled defenses of the demons crumbled in an instant.

"Charge!" the lead knight shouted a second time. She suddenly gripped her lance with both hands, slung it behind her back, and countless holy white lights gathered on the blade like a storm. The next moment, she spurred her horse and abruptly swept it horizontally.

The heavy blade traced a light arc, and the holy flame instantly shattered the layers of rain, turning the torrential rain into scorching steam as if it had been cut off.

The Holy Slash!

Under the command of the Vega demons, the monstrous demons formed an extremely dense formation. They held their spears at an angle, and the spear tips, forged from abyssal blood-forged steel, formed serrated lines that resembled metal dragons.

Rainwater mixed with blood pelted the lead knight's hood, making her eyes beneath it appear even more focused and bright.

The next moment, the spear blade, imbued with the Holy Slash, suddenly smashed through the metal dragon, through the corrosive slime protecting the Ferocious Demon, and through the Ferocious Demon's bulging chest muscles.

The muffled thuds of flesh being torn apart by steel and the abruptly stopped screams echoed throughout the entire battlefield.

The horse's hooves suddenly pounded through puddles and charred embers burned by the holy flames, but the lead knight was not hindered in any way; on the contrary, she charged even faster.

She ignored the remaining hordes of demons, knowing she was at the forefront of the wedge-shaped assault formation; all she needed to do was carve a path, and the rest would be left to others.

The knights behind crashed over, their heavy, cold steel crushing the demon's frail body like a speeding millstone.

Destroy everything!

"what!"

Amidst the spray of blood mist, a Vega demon with dragon feet and a human body advanced instead of retreating. It roared, its sharp, withered yellow teeth clearly visible. It strode over the fleeing demons, its massive black-handled slashing straight at the face of the leading knight like a collapsing mountain.

"Pfft!"

The leading knight did not waver in the slightest. She suddenly thrust out her spear, and the nearly three-meter-long spear in her hand cleanly and neatly pierced through the face of the Vegamon, which was full of dragon horns and sharp teeth.

The demon's dying cries and roars, accompanied by round droplets of blood, sprayed towards us, and the sulfurous blood rain cascaded down the silver spear shaft.

Although Vegamo was known for its strength, it couldn't even achieve a moment of resistance before its face was smashed by the flag spear due to the combination of speed and pure brute force.

Vegamo lowered his eyes dejectedly, looking at his nose. The gun barrel that pierced his nose twisted everything like a vortex—his opponent was a legend.

The armored warhorse continued to gallop, and the massive, giant-like Vega was impaled on the spear tip. Its huge green hands gripped the silver shaft with all its might, and its scarlet eyes stared helplessly at the hooded knight amidst the splattering blood.

The lead knight suddenly gripped the lance shaft with both hands and thrust it forward with tremendous force, causing the holy flames that purified evil to reignite on the blade.

The rain lashed down on the burning corpse of the demon Vega, which then burst into flames. The ashes from the holy flames were instantly scattered by the gale-force winds kicked up by the galloping warhorses, and the giant black-handled cleaver in the high-ranking demon's hand clattered to the ground.

"Blazing Demon! In the name of Radiance, if you have even the slightest bit of honor left, fight me to the death!" The leading knight shouted for the third time, "I, Edith Lorinman, challenge you to a duel!"

—The leading paladin was none other than Princess Edith.

Before the words were even finished, the armored warhorse leaped up and jumped directly over the cracks in the ground created by the Flame Demon's Collapse.

The invincible Princess Edith flicked her wrist, deflecting the spear tip, instantly blasting the pierced remains of the Vega demon into dust. At the same time, she braced herself against the massive, thick neck of her warhorse, spurred the saddle, and leaped forward.

In an instant, the strong yet supple mane fluttering around the warhorse's neck transformed into a dazzling array of light spots. In the blink of an eye, the wounded and charging warhorse vanished completely.

This warhorse is the celestial warhorse of the paladin.

Pure white light shone like falling petals. Princess Edith held an axe-spear with a bright red banner in her left hand, and a longsword with an extremely simple and unadorned design in her right hand. The hilt of the longsword was engraved with the acanthus emblem of the Radiant Church.

At this moment, Edith stood alone on the platform of the shattered Emerald Wheel Staircase. Before her lay the burning and collapsing tower, towering crimson flames, and the enormous and imposing Balrog within the flames, while behind the Balrog were even more low-ranking demons.

The knights who charged with her were already caught in the melee, and she, with her slender figure, was the only one who made it to this point.

However, the princess did not hesitate for a moment. She strode towards the Flame Demon, her pace quickening. Under her hood, sweat mingled with raindrops from her hair, while her bright, star-like eyes reflected the Flame Demon.

At this moment, in Rosat's eyes, Edith's image increasingly overlapped with the terrifying Lothaway, and as Edith approached, it subconsciously took two steps back.

Rosat suddenly remembered that hundreds of years ago, in a place called Beaver Town, it had fought a paladin named Cod in similar weather, and it had lost that time as well.

Damn paladins!

"Paladin! I will cut you in half, slice you open, and chop you to pieces!" the Balrog roared to bolster its courage. At the same time, its gaze shifted, searching again for the elf that had just attacked it.

—This attack was a devastating loss. If the powerful spirit that had come into contact with Lady Bloodthorn's container could not be captured, Lady Bloodthorn would be in a very passive position. She decided to capture the spirit before fleeing.

The next moment, the Balrog gripped the decapitation sword tightly and then suddenly slashed at Ittis.

"boom!"

PS: First update, more to come later.

Chapter 150 The Princess and the Elf (Part 3)

The fire demon Rosat is extremely burly and powerful. With just a stomp of its foot, it can create a deep crater in the marble floor. Compared to the enormous fire demon, Edith's figure appears quite petite.

Flames swirled around, the air in front of the decapitating sword was extremely compressed, and layers of shock waves spread out like waves of a tsunami. Before the swords even clashed, the gale had already made Edith's hood fly up and his face tremble.

"when!"

Metals collide, and the sparks fly.

Edith neither dodged nor evaded, but directly swung her spear, deflecting the Balrog's decapitation sword head-on. The ear-piercing sonic wave exploded at the point of impact, shattering the glass window of a nearby building into dust!

This was just the beginning. In the next instant, the princess and the fire demon engaged in a fierce battle that was barely perceptible to the naked eye. The gleaming sword and spear blades and the purple flames suddenly separated and merged. In the billowing black smoke and rain, only the occasional bursts of fire could be barely seen. The cold, crisp sounds representing destruction and death rang out like a death knell. With each collision, a terrifying shockwave would spread rapidly.

Before long, the eastern side of the Earl's Garden was almost completely reduced to wasteland. The brief, intense, and dangerous clash between the two forces seemed to whirlpool and destroy everything around them. The jade-carved circular staircase shattered into several pieces, one section of which fell straight down the cliff into the inner city's church; the laurel trees tied with red ribbons and the pure white iris fields were blown to pieces; the white marble floor was cracked as if struck by a powerful earthquake, and the shocking fissures spread rapidly like a spider web as the two forces moved quickly.

Futia watched the violent clash with considerable concern, raising her bow several times only to lower it again—both sides were moving too fast, and due to her severe injuries, she was unable to lock onto the Flame Demon before they moved.

She clenched her fists nervously, then glanced at the undead "Silence" before her.

Futia knew that the undead "Silence" was very powerful, and she wanted to get it to join the battle to help the princess. However, "Silence" simply and rigidly carried out Trier's last order—to protect itself.

"Bang!" Another powerful clash.

Futia couldn't help but feel a little worried. Although the two seemed evenly matched in each exchange of blows, the princess was ultimately just a mortal. With each deadly and intense clash, Edith's strength and speed seemed to be gradually weakening.

However, the princess seemed completely unconcerned; instead, she continued forward. Her spear and longsword unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks—slashing, stabbing, thrusting, parrying, and slashing—forming a near-impenetrable curtain of ferocious, relentless assault.

"Die!" The Balrog seemed to realize that Edith's attack was weakening. It roared, endured a sharp thrust, flapped its black wings and took off into the air. Then, holding the decapitation sword, it slashed fiercely at the enemy.

At the same time, Rosat activated his spell-like ability, "Mind Control".

The Duke's statue, now shattered into pieces, was instantly lifted into the air by the will of the Balrog, and then sharp fragments of stone shot towards Edith like a barrage of bullets.

Amidst the sickening metallic clang, Edith's spear and sword were shattered by the rubble driven by "mind control," and she herself seemed to lose her balance due to exhaustion. She staggered back a few steps, and was then forced to kneel on her sword by the chilling clash of weapons.

The sword's edge was sharp as a blade, tearing Edith's hood completely apart. The burst of firelight reflected her flowing gray hair and youthful, beautiful face, though she seemed to be wearing a stern expression.

A hint of wild joy appeared on the blazing face of the Flame Demon. Seizing the opportunity, it stepped forward suddenly, raised its decapitation sword high in its left hand, and made a standard "sword stance - decapitation" preparatory action.

Unfortunately, a Shadow Demon that had been lurking in the shadows seized the opportunity and suddenly sprang out, charging straight at the princess.

"It's over!" Futia was shocked. No longer caring about accidentally hurting Edith, she drew her longbow to its full extent and fired an arrow.

At that moment, time seemed to stand still.

The blazing decapitation sword, the grotesque and twisted smile on the Balrog's face, the menacing Shadow Demon, the arrows shattering the sound barrier, the simple and unadorned longsword, Edith's cold and icy eyes, and the splattering salty blood droplets were all frozen in time.

The next moment, Futia's sonic boom arrow, fired with all her might, suddenly blasted the Shadow Demon. The scalding aftershock blasted apart an entire line of Swift Assault Demons, and the shattered arrow fragments even pierced the eye socket of the Flame Demon!

However, the Flame Demon's power was unaffected; it ultimately unleashed a terrifying "Sword Moment - Decapitation".

"No, Edith!" Futia cried out, but the next moment, a scene that left her speechless unfolded.

Edith neither dodged nor evaded, but directly raised his spear and slammed it into the ground. The surging, mountain-like force instantly shattered the ground, which was already severely damaged by the legendary battle.

Futia then realized that the location of the Balrog was right at the cliff below the Tower of Stars!

This is a trap!

The princess's ferocious attack was not due to pure courage; she wanted to push the fire demon to the precarious edge of the cliff, then lure it into a full-force attack, thus creating an opportunity.

The ground suddenly crumbled, and the Balrog's powerful slash caused it to lose its balance completely. The mighty and invincible Balrog fell straight into the pit with the rubble in a very ungraceful posture. Its head, engulfed in flames, slammed hard into the rock, and the dull thud even drowned out the thunder that was just beginning to sound.

everything is over.

Edith drew her longsword and pointed it sharply at the sky. In the next instant, a holy light, like a thunderbolt drawn by a lightning rod, suddenly clung to her.

Suppressing her shock, Futia barely recognized that the princess had cast "divine grace," "appearance of a high angel," and "prayer spell" on her.

— Just now, Edith didn't use any of her paladin abilities; she was purely using her warrior abilities to fight the Balrog!

The Balrog crashed into the mountainside amidst a torrent of falling rocks. Futia instinctively peered out and discovered that there seemed to be existing structures inside the mountain; it appeared to be a cemetery. At that moment, a cold and solemn voice suddenly rang in her ears: "Magic is forbidden here!"

She turned her head and saw that Princess Edith had raised the simple, unadorned longsword in her right hand.

"It's a high-level dispelling spell!" Futia exclaimed in shock, her mouth agape.

Only then did she realize that the longsword in the princess's hand was actually a Holy Avenger!

The term "Holy Avenger" refers to a weapon exclusively used by paladins. These are the ultimate weapons used by paladins in the prime material plane to fight against evil, and their effects are often so powerful as to be almost unbelievable, making them almost divine artifacts.

As Edith's declaration fell, a burst of multicolored light erupted from the Balrog, instantly dispelling all its magical enhancements. The Balrog's furious roar seemed insignificant amidst the shattering of the magic.

The next moment, something even more shocking happened to Futia.

Suddenly, the spear in the princess's left hand burst forth with a blinding silver flash. The flash expanded rapidly in a few moments, then transformed into a silver pillar of light that pierced the night sky and shattered the clouds. The dazzling silver light seemed to be about to shatter the stars in the sky.

Half a moment later, Edith suddenly pushed off the ground and stood up. The spear that pierced the sky suddenly turned around, and the silver spear blade burned the fire demon's burning decapitation sword as easily as cutting tofu. Then it directly pierced the fire demon's chest!

The Balrog roared in resentment as it was completely enveloped in dazzling silver light. Its surroundings were spotless, as if half of the dust had been burned away by the holy flames. The next moment, it was completely nailed to the floor of the tomb.

Since it was not yet dead, it couldn't even unleash its incineration explosion. The powerful fire demon could only convulse and writhe hysterically and futilely, like an eel coming ashore from the water.

This time, everything is finally settled.

Fydia was once again momentarily numb from the overwhelming shock. She had thought this kind of experience only happened when she was with Trier, but now she realized she was completely wrong...

-

Edith, who had been keeping a straight face, let out a long sigh of relief, and her serious expression immediately fell.

After continuously clashing with the Flame Demon, she eventually suffered some blunt force injuries, with many capillaries ruptured. So, the princess very unceremoniously stretched out her left hand and used her index finger to wipe away the blood flowing from her nose.

Edith looked around. The demon's sneak attack had completely failed, and everything was already decided. Apart from Futia, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, and a knight covered in wounds and wearing a black cloak, there was no one else around her.

So she cleared her throat lightly, briefly recalled a line from the classic chivalric adventure novel, *The Tale of Sir Crusoe in Search of the Water Fairy Queen, and the Sir and His Seven Elf Wives*, and then solemnly said, "The moon shines brightly, its silver light painting the tips of the laurel trees, beautiful and noble lady, I swear..."

“But it’s pouring rain... there’s no moon in the sky at all.” Fythia blurted out instinctively, “Besides, isn’t that a line from the knightly novel you read in the capital?”

Edith was already used to the way the elves spoke. She chuckled twice, then slowly stretched out her hand, and warm holy light gathered at her fingertips.

"Anyway, it's been a long time, Futia. You know, when the communication between here and Beaver Town was completely blocked by the wandering undead, I was so guilty. I thought you were dead." The princess said softly, "By the Radiance, welcome back, Futia."

Fythia tilted her head slightly and said in a low, defiant voice, "I didn't..."

Princess Edith's smile grew even wider.

The next moment, a sudden change occurred!

The elf's voice suddenly stopped, the faint whisper seemed to stretch to the infinite horizon, and the blush that had risen on her fair face due to shyness suddenly froze.

Edith looked around in disbelief.