CA – Chapter 94
Chapter 94
The chaotic battle terrified the nobles and destroyed half of the Rose Manor, but the instigators of this melee did not get off easy either.
After reluctantly tossing out the Space Gem containing the Elf Fruits, Glanna took advantage of the fact that Ophelia and the Dark Elves were distracted. She and Noah jointly cast a witchcraft spell to conceal their tracks. Just then, Delia raised her Blood Domain. Preoccupied with the scattered Elf Fruits, Ophelia’s attention wavered for just a moment, and she could no longer pinpoint Glanna’s location.
The Space Gem was shattered by a Dark Elf’s arrow, and the Elf Fruits scattered all over the ground. Since Ophelia was the closest, she acted quickly. By the time the Dark Elves arrived, only one fruit remained on the ground.
The Blood Domain overlapped with the Dark Domain, almost completely obscuring their vision. The Dark Elf, Patricia, bent down to pick up the Elf Fruit. Her long, silver-gray hair swung in a slight arc. She scanned her surroundings indifferently, the longbow in her hand trembling slightly as black mist suddenly appeared and condensed into a sharp arrow.
Ophelia, who had already collected the Elf Fruits and was searching for Glanna, suddenly sensed a hint of danger. She sidestepped in the dense fog, and a black arrow flew past her ear, a sharp pain stinging her cheek. Ophelia raised a hand to touch it and found her fingertips stained with blood.
Her eyes turned cold. She was about to step in the direction the arrow had come from, but a sudden, chilling pressure from all sides froze her in place.
The sound of something slicing through the air came one after another. Ophelia’s expression changed. She leaped forward, and with a flash of white light, she transformed into a giant white wolf. The wolf agilely dodged the arrows flying from all directions, dashing through the dense fog at incredible speed and bursting out of the Dark Domain.
There were too many Dark Elves. Concerned about the Elf Fruits she had already obtained, Ophelia had to temporarily give up her pursuit of Glanna and decided to shake off these Dark Elves first.
However, Ophelia underestimated the tenacity of these Dark Elves. She was hunted for a full twenty days, fleeing from Rose Manor. Her route took her across almost the entire Gosse Empire before she finally circled back to the capital city and managed to lose them.
But by then, she was left with only one Elf Fruit and had sustained serious injuries.
Reverting from her transformed state, Ophelia’s long golden hair was somewhat conspicuous in the night. She stood in a dark alley, tending to the wound on her arm where an arrow had pierced through. Because the arrow was formed from the power of darkness, the wound was healing very slowly.
The best way to treat such an injury was to continuously flush the wound with Holy Water of Light, but after a moment’s hesitation, Ophelia decided to conserve it. She simply used a dagger to cut away the corrupted flesh around the wound and then wrapped it with a cloth.
A werewolf’s self-healing ability was also very strong. Enduring the pain in her arm, she leaned against the cold wall and closed her eyes to rest.
The alley she was in was on the same street as the Holy See, and from time to time, groups of three or five clerics would walk past the alley’s entrance. Annoyed by the disturbance, Ophelia clutched her arm and was about to leave when a voice, both strange and somewhat familiar, made her freeze in place.
She subconsciously flattened herself against the shadows and looked toward the source of the voice.
On the empty street, Holy Knights led the way, with Imperial Knights in silver armor guarding the rear. Walking in the middle were two beautiful young women. The one on the left wore a magnificent dress, appearing to be a noble, while the one on the right, with long golden hair, wore the holy and noble robes of a Bishop, which made her identity clear.
However, what made Ophelia’s face change drastically was not that the other person was a Bishop, but the Bishop’s face itself.
“Grace…” Ophelia murmured, her tone filled with disbelief. The hand hanging at her side slowly clenched into a fist, and her aura turned suddenly cold and sharp.
The fleeting killing intent startled Tang Qiu, who was in conversation with Maggie. She turned sharply to look at the alley where Ophelia was hiding, but it was too dark to see anything inside.
Maggie paused, puzzled by Tang Qiu’s sudden stop. She followed Tang Qiu’s gaze and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Tang Qiu frowned and shook her head, giving a meaningful look to the Holy Knights ahead.
A Holy Knight, sword in hand, ran over to investigate. After a moment, he emerged and reported in a low voice, “Bishop Grace, there’s nothing inside.”
Tang Qiu narrowed her eyes, glanced at the alley one more time, then turned back to Maggie, who was still looking at her with confusion. In a gentle voice, she said, “I thought I heard a sound over there. I must have been mistaken.”
She nonchalantly resumed their previous topic of conversation. “The Rose Manor in the Bill Empire had to be set on fire and the city sealed off because of a sudden outbreak of the Black Death. If the Rose Manor within the Gosse Empire is allowed to continue like this, it will meet the same end sooner or later.”
After seeing the skeletal remains exuding a dark aura at Rose Manor, Tang Qiu knew exactly where the Black Death had originated.
Just like the werewolf monsters Glanna had created, the offspring of humans and vampires would most likely be monsters as well.
And unlike werewolves, vampire blood contained the power of darkness. No one could guarantee that these monsters didn't carry strange toxins.
The toxins might not affect vampires, but they could be fatal to ordinary humans.
Maggie agreed with what the golden-haired Bishop said. She frowned in thought for a moment before saying, “The king and the prince have only just passed away, and the royal authority is not yet stable, so I can’t deal with those nobles right now.”
Not long after the King of Gosse passed away, the prince’s body was discovered outside Rose Manor. With the first heir dead, Maggie naturally ascended the throne, becoming the Empress of the Gosse Empire.
It was just that she had only recently taken the throne, and her power was not yet secure.
Tang Qiu chuckled softly and wagged a finger at Maggie. “Those nobles aren’t important.” She paused, a slight smile playing on her lips. “What I need is your resolve to expel the Rose Manor.”
Maggie was taken aback. “Of course I have that resolve.”
Tang Qiu glanced at her and, with a smile, revealed the purpose of their meeting. “I need a letter of request for aid, stamped with the royal seal.”
“Oh?”
“You can write whatever you want, but it must be related to Rose Manor.” Tang Qiu stroked her chin, instructing Maggie, “And you must point out the Vampires and the Black Witches.”
If she wanted to make a move against Rose Manor, she had to present the Central Church with evidence that its expulsion was necessary. Tang Qiu felt that any ordinary reason would surely be suppressed.
After much thought, only a letter of request for aid, personally written by the ruler of the Gosse Empire, might carry some weight.
But even that little bit of weight wasn’t enough…
Maggie lowered her eyes and thought for a moment. Seeing no harm in it for herself, she slowly nodded. “Alright, I know what to write.”
Tang Qiu smiled and glanced back at the dark street. She said to Maggie, who was already standing by her carriage, “I’ll have the Holy Knights escort you back.”
Maggie wanted to refuse, but the golden-haired Bishop was insistent, so she had no choice but to agree.
Under the guard of the Holy Knights and Imperial Knights, the carriage proceeded grandly toward the palace. Tang Qiu stood and watched it depart, the smile on her lips slowly fading.
She turned and began walking back toward the Holy See, recalling the killing intent she had sensed from the alley.
When not in her werewolf form, Tang Qiu’s senses for killing intent and auras were not particularly sharp, but even so, she had felt that something was wrong.
Who was watching me in secret… Tang Qiu frowned, lost in thought.
Jennifer, leading a group of clerics, came out of the Holy See and ran into Tang Qiu. She raised a hand to stop the preoccupied Tang Qiu and said, “Bishop Grace, I was just looking for you.”
Tang Qiu looked up at Jennifer, a hint of confusion in her eyes. “What is it?” As she spoke, she glanced at the dozens of energetic clerics standing behind Jennifer.
“Several small towns on the border between the capital and the neighboring city were once harassed by Black Witches. I found that the villagers there are all more or less tainted with a dark aura, so I plan to head over tonight to purify them.”
“You should come with us.”
Jennifer hadn’t had a moment’s rest since arriving at the Gosse Church. She had carried out the tasks Tang Qiu assigned her exceptionally well. The clerics who had come with her had been at the Bill Church for a long time and were more than familiar with how to establish the Holy See’s authority abroad.
With the assistance of the Imperial Knights, the commoners in the capital of Gosse and several nearby cities, upon seeing the clerics of the Holy See, were no longer as cold as they had been at the beginning, though their attitude was not as fervent as that of the commoners in the Bill Empire.
With Jennifer and the others around, the church’s affairs no longer fell entirely on Tang Qiu’s shoulders. Although they had not yet been granted the title of Priest, they had, with Tang Qiu’s tacit approval, already taken over some of the church’s power.
The church began to operate in an orderly manner. Willie and the others, who had been waiting to see the golden-haired Bishop overwhelmed, could no longer sit still. Willie and three other priests watched Tang Qiu and her group from a small window in the corridor, his face dark. “If we don’t do something, these people from the Bill Church will take our positions sooner or later.”
His tone was laced with anger.
The other priests nodded in agreement, their gazes shifting to Lisa on the other side.
Lisa was also looking through the window at the group surrounding the golden-haired Bishop. Her eyes were fixed mainly on the girl with curly golden hair. Karen seemed incredibly happy, her brown eyes curved into crescents, her smile bright and radiant.
It was the first time she had seen Karen smile so happily outside of sword practice.
Back in Eden, the curly-haired girl had always been sullen and full of hostility.
Willie called Lisa’s name, pulling her back from her thoughts. She raised a hand to press the corner of her moist eye, her expression returning to its usual coldness. She didn’t even listen to what Willie was saying and cut him off in a low voice, “Follow me.”
With that, she turned and left. Willie and the others paused for a moment, assuming Archbishop Cambecus had another order for her to relay, and followed her.
Lisa left through the back door of the Holy See and waited outside for a moment. Willie, unable to contain his curiosity, asked, “Is it an order from Archbishop Cambecus?”
Lisa hummed in affirmation, not denying it.
Hearing that it was an order from Archbishop Cambecus, Willie and the others waited with Lisa, their minds at ease.
The sound of hoofbeats came from the distance. A squad of Holy Knights arrived before Lisa and the others. The Holy Knights dismounted, saluted Lisa, and respectfully called out, “Priest Lisa.”
Lisa had once been a Bishop and had her own squad of Holy Knights, though they had always been kept hidden.
Willie knew this, which was why he always wanted her on his side against the golden-haired Bishop. Only she had the power to do so.
Lisa nodded to the Holy Knights, then glanced at Willie and the others and gave a quiet command, “Get them on the horses.”
Although Willie and the others were confused, they trusted Lisa, so they all mounted the horses with the help of the Holy Knights.
The troop of horses avoided the main streets, traveling along remote paths for a long time—so long that Willie began to feel uneasy. He couldn’t help but call out to Lisa ahead, “Priest Lisa, where exactly are we going?”
Lisa surveyed their surroundings and signaled for the Holy Knights to stop. She remained on her horse, stroking the reins as she looked down at the bewildered Willie and his companions.
She was silent for a moment, then raised her hand and gave a signal.
The Holy Knights standing beside the four men drew their longswords in unison. Before the men’s confused eyes, they thrust the blades through their chests.
Willie’s eyes widened in disbelief. He clutched his chest with one hand and pointed at Lisa with the other, spitting blood as he said through gritted teeth, “Lisa, you… you venomous… woman.”
Lisa lowered her gaze, as if she hadn’t heard the curses. Splattered blood stained the hem of her robes. The pure white priest’s vestments were defiled. She stared at the spot marked with a flower of blood until the cursing stopped, only then did she slowly raise her head.
“Bury them.” Her voice, against the backdrop of the night, was exceptionally cold and ruthless.
The Holy Knights carried the bodies into the woods to bury them. Lisa took out the parchment the golden-haired Bishop had given her and, without expression, destroyed it.
She had a reason she must stay in the Gosse Church.
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