Chapter 40: Blooming posture
A roar filled with pain and rage rang out like a death knell, instantly tearing through the night’s false calm.
It was as if the entire valley’s forest trembled from its wounds, howling as pus oozed from its deepest scars.
The black mist rapidly expanded.
Within the woods, some trees might not yet sense it, but outside the clearing, the black mist blotted out the moonlight like a flood, bringing a truly silent darkness to the night.
Murphyana trembled all over in fear. The small courage she had just gathered vanished instantly, her face as pale as paper as she instinctively curled up and drew closer to the nearest mercenary beside her.
Seeing one unexpected disaster after another, Northern’s handsome face showed the first cracks of strain. His brows furrowed tightly, a flash of unprepared anger flickering in his eyes.
Ves’s pupils contracted, his breath suddenly caught. Forcing himself to calm down, his mind raced to analyze the sudden shift in the situation, calculating what tools he still had at hand.
Only Lordtisa remained standing calmly in place.
The young soldier captain’s emerald eyes quietly watched the churning black mist as if it were no more than a gentle breeze brushing past her.
—Damn it. Northern cursed silently in his heart.
He abruptly turned his horse’s head, quickly retreating toward the knights’ protective circle, yanking his equally panicked adjutant in front of him.
“What’s going on!”
His voice was tight with suppressed rage, nearly squeezed out through clenched teeth.
The adjutant was so terrified by his fierce expression that he trembled all over, barely able to speak clearly, and could only point shakily in Ves’s direction:
“M-Master! It’s that mercenary! He—he just blocked most of the consecrated arrows, causing the seal’s impact point to shift! The arrow formation didn’t fully contain it, and that cursed wraith… that cursed wraith broke free!”
Northern immediately understood, a surge of dark fury rising to his head.
(The mercenary—again this mercenary! Ruining everything over and over!)
His sapphire eyes nearly spewed fire, the hatred toward Ves reaching its peak.
The black mist churned like a rising tide, swiftly spreading in all directions.
Where the mist passed, the grass withered instantly, the earth cracked, exuding a putrid stench of decay.
Even though the Holy Knights were well-trained, watching the onrushing tide of death and facing an utterly unnatural horror, their hands gripping their weapons trembled involuntarily.
The instinctive fear of death caused unrest within the formation.
Though humans can control themselves with reason, warhorses have neither will nor awareness to sacrifice themselves.
Once fear spreads, both mounts and riders inevitably fall into panic.
“Stand your ground! The pride and glory of knights are won in the most critical moments. The more invincible the enemy, the more courage we must show our edge!”
Northern shouted sharply to steady his troops.
But cold sweat already soaked the palms tightly clutching his reins.
The entire plan was thrown into chaos. The damned target was still alive; the credit he expected was gone, and now this massive trouble had arisen.
His mind was in turmoil. Frustrated, he forced out orders:
“Pilgrims! Continue the holy blessings! Suppress the cursed breath! All knights, ready your bows and aim for the heart of the black mist!”
However, the Soul-Devouring Sovereign before them was no longer the bait-distracted pursuer of moments ago, eyes locked only on prey.
The expanding black mist covered a vast area. Being a spirit-like wraith, it was impossible to pinpoint its true form within the fog.
What made matters worse, the churning mist contained enormous, unstable evil magical power, causing rippling distortions in the surrounding space and emitting an ominous chill that shook the heart.
“Tisa, this isn’t right!”
Ves whispered urgently.
“The mist is too widespread. We can’t find the core. Blind attacks will only let the cursed breath infect us. Let’s temporarily pull back.”
Though the Soul-Devouring Sovereign possessed the power to plunder minds, whether its true form, movement, or mist control, it was not particularly fast.
If it weren’t for the ambush at Silent Day Town, it could still run away.
But Lordtisa shook her head slightly.
Her golden hair fluttered in the chaotic wind.
The young soldier captain’s gaze locked on the rolling black mist ahead, her voice calm:
“No, there’s no need. This time, it won’t escape—It will pay the price.”
Yes, a price.
Only she didn’t say out loud that the price would be the heaviest for anyone who dared to harm the people most important to her.
Lordtisa took half a step back, her toes lightly tapping the ground.
In that instant, a mighty aura burst forth from her slender body, radiating outward like an invisible tsunami sweeping the entire battlefield.
Her dazzling golden hair moved without wind, the tips shimmering with a faint golden glow.
In this valley shrouded by darkness, she stood out strikingly, like a sun arriving early before the dawn.
Everyone present, whether the panicked knights or the furious Northern, was deeply drawn in by this sudden magnificent sight, to the point that they nearly forgot the danger that had pressed so close just moments before.
Up close, Murphyana felt an irresistible gale battering her, screaming as she clutched at the grass to avoid being blown away.
But behind the soldier captain, Ves, standing even closer, felt only a gentle, warm breeze, as if this power reserved its tenderness just for him.
While everyone was mesmerized by the “Golden Lordtisa’s” radiant display,
She moved.
Without using any weapon, nor any complicated, unfathomable magic tricks.
She simply condensed all the vast, ocean-like power within her body into her right fist.
The surrounding magic seemed drawn by a vortex, crazily converging and compressing onto her fist, stirring the air into a low, rumbling hum.
She punched toward the surging black mist ahead!
No flashy light effects, only the purest, most domineering force.
Where her fist passed, the air was forcibly compressed into a visible transparent shockwave, like an invisible giant plow, ruthlessly smashing into the thick black mist!
“Boom—!!”
Like a red-hot iron plunged into ice and snow, the black mist, saturated with ominous magical power, was torn apart by the pressure storm brought by pure strength.
The mist emitted a shrill, mournful scream, wildly rolling aside and collapsing in two directions, revealing a mass inside—the twisted fog body made up of countless pained faces.
“There!”
Ves’s sharp eyes immediately pointed at the exposed Soul-Devouring Sovereign.
Almost the moment he spoke, Lordtisa vanished from where she stood.
The next blink, the golden figure flashed like sunlight piercing through storm clouds, appearing right in front of that twisted fog mass.
Without hesitation, the punch she failed to fully land that night in Silent Day Town, wrapped with the will and strength to crush everything, headed straight for the disaster’s core—
Unerringly, making up for what was left undone.