Chapter 132: Autumn of Adolf (Nineteen) Five Thousand Words
The flames crackled ominously around the furry buildings, and in the glow of the fire, an army of world-destroying forces marched in well-ordered ranks, waving flags with eight arrows as they came from afar, down the street. As the burning black smoke dispersed before Ji Ma and her companions, everyone saw that in the distant square in front of the Sigma Cathedral, numerous demon soldiers were lying on the ground, emitting white smoke from their bodies. Behind them, reinforcements were streaming in continuously from three streets.
Though the distance was not short, even the towering Eternal Chosen felt somewhat small. However, no one dared to overlook his figure; he still charged ahead, fully ignoring the transformed little sun, Jenna, as he scattered the soldiers around him, bravely forging ahead.
George had withdrawn his wings. Faced with the assault of the Eternal Chosen, he stepped back, hoping to receive cover from his own line of troops—if the line formed by hundreds of various survivors could indeed be called a troop line.
By contrast, there were far more survivors from the world-destroying army beneath the sunlight of Jenna, and they could be seen from a distance, their demonic armor swirling with white smoke, surrounding the troop line with at least three times their number.
Seizing the opportunity, the Eternal Chosen swung his terrifying long sword, and in a blink, swept Jenna, who was now like the sun, to his side. That fiery bright sword drew a lethal arc in the air, exploding with white light that sent limbs flying from the blast, extinguishing the sun.
Eve Frostleaf couldn’t help but cry out, “Jenna!”
Immediately afterwards, George rushed to drag Jenna away, and behind him, limbs scattered as more survivors fell.
The Demon King Ji Ma remained composed, casting a glance at the reinforcements arriving behind the Eternal Chosen, which seemed to come endlessly. A further glance at the reinforcements from the empire revealed nothing but emptiness. The Sigma Cathedral had become a gaping wound in the artery of the imperial forces, draining them of life.
Ji Ma mentally re-evaluated the battle and realized that the Batto knights she brought were merely a drop in the bucket. In the sea of soldiers, let alone killing the Eternal Chosen, merely holding him off was already a feat. It might be time to retreat and fight another day, though the chances of that happening again were slim. Should she gamble?
As if sensing Ji Ma’s plight, a knight riding a silver pegasus, wearing a bucket helmet, approached.
“Your Majesty the Demon King.”
Ji Ma was initially surprised that a Batto knight would address her so respectfully. “Call me King, wait… you are not a knight.”
The knight removed his helmet, revealing a golden beak and said, “I come at the behest of my lord to bestow upon you our master’s blessing and make you one of the Four Divine Selections.”
Saying this, the knight produced a tube about the width of a forearm, filled with a thick green liquid. Ji Ma could sense a nauseating aura emanating from it. She frowned and scoffed, “The Lord of Metamorphosis actually passed a ‘vomit’ from his corrupted state to you?”
“As long as you drink it, the ceremony of the Four Divine Selections will commence, and you will become the second Eternal Chosen.”
As the knight spoke, in the square before Sigma Cathedral, numerous demon soldiers lay on the ground, emitting white smoke, with reinforcements continuously pouring in from the three streets behind them.
In the plaza in front of the Cathedral, another knight fell victim to the Eternal Chosen’s sword, his body exploding. The knight added, “And for your great undertaking, your companions and allies need a chosen one of the Four Divines.”
Ji Ma glanced at her personal system panel; her mana was down to 21%, starting the ceremony of the Four Divine Selections in this state was incredibly dangerous.
“Tsk, the timing you’re suggesting is simply too perfect.” As Ji Ma spoke, she looked around at her companions’ reactions, finding none.
It seemed the followers of the Lord of Metamorphosis, with whom she was negotiating, were merely one flying knight, with no beak protruding from their face. Their discussions were mundane, and even Eve Frostleaf, whom Ji Ma held, remained silent.
Is this an illusion created by the Lord of Metamorphosis?
“Please trust the Lord of Metamorphosis.”
With no hands free, Ji Ma used her tail to swipe at the knight’s dreamlike, flawless face, free of pimples and sweat: “He loves change; if I drink this potion, I will surely become a twisted monster. I might as well die.”
“Not necessarily.”
Ah, the standard sophistry; as long as there’s a one in a thousand chance, one could argue it’s “not necessarily.”
“Even if the worst happens. Your partner is kind-hearted; as long as you save the world, they will not despise you for your ugly appearance, and others will praise your achievements. You will be the first Demon King to be thanked in history.”
“If I have to become ugly to save the world,” Ji Ma replied, “then let the world be destroyed; at least I can take a bunch of people with me, and I’ll have a happier death.” Losing beauty is worse than death.
“What if it involves sacrificing others?”
“Then I’ll be the first to strike them.” Ji Ma said coldly, “Shut your noisy bird mouth, or join me in this battle.”
“No need.” The golden-beaked knight said, tossing the vial towards Ji Ma as he began to fade away: “If you change your mind, just drink it.”
Ji Ma reacted quickly, raising her hand to use her power of lies; the forearm-sized vial flew back towards the golden-beaked knight, who vanished into thin air like a bubble.
Ji Ma lowered her head to look at Eve Frostleaf, who was staring into the distance, drawing her bow and shooting arrows, her pointed ears peeking out from her silver hair, resembling tender new willow. Ji Ma suppressed her urge to lick her tongue, tapping her tail against Frostleaf’s thigh:
“Frostleaf, did you hear what I just said to another person?”
“No.” Frostleaf’s cold voice replied, “You didn’t speak to anyone.”
“I’m serious—stop with the riddles.”
“No,” Frostleaf replied, “You didn’t say a word, and I didn’t notice anyone near you.”
Ji Ma felt a moment of clarity, as if everything that just happened was but a small dream during a nap.
“An illusion?”
The battlefield was approaching quickly.
“The Lord of Metamorphosis.” Ji Ma said, “He wants me to become one of the Four Divine Selections.”
Public selection, but it’s a price I cannot afford.
The fire whirlpool had ceased, and they flew over the burning buildings, the heat like wind rustling the feathers of the silver pegasus. Enemy aircraft swirled in the air, with only a scorpion-tailed lion above, ridden by a demon warrior; that was the only piece of good news.
Below, the emperor of the empire had grown a severed hand, and Jenna looked to be in poor condition, her shield shattered into three pieces, missing a leg, her hands clasped in prayer to the gods, pleading for help amid her plight.
The ground was littered with corpses, the shattered limbs belonging to the empire while the relatively intact bodies belonged to the world-destroying army. They were pressing against the remnants of the imperial army, which had curled up inside the Sigma Cathedral like cornered rats.
The Batto knights, undaunted by the vast numbers of enemies below, were high-spirited. A Grail knight, riding a griffon, drew forth a knight’s sword shimmering with moonlight, ready to roar and charge.
This was not the time to charge. But Ji Ma well understood that she couldn’t hold back the knights.
Thus, Ji Ma took a step forward, releasing Eve Frostleaf to glide towards the Sigma Cathedral’s rooftop on her own. She transformed her branch axe into a long sword, emitting an overwhelming brightness, and flew ahead of the knights, shouting:
“In the name of the goddess! Destroy him!”
The sword pointed towards the solitary god warrior and his scorpion-tailed lion in the sky.
Within the light, the Batto knights vaguely saw the legendary figure of the lake goddess, and one by one, their blood surged as they shouted, “For the goddess! For the Grail!”
The knights lunged towards the god warrior, causing him to quickly tighten the reins and retreat strategically.
Ji Ma assessed the situation, concluding that she could only conserve her power. She pondered how to escape with George, preferably taking Jenna along; otherwise, she might have to knock George unconscious. Or maybe a deception—how could one deceive someone who could discern lies?
Within a few quick breaths, several different plans rapidly flickered through Ji Ma’s mind.
Fortunately, they had retreated to the Sigma Cathedral, which bought her some time to think.
At that moment, the Eternal Chosen leaped down, striking the sacred and heavy wall of the Sigma Cathedral, which bore the holy relief of Sigma.
“Boom!”
The wall exploded and collapsed, and many demons and monsters trampled the rubble, charging into the dust.
A murderous aura like a sword’s edge surged from the clouds of dust, feeling as if a gun were point-blank against her head. Ji Ma flapped her wings and quickly distanced herself; from the dust, the Eternal Chosen surged forth, and various demons rushed in beside him towards the Sigma Cathedral.
His helmet was missing half, revealing a weathered face, his voice booming like thunder:
“You did well, Ji Ma; you can be my rival.”
As Ji Ma retreated, she snarled, “Looks like I blasted your pet dragon into the sky, and you’re quite happy about it.”
You’ve stolen Demon King Gima’s intellect, using it excellently in warfare, but all of this was taken from him. The Eternal Chosen began to run, apparently using his speed to chase Ji Ma, making him appear ludicrous: “You are destined to fail.”
First, I’ll deceive Frostleaf, saying the whirlpool battlefield urgently needs reinforcement, then through her, lead George away—what do you think?
Ji Ma dared not underestimate the situation, flying upward as she threatened, “I’ll throw your corpse into a dung pit.”
But her mind was racing on how to flee.
At this moment—
A scorpion-tailed lion dropped from the sky, followed by the battered god warrior who was beaten to death by the knights.
At this point, none could slow down the Batto knights; they charged toward the Eternal Chosen, shouting praises for the goddess.
The Eternal Chosen raised his fiery long sword, commanding: “Gather!”
The battle-hardened demon warriors immediately surrounded the Eternal Chosen, differing in their adoration of various dark deities as blood-thirsty demon warriors stood shoulder to shoulder with lustful demon warriors, united around the Eternal Chosen, preparing to welcome the charging Batto knights from above.
They could only be used as cannon fodder to buy a little more time.
Ji Ma did not join the charge nor approach the Eternal Chosen.
Why did the Eternal Chosen specifically come out? Did he foresee something? Did he foresee my escape? Was he coming out to catch me?
A tear opened in the night sky, and a beam of white light fell upon the Sigma Cathedral.
Ji Ma felt a rush of joy, was it divine intervention?
A green demon warrior appeared, flying out from behind a crumbling wall.
“Charge!”
The emperor of the empire took the lead in the charge, but George arrived ahead of him, his helmet and iron chin gone without a trace, blood dripping from the seams as he moved. Behind him, a blind white-robed angel flew out, wings flapping, her aura holy.
Ji Ma’s first glance was at her chest—so ample—her second glance at her egg-shaped face; was this not Jenna?
She realized; it was indeed Jenna’s divine being. Hearing Jenna narrate her plight, she had been granted assistance, allowing her to grow a pair of wings. “I can only help you this far; hurry and fly away.” But now, she charged alongside George.
As her follower, how could she not obediently heed the divine’s words?
Wait! What is coming this way?!
The Eternal Chosen seized the moment when Ji Ma was “brain overloaded” for barely two seconds, suddenly launched himself, narrowly avoiding the aerial charge of the Batto knights; it was as if both parties had practiced the maneuver countless times, and behind him were ethereal light blue wings that propelled him speedily toward Ji Ma.
In just over a second, he soared to a height of 70 meters.
Truly, there was not a moment to lose!
Did he cast “Flying”?
Ji Ma did not turn and flee right away; she calmly chose to fly swiftly backward, straining to distance herself from the Eternal Chosen, and forced herself to divert her gaze away from the dangerous proximity of the Eternal Chosen, quickly scanning the battlefield below for the mage who had cast “Flying” on the Eternal Chosen.
Fortunately, Ji Ma did not have a habit of suspending herself in the air to observe the battle; she preferred to fight while flying. This initial speed was slowing the distance between them.
There! A blue line connected the Eternal Chosen with a heavily armored demon warrior below—at least that’s how he appeared. This guy was undoubtedly an arcanist.
Ji Ma immediately used her “Imitation Ability,” brandishing an automatic rifle and firing at the arcanist pretending to be a heavily armored warrior.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The bullets glowed red, turning into tracer fire, forming a red line in the night sky aimed directly at the heavy-armored arcanist. The latter raised a hand, and a curved shield halted the bullets in midair.
Eve Luye understood the signal; on the rooftop, she ran while shooting arrows of death, crossing the space and appearing before his throat, piercing it and bursting with strong acid.
The heavy-armored arcanist’s focus was interrupted, and his illusory arcane wings vanished behind him.
The distance between the two increased instead of shortening.
But that was a matter for the future. The Eternal Chosen swung his sword, cleaving space—and at that moment, as he cut through, the distance was at its shortest.
The Eternal Chosen, almost teleporting, instantly reached a distance of several meters, swinging his fiery long sword down with a calm expression, neither angry nor pleased, because sixteen seconds ago, when he took a single step, the outcome had already been determined.
I knew it!
The sword cut downward, creating a chilling arc of slaughter.
Ji Ma’s figure appeared under the Eternal Chosen’s sword.
For the first moment of Mavor!
A puppet!
The intricately crafted puppet exploded into two in midair.
Ji Ma teleported unseen to twenty meters away. She flapped her wings with all her might to escape the Eternal Chosen, an explosion echoed behind her as her wings felt cold.
Boom!
Like thunder, Ji Ma spun downward, witnessing her shattered wings, noting the long sword released by the Eternal Chosen; she had just heard the sound when her wings were struck, more than just a thrown weapon’s speed.
This… is too exaggerated!
Unfortunately, Ji Ma used her other wing to stop her spinning, regaining balance and halting her bleeding.
Wings were merely ornamental.
Someone below shouted; it was George’s voice: “Behind you!”
So cliché.
Ji Ma’s body was supple; she formed an O-shape to narrowly avoid the incoming long sword; the fiery long sword flew straight toward the spaced-open hand of the Eternal Chosen.
Ji Ma gracefully glided into the imperial army lined up at the cathedral, using one wing to give George a thumbs up below: “Easy-peasy.”
As George fought off enemies, two Chinese characters “撒谎” lit up above his head.
Indeed, Ji Ma’s mana was down to 11%, and she had consumed all of the “blue medicine” she could manage; drinking more would have no effect.
If she tried again, she would certainly die—if she was lucky, she might find herself reborn in the Dream Temple; if she wasn’t, the Eternal Chosen might have already prepared tools to counter her resurrection ability.
However, regardless of luck, if she died, the Eternal Chosen would seize the crown fragments and obtain a complete crown—the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Take off! Take off! The cowardly Eternal Chosen has fled!”
“Damn it! Too many! No take-off distance!”
Only a few pegasus knights squeezed through the crowd, injured and wobbling as they took off. But more pegasus knights were trapped among the throngs of soldiers.
The Eternal Chosen ran while striking, leaving Ji Ma half-dead while negating their one advantage.
Ji Ma gritted her teeth; just as she bit down harder, a greatsword warrior pointed to the sky, loudly declaring, “Look! It’s the traitor Galt! May Sigma curse him.”
As a solitary commander now, Ji Ma couldn’t help but exclaim, “Damn! Can’t there ever be some good news?”
Then she saw a mage with a golden mask riding a battle steed. In the swirling fiery light of Adolf, his golden mask shone, revealing to everyone that the silver pegasus underneath him, named Swift Silver, once beautiful and healthy, was now merely a rotting corpse with an open chest, dry flesh exposed, with eyes burning green fire just like its master.
The emperor of the empire withdrew the Sigma Hammer stamped on the iron can, gazing at his former friend in the distant firelight.
When they first met, the golden-masked Galt had no golden mask; he was just an ordinary alchemist. In pursuit of gold, he paid a high fare, receiving a reward from the captain.
He had “spent money” to have the captain move out of his captain’s chamber so he could move in. Moreover, all the gold he had given eventually turned back into lead.
At that time, the emperor was not yet an emperor, merely a careless youth. Hearing about this, he laughed heartily, helping the golden-masked Galt pay for the fare, considering it sponsorship.
In the end, golden-masked Galt was a genius, eventually becoming the head of the Imperial Magic Academy and standing alongside both the emperor and the leader of the Sigma Church as one of the three great figures of the empire.
Now, once the head of the Imperial Magic Academy and once friends, he had now become a detestable death mage, the executor of an elector, and a traitor.
The emperor of the empire roared his name: “Galt! Are you here to take my life?”
———
Let this chapter serve as two chapters! (Dog head.)
