Chapter 50 Chapter 49 As Long As I Run Fast Enough
The Duchess, after cursing like a shrew, felt weakened all over, her waist bent. She did not dare to look at the gazes of others—now everyone knew she was the foul woman who had been toyed with by the Demon King Kima.
Her gaze fell on the distant manor fortress. From the outside, the “fallen” paladin George was enjoying himself with a heap of demons, together slaughtering the poor humans.
But the Duchess knew that this was all a ruse, a ploy by “Demon King Kima” to kill George. He intended to use this disguise to murder the noble paladin before all.
She had once thought that if George died, it would be good; if he died, she would be safe. But now, she could not accept it.
If George had been killed by Demon King Kima for breaking his promise, or even for perhaps breaking his promise, the Duchess could accept that.
But George had never broken through. In the moment when the mob charged, when soldiers attacked out of turn, he still hoped to communicate properly. When her husband issued the final ultimatum, he stood firm in his commitment.
Thinking about this.
The Duchess looked up at the sky above the manor fortress, as if she could still see those words that had disappeared: “The paladin never breaks his promise.”
The Duchess, who had just felt shame, still felt somewhat ashamed.
“Demon King Kima” was lying, George had not broken his promise at all, yet she had lost her reason and morality out of fear, actually colluding with Demon King Kima over the mere possibility of “George possibly breaking his promise”.
“Woo woo woo woo.”
The horn sounded.
The infantry formation opened several lanes, and the winged knights in red feathers and red cloaks surged out from the path within the infantry formation. The officers shouted loudly: “Charge at those grotesque monsters! Don’t hit the people; George has not fallen! Remember, George has not fallen!”
Yes, he has not fallen. Although rumors outside were fierce, many felt deep down that George’s situation had not escalated to that of a fall.
The Duchess watched her husband gradually distance himself from her, reminding her that life would be very hard in the future.
However, revealing the secret in her heart to the world was not as painful as she had imagined; rather, it felt quite liberating. The anxiety that had tormented her day and night dissipated like smoke and clouds.
The Duchess straightened up, and her previously haggard complexion perked up quite a bit. She withdrew her gaze to look around; some people were watching her with strange, disgusted, and even filthy looks. But the Duchess calmly held her chest high, unconcerned, tucking a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear.
She took a deep breath. When was the last time she could breathe easily?
As the Duchess gently exhaled.
The stone walls of the manor fortress exploded amidst the incantations of the mages. The winged knights rode their warhorses, trampling over the debris, with long hollow lances tucked under their arms, striving to thrust them into the bodies of the demons. The sound of the hollow lances breaking rang out, echoing in the sky.
Those blue demons split into two, and after splitting into eight, finally reached their limit, turning into a puddle of green sludge, with their sharp and mocking laughter slowly dissipating.
Duke Kislev was both ashamed and furious, leading the charge, fiercely knocking down a chosen one impaled with four lances, his eyes turning red as he looked left and right for the rumored figure of Demon King Kima, only to see an old man with long blue wings flying in the sky, reciting obscure spells.
Beside him was a pile of floating sharks.
He roared, “Demon King Kima, come out and die! Today, I will smash your head!”
Then, he grabbed a cavalryman’s hammer with one hand, leaped off his horse, recklessly charging into the throng of the chosen ones. Encouraged by him, Kislev’s people bravely fought the enemy.
In an instant, the demons and fiends pouring out from the cracks suddenly found themselves at a disadvantage.
George’s four-man adventure party experienced a significant reduction in pressure. Eve Frostleaf was freed from the pursuit of floating sharks and without saying a word, shot at the blue-winged elder flying in the sky.
In the gap, the image of the eternal chosen one Marus flickered.
The blue-winged elder cursed, “Woman! That damn woman!”
George, protecting his two beloved women, left the ruined building without a word, spreading his light wings and transforming into a beam of light, striking towards the blue-winged elder. A dazzling light streaked across the air as the blue-winged elder turned into a flock of flying birds; the birds scattered swiftly, and at a higher place, turned back into the blue-winged elder.
Ignoring George, he shouted to Kima below, “You! Deceived me.”
“Who are you?”
The blue-winged elder, furious, drew a dagger, pretending to stab his own heart.
But another flash of white light crossed, and the blue-winged elder was cleaved in two, falling blue feathers landing on his sword, igniting in flames.
George did not give him a second chance; the remnants of the blue-winged elder’s body burned and fell, his eyes filled with regrets and resentment. The pressure radiating from the cracks lightened considerably, the incantation caster was dead, and the eternal chosen should no longer interfere with the mortal realm.
Even if it was just temporary.
George, flying in midair, planned to ask Kima what calamity she had created.
The blue-winged elder’s bird-like eyes suddenly shone with a light of hope.
George sensed something was wrong; he instinctively dove, slashing with his sword, turning the blue-winged elder’s remaining body into mush.
But at that moment, a powerful feeling of pressure slammed down like a mountain. It turned out that from within the crack, the eternal chosen one Marus reached out his hand, tearing open the invisible space, leaping off a dragon’s back, crossing the unstable crack into the mortal realm.
However, his form was unstable, somewhat unclear. Simply put, he was a projection.
Nevertheless, George could still feel the astonishing pressure; this was the strongest opponent he had ever encountered since birth. George flapped his wings and dashed forward.
Saintess Jenna reacted immediately, chanting a prayer to cast “Exile” to banish the projection of the eternal chosen back to the demon realm.
The third eye of the eternal chosen one Marus glanced at Jenna, and pointing his sword, a ball of black flame erupted near Saintess Jenna, engulfing her shield.
Noticing that the opponent didn’t regard him, George immediately flapped his wings, getting close with a Holy Slash.
The eternal chosen one Marus ignored him, facing George, deflecting several incoming bluish arrows, suddenly throwing his longsword towards Kima over fifty meters away. The longsword wrapped in black flames raced towards Kima like a dragon.
George was startled and attempted to block it, but a shield from the eternal chosen sent him flying over fifty meters away.
Kima immediately used a puppet to take cover, the explosion engulfing her original position, but a sword flew out from the explosion, piercing through the invisible Kima in mid-air.
At that moment, a voice came from below through the smoke: “Exile!”
The projection of the eternal chosen one Marus disintegrated in the light, vanishing without a trace.
George descended, the power of the eternal chosen one Marus exceeded his imagination; a projection could withstand the output of three members of his team and strike at Kima…
George glanced towards Kima and saw that the succubus had a hole as big as a basketball in her chest, falling to the ground, her entire being engulfed in flames, reducing to a charred corpse.
He paid no heed to that and quickly walked towards Jenna, inquiring about her injuries.
Saintess Jenna had burnt her entire arm. George shielded her, giving her the time and opportunity to heal her arm.
Just then, Duke Kislev witnessed this scene. He felt quite guilty; George had always maintained order, not hardening his heart to tear his face with him, and as a result, he could not even protect his own woman.
Yet seeing George’s nonchalance, he breathed a sigh of relief. Holding a chosen one’s helmet, he said, “Unlike the rumors, you don’t seem to have feelings for the succubus; she is just your familiar, right?”
“No, she’s my fiancée.”
Duke Kislev found it hard to believe and pointed at the still burning corpse of Kima, saying, “She’s dead.”
“She’s not dead.”
George did not want to pay him any mind and, alongside the still-fighting Saintess Jenna, returned to the remaining battle.
——
——
Sanctuary.
In a secret dwelling, Kima was playing chess with someone.
Although the name “secret dwelling” seemed at odds with the Sanctuary’s advocacy for openness and honesty, everyone had some things that were not suitable for public knowledge, and the Sanctuary was no exception.
The fiery sunset cast its light through the iron windows onto the wooden chessboard, at the edge of which was inscribed a line of words: “Total War.”
At one end of the chessboard, Kima was dressed completely in black. Her face covered with a black cloth that let no light through, her hands in black leather gloves, a long black skirt hiding her light yellow ankles. The only parts revealed were her pair of clear golden eyes and a pair of sleek black horns.
This was a requirement of the Sanctuary to prevent this inherently evil succubus from using charm for any schemes. Even the golden headpiece atop her horns had been removed.
Only in this way would the Sanctuary agree to send a good player of “Total War” to play chess with Kima.
However, even though Kima was well concealed, the Sanctuary did not dare to relax. Besides the skilled chess player, two serious-looking elderly women stood nearby, clearly showing signs of having long avoided worldly desires, their faces wrinkled and brows crumpled together.
“Oh dear, another one of your pikes has died,” Kima remarked as she placed a wooden carved magical war dog piece behind the pike. The pike was beset by chaos knights on all sides, with a magical scorpion-tailed lion falling from the sky.
“According to the rules, he won’t last half a minute, and in reality, he collapsed without even being hit.” Kima flicked her finger, knocking the pike down, “A hundred-person team’s blood and heads belong to the Blood God now.”
The chess player opposite her was a woman under thirty. Originally, the Sanctuary wanted to send a middle-aged man, experienced and resolute, but Kima suddenly suggested that it would be better to send a male player, and not one who was a virgin.
The Sanctuary quickly changed the selection to a female player, who was married but less skilled.
This female player was good at “Total War” chess, unlike the succubus with a face full of “so relaxed, the advantage is mine.” She looked tense and serious, staring at Kima’s formation, which had been shredded on all sides, the battle flags toppled.
Logically speaking, the female player’s victory was assured. Watching the situation ten times over, it was clear that the female player would win.
Yet Kima didn’t appear to be in any losing position. She sat with her legs crossed, saying nothing, instead using one hand to twirl her tail while humming an ugly little tune, as if she were the victorious party.
The female player, growing more cautious, increasingly felt that Kima was up to something. This succubus’s initial setup was incomprehensible.
She spent a large number of points to buy a bunch of maneuverable units, airborne beasts, packs of dogs, shock cavalry—everything one could think of. Yet only spent a little to acquire a bunch of useless infantry as fillers.
By past experience, this formation was simply a gift.
But Kima had caused her considerable damage, and her reputation preceded her.
Hesitantly, the female player made a move and said, “General.”
“Tsk.”
Kima raised an eyebrow, “That’s enough.”
The female player focused intently, eager to see how the legendary succubus would break the deadlock.
However, Kima grabbed both hands, moving the maneuverable units to the edge of the map, saying, “Retreat!”
“Retreat?”
“Yes,” Kima replied, “So you have lost.”
“Lost?”
“Your maneuverable units are down to just two teams,” Kima explained. “They cannot chase after my retreating forces at all, I can take advantage of my maneuverability to seize the initiative, continuously attack you, so you have lost.”
The female player skeptically glanced at the rules and said, “We are playing a point capture match.”
Kima shook her head, saying, “Thank you, thank you, you played well too.”
The female player still wanted to say something.
Kima leaned back slightly, speaking in the tone of someone who had been through it:
“Considering that you almost beat me, let me share some life experience with you.”
She pointed to the archers occupying advantageous terrain on the chessboard, with several lanes blocked by the pikes, creating a precarious situation:
“Maintaining maneuverability is very important, but when the situation turns chaotic, you can turn around without hesitation and immediately retreat, looking for a suitable opportunity.”
One of the elderly women standing behind the female player finally couldn’t hold back, asking, “Is this your reasoning for abandoning your teammates and seeking refuge in the Sanctuary?”
Kima shook her head regretfully:
“You lived so long and yet in that lack of information, in obscurity, the enemy wouldn’t know how they might scheme against me, and the initiative lies with others. Furthermore, I am an important figure; once I kick the bucket, this world will perish.
“Luckily I have maneuverability. One retreat is enough to turn the tide. If I even escape the target, can the assassination succeed?”
That’s right, the Kima staying by George’s side was a fake.
Kima’s so-called action was just to notify George, take his proof, and sneak away overnight to seek refuge in the Sanctuary. Although the Sanctuary was displeased, Kima was extremely important, so they reluctantly granted her the highest level of protection.
As soon as Kima’s words fell, suddenly there was an explosion in the basin nearby, Kima quickly enhanced her “supernatural charm,” and the splashed water avoided her, drenching the two serious-looking elderly women instead.
“Oh dear, my illusion was unveiled.” Kima sighed and shook her head, “There are just too many fools, how can so many people be so sure that the one who stays put is me? Thanks to them, if a bunch of heavyweights didn’t believe it, my illusion wouldn’t be so convincing.”
Faced with Kislev, who could recognize her former maid and was always filled with schemes, matters still seemed like a fog.
Since she could run, why not run? As long as I run fast enough, the past cannot catch up with me.
As soon as Kima’s voice fell, the four people in the secret chamber all heard distant bird calls ringing out, the sounds mingling and drawing into their ears, conjuring an image of a bird-headed creature laughing heartily in their minds.
The female player’s eyes glazed over, her mouth murmuring, “Holy Betrayer—”
Before she could finish her sentence, the elderly woman behind her immediately knocked her unconscious with a punch, shouting, “Quick! Purify her; this is corruption!”
From the laughter, Kima could sense the ecstasy of the Master of Deception; she was certain she had gained the Master’s favor. But rather than feeling happy, she became worried.
The Master of Deception could actually find her and had been eavesdropping all along. Had her scheme long been known to the Master of Deception?
If the Master of Deception was aware, then why hadn’t he warned his subordinates? Perhaps his plot from the very beginning was to scheme against his subordinates? Or maybe this was part of his grand scheme.
