Chapter 146: The Lord of Deception and the Chosen One
The commotion outside the city was so loud that it could be heard even through two city walls, even while engaged in fierce combat with the ratmen.
The clan leader’s face turned ashen; clutching his determination to fight to the death amidst the ratmen’s assault, he fought desperately, hoping to kill a few more ratmen to accompany him to the grave with the city of Dulong.
With each swing of his axe, he cursed a ratman, and then cursed the cowardly Norscar people.
“Drunken useless!”
“Coward!”
Panting, the clan leader withdrew his rune axe. The wounds and the exhaustion from three days and nights without rest made it hard for him to continue, but the ratmen around him were still plentiful, never diminishing.
But strangely, the ratmen stopped their attack; those in three layers inside and three layers outside stood guard, while the fewer than a hundred dwarves found themselves surrounded on rooftops by trembling ratmen.
“Come on!” the clan leader shouted, banging his shield. “Who wants to kill me?”
George was also puzzled. He looked up at the tower where Eve Frostleaf was watching and sniping, but saw her jump down from above directly into the midst of the rat swarm.
Such a reckless leap into danger frightened George, and he bent his knees ready to jump in and rescue her.
Yet strangely, no ratmen blocked her; Eve Frostleaf easily carved a path, gracefully landing beside George, with an uncommon flush of excitement on her face, saying, “Reinforcements have arrived.”
“Reinforcements are here!” George immediately shouted to the clan leader not far away. “I knew Jima wouldn’t let us down.”
The clan leader showed no sign of joy: “Too late.”
At that moment, Eve Frostleaf said, “Jima has led her troops and eliminated all the ratmen outside the city?”
“What?” George couldn’t believe his ears. “All eliminated?”
Eve Frostleaf’s tone carried some excitement: “The reinforcements didn’t retreat; that was an illusion. Jima led the troops and dealt a deadly blow to the filthy ratmen, and the corpses of ratmen that fell into the lava moat have already filled it.”
In the distance, thick black smoke rising from beneath the city walls corroborated her words.
The clan leader’s once deadened heart ignited with hope and he asked, “Really?”
Before Eve Frostleaf could respond, the ratmen proved through their actions that they were indeed defeated. They turned to flee; in one area, chaos ensued, and soon the encircling layers of ratmen were in disarray.
Screams echoed everywhere:
“Defeated! Defeated!”
“Run! Quickly run!”
“Run!”
The dwarves looked on in stunned silence as fleeing ratmen tumbled from rooftops into the streets.
Clearly, although the ratmen outnumbered them, they could have surged forward together and overwhelmed this wounded and exhausted army, but they fled, abandoning their weapons and shields, exposing their backs to the dwarven crossbowmen, trampling their injured companions.
On the street ahead, rats pressed against each other, like a blocked drainage entrance.
Blood rushed to the clan leader’s face, making him look as red as Santa Claus, and he bellowed, “Kill!”
The dwarves snapped out of their sudden victory and rushed forward, grabbing their axes to chop at the backs of the ratmen.
The clan leader pursued, cleaving a ratman in two with his axe, shouting with each swing, “Long live Kisli!”
“Long live the kingdom of warriors!”
He grew more excited with each shout, even voicing, “Long live the friendship between dwarves and humans!”
Eve Frostleaf scoffed, “Hmph.”
George, smiling, rushed forward, wildly swinging his greatsword. Eve Frostleaf followed suit, wielding her twin swords and joining him in reaping the lives of the ratmen.
Tens of thousands of ratmen within the city were unexpectedly being chased and slaughtered by over a hundred dwarves.
Chaos reigned in Dulong City. Ratmen ran about like headless flies, scrambling everywhere; every street was packed with ratmen as they dove into residences, hid on rooftops, and sought refuge in drainage.
George and his group didn’t feel so pressured anymore.
So, Eve Frostleaf decided to initiate a conversation with George.
“George,” she pulled her silver sword from a ratman’s body, “you need to be mentally prepared.”
“Hmm?” George sliced two ratmen in half with a single swing.
“Everything has a price,” Eve Frostleaf said. “Jima consulted me about some things concerning power. From what I understand, her situation is dire. In the expedition, only the expedition general is willing to listen to her; the others, especially Beow, want to kill Jima with the Holy Sword.”
George asked, “But the expedition general is a person without resolve, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Eve Frostleaf replied. “In this small power game, she should have undoubtedly lost, but she won.”
“The price is… to become the slave of the Lord of Deception?”
“It is the Chosen One,” Eve Frostleaf said. “At that time, don’t demand too much from her. Even if she is evil, using despicable means, becoming more horrifyingly corrupted by the Lord of Deception, it will be for our survival, sacrificing herself.”
George said, “I understand.”
Even though she is Jima’s daughter, inherently evil, unrepentant, blessed by the Lord of Deception, becoming the Chosen One.
But George decided that no matter what, he could not let her down.
Suddenly, a bunch of ratmen burst out from a corner down the street, colliding with those who were fleeing. Then, a familiar scream rang out.
“Help!”
It was Jima’s voice. Before the sound faded, Jima flew low from the corner, crimson with blood on her “branch axe,” one wing damaged from a sword strike yet still hurriedly speeding towards George.
As soon as Jima saw George, she shouted, “Quick, save me!”
George immediately rushed toward her, but behind her, the gleam of a sword flashed; it was Beow, wielding the Holy Sword, roaring, “Demon, where do you think you’re going?”
A look of terror crossed Jima’s beautiful face: “Ah!”
She was genuinely frightened, trembling all over.
George ran forward to meet the sword light, deflecting the Holy Sword with a strike, sparks flying. He felt an unusual weakness in his dual swords; a look revealed a sizable notch in the blade, just as the two swords intertwined, finding themselves clasping the familiar Holy Sword from Beow’s grip.
“George! Fortunately, I ran fast,” Jima hid behind George.
Beow shouted, “Have you truly fallen? To even protect the Chosen One of the Lord of Deception.”
“How dare you strike at an accomplished hero?” George retorted. “All I know is that she saved all of us, saved the entire Dulong City.”
“And what of that? Any minion of the Evil God must die,” Beow said. “This victory is merely a part of her scheme; she pretends to be pitiful, simply using you. Wake up, defeated one! To think that someone I’ve defeated my whole life would be so foolish, I feel shame.”
George replied angrily, “You’ll have to step over my corpse first.”
“Step back.” Eve Frostleaf drew her bow taut, aiming at Beow and the teammates pursuing him.
Even Saintess Jenna stood firmly beside George.
“All have fallen, all are fallen,” Beow scolded. “You repeatedly place your personal feelings above your faith in the God and your sense of responsibility to the world! Think with your brain filled with lust! She is assisted by the Lord of Deception; she can deceive even us. What if she desires the shards of the Demon King’s crown? What then?”
“If she doesn’t deceive you,” George said, “you would simply flee like all the ratmen running in the streets.”
“Exactly, exactly,” Jima echoed. “If Dulong City was gone, if we were gone, do you think you could seize the fragments of the Demon King’s crown?”
“I know that once this succubus escapes to your side, she will definitely be sheltered.” Beow’s tone turned dangerous as his teammates moved in, four to four. “Do you think you can stop us?”
With that, Beow pointed the Holy Sword at George.
Compared to Beow’s group, George’s unit had insufficient magic, was injured, and was at the end of their strength, especially since Beow still held the Holy Sword.
Jima tightened her grip on George’s cloak.
“Don’t think so,” George raised his hand, bringing his truncated golden greatsword against the Holy Sword. “If you intend to harm my brother and violate the rules, I must defend myself.”
The standoff lasted several minutes.
“Damn it!” Beow cursed, taking a step back. “The Hall should not trample order for a reckless talent like you! Just because of your one moment of genius rebellion, the Hall allowed you to bring a succubus by your side, and now look what has happened.”
As he spoke, Beow pointed the tip of his Holy Sword at George: “Do you remember your original intention? To reform that succubus? Look at how she is now; is there even a shred of kindness left? Hmph, she is merely a defeated one.”
With that, Beow and his four comrades turned to leave.
Jima, behind George, raised her head and stuck out her tongue at his back.
A hand tightened around Jima’s wrist as George’s voice rang out: “Jima, did you go looking for Beow to be hunted down on purpose?”
Jima’s heart sank as she said, “Yes.”
Then she smiled cheekily, saying, “I had no choice; I was scared too. After all, becoming the Chosen One of the Lord of Deception, if I came directly to find you, I was afraid you… would chop me down right away.”
“What is the price of becoming the Chosen One?”
“He said there is none.”
“Nothing is ever truly free.”
