Chapter 13, Chapter 6: Heart of Revenge
Verafia looked at the three people whose gazes had suddenly turned fierce. The young girl was not as tall as any of them, yet she seemed to look down upon them.
“You can only choose this way, but…”
The young girl suddenly raised her slender eyebrows, her scorching gold pupils first flared with light, and then she slightly shook her head and said, “It is ‘always hitting the target,’ a quite good talent. It’s a shame, I don’t need to dodge.”
As she spoke softly, a cluster of golden, brilliant flames ignited before Verafia. The arrow, struck with the full power of the archer, melted into molten iron and then evaporated.
The dazzling golden flames cast a slight glow upon the girl’s delicate, yet cold and beautiful face.
“It’s Sunflame Skyfire! As expected, she’s a pure-blooded Phoenix!” Fleck’s voice sounded in fear as he shouted, “Everyone, attack together.”
“Starfall Meteor!”
“Water, heed my call, Thousand Water Ice Sword!”
“Mountain Blocking Strike!”
Furious Dou Qi and Demonic Power surged. Facing the full-power fatal attacks from the three, the girl merely looked at her delicate, jade-like, fair and tender fingers, which she gently raised.
As if following her shifting will, an unapproachable and powerful aura descended. The floating fire elements around suddenly became substantial, and in just an instant, they converged into a burning golden flame storm. An extremely dazzling golden light, carrying immense heat that even steel could not withstand, swept through everything.
Infinite flames burned, and the high temperature even melted ancient giant rocks.
Verafia finally shifted her gaze from her slender fingertips. Within her scorching gold pupils, the brilliant golden flames, like the sun’s rays, raged across the earth, manifesting according to her will.
“She, she’s actually a Star!”
The archer’s longbow, which he never left his side, was discarded by him. He struggled, his desperate cry swallowed by the burning golden flames.
“Fleck, save me…”
The mage’s black robe was torn, and his bare, fair skin seared in the flames.
Only Fleck still stood on the ground, but before the beautiful and noble girl, he dared not move an inch, not even possessing a single thought of resistance.
She was a Star Rank, only one step away from the Saint Rank! Furthermore, she was the Sun God Bird, with a royal bloodline no less than that of the Dragon royal family. With the power this mysterious girl had shown in an instant, if she revealed her true form, perhaps even ordinary Saint Rank powerhouses would not be her match!
Fleck knew he had not been incinerated to ashes by the burning gold flames not because his strength was greater.
“Is this all the strength you have?”
After muttering to herself, Verafia finally raised her gaze and fell upon Fleck. With a slight sigh, she slightly parted her lips again, “Only you are left.”
The girl’s melodious and pleasant voice fell into Fleck’s ears, but it made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He could tell from the indifferent tone that there was no intention of forgiveness. The middle-aged mercenary threw down his sword and suddenly knelt heavily on his knees on the scorching ground, kowtowing profusely, “Phoenix Lord, please spare me! Are you going to the Kingdom? I can be your guide, your servant. To the human world, you need…”
“I have already met a human beforehand.”
The girl’s clear and cold voice completely broke Fleck. He naturally understood what she meant.
“We have no enmity, why do you want to kill us!”
“You also wanted to kill me. And I said, I know what you did before this.”
Fleck saw the girl, as dazzling as a sea of beautiful golden flames, take light steps towards him.
“You are the Phoenix of Blazing Flame. We killed a human, and can that anger you!?”
“Heh, I’m not talking about that… I just heard them say you stepped on my sword.”
A sudden sharp voice came, and Fleck’s face turned fearful. On the girl’s incredibly beautiful face, a deep fierceness was added.
Fleck saw the girl’s fair and tender, porcelain-like fingers grip a sword. The dilapidated long sword, corroded by time, quickly became covered with the luster of flame, ruby-like and crystal clear, as vibrant as blazing flames!
This sword is— The brilliant flame flowed.
“Also, this is the Starflow Sword Qi Slash you wanted to see!”
—
Beneath the flames, brilliant sword light raged through this uninhabited world. Verafia slightly lowered her face, recalling the astonishing sword that erupted from the End she held a hundred years ago.
The flame light burning on the sword gradually faded, revealing the rusted and broken sword edge from the passage of time. Her gaze, however, passed through the sword hilt and landed on her own tender, jade-like, fair and slender palm. Under the girl’s tender skin, a stinging sensation still faintly permeated.
“Are you rejecting me too…”
Her slightly uttered voice revealed a trace of sadness. Verafia had not failed to consider this. After all, the End she held was the weapon that accompanied “Lothel” in former days, not something that should have belonged to her.
After all, I am no longer Lothel, nor am I human…
Thinking that her closest companion was now resisting her, the girl’s pupils dimmed, but she quickly shook her head. Verafia silently sheathed the End again. When her eyes were raised to look at the burnt remains of the mercenary trio, all the remaining warmth in them vanished, leaving only indifference.
She had shown no mercy to the three of them, and their miserable deaths at this moment did not stir even a ripple in her heart. Just as she had thought, she was no longer the righteous and brave Lothel who took it upon herself to save the world. She had only returned to the mortal world for revenge!
“Lancaster…”
Once again, she uttered the name that in the endless eternity had made her, “Lothel,” deeply resentful. The girl clenched her fists tightly, the blazing flames in her scorching gold pupils burning even stronger, reflecting a cold light.
But the girl’s slender eyebrows quickly furrowed. Worry arose in her heart.
Her current strength was far inferior to her peak in the past. In her estimation, her energy level might reach Star Radiance Rank 1. If she added the power of this body itself, she might be able to contend with a Saint Rank, but she would definitely not be an equal match for the strongest “Legend” in the human world, those who surpassed the Saint Rank.
The girl’s fingertips tightened again. And just Lancaster alone, before betraying her and seizing the Sacred Sword, was already one of the top Legendary Paladins in the Hero’s team. How strong would he be now? Not to mention that he was now the King of Kape, controlling all the fertile and rich plains of the entire East Continent and commanding an incredibly powerful knightly army. Verafia was certain that if Lancaster knew she was the Lothel from back then, he would exterminate her at all costs.
What should I do… Should I continue to cultivate here until my enemies grow old and die, or watch them ascend to godhood?
The girl bit her lip with her white teeth, a look of unwillingness appearing on her cheek. Suddenly, her gaze fell upon the young man Ignet, whom she had saved earlier. Verafia did not know much about this young man. She only knew approximately that he should be from a family with Azure Saint Rank powerhouses. While he was training here, he was attacked by three mercenaries hired by an opposing force.
“The young man named Ignet, the only son of the Marquis of ‘Mies Territory,’ also cultivates my techniques. He respects me, ‘Lothel,’ very much… but his strength is ridiculously weak. Is he suitable?”
Resting her cheek on her slender hand, the girl softly murmured with a delicate, girlish voice by her red lips. She walked back to the young man’s side, her pair of scorching gold eyes and slender eyebrows could not help but furrow again. Even without carefully checking, one could tell that the young man’s physical condition was extremely poor. He was barely clinging to life under her power. If she withdrew this power at this moment, his life flame would be extinguished within ten seconds.
Verafia tilted her head and thought for a long time, but could not find a solution. Such injuries were almost equivalent to death… Unless the God of Dawn and the Goddess of Life stood here, it would be possible to save him? Even I would have to… She couldn’t help but shake her head again, abandoning the thought that had flashed through her mind. Towards this young man, whom she saw the first moment she returned to the mortal world and who still carried familiar traces, she actually had a good impression.
“At least I avenged you, please rest in peace.”
She said softly and stood up, preparing to retract the wisp of flame that had been maintaining the young man’s life. But when Verafia’s eyes fell upon the boy’s pale cheek, washed clean of blood, her expression could not help but hesitate again. Verafia did not know this young man. However, the persistence that “Flame” conveyed from him could not help but move her.
Finally, the girl lightly bit her silver teeth.
