Chapter 122: A Feeling of Nostalgia

Chapter 122: A Feeling of Nostalgia

Year 1254, Scorched Fire Month (July)



The Flash Duchy launched a two-pronged offensive, simultaneously attacking the Somon Province and the Purple Bamboo Province.

With the might of the Magic Golem Corps and the Blackrock Cavalry, the Flash Army swept through the frontlines, crushing the armies of Somon Province and Purple Bamboo Province with ease.

Scroll Month (August)



The Marquis of Flash personally led the army deep into the heart of Somon Province, advancing straight to the third-ranked military stronghold, Wall City.

In this battle, the Flash Army dealt a crushing defeat to the defenders of Wall City.

The entire garrison of thirty thousand soldiers was annihilated, and the Marquis of Somon, who personally led the defense, was slain.

When this news spread, the entire Starlight Duchy was in an uproar.

The royal faction, which had been boasting and declaring their intent to crush the rebels, fell silent.

Despite the eldest son of the Marquis of Somon inheriting the title and command, it was clear to everyone that the fall of Somon Province was only a matter of time.

By single-handedly opposing two major provinces and achieving such a glorious victory, the Flash Duchy once again demonstrated its formidable military might!

Lake Blue City, Zack's Tavern

The tavern was bustling with noise and chatter.

Stimulated by alcohol, many patrons had rolled up their sleeves and were engaged in heated discussions about the recent war.

"Somon Province looks like it's done for."

"The Flash Duchy is too strong. At first, I thought the Marquis of Flash was just crazy to rebel, but now it seems he had a solid plan!"

"In my opinion, the royal family made a big mistake. Why force everyone to follow the Starfire Cult? What good is that cult if they don't even donate a single copper coin?"

"Shh, are you insane? Saying that in public could get you arrested by the guards!"

"Whatever, I bet the Flash Duchy will be here soon. Just wait and see."

"It's not certain..."

In a corner, Su Nan listened to the chatter, a slight smile playing on his lips.

It seems that his brother's progress is going smoothly.

"Once we finish tonight's mission, the operation in Lake Blue Province will be over."

"Then we'll head straight to Giant Oak City, the headquarters of the Starfire Cult. That's where the holy relics should be."

Su Nan had killed over a hundred priests and high priests, but he hadn't found a single holy relic.

He estimated that only the chief priests or archbishops would possess such relics.

"It's getting late. Time to act."

Glancing at the darkening sky, Su Nan placed a gold coin on the table and stood up to leave.

The sky had turned completely dark.

The night shrouded Lake Blue City, and the moon, hidden behind thick clouds, cast no light.

A moonless, windless night was the perfect time to act.

On his way, he encountered numerous patrolling guards, and the closer he got to the city center, the more frequent their patrols became.

Yet, these guards seemed to ignore Su Nan, passing him by without a second glance.

Before long, Su Nan arrived at his destination for the night: the residence of the Marquis of Lake Blue.

As expected, the place was heavily guarded, with fully armed soldiers stationed both inside and out.

The entire manor was surrounded by countless soldiers, a testament to the heavy pressure the Marquis of Lake Blue had been under due to the deaths of many of his vassals.

He was now on constant alert, fearing that Su Nan might come for him.

Su Nan didn't recklessly reveal himself to storm the place.

Even a child could guess that both the Marquis of Lake Blue and the Starfire Cult would know his ultimate target was here.

They likely had a trap set up, waiting for him to walk right into it.

While Su Nan wasn't afraid, he wasn't about to blindly charge in.

With a thought, countless magic golems materialized on the street in front of the manor, charging at the gates without a word.

The sudden attack caught the guards off guard, but they quickly recovered.

"Enemy attack!"

Shouts broke the silence of the night, echoing far and wide.

The manor lit up with torches and fires, the entire estate erupting into chaos.

The magic golems, led by a steel golem, had already breached the outer defenses.

A high-ranking officer swung his sword at the steel golem, the blade glowing with martial energy, trying to stop it. However, the golem's punch crushed both the officer and his sword.

More golems followed, swarming the manor's defenses.

The lord's mansion quickly turned into a battlefield of blood and gore!

Faced with hundreds of knight-level magic golems, the soldiers, who at most had the strength of apprentice knights, were unable to hold their ground.

Occasionally, a knight officer would intervene, but they were quickly cut into pieces by the dual-bladed spiders that emerged from the darkness.

In just a few minutes, the magic golems broke through the defenses, smashing through the gates and charging into the mansion, clashing with the guards who rushed out to meet them.

Compared to the outer defenses, the guards inside the mansion were clearly much more elite.

Leading them was even a First Circle Legendary Knight who, with his own strength, managed to hold off the steel golem, significantly reducing the pressure on the other soldiers and officers.

From a nearby rooftop, Su Nan calmly observed the battle below.

He wasn't in a hurry.

The lord's men alone couldn't stop the magic golems, and he was waiting for the Starfire Cult to make their move.

Clang!

Another sword strike hit the steel golem's arm, leaving a deep gash, and Laurent quickly retreated to avoid the oncoming steel fist.

"Damn it, this giant is ridiculously hard!"

Since becoming a Legendary Knight, Laurent had never encountered a creature that was so difficult to damage.

The golem's body was harder than steel, and despite his numerous attacks, it only gained a few more gashes, which was utterly absurd!

"How much longer do the Starfire Cult members plan to hide?"

Laurent cursed under his breath.

At that moment, he heard a faint whistling sound behind him.

Instantly, a chill ran up his spine, making his scalp tingle.

He hadn't felt such a strong sense of impending death in a long time!

Without hesitation, Laurent crouched and rolled forward, narrowly avoiding the sharp leg blade that swung from behind.

"Spider puppet!"

Laurent steadied himself and turned around to see a black spider puppet that had attacked him.

But he quickly realized something was wrong.

He had observed those spider puppets before; they were strong but at most had the strength of a peak knight.

However, this spider puppet, whether from its previous attack or the current threat it posed, was extremely dangerous!

Even more dangerous than the steel giant!

Before Laurent could figure it out, the spider puppet lunged at him again, its two sharp leg blades slicing from both sides at lightning speed!

There was no time to react. Laurent dodged the blade from the right and parried the one from the left with his sword.

Clang!

The sharp sound of metal clashing rang out. Laurent felt an overwhelming force from the blade, forcing his knees to buckle and causing him to kneel on the ground.

"How is this possible?!"

Laurent was terrified.

Even the steel giant from earlier didn't have such terrifying strength!

This puppet, which clearly prioritized speed, should have had weaker strength!

Unfortunately, reality didn't give him much time to think. The spider puppet quickly raised its two leg blades and struck again.

Swoosh!

In an instant, a barrage of blade shadows rained down on him!

After just a few breaths, Laurent's finely crafted knight's sword shattered into pieces.

The dense blade shadows instantly tore through his aura shield, and intense pain swept through his body.

In the last moment before his consciousness plunged into eternal darkness, Laurent had only one thought.

Second Circle Legendary!

This damn thing is a Second Circle Legendary puppet!

With Laurent's death, the guards quickly fell into disarray.

At that moment, a sigh echoed from a distance.

A moment later, a deep blue light shot through the air, striking the dual-bladed spider that had killed Laurent, sending it flying dozens of meters away, crashing into a tree and rolling on the ground for several more meters before stopping.

At the same time, a large number of knights clad in armor and wearing star map cloaks emerged from all directions, charging at the magic golems.

"Sir Su Nan, please come out."

Aurelius stepped out from the corridor, followed by the Marquis of Lake Blue, Joris, and Blak.

The three men looked grim.

They had set up this trap with great effort, waiting for Su Nan to step into it, but they hadn't expected him to force their hand without even showing himself.

In this situation, if Su Nan decided to run, they wouldn't stand a chance of catching him tonight.

However, to their surprise, as soon as Aurelius finished speaking, a figure suddenly appeared at the ruined entrance.

It was Su Nan!

Seeing Su Nan, the Marquis of Lake Blue, Joris, and Blak all revealed expressions of frustration and wariness.

Only Archdeacon Aurelius remained calm, his tone gentle as he said, "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Su Nan."

"Archdeacon Aurelius?"

Su Nan raised an eyebrow, his gaze subtly sweeping over the star-shaped pendant hanging from Aurelius’s chest. He had just seen Aurelius transform the pendant into a deep blue spear, which he hurled to knock away the dual-bladed spider with a single strike. The fact that he could injure a Second Circle Legendary dual-bladed spider with one hit made it clear that the star-shaped pendant was also a holy relic.

Aurelius nodded slightly, confirming Su Nan’s suspicion.

"Since you’ve chosen to reveal yourself, it means you also want to settle this, correct?"

"Indeed." Su Nan smiled faintly.

Both sides knew that the enmity between them had grown too deep to be resolved through any means other than a decisive battle, perhaps even to the death.

Exchanging a glance, Aurelius and Su Nan took action simultaneously, soaring into the sky and disappearing into the night.

"Why didn’t Archdeacon Aurelius deal with Su Nan here?" Lake Blue Marquis Joris frowned. "We made all these preparations, didn’t we?"

Joris shook his head. "Su Nan isn’t that foolish. Didn’t you see he never stepped into the manor’s grounds?"

While both Su Nan and Archdeacon Aurelius wanted to settle this, neither was willing to give the other the upper hand. Su Nan wouldn’t set foot inside the manor, and Aurelius wouldn’t want to face Su Nan and his army of magic golems at the same time. This current situation was acceptable to both parties.

The rest would depend on their true strength!

"Let’s deal with these magic golems first."

Blak pulled out an amber and tossed it into the air. In the moonlight, a small, withered, grayish-white piece of skin was visible inside the amber. As the starlight struck the amber, it burst into a bright light, then exploded like fireworks, scattering countless tiny star points like rain.

At the same time, intricate and mystical patterns began to appear on the ground beneath their feet, glowing faintly and resonating with the falling star points. A strange wave of energy spread out, enveloping the entire manor.

The Starfire Cultists, who were in the middle of battle, felt a sudden surge of energy and speed, as if they had just taken a potion. In contrast, the magic golems became stiff and sluggish, as if bound by an invisible, heavy chain.

The tide of battle quickly turned, and the Starfire Cultists now had the upper hand.

However, Blak and Joris didn’t let their guard down. Blak drew his longsword, and Joris opened his Star Book. Both men watched the dual-bladed spider that was crawling in from the ruins, their expressions tense.

This was the true threat!

The familiar starry sky and galaxy appeared before them.

Su Nan looked at Aurelius and asked curiously, "How many holy relics does the Starfire Cult have? And how are they made?"

Aurelius looked at Su Nan with a hint of surprise.

"You are more knowledgeable than I thought. You can distinguish between holy relics and artifacts, unlike the two wizards I encountered before, who mistook holy relics for artifacts."

"However, you don’t need to know how holy relics are made. After all, the dead don’t need to know much."

Su Nan chuckled. "So confident? Last time, you let a wizard escape."

"That was because I didn’t use my true power."

Aurelius’s expression remained calm, his eyes deep and mysterious.

"The backlash from using that power is quite significant. I generally don’t use it unless it’s necessary to kill a powerful enemy."

"However, you, Sir Su Nan, have that distinction."

"I feel truly honored," Su Nan said with a sardonic smile.

"Then please, feel the power of the divine!"

As he spoke, a brilliant starlight suddenly radiated from Aurelius’s body. In an instant, the old man’s once calm and weathered aura transformed into something ancient and vast, as if he had become a true deity. His gaze, now looking down on Su Nan, had the condescension of a god looking at an ant.

A heavy, oppressive force enveloped Su Nan, as if a massive boulder had rolled off his chest, making him feel suffocated.

He took a deep breath and sighed.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way. It’s rather nostalgic."

Aurelius’s expression froze, a look of shock flickering in his eyes.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end