Chapter 207: Bad News, Still No Victory

Chapter 207: Bad News, Still No Victory

"Looks like we're winning again!"

Gazing at the retreating allied forces, Jodan couldn't help but grin widely.

The other generals wore expressions of smug certainty.

The allied forces were a mixed bag, each with their own agendas, making it difficult for them to unite as a cohesive force. Their combat strength was inherently inferior to the empire's army, so their defeat was expected.

Stally smiled, "The main forces of the allied army are here. If we deal them a severe blow, the rest will be much easier to handle."

Jodan laughed heartily, but when he turned to see Brad deep in thought, he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Brad shook his head, pondering, "The allied forces can't possibly match the empire on the battlefield, and their commander must be aware of this. In the past, they've always used assassination tactics to turn the tide, but they've been strangely quiet this time."

Jodan said casually, "They probably think we're on guard, so a night raid wouldn't be successful. That's why they've backed off."

"Perhaps," Brad replied noncommittally.

"Duke Brad, there's no need to worry."

A seductive voice suddenly rang out from the side.

Just hearing the voice, the men present felt an inexplicable heat rise within them, stirring their desires.

They all knew how enchantingly beautiful the owner of the voice was, easily the most gorgeous woman they had ever encountered.

Yet, no one dared to linger their gaze on her for too long, lest they incur her displeasure.

"My master sent me here to deal with those wizard apprentices."

"If they show up, leave it to me to handle."

The Red Widow giggled.

Two cloaked figures stood motionless behind her.

"I leave it to you, then," Brad said respectfully.

The woman before them was one of Lord Su Nan's two deputies, a core member of the Star Alliance. Even the emperor showed her respect, and as a duke, Brad dared not be the slightest bit disrespectful.

The Red Widow smiled and glanced at the two figures behind her.

With them by her side, there was probably no one on the entire Starlight Continent who could make her fear.

At that moment, the two figures suddenly looked up, their gazes fixed on a distant point. After a brief pause, they simultaneously raised their hands and shot out bolts of lightning.

The lightning bolts tore through the air, striking the void over 500 meters away almost simultaneously.

In an instant, the void distorted, and two men in gray robes appeared, stumbling back a step.

Their faces were filled with shock.

They had assumed they would need to get within 100 meters to be detected by the puppets surrounding their target. They never expected to be discovered from such a distance.

Who were these cloaked figures?

Their senses were far too acute!

"Attack!"

A low command rang out.

Seeing their cover blown, Farkado abandoned his stealth and charged forward.

At the same time, over twenty wizard apprentices materialized out of thin air, their faces cold and fierce as they launched an assault on Brad and his companions.

"It's you again!"

Jodan's excitement grew instead of waning. He drew his weapon and was about to charge forward, but Brad stopped him.

"Don't be rash. Remember your position."

Brad gave Jodan an exasperated look. He was already a respected marquis, yet he still acted so recklessly.

A one-ringed legendary knight thinking of fighting a third-level wizard apprentice?

That was no different from courting death.

"Leave the assassins to Lady Red Widow," Brad said.

Jodan clicked his tongue but stopped in his tracks.

On the other side, the Red Widow's face lit up with a seductive smile as she saw the assassins appear.

"I've been waiting for you."

Her melodious laughter echoed as the two figures behind her removed their cloaks, revealing their tall, slender figures and delicate, coldly beautiful faces.

Swoosh!

Silver liquid metal flowed from the palms of the two girls, quickly forming two long knight swords.

In the next moment, the two girls, each wielding a pair of swords, dashed forward like arrows toward the assassins.

After the initial shock of being discovered, Farkado and his companions no longer underestimated the young girls. The two wizard apprentices who charged forward first sneered, one of them shouting loudly as flames erupted from his nostrils, mouth, and every pore of his body.

The flames rose fiercely, burning and swirling to form a three-meter-tall wolf that lunged viciously at the girl on the left.

The other apprentice rapidly chanted a spell, and greenish mist materialized, coalescing into a grotesque, massive beast's head that opened its blood-red mouth and bit down on the girl on the right.

In the face of the incoming attack, the two young women responded with a surprising unity.

With a splash, a silvery metallic liquid surged from their bodies, quickly enveloping them in a shimmering, silver skin.

Whether it was the scorching flames of the fiery wolf or the venomous bite of the green beast, the attacks were deflected by the seemingly thin layer of metallic skin.

Hiss!

Taking advantage of the close range, the girl on the left thrust her sword into the fiery giant wolf's body, her wrist twisting with a light flick. Instantly, a muffled sound like a blade slicing through flesh erupted, and countless sharp blades sprang from the wolf's body, turning it into a pincushion in an instant.

"Ah!!!"

The giant wolf let out a piercing, agonized scream, tinged with disbelief.

In its fiery form, physical attacks should have been completely ineffective, even magical weapons would struggle to harm it. Yet, the longsword that pierced its body was a death sentence.

At the same time, a scream echoed from the other side.

A storm of metal spikes tore through the green beast, overwhelming the opposing wizard apprentice.

As the metal storm swept past, the wizard apprentice exploded into a cloud of blood, leaving not a trace behind!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Meanwhile, a barrage of colorful spells raced towards the two young women, engulfing them in a dazzling display.

But when the light faded, the wizard apprentices were horrified to find the two young women unscathed.

An invisible, seemingly thin yet impenetrable force field enveloped their entire bodies.

Farkado and the others were visibly shaken.

In just one exchange, two formidable third-level wizard apprentices were killed instantly, and the girls had effortlessly deflected everyone's attacks. Their power was truly terrifying!

When did the Star Alliance acquire such formidable individuals, and not just one but two?

Farkado's mind raced, recalling the intelligence he had gathered on the Star Alliance.

The Star Alliance should only have one third-level female wizard apprentice, Rose. But where did these identical twins come from?

Before they could puzzle it out, the two young women advanced with expressionless faces, unleashing a barrage of spell missiles.

"Instant casting!" one wizard apprentice cried in shock.

But even more shocking was yet to come.

Snake Pattern Seal, Lightning Beam, Withering Ray...

One after another, spells were released from the hands of the two young women, quickly felling two more wizard apprentices under the powerful and relentless assault.

"Third-tier spells!"

"How is this possible?!"

"Are these two full-fledged wizards?"

The wizard apprentices were filled with shock.

Third-tier spells, coupled with what appeared to be a natural ability to control liquid metal, made these two young women seem like full-fledged wizards.

But how could this be?

As third-level wizard apprentices, they knew all too well how difficult it was to advance to the rank of a full wizard.

The appearance of Su Nan on the Starlight Continent was already a marvel; how could two more wizards appear, and twins at that?

For a moment, Farkado and the others were filled with uncertainty and disbelief.

"Ah!!!"

A scream suddenly broke the air.

One of the young women had appeared behind a wizard apprentice as if by teleportation, her sword transforming into countless sharp blades that pierced through the apprentice's body.

Another companion dead!

The group snapped out of their stupor, unleashing spells in retaliation.

Faced with two enemies who were exceptionally powerful, they dared not take them lightly and unleashed their most potent attacks.

Especially when they saw Farkado pull out a bead, the others intensified their assault, drawing the two young women's attention to buy time for Farkado.

The bead, the size of an egg, was perfectly round and as clear as a diamond, shimmering with a beautiful luster in the sunlight.

As Farkado focused his mental energy, the bead suddenly glowed, as if drawing in all the surrounding sunlight.

The light grew rapidly, becoming blindingly bright.

It was as if a small sun had appeared in everyone's field of vision.

In the next instant, the bead hummed and a blinding ray of light shot out, reaching one of the young women in the blink of an eye.

Even with her agility and speed, she couldn't dodge in time and could only concentrate the liquid metal in front of her, forming a palm-sized silver shield.

Thud!

Time seemed to pause for a moment, then with a dull thud, the silver shield was pierced by the light. The protective layers of the Shield Spell, the Great Guardian Ring, the Elemental Energy Shield, and the Energy Particle Shield were all breached in quick succession.

In a split second, the five layers of protection were shattered, and the light struck her forehead, piercing through her skull and exiting the back of her head!

Seeing this, Kaire and the others broke into smiles.

"Truly worthy of being the family's magical artifact, the power is indeed formidable!"

Kale was both delighted and amazed.

They had just experienced firsthand the strength of the girl's defenses.

She had endured dozens of spells without a single scratch, which was truly terrifying.

Fortunately, Farkado's Sun Fusion Pearl did not disappoint!

Farkado panted heavily, his face slightly pale, but he couldn't help but smile when he saw the hole in the girl's forehead.

But the next moment, his smile froze.

His companions also looked as if they had seen a ghost.

The girl's forehead began to twitch, and silvery liquid oozed from the surrounding skin, quickly filling the wound. In the blink of an eye, the wound was completely filled, and with a flash of silver light, her skin returned to its original pale complexion, with no sign of the injury.

The girl shook her head and continued to charge at them, her expression unchanged.

"!!!"

Everyone stared in disbelief.

What was happening?

They had clearly hit a vital spot, so why was she completely unharmed?

Farkado was dumbfounded.

He knew better than anyone the power of the Sun Fusion Pearl.

The beam of sunlight that pierced the girl's forehead should have also delivered an intense heat that would have cooked her brain. No matter how resilient a creature was, it shouldn't have survived!

—Unless she had fused with some special bloodline, or her brain wasn't a vital organ, or she wasn't a typical biological entity!

A shocking thought flashed through Farkado's mind.

His expression shifted for a moment, and then he gritted his teeth, activating the Sun Fusion Pearl again. This time, he aimed for the girl's left chest, altering the energy properties so that the beam would explode upon impact, instantly creating a wound the size of two fists. Through the wound, they could see a silvery liquid and a gem-like silver-gray crystal.

"A soul core!"

Farkado was struck as if by a bolt of lightning, his entire body frozen in shock.

The other wizard apprentices who saw this also widened their eyes, their expressions filled with disbelief.

The soul core—these two powerful girls, who could take on multiple opponents and still dominate, were actually puppets!

How could this be? How could a puppet be so powerful?

For a moment, Farkado and the others were thrown into chaos.

They were already at a disadvantage, and now they were even less of a match for the two girls.

One by one, the wizard apprentices fell to the girls.

Farkado wanted to activate the Sun Fusion Pearl again, but after using it twice, his mental energy was nearly depleted. He couldn't even cast a few more spells.

After a dozen breaths, out of the twenty-odd wizard apprentices who had ambushed the imperial camp, only four, including Farkado, were still standing.

Seeing the two girls, expressionless and blocking his escape, Farkado experienced despair for the first time in his life.

"Farkado Russell, the current head of the Russell family, correct?"

A beautiful woman approached, her gaze filled with deep meaning as she looked him over.

Farkado gritted his teeth. "Who are you?"

"The Red Widow."

Farkado's heart skipped a beat.

He had seen this name in intelligence reports; she was apparently a core member of the Star Alliance.

Ignoring Farkado's reaction, the Red Widow smiled seductively. "Surrender. If not for my master's interest in the Russell family, you would already be dead."

Farkado hesitated, looking around. He then realized that the three others still standing were all from his family.

This realization brought no joy, only more bitterness.

The fact that the two puppet girls could selectively target their opponents during the battle clearly showed that they hadn't used their full strength, which was an even more despairing fact.

With a deep sigh, Farkado's spirit was crushed, and he lowered his arms.

"We surrender."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end