https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-509-The-Heavens-May-Not-Have-Two-Suns-But-There-Are-Two-Lorens/12584710/
Chapter 510: Ranchi Speaks the Truth
Chapter 510: Ranchi Speaks the Truth
On the scorched earth of the northwest region of South Ventina, pure updrafts constantly caused the firelight to dance, as if ripples were being cast upon the quiet night, and a man's voice sounded.
"Are you going to fight me?"
It was a soft murmur, yet it also sounded like a thunderous decree.
Ranchi's compassionate gaze, detached from the mortal world, swept over Salomon and then towards the decaying alchemical beast. It seemed as if he didn't put them in his eyes at all, merely observing the flow of the wind, speaking from his heart.
In either sense, the only certainty was—
Whoever fought him would not change the outcome.
"No, Lorren, you can't kill me..."
The Destruction Son Salomon's magical operation came to a halt, as if he wanted to completely conceal his presence and existence. His expression gradually darkened.
He looked at the battlefield.
The eighth-rank decaying alchemical beast created by Bishop Famer was slightly stronger than the gray-haired eighth-rank woman. Although he was far from being her opponent, after supplementing the alchemical beast with control, it became quite deadly to her.
After the previous battle, the alchemical beast had consumed half of its energy, and he had suffered a few eighth-rank curse injuries. His current state was already poor.
If it were another ordinary eighth-rank opponent, he would dare to fight to the death.
But Lorren, this monster, could handle three decaying alchemical beasts with ease!
Only a Cardinal Bishop in peak condition could rival the Great Cardinal!
"Let's make a deal. Don't let those Destruction clerics in the city kill innocent people. Withdraw them all, and I won't pursue this further."
Ranchi sighed, his voice carrying a mix of sorrow and fatigue. Even facing the Destruction Son, he wanted to use love to redeem his opponent. His love knew no bounds.
"But if you challenge me, I assure you that you will die miserably today in the South Ventina domain. Before your death, you will experience far greater fear than anything the Destruction Bishop could inflict upon you."
Ranchi's gaze seemed to see into the distance, as if he was speaking of something he did not wish to happen.
"What are you talking about?"
Destruction Son Salomon's eyes darted back and forth.
He didn't understand why Lorren seemed to have seen through their plan, and he couldn't comprehend the hidden meaning behind Lorren's cryptic words.
But at this moment, Salomon felt that Lorren wasn't deceiving him. Instead, he sincerely cared for him or was foretelling his destined fate.
The Great Cardinal of the Goddess of Fate's Church would not stoop to bullying a Son; otherwise, Lorren would have personally eradicated the Sons and Daughters under the South Continent's Cardinal Bishop.
For an eighth-rank powerhouse like the Great Cardinal to personally annihilate the Sons and Daughters, it would only drive the Cardinal Bishop to start hunting down lower-ranked clerics more frantically and ruthlessly.
This was the balance and compromise that Lorren had chosen to a certain extent.
Salomon understood this.
Even as every half-second of hesitation reduced his chances of escape, he also had to consider whether he truly had a chance to flee.
At this moment, he had two choices: use the alchemical beast to buy him time to escape, as it could still hold off Lorren for a while. The Destruction clerics within the city could also indiscriminately slaughter and detonate themselves at any time, which Lorren wouldn't ignore, thus providing him with ample escape time.
Or, he could believe that Lorren would let him go and flee without resistance.
If he chose the former, he would have the initiative, but Lorren would no longer hold back and would unleash his full power. If Salomon initiated the challenge and Lorren countered, killing him, it wouldn't be Lorren's fault for bullying a weaker opponent.
At this point, Salomon's eyebrows twitched as if he had figured something out.
"A Great Cardinal doesn't go back on his word, right?"
Salomon swallowed and dared to ask.
He had heard that Lorren was so merciful that he was almost foolish, and even the Destruction and Decaying Bishops sneeringly agreed with this assessment.
"Of course. Don't let that alchemical beast move again."
Ranchi nodded.
His gaze towards Salomon remained calm, as if he had never considered a mere Destruction Son as an opponent. It was the gaze of a deity looking down upon insignificant mortals.
"Good."
A chill running up his spine made Salomon twist his body, transforming into a black shadow and fleeing from the scorched earth as quickly as possible. Breaking through the gale, he soon blended into the night.
After a long while, Salomon put several kilometers between them.
He entered an alley in the South Ventina domain, suppressing his magical power to appear as an ordinary pedestrian walking alone. He took care not to give Loren any chance to sense his presence.
At this point, Salomon was certain he had successfully escaped.
"Thank you, Cardinal Loren..."
Salomon murmured sincerely.
In the shadows, his mouth twitched uncontrollably as he struggled to hold back his laughter.
Running away first was definitely the better option. Once he was safe, he could have the Destruction clerics in the city unleash indiscriminate slaughter. Loren wouldn't be able to ignore that, giving him ample time to escape.
By the time Loren realized he had been tricked, Miss Hyberrian would no longer have the protection of the eighth-rank woman, and her trump card would have been used up, leaving her truly vulnerable.
Loren was merely an intruder as the Guardian of the Kingdom of Hutton, not exclusively assigned to protect Hyberrian. For him, the safety of the people of Hutton Kingdom came first.
At that time, if the leading Destruction cleric turned back, Miss Hyberrian would be doomed.
Salomon's racing heart told him that he was fortunate to have faced someone like Loren, a foolishly compassionate person, rather than someone with a more twisted and sadistic personality.
Unfortunately, compassion came with a price.
Tonight, he would teach Loren a lesson.
A lesson that would cost him dearly.
A lesson that would leave an everlasting mark on Loren.
Salomon's eyes darkened with determination.
Finally, he let out a laugh.
...
In the northwestern area of the South Ventina domain, along the Path of the Guardian, the surrounding mansions lay in ruins as if a war had just swept through.
After a long while,
"... "
Ranchi watched as Destruction Son Salomon fled in fear until he disappeared from view, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Meow meow meow! Tara!"
Cat Boss suddenly emerged from the shadows and flew over to slowly heal Tara, not caring that she had suddenly become so powerful, an eighth-rank being. Despite his dwindling magic power, he desperately cast healing spells on her.
Seeing that Tara was still conscious, Ranchi felt relieved.
Originally, if he hadn't intervened, Hyberrian and her entire family would have died, and Tara might have turned to the dark side, obtaining the ancient Demon Tribe's product of tradition, the Poem of Pity. In the distant future, she could have become a terrifying ninth-rank Demon.
But now, it seemed like she had been "spoiled" and hadn't obtained her biggest cheat, the Poem of Pity. In the past year, there had been no signs of her getting stronger, and the only change seemed to be that she had gained a little weight.
"... "
Talia lay on the ground, looking up at Ranchi and turning her head to glance at him, but she was too exhausted to say anything, so she just lay there.
"You finally scared him off. That was close..."
Hyberrian leaned against Ranchi's chest, breathing a sigh of relief after a long moment of holding her breath.
She knew that Ranchi had been playing mind games, taking a risky move to frighten off Destruction Son Salomon.
"Huh? I didn't scare him."
Ranchi looked down at Hyberrian, confused.
"Huh?"
Hyberrian also stared at Ranchi, perplexed.
"If he dared to fight me, he would have died," Ranchi stated matter-of-factly.
"... "
Hyberrian finally understood a little.
The Three Illusion Demons were probably with Ranchi now. After discovering the Destruction cleric in the South Ventina domain, the first thing he did was call the three great demons from Ikelite.
Wait a moment.
According to Hyberrian's understanding of Ranchi, he had a surefire win either way, and he had even guided Salomon to choose to flee. So, what awaited Salomon now?
"Ranchi, you're not going to do something that will deplete your merit points today, are you...? I haven't accumulated that many merit points recently..."
Although Hyberrian was very close to Ranchi, her voice was so timid that he could barely hear her.
(End of Chapter)
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