Chapter 171: Hunted (Part 2)

  Why am I running? Dazed, and not knowing how long he had been running, Ethan suddenly asked himself this question.

  This question was like a thunderclap tearing open the night sky above his head, bringing light and clarity to his originally chaotic consciousness. Only then did he discover that his own thoughts had returned to him without him realizing. Although in terms of sensation, it was still the same kind of daze as if he had drunk ten catties of strong fruit wine and then been violently struck on the back of the head with a large club, but this was just daze, already completely different from the earlier chaos where there was no thought at all.

  Magic power and fighting spirit were indeed gradually recovering, but this sudden clarity was completely unrelated to this. Ethan could feel that the chaotic, crowded, mixed, and swelling force of confusion in his brain was slowly weakening, gradually dissipating into the originally blocked meridians of his mind. His mind was gradually beginning to empty out space for thought.

  With that little bit of thought, he immediately began to realize. Running was just an instinctive reaction left in his mind, but it was not necessarily the best, or even possibly the worst, method. In such a pitch-black city, in a torrential downpour where almost nothing could be seen, running alone on deserted streets, this seemed to be the easiest way to be discovered.

  The sound of the rain was so loud it seemed to fill heaven and earth, but Ethan immediately distinguished an exceptionally swift set of footsteps running this way. It was because of the support of the meditation technique that he had not truly gone mad, and now that his own thoughts had recovered, his senses, sharpened by the meditation, immediately sensed the anomaly. A heavy, swift sound, with the clang of metal striking the pavement, gradually approached, piercing through the grand sound of the rain.

  He could sense it, but his mind was still groggy. Although it was much better than when he first started, it was just like a solidified paste turning into a flowable paste. Although his magic power and Battle Qi had recovered a little, that little bit was truly just a very small bit. Let alone a Temple Knight, even an apprentice squire would have more fighting power than him.

  The female knight's footsteps had already reached a corner not far behind him. Perhaps with just one turn, the Radiant Battleplate, glowing with white light, could appear in his line of sight.

  Talise was running. The rain was truly too heavy; she had to shield her eyes with one hand while running.

  Along the way, she did not encounter any other searching church guards or priests. The royal city was truly not small, and the weather was simply too harsh. Even shouting loudly would be difficult to transmit beyond a hundred meters. After catching that fleeting glimpse from several li away, she did not dare to spend any more time finding and gathering companions and had chased directly over here. The others should still be searching one place at a time in the wind and rain. Only she had chased out the farthest alone. A high-ranking priest had blessed her with Eagle's Eye and darkvision, as well as the more advanced Owl's Insight. A large group of people would instead hinder her perception. According to what she saw from atop the church earlier, that person's footsteps were staggering, running as if in a daze. He seemed to be seriously injured. Now was the perfect opportunity.

  Just as she turned this corner, Talise's footsteps suddenly slowed down.

  This was an alley between several tall buildings, common in the royal city. It was now pitch-black and lifeless, with only the sound of wind and rain striking the ground, walls, and roof, emitting a dull, monotonous, but immense sound.

  The reason Talise slowed down was that she seemed to have heard a sound. A faint sound that was almost inaudible amidst the immense sound of the wind and rain.

  It was not footsteps. The street was a well-built road of arched stone slabs. In such heavy rain, there was no pooling water, only the tapping sound of countless raindrops falling on it. Unless it was her kind of steel cavalry boots, there wouldn't be too obvious a sound. So, what Talise heard was not the sound of footsteps, but the sound of rain.

  All around was the sound of rain striking the stone ground and the roofs. Only in the darkness not far to her side was there a patch that, although it should have been in the rain, had no sound of rain striking the ground. And this patch was moving towards her with incomparable speed.

  It couldn't be any animal. No animal in the royal city would be active on such a rainy night, and even if it were an animal, the light of the Radiant Battleplate in the darkness would make them avoid it. This was undoubtedly a person hidden in the darkness, and it seemed to be one who wanted to ambush her.

  "Seeking death." Talise shouted angrily, spun around, and the sword in her hand, carrying a sharp glint mixed with white magic and Battle Qi, tore through the curtain of rain and stabbed straight out. Before the sword arrived, its momentum and pressure pushed aside a large area of the wind and rain in front of it.

  Clang. The person approaching from behind blocked this sword, took a step back, and said in a low voice: "Wait, stop."

  "Who are you?" Talise asked loudly. Although she still couldn't see the person's face clearly, she could already tell that this person was not the target she was looking for. Not only were there differences in figure and clothing, but the sword that had blocked her strike was also a sword, and from the feel of the two swords clashing, she could tell that this was also a master of the sword.

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  "It's me." The person replied in a low voice. A faint glow of Battle Qi lit up on his body, revealing a sallow face.

  "You? What are you doing here?" Talise recognized him. It was General Orrin of the Erathia Kingdom's Knight Brigade.

  "Of course, I heard the bells of the great cathedral and came to help." General Orrin coughed lightly a few times. Soaked through in the rain, his originally sickly face appeared somewhat haggard and miserable. Even the color of his Battle Qi was a sickly yellow, the same as his complexion.

  "Just you alone? What are you doing sneaking around like this?" Talise asked sternly.

  General Orrin replied flatly, "When hunting an assassin skilled at hiding his tracks in a situation like this, it's best to first hide yourself. Otherwise, like you, Lady Talise, shining with the holy light of white magic, while you can indeed drive away the filth and evil in the darkness, you might also scare away the very person you're trying to catch."

  "Hmph. I have no time to waste on nonsense with you." Talise turned her head to leave, but suddenly remembered, turned back to look at General Orrin, and asked, "How did you know I was chasing an assassin? I should be the one who has chased the farthest. You shouldn't have met any other searchers yet."

  "For the first time in decades, St. Peter's Basilica is ringing its bells at midnight. That is naturally a matter of great importance. And with three key military ministers being assassinated in the last two days, although I don't want to speculate in this way, it seems it can only be the work of that assassin... May I ask if that is correct?"

  Talise snorted, treating it as an answer.

  "Could it be that Archbishop Eschol was really harmed? How could this be..." General Orrin was both surprised and filled with grief and indignation, but perhaps because of his sickly face and listlessness, this expression seemed somewhat strange, as if it were deliberately put on. "With the awe-inspiring Temple Knight present, and so many elite guards, and Archbishop Eschol's light magic being divine and transcendent, how could this be..."

  "Stop the nonsense. Either help search, or get lost." Talise roared at General Orrin and turned to leave.

  "Please wait... Lady Talise..." General Orrin called out to Talise. But it seemed that in his urgency to speak, he had gotten rainwater in his mouth. He began to cough violently.

  "What is it?" Talise turned around again.

  General Orrin coughed for a while, then straightened up and asked weakly, "Lady Talise, why are you chasing here all by yourself? Didn't you bring guards or anyone else? This assassin could even kill Archbishop Eschol. Are you confident you can handle him?"

  Talise was silent for a brief moment. But her silence was not because she had nothing to say. It was because she didn't dare to speak. She was afraid that the moment she opened her mouth, she would lose control in her anger and stab this sick man who seemed to have endless nonsense with her sword first. But she ultimately held back. After all, this person was still, more or less, one of their own, an ally. She answered in one breath: "I discovered that guy should have escaped to this vicinity. There was no time to gather people. He seems to be seriously injured, although there are no visible wounds on the outside. Perhaps he was harmed by Archbishop Eschol's mind magic. If you catch this culprit, Celeste will surely thank you."

  General Orrin nodded, coughed lightly twice, and said, "Celeste's thanks, you say? As a mere warrior, I dare not presume. But I will certainly do my best."

  "Good." Talise replied coldly and turned to leave.

  "Wait, Lady Talise, don't go." General Orrin shouted again, but this time Talise did not actually get angry or lose control, because these words were exactly what she wanted to hear right now. "Actually, I also discovered the assassin's trail and chased after him. I can even be certain he is right... right..."

  Just as he was getting to the crucial point, General Orrin suddenly coughed lightly a few more times, his voice dwindling. Just then, a thunderclap coincidentally covered his words completely.

  Talise quickly approached and asked, "Where?"

  Orrin coughed a few more times, took a breath, and said weakly, "He must be hiding somewhere nearby. I'm sure..."

  The last few syllables were still swirling in his mouth when General Orrin's previously listless face suddenly tightened all over. The sickly expression was instantly scorched ferocious by killing intent. His originally half-closed eyes also shot forth a sharp light. Looking behind Talise, who was listening attentively to his words, he shouted loudly, "Isn't that him? Lady Talise..."

  Talise turned, twisted her head. But before her eyes even had time to focus on the spot General Orrin was pointing out, she felt a burning chill on the side of her neck.

  At the same moment she felt this strange chill, Talise's body was already flying violently backward. The glowing white shadow was stretched into a path of light in the dark, rainy night, then she landed staggeringly, retreating.

  Talise's face was full of disbelief and fear. She could feel warm blood pouring out from her slender neck, mixing with the cold rainwater. Colder even than the rain was her heart. That faint yellow figure followed, rushing towards her like a shadow.

  Although she had dodged most of it, this sword strike had failed to decapitate her, but it had already severed nearly a third of her neck. Although it hadn't severed the most important spine, her trachea and arteries were open. Blood was surging out with the vigorous life force of a young woman, rushing to the surface of her body. As soon as it traced a fresh, bright red color on her fair, delicate neck, it was immediately washed away without a trace by the pouring rain.

  "The personal disciple of Lord Lancelot is truly formidable. To be able to dodge my ambush even when you were completely off guard. I originally thought I could take your head with one strike." General Orrin coughed lightly again. His expression now looked listless once more, and the sword in his hand, also glowing with a faint yellow light, stabbed in a sickly, crooked way. But it was this listless sword that sealed all of Talise's movements, forcing her to deflect with all her strength.

  Everyone knew that a Temple Knight's own accomplishment in white magic was not low, and she might also have high-level magic items on her. So, even though this injury was already fatal, he absolutely could not relax. At the very least, he couldn't give her the chance to use healing or magic items. The faint yellow sword.

  "Why... you... despicable..." Talise struggled to squeeze these words from her throat, which was now a muddled mess. The constant movement had twisted her blood vessels, trachea, and esophagus together. She could feel that these few words were being sent up from her stomach, churned forward by blood. Strength, life force, were all quickly flying out from her throat. Her body was growing colder and colder, her consciousness more and more blurred. Only immense anger and unwillingness remained in her heart.

  Blood entered her throat, and she coughed. Finally unable to bear it, she reached for her throat to use white magic. But the sword glowing with faint yellow Battle Qi immediately pierced through that wrist of hers, and then a kick knocked her down.

  Her face pressed close to the cold ground. The cold rain washed wildly over every inch of her skin. Even the blood flowing from her throat seemed to be turning cold. Everything was cool, cold, dark. Her consciousness finally began to fade.

  One of General Orrin's feet was on the female knight's body, another on her sword-wielding hand, while the sword in his hand was on her other hand. Looking down at the Temple Knight who was gradually becoming a corpse beneath his feet, he coughed lightly and said, "Lady Talise, please rest in peace and die. I will definitely kill that assassin to avenge you and Archbishop Eschol."

  But the female knight could no longer answer. Perhaps she could no longer even hear. Only her limbs were still twitching slightly.

  "I truly admire you. You can really hold your nerve." General Orrin turned his head to look at a dark corner of a wall nearby, where even the light of lightning could not reach. He sighed and said, "The little eaglet that came along has already been slaughtered. Do you, this wolf, still want to keep pretending to be a stone? Master Saye has already grown impatient waiting for you to make your move."