Chapter 212: The Deadlock Broken (Part 2)

  "Hahahaha..." Bishop Javi laughed loudly, the purple bloodstains at the corner of his mouth making his fluctuating expression appear somewhat ferocious, a stark contrast to his normally handsome and extraordinary demeanor. He looked at the person before him and laughed loudly: "Heaven has a path, yet you do not walk it; Hell has no gate, yet you barge in yourself. You thought that by using a trick to lure me away, you could come here and turn the tables?"

  "Crunch." Ethan took a step forward from the marble fragments. He had taken Javi's sword strike without retreating, but the marble floor beneath his feet was instantly shattered by the immense force and momentum transmitted down. Although he didn't stagger back like Javi or spit blood, he himself knew that his own injuries could only be more severe than the other's.

  Bishop Javi had struck with accumulated momentum, a heaven-shaking, full-power sword strike. He, on the other hand, was making a hasty defense right after using his magic with all his strength. If it weren't for the fact that the quality and power of the Vampire's Fang in his hand were far superior to Bishop Javi's long sword, he probably wouldn't be able to stand now. He looked at Bishop Javi, shook his head, and said: "You didn't go to the Magic Academy? I thought Talise, whom I arranged there, could at least hold you up for a while..."

  "I have to admit, your trap was effective. You knew what kind of lie could cause me the greatest panic, and this risky move of yours was indeed very clever. To think you actually got in here like this. Fortunately, I came to my senses midway and rushed back."

  "Came to your senses? Did you think of something that wasn't right? I thought you would have lost your judgment in your haste."

  "Indeed, this matter is too important to me, so much so that I had no time to think it through. But on the way, I didn't figure it out by thinking. It was a feeling. I could feel that you were not the type to go after that thing..." Bishop Javi paused slightly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Ethan and asked: "I even suspect, do you know what is in there?"

  "I didn't know before this. Otherwise, I would have said so when you were interrogating Jessica. It was only when I later returned to the Magic Academy to find Sandro that I heard about your strange actions. Only then did I deduce that there was indeed something you wanted down there, and it seemed Marquis had called you away as soon as he returned. And Sandro had vaguely mentioned to me before that he was guarding something here, so I deduced that the thing below must be extremely important, and that it belongs to the Necromancer Guild. Isn't that right..."

  "Yes, you're a bit smarter than I imagined... But now is not the time to talk this nonsense with you... After I catch you this time, I've decided to chop off all your limbs first. And then question you slowly..." Bishop Javi glanced behind him. The ministers, who had been swept out by the airflow from their clash, had gotten up and rushed back in, and the Paladin Order swordsmen had also arrived.

  Ethan gave a faint, cold smile: "You think you can definitely take me down?"

  "I know you're badly injured right now. Don't pretend to be fine over there." Bishop Javi looked at him just as coldly. The Paladin Order swordsmen had already swarmed in.

  Rodhart had been swept away by the burst of airflow earlier, smashed against a wall, and then fell to the ground, motionless. Although he had been able to stand with difficulty before, the bones in his chest were indeed broken. From this fall, it seemed the broken bones had pierced his internal organs. Two priests who had just rushed into the sleeping chamber were now treating him. Although there were few mages and priests in the Paladin Order, any one of them was a top expert in the Empire. The white magic skills of these two priests were almost comparable to those of an ordinary bishop.

  Bishop Javi wiped the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth, restoring the grace and calm demeanor he always presented in front of others, and said with a smile: "I told you, this was a dead end to begin with, unbreakable. Now you've delivered yourself to your own death, which is for the best. You and I should both be clear that no one can break out from an encirclement by the entire Paladin Order. Not even Gru and Sedros could."

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Ethan replied lightly: "Did I say I was going to break out? Then let me tell you, this deadlock is already broken."

  "Show. Me. How. You. Break. It." Bishop Javi sneered, spitting out each word, one after another, and waved to the densely packed swordsmen behind him. "Take down this murderer. Other than keeping him alive, there are no need for reservations. It doesn't matter even if you chop off all his limbs."

  The moment Cardinal's hand waved, the sound of dozens of swords being drawn rang out simultaneously. A expanse of bright, white sword light brought with it a sky full of killing intent, and the temperature in the entire sleeping chamber seemed to drop by several degrees. At the same time, Ethan grunted. The white Battle Qi light on his body suddenly flared up.

  He was not preparing to make a move, but to resist the "Weakness," "Slowness," "Curse," and several other types of curse-based auxiliary magic that had surged into his body simultaneously. These magics were of various kinds, and their effects were so great and heavy that he had to use his Battle Qi at full blast just to dispel them from his body.

  He knew Javi was right. Each of the mages mixed in with the swordsmen was almost at the level of an Archmage. If these ten-odd people used curses at full strength simultaneously, even Gru's combat strength would be greatly diminished if he were here. And the densely packed hundreds of swordsmen before him were all, without exception, standard experts, skilled in coordinated combat. No matter how strong a person was, it would be impossible to escape from such an encirclement.

  "Stop!" At this moment, a voice rang out. A person stood up from the fragments nearby.

  "Your Majesty the Queen!" the ministers cried out in unison. Their voices were all filled with wild joy. The Chancellor was not as surprised, but when she saw the Queen stand up on her own, tears of joy welled up in the corners of her eyes.

  The bed was closest to Ethan. In the instant of his mutual strike with Bishop Javi, it had been sent flying by the shockwave and shattered, and the Queen's body was also buried within it. Now, however, she stood up from the fragments on her own. The two terrifying fangs were no longer at the Queen's lips. And her expression was completely free of the previous ferocity and distortion, having returned to its normal state.

  "Everyone, stop!" The Queen stood up, her face full of anger as she pointed, but her finger was aimed at Cardinal. "He is the real culprit. He is a Necromancer! He's the one who turned me into a vampire. He also threatened me to summon veteran ministers like Marquis Minsk and General Thomas to be assassinated. I didn't agree to them, so they captured me and used magic to drive me mad."

  Everyone was stunned by this sentence. Even the Paladin Order swordsmen, whose nerves were like forged steel and who only knew how to fight, their captains were all stunned.

  Although Rodhart and Bishop Javi were both stunned, a cold light flashed in their eyes at the same time, and they did not appear very flustered. Cardinal snorted coldly and said in a loud voice: "This villain has used black magic to control Her Majesty the Queen's mind. Take him down quickly."

  Although he was somewhat surprised that Ethan could break the dual restrictions of his white magic seal and Necromancy control, Bishop Javi was not very worried. A vampire queen who had been trying to bite someone just a moment ago was now accusing a Cardinal personally appointed by His Majesty the Pope of being a Necromancer. Especially since she had just had black magic course through her entire body, it obviously wouldn't be very convincing.

  But at this moment, another person stepped out from the crowd, jumped in front of the Queen, and shouted: "Everyone stop! What Her Majesty the Queen is saying is true. He is the real murderer."

  The swordsmen, who had been about to step forward, stopped again. It was the Chancellor.

  "Wait." At this time, the old Minister Jason also stepped forward. He looked at Bishop Javi and the Queen with some hesitation. "This is a bit strange..."

  "Can't you see that this is the murderer who assassinated Bishop Ronis and Duke Mrak? Do you still think he's innocent?" Bishop Javi's voice already showed his anger.

  Minister Jason sighed. "Precisely because he is the murderer of Duke Mrak, I find it strange. Why would the Chancellor innocently protect the murderer of her own father?"

  "That's because she has also been affected by that fugitive's mind-controlling magic," Cardinal said coldly, waving his hand again. "Take the Chancellor into custody. I will help her dispel this magic myself."

  At this time, Rodhart also woke up under the priests' treatment and said while panting: "He's right. Take him down quickly."

  "You don't need to argue anymore. Don't any of you move."

  As soon as this sentence was spoken, everyone was stunned and froze in place. Because the one who said this was actually Ethan.

  But the reason everyone froze and was stunned was not just because he spoke, but because he had pulled the Chancellor and the Queen together from behind, and his hand was now placed on their necks.

  "Don't any of you move. Here we have Her Majesty the Queen and the Chancellor. Both are people the Empire cannot do without. Don't force me to kill them." Ethan scanned the entire scene, then his gaze fell upon Bishop Javi's face. "My lord Bishop, I trust you wouldn't disregard their lives, would you?"

  "I suppose you don't dare to make a move." Bishop Javi's cold voice seemed unchanged, but his complexion had already begun to look somewhat grim.

  "Don't suppose about me. I know you wouldn't either, my lord Bishop," Ethan said lightly, ignoring the two sisters in his hands, whose faces were full of astonishment. "As a Cardinal, how could you disregard the lives of Her Majesty the Queen and the Chancellor? Of course, that is unless you have other ulterior motives and plans..."

  At this moment, Minister Jason and General Thomas had long since turned from excessive shock to flying into a rage. Although they didn't yet understand how things had come to this, the fact that the Queen and the Chancellor had both fallen into this person's grasp was undeniable. Minister Jason roared: "What do you think you're doing, you bastard? Weren't the Chancellor and Her Majesty the Queen just speaking up for you?"

  Ethan smiled faintly and said: "Speaking up for me isn't the same as making things clear for me. So I just want to wait with everyone for the person who can make things clear for me."