“Look out!”
Seeing the thief Marlen’s body hurtling towards them like a projectile, a sturdy man nad Barrett, who was a Obsidian Steel-tier warrior, imdiately raised his shield in place, forming a barricade to intercept Marlen’s approach, protecting Francis.
His stature was extrely robust, standing over two ters tall, with a burly and muscular build that could easily rival so beastn. With his massive and heavy steel shield, he exuded a strong sense of security.
With Barrett protecting him, Francis felt sowhat at ease. His initial thoughts of how to eliminate or severely injure the two won disguised as magical creatures had quickly turned into contemplating how to retreat from them.
The golden-haired girl who had mysteriously incapacitated the giant stone beast had already made him cautious. He had initially thought that the seemingly priest-like and delicate-looking Violet was an easy target.
He had planned to launch a surprise attack on her, hoping to kill her or inflict severe injuries, and then see if they could team up against the other woman.
If that failed, he could make his escape.
Since the other party was determined to claim the reward for the mission all for themselves, he needed to create so obstacles for these two won, no matter what.
Even if the female knight who had joined them halfway saw what happened, it didn’t matter. She was naive and didn’t have much of a guard, and he could always kill her to silence her, or at the very least, he could make a run for it.
After all, the world was vast, and there were plenty of places for Francis to hide. In fact, he had co to Fla Dragon City after committing so cris in other places, seeking refuge from retribution. He was a repeat offender.
However, he didn’t expect Violet to be even more absurd. She had not only broken a steel dagger with her fingers but had also taken a direct hit from his fourth-tier Fla Burst spell unhard!
In reality, Francis had a precious spatial teleportation scroll on him, which could instantly transport him to a location ten kiloters away. This was his biggest reliance for daring to act. If others died, it didn’t matter, as long as he survived. But he wasn’t in such dire straits just yet. It might be better to try a normal retreat...
Thunk!
The towering figure ca crashing forward, shattering Francis’ rapidly spinning sches. The trendous force sent him tumbling across the ground in a sorsault, and his bones scread in pain. He was on the verge of passing out from the excruciating agony.
“Gu... What... How...”
After twitching like a fish shocked by electricity and suffering from multiple bruises, dozens of scrapes, and a torn mage’s robe, the man finally managed to pull his head out of the mud. His eyes were filled with fear and disbelief.
Not far from him lay a burly man nad Barrett with twisted arms and a massive depression in the center of his shield. Fresh blood oozed from his ruptured internal organs, and he lay motionless, breathing in and out less and less.
As for the thief Marlen, he had exploded into countless pieces upon impact, with various grueso and unsightly remains strewn all over.
Footsteps, step by step, sounded from afar, gradually approaching Francis. They grew louder in his muddled mind, mixed with shock and despair, like a funeral bell tolled by the grim reaper.
Francis desperately tried to reach into his pocket for the teleportation scroll, but his arms were immobilized, having been broken in the collision.
“So, who doesn’t know their place?”
The black-haired girl looked down at the disheveled man. Her silver-blue eyes held no satisfaction or arrogance. They were so cold, devoid of humanity, as if she were looking at a dead man.
“Originally, I couldn’t be bothered to deal with you all, ti and ti again. Did you really think... I wouldn’t dare to kill?”
The emotionless, icy voice of the black-haired girl echoed in Francis’ ears, and overwhelming remorse and bitterness nearly consud his heart.
“Bastard...”
Francis, aware of his impending doom, was about to spew so harsh words to taunt the woman before him. But to his surprise, she was neither hesitant nor slow. Without giving him half a chance to speak, she raised her sacred priestess staff.
“Stop!”
From another direction, there ca the enraged shouts of a girl, and the sound of rapid, clashing armor as she sprinted forward. However, Violet seed as if she hadn’t heard any of it and swiftly brought down her judgnt, her hands holding the weapon.
“Dammit... you...”
Splatter!
Alongside the explosion of a waterlon, Francis’s venomous curses ca to an abrupt halt before they even began.
anwhile, Edwina, the reflexive but slow-to-react Holy Knight, just managed to reach Violet’s side, almost too late to prevent the black-haired girl from killing her forr teammate.
“What a waste of ti...”
Violet disdainfully waved her divine artifact, the 【Eternal Scepter of the World’s Heart】, retracting the priestess staff that remained untainted. She casually dispelled the barrier she’d summoned to block the splattering blood.
With an expressionless face, Violet turned around to face the bewildered Holy Knight girl who had aid her sword at the two of them.
“Miss Edwina, do you also wish to be my enemy?”
The young Holy Knight trembled uncontrollably, as if she had transford into a completely different person.
It was as if, within the blink of an eye, everyone had died at the hands of this black-haired priestess, despite her previous interactions and conversations. Edwina had been laughing and listening to tales of adventure just monts ago, but now she hadn’t even had a chance to help her own teammates.
Ruthless, decisive, and without the slightest burden or hesitation in taking lives.
Edwina could sense that it was only because she hadn’t reacted in ti, hadn’t intervened in the battle, that she had managed to survive. Otherwise, she believed the priestess would have killed her without a second thought, just as one would squash an insect.
But a Holy Knight, a knight devoted to serving the gods, did not fear death. Even if it was dangerous, she had to speak up.
“Miss Violet, why... did you have to kill them?”
“?”
The priestess suddenly smiled, and the icy deanor in her eyes dissipated. She disdainfully pointed to the lifeless body of Barrett, who had just gasped his last breath, and the headless corpse of Francis lying nearby.
“They wanted to kill , so I turned the tables and killed them. Isn’t that logical?”
“But...”
Edwina shouted excitedly, “Even if it was indeed Mr. Francis and their fault, it should not be up to Miss Violet to take their lives. I believe they should be sent to Fla Dragon City and judged by God... by the law!”
“Tsk, so naive and close-minded...”
Violet started to beco impatient.
“So, if I were just an ordinary priest and was killed by their sneak attack, what could you have done at that ti? Let the so-called God or the law punish them?”
“I... “
Edwina’s montum suddenly dropped.
“I, I would try...”
“Then wait until you’ve tried before you co and preach to , Miss Edwina. Talk less and practice more.”
Violet pointed to the weapon in her hand, showing her disinterest in further argunt, and left the scene with her little dragon companion.
Edwina didn’t stop them, but kept her head low, her face rather pale, looking like she had taken a great blow.
In truth, Violet had no objections to the principle followed by the Holy Knight, which was not to use arbitrary punishnt but to let specialized institutions determine guilt.
On Earth, many rule-of-law countries indeed follow such regulations, and it helps maintain social stability.
However, this is a different world.
In this world, the strong can transcend the law, as Violet ntioned earlier. If Francis had really killed her and Xiao Guang, would he have ultimately faced the law or divine punishnt?
The answer is, of course not.
Francis is a high-level adventurer with two loyal companions by his side. With Edwina alone, there’s no way to catch them, and given her mindset, it’s already a success if she can escape and testify to the incident in Fla Dragon City.
Even if she could manage that, what then?
Francis acted without hesitation, indicating that he had killed before. Even if he were caught, he would surely have foreseen it and escaped Fla Dragon City, changing his identity and starting a new life.
As the saying goes, with strong power, it’s easy to accomplish many things and lead a comfortable life. Unless one causes a catastrophic disaster, the kingdom’s laws won’t be able to touch them.
Edwina’s stance, in this situation, is nothing but impractical idealism. Dealing with people like Francis effectively requires responding to force with force.
Violet didn’t know what her holand, the Holy Empire, was like, and whether they could achieve equality under divine law. But at least in the Human United Kingdom, where the legal system and enforcent are not robust, that approach won’t work.
Anyway, there’s not much chance of eting her again in the future, so she won’t dwell on these matters.
Now, it’s ti to focus on the task at hand. Hopefully, there won’t be any more unexpected incidents.
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