"What?!"The book in Josh"s hand fell to the ground as a panicked look appeared on his face. He grabbed the black-robed figure by the collar, and asked, "What"s going on?!"
"Y-Your Highness, we sent spies to tail Princess Irina, just as you"d instructed, and we discovered her near the fifth street. After that, we immediately lost contact with our third team of scouts, and communication was immediately cut off with another scout right after he delivered news that the elven princess was being attacked. All of our scouts are currently converging toward the fifth street, and we don"t know what"s going on yet," the black-robed man replied in a trembling voice.
"Fifth street…" Josh pushed the black-robed man aside before quickly striding out the door as he commanded in a cold voice, "Prepare a griffin, and command my personal guards to head to the fifth street right away!"
"Yes!" The black-robed figure hurried out the door.
Soon, a black griffin rose into the air over the second prince"s manor, flapping its wings before flying away. Two groups of black-robed men on horseback also emerged from the rear gate before galloping toward the northern part of the city amid the pelting rain.
…
"The storm tonight is just as satisfying as the one from three years ago."
In a certain pavilion within Rodu, a tall and burly figure stood in front of a window, looking out at the heavy storm as he took a sip of wine with a smile on his face.
…
The fifth street seemed to have already been forgotten by the entire world.
The black cat cowered in the corner, with every single strand of fur on its body standing up on end. Its back was arched as it stared at the elf in the distance with horror in its eyes. The rain came pelting down onto the barrier of leaves above its head, but not a single drop of rain fell on its body.
The sharp arrows were already upon Irina, and a sinister smile appeared on the face of the club-wielding orc as it envisioned its ma.s.sive club pulverizing Irina"s head like a watermelon. The vines that had erupted from the ground swept toward her like countless venomous vipers, and within the darkness, a group of heavy cavalry was beginning their charge. Their armored unicorns" hooves thundered on the ground, while their spearheads glistened with a cold light.
All of Irina"s avenues for escape and evasion had been cut off.
A cruel smile appeared on Gajeel"s face. He had been waiting for this day for many years.
Back when Alex and Irina had roamed the continent, they had brought immense humiliation upon him.
Now, Alex was dead, and Irina was about to follow in his tragic footsteps. Life was good.
Back when Irina had traveled the continent with Alex, she hadn"t actually engaged in many battles. Even though she had been a 10th-tier magic caster for a long time at that point, no one knew just how powerful she actually was.
"Have you given up resistance already? Looks like you"re nothing without Alex, after all." Gajeel pursed his lips with disdain. Their three races had deployed six 10th-tier beings in total, but it appeared that they had overestimated her.
According to the news from the elven race, Irina sustained severe injuries three years ago, and was significantly debilitated as a result. She had created quite a stir by killing Schubert not long ago, but it appeared that Schubert must"ve been so old that he was barely able to even hold onto his wand.
Countless eyes spectated the battle from within the darkness. The history of the Norland Continent was quite possibly going to be rewritten in this one night.
A human race without Alex and an elven race without Irina could very likely become enslaved by other races once again.
Right at this moment, Irina raised her left hand.
The droplets of rain pelting down from above suddenly came to an abrupt halt. All of the rain droplets simply hung in mid-air while the line of arrows had also become completely stationary. A sinister smile was frozen on the orc"s face and the black vines had already made their way onto her legs.
It was as if everything had been transformed into a still image. Within the faint golden light, Irina"s slender hands were as translucent and beautiful as flawless jade.
A golden staff that was even taller than Irina herself appeared in her right hand. Her expression remained calm without even the slightest hint of panic as she said, "Holy light, heed my call; cleanse this world of all filth and impurities!"
Dazzling holy light as bright as the sun began to radiate from the tip of her staff.
Beams of golden holy light punctured the stationary raindrops, and all of the rain seemed to have also turned golden. The raindrops began to radiate vibrant light as they shot forth like countless golden swords, carving straight through the darkness.
Gajeel"s expression abruptly changed upon seeing this. A black s.h.i.+eld appeared before him, and he retreated rapidly at the same time.
All of the other black-robed figures also hurriedly adopted defensive measures.
The still image suddenly resumed motion in this instant.
The string of arrows was struck by a ray of holy light, and the latter was instantly reduced to dust, following which the holy light continued onward and punctured the glabella of a demonic archer in the distance.
The vines that had erupted from the ground also immediately melted like snow on a sweltering summer"s day in the face of the holy light.
"Argh!" A forest troll in the distance jumped up before letting loose a howl of anguish, having already lost both of its legs.
The rays of holy light then struck the club-wielding orc, and the soft armor he was wearing, which was made from the hide of a 9th-tier magic beast, was immediately sliced into countless pieces. Blood began to seep through the thin incisions as the ma.s.sive metal club suddenly became extremely rusty and frail, following which it disintegrated into a pile of oxidized sc.r.a.p metal.
The holy light then struck the group of spear-wielding heavy cavalry. Their heavy armor, which was strong enough to withstand 7th-tier attacks, crumbled as if made from papier-mache. Before they had even reached Irina, their bodies had been reduced to chunks of shattered flesh and bones that spilled down onto the ground.
Irina withdrew her left hand before swinging her staff viciously into the orc"s face.
"Thump!"
The orc flew through the air before cras.h.i.+ng heavily into a broken wall, where he was buried under a pile of falling rubble, having already died before he had even made contact with the wall.
The remaining holy light flashed past, leaving a few wounds on the rest of the black-robed figures" bodies.
The storm continued to rage on the fifth street, but it suddenly became a lot quieter. The silence was only broken by the falling rain as well as the anguished cries and heavy breathing of Irina"s a.s.sailants.
The stench of blood hung stubbornly in the air, and even the rain was unable to wash it away.
In just a split second, a heavy cavalry unit and a 10th-tier orc had perished.
None of the black-robed figures dared to belittle Irina now. This incredibly beautiful elf was also incredibly violent and ruthless in battle.
Furthermore, she was far more powerful than they had antic.i.p.ated.
Irina wore a deriding sneer as she said, "I think there might be some kind of misunderstanding. Alex didn"t want me to engage in battle, not because I"m too weak, but because I don"t know how to hold back. It"s very common that I beat people to death before even realizing it. If I want to leave, do you think any of you will be able to stop me?"
"Irina, you are indeed a little stronger than we expected, but even Alex fell by our hands in the end; do you really think you have a chance against us?"
Gajeel put down the black s.h.i.+eld in his hand as a grayish-white magic s.h.i.+eld appeared, enshrouding everyone on the fifth street within its boundaries.