Chapter 57 – EPISODE 57 – WINTER FLOWER (3)
I forgot to clarify it last chapter, but Kamael’s ‘clone’ is something like a doppelgänger. And not some scientifically-made clone. It’s a bit close to Naruto’s shadow clones (kage bunshin).
Saluzia stood on the cliff, where Jude and Cordelia had jumped, and clenched her fists.
She was crushing the crow’s black feathers within her grasp.
“Kamael, the Ghostblade.”
It was unlikely that it was his real body.
It was only 15 days ago that he was spotted in the southern part of the Sälen Kingdom. Even if he suddenly appeared and disappeared like a ghost to hide his movements, he would still be not be able to quickly come to the northernmost part from the southernmost part within 15 days.
“Don’t give up. I can still capture her.”
As the branch head herself, she couldn’t leave this place without delivering any results.
Talking to herself, she threw the crow feathers she had crushed into a mess onto the ground as she thought.
‘Catch Cordelia.’
In addition, she’ll eliminate the clone of Kamael, one of the main forces of the Guardians of the Holy Cross, which was her organization’s enemy.
This much would be a considerable achievement. It was still too early for her to give up.
And that was the moment.
“Caaw!”
Saluzia immediately raised her head at the crow’s shrill cry. A flock of crows were moving fast in the air from afar.
As if it were luring and provoking her.
“How funny, Kamael.”
Saluzia sharpened her eyes at the flock of crows as she glared at it with a piercing look.
She couldn’t just let that flock of crows leave.
Because there was a possibility that Cordelia was with him.
She couldn’t just let Kamael’s clone leave as it is.
“I won’t let you escape.”
Splendid and enormous deer-like horns sprouted from Saluzia’s head. At the same time, devil’s wings spread out from behind her back.
It was the demonization of the high-ranking demonic human.
That alone shook the atmosphere of the surrounding area. A purple evil aura rose like flames from Saluzia’s whole body as it tainted the ground and sky. The snow in the snowfield completely melted.
Saluzia flew up.
As she pursued the flock of crows, she mulled over.
‘It was you.’
The one who defeated Sisioth at Frost Anvil.
The one who wiped out the demonic humans and monsters.
She understood it now.
It was impossible for Jude and Cordelia to defeat Sisioth with the full power that they displayed in Langesthei.
Because those two were no match to the low-ranking demonic humans that she had dispatched together.
In fact, even Lucas who was widely known as the Girin of Count Hræsvelgr, couldn’t even properly fight against a low-ranking demonic human.
‘He’s just a rookie who had only began to learn martial arts.’
In fact, if Jude fought her, he wouldn’t be able to hit her even if he used all his power.
It was Cordelia whom she looked out for, but in the end, Cordelia was just an inexperienced novice wizard.
It didn’t make sense for such two people to defeat the demon and demonic humans in succession.
‘It was you, Kamael.’
You were hunting the Devil’s Hand with the two as bait.
Saluzia’s suspicion soon turned into a conviction. She was worked up as her pursuit became faster.
Dozens of light blades rose from her purple evil aura and suddenly attacked the flock of crows, but the flock of crows magnificently danced in the air and soon became one as it landed on the ground.
The Ghostblade revealed his appearance among the dozens of crows.
“Kamael.”
Saluzia also settled down on the ground. Kamael drew a magic sword from the air and faced Saluzia with an indifferent look.
“Are you alone? That’s stupid. Did you think Cordelia could run away if you held me back?”
Saluzia herself did not come alone. Among the branch’s troops, only the elite came and gathered here.
Kamael knew it too. While he was flying on the way here, he saw Saluzia’s subordinates scattered all over the place.
The Jackdaws guarding the north were looking out beyond the border, and not those who were inside the border.
Moreover, it was almost impossible to get the help of the Jackdaws as this was a deserted place with very few people.
Therefore, Jude and Cordelia could only break through the siege of the Devil’s Hand with their strength alone.
Impossible.
Something like that couldn’t happen.
What could those two children do at best?
Saluzia’s arguments weren’t generally wrong.
They were correct statements.
But Kamael replied with a calm expression.
“They said yes.”
“What?”
“They said they could run away.”
Or rather, it wasn’t just that. Jude had said that he would definitely break through.
And one more thing.
An important fact that he learned while correcting the distortion of the Sunflower.
“Yin-Yang Body.”
He was an existence who had the potential to inherit and possess both Landius’ extreme Yang energy and Kamael’s extreme Yin energy.
That was it. Kamael didn’t drag it any longer.
Like when he was with Landius, he showed a faint smile and held the sword he had pulled out.
He said in provocation to Saluzia.
“Come.”
I will fight you alone.
Saluzia burst into anger at the eyes that belittled her. She charged towards Kamael.
***
Jude ran.
A simple action of moving forward by spurring on the ground with his two feet.
But it was different.
The feeling itself has changed from before.
His hands and feet felt free.
There was a pleasure that came from the fact that he can move his own body in the way that he truly wanted.
It wasn’t just that.
His whole body was overflowing with strength.
The circulation of Qi energy became faster. He thought that all the martial arts he had used so far were fake.
“Chu-pa-ha!”
Yelling a cry with an unknown meaning, Jude stepped forward. With a bright smile, he carried out the Twenty-Four Gale Steps.
It was the genuine Twenty-Four Gale Steps!
Baang-!
The air burst.
More than ten gusts of wind spread out in all directions, and in the meantime, Jude became a gale. Without hesitation, he swept towards the enemies in front of him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Peals of thunder burst out.
In the place where the gale swept, the heads and necks of the h.e.l.lhounds were broken. And then without fail, a golden whirlwind rose and swept around.
Cordelia couldn’t even see him properly.
In her eyes as a wizard, it was impossible to accurately observe Jude’s movement.
He swiftly moved and faced head-on.
He faced the h.e.l.lhound head-on.
The h.e.l.lhound tried to bite Jude off, but it was impossible. Like the wind, he pa.s.sed by the h.e.l.lhound’s attack.
At the same time, a golden whirlwind interrupted the h.e.l.lhound’s movement.
A peal of thunder burst again.
A thunderbolt strike broke the h.e.l.lhound’s whole body.
Bang!
The sound burst!
Jude looked back. He checked Cordelia and Red Wind before he became a gale again and ran straight to the front.
“Beast.”
Cordelia unconsciously said. In her Witch Transformation, she ran and used the magic blade to deal the last hit to the enemies that Jude had knocked down. At the same time, she identified the pursuers who were gathering.
“Haa! Haa!”
Red Wind was just running and following behind Jude.
Thanks to a forbidden elixir made by mixing various potions, it became possible for her to run at Jude and Cordelia’s speed.
But as expected, she was still new to it. She was running out breath from just following them.
“Haa!”
Jude ran forward and made a Holy Cross.
The huge golden Holy Cross, which was twice as big as before, stretched out and moved towards the front. It was an attack similar to the Holy Cross he had used in the witch’s forest.
It was thanks to the inner Qi amplified by the Sunflower.
Moreover, Jude could feel it.
This was not it.
There was still a way to make it more efficient. With it, he can use a stronger and faster sacred battle aura.
Cheonmujiche.
A heavenly talent for martial arts! The incarnation of martial arts!
Boooooom!
The monster in front of him collided with the Holy Cross and was shattered.
It was a natural occurrence for Snow Golems to frequently appear along the northern border.
Jude ran through the monster’s shattered body. Cordelia then shouted behind him.
“They’re rushing from both sides! 7 o’clock! 2 o’clock!
Trees blocked the view of those places.
However, Cordelia’s sense after entering the Witch Transformation was almost as good as a radar.
Jude immediately understood Cordelia’s words. She even pointed out the direction, so he easily dealt with the situation.
Whirlwind.
The continuous gale.
And a peal of thunder burst out again!
“Yaaaah!”
Jude cried out, and Cordelia thought again.
‘You always say I’m an animal or beast, but you’re more of a beast!’
But it was good. Cordelia somehow found herself repeatedly laughing.
The only one who couldn’t laugh was Red Wind. But she could see them too despite hurriedly running after them.
The fact that the power of the two far exceeds that of her peers.
It was the reason why the Great Storm chose these two people!
“There it is!”
A piercing roar came from the front.
It was the loud cry of someone with purple skin and a giant build.
Jude and Cordelia simultaneously saw him. And identified him.
“Baras!”
“Synthetic demonic human made from monsters, not demons!”
“Specialty is rushing!”
“Attribute is flame! But he doesn’t use attribute attacks, so you can ignore it!”
“Can only attack in a straight line! Attacking the side is the rule!”
“Magic defense is unusually high!”
“Weakness against slash!”
“Vicious killer!”
As they shouted back and forth, Baras instantly fell into confusion.
“H-how!?”
Have you ever met me yourselves?
No, even if we had met, how do you know me so much!
At the time that Baras was bewildered, Jude and Cordelia have already completed their attack on Baras.
“!”
“!”
Jude and Cordelia shouted in turn.
magic bound Baras’ ankles, and at that moment, he lost his balance and fell on the slippery ground with magic.
His high magic defense meant that he was strong against magic damage, not that he could interfere with magic itself. So and would work well enough for him.
“Agh!”
And they continued.
Cordelia ran past him and stretched out her hand. With the power of the witch, she used a blue telekinetic power to flip him over the slippery floor.
“Ack!”
Baras was turned upside down as if he was rolling over ice. Of course, as a synthetic demonic human with the power of a monster, he immediately used his strength to destroy the magic. He successively enveloped his whole body with mana to increase his defense.
Jude just disregarded it.
Baras thought that the attacks would continue, so he stood up in a fl.u.s.ter, but he could only see it then.
Jude was standing in front of him.
He saw the figure of Jude drawing his sword while wrapped around by a whirlwind that had still not disappeared.
Jude carried out one attack.
The deadly strike of the Eastern Warrior’s Sword that he remembered.
‘h.e.l.l’s Blood Slash.’
The Eastern Warrior’s Sword made a loud noise. At the same time, Cordelia met eyes with Baras. With one eye closed, she used the to paralyze him and interrupt his movement. It wasn’t a complete eye contact, because she was worried about the backlash. In fact, she had used it weakly just to distract him, but that was enough.
A huge red slash split Baras’ chest.
Black blood that was unique to a synthetic demonic human spurted out, and a ring of pure white light emerged around Jude and Cordelia.
“Haaaaa…haaa…”
When Red Wind caught up with the two, Baras fell with a thud, and Cordelia looked straight ahead. She could see a wall that was around 10 meters tall.
“We are here!”
It was the border.
Now all they had to do was to cross that wall.
But how.
There was no time to think. Because Jude had already moved. With Red Wind in one arm and holding the waist of Cordelia in his other arm, he used the Twenty-Four Gale Steps.
“I said I’d carry you, right?”
“Hmph.”
Cordelia snorted, and Red Wind blushed in embarra.s.sment. But neither Jude nor Cordelia saw Red Wind. Jude kicked the ground again. Cordelia hugged Jude’s neck, and a whirlwind paved the way. The gale reached the top of the 10-meter wall in one fell swoop, and at the end, he made an extraordinarily high leap.
They were in the air.
Jude and Cordelia saw it.
A land of the barbarians that widely spread out beyond the wall. And the overwhelming splendor of nature.
“Let’s go.”
Jude spoke again as he kicked the wall.
They crossed the border to smash the northern barbarians’ invasion scenario.