Chapter 1216 Fast And Furious Sets The Pace
On the borders of the Slovell Kingdom, the armies of the Alliance and the Holy Order of Light gathered.
"If Ahriman doesn"t show up, this battle is as good as ours," the Headmaster of Hestia Academy, Byron, said with a solemn look on his face.
"Well, I don"t really mind if he shows up," the Pope commented. "If he does then we will just retreat. He can"t conjure an avatar whenever he wants because it will weaken him, and further delay his freedom."
"You really treat the army of the alliance as cannon fodder, don"t you?"
"Of course not. We exist for the greater good. That has been our purpose since the Holy Order of Light was founded thousands of years ago."
Byron gave the Pope a side-long glance before sighing internally. Although the Pope didn"t want to admit it, everyone could tell what she was planning. Even so, the leaders of the Alliance chose to turn a blind eye to it.
Right now, the Pope and her Holy Order was the lesser evil. It was nothing compared to the threat of the Demon Army, and the G.o.d of Darkness and Chaos, who had already trespa.s.sed into their backyard.
"I just hope nothing unexpected happens," Byron thought. "Many will die if Ahriman makes his appearance today."
As Byron was thinking of the worst case scenario, the horns of battle reverberated in the surroundings.
The flying s.h.i.+ps of the Holy Order of Light advanced, while the armies of the Alliance marched on the ground.
They knew that the Soldiers of the Slovell Kingdom had already been corrupted, so they had no choice but to fight whether they liked it or not. Their previous battle in the Zoterra Empire had made them realize that the Human Soldiers that had been corrupted would fight to the bitter end, and take as many members of the Alliance with them before they drew their last breath.
Armies hated this kind of opponents because they didn"t care whether they lived or died. Facing them left a bitter aftertaste in everyone"s mouth, but this was how this war was fought, and the only thing they could do was adapt to the strategy of their enemy.
"They"re here," Byron said as soon as he noticed two figures appearing on the battlefield. "Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan."
"About time," the Pope replied. "Your Excellencies, please, keep them company."
Three Pseudo-G.o.ds that belonged to the Order of Light flew towards the two strongest members of Felix"s army and engaged them in battle.
The Seven Virtues who were located at the center of the battle formation looked at this scene with calm expressions on their faces.
Each of the Virtuous Ladies were riding on a different flying s.h.i.+p, and the flag that represented their virtues fluttered in the breeze.
Their presence was giving the soldiers significant boosts in their strength because of the buffs that were coming from the seven ladies, allowing them to be more proficient when fighting against opponents that were below the rank of Myriad Beasts.
As the battle reached a critical stage, Byron noticed that the movements of the Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan looked suspicious.
"It was as if they are luring the three Pseudo-G.o.ds away from the main battlefield…," Byron muttered.
Then it suddenly hit him. Even the Pope who was standing by the side realized that the Headmaster of Hestia Academy was right.
However, before she could order the three Pseudo-G.o.ds to return, a scream was heard at the center of the battle formation.
"You guys were too careless," the Six-Eared Macaque, who usually stayed beside Eve to protect her, said as he held two uncoscious ladies in his arms. "I"ll be taking these two with me."
Without another word, the Six-Eared Macaque who had taken Sun Wukong"s appearance, somersaulted in the air, before making a beeline towards the Slovell Fortress.
In his arms were the Virtuous Ladies of Prudence (Shana) and of Faith (Melody).
Ahriman told Felix that, in order to weaken the Holy Order of Light, he must capture at least two members of the Seven Virtues. By doing so, it will give a devastating blow to the Alliance once these Virtuous Ladies had been corrupted by the power of darkness, increasing Felix"s strength.
"No!" the Pope shouted. "Save them!"
The three Pseudo-G.o.ds that were fighting against the Bull Demon King, and Princess Iron Fan immediately turned to pursue the Six-Eared Macaque. However, the slippery monkey was very hard to catch.
The Monkey that always imitated Sun Wukong specialized in running away, and even the Monkey King himself found it quite hard to catch him.
Seeing that they were unable to catch their target in a short period of time, the three Pseudo-G.o.ds became furious and annihilated the Demonic Army in their path.
They didn"t dare use long range attacks to attack the Six-Eared Macaque because they might hit the two ladies that were both being used as s.h.i.+elds, in addition to being held hostage by the mischievous monkey who only took action when there was a high chance of success.
"Fast and furious sets the pace," the Six-Eared Macaque said in a teasing tone. "Even if the three of you worked together, I will still win this race."
As if proving his point, his speed increased once again, allowing him to leave the three Pseudo-G.o.ds in the dust, until he disappeared from their sights.
Seeing that their two targets had been secured, the Bull Demon King, as well as Princess Iron Fan unleashed powerful attacks that would annihilate as many members of the Alliance as possible.
However, their plan was stopped when the Pseudo-G.o.d that belonged to Hestia Academy stepped in to block their attacks.
While this was happening, the Six-Eared Macaque was feeling giddy as he glanced behind him.
"Hah! Bunch of wimps, can"t even catch me," the Six-Eared Macaque chuckled as he continued to run. "Still, I pity these two ladies. Once I deliver them to Felix, they will suffer a fate worse than death. I almost feel sorry for them… Well, almost! Hahaha!"
The Six-Eared Macaque knew that there were only two outcomes to the war. Either their side becomes victorious, or their side becomes the losers. He didn"t want to become a loser, because he had been a loser almost his entire life.
Now that there was a chance to change his fate, he decided to grab the opportunity to ingratiate himself with the Primordial G.o.d of Darkness and Chaos, and become one of his retainers.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," the Six-Eared Macaque said. "If you girls have someone to blame, you can only blame yourselves for not paying attention to your surroundings."
Before the war started, Ahriman ordered the Six Eared Macaque to disguise himself as a rock at the border of the Slovell Kingdom. He waited patiently until the armies marched past him, because the mission that was given to him was to capture at least two of the ladies that represented the seven virtues. He could have captured more, but doing so would have been difficult.
After all, he could only carry two of them at the same time, and there were two Pseudo-G.o.ds guarding the rear of the army. If he stayed longer, they would have caught up to him, which was something he wanted to avoid at all cost.
His destination was the one-way portal that would take him directly to the Zabia Kingdom where Felix was waiting for his arrival. They had long decided to ditch the Slovell Kingdom, and simply use it as an opportunity to deal as much damage as they could to the Alliance and the Holy Order of Light, who had become too c.o.c.ky as of late.
"Just a little more and I"ll be in time to have dinner with Eve," the Six-Eared Macaque muttered. "That girl is the only ray of suns.h.i.+ne in these dark times. She is too good to become Ahriman"s High Priestess, but I guess being a priestess is better than being dead. Let"s see…. The portal should be around here…"
After making a sharp turn, the Six-Eared Macaque froze completely upon seeing two beauties in front of him.
Lightning crackled on Astrape"s right hand, and the rumbling of thunder boomed on Bronte"s left hand.
The two ladies smiled at the Monkey in front of them, which made the latter feel as if he had taken a wrong turn.