Chapter 648 - v4c32Another Chance(3) (1/2)
Freya stared wide-eyed as she tumbled down from midair. She could only watch as the female knight made another swing at her, but her heavily injured body could not dodge the attack. She closed her eyes helplessly and felt chilled to the core.
But a surprised shout replaced the b.l.o.o.d.y scene that should have been unavoidable.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, an azure lance firmly blocked Laurenna’s sword with a clang. The female knight immediately realized that her opponent had reinforcements and subconsciously wanted to draw her blade back and retreat. In the next moment, she realized with amazement that — she was stuck.
“How could this be?”
Laurenna was flabbergasted. Ever since she had learned the Flash Strike Sword Art, this had never happened. She realized that she wasn’t rooted to the ground because of any magic. Instead, s.p.a.ce, which had been under her control, had become distorted and she had lost her grasp on it. Her blade, which had previously moved according to her will, now felt like it was stuck in layers of ice.
She looked up in stunned amazement at the ponytailed girl standing in front of her.
Scarlet remained silent, simply staring back at her with the azure lance in her hands.
Another girl at Golden Peak. Even though Laurenna had long known about Brendel’s powers, she had never dreamt that an area like Trentheim would have so many geniuses hidden among its people, as if all the freaks of Aouine had gathered here.
Just then, an emotionless voice rang out, “Flash Strike Sword Art relies on manipulating s.p.a.ce to cause direct damage. Under Undefeatable Destiny’s influence, the movement between s.p.a.ce has been reduced to not even 10% of its original abilities. There really is a counter to every attack.”
That voice caused Delphine, standing behind the knights, to lose all the color in her face.
“Count Trentheim.” The woman said the name as if through gritted teeth.
She subconsciously took a step back, but the voice called out first, “Ciel.”
As the last syllable fell, invisible prisons descended from the sky upon every Kirrlutzian. And then a chilly voice reached the knights’ ears: “Law of s.p.a.ce: Freeze.”
Along with the voice, Brendel appeared from amongst the crowd. Before he parted the crowd, he caught Freya tumbling in mid-air and stared coldly at the daughter of the Kirrlutzian Prime Minister.
“My lady, I believe we’ve met before at the Loop of Trade Winds, haven’t we?”
“Did Veronica send you here to let me know that Kirrlutz is prepared to declare war upon Aouine? If so, I am ready to meet you anytime.”
As soon as Brendel made the declaration, noise erupted around him.
…
The Holy Palace of Eloideniel was surrounded year-round by dense mist. The deathly silent hall made of black sunstone reflected a dark blue light and was as fathomless black as the surface of a mirror. Reflected on the black surface was a Corpse’s Pillar made of 120 white bones, which supported a gothic dome made of layers of skeletons.
Here, legend says the breath of the living would be immediately frozen into crystals like shards of gla.s.s. So the air was always bone-chillingly frigid in the great hall, and the “Howl of Hunger” circled around the dome, like a constant murmur.
The residents around the Silent Port [1] believed the “How of Hunger” was made up of the shrieks of the hungry ghosts who climbed out from the depths. The people of Vuante believed that the breath of the dying would turn into wind and circle around them. In reality, this natural phenomenon had been here long before Madara formed his nation.
[1] Note: the port between today’s Northern Aouine and Sanorso
In this barely detectable howling of the wind, black knights covered with black cloaks walked among the columns. The ends of their cloaks were decorated with golden hook-like decorations, which clanged as they dragged across the floor. These followers of the darkness kept walking until they crossed the enormous Female Spiders of the Spirit Realm, which lay hidden along the two sides of the Corpse’s Pillar. Under the watchful gaze of the four pairs of lantern-like eyes, they separated into two columns in the center of the hall. They remained quiet, as silent as if they were of one mind.
The Yinstar Dragon stood alongside Tagus at the end of the great hall and watched the proceedings with amus.e.m.e.nt. Like most of his conservative and decaying — as if the lamps of their lives were sputtering out– Undead brethrens, he had a broad knowledge base. He knew about the land of the ancient country opposite of the black Bramante Rose and of its people, knew about the brilliant cultures of Kirrlutz and even knew that the Black Knights commonly recorded in Aouine and Kirrlutz literature were mistakenly depicted as a type of Undead known as armored skeletons — in contrast to the most widely circulated rumor, Hull’s Black Knights were a special type of Undead, even in Madara. Their territories mostly bordered the inner seas of the Dying Moon and they kept up the chillingly elegant traditions of the times during which they had been alive. The living carved their oaths onto their armor before dying and the fires of their souls surrounded those obsessive thoughts and they were animated by the fires of vengeance. That is how the Black Knights came to be.
Their obsession was famous, even in Madara. Even though humans will often say someone is as stubborn as the decaying skeletons of Madara, Black Knights were extra obsessive. When they were alive, these knights followed rules obsessively. When they died, these knights remained forever trapped by their oath and curse.
The Yinstar Dragon felt like they could be called the “Madara of Madaras”. He watched the scene unfold with an amused expression, which was in great contrast to the seriousness that Tagus, who stood beside him, portrayed.
A buzzing voice sounded in the great hall: “In the name of the ever darkened moon and the black blossom, the highest ruler of the dark country, the wielder of the staff of Loki, please accept the loyalty and admiration from the northern va.s.sals.”
It was as if the voice further stretched out the empty great hall. It pa.s.sed to the other far end of the hall, but did not receive a response for quite a while. At the head of the great hall, the overlord sat waiting on the throne for a few moments before acquiescing with a quiet, “Hmm.”
The black knights all lowered their heads.