Chapter 293 - The Ruined and the Forsaken (1/2)

Bzzt…crash!

Accompanied by a deafening roar of thunder, a bolt of crimson lightning started to make its way down to where Herellia was, radiating an incredibly intense intent of destruction. If one looked closely at the bolt, they would notice that a few small black particles mingled with the crimson energy particles that surrounded them. Unexpectedly, these small black particles were the reason why the crimson bolt had such a level of intent.

Not only that, but the intent radiated by the crimson bolt had its range amplified thanks to the small black particles, making Horell and Argentum feel like Herellia's chances of surviving against the first bolt were slim. In their minds, they thought that she was a tiny wooden boat while the crimson bolt of lightning was a tsunami ready to engulf her whole.

As the lightning bolt hastily made its way to where Herellia was, Horell could not help but make a decision out of impulse. Without thinking about the repercussions of his actions, he started to head towards where Herellia was with the intent of helping her in withstanding the first bolt. Unfortunately for him, a familiar silhouette blocked his path before he could go any further.

”What are you doing, Argentum?” Horell asked Argentum in a tone of slight fury, wondering if the being in front of him truly wanted Herellia to successfully finish her Existence Tribulation. ”Can't you see that Herellia is in danger?”

”We can't say that as of yet,” Argentum said in a calm and composed tone, a stark contrast to the somewhat impatient hone hidden beneath Horell's words. Recalling what he knew about Power Baptisms, as well as what happened to the trials if one indirectly interfered in one, Argentum did not want to think about the consequences brought forth by direct interference. Naturally, he knew that directly interfering in a being's Existence Tribulation would amplify the difficulty of the trial to a great degree. He just did not know as to what extent it would reach.

On top of that, he felt that it was still too early for them to directly interfere in an Existence Tribulation. In his mind, if they directly interfered in her tribulation right now, then her chances of succeeding would instantly fall down to 0%. With that, he went ahead and talked with Horell about it, telling him, ”Since an Existence Tribulation is basically a trial wherein the heavens give the being a chance to go against their fates, that means that the being should shoulder the burden of the trial themselves.”

”Of course, that has not stopped other beings from helping the being undergoing the tribulation out,” Argentum added, wanting to add some sense to the currently panicking Horell. ”Nevertheless, the repercussions brought forth by indirect support instead of jumping into the fray is multiple times lower than the latter.”

”In other words, instead of helping Herellia out in her Existence Tribulation, you would instead give her a greater burden to carry, possibly needing your constant support in order for her chances to successfully clear it to barely be above 0%,” he continued before asking him, ”With that in mind, are you sure you still want to help Herellia withstand the first bolt right now?”

”…” At that moment, Horell was left at a loss for words, prompting him to think over his impulsive decision to help his and Argentum's companion out. In less than a second, he realized that Argentum's words were indeed correct, recalling his memories of Zelefaire's Existence Tribulation in the past. With a sigh of disappointment directed towards himself, he looked at Argentum and apologized, saying, ”I shouldn't have let my fear get a hold on me. One of the keys for an Existence Tribulation to succeed is a calm mind, and I've already failed.”

”Well, no worries,” Argentum said in a comforting tone, wanting to lift up the mood between the two. At this moment, the crimson bolt was now only a few dozen meters away from Herellia, prompting her to utilize her skills as a great amount of crimson red tendrils were conjured on her body.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Without delay, all of the crimson red tendrils headed towards the crimson lightning bolt, giving Argentum and Horell the feeling that Herellia was going to fight against the bolt of lightning with offense. As an aura of curiosity radiated from him, a light chuckle came out of his mouth as he moved to Horell's side and said, ”Let's see how strong our alliance leader truly is.”

Whoosh!

Just as the two sides were about to collide, Herellia willed all of the crimson red tendrils to converge towards one point, transforming into a large crimson thorn as she shouted, ”[Grand Sanguine Arts: Crimson Pierce]!”

Bang!

At the very instant she was finished saying the name of the skill, the two sides had finally collided, resulting in a somewhat deafening explosion soon after. Not only that, but a few trees behind Herellia were blown away thanks to her current position. Surprisingly, after that, the sight of crimson lightning covering Herellia's body did not appear at all. Instead, the crimson thorn she conjured had successfully defended against the crimson bolt, as well as dispelled it!

Swoosh!

As the first crimson bolt was dispelled, it soon transformed into multiple strands of crimson energy tinted with a hint of black. These strands soon headed towards Herellia's body, who did not reject the incoming strands as she knew what they were. Soon after, these strands were absorbed by Herellia, boosting her combat power by a considerable degree.

Seeing as the first crimson bolt that came down was easily handled by Herellia, Argentum could not help but look at Horell and say with a chortle, ”What did I tell you? There's nothing to worry about. Herellia is the leader of the Verdant Blossom Branch Alliance. Although she would face a hard time against those of a higher existence level, she would take care of things like these with no problem.”

”As her companions, shouldn't we have at least this bit of faith in her?” he continued, to which Horell let out an awkward chuckle as he replied, ”Alright, alright. You don't need to rub in what happened a few seconds ago.”

”Anyways, I have a far more important thing to tell you,” Horell said afterward before asking Argentum, ”How many rounds do you think Herellia will last until she needs our aid?”

”Hmm…good question,” Argentum answered as he mulled over the question. After a few seconds, he then replied, ”If my idea of this tribulation is correct, then with the buffs we cast a while ago on her, there would be no problem for her to clear the first trial.”

”That high of an expectation?” Horell responded in a slightly shocked tone, to which Argentum opened his mouth to respond, only for him to stop midway as a four crimson bolts came down from the dark clouds to smite Herellia down. With his mouth still open, he then went ahead and radiated an aura of slight glee before saying, ”You could say that this is my most conservative estimate.”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Since four crimson lightning bolts had come down from the dark clouds, Argentum knew that his idea of the current trial was more or less correct, allowing him to let out a soft sigh of relief as he felt that Herellia would truly clear the first trial without any hiccups. The idea he had in mind came when he had just learned the name of the first trial, conjuring up a few hypotheses that seemed to fit the name of the trial. Although the current state of the trial was what he considered as the worst hypothesis out of all the hypotheses he had, it was still within his range of expectations.