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Chapter 50: Blooming Like the Empire’s First Rose in the Night
🕑 Added 2025-01-09 21:30:24 +0000 UTCCharlot Mecklenburg gripped his alchemical staff tightly but did not move. He hesitated, debating whether to shoot Lord Leo on the spot. Just as this thought crossed his mind, a commanding voice entered his head: “Machubi, initiate labyrinth transformation.”
With a faint smile, Charlot activated Blood Glory, deliberately suppressing it to the second rank, and followed Lord Leo out of the fortress. However, it wasn’t long before Leo pulled far ahead of him.
Feigning an intense sprint, Charlot kept an eye on the sky. Sure enough, he spotted several black dots circling above.
Charlot mused, “Those must be Lord Leo’s vampiric bats. With them scouting the way, no wonder he’s moving so quickly.”
Every time Charlot seemed about to lose track of him, Leo would stop and wait for him. The two ran for over two hours, the distant sound of gunfire echoing like a cacophony of popping beans.
Charlot grew anxious. Unlike Wells, he didn’t have the ability to cut bullets mid-flight. Even with Blood Glory pushed to its limits, he could only withstand gunfire for a short while.
This was a common weakness among low-ranking knights. In one-on-one combat, their combat energy could block several, even a dozen bullets. But on a battlefield, with stray bullets flying from all directions, their combat energy quickly proved insufficient.
Charlot thought to himself, “If only I could master the Bloodflame Transformation Technique, I could turn into a mass of bloodflame, drastically reducing physical damage.”
“Even if I could master the Swiftstep Technique or the Spider Technique, I might at least dodge some of the bullets.”
Lord Leo leapt onto a cliff, surveying the area with a focused gaze. When Charlot, panting and gasping for breath, finally caught up, Leo remarked, “The South Seraph Restorationists have failed.”
Charlot glanced downward. Two groups were locked in fierce combat below. Being a novice in the art of war, he couldn’t discern the state of the battle. He asked, “How can you tell?”
Leo replied indifferently, “The six bodyguards of Archduke Ferdinand aren’t on the battlefield.”
Being from the Behemoth Principality, Charlot quickly understood. Archduke Ferdinand’s six personal guards were well-known—each a mid-ranking Transcendent. Together, they could hold their own against even a high-ranking Transcendent. Their absence could only mean they were protecting the Archduke as he retreated.
Charlot said, “Since the mission has failed, there’s no value in staying here. Why not leave?”
Lord Leo shook his head. Leaping forward, he called back, “Follow me!”
Charlot looked up at the sky, spotting the black dots once more. Realizing Leo must have discovered something, he reluctantly followed.
The two moved at impressive speeds. Though Charlot intentionally slowed himself down, he was still much faster than an ordinary person. After rounding a mountain pass, shouts reached their ears. Leo gestured, and Charlot immediately dropped to the ground beside a rock. He retrieved an anti-space sniper rifle from his alchemical staff, loading bullets into the spatial magazine.
The spatial magazine of this anti-space sniper rifle was quite large. However, when stored, the magazine entered a reversed spatial state and expelled the ammunition. For most people, carrying twenty anti-magic armor-piercing rounds was the limit.
Charlot positioned the rifle, pretending to search for a target.
Leo nodded subtly, thinking to himself: “Kainan is an excellent soldier. But for this war, he must be sacrificed.”
“This is for Byron’s future.”
“Every Byronite must be prepared to make sacrifices.”
In the mountain pass below, a dozen people were locked in combat, with six or seven corpses strewn across the ground.
The smaller group was desperately protecting a frail old man in his fifties. His silver hair was slightly disheveled, though his neatly groomed goatee remained immaculate. Clad in luxurious attire and unarmed, he crouched beside a woman’s corpse, tears streaming down his face. Despite his subordinates’ urgent pleas, he refused to leave.
Charlot recognized the old man as Archduke Ferdinand of the Behemoth Principality, the target of the South Seraph Restorationists’ assassination attempt. The woman on the ground was the Archduchess. Charlot had heard tales of their tragic yet beautiful love story from their youth. Their deep bond was famous throughout the Fars Empire.
Charlot muttered, “Even now, he refuses to leave her side. Archduke Ferdinand truly loved his wife.”
Leo chuckled lightly. “The South Seraph Restorationists lack finesse. Kainan, give them a hand.”
“Take aim at Ferdinand and send him on his way.”
Charlot took several deep breaths, familiarizing himself with the weapon in his hands. He hadn’t used this rifle much before, and he couldn’t afford any mistakes now.
After ensuring the rifle was ready to fire, Charlot suddenly twisted his waist, turning the anti-space sniper rifle toward Lord Leo. Knowing he had only one chance, he fired three consecutive rounds without hesitation.
The anti-magic armor-piercing rounds screamed through the air, their mournful wails echoing as they hurtled forward.
Charlot stared in astonishment as Leo suddenly leapt high into the air, the bullets missing entirely.
Leo had sensed something and jumped instinctively. The three shots that should have struck their mark hit only empty air.
Charlot clenched his teeth, ready to draw Blood Rose for a desperate fight, when he saw a shadow, dark as the night itself, sweep toward Leo.
The attacker was his respected senior, Menielman Soumet. Known as the Empire’s First Rose, she wore her military uniform impeccably, her rapier seeming to meld with the darkness as she struck with fury.
Despite being a high-ranking Transcendent, Leo had detected the strike in advance. With a desperate leap into the air, he clashed with Menielman mid-flight, inadvertently avoiding Charlot’s “betrayal.”
Leo, oblivious to Charlot’s intent, assumed this “loyal Empire soldier” had been trying to assist him by fending off Menielman.
Leo’s rapier didn’t even have time to shift into its knightly lance form before meeting Menielman’s attack head-on.
With a single clash of rapiers, Leo let out a long, anguished howl. A deep wound opened on his chest, blood energy pouring out uncontrollably. In a hurry, he transformed into a swarm of bats using the Vampiric Bloodbat Technique, clustering together and fleeing along the path they had come. As he left, he cast a Vampiric Trueword Spell, releasing a charm enchantment: “Kainan! Hold off this madwoman for me!”
Charlot remained unaffected. As someone who had stared into the eyes of an Evil God, resisting charm spells was a trivial matter. Just as he was about to fire another round at the fleeing bats, Menielman’s voice rang softly in his ear. “Your reaction just now was quick. If we coordinated better, that Byronite vampire wouldn’t have escaped.”
Charlot felt a pang of embarrassment. Had he fired slightly earlier or later, they might have seriously injured Leo.
From her angle, Menielman could see what Leo could not: Charlot’s shots had been aimed at him, not at her. She knew Charlot had no intention of aiding Leo.
Menielman sheathed her rapier and said, “Let’s go check on Archduke Ferdinand.”
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