Badge in Azure

“Eleanor, we all know what those from the Holy See are like. When Aini offended some nameless holy masters back then, he was cursed and ended up losing all his magic chords. If it hadn’t been for Saleen, that genius would have been reduced to a cripple now. For curses to succeed, there is the strength of one’s soul to consider besides level difference. The kids’ souls are still not strong enough. If their real names were known, it would be easy to curse them.”

“Just with the names alone? How come I…”

“It is a skill learned from the demon plane. Demons don’t ever tell anyone their true names other than their spouses. The Holy See’s art at curses itself was actually derived from such skills of the demons. To grown adults, the curses of the Holy See won’t be of much use if only names were cursed, but the same can’t be said for children.” Sika gazed at her children with gentle eyes.

“Sika, I would have never thought you would turn into someone like this.” Eleanor looked at Sika with envious eyes. Elves did not share such thick bonds with their children. The lifespans of elves were too long. The pain of losing such bonds would have been devastating if too much was invested into those bonds.

That was not to say that elves did not feel love, but that elves had learned to forget, as a means of protecting themselves. All creatures with long lives were inherently born with such abilities.

“Are you saying I was a violent oaf?” Sika asked looking puzzled.

Eleanor was speechless. While Sika had indeed been very violent, she was not quite an oaf. She probably only lacked the gentleness of females in general. Anyone who got on her nerves would have suffered worse than they would have when running amok demons.

The children were still playing games with the divine beast, when a broken plank was seen floating on the surface of the sea. The plank was about four yards long, and there were six people holding onto the plank, yelling for help at the ships in the docks.

“This is boring. Can’t the assassins try something new instead?” Despite what Sika said, she had the children get behind her nonetheless. The Caucasus warriors stood before them and a platoon of demons emerged from the small fortress at the harbor as well. All of them blocked the roads off to Sika and Eleanor, letting no one pass them.

It was near-impossible for the assassins to disguise themselves as Caucasus people or demons after all.

Other than mages from Sregl Island, most soldiers standing guard there were replaced with loyal demons. There had yet to be any nations capable of infiltrating such a line of defense.

When the floating plank got within sight, more than 200 demons gathered around Sika within just a minute. The powers of those demons nearly measured up to supreme demons, and they were handpicked by Nailisi herself to protect Sika and her children in a discreet manner. All of those demons were unusually buff and wore heavy magic armor. The horns on their heads were shiny, as they had a better time there than they did back in the demon plane.

“Your Highness, shall we kill them?” The leader was a supreme demon. While they were not as powerful as Cuisi, they were not all that far off. They lowered their head and inquired Sika’s opinion. There had been quite a number of assassins lurking about Metatrin City. Any who dared get near the temple were quickly killed off.

Sika needed no evidence. Only those with temple badges were allowed within the vicinity of the temple.

“No need for that. We’ll just go home.” Sika sensed a tinge of danger in her. She was far from afraid, as her combat powers were among the top within the temple. She, however, was reluctant to risk it with her children around.

“Yes, your highness.” The demon leader carried the children on their shoulders. Saleen’s son was pinching the divine beast and laughing as he went grabbing at the supreme demon’s horn. The supreme demon was embarrassed and glared at the boy, which the boy returned with a smile before throwing down the divine beast and kissing the demon’s neck.

The white stone mountain at the left of the harbor shot out a great beam of light, hitting the plank. The miniaturized magic cannon was taken away and a large magic cannon crafted by the Sregl Island mages was placed on the mountain. The weapon was powered by a magic power furnace and was able to be easily adjusted.

One shot from the cannon was equivalent to a grade-9 magic attack, and it was confined to a small radius. The beam that hit the plank was a little more than three yards thick. A hole was made on the surface of the sea hit by the beam through evaporation from the sheer heat generated. The temperature persisted, and the hole on the water surface stayed for more than a dozen seconds before disappearing.

Five out of the six of them were immediately reduced to dust by the magic cannon, while the remaining one took to the air to evade the attack. The plank had broken before the attack hit, and the remaining assassin took a longsword from the plank in their hand.

The sword was about two yards long, a length which was usually too long for a human. The width however, was similar to the common eight-sided sword of Qin, and it looked thin.

The cover of the assassin was blown immediately by the fact that they were able to sense the incoming danger and evade it in time. They did not run as there was nothing but the sea behind them. The ship sending them all there had indeed sunk. They had no choice but to go to shore and assassinate the intended target.

The assassin spread out a scroll in the air and they appeared on the docks among the demons after a bright light was seen. The sword in their hand went straight for the supreme demon carrying the children. The sword flashed, but the demon was only capable of taking half a step back in a hurry, for fear of hurting the children. The sword carved up a hole with a diameter of one foot in the demon’s abdomen, barely missing the heart.

The supreme demon fell, and the assassin went to grab Saleen’s son. They swept with the sword, conjuring a cold ring of light using sword aura around them.

Saleen’s daughter responded by throwing the boomerang in an instant, which went for the assassin’s eyes. The weapon ended up shattered and turned to dust when it touched the sword aura. The difference in level was not something that could easily be compensated with skill alone.

The hand that went grabbing the boy shone with green light. The assassin was a grade-9 professional, yet the sword aura was not a golden one, which meant he had been training with some secret arts.

The boy who fell onto the floor did something utterly unexpected. He rolled around to the back of the demon, before grabbing their tail and running.

The boy, who was not even two years of age, dragged a five yard tall supreme demon about, and ran at speeds that would shame any assassin who had been known for their speed. The magic patterns around the boy sparkled. It was not something of his own, but a magical power activated by a piece of equipment Saleen left with them.

The green light had only completely exploded when the boy was done dragging the severely injured supreme demon away. The light turned into a large hand and grabbed at the stone floor beneath it. The move carved a big hole on the ground, sending debris flying everywhere.

Saleen’s daughter was more than ten yards away by then, well out of reach of the big hand.

A stone ball was seen in the large hand conjured out of green light. The assassin had intended to take Saleen’s children alive. The move failed to grab its intended targets, but the stone in its hand was not crushed.

The assassin reacted quickly and threw the stone ball out with their conjured hand, which went straight for Eleanor. Eleanor already broke out her bow and fired the arrows, hitting the ball squarely in an instant. The ball was stopped in the air before landing on the floor right beneath with a thump. Sika rushed forward with a staff with metal spikes, going for the assassin.

Eleanor turned and fired another arrow at the side of the docks. A tall figure emerged from the sea and was hit by the arrow.

The assassin that was hit had their skin dried up in an instant. The life arrow took away 100 years of their lifespan right there and then.

The assassin with the sword conjured a ring of green light with their sword, which killed more than a dozen demons around them. The demons at the rear had their legs severely injured, making it impossible for them to get near. Sika rushed at them, and the assassin responded with a smirk, before lifting the sword up and bringing it down hard on her. The two yard long sword conjured up a wide blade with its sword aura. The magic weapon worked in perfect synchronization with their hidden arts. The thin sword was turned into a giant sword, going straight for Sika’s head.

The strike locked Sika up tight as some power of rules were activated, rendering Sika incapable of escaping.

“AH!” Sika shouted in a low voice. A fearsome roar was heard from her staff, as if it was responding to Sika’s commands.

Blood was seen at the corner of the assassin’s eyes and blood spouted maniacally from their nostrils. They felt as if their brains were stirred by something, which was so painful that he almost let go of the sword. With the power of rules within activated, he was incapable of changing the course of the attack and was not even capable of ditching the weapon.

The sword had everything under control, including the body of the assassin wielding it.

Sika feared nothing. Her children were behind her. She struck hard on the giant sword with her staff, and the roar within grew even more ferocious.

The assassin was stunned. The headache only lasted for an instant, which was then followed by the sensation of being rammed. None of the power met was able to be dispersed, and the outer green layer of the sword was vanquished right there and then. Black smoke burst from the beautiful lady’s staff. It was like a warrior from ancient times fighting a dragon on a barren plain.

The assassin’s proud weapon was shattered in one go by the staff and was broken into more than a dozen pieces. The power of the staff was unable to be dispersed, and the green sword aura of the assassin collapsed within their body. They retreated with the last ounce of strength left in their body. They seemed to have stepped onto a patch of weeds, which tangled their ankle.

“Grass growing from within stone? “The assassin had no time to think it through, and simply pulled their leg out with all their might. The edge of the plant was all sharp serrated. The assassin felt numb for a moment, before finding the flesh of their ankle torn away by the weed.

Sika’s full-powered hit shattered the power of rules. She then felt limpness washing over her but was able to dispel the exhaustion within the span of a single breath. All Caucasus warriors, demons, and her army within Metatrin City served to restore her powers.

What helped Sika most were the elvish plants that Eleanor planted. The sea, the land, and the sky, all injected their energies into her the moment she felt any hint of weariness.

Such was the power of a nature priestess. So long as the body stayed intact, they were able to restore their might at any time. Sika worked her way through the route of combat shaman. So long as the power of her body remained, she was still a powerful warrior even if she was unable to cast blessings or use any shamanic attacks of the priests.

The assassin lost all light in their eyes. With the female warrior being so powerful, was there any chance the third wave of assassins would be able to succeed at all? They were completely shaken by Sika’s combat capacity, while the demons behind rushed and took hold of their limbs, which they tore at a moment later.

The limbs of the assassin were torn off. Sika struck with her staff, causing a wisp of green aura to enter the assassin’s body. The limbs were no longer attached to their body, yet no blood was seen.

Sika glared with a ferocious look on her face, “You want to die? You think it’d be that easy?” When the green large hand lashed out, Sika was thoroughly frightened. Her children were right there within striking range of the enemy, yet she was able to do nothing to get there in time no matter how quick she was able to move. If it had not been for Saleen’s equipment, the children would have been taken away by the assassin.