Campione: Strongest Godslayer!-Chapter 292: The Onlookers

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"Caw—!"

A shrill crow's cry pierced the sky.

Thump—! Thump—! Thump—!

Sounds like the air exploding from beating wings abruptly echoed.

A colossal crow with a three-thousand-meter wingspan soared through the heavens. Its enormous body blotted out the sun's brilliance, plunging the rolling mountain ranges below into cold shadow.

"Oh? Rarely do you manifest your true form, Gransurg!" A steady voice suddenly rang out, an invisible ripple spreading, the sound carried through the atmosphere.

The soaring colossal crow lowered its head, its crimson vampire eyes staring intently at the ground below, at several dozen figures among the highest peaks of a mountain range.

Its crimson pupils contracted slightly, the crow's eyes reflecting the image of the figure at the very center of the crowd.

It was the figure of a white man seated in a lavish, gold-inlaid wooden chair. A full head of pale silver hair, his face etched with the wrinkles of age, clad in a pure white Templar Knight's uniform, wearing a white cloak—a man who, at all times, perfectly embodied the temperament of a European lord.

Upon seeing this figure, blood-red magical sigils instantly spread across the crow's entire body. The massive bird form rapidly shrank amidst the crimson light.

In a short while, Gransurg, now with a bird's head, appeared in mid-air. With a gentle flap of the pitch-black wings on his back, in the next instant, he appeared beside the wooden chair.

When Gransurg appeared beside the old man, the crowd surrounding the elder bared their fangs and claws in unison, their crimson eyes filled with brutality, staring intently at Gransurg like an enraged pack of wolves.

"Your subordinates are quite loyal, Trhvmn Ortenrosse!" Gransurg turned his head, sizing up the Dead Apostles glaring fiercely at him.

"Just a bit too stupid."

The next instant, the pitch-black bird wings behind Gransurg instantly expanded explosively, tearing apart the bodies of all the Dead Apostles who had shown hostility towards him.

Shattered bones, livers, and crimson blood added a splash of vivid red to the verdant green grass of the mountaintop.

"Now we can discuss things quietly, leader of the Dead Apostle faction—Lord of the White Wing, Trhvmn." Gransurg twisted his neck, producing cracking sounds, and spoke indifferently.

The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors were divided into four factions:

The Black Princess Faction, the White Princess Faction, the Dead Apostle Faction, and the indifferent Neutral Faction.

Except for the Neutral Faction, the other three factions were mutually hostile.

This time, if not for the White Princess Arcueid being 'kidnapped,' Gransurg, as the leader of the White Princess Faction, would rather go to war than yield to Trhvmn, the leader of the Dead Apostle Faction, and request a joint effort against Altrouge.

It was precisely because of Gransurg's recent concession that Trhvmn disregarded the deaths of his subordinates. Compared to his deceased underlings, Trhvmn preferred to see Gransurg's humiliated and furious expression.

"Well, Trhvmn, how are you considering the matter of joining forces?" Gransurg crossed his arms, asking somewhat impatiently.

It had been over a week since he proposed the alliance, yet Trhvmn kept saying he would consider it. This delaying tactic made Gransurg extremely agitated.

"Tap!" Trhvmn lightly lifted his right hand and snapped his fingers. Several ethereal screens appeared in their field of vision.

The screens reflected various scenes from the outskirts of Tours.

"The usual probing. You're as timid as ever, Trhvmn," Gransurg said mockingly upon seeing the scenes on these screens.

"These are shared perspectives transmitted back through Nrvnqsr's familiars," Trhvmn ignored Gransurg's mockery, explaining seriously.

Trhvmn pointed to one of the screens, showing the scene of Altrouge battling Lorelei, who led the Canticle Brigade. "The Black Princess has undergone a transformation. So, the intelligence you provided about her recovered strength can be confirmed. We indeed need to join forces."

As the one who had pursued Altrouge most fervently, Trhvmn naturally understood that if Altrouge recovered her strength, he would be the first to be troubled. Therefore, striking first became Trhvmn's primary choice.

And Gransurg, knowing this precisely, was why he had proposed the alliance.

"The White Princess seems to have reconciled with the Black Princess. This is a tricky point," Trhvmn said, pointing at Arcueid in the distance, who was teasing Fou, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

"The Princess? At that time, we will be responsible for luring her away," Gransurg's mouth twitched as he stated calmly.

Trhvmn's meaning was very clear. As the core princess of the White Princess Faction, for her to defect to the Black Princess's side, the task of holding Arcueid back must be handled by them.

Therefore, Gransurg spoke up and directly took on the task of luring Arcueid away.

"Well then, the most crucial one is this man." Trhvmn pointed towards the silver-haired youth standing beside Arcueid.

"Hmm? An unfamiliar fellow. Where did he pop out from? Does he have any special characteristics?" Gransurg looked at Haru's figure on the screen, recalling information about the world's known powerhouses.

"One hit!" Trhvmn stated gravely.

"What do you mean?" Gransurg looked astonished at Trhvmn's grave expression.

"This youth eliminated 327 Dead Apostles I had temporarily summoned, as well as—Nrvnqsr's 621 lives, with a single blow," Trhvmn said, his face dark. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe the Tenth Ancestor Nrvnqsr could be insta-killed.

"Gasp!! WHAT? Killing Nrvnqsr that many times in one go? What ability did he use?" Gransurg choked for a moment, then his face changed drastically as he cried out.

"...It should be a fire-based grand magic of Eighth-Action or higher! And it should have a concept like 'Destruction' attached, specifically countering Nrvnqsr."

Trhvmn's expression was very grim.

Even he found Nrvnqsr very troublesome to deal with; after all, it was a monster with 666 lives. Yet, a previous Three-Action spell had actually directly eliminated Nrvnqsr.

If Nrvnqsr hadn't had familiars placed outside for surveillance, Nrvnqsr could have been declared fallen earlier. But even with 45 familiars remaining, Nrvnqsr, having lost his main body, would probably need hundreds of years to revive.

Attaching a high-level concept to magecraft—just this one move made Trhvmn realize the opponent was a great Magus no less than himself, an Ancestor-level combatant. However, from his visual estimation, this was far from the opponent's true strength.

Gransurg, after the shock, quickly calmed down. Altrouge's most hated sworn enemy was Trhvmn, not him, Gransurg. If anyone should be anxious, it should be Trhvmn. Thinking this, he spoke gravely.

"Looking at the situation, this youth is clearly on the Black Princess's side. So, what do you plan to do, Trhvmn!"

Trhvmn's face gradually darkened.

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