School Transmigration: I, Chosen as the Saint by Dragons at the Start-Chapter 202 --The Greedy Pete

Fikell grew increasingly anxious as the western sea infantry steadily advanced, with the leading demon legion titans already within throwing distance of their clubs into the city.

Visto still hadn’t made a move, which once again made Fikell want to rush down and strike him; his calmness was infuriating.

Fikell and his lieutenants stood atop the wooden wall, their swords swinging, sending out sword auras that chipped away at the approaching enemy forces.

Yet, the western sea troops continued their steady advance, getting closer and closer to the city walls.

Only five meters left!

Fikell looked towards Visto, noticing he still hadn’t taken any action, his mind racing with irritation—had this man run out of tricks?

As the titan closest to the wall hurled its club, Fikell braced to defend with his sword but then noticed the club had vanished.

More precisely, it had been completely corroded, a black curtain suddenly appearing around the five-meter perimeter outside the walls.

What kind of magic array was this? Fikell had never seen anything like it before.

The northern half of the area outside the wall, within five meters, was enveloped by a white barrier, while the southern half was covered by a black one.

This thin veil appeared fragile, almost translucent, yet it possessed an extremely high concentration of arcanergy, a fact Fikell could clearly sense.

The titan, initially startled, then charged towards the wall.

As it crossed through the thin veil, the life in its eyes vanished, and it collapsed right at the city’s edge.

The western sea troops began firing arrows into the city, but these too were blocked by the veil.

Fikell realized the black veil in front of him could corrode anything that passed through it, while the white veil to the north seemed to sever everything.

Though it seemed somewhat cruel, he had no time to ponder this.

He wielded his sword to its fullest, trying to sweep his sword auras through the ranks of the western sea people.

The western sea infantry suffered heavy losses under the combined assault of sword auras and crossbow bolts, and they were nearly routed, unable to breach Visto’s peculiar formation.

Soon, the western sea’s human infantry retreated to the back lines, and the demon legion moved to the front.

Their leader, Lucifer, waved his hand, and a large horde of zombies, vampires, and werewolves advanced simultaneously.

Standing atop the high tower, Anna had discerned the principle behind Visto’s strange array.

The energy within the black and white veils could redistribute itself based on the threat level of the invaders, rendering numerous arrows completely ineffective against this magic array.

A few strong titans could also perish within this veil, while ordinary soldiers dreaming of breaking through by sheer numbers were engaging in pure folly.

However, these monsters, with their magic far surpassing that of ordinary soldiers, entered Visto’s magic array in large numbers, overwhelming its lethal capacity.

After losing dozens in the first wave, zombies reached the city walls, followed by the second and third waves.

Hundreds of zombies, vampires, and werewolves entered the area within five meters of the city walls.

Close combat ensued.

The defenders, only blessed by the old sorcerer, clearly lacked sufficient combat strength.

Fikell and the others were quickly embroiled in a fierce battle.

In this critical moment, Anna joined the fray.

Her Ruthlessness Blade specifically targeted the monsters’ weaknesses, claiming many lives in a short time.

The casualty ratio between the two sides was nearly one to one, with the western sea demon legion losing mostly zombies, while the casualties on the side of the empire and Bitterness Kingdom alliance were predominantly ordinary soldiers.

Given the numerical superiority of the western sea forces, the allied army was doomed to be annihilated if the battle continued.

As night fell, the battle raged on.

The demon legion’s leader, Lucifer, seemed unwilling to wait any longer.

He advanced towards Wooden City, releasing black energy orbs from his hands.

The western gate of Wooden City stood no chance against such power, blasting apart into pieces.

With three gates already breached, Wooden City was now virtually defenseless, plunging the interior into complete chaos.

Anna was gasping for breath, cursing her frail body at this critical moment.

She felt utterly helpless, unable to wield the Ruthlessness Blade any longer.

Fikell’s lieutenants were all wounded but continued to fight valiantly.

Only Fikell retained the demeanor of a great general, his body covered in blood, none of it his own.

Despite years of neglect, he remained the top warrior of Ironblade City, his former dominance still evident.

Seeing the great demon starting to move, Fikell also began to advance, having stayed close to Anna to provide support.

Now, he decided to adopt a strategy of striking the leader first.

It was a gamble of life or death.

Twenty meters, ten meters, the demon lord and Fikell grew closer, with Fikell nearing the wooden wall.

He fixed his gaze on Lucifer, who had stepped into Visto’s strange array.

Then, he rubbed his eyes.

The veil began to rotate slowly, the white clockwise and the black counterclockwise.

When the two colors overlapped, they turned grey.

Fikell saw large swaths of grey veil passing through Lucifer’s body.

Lucifer seemed to halt in confusion as countless spirits dispersed from his body, his wings and horns corroded away, his entire body severely lacerated.

Fikell sensed the demon’s power diminish significantly.

He stepped forward and decapitated Lucifer with a single stroke.

...

Among the seven centurions of Mingate, aside from Blight, two others survived: second centurion Chandler and fifth centurion Pete.

Few knew of Chandler’s whereabouts, and even fewer spoke of Pete’s.

While Chandler’s caravans continued to conduct various trades across the empire, supplying military goods, Pete faded into obscurity.

Upon receiving the late snow king’s order to defend the Natural Ravine, Pete began plotting his escape.

In his view, Snow Kingdom was doomed the moment the snow king decided to betray the empire.

Aligning with the demon army—if the demon army won—meant Snow Kingdom would inevitably be dismembered.

Preserving Mingate would be considered fortunate, but likely the snow king would be demoted to a marquis, and they would be exiled to live out their days in misery.

Should the demon army lose, the empire would certainly not spare the snow king, nor would it forgive a high-ranking defector like him.

The gallows awaited.

Defend the Natural Ravine? Pete thought it best to first ensure his own survival.

Within the seven centurions, Pete was considered part of Chandler’s faction, but not a steadfast loyalist—rather, a fence-sitter.

He supported Chandler in matters that benefited him, and remained non-committal otherwise.

This attitude wasn’t exclusive to Chandler; Pete behaved this way towards everyone.

He leaned more towards obeying Chandler simply because Chandler was generous.

Over the years, Pete had amassed considerable wealth, yet his estate was modest, even slightly shabby.

Pete’s parents had passed away long ago, with rumors suggesting they were driven to their graves by him.

After their death, they didn’t even receive decent coffins.

No one knew where his fortune had gone.

...

Upon receiving the snow king’s order that day, Pete returned home and retrieved a wooden box from a secret compartment in his study.

Opening the box, he unveiled a cloth bundle, which was further encased in a satin pouch, containing dozens of priceless night pearls.

He had prepared for this moment for over a decade, converting all his wealth into easily transportable treasures.

With the bundle on his back, he was ready to flee.

Having already saddled his horse, he paused, deciding there was one matter that needed settling first.

He walked into the kitchen where his wife was chopping vegetables.

Pete had only this one wife, whom he had purchased.

To him, this woman was both a servant and an outlet for his frustrations.

Yet, she was grateful and even adored him, for Pete had "rescued" her from a den of vice.

Over the years, her only regret was not bearing Pete any children.

So, when she saw Pete enter the kitchen—an unprecedented occurrence—she was speechless with surprise.

Then a flash of white light crossed her eyes, and she was silenced forever.

After killing her, Pete hid the body in the cellar and locked it twice.

Then, without further delay, he left with some of his close followers through the southern gate of the city.

"My possessions shall not be touched by others," he thought, whipping his horse with increased vigor.

To him, a wife was merely property, something he had bought and could dispose of as he pleased.

The woman was a burden, better off dead since she had not borne him any children.

Wives could be bought again, but treasures were truly valuable.

Thus, not long after leaving the city, he concocted an excuse to send his followers ahead to Natural Ravine for defense.

Then, disguising himself, he fled alone to the north.

For Pete, the sole purpose of his loyalists at this moment was to create the illusion that he had taken up the command to head to Natural Ravine.

He planned to circle north around Mingate, pass through Glazed Pavilion to central city, and then select a residence in a town north of central city.

First, he would open a tavern, and then find a wife—not buying one this time, but marrying a well-bred lady capable of bearing children.

Unwittingly, Pete got lost in his own fantasies, slowing his pace until he eventually stopped.

Darkness enveloped him, yet he continued to daydream, his mind filled only with visions of a blissful, wealthy future.

After an indeterminate amount of time, he snapped out of his reverie.

He found himself shackled by steel at his wrists and ankles against a damp stone wall, imprisoned in a cold, dismal cave lit only by a solitary oil lamp in front of him.

A person clad in green garments approached him.

Pete wanted to speak, bombarded with countless questions, but his mouth had been gagged, reducing his attempts to communicate to mere muffled noises.