Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1653: Fierce Battle and the "Demon King
The crimson glimmer erupted from the body, continuing to tear the wounds apart on the Night Watchman, and the Moonlight Greatsword formed within him, attaching the uniquely offensive, red moonlight sword on the Night Watchman against the flesh, slicing towards the left chest where the heart resides.
With a soft sound of a boom~, the man before him disappeared from Shard’s sight. Shard turned abruptly, swinging his sword to the rear without hesitation, familiar with this maneuver thanks to Sister Delphine’s guidance. It could be truly called a knight’s sword skill—
Clang!
The Night Watchman, imbued with the Red Moon’s power, collided with the transparent longsword, scattering sparks, whirlwinds, and pieces of the crimson moon, yet the invisible sword wielded by the unfamiliar Circle Sorcerer did not shatter:
"Sage-level longsword, is it? Why do those capable of spatial movement always prefer backstabbing?"
Shard mused to himself, employing the Moonlight Greatsword more to obscure the runes on the Night Watchman, preventing it from being recognized.
The right foot stomped, deploying the Spatial Stabilization Aura, while the left, weaponless hand flung out the Binding Light. However, this strike missed; the invisible longsword shattered the quick-release Binding Light from Shard at close proximity. As Shard attempted to throw the Moonlight Wheel, the severely injured Six-Ring Sorcerer finally panicked and said:
"Hold on, I surrender!"
To demonstrate his sincerity, he ceased sword grappling with Shard and took a step back, revealing the tangible shape of his sword. It appeared to be a steel sword, slightly shorter than the Night Watchman. Seeing Shard had ceased his attack, he endured the pain from the decaying flesh inflicted by the penetrating wound in his chest, addressing Shard:
"You can kill me, but you wouldn’t want to attract the Church, and neither of us would want that Relic to fall into their hands. Let me leave, and I will immediately distance myself from Tobesk City."
He spoke with a northern Draleon accent, almost like a Coldwater Port dialect.
"Who else are your companions? Also, ransom money."
"There are three of us. I’m responsible for diverting a guard from a carriage, while the other two—a Five- and Seven-Ring Sorcerer—cover the front route. We met in the New World, the Seven-Ring is quite powerful, and the Five-Ring possesses unique Arcane Techniques. Besides us, a team aims to seize the coffin, but I don’t know them. As for ransom... this sword can’t be given to you, take this instead."
He placed a fist-sized ore on the ground, its black surface streaked with gleaming gold:
"Mithril Ore. Don’t haggle with me, I need to tend to my wounds. If you disagree, I’ll use an extensive Arcane Technique to draw the Church’s attention... It’s not what you want but what I have now."
He uttered in pain, his left hand glowing for self-healing, but the Night Watchman combined with the Moonlight Greatsword made the injury not easily treatable.
Regarding that block of Mithril Ore, though seemingly large, it’s a raw ore, and after melting and refining, the remaining Mithril will exceed no more than a thumb-sized volume, incomparable to the Mithril Cube Shard once had or the mountain copper retrieved from a mirror.
"Why embark on a robbery when you can see the situation so clearly?"
Shard queried again.
"I really don’t have time to chat. Isn’t it all for moving further? There’s no ’why’, so do you agree to let me leave or not?"
The wounded man’s tone seemed as though he was coercing Shard. However, Shard realized he was indeed nearing his limit, while Shard himself had no time to waste:
"Tell me about that sword of yours, then you can go."
"Sage-level relic, Sword of the Wind King, a longsword blessed by the Ancient Wind Elemental Giant and the Old God who governs the power of the Four Elements. It has both visible and invisible forms, with varying traits. Oh, you can check yourself, it’s not difficult to find the information."
He quickly retreated, and seeing Shard had no objections, he leapt off the building. After leaving the area covered by the Spatial Stabilization Aura, he vanished into the air.
"Sword of the Wind King, isn’t it held only by those with knight spirit?"
Shard pondered as he bent to pick up the ore, keeping it safely afterwards. He leaped into the air, chasing the direction of the carriage in the night’s fog.
Simultaneously solving the troubles, Shard encountered his unfamiliar Circle Sorcerers alongside Dr. Schneider’s group, roughly concluding the battle.
As Shard jumped down from the rooftop of a street-facing building, he didn’t spot the Five-Ring Sorcerer; only the middle-aged woman with the Seven Ring Life Ring suspended behind her was still battling the doctor. Priest Augustus sat idly on the coachman’s seat of a slightly slanted carriage parked by the street, with Dorothy hiding in the compartment, tending to the coffin.
Seeing Shard’s return, Dr. Schneider, already having the upper hand, let his eyes shine red, with his life ring flashing a corner, unleashing Desecration Destruction and Enlightenment Melting simultaneously.
Thus, the blazing red ray sweeping from the doctor’s eyes melted the silver angel wing shield, always defending the unfamiliar Circle Sorcerer of equal rank against her attacks.
The shield was stunning, shimmering in the night mist, and even its explosive scattering was magnificently pretty.
With a muffled groan, the woman retreated repeatedly, unable to care about countering, with the Desecration Shadow spirit rune on the life ring flashing spiritual light, transforming herself into five identical clones. One charged at Dr. Schneider, another turned toward Shard, while the other three darted into the rooftops of the adjacent street-facing buildings.
"Thunder Spear!"
"Thunder Spear!"
The shadow charging at Shard simultaneously used the same Arcane Technique. From their hands, blinding thunder was hurled, colliding in the street’s midst, and due to the similar nature of the Arcane Techniques, the thunder clashed, forming a bizarre light arc in a standoff. If not for the Silence Charm barring the sizzling thunder, the entire Factory District would likely hear.
Bzzz~
After the standoff of Thunder Spears, the rotating Moonlight Wheel split the thunder, swiftly slicing the silhouette behind the light into two halves. As the clone exploded into mist, the silver Moonlight Wheel traced an arc, continuing upward to cut another falling clone in two.
On the doctor’s side, the scorching red ray with a faint sulfur odor from his eyes destroyed the clone charging at him. Then, the gigantic paw emerging from the shadows crushed another figure ascending to the western rooftop.
All four figures were replicas, while the real one disappeared on the eastern rooftop.
Neither Shard nor the doctor rushed, for before the woman could escape, a clear voice resounded overhead:
"Where are you heading to?"
The woman instinctively looked up, witnessing the purple-haired dashing figure on the flying Skeleton Horse. Her lifeless eyes caught the last sight of Luviya’s Obsidian Pendulum swinging in her hand.
No one touched her, yet petrification began from her eyes, with her entire being turning into a lifeless gray stone sculpture.
"Indeed, once a Diviner enters the Inner Ring, their combat prowess exceeds that of a Low Ring. Such a curse is impressive."
Spoke the doctor, leaping onto the rooftop, unsurprised by the scene.
"Doctor, not as much as yours. Half a year not seeing you in action, you’ve become remarkably strong. If she weren’t severely injured by you, the curse wouldn’t have easily worked. She was careless; if she and the Five-Ring had fled initially, we wouldn’t have pursued her."
Luviya shook her head. Shard, worried, returned to his bodice after converting back from the Red Butterfly Swarm:
"Quick, into the warehouse. The one blocking me earlier left, claiming their party had only three, and this Seven-Ring Sorcerer bore powerful relics. Let me search."
"No need for the hassle."
Luviya in the air stated, swinging a hand—Shard recognized the move too well—as the gray statue exploded into dust, leaving only a shield-shaped metal emblem clanging to the ground.
"So, the shield wasn’t Arcane, but a Relic."
Dr. Schneider picked it up, and the group promptly departed.
Clank, clank~
Minutes later, the remote warehouse door was pushed open by Shard. Luviya took a step into the warehouse to activate the ritual, followed closely by Priest Augustus driving the carriage into the warehouse from the yard, while Dr. Schneider and Dorothy checked the warehouse surroundings, having its courtyard.
Located in the Tobesk Western City District’s warehouse area, the entire street is warehouses, so at night, except for the warehouse guards, few others are seen around here.
The group of five busily activated the ritual that had been arranged in the warehouse in advance. For safety, Shard also used the Arcane Technique "Traveler’s Camp," gained from a time-traveling adventure, to set up a camp beside the coffin in the warehouse, calling forth a bonfire and tents.
This camp not only suppressed the relic inside the coffin but also helped the team of five recover their stamina and spiritual power. With the enhancement from the "Fire of the Primordial" to the bonfire, this was simply the perfect Arcane Technique under such circumstances.
"Where did you learn this Arcane Technique? I thought at least a High Ring Magician could learn this kind of ’Creation from Nothing’ technique that changes areas."
Priest Augustus was quite surprised, and the Old Cleric, being very knowledgeable, could see that this was yet another unique Divine Art.
Once everything was arranged, the five people could take a short break. They had no plans to sleep tonight, and even the lowest level, Three Rings Priest Augustus, wouldn’t have much of a problem staying up all night.
The highest level, Shard and Dr. Schneider, climbed up to the rooftop; tonight they would observe from this vantage point. Priest Augustus, Dorothy, and Luviya would take turns guarding the coffin. On one hand, to prevent any issues from prolonged exposure to the relic, and on the other hand, to rotate and recover their spiritual power using the bonfire.
"I’ve known you for less than a year, right?"
On the rooftop, the two looked into the fog towards the distant view of the city. The warehouse wasn’t very high, but there were no taller buildings near it, so the view was relatively open. As he gazed at the night scenery, Bill Schneider, for some reason, thought again about that afternoon last summer.
"Yes, Doctor, from the Silvermoon shine day last summer, it hasn’t been a year yet."
"This year has really been long, and you’ve changed a lot."
The Doctor carefully examined Shard:
"It’s hard to imagine that last summer, you were just an ordinary person."
"People change."
Shard shook his head:
"Nothing remains unchanged; I just changed a bit faster. Have you noticed, we’ve all changed? Doctor, you’re more cheerful than last summer; Dorothy has become a famous writer known throughout the Old Continent; Priest Augustus looks unchanged, but in fact, his mood has improved a lot; and Luviya, the Diviner who was the hardest to advance, has successfully reached Five Rings."
"These changes were brought by you."
The Doctor praised, but Shard’s face didn’t show a smile:
"I don’t quite know whether the changes I’ve brought will truly lead everyone to the best ending."
"What, need me to talk you through things? I’m best at that."
The Doctor joked, his eyes turning back to the low, sprawling warehouse rooftop:
"Circle Sorcerers generally encounter psychological issues; no one can avoid it, after all, what we face is too different from ordinary people. You’ve advanced so rapidly, surely you have psychological issues. You haven’t noticed because you have your cat, as well as Luisa and Annette around you."
Although Shard’s relationship with the girls hasn’t been made public, it seems everyone familiar knew.
"There’s a theory that Circle Sorcerers should find a psychological anchor themselves, so that their life form doesn’t ’fly away’ and lose control during advancement. Such anchors could be family, objects, pets, responsibilities, or missions..."
He paused a little, apparently thinking about himself:
"But that’s for ordinary Circle Sorcerers; you’re not ordinary, everyone knows."
"My psychological issue?"
Shard pondered for a moment, then nodded:
"Then what advice can you give me? Regularly come to you for therapy?"
"No, no, it’s not that complicated. You only need to periodically rest amidst intense life or tasks, and live through the perspective of ordinary people. This kind of problem is easy to solve."
This was precisely what Shard had always been doing; each time he resolved a matter concerning The Chosen, he would rest for half a month to a month. Due to illness, he had rested even longer this time.
"I understand..."
He sighed at the foggy night; the Outlander didn’t really want to talk about his issues, so he changed the topic:
"Doctor, regarding our group’s former leader Mr. Sherf Tim and Miss Shana Aya, where have their souls gone? When do you plan to tell me everything?"
"Weren’t we talking about my issues? Why did you change the subject so fast?"
The Doctor asked in surprise but still answered Shard:
"I know you want to help me... let’s wait until we’re all at Ten Rings, no, Eleven Rings. At the current pace, along with your encounters with Demons, I think it’ll take less than a year. But now I can tell you some information... it’s related to the ’Demon King’... why are you smiling?"
He asked in surprise again, and Shard tried to make his expression normal:
"Demon King? Such a title seems like something out of knight novels."
Hearing this, the Doctor smiled as well:
"Well, actually ’The First Demon,’ ’The Ancient Demon,’ or ’The Great Sin Demon’ are all appropriate. It’s rumored to be the first recorded Evil Spirit Demon, the oldest evil, The Primordial Demon."
"From the Third Era?"
The Doctor stood on the rooftop with his hands behind his back, gently shaking his head:
"I have to correct a common misconception: although Evil Spirits rampaged the world during the Third Era, causing an impact that remains indelible even today, actually, they existed in older eras, just not yet to the extent of threatening the world. The First Demon likely comes from the First Era, the place where the world’s stories begin."
The Doctor sighed, and Shard nodded understandingly.
This is akin to the fact that although the Fifth Era is known as the "Witch Era," witches weren’t born in the Fifth Era. Since the beginning of the eras, those magical ladies’ presence has always existed.
And speaking of "the First Demon," Shard suddenly thought of his friend, Mr. Sean Asmon, the Demonologist, and the demon stories told by him. In the Demonologist’s stories, the unrecognized demon seems to be the first Evil Spirit Demon.
"I wonder if it’s possible to meet Mr. Asmon at Green Lake, what kind of coincidence will it be this time?"
Shard realized he seemed never to talk about Mr. Sean Asmon with anyone, so he wanted to chat about that Demonologist with Dr. Schneider. Just then, he suddenly noticed that the scene around them had changed. The Tobesk Warehouse District under the night fog became blurred and soon transformed into an endless desert under the moonlit night.
The dry air carried sand that hit their faces, the warehouse rooftop was still underfoot, but the surrounding warehouse yard was gone.
"Luviya."
Shard called out, and the voice of Miss Diviner immediately came from inside the warehouse:
"I’m here, dealing with that coffin now. But Priest and Dorothy seem not to be affected; I can’t see them anymore."
"We can’t see them from the rooftop either; we only see sand. Then Doctor and I will handle the upcoming monster, you don’t need to come out... well, you can’t come out anyway."
The power of the relic leaking again was expected, so Shard and Dr. Schneider weren’t too surprised.
The two stood firm on the warehouse rooftop in the vast desert, gazing at the endless yellow sand and the distant storm of earth-colored winds almost connecting heaven and earth. The storm showed no trend of moving toward them, otherwise, Shard would suspect whether this was the desert from the Seven-day Trip.
