Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 756 - : Ritual Sword and Sunlight Ray

Chapter 756 -756: Ritual Sword and Sunlight Ray

Seeing the black fog bullets flying towards him and having no time to dodge, Shard simply stopped in his tracks. Extending his left hand forward, the dancing Red Butterfly coalesced into a crimson shield, blocking the first barrage of attacks. Then, with his right hand, he swiftly swung his sword. As Silver Light splashed out, the Night Watchman accurately shattered each black fog orb. With the final swipe of his sword, the pitch-black Sword Light broke through the white mist, dissolved the black fog, and was ultimately grasped single-handedly by Earl Dalark.

After a tense standoff of two brief seconds between the sword glow and the Earl, the sword light dissipated, and the right hand of the Earl completely melted away but soon grew back again. Of course, this was not without cost, as his body became more and more transparent.

“If you become completely transparent, will you lose your sanity completely? If that’s the case, I won’t waste any more time.”

Shard said, and as he lowered the Longsword in his hand, the sound of loud bells and steam whistles came from behind him through the white mist.

The scorching Steam Mist merged with the surrounding white mist, but the huge brass rings within the mist became clearer and clearer as if they were drifting in from afar.

Four-Color Aura shone, and as Shard stepped forward, the immense Ring of Fate followed closely:

“Earl, then we need not waste any more time, please leave!”

As if responding to Shard’s words, the swollen, ghoul-like Earl issued another miserable howl. The black mist entwining him swept towards Shard like tentacles, but as the runes of Great Sin flickered with Spiritual Light, the Great Sin Chains that flew from his sleeves with a sweep, severed those black mists.

The ghastly black fog bullets shot out again, and this time, 54 Roder Cards flew out of Shard’s pocket like Flying Daggers. Adorned with the power of the Red Butterfly, the flurry of cards collided with the incoming black fog bullets. With the Red Butterfly’s aid, the cards’ hardness could briefly withstand those black mists empowered by the Interstice.

The chains, black mists, cards, Red Butteflies, and black air intermingled in the air, with the Spiritual Light atop the Ring of Fate dispersing the dense white mist.

As Shard steadily approached, the Earl Dalark floating in the air finally could no longer hold back. Wrapped in black fog, he charged towards Shard from the air with his sword. The attack from above was inherently intimidating, but Shard remained unflustered.

He watched the Earl approaching closer and closer, gathering a massive amount of Spirit within himself, and raised his sword-bearing right hand, his index finger resting on the blade:

“Silver…”

He frowned suddenly as inspiration struck, and the Silvermoon, originally flickering with intense Spiritual Light, dimmed. Meanwhile, the Enlightening Aura of the Light of the Witch abruptly flared:

“Sunlight Ray!”

At his fingertips gathered the rich, warm light representing the high noon sun, but instead of shooting from his fingertip, the righteous light spread to the Night Watchman. The sword’s good compatibility with sunlight caused the silver sword to radiate a heat as fierce as the sun itself.

The light converged at the tip of the blade, and as Shard thrust forward with both hands on the sword, a colossal Sunlight Ray Light Pillar shot out like a Light Cannon. The light cannon struck the mass of black fog carrying the Earl head-on, the sunlight causing the black fog to melt away rapidly as if it had encountered its natural enemy, revealing the nearly completely ghoulified Baron Dalark within.

His skin melted away rapidly, but death can only defeat death; by virtue of his formidable Immortal Nature, as a panting Shard lowered the Longsword in his hands, the Earl merely fell to the ground, still able to rise again.

“The amplification of the Night Watchman on sunlight, is much stronger than on moonlight, isn’t it?”

The consumption of that “Sunlight Cannon” was substantial, even for Shard. As an Angel-Level Relic on par with Grace and Helen, the Night Watchman’s primary Trait is to serve as a Spellcasting Medium, amplifying Supernatural Power. However, as a sword meant to combat evil, it clearly had different amplification effects on various Arcane Techniques.

It is not that the concept of “Silvermoon” is unjust, but rather that the concept of “Sunlight” is simply too righteous.

Baron Dalark, who resembled a severe burn victim, had with difficulty risen to his feet, clutching his nearly shattered rapier and once again charged at Shard. Struck directly by the “Sunlight Ray,” the melted flesh beneath his skin astonishingly revealed a visage that once belonged to a human.

His sanity appeared to have somewhat restored, but he still chose to continue the duel. The rapier, aimed with deadly accuracy, thrust towards Shard’s chest, but Shard raised his hand and parried it with his sword. The [Great Sin Chain] had been retracted, and his now free left hand swung down, and as his arm fell, a bright yellow longsword cut off Baron Dalark’s right hand, which held the rapier.

With a clanging sound, the rapier fell to the ground, and the Earl retreated, clutching his severed hand, which swiftly regenerated to normal.

Shard did not stop there. The yellow Moonlight Greatsword in his left hand scattered into points of light and disappeared. Taking a step forward and taking a deep breath, all the power pertaining to primordial death converged in his left hand.

“Soul Echo…”

The Mind Crystal Ring on his left hand turned black in an instant:

“Guide to Death…”

The aura of the Ring of Fate behind him erupted to its utmost, this blow would be the last:

“Psychic Shockwave!”

The left fist he swung made a sound like a sonic boom through the air, but did not propagate far due to the mist. The release of soul power and spiritual power created a ghostly afterimage of Shard’s fist.

This punch landed squarely on Baron Dalark’s chest, and as an explosive sound rang out, the Earl was sent flying backward, and upon hitting the ground, he lay completely motionless.

He lay there face-up, his ephemeral body continuously shedding white ash drifting upwards.

Shard, breathing heavily, leaned on his sword and rested for a moment before approaching:

“Combined, Priest Augustus and I are quite formidable.”

The Ring of Fate slowly faded into the surrounding mist, and apart from the indents on the ground, the shattered paving stones, the dead trees, and the nearly flattened lawn, no one would know what had transpired here.

Shard, holding the[Night Watchman], walked over to the Earl. Due to the effects of the combined Arcane Technique, before completely disintegrating, the Earl reverted to the semblance of a living person again.

His bulging eyes stared at the sky, motionless even at the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Still not content?”

Shard asked softly.

“If you suddenly died of illness and then were granted another chance at life, would you be content to depart again?”

The Earl asked, his voice weak and hoarse.

Shard shook his head, but the motion was unseen by the Earl who lay on the ground.

He bent down and reached out, grasping the earl’s icy arm. Ash flowed from his palm, drifting towards the endless horizon.

Shard pulled the earl up:

“Let’s finish the final card game, it’s the second round now, with an overall score of one to zero, and the score for the second round is two to one.”

“I’m about to die, and you’re talking to me about this?”

The earl’s face showed a desire to laugh and to cry, but he saw that Shard’s expression was serious, not like he was joking.

Shard looked into his eyes, asking seriously:

“Don’t you want to play Roder Card? Before leaving, shall we finish this round?”

The earl was taken aback briefly, then actually nodded somewhat relievedly:

“Yes, this round should be finished.”

In that moment, he truly seemed to have come to a realization.

Shard wanted to lend his spare deck to the earl, but footsteps came from the direction of the building behind him, as Priest Augustus, supporting a manservant who appeared younger than him, walked out of the mist.

“Young Master Lawrence, your deck is here.”

The inconsolable old manservant handed the deck to the earl, and Shard sat down, gesturing for the fluttering cards in the air to return to his hand like trailing shadows, one by one.

Both sat down on the ground, no need to shuffle the deck or pick out the other cards already used in this round; each drew their first hole card, and then the earl, whose body had started to become transparent, drew his second card first. Seeing that it was Flower 13, he glanced at the hole card and a feeble smile appeared on his face:

“I’ll stand; I have 21 points.”

He did not flip over the hole card.

“Earl, are you trying to bluff me? I notice that you haven’t flipped over your hole card.”

“Why should I? I’ve chosen to stand, but until you decide whether to continue or stand, I am entitled to not reveal my hole card.”

This indeed conformed to the rules; it’s just that players who did this were usually employing a “bluffing” strategy.

“No, you must reveal the hole card.”

Shard, having received his second card, avoided the old manservant’s direction and showed the card face to Earl Dalark of Campbell. The earl looked at the card face, and his expression froze. Then a genuine smile lit up his face:

“So it’s you. My wish, it really came true.”

[Big City Player: 1853 Tobesk Champion], suit: Star 12. When this card is drawn, the player has the right to view a hole card of the opponent that has not been revealed.

When he threw the cards just moments before, he had thrown a deck containing a special card.

Shard turned over the hole card for Earl Dalark, who was nearly unable to move, but the hole card was not 8 points; it was Moon 5, totaling only 18 points.

“You were indeed bluffing me.”

Shard whispered, then checked his own hole card, which turned out to be Sun 9.

“Totaling 21 points, John Watson wins the round, winning three rounds in a row and the second round. The score is two to zero, Mr. Watson is victorious.”

The priest announced, and Earl Dalark shook his head slightly, looking towards the fog with a somewhat blurred vision of a young man. He had reached the end of his life, his soul prepared to depart. In these last moments, he felt almost bewildered that the person sitting before him didn’t quite seem to be human, but rather some indescribably terrifying presence:

“Another 21 points, have you really been blessed by the God of Gambling… I honor my bet and accept the loss; the [Ancient Fairy Tale: Sleeping Princess] belongs to you, it won’t be buried after all…”

He reached out his hand to Shard, so Shard helped him to stand up. The weight of the earl now was probably about five or six Mias.

“Mr. Hans, all these years, you have worked hard.”

The earl spoke to the old manservant:

“After I’m gone, do not trouble these two guests. Distribute the family’s property and the title according to the will; fortunately, I have an illegitimate child. Thank you for your care over the years…”

His voice grew fainter, and Shard could almost feel the weight leaning on him completely disappear.

“I understand, I understand… You were meant to leave this spring, and now, to be able to come back briefly is already a blessing from God.”

The old manservant bowed his head to wipe his tears.

Shard watched the scene, suddenly frowning. He turned to Priest Augustus, and very discreetly nodded at him:

“You do it.”

He moved his lips, but made no sound. Augustus apparently really understood lip reading and, although he did not know why Shard wanted him to do so, he casually moved behind the earl, gently patted his back, and the silhouette of Earl Dalark’s transparent body completely dispersed, the ash floating towards the sky, towards that distant place.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. May God bless your soul…”

The old manservant bowed his head, tears falling heavily; Priest Augustus drew a Holy Emblem over his chest, closing his eyes to pray softly; Shard thrust his sword into the earth before him, hands in his pockets, looking up at the sky shrouded in mist.

Sister Delphine burned the first nail Shard had brought, Joey Barton carried away the second nail Shard had defeated on the frozen lake. Now, with Shard’s effort, the third nail was also successfully removed by Priest Augustus.