The same martial art, but different physical stats made the execution worlds apart. Like a teleport, he instantly appeared at the knight's side, raising his blade to slash diagonally downward, aiming straight for the opponent's knee. Clang! A greatsword steadily blocked the strike, deflecting it slightly due to the force, but another greatsword came at him head-on.
Oleg was no fool; he clearly knew Throne was trying to stall him to let that sorceress charge up her magic. Bang— The high-speed airflow formed a sword wave that spread for over a dozen meters, yet the target had already teleported behind him. The knight twisted his body, slashing with both swords. Storm Dance. Flying Boat Crossing!
Fast sword against fast sword; one side agile, the other grand and sweeping. Only the clashing metal left large sprays of sparks in the air. Clang, clang, clang... Sparks fell like rain. The high-speed airflow shredded the cloak, sliced through the pauldrons, and severed the gauntlets. Throne wasn't thinking about anything, nor could he feel pain.
His eyes saw only the continuous sword light before him. Two seconds felt like two years, and just when he was about to collapse, the relentless sword light suddenly stopped. Time's up. Oleg hadn't expected that he would fail to mince his opponent in an instant, and that terrifying, heart-stopping magic was already upon him.
Perhaps it was because Sellen was powerful that he saw her as the core threat; after all, even criminals respected strength. Why would he perish together with a mad dog? Likewise, Throne had no intention of dying with this hero. Storm Assault! Bloodhounds Step! Starlight movement! Every escape skill erupted at this moment. Sellen trusted him absolutely and would not hold back.
Just as Oleg turned, the Comet Azur, larger than a person, occupied his entire field of vision. He didn't have as many bizarre escape abilities as Throne, so he simply gripped his swords tightly and slashed with all his might. Storm — Annihilation! Boom... rumble... A dull, prolonged explosion echoed through the woods. In an instant, a blinding light turned the area into day.
The shockwave swept through, causing the trees to sway back and forth, and even the air grew scorching hot. Even a dragon couldn't withstand this blow, let alone the fact that Sellen had infused thirty percent more magic this time, nearly reaching the limit of her control. "How is it?" Throne appeared suddenly beside Sellen, breathing greedily. "You're injured?" "Yeah, it was inevitable."
The swordsman discarded his tattered gauntlets; ordinary armor was clearly no longer sufficient for him. Sellen said nothing. She looked toward the fading light, her pupils slightly constricted. "To answer your question, it doesn't look like much!" A crater several meters in radius had been blasted into the center of the woods, and a ray extended outward.
At its origin stood the knight, his entire body emitting high-temperature white steam. His magnificent armor showed signs of melting, looking like a large lump of molten wax, and his exposed skin had turned charred black, but that did not dampen the knight's berserk fighting spirit. "He's still not dead?"
Sellen took a deep breath and raised her staff again, but before she could gather any magic, her hand was pressed down. "He wants to drain your magic so you won't even have the strength to break through." Throne seemed to see through everything and pointed outside the forest. "Besides, they've arrived." Under the moonlight, several figures were running over, clearly drawn by the explosion just now.
Leading them was the hunter. "Then run?" "Yeah, find a way to shake off the pursuers and then regroup. Teacher, their main force will definitely chase you, so you must be careful." Throne dropped these words and turned to leave; he wasn't accustomed to sentimental attachments. "Wait." Throne, having run a few meters, turned back. He remembered that Sellen wasn't the indecisive type.
Then, he saw his teacher stride over and remove something from her neck. It was an ugly pendant with a cluster of human faces on it, looking extremely eerie. "The Graven-Mass Talisman, proof of a Primeval Sorcerer, and also the mark of your graduation." Sellen personally placed the pendant around Throne's neck, then looked at the knight striding out and waved her hand. "Disciple, go."
Throne had nothing to give in return, nor did he ask how he had suddenly graduated. He simply turned in place, quickly vanished into the night, and waved his hand. "Teacher, wait for me to return." Sellen didn't even look at Throne's retreating back, only at the knight rushing toward her. She glanced at the figures charging from the side, a smile appearing on her face.
"Foolish disciple, of course I'll wait for you." Even if there were many things left unsaid, at such a life-and-death moment, any sentimentality was tantamount to suicide. A few words were enough to give each other closure. After the swordsman had run a hundred meters, the sorceress also dissipated into starlight. They retreated decisively and ran swiftly.
By the time Monk led his men into the woods, they only saw the Banished Knight standing there in a daze and Sellen, who had teleported into the distance. Splitting up to escape? Had these two already prepared a backup plan? "You go after her. She must not leave your sight." After a moment of hesitation, the hunter immediately gave the order. "Yes!" Several warriors hurried in pursuit.
Magic had limited range; as long as they were careful to maintain their distance, they wouldn't fear being killed. The hunter was suspected of overstepping his authority, but Monk could no longer care about that. He hurried to the Banished Knight's side and saluted: "Lord Oleg, this is…"
Before he could finish, the knight raised his hand to interrupt him: "That sorceress is the mastermind.
You come with me to chase her; as for the other swordsman, you take your men to hunt him down!" Monk's mouth twitched. His intuition told him that Throne was the root of all evil, but looking at the chaotic battlefield, it was clear that Sellen was far more powerful. "Yes." The hunter nodded, but looking at the few warriors who looked displeased, he asked deliberately: "Do we need to rest?"
This group had been incredibly unlucky, dragged into a mission that didn't concern them, traveling thousands of miles, and then physically clashing with a group of noble soldiers. Although they had dispersed the enemy, they had suffered several casualties themselves, and before they could catch their breath, they had to run a marathon around the lake.
Ordinary knights would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago, and even these powerful warriors under Morgott were worn out. "What rest? These two criminals must be up to something. By the honor of a knight, we must not let them go!" Oleg flatly rejected the idea. His status was extremely high; one could say he was among the best under Morgott.
Aside from those directly under the Erdtree, only a few high-ranking members of the Nights Cavalry could compare to him. No one dared to refuse his words, and Monk, as a member of the Nights Cavalry, had to uphold his authority even more. Without wasting words, he simply waved his hand. "Third Squad, move out!"
As one of the most elite legions in The Lands Between, the Nights Cavalry was slightly different. Every official cavalryman would lead an independent squad to execute missions; in other words, these warriors were his retainers. "Understood." Military orders were like mountains; no one dared to talk back. The remaining ten men split into two teams.
The majority followed Oleg to chase Sellen, while three others went with Monk to chase Throne. Regarding the latter, they weren't worried. To the east were mountains, and the area for maneuvering was very small, not to mention that Monk was exceptionally good at tracking. ... "They really did split up." Throne put down his telescope.
He hadn't actually run far, and seeing his teacher safely disengage, he let out a sigh of relief. Oleg was not lightly injured, so it wouldn't be easy for him to catch Sellen. After all, the distance of Starlight movement was directly proportional to the magic used; his teacher could completely ignore terrain and jump a hundred meters away in an instant. The most troublesome one was the hunter.
This kind of existence was extremely adept at tracking and might just find that basement. "So come and chase me, you bastards. You made me unable to even prepare a parting gift." Throne gritted his teeth. As he ran up the mountain, he hung various throwing weapons on his waist to replenish what he had consumed, and finally pulled out a bottle of flask of crimson tears.
This was something Ivan had given him after the battle against Godrick. He had held back from drinking it at the time, specifically for this moment. Gulp, gulp. The scarlet liquid poured into his mouth. The bleeding stopped, and the wounds closed. As expected of the flask of crimson tears, its effect was far stronger than the Perfumer's medicine.
He had recovered about seventy percent of his strength. Throne put away the bottle and looked back, seeing the pursuers also climbing the mountain, tracking him at a steady pace. Instead of being happy, he was worried. This meant the opponent was not only professional but also possessed sufficient patience; they intended to shrink the encirclement and bury him completely in the mountains.
"One Oleg, one Nights Cavalry. My teacher has to give her all just to escape, and once these people can't find her, they will shift their target and use my life to cut their losses." A true hunter would not take risks but was better at burying their prey using an absolute advantage. And since this continuous mountain range had no exit, why rush up to fight a decisive battle?
They simply treated Throne as a secondary target. "Not giving me any way out? Fortunately—" Throne felt the desperate situation, yet he only took a piece of meat from the spirit-calling ring. The meat was grayish-brown and emitted a foul odor; it was the piece he had cut from Agheel. "I was prepared for this."
Inside the cave at the mountain peak, a cold wind blew in from the entrance. Throne sat cross-legged, slowly chewing on the dried meat. He didn't light a fire, nor did he continue climbing. Further up were cliffs and precipices; if discovered, he would only be a sitting duck. Since the enemies couldn't catch up for the time being, Throne had a chance to catch his breath.
He had to seize the time to rest and prepare for the coming storm. First, he took a moment to observe the Death energy within his body. He discovered that after stealing the kill on the Tibia Mariner, it had reached a considerable scale, as if both sides had reached a qualitative change. The answer was already obvious, but he didn't dwell on it.
This thing was certainly important, but now was not the time for research, so he cast his curiosity aside and pulled out another item. A lifelike doll was held in his hand. This 'Mini Ranni' was his true trump card. One had to know that Throne was walking on 'two legs': Sellen drew away the pursuers, while he still held the power of the Princess of the Moon in his hand.
Through the life-threatening test last time, Throne already knew this doll wasn't as simple as an ordinary prop; it also housed a wisp of Ranni's consciousness. It was just that with Sellen around, he still had to play dumb, but only at this moment—
As a Carian Knight on the verge of death, it was perfectly normal to talk to my liege's doll and seek some psychological comfort, right?
"Sigh, what should I do now?" Throne sighed, looked at the unresponsive doll in his hand, and began to ramble: "The enemy's combat power is just too strong; I have no choice but to use the power granted by Lady Ranni here. But if I leave any survivors, I'm afraid this will lead to a war between Caria and Leyndell."
"As a knight, I should sacrifice myself and must not drag Caria into this, but why is Leyndell hunting me down?" "This is a critical moment. I believe you won't blame me, but you still haven't told me how to use it." The spirit-calling ring had the effect of shielding the inside from the outside, which meant that aside from the eavesdropping last time, Ranni didn't know about Throne's journey.
Oh, she's quite patient. Throne, who had long confirmed that someone was peeking, turned into a broken record, repeating the same things over and over. He didn't know how long had passed, but just when his mouth was parched, the doll in his hand suddenly made a helpless sound. "Since it's a critical moment, why aren't you recovering your strength instead of coming here to talk to a doll?"
Throne's eyes widened, revealing an expression of extreme shock. He looked at his hand; the already lifelike doll seemed to come alive, and those gem-like eyes showed a glimmer of light. The doll had come alive. Except for its tiny size, its aura was similar to Ranni's on ordinary days. "Yo-Your Highness?" "Hmm." The doll nodded, though it was just too miniature to have any sense of majesty.
"My knight, you have once again humiliated Ranni the Witch." You're speaking with such a small body; it's indeed quite embarrassing. Throne breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He was absolutely not desecrating the Witch's majesty; he really had no choice.
First, if he encountered Oleg head-on, he would definitely have to use the demigod power within the doll; second, causing Caria to tear its face off with Leyndell without any preparation was not something a subject should do. "Your Highness, I had no intention of humiliating you, but the situation is urgent." The doll was silent for a long while, just staring at Throne's face.
Clearly, Ranni had been listening ever since Throne took the doll out and had gained relevant information from his self-talk, rather than simply being annoyed by the noise. It is indeed very dangerous. Oh well, I'll forgive this guy. Ranni sighed. Now was not the time to assign blame, so she asked out of curiosity: "That Sellen is not weak. Where did she run off to?"
It wasn't just curiosity; there was also a sense of teasing, after all, that certain foolish teacher had crossed paths with her. Ah, this... good thing I reacted quickly last time, otherwise I might have ended up using this trump card on Sellen. Throne heard the subtext but could only play dumb, saying solemnly: "Teacher went to draw away Oleg.
Now I am the only one facing the pursuit, so I request your tactical guidance."