Chapter 2725 Former Gentleman <TOC> Chapter 2727 Shelter’s Price
Translator: SumTLMan
A straight thrust of the spear, such a simple offensive maneuver… Daus should be able to block it, right?
Though Vai thought so, his expression clearly began to tense. Don’t be fooled by how Vai and Daus usually disliked each other and bickered like enemies, in a critical moment, Vai would still worry.
Just like now: Vai’s heart was hanging high, his gaze unmoving, eager to see how Daus would manage a desperate counterattack.
According to Vai’s understanding of Daus, this sort of frontal assault should definitely be within his ability to block. At worst, he could ignite his bloodline and, with the added defense of the Swordback Sandworm’s carapace, tough as orihalcum, withstanding it shouldn’t be hard.
Yet, at the critical juncture, an accident occurred.
That strange call of “Youna” pierced through layered mountain ranges as if from afar, echoing above the arena.
Upon hearing the call, Vai’s expression tightened further. Previously, Daus had repeatedly reduced the number of sword thrusts because of this bizarre voice; now, at such a decisive moment, the voice had appeared again, would it once more affect Daus?
Vai’s guess was right.
While the “Youna” call reverberated, Daus blanked out.
Even a daze of less than a tenth of a second produced an irretrievable mortal crisis.
Accompanied by Shrew’s sharp, manic laughter, the blood-colored light-spear suddenly accelerated. It had already been as fast as lightning; now it reached a speed that seemed capable of piercing space itself.
Whoosh, the air split with a violent sound as the blood-red spear tore through Daus’ chest at a velocity imperceptible to the naked eye!
Seeing Daus penetrated, Kael and Vai were both stunned.
In their eyes, even time itself seemed to slow. They could clearly see Daus, pierced through, lower his head in bewilderment to stare at the gaping hole in his chest, his expression shifting from daze to shock and finally to utter helplessness.
Watching the change on Daus’ face, they could roughly guess: even Daus himself had no idea what had happened in that instant.
The slowing of time was, after all, only a sensory delay; it could not remain frozen forever.
When they felt the flow of time resume, the first thing they saw was blood blooming from Daus’ chest like a fountain.
Next came a dull thud as Daus knelt weakly on one knee, using the red sword as a crutch to keep himself from collapsing outright.
The battle intent within him had not faded; he even looked up at Shrew in the sky, his gaze bloodier than ever.
Yet everything was in vain.
The scene carried the tragic air of a hero defeated by the onset of dusk.
Kael and Vai could not bear to watch and turned their heads aside. Only Angel and the Black Count continued to watch in pensive silence.
Shrew’s laughter grew even more wanton. Lofty and aloof, she cast a scornful look down upon Daus.
“The feeling of approaching death, isn’t it wonderful?” A bizarre, deranged voice came from Shrew’s mouth: “It’s a sensation you can get addicted to, as though countless hands are dragging you from the harsh world above into a soft, carefree underworld… Do you want to go?”
“Want to go? Ha-ha, pfft, of course I do,” Daus coughed blood as he raised eyes shot through with red veins: “But I’d rather drag you down there, then come back myself!”
Behind her curtain of hair, Shrew narrowed her eyes, her malice surging: “Still struggling? Then I’ll send you on your final journey!”
Shrew’s words were vicious, yet when it came to action she remained cautious. She had not forgotten that the adjudicator overhead might well be on the same side as Daus; if he forcibly intervened, she would immediately withdraw.
However, Shrew was overthinking.
The Sovereign of Wisdom was indeed on Angel’s side, but he had his own principles: as long as no rules were violated, he would not affect the duel.
Even if Shrew executed Daus on the spot, the Sovereign of Wisdom would only watch coldly.
Besides, Daus was not important; the two who truly mattered had not even entered the arena.
After her feint, seeing that the black robed adjudicator showed no reaction, Shrew’s mouth split in a grin and the feint became a real attack: “Your sword thrusts hurt me plenty; let me let you taste my blood spears, call it tit for tat.”
With a mocking tone, copious blood flowed from the wounds beneath Shrew’s bandages, each stream coalescing into a blood-red spear of light. These spears were identical to the one that had pierced Daus earlier.
Previously there had been only one; now, before Shrew, there were ten, each aimed at one of Daus’ weak points.
If these ten spears struck, Daus would have no chance of survival.
And judging by Daus’ current state, the spectators saw little hope of a comeback.
Vai had kept a tight face and said nothing, but when he saw Daus caught in a life-or-death crisis, he finally broke. He turned his head and cast a pleading look at the Black Count.
In his eyes, the only one who could save Daus now was his own ancestor.
Vai and the Black Count shared a mental connection; without a word from Vai, the Black Count understood his intent.
Yet the Black Count merely shook his nose gently and answered within the telepathic connection: “If I interfere in the duel now, it will be a breach of the rules. What the figure behind the scenes most wants is for a descendant of Noah to violate the rules, if that happens, by regulation even the Sovereign of Wisdom would act against us.”
Vai: “But… Daus is my only friend.”
The Black Count: “Even so, I cannot save him.”
Vai looked aghast: “Why?”
The Black Count: “Because… of a curse.”
Within every major mysterious branch there exist various types of cursing abilities, allowing one through blood, hair, dander, nails…, and so on to lay a curse upon another.
However, this kind of curse is actually far from ideal against a formal wizard. A curse is a killing spell; as long as it is a killing spell, the moment it descends upon a wizard, even from hundreds or thousands of kilometers away, the wizard’s intuition will sense the danger and evade it.
Therefore, in the Southern Region, curses are regarded as a weapon of low-realm wizards.
Of course, there are curses that can affect formal wizards; for example, the Efa lineage of the Western Lands. Their curses can target not only formal wizards but even legendary realms among the mighty.
Nonetheless, the Efa lineage has never entered the Southern Region, so they can be ignored.
Now, in the Black Count’s eyes, Daus was clearly under a curse, and what’s more, the curse had been laid on him in the middle of battle.
With the Black Count’s experience, he could tell at a glance that Shrew’s power to curse was not strong.
That she managed to succeed against Daus was entirely due to the alignment of time, place, and people. Moreover, Shrew attacked while casting the curse, confusing a wizard’s intuition so that he could not immediately determine whether the danger came from her assault or from the curse itself.
In addition, when Shrew mentioned Youna, she distracted Daus, even if only for a second, and that second gave her the chance to cast.
It was probably when Daus was smashed to the floor by her bandage that the curse was mixed into that strike.
And Shrew’s curse, it was easy to guess, came from the transcendent organ she had transplanted.
The curse is not powerful, but it is extremely stubborn.
With the sensitivity of the Black Count’s nose, he could not dispel it directly. To remove it, he had only one method: strike Shrew herself and tear out the transcendent organ that granted her the power of curse.
Going to rescue Daus would already violate the rules, and to save him by attacking the opposing contestant directly would be a consecutive breach.
Leaving aside how the Sovereign of Wisdom would react, even the Black Count felt embarrassed to do so.
The conversation between the Black Count and Vai flashed through their minds with lightning speed. This sort of mental exchange took virtually no time; in a brief instant Vai understood the situation.
Yet the more he understood, the heavier Vai’s mood became.
According to his ancestor, Daus was utterly beyond rescue?
Perhaps sensing Vai’s dejection, the Black Count added: “The blood branch has an exceptional regenerative power; even if only his head remains, he may yet survive.”
Whether the Black Count’s consolation worked was unknown for the moment, but on the dueling platform the ten blood-red spears Shrew had condensed before her had already turned into streaks of light, shooting toward Daus.
The Black Count had guessed right: Shrew had indeed held back. Although all of the blood-red spears were aimed at vital points, the most important head she deliberately did not target.
Under such circumstances, Daus might end up on the verge of death, but not necessarily dead.
The reason she held back was actually because of the Black Count.
Before she went on the arena floor, the Gray Merchant had reminded her that the opponent was very likely from that family, and that even an avatar of that great lord might be present.
In order not to anger the Black Count, Shrew ultimately left this margin.
Yet whether or not she had left it, the result was the same.
The variables in a duel are never something you can foresee.
When the ten blood-red spears rushed toward him, despair flashed across Daus’ eyes… Like a revolving lantern, scenes of his life flickered through his mind.
As one of those scenes passed by, the revolving lantern paused slightly.
The scene had taken place not long ago.
In the illusion of that extravagantly luxurious banquet hall, Angel had smiled at him…
The image abruptly stopped. Looking at the blood-red spear already centimeters from him, Daus gritted his teeth; a sword pierced through his chest, and on its point was a scroll-like object.
Without hesitation, Daus reached out and pulled the scroll downward.
The scroll revealed its long, winding true form. As it unfolded, a halo of light flashed.
The halo was dazzlingly bright and carried an extraordinarily strange energy. Daus, who was closest, was forced to shut his eyes.
When he closed them, it felt as though everything around him vanished, and the world became… so peaceful.
All the clamor was shut out; every worry seemed to disappear. The discomforts of the past, the old anxieties, the deceptions and injustices, everything drifted away like smoke.
Every spiritual wound was soothed in that instant of stillness. The sensation was even more pleasant than Windsor’s high-rank witch soup, like a sea of spirit clearing from heavy smog to brilliant blue under a gentle breeze.
And not only his spirit, his body felt an incomparable satisfaction as well.
The places that ought to ache suddenly tingled, not painfully but like the electric thrill when slender fingers trace the spine. His scalp tightened and tingled, yet his mind was unusually joyous.
Forcing himself to ignore the pleasure, Daus opened his eyes.
Even now he did not know what had happened, nor what exactly Angel had given him. Could this effect really let him turn the tables?
After opening his eyes, he discovered the scene before him had completely changed.
In front of him had appeared a circular barrier of light. It enclosed him entirely, sealing outside all things, clamor, noise, energy, even those demons howling in the void.
The ten blood-red spears Shrew had gathered before were likewise repelled outside the shield.
Even more astonishing, the blood-red spears embedded in his body had vanished.
The huge hole in his chest had healed completely.
His body, spirit, and magic source vortex, all were restored to their peak!
And one fact Daus could scarcely believe: his talent of inspiration had recovered! Moreover, its effect was clearer than ever before.
Formerly, inspiration was only a vague pointing in the dark; now it had reached an unimaginable level, he could even, through it, perceive Shrew’s various weaknesses.
Though this feeling might only be an illusion, or merely temporary, for inspiration to soar to such a height the moment it returned left Daus incredulous.
Just what was the rune scroll Angel had given him?
Wasn’t it the Sunlight Garden?
Daus looked blankly around. After several flashes, the barrier slowly condensed into the illusion of a hall like a sacred temple, with Daus at its very center.
From the apex of the illusory temple, a Holy Light Descent directly upon him.
The warm sensation returned once more.
Daus was puzzled; had not the wounds of body and spirit already healed, why did it come again?
While he wondered, he suddenly heard a scream.
Turning back, he saw Shrew outside the shield, floating in mid-air, suddenly bend over clutching the only eye exposed.
Blood streamed through her fingers.
“Why… why…” Shrew cried in misery: “Why is my eye backlashing… Aaaaaah!”
With a shrill howl, her hair began to grow wildly, masses of strands lashing toward Daus.
Yet all were blocked by the outer layer of the barrier.
No matter what means she used, the barrier remained immovable.
“Damn it, damn it! What is this? Why has the linked curse been broken, why, why?!”
Shrew madly raved, but even Daus did not know the answer.
However, everyone present except Shrew, Daus included, had vaguely guessed something the moment the barrier appeared.
Within the barrier existed a dense, strange energy.
And that energy… was the power of the mysterious.
In other words, the scroll Daus had just activated was a Mysterious Scroll!
Chapter 2725 Former Gentleman <TOC> Chapter 2727 Shelter’s Price