Chapter 73: Pursuit

On the other side, the middle-aged noble and the high priest met privately.

“What’s going on? Why haven’t I heard that the church’s saintess would be here with us?”

The middle-aged noble had an angry expression; having been a local emperor for so long, he did not want someone of a higher status to control him.

“This is just an accident; no one expected that the missing candidate saintess would be here.”

The high priest was also somewhat helpless. The news of the candidate saintess’s disappearance had already caused a stir in the empire, and many high-classing figures from the church had already appeared. They certainly couldn’t hide it from them, so the longer they could delay, the better. He needed to seize the opportunity to distance himself from the noble.

“Don’t forget, a portion of the taxes I’ve increased has been invested in your church. You better come up with a solution; otherwise, we’re both finished,” the noble threatened.

The high priest scoffed; he had concealed his actions well. Even if discovered, the consequences wouldn’t be too severe—at worst, he would lose his position as a priest and be demoted to an ordinary person. But the noble might not be so lucky; those high-classing nobles who valued their reputation might impose severe punishments on him.

Suddenly, a knight approached the noble to report.

His face changed dramatically, “Not good, the saintess has left under the cover of night and is heading to another town.”

The high priest’s expression also became unsettled; he never expected that this somewhat naive candidate saintess would become so shrewd, knowing how to let them lower their guard.

He frowned; if the saintess used the magic teleportation array in other towns to reach the headquarters, he wouldn’t have much time left.

The noble lost all his spirit and said dejectedly, “It’s over now.”

In the next moment, his gaze turned fierce, “No, we can’t just sit here and wait. We must quickly contact the lords of other towns. Those lords are just like us; let them stop the saintess. If the saintess continues to oppose us, we will…”

He made a gesture of cutting his throat.

“Have you gone mad?”

The high priest looked at him as if he were an idiot. Killing the candidate saintess, if exposed, would truly lead them to a dead end.

“I’m not mad. Rather than waiting to die, it’s better to fight to the death. After all, no one knows the candidate saintess is with us. As long as we silence those who know, and the nearby nobles are all of the same character, none of them will have a good ending. They will assist us, and acting together will increase the chances of success.”

The noble’s eyes revealed madness.

The border nobles were difficult to govern, which led to their lawless character. Imposing taxes and raising entry fees could only be described as greed. But oppressing the people, wantonly killing innocents, cultivating thieves to rob merchants, trafficking people, and secretly colluding with people from other countries were countless; they were a group of scoundrels in the empire.

Although there were noblemen of good character, this group was truly a bunch of noble scoundrels.

“You better assist me. Don’t think I don’t know what you low-class church members are hiding. If I’m finished, I will expose all the dirty things you’ve done.”

The high priest’s face looked grim, but he ultimately compromised, “What do you plan to do?”

“The candidate saintess has the favor of the gods and possesses incredible power. Send out the knight order and the army; no one can resist the power of the army. If our plans leak, we will say the candidate saintess was kidnapped by cultists, and when we go to rescue her, we were killed by the enraged cultists.”

The noble was stunned by his own brilliant idea, suddenly feeling that this matter had great potential. With the assistance of other nobles, even if the saintess was powerful, she would not be able to contend.

“Then you go handle it first. I will secretly assist you, but I must remind you that the church’s power is more terrifying than you think. If we are to act, we must do it quickly.”

The high priest was calculating in his heart; he needed to prepare for both sides, assisting the noble while quickly distancing himself from him, and collecting evidence to pin everything on him.

…

In the deep of night, a cold wind blew around, and everyone rode their horses at full speed.

After exiting the city gates and passing the city guards, they certainly couldn’t hide from the nobles; they needed to speed up their journey.

The night air was slightly humid, and a fine drizzle fell from the sky. The hooves trampled on the muddy ground, splashing mud everywhere.

The moon was hidden behind dark clouds, making the silent night even dimmer.

“Those guys have sent the army after us.”

Leo rode his horse, occasionally using his sword to observe the situation behind him, suddenly noticing a large group of knights moving in the rear.

He guessed that the noble would send people to pursue them, but he didn’t expect such a large force; the knight order numbered no less than a thousand, and there were also troops quickly approaching from behind.

“They actually sent the army; do they really dare to lay hands on the saintess?”

Dino was shocked by the noble’s madness; this was a complete disregard for life.

“Don’t panic; maybe they aren’t targeting us.”

Michelle comforted, but this was just her saying it. She understood the character of these nobles; they might really do something insane.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of hooves thundered, and a large group of knights on warhorses rushed over from a distance.

Leo and the others had already sped up, but most of them were riding inferior horses, so they couldn’t go much faster.

“Can we use teleportation magic to move?”

Leo asked Michelle. There were too many of them; if it were just him, he might have a chance to escape, but now he wasn’t confident.

“Teleporting life has many restrictions; the process of moving cannot be interrupted, and it can easily be disrupted. If you’re not careful, you might teleport to a dangerous place.”

Although teleportation magic was convenient, it wasn’t omnipotent. Various restrictions made it difficult for Michelle to use teleportation magic easily.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A volley of arrows flew from a distance, falling like a dense rain.

Michelle used defensive magic; the arrows struck the barrier in mid-air and were blocked.

The knight order did not give up, relentlessly pursuing and continuing to shoot arrows.

Behind them was a group of soldiers rapidly running over, exuding a murderous aura, as if preparing for war.

Leo galloped forward, slashing backward with his sword. The sword energy surged, and the knight order charged, like a spear shooting forward, shattering the sword energy.

Against such a large-scale knight order, ordinary attacks were indeed ineffective.

He didn’t want to expend too much energy, so he took out his hunting bow, concentrating to enhance his shots. Each arrow carried the sword intent of the heart, shooting one after another.

Now the knight order found it difficult to defend; Leo’s archery targeted the weak points in their formation, and with each arrow shot, a knight fell from his horse.

But the efficiency was too slow; it was like a drop in the bucket, and they were about to catch up.

Michelle cast acceleration magic, increasing the speed of the horses. But this couldn’t last long; the horses would exhaust their energy too quickly, and eventually, they would be caught.

“Prepare to fight!”

Leo’s gaze was cold; running away was not his style. Since he couldn’t shake off the knight order’s pursuit, he chose to confront them.

Boom!

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and a white lightning bolt cut through the horizon, weaving through the dark clouds.

Then heavy rain poured down, drizzling onto the ground, making the soil even muddier, and the horses’ running speed subtly slowed.

The knight order on the opposite side was the same, but they were trained and quickly stabilized, charging again.

“Heavenly Tribulation!”

Using the power of natural lightning, Michelle unleashed a wide-area attack magic.

Instantly, the sky turned into a sea of thunder, white lightning flashing and rolling continuously, with furious dragons roaring within, illuminating the dark world.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The punishment descended, continuously striking the ground, creating charred pits all around.

The knight order was caught beneath the sea of thunder, their formation disrupted.

Leo seized the opportunity, swinging his sword again. The members of the knight order in front were thrown off their horses, falling to the ground, their fates uncertain.

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