Chapter 416 The Establishment
"We shall depart."
"Huh?"
"Uh…is it okay to just…leave like this?"
When Basil arrived before Xander and Iliana, the two looked at him hesitantly. They could see that August was staying where he was but they were reluctant to show him their backs.
No one who sided with the Church behaved with honesty. All of them were living off of lies—tricks and deceit were part of their lives. Betting on the words of such people was not worth the risk. Out of 10 chances, after all, they would betray one 11 times.
Basil, who understood their concern, immediately explained. "He hath figured out how fragile his life is even though he can live forever. He who holdeth his life dear will be afraid of death. He will do anything to avoid it."
Before Xander opened his mouth to ask for confirmation if what he thought was the case, he was beaten by Manfred, who had been silently observing Basil since he came. "I am sorry for barging into the conversation but I want to know if you have beaten that old fart badly?"
"Another clash between us will render his ninth Magic Circle useless," Basil responded. "However, I will also have to forfeit my life since my Qi Core is close to exploding."
Manfred looked at the injuries Basil sustained, which were rapidly closing, and then chuckled both in amusement and nervousness. "The wounds were not the cause of why you stopped, huh? What a monster…. It was a wise choice for me to stand on your side."
The reason why they both decided to call it a day was that all of them would meet their end had they continued fighting. Both Basil and August liked to fight but neither of them wanted to waste their lives on a fight that didn't worth their lives.
August had lived long enough to enjoy the perks of being immortal, so he didn't want to die just because it was necessary to kill Basil. He knew how dangerous Basil would be in the future but he was sure there would be another chance for him to kill Basil.
Basil, on the other hand, still had many other things to do. He could be the first Seventh Circle Mage to ever kill a Ninth Circle Mage, an old one at that, but he didn't think it was worth his life; thus, he also chose to retreat.
Both of them still bore hatred for each other, not because they had failed to kill the other party, though, but because the other party had cut their hair. August, especially, was extremely indignant that he had to also regrow his beard.
"Duke August, what are you doing!? Chase after them!" Jaheim shouted as Basil and company disappeared from the scene.
"Hmph! Chase him by thyself then," August retorted irately. "If thou thinkest that Anti-Pacifer weapon of thine shall work against him, then prepare to eat dirt. The reason why you lot could even kill the Lord was that you were lucky."
Jaheim's expression immediately darkened. "Are you saying that not even the power of our Gods can defeat him? I understand how formidable you are, Duke August, but to compare—"
"I won't stop thee," August whispered. "Chase after him…ye twat."
Jaheim gulped nervously at August's spiteful comment. He realized that August was genuinely irked, so he immediately dropped the matter; as confident as he was in his Gods, after all, he was sure August's hands could end his life faster than his Gods' miracle could save him.
He let August leave the scene and gazed in the direction where Basil was heading with clutched hands. He did his best to ignore Gerhard and Mason's soldiers whom Basil's company had defeated, so he could keep his blood pressure under control.
Unaware and uncaring of how much they had irked Jaheim, Basil's company focused their gaze on him. They still wanted to know just how he could fight toe to toe with a Ninth Circle Mage.
They got that he was the Fated Child, the one who possessed absurd power, but a Ninth Circle Mage was a Ninth Circle Mage. Although they were only two Magic Circles apart, the disparity in power was, after all, equal to a Sixth Circle Mage and a Third Circle Mage.
'Has the soul of The Lord entered the body of My Lord,' Xander wondered.
'Has he received it—the blessing of God, Divinity?' Iliana and Ione thought, basing it on what they had been taught.
p
Feeling the gaze pinning him for an answer, Basil opened his mouth not long after. "Thou hast decided to abandon thy kingdom, Manfred?"
"Hm? Ah, no. If you are wondering why I came alone, it is because I left my soldiers at the border between Padeitophys and BA-27. Quite a lot of Paladins are stationed there, so I want them to have some fun with those bastards."
"They are ready to intercept us, it seems," Basil remarked. "Then, why thou hast chosen to stand on my side?"
"I will not survive one blow from a Ninth Circle Mage, let alone injuring one. For you, a Seventh Circle Mage, to be able to almost kill one must be a good enough reason to side with you, mustn't it? I am just playing safe. It is shallow but I believe it will get deeper each day."
The question of how Basil could do it remained unasked but he got that the people still wanted to know. Had the situation been different, he would have told them the moment they wondered about it; unfortunately, doing so right now would only expose his weakness.
He had used a Forbidden Technique that overworked his Qi Core to force August to overwork his ninth Magic Circle. The reason why his Qi Core had almost exploded, however, was the Dragon Curse.
"I cultivate my heart like a Dragon, turning them into a Mana-producing organ. My Magic Circles' quality surpasses those existing in this world," he explained without explaining anything. "None but me can do that."
"The privilege of being the Fated Child, huh?" Xander muttered wryly.
Deacon sped up and the only running duo—Xander and Manfred—followed suit. They rushed to Padeitophys at an absurd speed, leaving dust behind them for those after them to bite.
….
On their way back to Padeitophys, the Elves that joined Tinuviel in her quest along with Alphonse and his army were having one of the hardest times in their lives. They had only needed twenty minutes to decide that they wouldn't be able to hold the Demons in BA-27.
The Chimaera that Dantalion created was an abomination. It was their biggest obstacle. Not only was it hard to injure, but its attacks were also fearsomely destructive. Because of it, it was hard for them to kill as many Demons as they could.
Burst!
"Kuaaahhhk!"
Another fire breath was shot and a couple of people were burned to ashes.
"Persist! Don't let your comrades die in vain!" Alphonse shouted to distract the people from the heart-wrenching scream of agony.
"Lord Basil is on his way. Victory shall be ours when he arrives—survive and you shall prosper!"
"Uwoh! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"Let us be there when we triumph!"
Given how hard it had been for them, with the lack of information about how and where Basil was currently, the people had turned slightly sceptical of him. He might come and he might not; when he came, he might not succeed also in killing the Chimaera.
Pessimism is a disease when one is faced with a sticky situation; it will drive one to despair, killing one's motivation to keep going forward. They knew it well, fortunately, so they could still keep those thoughts at bay.
Boom!
"Darn it!" Alphonse cursed. A meteor the size of an adult human head had just struck the ground beside him.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Cyane exclaimed, "Your Majesty, let me—"
"Keep moving!" Alphonse cut. "I have lost enough men. I can't bear to lose another one."
"But…" Cyane tried to argue but decided to obey in the end. He knew he would only deliver himself to the door of death if he faced the Chimaera alone.
Screech!
Taking advantage of the fact that the people were occupied by the Chimaera, the Middle-Class Demons, who could catch up to the people, attacked. While none of them could kill any of the people, they still managed to give a quite concerning injury to the people.
The Elves and many of the Knights sat in reverse on their Hexapod Horses. The Elves sent the Demons their highly destructive arrows, meanwhile, the Knights sent their Qi Blades or any other kinds of ranged attacks.
Hundreds of Demons were killed but they were forced to stop attacking and focused on running again as the Chimaera prepared to counterattack. It had been repeated so many times that it could be called a cycle now.
Ring!
When the lion head of the Chimaera roared, the people immediately lost their hearing. Their heads were vibrating as their worlds rocked wildly.
For a moment, they forgot why they were running and what they were running away from. They had experienced it many times before, however, so they immediately looked back. Eyes widened spotting the Chimaera, they returned to normal…at least, most of them.
Those who didn't manage to shake off the influence of the Chimaera's mental attack fell and then got killed by the Demons. It was such a saddening scene to see, hence they immediately turned around while doing their best to silence the unfortunate people's screams of agony.
Woong!
The ground vibrated as the air hummed. The people kept their focus on the front, unwilling to figure out what was happening behind them; they didn't want to even demoralize themselves.
Because of that, it was such a surprise for them when they noticed a blinding golden light on the ground. Turning around as they couldn't help their curiosity any longer, a wide grin immediately appeared on their faces when they saw the Demons were enveloped by the light.
Not far away on their left, a young, handsome man was standing on the back of a Tyrant Saberwolf with the golden sword in his left hand extended forward. He was in a slightly dishevelled state but none could match his overbearingness.
The person they had been waiting for, Basil Pacifer had come...with a new look. He didn't look too happy about it, though; so, when he bombarded the Demons chasing them with his bladed weapons after the golden light dissipated, the people got nervous too.