CHAPTER 283: THE POISONOUS BLADE OF REVENGE

Now that the infantry had surrendered, the battle was effectively over. The cavalrymen also surrendered one after another.

With no reason left for the knights and wizards who had fled to be held captive by the enemy, they hurriedly made their way to the rear, where the battle with Siana was still raging.

Boooow! Boom!

"Huh!"

Jaren, who was engaged in combat with Seid and the Mana Blade, stumbled backward as he was suddenly struck in the leg by the black power.

"Fuck!"

His armor was already in tatters, with barely any intact piece remaining. Annoyed, Jaren roughly tore off Carl’s red cloak and threw it aside. The Archduke’s cloak fell onto the filthy dirt floor, but no one paid it any attention.

Seid was a master of shadows, an assassin by nature. Though he was weak in direct combat, he possessed tremendous power. However, with Siana joining the fight, no matter how hard Jaren and the other knights tried, they would not be able to handle it.

With just Seid alone, Siana had already taken down Yusuf’s elite soldiers, including five Masters.

"You have to decide."

But Siana’s situation wasn’t good either. No, she was actually cornered.

"Fuck, fuck...!"

The only power left to Siana was the black light, equivalent to 20% of a human-face leather book, and the black tongue, which had almost reached its limit. If she continued wasting her energy like this, she would eventually run out of strength and collapse.

It would be safer to retreat.

However, if she backed away now, she might never get another chance.

Yusuf would unite Tumari and hunt her down, while Carl would return to Hardion, keeping a close watch.

So how, then, could Siana ever bring down Tumari?

That was why she was wasting her energy, unable to take decisive action.

If Carl could escape completely beyond her reach, she might have given up and retreated. But that damned Archduke kept circling around and around, seeming to slip further away, making it impossible to abandon the fight.

"Master, I really can’t delay now," Seid urged once again.

Bound to Siana and constantly exposed to the curse of the black tongue, Seid had no choice but to demand her decision, compelled by the absolute command to "protect Siana" and "dedicate himself to achieving Siana’s purpose."

It was a rather comprehensive curse, one that shouldn’t last long on Seid, who was wholly devoted to his master. However, he was in a position where he could never escape from Siana’s grasp.

Yet, even so, he had managed to slip through the cracks and rescue his daughter.

"...Can we aim for Archduke Carl?" Siana asked, biting her lip.

Seid shifted his gaze to Jaren before scanning the battlefield for Carl.

Even in the near-total darkness of the battlefield, with the sun almost set, Carl’s presence was so striking that he was impossible to miss.

"You can try once, just once, but after that, there’s no going back," Seid said truthfully under Siana’s curse.

Although he didn’t really want to, Seid, a seasoned assassin, quickly found a way to open the narrowest of opportunities.

"What are you doing? Do it now."

Siana ordered coolly.

She was too... too young to let go of the blade of revenge she had honed over ten years as a slave.

She was a poisonous woman who could manipulate people with a smile, making them kill their families, commit suicide, turn into slaves, and even kill them herself. But precisely because of that, she was a woman who could never escape her emotions.

If it had been Carl in her place, he would have made a cold, rational decision to withdraw and plan for the future.

With such power, he could cultivate his strength anywhere and eventually take over the world.

"Just leave enough power to capture Archduke Carl. When I give the signal, tie up the enemy Master’s feet and crush him," Seid whispered.

Siana immediately took a deep breath and shouted with all her might.

"Kill that Master!"

Her voice was as sweet as honey.

Yet it resonated like thunder, clearly heard by everyone surrounding them.

Jaren, though deafened, quickly grasped the situation as he turned and saw knights and wizards suddenly targeting him.

"Huh..."

He had already expected this.

His Majesty, the Archduke, had anticipated various possible scenarios and explained them in advance.

Jaren abandoned the fight and immediately fled.

This was not an act of personal cowardice.

It was simply following Carl’s orders, given with cool-headed rationality.

"Ugh!"

Siana was horrified at the sight of Jaren running away and immediately poured almost all of her remaining power into the book.

Her black tongue now had just enough strength left to control Archduke Carl.

If Jaren managed to escape and return to interfere, everything would be over!

A black light shot out from the book, extending like a lightning bolt aimed at Jaren.

"Left," Seid whispered as he ran after Jaren.

He could tell exactly how Jaren would move just by analyzing his running posture.

Seid was a master at killing. In some ways, he was more sensitive to human movements than even warriors.

Thanks to Seid’s insight, Siana was able to react to Jaren’s movements.

And at that moment—when the sun had completely set and darkness suddenly spread, blinding everyone’s vision—a black light, hidden in the night’s shadows, lashed out like a whip, striking Jaren.

Kwaaaaang!

The force swung from right to left, sending Jaren flying.

Due to the nature of human Masters—whose power vastly outweighed their physical mass—Jaren was unable to resist and was hurled high into the sky like a stone launched from a catapult.

Jaren was so stunned that he couldn’t even scream.

His armor crumpled and tore like wet paper, his right ribs shattered, and his internal organs were crushed by the impact.

And yet, he survived, barely avoiding capture.

As long as he was alive, a Master could always rise again and fight.

"Fucking Master!"

Siana cursed, glaring at Jaren as he flew across the sky.

Jaren’s Mana Blade shone like a meteor in the night.

Even after all of that, he still had his wits about him—still capable of fighting.

Despite everything, he had defended himself, albeit narrowly.