Chapter 259: The Assassin's Judgment

  Knight Tamika did not go to retrieve the object Ethan had thrown. The object was not hard to find; the aura that towered into the sky and filled the entire forest was so strong that even a blind man could discern the direction, and it was on the way to the teleportation array. However, it seemed to be an instinctual aversion, as well as a concern for whether he had the ability to pick up something that could emit such an aura with his bare hands, that made Knight Tamika head straight for the teleportation array. He had not forgotten the Pope's order: the Leaves of the World Tree.

  The strange noises and the slight trembling of the ground coming from behind told Knight Tamika that this must be Ethan driving the War Mantis's corpse to catch up. But judging from the speed at which the sound was approaching, it didn't seem fast. Knight Tamika had enough time.

  Soon, Knight Tamika had returned to the vicinity of the teleportation array. He could already see the giant iceberg. At its very center was the immobile female elf, the green light radiating from the Leaves of the World Tree encircling her body.

  The sound coming from behind was still quite far away, enough time for him to retrieve the Leaves of the World Tree.

  The vicinity was quiet. He saw no sign of Talise or his subordinate. The elven captives were still all unconscious; it seemed nothing had changed here. Only the corpse of that kid named Yabin lay quietly there.

  Did Talise kill the Templar, or did the Templar kill Talise? It couldn't be a mutual destruction, could it? Why were they both gone?

  The sound from behind was getting closer, and Knight Tamika had no more time to investigate those details. Using his forward momentum, he leaped high into the air. The Fangs longsword in his hand let out a sharp whistle, its black blade light surging.

  With a low shout, Knight Tamika's original aura, deep and indifferent like the autumn wind and water, was completely unleashed, becoming a wild storm. The black blade light was no longer a swift, silent bolt of lightning, but a thunderbolt of infinite might, capable of destroying heaven and earth. To break this magical ice didn't require profound skill; it only required a full-force, head-on collision. He raised his sword high and chopped down.

  With a colossal boom, the entire forest shook. The black thunderbolt struck the giant iceberg. Countless ice fragments of all sizes flew about, and a massive crack ran from top to bottom through the iceberg. One more strike would be enough to shatter it and retrieve the Leaves of the World Tree inside.

  But Knight Tamika had no time to deliver this final blow. He had not thought that he would also be the one ambushed. Ambushed, at the very moment he unleashed his full-power strike. A flash of sword light pierced out from the shadow of a large tree, like a silent, incomparably swift bolt of lightning, stabbing toward his back.

  Although the sound of this sword strike wasn't loud, Knight Tamika still detected it. After all, the skill level of the one who struck had not reached the point where they could completely conceal their killing intent when making a move, and even a sliver of killing intent had leaked out the instant before the sword was drawn. But at this moment, Knight Tamika's strike, which had gathered all his Battle Qi and strength, had already been unleashed. Even if he had detected it, there was nothing he could do.

  Although Knight Tamika hadn't scouted too carefully, the fact that this person only revealed their presence at the moment of striking showed that their skill in concealment and ambush was extremely high. And even better was the timing of the strike. Even if Knight Tamika had noticed, his body, having just released all its Battle Qi and strength, would have been unable to parry. He only had time to twist his body to look.

  This time, the female knight let out no more pointless shouts. Her eyes were already bloodshot, the light within them completely filled with a vengeful fury and a bloodthirsty ferocity, making her seem more like a demon-worshiping heretic than a Temple Knight who served the light. But her hand was incomparably steady. The sword light was also condensed and sharp. The steadiness and accuracy of this strike, the perfection of its timing, fully displayed the bearing of the Continent's number one warrior disciple.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Without Battle Qi, the gray magical leather armor could not withstand the longsword that gleamed with white magic and Battle Qi. The longsword, as if meeting no resistance, pierced through Knight Tamika's chest from front to back.

  Knight Tamika spat out a large mouthful of blood. The blood splattered onto the ice surface, instantly freezing into a patch of red crystals. He collapsed powerlessly to a sitting position. He clearly felt his heart and spine had been pierced through by this sword. Invading along with it was the Battle Qi attached to the sword. The surrounding muscles and internal organs were also pierced and shattered into a mess by the Battle Qi.

  Death...

  For the first time, the concept surfaced with absolute clarity in Knight Tamika's mind. This was completely different from the numb, accustomed feeling he had when slaughtering others. It was the first time he truly touched the meaning contained within this concept. Cold, lonely, empty, vast. Irresistible. He even felt fear.

  How could I die? How could I die at the hands of this idiotic woman? How could she possibly ambush me? What of the knight's path she believes in? How could she have such patience and cunning to scheme against me?

  "I didn't expect you to be lying in wait here to ambush me..." Knight Tamika turned with difficulty, looking powerlessly at the female knight standing before him, his wooden face filled with disbelief. It wasn't that he didn't know Talise might be the only enemy left; he just never thought that such an impulsive, reckless person, whose sense of justice seemed to have stuffed her head into a wooden block, could carry out such an efficient ambush and assassination.

  "I knew that even if I caught up to you, the outcome would likely have been decided, and my going would be of no use. But whether you won or lost, you would definitely have to return here, so I waited here. In a direct confrontation, I am no match for you, so I could only ambush." Talise looked coldly at her senior who had collapsed to the ground, her expression as firm and cold as her voice. "I also knew the chance wasn't great, but it was the greatest chance I had."

  The surprise on Knight Tamika's face did not diminish. Lancelot was indeed a genius, an all-rounder in martial arts. He was also proficient in the essentials of assassination, concealment, and stealth, and had taught them all to his only disciple. These kinds of battlefield judgments were something every Temple Knight had to be clear on. But knowing, understanding, and being able to apply them were two completely different matters.

  Whether it was making a choice and a decision, or putting it into action, what was needed was sufficient inner strength. Otherwise, one would only be lost to their own impulses. And this woman, who had been childishly and ridiculously impulsive not long ago, was actually able to make such a rational judgment. The timing of this ambush and assassination was grasped like that of a seasoned veteran. Knight Tamika truly wondered what could have given her such an awakening.

  "Your actions have long since made you unqualified to be a Temple Knight. This is justice, here to pass judgment on you."

  Hearing Talise's words, a line of mockery appeared on Knight Tamika's face. He opened his mouth, blood overflowing from it, struggling to spit out one word at a time from the blood. "Then please go tell His Majesty the Pope everything that happened here today. Remember to bring the Leaves of the World Tree and that kid. What His Majesty wants is the greatest justice on the continent..."

  His voice and thoughts faded away together. The same primal fear from the very source of life that he had felt when facing the small object Ethan had thrown out flashed through his consciousness. So this is what it feels like to be killed... was the last thought to flash through Knight Tamika's mind before his head slumped and he fell.

  Talise looked at Tamika's corpse. His last words caused her originally firm gaze to become somewhat scattered and flustered.

  When she had just put down Yabin's corpse and was about to set off to chase after Tamika and Ethan, she had felt the strange, dark aura from last night spreading through the forest. She understood what this represented: the object that should have been on Ethan had been taken out. She had vaguely seen the small pouch Ethan kept, and when Knight Tamika was interrogating the elves, she knew the item in this pouch was something Ethan had brought from the royal capital of Ainfast, something he had always kept with him, and most likely the source of that immense aura.

  She had seen the scene of Ethan being sent flying by Knight Tamika's sword very clearly and understood that Ethan was at an absolute disadvantage. And now, for such an object he kept close to his body to be taken out, the meaning was simple and clear. It meant he, like Yabin, was dead.

  Dead, gone. Her consciousness, which had already been dazed by the impact of Yabin's death, was struck by an even heavier blow. In a sudden flash, countless images flew through her mind: Yabin's, Ethan's, her own, mingling together, shattering, flesh and blood flying, death.

  A huge, incomparably vast sorrow and anger suddenly pierced through Talise's entire body. She could almost hear her soul wailing and twisting under the impact of this power. Those concepts of justice and light, which had always supported her world of emotion and faith, had no effect at all; they collapsed, rotted away, and vanished without a trace in the face of this immense emotion. Her entire body began to tremble.

  I have to kill him, I have to kill him, I, must, kill him!

  Talise could hear a voice in her heart, one that didn't seem to be her own, screaming and roaring. She opened her mouth wide, but no sound came out; only large tears fell down. And she could feel that her expression was not one of crying, but of a hysterical frenzy.

  But she had not truly gone mad to rush forward and fight Knight Tamika to the death. She was still clear that she was absolutely no match for Knight Tamika. This immense power impacting her heart shattered all the confusion and shackles that had previously occupied her mind. Although she felt her blood burning like magma, her mind was paradoxically as calm as if soaked in ice water. Everything Lancelot had taught her over the years, all the knowledge, wisdom, and skills, were taking shape in her mind in the most suitable way, guided by this power.