Chapter 44 Chapter 44: What? The Confessarius?! Oh, I brought Kevin. Never mind then.
Chapter 44: What? The Confessarius?! Oh, I brought Kevin. Never mind then.
Accompanied by the faint light of dawn, a sizable team, shrouded in turbid dust, advanced toward the town of Roxis.
Surrounding them as the escort were Sarkaz, each one
physically robust, well-equipped, and numbering a full hundred!
Thus, even though they left many traces along the way due to their hurried march, no foolhardy mercenaries dared to set their sights on these people, especially since their equipment bore the insignia of the Military Commission.
Even though the so-called "diplomatic personnel" were far stronger than this entire group combined, the two Confessarius could slaughter them all cleanly at any moment. ⑥⑨④⑨③⑥①④⑤
"Halt."
One of the Confessarius stopped walking, lifting his face adorned with a peculiar mask.
"Halt!"
The Amiya of the escort shouted loudly, and the entire marching team came to a uniform stop.
Orders were followed without question!
In chaotic Kazdel, having such a disciplined team was not common; at least in this aspect, the Military Commission had done quite well.
"Sir, what's wrong?"
The escort Amiya asked warily. He knew the capabilities of these two; if they ordered a stop, something must have gone wrong somewhere.
"Ahead."
The two Confessarius exchanged a glance. One of them stepped forward, picking up his branch-like staff-sword and planting it on the ground.
A magical glow lit up. Energy ripples resembling tentacles churned and rolled through the earth ahead.
Boom!
The heatwave from the fiery explosion made the Confessarius's hood flutter violently, and two tufts of white hair swept back.
Originium bombs?! And such a large yield?
The escort Amiya was forced back two steps by the heatwave, his brow furrowed tightly. If not for the two perceptive Confessarius in their ranks, being caught in those Originium bombs would have left them in a rather poor state.
The other Confessarius, who hadn't acted, scanned the surroundings and finally focused his gaze in a certain direction.
"Found them. The rats were hiding here."
A cold smile curled beneath the mask. Staff-sword in hand, he took a few light steps and charged toward where W and the others were hiding.
"Damn it, we've been discovered."
The mercenary Amiya's face turned grim. Now was not the time for self-deception; couldn't he see them charging straight here?
He couldn't understand why their setup had been discovered in advance. After all, they had cleaned up their traces afterward, and with people coming and going over several days, it was basically indistinguishable from an ordinary road to the naked eye.
"That's... a Confessarius?! Which Sarkaz expletive intelligence officer got that information? You call two full Confessarius 'diplomatic personnel,' right?"
Recognizing the formidable reputation represented by that attire, W felt an impulse to flee immediately.
As a current operator of Babel and a well-traveled mercenary, she recognized the identity of those two black-robed Sarkaz.
So my target is actually them?
W took a deep breath to lower her soaring blood pressure. She couldn't help but feel deeply concerned about Babel's intelligence system; who knows when she might be killed by these incompetent fools.
"Good thing I had foresight."
She glanced back and said with considerable relief.
Kevin stood behind her as always, like a sculpture—tall, straight, and solid. Merely standing there gave W an immense sense of security.
He seemed born to play that role.
Swish————!
The branch-like staff-sword was wielded by the Confessarius as if it were an extension of his arm. A simple horizontal sweep instantly separated several nearby mercenaries' heads from their bodies.
Crimson blood lines spread from their necks.
"Usurpers, God shall forgive your sins."
An unnervingly cold voice reached everyone's ears, like the whisper of death itself.
The other Confessarius had also arrived. W accurately fired a grenade shot, but it was cleanly sliced apart by him, the cut incredibly smooth.
Boom! The residual flames from the explosion weren't even enough to ignite their hoods.
Clang!
The staff-sword struck a military short knife with lightning speed, producing a deafening metallic clash.
Sparks flew past W's cheek, bringing a touch of searing heat.
The suddenly increased force directly sent W flying backward. With the Confessarius's sharp swordsmanship, he naturally wouldn't miss such a prime opportunity; the staff-sword thrust straight toward W's face.
But at that moment, a hand abruptly appeared, slapping down the staff-sword. Another hand grabbed W by the collar, halting her backward flight as if she were a ragdoll doll.
"It seems you weren't worried."
"...Pfft-cough-cough. Isn't that because I trust you, Boss Kevin? See? I didn't put my faith in the wrong person."
W felt a bit tight in the chest but still forced out a stiff smile.
If she were alone, she would have turned and run without looking back. But since Kevin was here, it meant all her actions had someone backing her up.
W felt she had never been this brave in her entire life.
Confessarius? Actually, she had always harbored a small doubt about whether this long-renowned team of the Military Commission was stronger than her.
...Alright, she really hadn't fought them before.
"Just this once."
Kevin silently dropped her onto the ground. Landing on her butt immediately made her grimace in pain.
"You are...!!"
The Confessarius was instantly on high alert. Just as he tried to pull out his weapon, his staff-sword seemed welded to Kevin's palm, not budging an inch.
Crackle—
Cold air spread up along the staff-sword, forming clusters of crystalline snowflakes. In the instant before he could react, another ice sculpture appeared on the battlefield.
Through the thick ice crystals, W could easily see the terror and confusion in his eyes. This made her click her tongue; an enemy who nearly killed her instantly was taken down by Boss Kevin in one encounter.
Is the gap in strength really that exaggerated?
Seeing his companion's miserable state, the other Confessarius warily retreated while rapidly thinking.
Ice-manipulating Originium Arts?! Or some other method?
With just two leaps, he had already retreated within the escort team's perimeter.
"Sir?"
"Hold him off! (Buy me some time)"
Understanding his meaning, the escort Amiya gathered his team with a grave expression.
Several thick shields and the sharp greatswords of the Sarkaz surrounded the Confessarius tightly, forming an impenetrable hedgehog formation!
The Confessarius raised his staff-sword high with both hands. This strange branch-like implement also served as his staff. He closed his eyes slightly and began chanting under his breath.
"This is meaningless."
Kevin raised his hand.
Thick black ice pillars emerged from the ground, piercing through several Sarkaz from inside out. The defense immediately developed a significant gap.
The Confessarius did not wait idly. While dodging ice crystals thrusting from tricky angles, he continued chanting his incantation. The exertion didn't cause the slightest change in his pace.
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