Chapter 345
Chapter 345
Chapter 345
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 345 – Lan Qi Really Is a Saint
Sigrid’s instincts remained razor-sharp. The instant she sensed the strange ripple in the air, she grabbed Lan Qi’s arm and yanked him aside, leaping away just in time to narrowly avoid a vicious cutting wave of sealing magic.
The spell rose like a wall of dark gray from the ground, slicing through the snow and earth, exposing the soil beneath the frozen layer.
Just as the two were about to land, time seemed to stretch again, and violet halos appeared along the edges of space.
Unlike last time, the caster had already predicted their movements.
The sealed area formed into a vast transparent cage, invisible magic binding Lan Qi and Sigrid in place, shackles of energy locking around their legs and making every step heavy.
Far away, a dark-gray silhouette stood silently on the snow, his hand raised, fingers slightly curled — as if the entire snowy field lay in the palm of his hand.
He looked at the sealed Lan Qi and Sigrid, a faint trace of mercy curling his lips, like a man admiring two mice he had just caught.
Sigrid’s cold eyes locked onto the figure in the distance, her whole body bristling as if facing a deadly foe.
“To cross blades with the Cardinal Bishop of Ba’tian — it’s my honor.”
The man’s voice reverberated across the Snowfield, tolling like a funeral bell.
“It’s a shame… I didn’t expect you’d fall so low that you’d have to rely on such a feeble Holy Son.”
“Anello…”
Sigrid’s voice carried a deep, long-suppressed hatred.
The Son of Annihilation had found them long ago.
But he had not shown himself until now — instead sending Great Deacons of Annihilation one after another to exhaust and probe the limits of Lan Qi and Sigrid.
He did not want the other Great Deacons following him to know that the one who would kill the Cardinal Bishop of Ba’tian today was him. Nor did he want anyone to know that the [Primordial Tablet – Foundation] would fall into his hands.
Now, as dawn approached and the Cardinal Bishop’s strength waned, he finally stepped out.
It was as though someone had pressed pause on the coming dawn. In the dark snow curtain, battle was about to erupt.
Though Sigrid immediately broke free of the chains with purification magic and grabbed Lan Qi to resume their escape, Anello slowly raised his hand behind them. Every joint of his fingers seemed to hum with terrible power, and the gray, cold magic in the air grew heavier.
The surrounding snow began to split apart, cracks like invisible blades slicing across the white plain. The horizon became a colossal magical circle.
The fissures began to glow, gray-black mist rising into the air, sealing off the entire Snowfield around Lan Qi and Sigrid, smothering everything beneath it.
When Sigrid’s figure blinked to another side, another magical barrier slammed shut, this time carrying a crushing psychic oppression that locked them down once again.
At this point, even Sigrid understood: she and Lan Qi were no match for Anello. Forget fighting him — even escaping from this calm and composed Son of Annihilation would be nearly impossible.
Anello approached slowly, his steps leaving no sound on the snow.
He kept his distance, watching Sigrid’s futile resistance with a detached, godlike coldness. The magic gathered at his fingertips, warping the air and forming deep-gray fissures — anything they touched would be crushed in an instant.
More and more gray lines wove through the air, shrinking Sigrid and Lan Qi’s space to move.
Sigrid knew this magic well.
It was the same spell Askson had used against her during the battle at Bandera City on the northern frontier.
Touching those gray rifts would trigger them, causing them to expand and explode in a deadly web of destruction.
And in their current exhausted state, she and Lan Qi would never survive a single full-force trap spell from this sixth-tier peak opponent.
Once triggered, they would die together.
“...Hah.”
Weariness and powerlessness surged through Sigrid’s limbs. She could only look at Lan Qi.
They had been hunted all the way here, her strength drained to its limits. With the moon gone, even the Great Deacons were now hard to handle.
If even her Holy Son could not defeat the Son of Annihilation, then both of them would die here today.
“Is that the Son of Annihilation, Anello?”
Lan Qi asked quietly, seeking confirmation from Sigrid.
“Yes. It’s him.”
Sigrid’s tone was certain — this was the very Son of Annihilation who had killed her own Holy Maiden.
But as a dignified eighth-tier Cardinal Bishop, she could not break the unspoken agreement among the cardinals and hunt a Son of Annihilation out of revenge.
“Are you so sure I won’t kill you?”
Seeing the Holy Son still chatting calmly with the Cardinal Bishop, Anello’s lips curved into a rare smile.
He had never seen such a bedraggled Cardinal Bishop, nor such a feeble Holy Son.
Yes, he had seen Lan Qi’s so-called sealing magic. It was indeed unusual — but its restrictions were enormous. After this prolonged chase, Lan Qi’s mana must be nearly spent.
Still, Anello did not plan to kill them here. He intended to capture them alive, imprison them where no one would ever find them.
The Holy Son could be publicly executed later when his value was spent, and as for the Cardinal Bishop…
Just thinking about it twisted Anello’s grin with a hint of sick pleasure.
“Cardinal Bishop of Ba’tian, did you know? Your Holy Maiden was quite something.”
Anello lifted his chin and gazed at Sigrid with mockery.
“Too bad you didn’t see her last moments — resisting desperately, unable even to take her own life… She was ruined soon after. Even the child in her womb never had the chance to be born. I never dared tell you this before, afraid you’d lose your mind and come after me…”
“But who’d have thought, not only did I enjoy the Holy Maiden — today I might have the chance to savor the Cardinal Bishop herself.”
His eyes burned with lust and obsession, showing no attempt to hide his greed for the treasures she carried and his desire to defile her.
After this, he would no longer fear retaliation — instead, he could seize this once-in-a-lifetime chance to capture the Cardinal Bishop here and now!
Once he killed her with his own hands, he could claim the indestructible Cardinal Bishop’s Proof, which would become his stepping stone to break through to the seventh tier.
Everything was falling into place perfectly.
Anello savored this rare taste of happiness.
Far away.
“...”
Sigrid remained silent, her face hidden in shadow and her eyes covered by her hair. She did not flinch or lose her calm at his words, but her fingers trembled slightly, veins bulging on the back of her hand.
Anello simply admired the sight of the powerless Cardinal Bishop, waiting for her impotent rage.
Until at last—
“Holy Son…”
Her voice was faint as she called to Lan Qi at her side.
“Hm?”
Lan Qi leaned closer to listen.
“Do you have a way to put him to death?”
Her whisper was terrifyingly calm, carrying the extremity of her rage.
“...No,” Lan Qi answered, shaking his head.“I will redeem him with my love.”
“...”
Sigrid should have been deeply disappointed by such words.
But coming from her Holy Son, the phrase sounded… different.
Knowing him as she did, once Lan Qi seized the moral high ground, this living hell-king would absolutely do something far worse than mere execution.
Indeed — her Holy Son was always the greatest, no matter the circumstance.