Chapter 166
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Leon's Rescue
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By the time they reached for their swords to draw them, my fists were already slamming into their solar plexuses.
Their vital points were struck hard, and their breaths were snuffed out on the spot.
"Three senior inquisitors taken down this easily..."
The holy knight muttered in disbelief, then jolted in shock.
"But before that, how in the world did you wield aura?"
"It's a bit cumbersome, but not impossible."
Though my realm was still at Sword Master, that didn't mean my mastery over aura control had stagnated there as well.
"She's not here. We'll search the next point."
"The heretics hiding anywhere have no escape anyway. Tighten the net slowly."
This peculiar location restricted the surroundings so severely that even communication with the outside was difficult.
But that applied to everyone else besides the inquisitors.
Spiritual power communication was impossible, but physical sounds echoed through just fine.
Right after confirming via classified intel that heretics had slipped into this secret passage, they'd fanned out, stealthily encircling and closing in on the entire area.
The only issue was there'd be no way to verify if things went sideways.
Of course, it didn't matter.
Everyone here was an elite.
Then a shout echoed from far off.
"Heretic spotted!!"
All personnel began moving at once.
They reached the spot in an instant and soon spotted someone desperately fleeing in tattered robes.
Desperate as the flight was, to the trained eyes of heresy inquisitors, it looked painfully slow.
The inquisitors swiftly encircled the fleeing heretic and leveled their ominously heavy battle hammers and axes at them.
"Abandon resistance, you filthy witch."
"......"
The fugitive—no, the saintess—flinched and took a few steps back, but she couldn't keep it up for long.
Inquisitors were converging from all sides.
"Why... why are you doing this?"
"Capturing heretics is our duty."
"I'm not a heretic."
She spoke calmly, but it fell on deaf ears.
"Hmph, we'll sort that out during interrogation. Cease resistance and submit peacefully."
"Please believe me! If I can't contact the Haell tribe right now, something terrible might happen! Please... I beg you."
"Deploy the suppression formation."
A chilling voice rang out, and bindings formed from holy power activated in a flash.
Snow-white chains instantly wrapped around her body, rendering her immobile.
"Please... please listen to me! I'm not a heretic!"
As the chains tightened painfully, her body trembled. With great effort, she unleashed a burst of holy power.
Whoooosh!!!
The holy chains binding her shattered in an instant.
"What in the world?!"
"Please... I am the saintess... Saintess Nadia Ten Lilibel. There's someone in the Holy Kingdom slandering me right now, trying to seize power through countless lives."
The inquisitors stared wide-eyed at her, engulfed in a halo of pure white light, speechless.
"I need your help. Please lend your strength to right this wrong."
One inquisitor slowly approached her.
Nadia assumed they'd recognized her as the saintess.
Snap!!
But it was a mistake.
The man lunged in a flash, binding and subduing her body.
"Wh-what is this?!"
"Filthy witch. You dare impersonate the saintess?"
"What?! I am the saintess. Saintess Nadia Ten Lilibel! Why won't you believe me?!"
"You blasphemous wretch!!"
Thud!!!
The heavy blow wracked her with pain, doubling her over.
"Guhk... kehok... kehok."
"They said you'd deceive our eyes, and sure enough."
Why wouldn't they believe her?
Nadia stared at her captor—a senior inquisitor—in shock.
Her eyes widened.
It was a man she'd seen once before.
A close aide to someone who saw her as a thorn in their side.
They hadn't disbelieved her saintess status from the start.
"Y-you're...!"
"High Priest Navel, no words are permitted to a witch impersonating the saintess and blaspheming God. Gag her so she can't speak."
Rough hands soon shoved a gag into her mouth.
Never since becoming saintess had she endured such brutal treatment. The shock was immense.
No... their influence has already reached this far...
Heretics within the Holy Kingdom sought to brand and execute her.
p>Officially, they'd caught the heretic High Priest Navel, but in truth, they already knew Navel was Nadia’s alias.
She had no idea what was unfolding internally, but the situation was bewildering and shocking.
Thrown roughly to the ground like a vicious criminal, she struggled desperately.
Her sole ally, the holy knight, had become bait to ensure her safe evacuation.
He must be captured by now.
She'd come this far forsaking his sacrifice, only to be caught so futilely.
Tears welled in her eyes.
'I'm sorry, Sir Knight... I've rendered your sacrifice meaningless...'
Tears of sorrow and guilt streamed down her face.
"Drag her away. Signal the other inquisitors."
One inquisitor activated the signal device, and a loud noise echoed out.
Inquisitors scattered throughout would now converge.
But their response was slower than expected.
Footsteps approached, but not at a run—like a leisurely stroll.
Step... step...
"Hurry up instead of dawdling! Who'll take responsibility if the heretic escapes?!"
Irritated by the casual footfalls, one inquisitor bellowed into the darkness.
The signal had summoned them promptly, yet they approached so leisurely.
Weren't they due for discipline?
The moment he turned, furious...
A faint light emanated from the shadows, revealing faces.
They weren't in inquisitor garb.
Just robes over masks.
Anyone with sense would know they were foes.
Yet no one spoke or moved.
They weren't overtly threatening or emanating overwhelming presence.
But an inexplicable chill froze them in place.
Heresy inquisitors were elites, trained against dangerous heretics.
Senior ones were even more seasoned and powerful.
Yet none could step forward; their feet wouldn't budge.
'If we let the saintess slip away here, we're all finished...'
If word spread they'd framed a known saintess as a heretic, the fallout would be massive.
"What do we do?"
"What kind of question is that? They're heretics too! Fulfill your duty!"
At those words, one inquisitor charged with his battle axe at blinding speed.
But the masked youth simply watched silently, then reached for his mask.
"If I'm killing them all, no need for the cumbersome thing."
Click...
A click from the mask released it, revealing first gray hair.
Then piercing sky-blue eyes.
Crack.
Just as the battle axe descended on his head, a crunch echoed from his fist.
Craaaaaack!!!!
The ensuing clash defied belief for fist against axe.
A normal fist would shatter against such a massive axe.
But shockingly, the aftermath was the opposite.
As his fist thrust out, space seemed to warp—an illusion?—and the inquisitor's axe blade twisted as if caught in warped gravity.
The shockwave didn't end there.
The fist continued, twisting everything in its path, smashing straight into the inquisitor's heart.
BOOOOM!!!
A gruesome rupture sounded.
Blood gushed from the inquisitor's mouth as his internals exploded completely.
His heart burst, and it didn't stop—stomach and esophagus torn apart.
Spewing refluxed blood was inevitable.
An elite among elites, mid-tier Expert-level inquisitor, crumpled without a scream.
In the suffocating silence, it was Navel's guard holy knight who broke it.
"Lady Navel, are you alright?!"
"Sir Knight! How did this...?"
"We have reinforcements. Lady Navel, thank goodness you're safe."
"Are you okay, Sir Knight?"
"Yes. I'm unharmed."
Recognizing the holy knight's face, shock rippled across the inquisitors' expressions.
"Y-you... how are you here? You were on the brink of death."
Inquisitors who knew the situation gaped at the holy knight standing hale, whom they thought imprisoned underground.
"Shut your mouths, you filthy heretics! You claim to serve God while committing blasphemy!"
He declared boldly, then shouted at Leon.
"Young Master! Show them your power! In this situation, no mercy is needed!"
His actions left not just the saintess, but Leon too, staring in bewilderment.
"Why... why are you...?"
"Never mind. I thought you were somewhat reliable at first glance."
Didn't it reek of cheap drama?
Of course, Leon somewhat agreed.
The holy knight had decent skill, but against these inquisitors, he couldn't handle them alone.
Leon finally turned his gaze to Saintess Nadia, slowly opening his mouth.
"Lady Navel, I've come to fetch you."
"Le... no, Young Master."
Navel nearly said his name, then startled and corrected herself.
"I received your letter, but it seems it wasn't actually from you."
At those words, her eyes darted about in confusion.
Leon then spread his palm, drawing up faint mana, and clicked his tongue briefly.