Chapter 1289 - 581: The Covenant That Must Be Kept

Chapter 1289: Chapter 581: The Covenant That Must Be Kept

"Very well."

The heavy sword in Herbert’s hand, conjured from moonlight, reappeared. He pointed the sword’s tip forward at the formidable enemy, giving a soft command.

"Then, charge!"

"Yes!"

Sofia let out a high-pitched whinny, her four hooves exerting force, causing the ground to shatter with a roar!

She carried Herbert, transforming into a silver lightning, fearlessly confronting that embodiment of malice!

On one side was the Evil Spirit Knight built from resentment and bones, on the other a peculiar combination of a Paladin and a heroic Centaur.

On the fortress ruins of this Divine Kingdom, an unprecedented duel on horseback erupted with a roar!

"Boom!!!"

Two torrents, dark red and silver-gray, collided fiercely!

The giant sword and the heavy sword clashed again, erupting in a deafening roar!

Sofia’s strength was indeed far inferior to the Resentful Spirit-turned Legion Commander, but she possessed the ultimate mobility of her Centaur race, coupled with top-notch horsemanship honed by Herbert’s personal guidance through countless battles.

Their cooperation was seamless, almost as if they were one entity.

She did not rely on brute force and destructive energy like the skeletal steed for charging but rather utilized speed, agility, and anticipation to the extreme.

In each moment of weapon collision, she could skillfully dissipate most of the impact with her exquisite steps.

Sofia’s four hooves flashed, shifting sideways, spinning, or abruptly changing speed, constantly creating the best momentum and angle for Herbert to strike in critical moments.

Herbert fully trusted Sofia’s maneuvers, perfectly blending his center of gravity with Sofia’s movements, man and centaur becoming one.

The heavy sword in his hand was sometimes as elusive as moonlight, sometimes as solid and stable as a mountain, accurately blocking, parrying, and counterattacking.

He fully displayed the swordsmanship he learned and optimized from the Legion Commander in this ultimate mounted battle.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

For a moment, only the two figures in dark red and silver-gray could be seen entangling, colliding, separating, and colliding again at speeds indistinguishable to the naked eye on the ruins!

The sparks from the clashing blades exploded like festival fireworks, the violent energy shockwave flattening everything around!

In this perilous duel, where outsiders couldn’t intervene, the Legion Commander, whose frenzied roaring attacks seemed disorderly yet practiced, couldn’t take down this far weaker "small" duo for the longest time.

Sofia’s superb horsemanship and Herbert’s seasoned swordsmanship surprisingly compensated perfectly for the gap in sheer strength!

And in this high-intensity, seemingly endless slaughter where no victor was apparent, the consciousness of the Legion Commander was slowly changing.

Driven by the extreme pain of soul burning and fighting instincts, thoughts buried for millennia, hidden deep within, began to surface bit by bit.

Those thoughts seemed to break through the madness, emerging in the Legion Cmdr’s chaotic consciousness.

"Why, why do I persist?"

"Why... even in this ugly form, can’t I perish with the Divine Kingdom? Why must I crawl back from Hell?"

His body moved instinctively, fighting the Apostle of Calamity, yet his spirit unconsciously pondered.

"Right, it’s revenge, I want revenge!"

"Before my revenge succeeds, I will not fall! I will never fall!"

But after reaching that conclusion, the void in the Legion Cmdr’s heart didn’t lessen, instead, it grew larger.

"Is it really just... for revenge?"

Forgotten images flashed through his mind.

Not the tragic collapse of the Divine Kingdom but earlier, in the splendid Divine Kingdom, when that stern yet gentle Lord Angel personally handed the sword to him, with eyes full of trust and expectation.

What did that Lord Angel say to him at that time?

The giant sword swung into thin air, not striking the enemy, but slashing the earth.

"...Protection, it’s protection."

The Legion Commander muttered, speaking as if in a dream.

"Protection of what? I want to..."

"Protect the Divine Kingdom!"

My mission is to protect the Divine Kingdom—this was the promise made with that lord.

"No, not just revenge, not just revenge!"

Boom!

After an intense clash, both sides distanced from each other again.

The skeletal steed rose on its hind legs, dark red Soul Fire flickering.

The Legion Commander swept his giant sword horizontally, cleaving the attacking enemy, yet his skeletal steed couldn’t dodge in time and had half a head chopped off by the opponent’s centaur.

Though the skeletal steed’s injuries would slowly heal, that strike counted as significant damage.

But now, the Legion Commander couldn’t afford to be angry about this.

"I am waiting..."

The Legion Commander suddenly raised his head, in the depths of the raging dark red Soul Fire, a faint trace of his own ice-blue light flickered weakly.

"I’ve been waiting all along!"

He looked at Herbert, not focusing on the Apostle of Calamity in front of him, but seeing another presence.

That Lord Angel he once admired and followed.

The Soul Fire in his eyes erupted through the helmet’s gaps, like two bursting fireballs.

In a voice mixed with madness, pain, and something close to pleading, he voiced the question suppressed for thousands of years:

"Why?"

"Why abandon us to guard alone?"

"I, I could clearly fight alongside you!"

The Legion Commander roared, then quickly softened his tone, shouting with sorrow.

"Why?"

"Why did you want me to survive? Why burden me with this curse?"

He couldn’t understand the arrangements made by that great Lord, nor why such a daunting task was given to him.

With these heart-wrenching questions, the flames on the Evil Spirit Knight gradually dissipated, and he hung his head, muttering to himself.

"Why was I the one to survive..."

Is it considered fortunate to survive under such circumstances?

No.

For a Heroic Spirit hoping to stand with the Divine and the Divine Kingdom, surviving alone is the most cruel curse.

And the Legion Commander has endured this pain for thousands of years.

Meanwhile, compared to Lord Angel’s sacrifice by staying in the Divine Kingdom, a more suppressive matter has haunted his heart.

"My Lord!"

"We’ve waited for you for thousands of years!"

With his head lowered, he murmured almost inaudibly: "Why don’t you return?! Why... don’t you come back?"

"Why are you unwilling to appear and give us an answer?"

"Even if it’s blame... even if it’s punishment!"

"My Lord!!!"

This question is no longer directed at the Apostle of Calamity before him, but it transcends time and space, directly confronting the Divine he’s waited for countless ages.

Just as Herbert said, what has supported the Legion Commander and a legion of Heroic Spirits up to now is not the so-called "Destiny’s" arrangement, nor the hollow slogan of "revenge."

Rather, it is a deeper and more intrinsic obsession than revenge.

The confusion and unwillingness from being abandoned, and the yearning for an answer!

...

...

Meanwhile, at the final gate leading to Elda.

Valentina still maintained her Giant Dragon form, lounging there like a mountain, her enormous tail boredly slapping the ground, echoing thunderously.

Her huge vertical pupils looked with interest at the group of remaining Heroic Spirits below whose morale has collapsed, and their deputy commander, Julia — half her face calm and half grim.

"..."

Julia looked at the Epic Giant Dragon before her, which cannot be overcome by force, and recalling the journey like "selection" checkpoints, a ridiculous yet incredibly real thought became clearer in her mind.

An ordeal?

She took a deep breath, seemingly resolved, and exhaled forcefully.

"Hoo."

She stepped forward amidst her companions’ bewildered gazes and began to unfasten her Heroic Spirit armor.

The pieces of armor infused with great power were removed one by one and gently placed on the ground.

"Lady Julia! What are you doing?" a Heroic Spirit exclaimed, as if witnessing an incomprehensible scene.

Julia didn’t explain but shook her head to them, then stacked all the armor pieces, looked up at Valentina, and spoke in a dry voice: "I leave these to you."

"Please... keep your promise."

Hmm?

The previously dazed Valentina’s vertical pupils instantly lit up, and she shouted excitedly.

"Aaaaah!"

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