Chapter 235: I Will Give My Life For You

[Distance Mountain.]

?"It seems we should finally descend and put an end to this little spectacle."

?Draven tapped the heel of his boot lightly against Talitha’s hip, signaling her to dismount from his lap.

?He rose languidly from the cushions of his lounge chair, stretching his arms over his head with a soft yawn: "I must admit, you are steadily improving at sucking me, Talitha." He added, casting a sideways glance down at the blonde-haired chosen knight.

?A delicate, practiced smile touched the edges of her lips: "As long as my service proves useful to Your Lordship, I am entirely at your disposal."

?"You have amused me today. Once we return to the estate, you will share my private quarters for the entire night, and I shall award you one hundred Aether Stones."

?Talitha’s eyes widened, a momentary flash of genuine greed breaking her composure before she quickly lowered her head to mask the expression:

?"You are too generous... Thank you, My Lord."

?"Do not fret over it. Perform your duties efficiently, and the rewards will flow freely." He murmured dismissively, stepping away from the terrace before freezing mid-stride. He tilted his head, his gaze sharpening as he tracked an invisible disturbance on the far horizon:

?"Why on earth is she heading in this direction?" he muttered, a deep, irritated frown carving itself between his brows.

?"My Lord, shall I intercept and delay her?"

?"Unnecessary—and frankly, it’s beyond your current capability." Draven replied, his tone flat. "She must have picked up the residual decay of the lizard’s aura and changed her trajectory to purge it. Given the turbulence tearing through the spatial void right now, she won’t clear the distance for at least an hour."

?"An hour?" Talitha blinked in genuine astonishment. "At her peak velocity, she should be able to cross that span in under sixty seconds."

?’That woman represents the single most dangerous anomaly among the younger generation across all four ancient families.’ Talitha thought, a cold shiver running down her spine.

’She despises any trace of demonic corruption with a zealous fury, treating evil as a personal insult to her cultivation... Why would she suddenly bottleneck her own speed?’

?"Her family was deployed on a subjugation decree; she must have abandoned her post mid-assignment to streak across the sky... That detour is what accounts for the delay." Draven reasoned aloud, a smirk returning to his lips.

"Regardless, we have no time to wait for her righteousness. Let’s move."

?With a casual flick of his sleeve, the space around them folded inward, erasing their presence from the mountain peak.

___

?[In The Void.]

?A magnificent white steed with sweeping, feathered wings tore through the fabric of the dark, churning dimension like a shooting star, ignoring the howling spatial winds entirely. Slung across its back was a solitary lady encased in gleaming, immaculate silver armor, her hand resting instinctively on the hilt of the broadsword strapped between her shoulder blades:

?’Please... I hope I’m not late.’ She thought, her jaw set with grim determination as she pushed her mount faster through the void.

__

[The Battlefield!]

?"Die, you miserable Humans!!!"

?BOOOOM!!!

?A colossal, vertical beam of blinding red light plummeted directly from the floating eye of destruction, screaming downward with enough force to flatten the entire northern sector and obliterate every living Awakened standing below.

?"Everyone, channel every drop of defensive skills you possess right now!!"

?Margaret roared at the top of her lungs. With a sudden tear in space, she teleported instantly, materializing right at the forefront of the impending impact zone:

?"I offer my lifeblood as an anchor!"

?With a swift, practiced motion, she bit down hard across her wrist, tearing the skin open to draw a thick arc of crimson blood before sweeping her arm through the air, splattering the bright blood outward in a protective barrier.

?"Celestial Heavy Shield—MANIFEST!!!"

?Margaret threw both arms forward, locking her palms onto the floating mist of blood. The next microsecond, a blinding wall of brilliant white light burst outward from the crimson base, expanding exponentially with terrifying speed until it formed a massive, domed canopy that stretched across the entire sky above the defenders.

?"Mom!! What in the world are you thinking?!" Elizabeth shrieked from the ground, her face draining of all color as she recognized the forbidden technique.

?"The Guild Leader is actively combusting her own life essence... We can’t just stand here with our weapons lowered while she bleeds out for us!"

?The Celestial Guild’s Vice Guild Leader whipped his head around, glaring fiercely at the remaining members of his unit:

?"If I am destined to burn alongside the Guild Leader today, then so be it! If my sacrifice buys enough time for my family to survive this slaughter, I couldn’t care less about dying on this field!"

?Without a moment’s hesitation, he bit down hard on his lower lip until it split, drawing his own warm blood:

?"I am right beside you, Guild Leader!!" he bellowed, throwing his hands up to join his spirit energy with the shield.

?"We stand and burn with you, Guild Leader!!!"

?Every single remaining Celestial Warrior roared in absolute unison, deliberately slicing their own palms and burning through their spirit energy to reinforce the groaning white barrier.

’I never truly understood the depth of the Celestial Guild’s internal bond until this very second.’ Marianne thought, watching the synchronized display with a heavy, stunned heart.

?"We would step up to share the load if we could, but without the divine reinforcement of the Celestial transformation, we can’t interface with that blood shield." Gavin muttered, gritting his teeth in helpless frustration.

?"Here it comes..." Margaret whispered, her voice dropping to a calm, resolute hum as she closed her eyes against the rising wind.

?BOOOOM!!!!!!

?The cataclysmic pillar of destructive crimson light slammed squarely down onto the white shield. The immense concussive weight hit with such terrifying violence that every single Celestial Warrior was instantly driven down to their knees, while those who had been mounted on their summoned warhorses were violently bucked from their saddles, crashing hard into the fractured stone.

?"Such... staggering power." The Vice Guild Leader choked out, a thick stream of dark blood spilling freely from the corner of his mouth:

?"We... will not yield an inch!"

?They roared the declaration together, their collective willpower temporarily forcing the bleeding shield to stabilize against the red glare.

?Margaret kept her eyes shut tight. She could vividly feel the ebbing life force of her subordinates draining away with every second; but alongside that physical toll, a deep, agonizing sorrow gripped her chest. The Celestial Warrior transformation already exacted a brutal, crippling tax that left Awakened bedridden for weeks or months—and now, they were intentionally adding blood-combustion on top of it. Was this horrific level of sacrifice truly the only path to survival?

?What would become of her proud guild when the smoke finally cleared from this city? Would they even retain their standing as the second-strongest in Vaeloria?

?And yet...

?Margaret cast one final, lingering look back over her shoulder toward the ground, locking her gaze onto Elizabeth. She had already lost her husband to the frontier wars years ago; she was entirely unprepared to lose her daughter as well. Trading the remainder of her own vitality to ensure the girl drew breath tomorrow morning was worth infinitely more than any title or leaderboard ranking.

?Up in the ruined sky, Havock tilted its reptilian head to the side, a flicker of genuine shock crossing its features: ’I am almost begrudgingly impressed they haven’t evaporated yet. The corrosive decay of the Eye of Destruction feeds on and actively digests everything it touches, devouring spirit energy down to the soul... It is fundamentally a technique that humans have no business blocking... Truth be told, when I claimed it was my weakest skill earlier, I was merely toying with them—in reality, it is my absolute peak capability, and the cooldown demands a full twenty-four hours to reset. I suppose it’s time to put an end to this farce.’

?It stretched its right arm forward, its razor-sharp claws digging into the empty air as it clenched its fist into a tight ball:

?"Eye of Destruction... full-power release."