Chapter 501 (3): Summit of Pride x Saigner, the Judge

“Mauve, Carthus, Ira, Sotos...”

Ryza listed the four demigods and praised their capability highly. They weren’t run-of-the-mill demigods like Omeros, but demigods who had slowly climbed their way up from Legendary rank under Saigner’s training. They had great potential and could develop in a myriad of ways. Even in the Underworld, they were known for their power.

Mauve appeared as a woman with black wings, wearing a black dress with shimmering starlight and holding a scepter of dark stars. She was the commander of the eighth level, personally appointed by Saigner.

The other three had human traits but looked distinctly inhuman, and all of them belonged to the Spirit Order of the Undead Class.

Carthus was a spirit with an irregular, constantly-shifting form. His entire body consisted of translucent spiritual threads that continued to interweave, unwind, and interweave to form a translucent silk robe. The hazy face showed no features, and his weapon of choice was a silver scissor-like instrument.

Ira was a snake demihuman. His upper body was a strongly built human male, with runes covering his corporeal body, while his lower half was a translucent spiritual snake. Wayne would compare him to a being that granted wishes.

Last but not least, Sotos had a vintage, classic look with a set of armor shimmering with phosphorescent light, a giant scythe, and a shadow warhorse as mount. He shared a resemblance with the Death Knight at first glance, but while the Death Knight was a skeleton in armor, Sotos’s armor wasn’t propped up by anything concrete. Inside was a spiritual being whose face was covered by a helmet and a skull mask, leaving no part exposed.

Ryza took a step forward. The nine Night Gods flickered into existence, shielding Wayne together.

“Sir Knight,” Ryza said. “We’ve completed our mission. This is no place to linger.”

“No, the mission is only half complete...” Wayne pushed the Night Gods aside. With white light dancing in his eye sockets, he observed the four demigods curiously. “They seem impressive. Saigner will surely lose her composure if we catch all of them. Then we’ll have completed our mission.”

The nine Night Gods exchanged a silent glance. Wayne was right. Just showing their faces wouldn’t be enough to provoke the enemy and muddy the waters. They had to capture a few captives from the enemy camp to achieve the desired effect.

“Sir Knight, allow us to do the honor. You only have to ready the passage to the Heart of Nature so that we can escape at any—”

“No need for that. They’re animals marked for slaughter, easy enough to take on. It’ll be much quicker for me to take the matter into my own hands!” Wayne interrupted. Without waiting for Ryza’s response, he vanished and reappeared in the sky like he had teleported, swinging his fist at Mauve, who was closest to him.

With a bang, his fist penetrated through her chest, with a crimson, still-beating heart in his hand.

“Kekekeke—”

Wayne guffawed, his jawbones open wide. Crushing the heart into sludge, he clutched Mauve’s spine as he pulled his hand back and yanked half of her spine off, along with two rib bones.

Whoosh!

In a flash, his knifehand drew a cold grey arc in the air, slicing through Mauve’s neck and waist. He lifted the beautiful lady’s skull high. With his other hand, he forged the spine and the two rib bones into a white scimitar with his thoughts.

“The four of you have quite unique and innovative looks. Would you consider turning away from the dark side and following me?” Wayne said earnestly. “Don’t say anything just yet. I’m doing this for your own good. Saigner has betrayed the goddess. By working for her, you’ll all doom yourself to severe punishment when the goddess retaliates.”

He looked at the head in his grasp. “A beautiful lady like you, especially, is perfectly in line with my taste. If you serve me well, I’ll put in the good word for you so that the goddess will pardon you.”

He had always been good at creating a character. With only three lines, he destroyed Rognes’s image as a model knight.

While his allies were rendered speechless, the enemies were enraged. He managed to taunt all of them and more than complete the mission.

“Nonsense!”

“Shut up!”

“Let’s attack together!”

The three demigods were at first shocked that ‘Rognes’ had taken down Mauve, their commander, so easily, then they were enraged by the provocation. Without hesitation, they employed the righteous faction’s most common tactic: attack with numerical advantage.

“You refuse to see your faults and change your way!” Wayne scoffed. “Such untamable wild dogs do not deserve to beg for a livelihood under me. You will not even get a bone.”

Wayne tossed Mauve’s head into the sky. The moment Carthus reached for it, he hurled his bone scimitar out.

Mauve’s skull shattered with an explosive noise. While Carthus was still stunned, the scimitar pierced through his chest.

“Kekekeke—”

“Bastard!”

“Kill him!”

Mauve’s physical body was critically injured, but a strong demigod wasn’t so easy to kill. While healing herself, she joined her three allies in encircling Wayne. The four flashing figures unleashed every trick up their sleeves to launch a relentless torrential assault.

The nine Night Gods lowered their heads. Since they were too self-conscious to curse, they refrained from making an objective comment.

Flabbergasted, Ryza messaged Sukra, “Rognes has misjudged Wayne, Sukra. Also, this is the knight you’ve so carefully chosen?”

“It’s got nothing to do with me. I was guided by the goddess. She informed my instinct.” Sukra hurriedly defended herself. It wasn’t her decision at all.

Boom!

In the air, Wayne remained still as four grey shadows leaped out. Once the shadows returned to their bodies, the four demigods went into a spiral freefall.

Wayne looked at his fist in confusion, rubbing his smooth skull. “Strange. Why did I hit them in the faces every time? Do my fists attract faces?”

He spoke so loudly that everyone could hear him. At this rate, he would soon destroy Rognes’s noble reputation beyond recovery.

Of course, Rognes wouldn’t care about his reputation. Why would he when he didn’t even fear death?

The four demigods recuperated, discussing strategy through telepathy. From four different directions, they charged in concert. Then after a series of failed tackles, all of their thoughts suffered a serious blow.

They slammed hard into the plain amid the mountains. Wayne landed gracefully with a hand on his hip, addressing the Night Gods. “How is it? I’m much faster than you, am I not?”

No one responded to him since they were all busy sealing up the captives, to be taken back to the Heart of Nature and imprisoned.

“This one is suspicious.” Wayne pointed at Mauve. “Clean her up and send her to my room. I, Rognes, would like to interrogate her personally!”

Mauve shot him a glare, and her three companions hurled insults at ‘Rognes’.

One Night God couldn’t take it any longer. Striding up to Wayne, he bit out, “Sir Rognes, you must have contracted an illness that makes you spout nonsense. Please remember the virtues of a knight and behave yourself.”

“Yes, Rognes has always been a virtuous knight. Isn’t that right?” Wayne had always been good at selective hearing.

“...” xN

None of them could stop Wayne from continuing his intentional antics. If he went on, Rognes’s image might suffer further. They quickly subdued the four captives and requested that Wayne open the door.

They had completed their mission. It was time to go!

While their mission was complete, Wayne’s had only started. He raised his voice and tried to buy more time. “Remember to send that one to my room. Have her bathe in flower petals for three hours to get rid of the smell and then wrap her up in a towel to carry her into my room. Just seal up her power, not her limbs. I, Rognes, prefer a wild mare. The taming process is the most satisfying—”

He made a questioning sound. Finally, she was here. He turned around slowly and looked up.

The thick clouds of Death energy were torn apart by intangible hands. The quickly expanding cracks sliced through the shadows filling the sky like a pair of sharp blades of light. As the cracks expanded, light finally seeped into the eighth level. The shadows of Death energy retreated, dispersed by the light of hope.

Bands of scintillating radiance of different colors pulsed with a dream-like quality. Amid the eye-catching spectacle, a tall, slender form slowly took shape.

A tremendous presence weighed heavily on the landscape. Space continued to tremble. With the newcomer in the center, countless black threads scattered.

Wayne cocked his head. “See? That’s how the villains act. They always make sure that their appearance seems righteous. Unlike them, we aren’t worried about our appearance since we are on the side of justice!”

Please stop. Or we’re really going to become bandits.

The nine Night Gods stiffened and quickly formed a line in front of Wayne, ignoring his nonsense. The subordinate god had intervened in person, locking down the eighth level. If they didn’t leave now, they would never be able to.

“Sir Rognes, Saigner the Judge has arrived. This isn’t time to fight her. We’ll keep her busy, so you should hurry and leave with the captives.”

“No, the mission is only three quarters complete. These four captives are the icing on the cake while Saigner is the cake. We must capture a subordinate god so that Sizorn will take us seriously.”

Wayne pushed the two Holy Maidens in his way aside, turning to Rognes’s older sister in name only. “Finally, a chance to test how powerful a subordinate god with the Authority of a Divine Realm is...”

“I hope you aren’t too weak, or I can’t stop myself from entering Darkness’s realm...”

“That won’t be a desirable outcome for Ines.”