The Creators: From Night City

Page 430

The sharp prosthetic knife was plunged directly into Jiang Bing's chest, drawing out a stream of blood, but the subsequent attacks were instantly shattered into bubbles by Jiang Bing's hammer blows right at his face.

Marlenia was experienced in trade-offs, but she had never experienced such a simple, brutal, and straightforward fight before, and she was instantly at a disadvantage.

When the venerable knight commander Finley dragged his mangled body to the resting place of his lord, he felt as if the sky was about to collapse.

He only saw a mysterious figure riding on his lord, beating the Valkyrie beneath him like a street thug.

The immense force caused the earth to rumble, and the continuous tremors revealed the destructive power hidden within this seemingly ordinary beating.

"Wouldn't my lord just be beaten to death like this?" Although such a thought was quite presumptuous, it still involuntarily flashed through Fenrei's chaotic mind.

"despicable……"

The next second, a burst of corrupt radiance shot into the sky.

Unable to bear the humiliation and having exhausted all her strength to break free to no avail, Malenia ruthlessly unleashed the crimson, corrupting power within her.

The corrupting power immediately and indiscriminately corrupted everything around her. Marlenia's clothes and armor were the first to be reduced to dust, and then the earth began to sprout patches of fungi.

An immeasurable amount of decay surged forth from her body, condensing into a giant scarlet bud that slowly bloomed.

As a demigod born with the divine law, Malenia is the embodiment of crimson corruption in the world.

But the corrupting laws also dictate that every time the scarlet flower blooms, and every time Malenia unleashes the power within her, she will inevitably tread a step further into corruption.

This is her third bloom, which will also foreshadow that her soul, will, and body will inevitably slide toward 'scarlet decay'.

As expected, 'Michaela's Blade' Malenia will soon perish, and 'Goddess of Corruption' Malenia will descend upon this world.

Under Finley's desperate gaze, the enormous scarlet flower was brutally torn apart from the inside. The naked 'Marlenia' with wings on her back, looking utterly horrified, was grabbed by the neck and lifted out of the pit by Jiang Bing, whose size had somehow exceeded three meters.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Mr. Jiang was somewhat exasperated.

This includes the inexplicable fact that the other party would start a fight at the slightest disagreement, and that if they couldn't win, they would embrace the corrupt and poisonous to quench their thirst and increase their strength in order to fight Jiang Bing. It also includes the fury of being sprayed with 'feces' all over his body and face.

Of course, what angered him the most was that the other person's brain seemed to have been corrupted, and he didn't give him a chance to speak properly at all.

A burst of blazing golden flame erupted within the spacious cavity of the sacred tree's roots. The domineering golden flame, capable of scorching everything, directly pinned Finley to the ground, his vision blurring as if he were about to die at any moment.

Meanwhile, Malenia, who had fallen into corruption and ascended to become the goddess of corruption, couldn't help but groan. The wings on her back, composed of countless Ionian butterflies, quickly withered and turned charred brown under the scorching flames.

The next instant, Jiang Bingsheng ripped off those filthy wings.

Marlenia finally couldn't hold back her cries of pain.

The loyal knight, enduring endless pain, stood up, wanting to join the battle, only to discover with despair that breaking his wings was merely the first step in his lord's torment.

A giant sword was drawn from the void by the opponent, and golden flames ignited inch by inch, lighting up the runes on the sword blade one by one, eventually transforming it into a golden giant blade burning with inexhaustible flames.

The goddess of corruption, Malenia, struggled helplessly, but the crimson corruption, powerful enough to corrode steel and twist all flesh, was powerless against her.

Not being known for her strength to begin with, she was even less able to break free from Jiang Bing's large hand that was tightly gripping her neck. She could only helplessly watch as the golden giant sword pierced through her chest and passed right through her body, pinning her high against the wall.

The blazing golden flames instantly ignited her, and the foul-smelling blood from her wounds evaporated before it could even flow out.

A burst of flames filled her body; her hands, feet, all the hair on her body, and even her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth were all radiating flames wildly.

A bloodcurdling scream instantly echoed throughout the entire space.

Finley had never heard her lord utter such a pitiful wail before; the wailing, as if tearing her soul to pieces, sent chills down her spine.

At the same time, the shame of dying for one's lord's honor spurred her to unleash her last bit of strength, dragging her faltering body in a desperate charge towards Jiang Bing.

The crescent-shaped scythe felt incredibly heavy in her hand, but just as she raised it, having gathered all her strength, a familiar voice suddenly stopped her.

"Fen...Ray..., stop..."

Although his voice was hoarse and weak, the venerable knight listened as if to celestial music.

"Lord?!"

She looked up abruptly and, sure enough, saw that the one who had spoken up to stop her was Marlenia, who was already nailed to the wall.

The raging flames were far more domineering than corruption. The specially crafted golden prosthetic arms and legs on the opponent's body resisted the corrosive crimson decay, but quietly melted away under the scorching heat of the flames.

To be honest, this is probably the most miserable time of her life for Malenia right now.

Chapter 876 The Worried Guardians of the Sacred Tree

Her entire body was completely naked, and her deformed left arm and right leg were exposed to the two men without any obstruction. Uncontrollable wails came from her mouth incessantly. This scene was something that Malenia, who had once been a queen and a demigod, could not have imagined.

But all the embarrassment was insignificant to the other party at this moment.

"My lord! Are you alright?" The loyal knight practically rolled to her lord's side, the blazing golden flames radiating waves of heat, and blood-like steam rising from the other's magnificent yet decaying armor.

Finley, completely disregarding the fact that the original owner of the greatsword was right there, leaned against the wall and tried to pull out the golden greatsword that was fixed on Marlenia's chest as soon as he stood up.

But to her utter surprise, the person who stopped her was not the enemy standing aside fiddling with the prosthetic knife, but the victim who was nailed to the wall.

"I...uh...I'm fine."

Accompanied by uncontrollable groans and howls, Marlenia's words left Finley completely bewildered.

"Corruption...,...Fin...Ray, corruption...is...being...being...purified..."

A single, fragmented sentence left the loyal and devoted knight commander frozen in place.

She immediately focused her mind on her own body, and sure enough, amidst the overwhelming pain and weakness, the corrupting forces that seemed inseparable from her body were being burned and purified by invisible flames.

Of course, the process was not peaceful at all; to say it was excruciatingly painful would be an understatement.

Once the knight realized the situation, she could no longer hold on and collapsed against the wall beneath her lord. After her resolute will faded, the excruciating pain made her cry out in agony.

This time, the solo performance inside the empty mountainside turned into a duet.

Whether it was a misperception or not, Finley seemed to sense that his lord seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief.

"Now we can finally talk properly, right?" said Jiang, who was collecting scraps.

……

The far north of the border region, Sunshade City.

A burly warrior, his body covered in sharp thorns and iron spikes, was engrossed in slashing and inflicting wounds on the innocent to serve his lord, when suddenly, as if sensing some unseen opportunity, he abruptly looked up and gazed northward.

Sunshade City is located in the northernmost region of the Yatan Plateau, the lowest point where the entire Yatan Plateau connects to the northern ocean, and is also the area closest to Michaela's sacred tree.

In the eyes of this warrior, the ugly yet magnificent tree in the far distance of the sea had somehow quietly ignited with some kind of golden flame, adorning the entire withered sacred tree as if it were a second golden tree.

This miraculous scene put him on high alert. After all, while Sunshade City wasn't the best choice for returning to the border region, it was definitely the most suitable landing point.

The city atop the sacred tree, the branch of the sacred tree, "Abrefil" is not only home to Marlenia and her noble knights, but also to the guardians of the sacred tree under Michaela's command.

The city, which had been built around the enormous sacred tree and had fallen into silence due to the tree's crimson corruption and the disappearance of its master, Michaela, suddenly became lively.

A dozen or so ugly, hybrid subhumans with bone fragments and sharp horns crawled on the ground, sweeping the dusty and filthy road and cleaning up the remains of the disgusting fungal and moss derivatives that had been burned.

A tall, imposing Holy Tree Knight, clad in a full set of heavy golden armor, walked atop the city wall, his heavy, closed helmet adorned with a golden headdress symbolizing purity.

His gaze pierced through the gap in his helmet with the cross-shaped opening, looking at the trunk of the majestic sacred tree, where the dense red fungal parasites that had once covered it had been completely burned away by the illusory golden flames.

Wooden suspension bridges connect the upper platforms of Ebrefield. The guardian of the sacred tree strolled leisurely across the dangerous suspension bridges and arrived at a wide, circular platform.

"I think the reason you came here this time must be related to this sudden fire." A figure standing under a tree at the edge of the platform looked up at the short tree next to him that was also burning with faint flames, and said without turning his head.

"Loretta, Lady Malenia is preparing to summon all commanders to the prayer room." The guardian of the sacred tree did not answer the question, but went straight to stating the purpose of the visit.

"Lady Malenia has awakened?!" The woman named Loretta turned around in shock, revealing a heavy, exquisite armor full of symbolic significance of the sacred tree.

"Is it related to these sudden flames?" she continued to ask.

"Watch your words!" the guardian of the sacred tree warned.

The two are loyal to Michaela, the sacred tree watered with Michaela's blood, but that doesn't mean they can freely discuss anything related to Malenia.

Moreover, the flames came from a very mysterious place. Those with knowledge of the entire Sacred Tree had various speculations about the cause, but all remained tight-lipped about it.

"Go, go."

Loretta did not immediately argue, but instead reached out and called over her beloved horse, which was constantly trying to poke at the fire with its hooves, and together with the guardian of the sacred tree, they embarked on the journey to the audience.

The uppermost level of Ebrefield is extremely precarious; many passageways and corridors lack railings, and a single misstep could send a pedestrian tumbling into the abyss.

However, the two men and one horse made the journey extremely smooth on such treacherous terrain.

Loretta finally spoke again when the three of them stepped into a stone elevator platform that resembled a pavilion.

“You and I both know this, Harold, that this sudden fire probably involves those forbidden ‘Outer Gods’.”

The stone platform began to descend slowly.

The "Sacred Tree Knight," responsible for guarding the sacred tree, poured out all his long-held worries and concerns to the other person in this enclosed space.

"Since this flame can scorch the crimson decay, can it also ignite the sacred tree? When will the flame go out, or rather, will it go out before burning the sacred tree to ashes?"

The guardian of the sacred tree stood with his arm around his shield, the golden sacred tree emblem on the surface of the huge shield suddenly shining brightly.

Although Malenia and Lady Michaela share the same origin, these guardians of the sacred tree are loyal to Michaela and the sacred tree beneath them, not to the Valkyrie.

Loretta asked the question purely out of a sense of duty.

"Not the flames of the evil god worshipped by giants," Harold, the guardian of the sacred tree who had lived for countless years, finally spoke.

“I experienced the war of giants and witnessed the ravages of those vicious giant flames. They felt like they wanted to devour everything at any time, which was completely different from these golden flames.”

"We must find out the truth so as not to betray Lady Michaela's trust."

Loretta expressed her thoughts.

This time, however, the sacred tree guardian named Harold did not utter a word of rebuttal.

Chapter 877 The Summoning in the Prayer Room

The Sacred Tree Prayer Room is pronounced "room," but its size can actually be considered as that of a large hall.

Without candles or even opening windows, the faint golden flames burning on the surrounding walls illuminated the entire room.

Marlenia's body, much larger than that of an ordinary person, was now sitting beneath the idol in the prayer room, her frail body supported by an ornate high-backed chair.

Marlenia and her brother Michaela were born as 'deformed' twins, their life forms permanently incomplete from birth.

The younger sister was born without her left leg and right hand, and her body was infested with crimson decay, while the older brother was forever young.

The etheric flames scorched away the crimson decay, no less than digging a large chunk out of the opponent's very essence.

The fact that she didn't die on the spot shows that this Valkyrie is strong and healthy.

To her right were her honored knights.

The brutal war that preceded this had reduced the number of knights who were willing to succumb to corruption for their lord to less than one in ten, and the subsequent rampant corruption had also claimed many lives. Now, only a handful of people remain by Marlene's side.

Similarly, they were all weakened by the removal of the crimson corruption from their bodies, and their iconic red crown helmets were discarded, as they could no longer be called the 'Corruption' Knights.

Knight Commander Finley respectfully knelt beside Marlenia, fulfilling his duties as his lord's maid.

After all, the Valkyrie who once shook the borderlands is now just a cripple with missing limbs, so weak that she has lost almost all of her strength and even has difficulty getting up.

Her prosthetic arms and legs were specially made, after all, they were high-end products that could withstand the crimson corruption and perfectly exert her combat power. After being burned, there was no substitute available for a while.

When Loretta and the guardians of the sacred tree entered the prayer room, almost all the prominent figures in the sacred tree were already present.

The former corrupt knights, the captains of the Holy Tree Guard, the Holy Tree priests, the mages, and even the most despicable hybrid demi-humans were all able to choose representatives to pay homage to the Heavenly Emperor through Marlenia's grace.

Of course, the inhuman oracle band is not included.

Several oddly shaped Platinum Children, with large heads and thin limbs, eagerly gathered around Loretta, the Platinum Child race hero, as if the weak had found support among a group of powerful figures.

"Lady Malenia, are you alright now?" a tall battlefield mage asked.

As Marlene's father, Radagan bestowed upon Michaela a garrison of power and retainers, they were most concerned about the divine being's health.

This concern even surpasses the concern for the sacred trees, the all-encompassing platform that Michaela created.

Marlene slowly withdrew her attention from the statue above her head and turned to look at everyone present.

"Thank you for your concern. As you can see, the Scarlet Corruption has been successfully suppressed."

"Thank you all for your faithful service during my slumber. I have summoned you here because I have an important matter to announce."

The Valkyrie lazily propped herself up from the high-backed chair, her red eyes scanning everyone in the prayer room.

"I will soon leave here and head to the border to find my brother, your lord, Michaela."