Chapter 373 - 358: Rushing to the Battle

Chapter 373: Chapter 358: Rushing to the Battle

"Something... doesn’t feel right."

"Doesn’t feel right?"

Roland swung his sword, slicing a small Demon blocking their path in two, and flicked the warm droplets of blood from his blade.

The four of them were now far from the center of the battlefield, and the sounds of slaughter gradually faded into the distance.

"It’s just..."

The Minstrel’s long fingers hovered over his lute strings. He looked toward the distant, deadlocked battle, his brow furrowed.

"The power of these Demons... it seems too weak..."

Noticing his companions’ questioning gazes, Galvis deftly sidestepped a sudden bone spike and explained in a low voice.

"While I’ve never fought a Demon from the Nine Prisons, the Demons I saw during the last Abyssal invasion were far stronger than this."

"Not only did they have tough bodies, but they could also cast all sorts of strange Magic at will. Even a Low-Tier Demon was a tough fight for an ordinary Transcendent, but..."

He gestured with his chin, indicating that they should observe the battlefield.

"Look at them. They’re relying entirely on physical strength in battle, no different from common Demons. They can’t even break through a phalanx of regular soldiers. And..."

"Wait."

A clear voice interrupted the Minstrel’s analysis.

"An Abyssal invasion?"

Avril gently rubbed her fingers, sore from drawing her bow repeatedly, a slight frown on her face.

"If I recall correctly, the last Abyssal invasion... was during the Crystal Era, wasn’t it?"

’Crystal Era?’

Roland couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the familiar term.

Compared to the Elf Race’s vast collection of texts, the books Bronson carried were quite limited. Roland’s knowledge of history was naturally not as profound as that of Galvis or Avril.

Even so, he had heard of this legendary age.

It was a glorious age before the Era of the End. Although only scattered records remained in ancient texts, they offered a glimpse into the splendor of that time.

But what concerned Roland most wasn’t the glory of that age.

It was that when he was studying the *Heroic Epic*—the tome he consulted to investigate the identity of "Rudolph," mentioned by the Giant Dragon that appeared in Wuxi Town—he’d found that it repeatedly mentioned the Abyssal invasion that occurred during that era.

’But...’

At this thought, Roland looked up at Galvis with a hint of suspicion.

’The Crystal Era...’

’That was at least a thousand years ago.’

As if reading his mind, Avril voiced the same question.

"That was a thousand years ago. You..."

The Elf Maiden raised a delicate eyebrow, her gaze shooting toward the Minstrel like an arrow.

"...experienced it firsthand?"

The moment she spoke, the air seemed to freeze.

After a moment of silence, Galvis slowly turned his head, the corner of his mouth twitching unnaturally.

"M-Miss... Miss Avril, you must have misheard..."

After saying this, the Minstrel didn’t give his companions a chance to press him further and quickly changed the subject.

"What we should be considering now is how to rescue... Sean and Marco, right...?"

He turned to Roland, his face a mask of embarrassment.

"Roland?"

Roland was no fool.

Galvis’s behavior clearly showed he was hiding something.

’But who among them didn’t have their own secrets?’

Roland had no intention of prying, so he went along with the change of topic.

"You’re right, Galvis."

Roland glanced around and, after confirming there were no nearby threats, deftly pulled Celeste’s head from his pouch.

Seeing this bizarre sight for the first time, Avril and Teresa’s attention was immediately captured, and they both moved closer to get a better look.

Roland ignored Galvis, who was bowing repeatedly behind them with gratitude in his eyes. He went straight to undoing the leather strap binding Celeste’s mouth and asked in a low voice,

"Speak. Who exactly placed this Curse on me?"

"PTOOEY! PTOOEY! PTOOEY!"

Celeste didn’t answer Roland’s question immediately. Instead, she moved her lips in disgust, as if trying to spit out all the blood and sweat that had tainted her mouth.

After a moment, she raised her eyes, her gaze filled with hatred.

"Foolish human, do you think I would—"

Before she could finish, a faint golden stream of light spread from Roland’s arm to his fingertips, then expanded into a soft film of light, enveloping everyone present.

The vicious curse about to leave Celeste’s lips suddenly changed.

"It was Malcolm... After he noticed you through me, he coveted your soul, so he placed a mark on you and ordered me to..."

Her voice stopped abruptly.

Only then did Celeste realize what she had said, and she looked at Roland in terror.

"Malcolm?"

Roland gave a slight nod and continued to press her.

"Who is he?"

Seeing Celeste’s lips pressed tightly together, Roland raised an eyebrow and pressed his Secret Silver Longsword against her still-beautiful cheek.

"I’m not sure why you’ve ended up like this, but..."

The blade pressed closer, instantly drawing a thin, shallow line of blood on her face.

"Ruining your face shouldn’t endanger your life, right?"

His eyes suddenly turned cold.

"If you don’t answer, I’ll carve up your face every day, then heal you, again and again. Believe me, I’ll do what I say. Also..."

Noticing the hesitation that was beginning to surface in Celeste’s eyes, the corner of Roland’s mouth lifted slightly.

"I should mention, my healing methods are rather crude. If I’m not careful and leave a permanent scar on your face..."

"I’ll... I’ll talk!"

Celeste practically shrieked.

Compared to this handsome young man before her, she suddenly felt that she was the more human one, and he was the real Demon.

"It’s that one over there... the slender one, the Demon fighting Morne!"

Following her gaze, Roland instantly locked onto his target.

Under the influence of the Domain of Honesty, it was impossible for Celeste to lie.

After confirming his target, Roland didn’t hesitate. He stuffed Celeste back into his pouch and turned to face his companions.

"Teresa, you should know Sean. As for Dalko..."

After briefly describing the young noble’s features, he drew the Longsword from his waist.

"I’m leaving the rescue mission to you. Of course, if you can’t find them, come back here and wait for me. Don’t put yourselves in danger."

"What about you, Roland?"

Roland gave the Elf Maiden a reassuring look and took a deep breath.

"I’m going to lend His Majesty Morne a hand."

With the plan set, the group immediately split up.

Inside Golden Ears City, the main force of the Demons had been drawn to the fierce fighting outside the walls, and the empty streets were almost devoid of enemies.

With Teresa and the others’ skills, rescuing Sean and Dalko shouldn’t be a problem.

And if they could quickly deal with the two Abyssal Creatures entangled with Morne, freeing up the powerful Transcendent, the entire battle would instantly turn in their favor.

Although being able to hold their own against Morne for this long was proof that the power of these two Abyssal Creatures was not to be underestimated, Morne still had the upper hand.

’Even though my own power is far inferior to his, if I give it my all, I can definitely create an opportunity for Morne to land a devastating blow on the enemy.’

Thinking of this, Roland took a deep breath.

"By the Wind Essence as my guide..."

The moment he chanted the Spell, scalding blood surged and boiled within his veins.

"HAAAAH..."

A searing breath escaped his lips, condensing into a white mist in the cold air.

"BANG!"

The ground beneath his feet shook, and Roland’s figure shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, hurtling toward the distant battle.