Chapter 1399 Past Friends
In an assuring gesture, the woman took down her hood—revealing a pale blonde hair.
Appearance-wise, she is a Human but some of her features make Gelmar undecided.
Her glassy, unfeeling sapphire blue eyes were slitted like a feline, and her hair was very lush, almost covering the entirety of her neck. Despite attempting to cover them, Gelmar also saw her fingernails were black and sharp.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Gelmar asked.
“My name is Laura,” the woman introduced. “we wished to speak with Rex…”
Almost instantly, Gelmar’s expression turned stern.
“Rex…?” He muttered as his eyes glistened with a deadly light followed by the air around him becoming a haze, boiled by the heat of his killing intent. “How dare you refer to the Emperor, without respect!”
Crack!
A rush of energy pushed Laura and the other figure hard.
Both of them attempted to root on their spots but the rush was too strong.
Instead of using his sword, Gelmar sheathed it back and raised his hand.
Under the duo’s gazes, his hand turned into a sharp steel blade that was coated with a silver might—the energy from his Midnight Steel Elf bloodline. In an instant—Gelmar dashed with a ferocious might.
Reacting out of instinct, Laura channeled mana and created a dome of ice around her.
But that dome of ice didn’t last a second.
It shattered instantly with a light arc of Gelmar’s blade, he easily tore the front side of the ice dome and barged inside without stopping. Reaching a meter away from Laura—he brings his blade overhead—preparing to strike.
Just then, however, a frown crept to Gelmar’s face when his hand felt like a thousand tons.
He fell backward, not expecting the increase in weight—allowing Laura to leap away.
Gelmar’s gaze shifted to his hand, now cloaked in pale reddish energy, that was not mana or anything he had encountered before. A deep frown etched itself onto his face—as he turned toward the other figure, ‘He has a power I don’t recognize, I need to take him out first’
“I misspoke, refrain from attacking, we came here in peace!” Laura assured.
But Gelmar was having none of it.
Despite the pale reddish energy making his hand way heavier, he rose back to his feet—like normal without a problem. He was only caught off guard earlier, it was not that he could not handle this much weight, “My forces attacked your base, and you expect me to believe that you came in peace? Even a monkey could see through that lie!”
Swish!
Activating his power, Gelmar smirked, “Trap of Steel!”
Immediately after he chanted that spell, Laura, and the figure saw hundreds of steel thorns appearing across the entire area—the ground, tree trunks, and even the leaves, these steel thorns protruded out everywhere.
Making a twist with his hand, Gelmar launched the steel thorns towards them.
Like bullets, the steel thorns fired towards them.
Almost instantly, the figure in hood stood in front of Laura and extended his arms to his sides—coating the steel thorns with his power in an attempt to bring them all down. But even then—he wasn’t able to influence all.
More than half of them fell but the other half continued ahead.
Under the intense energy of a ninth-rank realm entity like Gelmar, he was outclassed.
Knowing that this would happen, Laura already made her move, “Pneuma Spell, Snowstorm!”
Swoosh!
A sudden vortex of snow, crackling with spirit energy, erupted around Laura and the hooded figure. Surprisingly, the swirling storm was able to blow away the initial way, and caught, the remaining incoming steel thorns mid-flight, their deadly momentum faltering as they entered the whirling frost.
Moreover, tiny icicles within the vortex danced like shards, grinding the slowed thorns.
As the vortex swelled outward, its icy tendrils surged toward Gelmar.
But even then, he remained motionless—a statue in the face of the whirling vortex.
Once the edge of the vortex reached him, an opened maw exploded out of it and reached for Gelmar. A maw that belonged to an ice-blue fox spirit. Not even fazed, Gelmar caught the fox spirit by its neck and lifted it up easily.
His sharp eyes traced every movement within the storm and saw this attack a mile away.
“I’m correct,” Gelmar nodded, he glanced at the ice fox spirit and squinted his eyes. “She’s an Awakened, while the other one is a Pariah. Both of them are around the seventh-rank realm, I can handle them easily”
Putting more strength into his grip, Gelmar crushed the ice fox spirit.
It whimpered and turned back to its energy form and was blown by the wind.
His eyes then narrowed into a calculated focus, fixing his eyes on the two silhouettes hiding in the vortex. Once he was ready, his form exploded, with silvery energy—before he dashed into the vortex—barging in with power.
Meanwhile, inside the cover of the vortex.
“I told you, he wouldn’t believe us!” the hooded figure said, panting hard already.
Influencing the steel thorns sapped a lot of his stamina.
Laura bit her lower lip, she knew that she had taken a huge gamble—by exposing them to an enemy commander that killed dozens of them with a single stroke. He had killed so many, he was nicknamed the Steel Ghost.
“What else could we do, Billy? Our only hope is meeting with Rex” She replied desperately.
Hearing this, the hooded figure, Billy sighed deeply.
“We should run, he’s too scary to fight,” He said, turning away to leave.
Despite her reluctance, Laura nodded her head as she knew that she could be killed.
Just then, a whistling sound resounded.
“Watch out!” Laura pushed Billy and caught an arm-length steel needle. Checking the needle, she frowned—and looked at where the needle came from, “How could he see us, through my thick snowstorm…?”
“I don’t know but we have to hurry!” Billy replied, intending to run away.
But then, he saw a silvery hue coming from the needle Laura caught.
And before he could utter a single warning.
Splash!
“Kyaargh!” Laura grunted painfully, the needle she held exploded into thorns of needles.
She was struck everywhere with needles but her right arm was the worst.
Being so close to the needle, Billy also got struck with needles, the force from the needles wasn’t strong enough to throw him away—but the pain they inflicted was horrendous. Billy was hissing in pain, he was hurt so bad that his knees threatened to buckle.
Gritting his teeth hard, he lifted his gaze and saw Laura on the other side.
“Come on, we have to go!” He urged.
But his breath hitched when he sensed a presence standing right beside him.
Glancing to the side with a pounding heart, Billy’s expression paled—when he saw Gelmar walking through the snowstorm—as if it was nothing. His deadly eyes hovered like a ghost that wanted brutal revenge.
As his muscles twitched to move, two steel spikes barred his front and back.
He was pinned in between with nowhere to go.
Laura was in the same boat, she was trapped by the speel spikes.
Soon enough—while the two were grunting and wailing in pain, unable to break free—Gelmar stopped beside them with his sharp blade-arm, against his chest, “I was on a mission here to destroy your base because you people raided small cities for your gain but it wasn’t personal—But now, it has become personal”
“For showing no respect for the Emperor, I’ll sentence you both to death” He decided.
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Upon saying that, Gelmar coated his blade with his energy.
But as he was about to decapitate them, Laura shouted, “I’m his childhood friend!!”
Gelmar’s body stiffened when he heard this.
“Another lie…? Does your tongue never speak the truth?” He asked menacingly.
Laura clenched her teeth, fighting against the searing pain, that shot through her like molten fire. Her vision blurred—tears welling as her trembling gaze locked onto Gelmar. Each breath was a battle, but she knew the stakes.
If she didn’t force the words out, she and Billy were doomed.
“N- No…” She shook her head stiffly. “I’m telling the truth”
“She’s right, she’s telling the truth,” Billy added from the side. “and I’m his war buddy”
For such a complicated relationship, Gelmar couldn’t verify them on the spot.
‘I need to bring them back to the Emperor if I want to verify them—but if somehow they were not who they claimed to be, I would be wasting the Emperor’s time and that would be on me, I’m not going to risk that’ Gelmar thought.
Nodding his head, he then asked, “Do you have proof?”
“No… Just mention my name to him, Laura Frostbrand and he’ll recognize me!” Laura replied.
Upon hearing this, Gelmar shook his head, “No, that’s not enough”
Just then, the other Awakened arrived on the spot and they dispersed the snowstorm with a simple surge of overwhelming aura. Noticing that Captain Gelmar, had captured two more of the stronger Pariahs—the Awakened exchanged nods.
It was expected of him to take down the bosses of this base alone.
“Bring them away, I’m going to question them,” Gelmar said authoritatively.
Immediately, the Awakened restrained Laura and Billy and brought them away.
Along the way—Laura kept shouting to mention her name to the Emperor but Gelmar ignored her, there’s a lot of things he had in mind and verifying her identity came last, “Wrap the area—we’re going home!”
…
Back to the Dark Elf Kingdom, Silken Citadel.
Upon Iris handling the first trench, successfully, weakening the flames, that swallowed Rex’s form, the first trench closed up in front of the other’s eyes. It was a sign of success and now—they needed to continue before Elder Tilrith could strengthen Rex’s soul.
But Iris couldn’t go on so they called for back-up.
Soon enough, King Jorik opened the portal again and a figure stepped inside.
It was Kyran.
He was staying beside Naela to foresee her health and knew that Rex had come.
Knowing that Rex must have something to do—or else he wouldn’t be here, Kyran decided to not disturb him, and let him do, what he needed to do. But minutes ago, Kyran was surprised when he was called by the royal guard of the Dark Elves.
Rex was requesting his presence so he rushed here.
Looking around, he frowned when Rex was standing motionlessly at the center.
And there was also another Rex, an astral form that was burning in flames.
“What’s going on?” Kyran asked, searching for answers from the others.
Just when Elder Tilrith wanted to answer, Iris already stepped in to explain the situation.
She explained what Rex was doing here to bring the Demon Queen.
Kyran stole a glance at Rex when Iris finished explaining.
Now that he thought about it, Rex has never talked about his past, he kept what happened in the past very close to him. Even Kyran who was in the inner circle of the Silverstar Pack does not know much about Rex’s past.
Other than knowing that Rex was from the military, he knew nothing else.
Or at least, Rex has never talked deeper with details.
And now, the world has given him yet another challenge by having his soul unclean.
‘Evelyn already told me about what he talked about with the others, how he was pressed in a timely problem. If I could do something to help, I’ll do it,’ Kyran nodded—before turning to the Demon Queen.
Kyran walked over to Elderr Tilrith without fear in his eyes.
Slowly, his bones cracked and his body swelled as he transformed into his Werewolf form.
Standing in front of Elde Tilrith fearlessly, being in the same eye-level now that he was in his Werewolf form, Kyran squinted his eyes, “No tricks elder. Let’s keep this clean. If you try and do anything to harm him, I will hunt you down to the deepest part of Hell”
“Quite energetic, I see,” Elder Tilrith smiled. “but you don’t have to worry about that”
Upon hearing this, Kyran nodded before he faced the trenches ahead.
“Bring it all to me,” He suddenly said.
Elder Tilrith frowned, “What do you mean?”
“I said bring all the trenches together, I’ll endure it all in one sweep” Kyran muttered deterrminedly.