Chapter 499: Lost

The Sacred Realm was the limit of genius, the pinnacle of the mortal world, and the ultimate dream of countless sorcerers. Regardless of the kingdom, anyone capable of becoming a Sacred Realm sorcerer undoubtedly belonged to the most successful echelon of society.

Interestingly, the Swordswoman noted that One-Winged sorcerers were mostly production sorcerers, Two-Winged sorcerers were mostly combat sorcerers, and Sacred Realm sorcerers returned to being mostly production sorcerers once again. It was not that Sacred Realm sorcerers had abandoned combat. Rather, their research focus had shifted toward production, leaving them less inclined to devote themselves to honing their combat abilities as they once did.

There were three reasons for this shift.

The primary reason was that Sacred Realm sorcerers had an extremely high cost-performance ratio when creating items. Spatial artifacts could only be produced by Sacred Realm sorcerers, and they were essentially consumable items with limited durability and lifespans. This meant that every Sacred Realm sorcerer functioned as a gold mine that continuously generated wealth.

In the Starry Kingdoms, Sacred Realm sorcerers were required to pay a spatial tax. Every year, they had to produce a certain number of spatial artifacts as payment.

Secondly, producing spatial artifacts greatly aided their research into the Space Class. Compared to other methods of cultivation, crafting spatial artifacts was undoubtedly one of the more efficient ways to improve their mastery.

The final reason was that Sacred Realm sorcerers themselves had clearly realized that to achieve a qualitative or quantitative increase in combat power, the best method was not studying battle techniques. Instead, it was mastering space.

Clang!

A flash of cold light cut through the air, followed immediately by the descent of a spear!

Looking at the Sacred Realm Spear Class sorcerer that had suddenly appeared from above, Ashe did not slow down. Riding the Raven Aerial Motorbike, he charged forward without hesitation, colliding head-on with the enemy before they crossed paths.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

In that instant, Ashe blocked five attacks with his sword. He stacked Swordheart, Earth Sword, Sword Scar, all sorts of Sword Class spirits onto the Honeyed Tongue Sword. Despite these enhancements, the weapon still ended up with several dents from the impact. The tremendous force caused the Raven Aerial Motorbike to drift sideways.

Because he moved at high speed, Ashe struggled to use most of his Miracles effectively. Only instant burst attacks or continuous reinforcement buffs like Sword of Rage and Sword of Love could function.

However, his inability to use Miracles did not render his Sword Class spirits useless. Fueled by his Prismatic Mana, the Sword Class spirits could reinforce his weapon to the point where it was capable of severing Sacred Realm-level Miracles.

The Raven Aerial Motorbike carved several heart-stopping donut-shaped tracks across the rain-soaked ground. Astonishingly, Ashe did not touch the brakes once. He continued racing forward at maximum speed, drawing a streak of blood-red light through the night.

The Spear Class sorcerer pursued from behind, sprinting forward with rapid strides. Leveraging the Path of the Chosen ground propulsion system alongside his own movement-type Miracles, his speed matched the Raven Aerial Motorbike.

Ashe summoned his Substitute spirit. The two of them swung their swords simultaneously.

Suddenly, dozens of ear-splitting gunshots ripped through the curtain of rain. In response, Ashe summoned his Substitute spirit. The two of them swung their swords simultaneously and deflected an equal number of bullets.

The Spear Class sorcerer had relied on his Space Class proficiency to close the distance between himself and Ashe. In contrast, the Firearm Class sorcerer took a more direct approach and flanked Ashe from the side.

Under normal circumstances, no one could predict where the bullets would appear. A Firearm Class sorcerer might aim directly at a face, only for the bullet to emerge behind the target and pierce the back of their neck.

Unless a sorcerer unleashed their Sacred Realm or spent Gospel Points to request absolute protection, there was simply no way to defend against attacks from a Firearm Class Sacred Realm sorcerer.

Right now, an exception had occurred. A Fist and Claw Class Sacred Realm sorcerer halted his pursuit on the highway. He aimed directly at the Raven Aerial Motorbike and threw a punch.

The space his fist struck collapsed and shattered layer by layer, resembling a row of falling dominoes. This spatial collapse rapidly spread toward Ashe's back.

Ashe swung his sword backward. The Sword Scar spirit possessed spatial properties. Fueled with Prismatic Mana, it coated the Honeyed-Tongue Sword with a faint trace of spatial enhancement. Its effect was straightforward. It could cut through anything lacking Sacred Realm protection, and it allowed Ashe's sword strikes to affect space itself.

However, this spatial enhancement was far too weak. Spatial turbulence would likely grind it away instantly. Facing the spatially turbulent punch from the Fist and Claw Class sorcerer, Ashe casually brought his sword down.

The collapsing space halted completely. Once again, he effortlessly neutralized a Sacred Realm sorcerer's fatal attack.

From the right came thirteen gunshots. From the left came an exploding torrent of water. From behind came a sniper shot. From ahead came the spear.

In the face of the Sacred Realm sorcerers' overwhelming barrage, Ashe managed to maintain his speed while perfectly neutralizing and blocking every single strike. Aside from a few minor scratches, he was virtually unharmed.

The Sacred Realm sorcerers could not hide their astonishment. To them, watching him was like watching an elementary school student solve an advanced calculus exam using only basic arithmetic.

Sacred Realm-level attacks were normally impossible to guard against unless countered by another Sacred Realm sorcerer. Ashe had not even learned to use his Sacred Realm, so how was he defending himself?

The truth was, Ashe couldn't. But Aine could. Aine already occupied half of his soul. Even without actively activating her power, Ashe shared a portion of her authority.

In Aine's perception, everything in this world was transparent. This included the past, the present, and the future.

The sensation was extraordinary. The intangible fate that could never be touched had now unfolded before him like a scroll, written with countless questions. Ashe merely needed to answer them all, and he would unravel the coordinated assault of more than twenty Sacred Realm sorcerers surrounding him.

Of course, there was another important reason, and that was that the Sacred Realm sorcerers did not actually want to kill him. Their objective was to stop Ashe from advancing and eliminate Lys. Because of this, their attacks were aimed at Lys, the Raven Aerial Motorbike, and Ashe's limbs rather than his vital points.

One was literally receiving divine assistance, while the other was deliberately holding back and feeding him openings. With such a disparity, it was only natural that the battle unfolded so smoothly.

Not only that, Ashe could feel all his sorcery class experience rapidly improving throughout the fight. The Space Class, in particular, was already close to touching the threshold of the Sacred Realm!

That's right. Since Aine was omniscient and omnipotent, he naturally possessed knowledge of every sorcery class. If Aine leaked a tiny bit of his knowledge to Ashe, it was equivalent to a rainstorm of Experience Orbs pouring down on him.

In the past, Ashe would definitely have been overjoyed by such an unexpected blessing. He would probably have eaten several extra meals of Lala Fat just to celebrate. Once he entered the Virtual World, he would have impatiently sought out the Swordswoman and bragged about it.

Now, Ashe felt no excitement at all. In fact, he felt a little like laughing.

The more he gained from Aine, the more Aine gained from him. The more he displayed Aine's power, the faster Aine would replace him. This fleeting glory before his downfall was simply not something he could bring himself to crave. However...

Amid the symphony of swords and Miracles, Ashe spoke cheerfully, "We're almost there. "We're almost out of Nabistin. The Azure Skyway is just ahead. We'll escape, then spend the rest of our lives hiding and running from place to place. From now on, you'll only be able to pick up cardboard boxes and sleep with me beneath bridges."

A pair of small hands tightly wrapped around his waist, like ten thorns digging in and refusing to let go. "Mmhmm!"

As much as Ashe appeared to know everything at this moment, he failed to notice that the little girl behind him had fallen into deep self-blame.

She blamed herself for accomplishing nothing, while Ashe had somehow become the Gospel's First. She blamed herself for needing Ashe's protection, when he was the one in need of protection right now. She blamed herself for still being nothing but a burden.

She was a Three-Winged Sorcerer, and she clearly possessed the combat power of a Sacred Realm. But because the Bronze Dragon's trial had not yet ended, she could not restore her original form, and all her sorcery power in reality had been completely sealed. Furthermore, the Bronze Dragon's trial could not be ended early. Either she completed it, or she would remain trapped in the trial until her death.

How she wished she could endure the storm together with Ashe.

The Azure Skyway pierced through the night sky with its glowing blue light. It looked like countless rays of dawn. However, the deepest darkness always arrived before the dawn.

Just as they were drawing closer to the parking platform, more than a dozen Sacred Realm sorcerers stood blocking their only path forward, calmly waiting to welcome Aine back to her throne.

Lys' heart leaped into her throat. "Be careful!"

Darkness consumed the sky as a lone bird cried out in sorrow.

Ashe manifested a duplicate of the Honeyed Tongue Sword. Two swords in hand, he carved the blades through the air, leaving behind black traces like spilled ink as they froze space itself.

The Raven Aerial Motorbike roared as it charged directly into the enemy formation. The beast howled, and ink surged forth wildly. Yes, a Sacred Realm could not be broken through, but nobody mentioned it could not be forcibly pushed aside!

After identifying the weakest point in their formation, Ashe charged straight through the Sacred Realm sorcerers' iron wall! At that moment, Ashe was pleasantly surprised to discover that the noise inside his mind suddenly weakened.

Aine's erosion rapidly retreated. A Divine Spirit could not reach across vast distances to forcibly occupy its luxurious little mansion. As long as he pulled far enough away, total escape might be impossible, but he could at least buy a little more time.

Ashe let out a long breath. That's it! If ordinary spirits have a limited range where their powers can reach, how could a Divine Spirit possibly be an exception? No matter how vast that range is, there has to be a limit!

The Divine Spirit frightened me so much just now that I almost gave up completely. Luckily, Lys convinced me to run. Otherwise, I really would have watched helplessly as fate mocked me.

Now, they were only one bridge away from the parking platform.

"Lys, we succeeded—"

His words were cut short by a flash of chilling light.

When the Spear Class sorcerer appeared above him, Ashe's body reacted, but his mind did not. Why didn't I sense his ambush?

The reason was equally simple. He had lost Aine's power. Without the omniscient and omnipotent Aine, he could no longer perfectly defend against Sacred Realm attacks.

From ahead came the Spear Class sorcerer's thrust. From the right came the Fist and Claw Class sorcerer's spatial shockwave. From the left came the exploding torrent of water.

The same encirclement that he had effortlessly torn through moments ago now became a cage trapping Ashe. It was like an exhausted beast stepping into a trap, only to discover that it no longer possessed the strength to escape as it had before. Then...

Bang!

A perfectly timed sniper bullet rang out. It elegantly avoided the rare and precious prey that needed to be captured. Instead, it struck the weakest target.

Ashe turned his head. He saw the life drain from Lys.