Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Futility

"Before I kill you, I must say..."

The pale white mist surging behind Lang En wove together into a 'Holy Emblem.' Though it was blurry and indistinct from every angle, the Evil God's Power contained within it was incredibly sharp and condensed. He sneered at Mo Tan, "You are a mad genius, utterly devoid of any so-called bottom line or stance. If we were elsewhere, I think we might have gotten along quite well~"

Logically, since Lang En had humbly praised Mo Tan, it was now the latter's turn to compliment him. After all, mutual flattery was a form of politeness these days, and it could also boost one's Coolness Value. In literary works, it even served the challenging task of padding out word count.

But Mo Tan didn't seem to care about this conventional process. He merely shrugged slightly and said, "I admit I am indeed outstanding. It's just a pity that good opponents are too hard to find..."

"Then I'm truly honored~" Lang En tore off his tattered Steward's Robe, revealing a set of dark gray mysterious Priest's Robes. He crossed his hands, and two long, sharp black blades curved like crescent moons sprang from his wrists, clearly indicating they were high-quality equipment.

"You?" Mo Tan rolled his eyes. "You're nothing!"

An awkward silence ensued...

"Die!" Lang En's fury finally reached its peak. This white-clad Half-Elf, who had completely destroyed his years-long plan the moment he appeared, was so despicable in character, so venomous in mind, and his words were like poisoned blades driving him to the brink of madness...

A small impatience ruins great plans. Since the great plan was already ruined, there was no need to hold back any longer!

His body, far more agile than it appeared, lunged forward with a howling gust of sinister wind. The black wrist blades viciously twisted toward Mo Tan's throat. From what Dave had told him, Lang En roughly knew the other's strength. Even a slight graze from this strike would be enough to kill the bastard on the spot!

But Mo Tan didn't even try to dodge. Aside from the fact that he couldn't dodge anyway, this also stemmed from a great deal of confidence that he had nothing to fear.

Bang!!

The black blades were intercepted half a meter away from Mo Tan by a Giant Hammer that suddenly swung in. Bayes, who had blocked the strike with one hand, glared at Lang En. "How long do you plan to keep ignoring me?"

Another Two-handed War Hammer swept upward with a burst of exploding sparks, forcing Lang En to retreat several steps. The owner of the Black Wheat Tavern turned to look at Mo Tan, a hint of confusion and dissatisfaction in his eyes. "Why did you just stand there and watch those two die?"

"Because they were indeed useless." Mo Tan spread his hands and smiled. "One of them didn't even know his most trusted subordinate's true nature after all these years, and the other was preparing an Ascension Ritual for a heretic, refusing to cry until he sees the coffin..."

He glanced at the two bodies on the ground, which hadn't yet gone cold, and chuckled. "So isn't this the most fitting ending?"

Bayes was taken aback, then a bitter smile flickered across his face. He slammed both hammers into the ground, sending out a cone-shaped ripple that once again blocked Lang En's charging form. He nodded noncommittally: "Maybe you're right, but I still feel..."

"Feel that these two wastes, who indirectly caused the deaths of several innocent people, don't deserve to die?" Mo Tan hid behind him, grinning. "I don't really care either, I just thought this way of dying was interesting, so I gave that Interior Steward a little push~"

Bayes let out a long sigh: "Alright, alright, I get it. They deserve to die. So what now? Kill him?"

"No." Mo Tan shook his head, then suddenly said in a deep voice to Bayes: "Survive!"

??

Before the latter could react, a faint, disorienting murmur sounded from not far away...

"You cannot stop me!"

The spreading ripple was instantly breached. Lang En brought his twin blades together and slashed down at Bayes' head!

"Dodge!" Mo Tan shouted at the powerful warrior beside him. "Don't try to block it!"

This caused the latter, who had originally intended to parry with his giant hammer, to instinctively shift his body...

Then he watched helplessly as his long-time companion, the 'Baleful Star Warhammer,' had a corner sheared off, and the Flame Surge enchantment array inscribed on it instantly lost its light.

"What the hell is this!?" Bayes was greatly alarmed. Having witnessed Lang En's strength before, he was still about ninety percent confident he could flatten him, but now he was immediately on high alert, because he felt his head was definitely not harder than the warhammer in his left hand, which had just had a corner chopped off!

Lang En grinned, then whispered again: "Your resistance is meaningless!"

The kick Bayes suddenly lashed out with didn't even leave a mark on Lang En. Instead, the latter instantly closed the distance, getting right up close to him.

In close-quarters combat, where there's almost no reach, wrist blades, daggers, and knuckles are at their most effective range, giving Lang En an immediate advantage. Meanwhile, Bayes, wielding two two-handed war hammers, was in exactly the opposite situation!

At this moment, the large group of heretics in the square were locked in a fierce back-and-forth with the Knight Academy instructors and the clergy, with the battle gradually falling into a stalemate.

[If this drags on, it could get really bad!]

Bayes couldn't help but think this. And in that split second he was distracted, Lang En immediately left two deep gashes in his armor.

"Go find Cole and Leiduo, get out of here first!" Bayes shouted at Mo Tan, then tossed aside the warhammer in his left hand, which was nearly whittled down to an iron rod, and swung the one in his right hand at Lang En with both hands: "I'll hold him off!"

[Heavy Storm]

Weapon School Active Skill

Mastery Requirements: Two-handed Specialization 10, Strength 20

Cost/Restrictions: 130 Stamina, requires a two-handed weapon

Effect: Spin your weapon at high speed, dealing massive physical damage to surrounding enemies for 5 seconds. Movement speed is reduced by 30% during the duration, with a 10% damage bonus stacking each second. Cooldown: 20 minutes.

[Note: Due to differences in individual constitution, random side effects such as dizziness, vomiting, chaos, and paralysis are not listed in the above description. However, please act within your means. As the traffic department once said in verse: A moment of windmill bliss, a lifetime of family tears.]

This round of Big Windmill was indeed formidable. Under Bayes' overwhelming warhammer storm, even Lang En, who bore the Evil God's Power, dared not face it head-on and could only retreat repeatedly.

"Just as I guessed..." Mo Tan stood still, muttering to himself, "That kind of power has its limits, though it varies from person to person. For example, when splashed with that holy water, that idiot Dave spontaneously combusted, but this guy only smoked a little."

In the span of eighty-odd words, five seconds flew by. Bayes turned back to see Mo Tan still standing there, and couldn't help but roar anxiously, "Why aren't you running... ugh...!" Then he vomited.

Lang En was quick-eyed and swift-handed. Muttering something under his breath, he charged forward with a lunge, swinging his blade down at Bayes' head!

Then he was blown away.

"You just wanted to be a five-second hero and then die, didn't you?!" Leiduo, who had blasted Lang En away with a thunderbolt, descended from mid-air on several leaves. She raised her staff and smacked Bayes to the ground, cursing, "Now you're acting all manly, huh?!"

At the same time, she waved her slender hand, and several thorny vines wove a cage around Lang En.

Bayes was stunned. "I'm not..."

Bang!!

"You're not what?!"

"I mean, I didn't intend to..."

Bang!!

"Didn't intend to what?!"

"Ouch, that hurts! Listen to me..."

Bang!!

"I won't listen!"

Bang!!

"I won't listen!"

Bang!!

"I won't listen to anything!!"

Bang!!

Mo Tan roughly calculated from a distance. Bayes, who had been struggling with Lang En for a while, was clearly losing more health now. If Leiduo kept smashing him with her staff at this pace, that uncle would likely be dead in two minutes at most.

"Our Lord above." Lang En, slightly disheveled after shattering the thorn cage, lunged over from nearby. "I'll kill you two adulterers!"

Bayes leaped up, gripping his hammer with both hands, and executed a Mountain-Shattering Blast. "Who are you calling an adulterer?!"

Leiduo, meanwhile, stood her staff upright before her. Rapidly spinning thorny vines burst from the ground and spread toward Lang En. Her expression was even a little delighted. "Say 'adulterers' again~"

Their instinctive cooperation was flawless, sealing off all angles Lang En could use to dodge. It was clear that, despite the years that had passed, everything they had experienced together in their youth had not been worn away by time!

But...

"It's useless!" Lang En merely muttered a single sentence: "Everything is futile!"

Then he directly stepped on the terrifying drill-like vines and charged at Leiduo, while simultaneously raising his hand to forcefully block a hammer strike from Bayes descending from above.

Despite having deployed an Elemental Shield in advance, Leiduo's cheek was still scratched.

"Try to keep him from talking as much as possible!" Mo Tan crouched not far away, shouting with a grin, "It'd be even better if you could block your own hearing~"

What an easy thing for him to say, standing there without a care in the world!

The two of them were in a foul mood, but they still followed his advice immediately, though with little effect...

No matter how frequent their attacks, it was hard to shut Lang En's mouth...

Even setting up a Soundproof Barrier couldn't fully resist the influence of some unknown power...

It was unbearable!

Attacks that should have been sure hits would suddenly become weak or even dissipate into thin air.

Conversely, moves from the opponent that seemed harmless would suddenly accelerate or drastically increase in destructive power.

In less than five minutes, Bayes and Leiduo had gradually fallen into a disadvantage, and if not for the implicit understanding etched into their very souls, they would barely be able to hold their ground...

Protecting themselves as much as possible while constantly keeping an eye on that kid to ensure he wasn't instantly killed by Lang En's surprise attack!

The situation was getting worse and worse...

"Before absolute Strength, everything is just empty talk!" Lang En laughed loudly as he pressed the attack wildly against the two, "Soon I'll slaughter you lot, then go deal with the other two brats, lead the rest of the believers out of Pato City, take root somewhere else, and in the near future, let Our Lord's whispers echo throughout that lofty City of Light!"

[This is bad...]

Growing increasingly unable to hold on, Bayes and Leiduo began to sink into despair. Though their plan had been flawless, a flaw had still emerged in the end—that kid had underestimated Lang En's strength. At this rate, this powerful heretic with his bizarre Divine Power would soon kill the two of them, then lead the remaining hundred or so believers to massacre Pato City before making a clean getaway...

"Leiduo!" Bayes sidestepped to block a swift slash meant for his still-beautiful partner after all these years, grunting in pain before smiling bitterly at her, "Take the kid and Cole and the others and run... I still have a few trump cards that can hold off this Interior Steward Lord for a while."

"Dream on!" Leiduo's pale golden hair was slightly disheveled as she raised her staff to conjure a layer of Flower Leaf Shield behind Bayes, shouting angrily, "From today on, even if you die, you'll never shake me off!"

Bayes slammed hard into Lang En's side, though it had little effect, it still knocked him back a few meters. He turned back and cursed, "Crazy woman, get lost! I've always hated your rotten temper!"

"I won't go!" Leiduo bristled as well, summoning a flurry of blade-sharp leaves to slice at Lang En, while casually slapping her teammate's bear-like face.

Smack!

"You..." Leiduo stared blankly at her hand, murmuring, "Why didn't you dodge..."

With a handprint still on his face, Bayes gave her a gentle smile, "That slap was something I owed you. I'm sorry, Leiduo."

"But..."

"Don't say anything. I won't leave you again from now on."

"But..."

"Huh?"

Leiduo glared fiercely at the clueless middle-aged man in front of her. "But why didn't you dodge? My hand hurts so much!!"

"Huh?" Bayes was completely dumbfounded.

"What 'huh'?!" Leiduo said angrily. "You're thick-skinned and tough, but I'm a Mage!"

"Uh, sorry."

"Hehe, I forgive you!"

The two exchanged a smile, and the air was thick with the sour stench of love...

Then, a ghastly white mist erupted wildly from not far away!

Lang En, who had been holding back his ultimate move for a long time, instantly appeared between the two. With the fury of a single dog, the wrist blades on his arms slashed fiercely at both of them!

Blood splattered!

"Run!"

"Take Cole and that little girl... Don't worry about us..."

The two, who had each taken a blow meant for the other, fell at Mo Tan's feet, shouting up at him.

Both Bayes and Leiduo now had deep, bone-deep gashes on their sides, clearly indicating severe injuries.

Then...

Then why was this kid's expression so calm?!

"I finally made it in time." Mo Tan didn't even acknowledge them, completely ignoring Lang En who was approaching, and muttered to himself while gazing northward. "Slower than I thought..."

By now, both Bayes and Leiduo had expressions of despair. Lang En had already walked up to Mo Tan and smiled kindly. "Saying your last words?"

"No." Mo Tan shrugged. "I was just thinking about something you said earlier. It seemed quite reasonable."

"Oh?" Lang En looked puzzled.

Mo Tan winked at him. "That line: 'Everything is empty talk in the face of absolute Strength.' Very reasonable!"

Then, light shone upon everyone...

Pure light, holy light, endless light...

Illuminating Pato City under the setting sun!

A solemn voice thundered like a storm in everyone's ears!

"Holy Light above! That pile of evil is worth fighting!"

Chapter 41: The End