Chapter 83 | Reborn as the Last Black Dragon

Adele stood in place, her hand still resting on the back of her neck, looking as though she hadn't quite registered what had just happened.

“It... it's gone!”

She slowly lowered her hand, looking down at her fingertips before raising her head to look at Leopold and Isabella.

“He never lets traitors off...” Adele's voice was still filled with disbelief. “Never. When he said ‘I won't kill you,’ I thought he was just... just trying to appear merciful in front of you.”

“In any case, we should leave here first.” Leopold's gaze didn't wander from the shadows beneath the stairs.

“Can you walk?” Isabella turned her head, studying Adele.

Adele paused for a moment, then nodded.

“Then let's get out of here quickly. Once the sun goes down completely, we won't be able to control the situation anymore.”

Adele did not hesitate any longer. She quickly kept pace with Leopold and Isabella, and the three of them made their way back up the stone steps they had come down.

Passing through the slightly ajar back door, Leopold squeezed past first, with Isabella following closely behind.

“Who are you? Why are you coming out from in there?!”

Before the voice even faded, seven or eight figures clad in gray robes surged out from the end of the corridor, the leader already drawing the shortsword at his waist.

“Halt! How did you get inside the cathedral—”

Before he could even finish his shout, Leopold's shadow grabbed him by the throat, pinning him to the wall behind him.

The other clergymen looked over, their pupils contracting sharply.

“Backup! Quick, call for backup!”

One of them frantically notched an arrow, aiming it at Isabella, who appeared relatively weaker.

But before he could even draw the bowstring, Leopold's shadow climbed up his calf to his knee and suddenly tightened.

He was dragged backward by the shadow, his back slamming hard against a stone pillar at the end of the corridor.

Leopold didn't stop. As he walked forward, he raised his right hand, and shadows surged from beneath his feet, spreading rapidly along the floor.

Another four or five figures appeared around the corner at the end of the corridor. Before they could even assess the situation ahead, their ankles were tripped up by the shadows, and they tumbled to the ground one after another.

“S-Stay back!”

“Damn it! Form up and attack!” A few clergymen began trying to throw throwing knives.

But Isabella simply waved her hand—a beam of white light shot from her fingertips, grazing the top of one clergyman's head and blasting the wooden door behind him into splinters.

The man froze in place, his throwing knife clattering to the floor.

“Let's go!”

Adele watched blankly as Leopold made his way down the corridor, then hurriedly followed.

“Stop them! Don't let them escape the cathedral!” someone bellowed at the top of their lungs from the end of the corridor.

More footsteps echoed from the passages on both sides. Some carried oil lamps, some held short clubs, and others brandished crossbows.

But all their attempts were in vain, until a heavily-built young man wielding a greatsword appeared at the doorway.

As the shadow struck, he leaped half a step backward, holding his greatsword across his chest as a layer of dark red light glowed on the blade.

“A Martial Skill?” Leopold narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Careful! He's the town's knight. He knows three Martial Skills in total!” Adele warned nervously.

Leopold didn't stop. He merely tilted his head slightly, shooting a glance at Isabella.

Holding his greatsword across his chest, the young knight locked his gaze onto Leopold. “Who are you people? Why did you break into the cathedral?”

“Just passing through,” Leopold said. “And saving someone while we're at it.”

“There is no one in the cathedral who needs saving by you. You have committed a capital offense by trespassing in a restricted area. Lay down your weapons, and I can grant you a dignified end.”

“Weapons?” Leopold spread his hands. “I don't have any weapons. What do you want me to lay down?”

The young knight's gaze lingered on Leopold's empty hands for a moment, then he gritted his teeth. “Stop playing word games with me. What you used just now was sorcery!”

He raised his sword and swung it down heavily toward Leopold's shoulder!

“Martial Skill: Light-Cleaving Slash!” The knight's greatsword, enveloped in red light, chopped straight down. Yet, in the face of this heavy, powerful strike, Leopold did not retreat.

Shadows surged from his palm, condensing into a thin barrier between them the instant the blade descended.

“What?” The young knight's pupils contracted slightly.

“Your Martial Skill is indeed not bad.” Leopold stood in place, reaching out to touch the flat of the blade.

“There's something on the sword. It's not purely a physical attack.”

“Save your breath!” The young knight gritted his teeth and pulled his sword back, jumping half a step backward as his greatsword scraped a spark off the floor.

“Since you have no intention of cooperating, don't blame me for getting serious!” He took a deep breath, and the dark red glow on the blade suddenly intensified.

“Martial Skill: Flame Burst Slash!”

The blade carved out a semicircle, sweeping toward Leopold with a scorching heat!

The moment the sword's edge collided with the shadow, the scorching heat exploded across the shadow's surface, sending sparks flying. However, the shadow was not breached; instead, it climbed up the blade, binding the sword.

“Playtime is over.”

“You—”

Gritting his teeth, the young knight gripped the hilt with both hands, trying to pull the blade out of the shadows.

Leopold gave him no chance to speak. With a single punch, the young knight was sent flying, crashing hard against the cathedral wall.

He struggled to stand, but just as his knees pushed him up slightly, he collapsed back to his knees.

“Who... are you?”

Leopold didn't answer. He had already turned around, stepping toward the end of the corridor.

“Let's go.”

Isabella didn't pause as she passed the young knight. She merely tilted her head to glance at the kneeling youth before withdrawing her gaze.

Adele followed behind Leopold. As they passed the crowd entangled by shadows, someone still tried to reach out and grab her, but a shadow snapped up from the floor and slapped the hand away.

The girl's body couldn't help but tremble. It seemed she really had defected to the enemy...

Following Leopold, Adele instinctively shielded the back of her neck with her hand. Perhaps she was witnessing the dawn of a new era with her very own eyes!

“Leo!” Isabella unfurled her holy white dragon wings.

Some stumbled backward, while others dropped their crossbows with a clatter.

“An... an angel!”

“No, there are no feathers on those wings!” another voice corrected with a tremble.

Leopold ignored their reactions, looking up at the dome at the end of the corridor.

“Break!” Leopold growled softly.

Instantly, countless shadows surged toward the dome. With a deafening boom, stone debris rained down as a gaping hole was blasted through the cathedral's ceiling.