Chapter 171 Success and Ruin (Part 2)

"The situation has changed!"

Upon hearing Nighold's roar, I immediately made that connection and turned to look at the male captain.

"It's gone?"

The male captain, who was supposed to be hiding on the other side of the street ready to give orders, was not there, and even the guild receptionist who was with him had disappeared.

Boom!

Just as I was wondering what was going on, a loud bang suddenly came from near the dragon carriage.

"What...what's going on...?"

By the time I realized what was happening, I saw Lilith kneeling on the ground, covered in blood, her right hand clutching the left side of her body, but there was nothing there anymore.

—Lilith's left arm was completely severed!

"Lilith!"

I ran towards Lilith like a madman, staring at everything in disbelief. It wasn't until I got near the dragon carriage that I realized I had been tricked!

"Leon! Don't come any closer!"

Lilith struggled to her feet, her voice hoarse, her body swaying as if she were about to collapse.

Standing opposite Lilith, at the front of the dragon carriage, the person shocked me once again – it was the female captain!

At this moment, she was staring at me with a look of disdain. The long sword in her hand had already broken out of its sheath and was stained red with blood. Even her cloth clothes and trouser legs were splattered with the gushing blood.

"What...what's going on?"

I was so shocked I couldn't speak. Wasn't this so-called female captain one of Earl Fred's people? Weren't they here to help me? Why would they be?

"You...you...what did you do..."

Snap~ Snap~ Snap~

"Leon? I already showed you mercy and let you go, so why are you coming here to die again?"

Nighold walked towards me, clapping his hands, with Yuna following closely behind. But I could tell that her gaze was unnatural, as if she felt helpless or resentful.

In short, Yuna at this time was no longer the lively and lovely girl she once was. Her pupils were dull and lifeless, and thick dark circles hung under her eyelids. She looked quite dejected.

"You are... one of Nighold's people?"

Only now do I finally realize that the so-called Earl Fred is actually Nighold's backer!

This was something I couldn't have predicted. After all, I trusted Olivia completely, so I didn't bother to find out anything about Count Fred. I never expected him to be such a heartless bastard!

"Think what you will, I'm just following orders."

The female captain didn't answer my question, but instead uttered this sentence in an extremely cold tone.

"asshole!"

I roared and instantly unleashed all my magic power. A fist-sized flying stone shot towards Nighold, but before it could get close, it was shattered by a spear-like afterimage.

"Why... Yuna... why!"

Seeing Yuna's expression, a mixture of pain and helplessness, I screamed hysterically, "Why did she become like this, a demon who colludes with Nighold?"

"Oh my god! I can't believe my eyes! Leon, you're actually a mage who doesn't chant? You really fooled me so badly..."

Yuna didn't answer me. Her mouth opened and closed as if she wanted to say something, but then she stopped abruptly. What followed was Nighold's disgusting voice from behind her.

"Leon...run...we're not..."

Before Lilith could utter her last words, she collapsed heavily to the ground, falling into a coma due to excessive blood loss.

"Lilith!"

I stood there, stunned, staring at everything before me, as if I had experienced something similar before, the first time I encountered "gluttony".

Because of his recklessness, everyone was brutally murdered by "gluttony," and now, will the tragedy repeat itself?

Lilith? Katya? Including herself?

"No……"

I'm not resigned to this... I haven't found the Seg couple, I haven't found Anna, I haven't found Sylvie...

I've followed the "god's" advice exactly, so why...?

Why is that?!

"Nighogd!"

With that roar, I felt as if I had squeezed all the air out of my lungs, and then two more large fireballs were hurled straight at Nighold.

"Hmph! Blame it on your own cleverness!"

He did not panic because of my attack. Just as the fireball was within reach, something like a magical barrier condensed in front of him at a visible speed.

Boom! Boom!

Two huge explosions rippled outwards, but they did not harm Nighold in the slightest.

Using my magic eye, I can clearly see who cast the magic barrier; it was one of the team members led by the male captain who jumped onto the roof earlier.

Because they were carrying longswords, I mistakenly thought they were all swordsmen. I never expected that there was such a powerful mage hidden among them. Judging from the dark blue magic, he was actually a high-level mage, and a defensive mage specializing in barrier magic!

"Now's the time!"

The fireball crashed into the magic barrier, creating a huge shockwave and thick smoke—a result of my deliberate mixing of earth magic into it.

In the instant everyone's view was blocked, I picked up Lilith from the ground, gathered her severed left arm that was lying to the side, and quickly ran towards the street entrance.

I knew that in this place teeming with Nighold's henchmen, to rashly challenge him would be like throwing an egg against a rock. The most urgent thing was to get Lilith away from here as soon as possible.

Using my magic eye, even in the thick smoke, I could clearly see that the area was already blocked by the squad led by the male captain.

"Leon, don't... come back... this is the last time..."

Using wind magic, I easily leaped onto the roof. Just then, Yuna's voice came faintly from behind, but I couldn't hear it at all. In other words, because of the shockwave from the explosion, my ears were ringing, and I couldn't hear anything except a buzzing sound.

"Kathia!"

She leaped down from the other side of the roof and landed on the tarpaulin of a stall. Katya was still engrossed in the dazzling array of goods, completely unaware of the conflict unfolding deep within the street.

"Katia! Back to the inn!"

Ignoring her hesitation, I yelled at Katya and ran like the wind. By the time Nighold came to his senses, I had already disappeared from the villa.

"Damn it! How could Leon get away like that! Go after him!"

"yes!"

Nighold stared at my vanished location with an extremely distorted expression. He never expected that I could escape even with his elaborate trap.

Driven by intense anger, Nighold couldn't believe that I could be driven by reason over emotion at a time like this. In his eyes, I was just a little kid who hadn't even grown up yet. It was precisely this confidence of his that allowed me to escape.

"Hmph! Leon, one day you'll be begging me on your knees! Don't forget, Sylvie Emilia is still in my hands!"

After saying that, Nighold grabbed Yuna's hair and dragged her back to the villa.

Although I didn't hear what Yuna just said, Nighold clearly heard it, so he vented all his resentment on Yuna.

At this moment, due to being dragged, Yuna's body, which had been covered by her top, was partially exposed, but what came into view was no longer her fair and tender skin.

The dark red wounds were densely packed, some small and narrow, as if they had been whipped by some kind of whip, while others were lumpy, red, swollen and hideous, like burns from wax.