Chapter 254: Nebulous
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Break!"
A low, deep note rang through the great hall, and a miraculous scene unfolded in front of everyone’s eyes.
Rody’s fingertip touched lightly on the tip of Fielding’s sword, and immediately a dazzling light exploded from the sword. The light was so bright that it hurt the eyes of the onlookers, forcing them to look away. Fielding suddenly growled; his body seemed like it was struck by lightning. Veins became visible on his forehead, but he could not resist the ray of light which flowed down from the tip of his sword.
A series of subtle but dense noise of metal breaking apart was heard. The set of armor on Fielding’s hands and arms, followed by those on his body, suddenly exploded into pieces! However, the broken pieces did not fly around haphazardly. Instead, the pieces floated around, as if a vacuum space with a radius of about two to three meters had formed, and the center was where the two of them stood!
At that moment, it seemed like the majestic God of Time had vanished! The rules of time had been tampered by Rody, and everybody’s movements became extremely slow in one’s eyes—this included the crowd’s gasps! The supposedly short gasp was dragged into a long, strange sound. The fine details on the broken pieces of Fielding’s armor became so clearly visible!
A flick of the finger was equivalent to 50 ksanas1. In this flick of the finger, the originally solid, magnificent golden armor worn on the Paladin’s body shattered into infinite golden pieces which then turned into dust. Fielding was now half-naked; his firm muscles, as well as the wounds on his skin, were completely exposed. Shock and anger were written all over his face. When Rody finished his long chant, the rule of space immediately went back to its original state. Fielding finally felt relieved from head to toe as the pressure locking his whole body vanished abruptly. He then felt a turbid energy rising from his chest, and he gently let out a breath—but as soon as his mouth opened, a mouthful of blood spurted out!
In everyone’s eyes, it looked as though Rody was just tapping lightly on the tip of Fielding’s sword, which then caused Fielding’s armor to shatter. Fielding was then seriously wounded, spurting blood, and his whole body fell backward.
Wham! As Fielding collapsed, his grip loosened and ‘Whoosh!’, the sword flew out from his hand. To everyone’s horror, the sword flew across the hall, aiming directly at the King standing far away!
The collision of power between a Domain Master and a Paladin caused the sword to fly out, hence its strength was no trivial matter! The sword flying at high speed was similar to a lightning flash. Before the King could cry out in alarm, it had already arrived right in front of him!
Right at this moment, a large figure suddenly moved forward and stood in front of the King. A huge palm raised and waved in the direction of the oncoming sword.
It was Consort Rulan!
Her sleeves fluttered, and the thin fabric instantly formed a thick solid wall blocking in front of the King—fighting energy! The Consort could manipulate fighting energy, which was a technique exclusive to Senior Warriors and Senior Knights!
Everything happened too fast; the crowd was bewildered.
When they first started to gasp, there were so many changes happening on the scene before their gasps ended—when Fielding’s armor shattered and flew off, their gasps were full of shock and sighs. But when the sword flew towards the King, the surprised gasps had an added tone of terror in it. Finally, when the Consort manipulated fighting energy to block off the sword, their gasps were then full of surprise again!
It must have been tough for these people, for them to express so many emotions in just one gasp.
But this was still not the end!
As the sword was about to thrust into the Consort’s sleeves surging with fighting energy, it suddenly radiated a dazzling light. Boom! A bright light flashed, and the metal sword shattered into pieces! It exploded like fireworks, turning into glittering sparks of light before fading away.
The Consort was shocked, and her gaze fell on Rody who stood arrogantly at a distance—this fellow, such tremendous power with just a flick of his finger?
Pity these people who witnessed so many things happening in such a short time frame. The prolonged gasp almost suffocated them, but in the end as the danger defused as the sword turned into ashes, the hall went silent!
Dead silence!
Rody stood quietly in the middle. His face was calm except for his eyes which flickered mockingly as he gazed at the king.
The King’s heart pounded. He knew the sword flying towards him was done by Rody on purpose. Perhaps it was to show discontent for being used tonight. When he recalled the mighty power of Rody’s finger, the King could feel cold sweat dripping at his back. If Rody had truly intended to fire the sword at him, nobody would have been able to ward it off.
Provoking a Domain Master was no joke!
Fielding was lying face up under Rody’s feet. He had stopped struggling and stared quietly at the great hall’s ceiling instead, his eyes as dead as ashes.
Right now, Fielding’s heart was filled with despair. He could not accept the fact that after training so hard, thinking that he had achieved a great breakthrough, in the end, he could not even fight against his opponent’s one finger!
"Get up," Rody shouted coldly.
A wry smile with hints of despair appeared on Fielding’s pale face. He turned himself over and sat on the ground. He then looked up at Rody and asked quietly, "What did you say?"
"I said, get up!" Rody lowered his head to look at Fielding who was sitting on the floor, saying coldly, "Are you going to give up all hope now?"
Fielding lowered his eyelids and said softly, "I’ve lost, and I sincerely accept my defeat! Your strength was way beyond me, there was nothing else to say."
Rody was a little apologetic when he saw the eyes of the once stubborn Paladin was now as dead as ashes. He pondered for a moment and bent down, whispering into Fielding’s ears.
"Fielding, do you know the reason for your defeat?"
Fielding closed his eyes and took a few seconds to think about his question. His brows then drew together, "Your last strike with your finger ..."
Rody smiled, "It’s the Rules!"
Seeing the blank look on Fielding’s face, Rody elaborated further, "You have already ascended the realm where your techniques of strength manipulation have reached its peak! For a Paladin to ascend such realm, you are already considered one of the best among other Paladins. You are now standing in front of a door but unfortunately, you haven’t been able to push this door open."
Fielding’s eyes suddenly opened. A strange glow flickered in his eyes. "A door?"
Rody sighed. "No matter how great your skills are in manipulating strength. It is unfortunate that you ran into me. I was able to make it impossible for you to display your skills at my hands, do you know why?" This time around, Rody did not wait for Fielding to reply and gave the answer softly, "Because I have changed the ‘Rules’ of strength!"
Fielding stood up slowly and mumbled to himself, "Changed the Rules…"
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Rody smiled and replied, "If you wish to defeat me, you will need to think of a way to open up that door in front of you!"
Fielding stared hard at Rody for a long time. Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face. There was a profound meaning hidden behind his smile as he whispered into Rody’s ears, "I can’t believe I have been defeated by you twice!"
Rody’s body jolted, and he looked at Fielding in surprise.
Fielding sighed and looked into Rody’s eyes, speaking in a deep voice, "The sword in my hand transformed into rage and penetrating energy, which pierced through the warmth of spring, the boldness of summer, the charm of autumn and the icy elegance of winter..."
At this point, Fielding’s smile deepened, and he asked in a low voice, "These were the words you said to me when you first defeated me outside Thunder City, weren’t they?"
He recognized me?
Rody was shocked at first but immediately let it go. With the experience of their previous battle outside Thunder City, it was normal for Fielding, who was a Paladin, to find some clues in his moves during the duel just now.
Fielding let out a long breath before turning to the King and Elder Gu Ming, announcing loudly, "I’ve lost!" He then turned his gaze to Elder Gu Ming, "My mind is in a turmoil now. I can’t stay here any longer to assist you, my Teacher. Please take care of yourself in the Sauron Kingdom, Teacher!"
When he finished, he ignored everybody’s gaze and strode towards the entrance of the great hall. As he reached the entrance, he halted for a while. He then said loudly without looking back, "Rody, remember my words!"
Rody knew in his heart that Fielding was referring to the phrase ‘take good care of her’. He smiled and replied loudly, "I will!"
Without any more worries in his heart, Fielding left the hall with a dignified gait.
Gu Ming had a dark look on his face. He narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze to the King, and then to Rody. He then said through gritted teeth, "Your Majesty, that was such an impressive move!"
The King smiled but did not speak. He knew he had already achieved his goal.
After the duel, not only the conflict between the kingdoms and the Temple had intensified with a clear line drawn between both parties, Rody’s power had also given a great shock and deterrence to the ambassadors of the various Roland Kingdoms present, as he had easily defeated the highly respected Paladin of the Roland Continent with his amazing power.
Gu Ming naturally knew what the King had in plan. He swept his eyes across the crowd and snorted coldly before he bellowed, "Those who blaspheme against God will face God’s judgment!"
Having said this, the Temple Elder stormed out in a rage.
The night wind blew on Fielding’s body which was half naked, bringing away with it the gloom of defeat in his heart. He was oblivious to the coldness on his body. He braved the night wind and strode out of the palace. The palace guard who saw him recognized him as the Paladin. Though they could not understand why he was in such a wretched state, they did not stop him.
Fielding walked out of the palace onto the streets in a dignified gait. He walked alone on the deserted streets, his expression looked somewhat grave as Rody’s words echoed repeatedly in his head.
Although the city gate was already shut at night, it was not a hindrance to the Paladin. Fielding got out of the city easily, and he turned back to take a look at the magnificent city wall under the night sky.
Hmm, if he’s here, Mouse would definitely be in the city too...
Fielding stopped at this thought and shook his head, he smiled wryly and sighed, "Fielding oh Fielding, you are being so irresolute and hesitant. How stupid is that? With him around, what is there for you to worry about Mouse?"
When he thought of this, Fielding burst out into laughter. There was no joy at all in his laughter but traces of sorrow. He was about to strode away.
But then he heard a brisk voice chuckling by the roadside, "Why is the formidable Paladin Fielding in such wretchedness, walking half naked on the streets in the middle of the night?
Fielding’s eyebrows raised, and he glanced coldly at the direction of the voice. He saw a slender figure standing by the roadside, covered in a black cloak, but a golden armor was visible under the cloak.
"Ars.Lan, why are you standing here sneakily in the middle of the night? Were you especially waiting for me? "
Fielding had always disliked those from the Dragon Tribe. All the while the Dragons were considered as an ‘alien race’ by the people in the Roland Continent. Besides that, for over hundreds and thousands of years, the Dragon Tribe was generally labeled as heretics. He was not sure how, but His Lordship Prometheus had managed to make the Dragon Tribe bow in submission to the Temple. But the Dragon Tribe Paladins had always been too arrogant, so Fielding did not like them.
"Your Excellency Fielding, you look as if someone just bashed you up." Naturally, Ars.Lan would never give up such an opportunity to attack Fielding. Although they were all Paladins, the two human Paladins and the Dragon Tribe Paladins were always on bad terms in the Temple as well as the Holy Knight Regiment.
Out of Ars.Lan’s expectation, the usually stubborn Fielding did not rebut her statement. Instead, he replied softly, "You are right, I was defeated by a man in a duel just now."
Ars.Lan smiled, "Oh? If I’m not mistaken, it must be the Special Envoy of Radiant Empire?"
Fielding squinted his eyes, "Since you knew this, I assume you must be following us around secretly? Hmph, heretics will be heretics; always doing things in a sneaky manner!"
Ars.Lan suddenly laughed, the look in her eyes was as sharp as needles. She sneeringly said, "Fielding, were you not a Paladin of the Temple, I would have slain you because of what you just said! But I did not tail after you, I was just carrying out His Lordship Prometheus’ orders to get in touch with the Radiant Empire’s Special Envoy. I saw you coming out from the palace just now, so I followed you here, that’s all." Her gaze deliberately swept up and down across Fielding’s body and sneered. "It looks like you have lost really badly!"
Fielding snorted and replied loudly, "Yes! I’ve lost, so what?"
Ars.Lan slowly took a few steps forward and said, "How can one be so arrogant even after being defeated?"
Fielding was silent for a moment, then his lips suddenly curved into a smile, "Ars.Lan, I know you have always defied me and Augustine. If so, you can go challenge that Radiant Empire’s Special Envoy as you wished! I would like to see if you will end up wretched like me!"
Ars.Lan shook her head, "I’m not going to do such a frivolous thing. Today I’m here to..." At this point, she intentionally lowered her voice.
Fielding frowned. "What is it?"
"To..." Ars.Lan’s voice deepened and blurred. She silently moved a few steps closer, a murderous look flickered in her eyes, "To kill you!"
Translator's Note:
1. ksanas: There are two measurements of time found in Buddhist scripture: the ksana and the kalpa. Ksana is equivalent to one seventy-fifth of a second. A kalpa is an aeon. It is said there are 900 arisings and ceasings within each ksana. Probably the number 900 is not meant to be precise but rather is a poetic way of saying "a lot." So 50 ksanas will mean even more things can happen.