Chapter 501
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Saleen finally understood why Lex was so determined to capture the Metal Titan . If the Metal Titan could partake in the current battle, it only needed to stomp a few times to terminate those pesky blood knights . On the battlefield, tremendous brute strength was sometimes irreplaceable .
Of course, if Lex's mages charged into battle, they could also kill the blood knights . It would be unwise for them to join in the battle though, whether they were using scrolls or the magic chords to cast spells .
The scrolls would be depleted bit by bit, while the magic chords required more than two hours to be regained . This was also only because Lex's mages were extremely ferocious . Out of a few hundred mages, they were the selected few .
Many mages required six hours to regain their magic chords . They still had to consume medicine and wear the relevant equipment too .
Lex's team was very small . The moment they abandoned the war puppets, they immediately broke free from the blood knights . As this team of people escaped east, the sound of the war drums in the distance became softer and softer .
It could not be considered an escape . At worst, if both parties fought, everyone would sustain heavy damage . The Tanggulasi Empire had assembled this army in a fluster, so they did not have a targeted solution to deal with Lex's team .
Lex was a grade-6 mage . On her team, she had brought along two grade-5 mages, four grade-4 mages, an assassin who was almost a Golden Grand Swordmaster, two Black Metal Grand Swordmasters, and ten swordmasters clad in the Spirit Snake Armor . Given such a force, a sorcerer was needed to quell this team . A normal army had to have huge manpower in order to stop Lex from leaving .
Four demons had suddenly appeared beside Saleen too . Of these four demons, Cuisi's offensive power might be much higher than that of Jola's . Saleen himself also possessed various extraordinary methods to deal with a warrior . One example was the water flow in his calabash . Its offensive power was akin to a level-4 spell, yet it did not consume any magic chords at all .
Saleen looked back indignantly . Under the effect of the Icy Sight, everything became so clear . The blood knights and the war puppets hacked one another relentlessly, all order had been lost . A few blood knights, who did not fall off their warhorses, persevered and gave chase . Jola then used his bow to shoot them in their hearts, causing them to fall off the warhorses, never to get up again .
A Silver Grand Swordmaster was really a mighty presence . With a distance of more than three-hundred yards, a normal soldier could only fire three arrows at most even if they had immense strength and had undergone tough training . Their fingers might be fractured otherwise .
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Within a distance of one-hundred yards, a normal soldier could only fire six arrows . Since a crossbow was fitted with a gear, it could allow a soldier to fire infinitely, provided there were arrows available . The firing speed of a crossbow was too slow if it was not an alchemical crossbow though . If a soldier using a crossbow, which had a range of three-hundred yards, could fire three arrows in a minute, he was considered a good archer .
Jola could fire a rain of arrows, and never seemed to get exhausted though . This meant that his skills were equivalent to that of a high grade professional archer already .
The team continued east . They actually could enter the desert directly if they traveled south, but Lex chose east to avoid consuming strength prematurely . By traveling one-hundred miles east, the mountain would lead deeper into the desert, and if the Tanggulasi army wanted to surround the team, they would have to enter the desert in advance . On the other hand, if the Tanggulasi army chased behind the team, they would find it hard to keep up with Lex's pace .
The temperature got increasingly lower while the radiant moon was suspended high in the sky . Frosty air infiltrated the exterior layer of their armor, but was blocked out by the magic beast skin . The swordmasters did not feel any discomfort, while the skeletal warhorses did not even care about such a temperature . In the death dimension, the temperature was below zero degrees perennially and there were also volcanoes there . Whether the temperature was high or low, a spirit might get killed, but its actions would not slow down .
The magic war chariot was a little jerky because no amount of magic arrays could ever eliminate all vibrations . The wheels enveloped in isinglass brought the vibrations down to an acceptable level, since the team was dashing insanely at more than forty miles an hour .
"Someone is chasing us!" Nailisi's danger awareness was keener than anyone elses . Before Lex could discover the scent of danger, Nailisi was already pointing to the rear and yelling .
Very soon, a black figure appeared in mid-air, cutting across the sky .
"Reduce speed . " Lex immediately gave an order to make the magic war chariot slow down . The skeletal warhorses also controlled their pace . They walked in a circle before turning around to face the oncoming enemy .
Lex was not worried at all . The person was flying at less than one-hundred miles an hour, so he was not a sorcerer yet . If the enemy was a holy master, then he should be at the grade of a black pastor, it was unlikely that he was a bishop .
When that black shadow noticed that the team on the ground had stopped, he was stunned . He also slowed down, then he levitated in the air more than one-hundred yards from Lex's magic war chariot .
A mage usually preferred to limit their attack distance to one-hundred yards . Any farther, and they could not reduce the consumption of mental strength .
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Even though a grand mage could attack from more than two-hundred yards away, or from a horrifying five-hundred yards away, mages were still used to fighting at an intermediate distance .
The man in the sky was clad in a long black robe and wore a leather cap, he was obviously not used to the low temperature . This was the difference between a holy master and a mage .
This man had a neatly shaved black beard, but it was impossible to decipher his age, one could only tell that he was between thirty to fifty years old . As he looked down at the ground . Lex, who was in the magic war chariot, did not come out . As though protesting, the ten swordmasters raised their miniature alchemical crossbows which hung on their left arms . These alchemical crossbows could definitely hit this black-robed holy master who was levitating in the air .
Since he was wearing a black robe, he had to be from the inquisition .
The subordinates of the pope would wear a red robe when they reached this grade, while the subordinates of an oracle would wear a white robe . Even the inner ranks of the Holy See had much dissatisfaction at the inquisition because the inquisition was despicable . Other than their god, the inquisition only thought of themselves .
"Your Highness Lex, you are traveling too quickly . " The black-robed holy master had a gentle voice which could spread for more than one-hundred yards easily . He did not even raise his voice .
The doors of the chariot flung open, and Lex revealed her near perfect face . She leaned against a cushion, looking lackadaisical, as though she was resting in her own residence .
"I wasn't expecting a powerful figure from the inquisition to come, which one are you?" Lex employed an even more relaxed tone to chat with this man .
"The three old men have six disciples, I am the fifth one . They call me Black William . " The black-robed holy master seemed to be warming up to Lex, as he spoke at a leisurely pace .
The three old men referred to the three leaders of the inquisition, the three head inquisitors who were not known to the outside world . These three men controlled the one-hundred-thousand adjudicators from the inquisition . No matter how much displeasure the inner ranks of the Holy See had towards the inquisition, they would not dare anger these three men . The man who pursued Lex was actually their disciple .
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Lex cackled, then said, "Black William? Are you the kindest one out of the six killers?"
"Indeed I am, that's why I am here . If the other five were here, you would surely die . "
The inner ranks of the Holy See were split into factions, and there was serious infighting . The oracles, pope and head inquisitors each held onto one faction . The pope controlled the most people, the oracles controlled the ascetics, while the head inquisitors controlled the most number of fanatic believers .
The power of an oracle came from the blessings of the god . In order to resist the oracles, the head inquisitors decided to groom six successors . These six men were nicknamed "killers" . This nickname was actually given by the inner circle of the Holy See, and not the victims of these six people . The unlucky ones who got killed by them would not even have the chance to give them nicknames .
All along, the style of the inquisition was complete extermination . If one got onto their blacklist, they could either hide in silence, or their whole family would be massacred .
The most ridiculous time was when the inquisition decided to extend its sphere of influence into Alchemy City . In the end, Alchemy City lost a sorcerer, but the inquisition stopped sending people into the city . Both parties accepted this outcome in silence . If other powers tried to wreak havoc in Alchemy City, they would have faced severe retaliation .
After the pope ambushed Emperor Chanake, Alchemy City dispatched a group of mages to create trouble in the Tanggulasi Empire . Because of that, to this day, the Tanggulasi Empire still could not deploy all its forces to attack Qin . When the eastern sea allied army appeared in northern Qin, Tanggulasi would have rode on the situation to stage an invasion . It would not have seized Titan first .
"I heard that the inquisition had a part to play in killing my father . Are those three fellows dead or paralyzed?" Lex's voice suddenly became frosty, a tinge of frost even appeared on the skin of her face .
Black William laughed, but he did not get angry . Then, he said, "Emperor Chanake was a great man . The pope still hasn't recovered after getting hurt by him, it seems like the next pope will be ascending the throne soon . The head inquisitors are extremely grateful to the emperor . "
The moment Saleen heard Black William's response, he immediately understood that this guy was a difficult problem, because no one could direct his emotions .
"If they are really grateful, they should accompany him . " Lex did not continue along the same topic . She realized that Black William had no intention to kill her .
"That is a matter of time, there is no rush . " Black William continued to respond in a serene manner . "But, Your Highness, is it a wise decision to take such risks?"
"What are you trying to say?" Lex did not want to beat about the bush with Black William, this man was simply too perilous . He had the support of the three head inquisitors . As the disciple of those three old men, Black William's offensive power might already be higher than that of a Black Bishop . "His flying speed just now should be a pretense to make me let my guard down . "
"Your Highness, I know about the conflict between you and Holy Rock City…"
"I am a Grukos . " Lex interrupted Black William's sentence .
"This is indeed a sticky situation, but has Your Highness ever thought of establishing your own dynasty?"
"My dynasty would not allow the existence of a church either . " Lex was never more determined .
"This should be left to the choice of the citizens . "
"Citizens? This word was invented by the Sikeqinyans right? Is the Holy See using it too?" Lex spoke in a sarcastic tone .
"Master, the viscountess has been agitated by that guy . The situation isn't too good . " Nailisi whispered into Saleen's ear .
"Don't worry, Lex is doing this on purpose . " Saleen affixed his gaze on Black William, trying to identify any weaknesses . No matter how hard he observed or used the Figaro Formula to calculate, he could not identify any spell which could destroy the perfect balance in that man's body .
A full round moon shone behind the spot where Black William was levitating . It was as though all that moonlight was a halo shining down from his body .