Chapter 515 – Fury

Amid the increasingly chaotic battlefield, the female knight Audreylinda—struggling to maintain her last shred of vigilance against the tide of rage—was the first to notice the faint purple glow shimmering in Punk’s hand.

Initially, she thought it was an attack about to be unleashed upon her. The horrified female knight even raised her shield, preparing to evade. But upon seeing Punk’s utterly indifferent gaze, the blood-rushing Audreylinda felt as if a bucket of icy water had been dumped over her head.

Without needing to follow the direction of Punk’s stare, Audreylinda, with her keen intuition, immediately realized where his attack was headed.

“No, you despicable villain, stop!”

Watching as the spell in Punk’s hand solidified into a sharp cone, Audreylinda’s beautiful eyes widened to the point of nearly splitting. Only then did the female knight fully grasp how foolish her impulsive charge into the chaotic battlefield to “punish evil” had been, and how poorly she, a first-time mentor, had failed to protect her apprentice.

It had to be admitted that Audreylinda had wandered alone as a rogue knight for far too long. She had always fought solo on the battlefield. In one-on-one combat, Audreylinda, a level-seventeen Master-Level Knight, could even hold her own against Kane, the level-eighteen “monster,” for a short while. But when faced with the imminent peril of her precious apprentice—especially when the threat came from a Master-Level Caster she could barely handle—the rogue knight, who had never considered such a scenario, instantly panicked!

“Master-Level Combat Skill—Ice Shield Bulwark!”

With a roar like that of an enraged lioness, Audreylinda, in her desperation, forcefully parried Kane’s thrust with her shortsword. Seizing the moment before Kane’s next strike, she unhesitatingly unleashed a powerful combat skill she had reserved as her trump card.

“Boom!”

A sapphire-blue, diamond-shaped Battle Aura shield instantly unfolded in layers, centered around her shield. When Kane’s sharp golden radiance collided with the ice-blue aura shield, a deafening explosion once again reverberated through the nearly demolished arena.

But this time, the one forced to retreat two steps back… was Kane.

The Ice Shield Bulwark was undoubtedly one of Audreylinda’s most formidable defensive techniques. Even Kane’s dozens of thrusts in a mere tenth of a second only managed to cover the temporary barrier with extensive cracks.

Clearly, Kane had failed to shatter the shield immediately.

After blocking Kane’s assault, Audreylinda paid no heed to her rapidly deteriorating shield. Without a moment’s delay, she prepared to activate the “Charge” combat skill toward Lina’s direction.

In the female knight’s mind, she would rescue Lina at the “last possible moment,” just as she had saved Claire from Kane’s grasp. Audreylinda had always held great confidence in her speed.

However, had Punk been aware of Audreylinda’s thoughts at that moment, he would have scoffed disdainfully at the naivety of this foolish individual.Don’t forget, Punk is a level nineteen Master-Level Caster, and… Kane standing beside Audreylinda isn’t just for show.

In fact, before Audreylinda could even take her first step beyond the range of her “Ice Shield Bulwark,” a flash of bright yellow light instantly stung the Female Knight’s eyes.

Squelch!

This was the gruesome sound of a blade piercing flesh!

“Keh keh keh keh, where are you looking, little girl? Ignoring the handsome guy right in front of you—this lord is super~ pissed off!”

This was Kane’s unrestrained, arrogant laughter.

“Ah… ngh…”

This was a suppressed cry of pain mixed with shock.

Unfortunately, Audreylinda’s “Charge” rescue attempt was aborted halfway before it could even erupt. Almost simultaneously with the Female Knight activating her “Ice Shield Bulwark,” Kane’s Combat Skill was swiftly unleashed:

“Master-Level Combat Skill—Instant Light Thrust!”

This was a powerful Combat Skill specifically designed to pierce formidable defenses. When Kane activated his “Instant Light Thrust,” all the Battle Aura glow on the knight abruptly dimmed. In contrast, at the tip of his Lance, a pinpoint Battle Aura cone—sharper than a silver needle—erupted with a chilling gleam.

Next, Kane simply executed a standard, unremarkable thrusting motion. Yet the “Ice Shield Bulwark,” which had just repelled the knight, now proved as fragile as tofu pierced by a steel blade. Kane’s Lance penetrated the layered ice-blue shields almost without resistance, its sharp tip directly impaling Audreylinda’s shoulder.

Just a little more—only a little more—had the Female Knight not instinctively tilted her body at the last moment with keen reflexes, Kane’s strike would have shattered Audreylinda’s neck, severing the Female Knight’s head from her body!

Meanwhile, almost at the exact instant Kane’s Lance erupted with brilliance—Lina, who hadn’t even begun to process what was happening… was torn into splattered fragments of flesh by the violent kinetic energy right before Audreylinda and Claire’s eyes…

In that moment, the entire Battlefield seemed to fall into silence…

“Tsk tsk tsk, how tragic it is to be parted from one’s dearest. If you’d just stayed still and let this lord finish you off with one strike, you wouldn’t have to suffer like this. Ah, what an unfortunate, pitiable soul.”

Though his words feigned compassion, Kane’s expression openly displayed schadenfreude. Seeing his enemy seemingly frozen in shock, the treacherous knight unhesitatingly withdrew his Lance, preparing to attack again.

But… before Kane could attempt to bypass the “Ice Shield Bulwark” in front of Audreylinda, the already cracked protective shield shattered on its own.

The next second, what charged explosively toward Kane was no longer the valiant Female Knight, but a roaring demon with bloody tears streaming from its eyes.

“Bastards, I’ll kill you all!”

Now, the Female Knight—pierced through the shoulder by Kane’s Lance—had a bowl-sized bloody hole through which one could see white bone fragments and arteries temporarily sealed by Battle Aura.For many Apprentice-Level professionals, such injuries would likely be fatal. But for a Master-Level combatant, a mere ruptured artery could only be considered a “minor wound.” As long as one could endure the pain, an arm hanging by mere threads of muscle could still be driven into battle through Battle Aura.

Now, the completely enraged Female Knight clearly paid no mind to such trivial pain. She only knew that the beautiful girl, usually as gentle as a kitten, had perished forever. She only knew that the meticulous apprentice who always remembered to fold her clothes before bed would never exist again. She only knew… that the kind-hearted girl who aspired to travel the world with her, punishing evil and promoting good, had vanished so absurdly. The vibrant, brilliant life that should have been hers had not even begun—this seedling of a knight apprentice had abruptly fallen in this wretched place…

Bloody tears streaked her face; her nails dug deep into her flesh. Hatred and regret burned simultaneously in the depths of her soul. As she stared at Kane, who was still laughing recklessly, only one thought remained in Audreylinda’s heart:

That was… to make the evil before her die!

(End of Chapter)