Mystery of the Crusaders

Chapter 44: Mystery of the Crusaders

After dealing with the summoned Vlad the Third, only one enemy remained for Li Ye.

This time, Li Ye would not give the remnant Crusader Magus another chance to escape.

Crimson Lightning flashed, and Li Ye's figure instantly vanished from his spot.

Meanwhile, Sanzang, who was engaged in combat with the Magus, was in a fierce battle.

A large number of familiars, coordinating with magical bombardment from the sky, surrounded Sanzang, making it difficult for him to fight up close with his cold weapons.

"How much longer can you last?"

The Magus in the sky taunted Sanzang, but his gaze kept flicking towards the distance.

The clash of Noble Phantasms between Li Ye and Vlad the Third was immense, something neither Sanzang nor the Magus could ignore.

They were even being affected by it.

The Magus was already considering retreating, but Sanzang's relentless pursuit annoyed him.

He had no choice but to continue sending familiars to engage Sanzang while constantly looking for opportunities to use his magical bombardment.

If the long-prepared magical bombardment hadn't been used on Li Ye, the Magus would have been confident in a safe retreat.

As the battle progressed, the Magus's eyes widened slightly.

Sanzang was seen throwing the Golden Cudgel in his hand towards the sky with all his might!

The slender Golden Cudgel instantly pierced the atmosphere, streaking past the Magus's side.

"Give up your resistance—"

Seeing Sanzang launch such an unwise attack, the Magus was about to mock him, but as a streak of crimson lightning flashed across the sky, the smile on the Magus's face vanished instantly.

Startled, the Magus quickly turned around and saw Li Ye's figure, wreathed in crimson lightning, appear not far away.

He had caught the Golden Cudgel!

"You bastard!!"

The Magus hastily raised his hand, and polygonal light patterns, which Li Ye recognized, appeared around the Magus's sides.

But this time, Li Ye would not give the Magus any chance to launch his bombardment!

Whoosh!

The suddenly elongated Golden Cudgel, crackling with crimson lightning, shattered layers of defense and struck the Magus directly in the abdomen!

"Guh!"

The Magus couldn't withstand Li Ye's impact. His eyes widened, and he spat out a mouthful of scarlet blood.

The Golden Cudgel didn't stop there; it forcefully knocked the Magus from his throne in the sky down to the ground!

Boom!

A thunderous roar kicked up waves of sand, the clear aftermath of the Magus's fall.

"This was still pretty easy—"

Li Ye, also landing back on the ground, twirled the cudgel like Sanzang and then returned it to the approaching Sanzang. "Master Sanzang, you've worked hard. This one must have been difficult to deal with."

Li Ye glanced at the scattered remains of familiars littering the ground, easily imagining the intensity of the fight.

"Hmph, are you underestimating a devout monk aspiring to become Buddha?" Sanzang said confidently, taking back the Golden Cudgel.

After a brief chat with Sanzang, Li Ye walked up to the Magus and looked down at the Crusader Magus from above.

The black robe that concealed his form fell away during Li Ye's sudden attack, revealing the Magus's true face.

It was a face identical to Aleka's.

'Homunculus?'

Li Ye raised an eyebrow. As he saw the Magus's true face, Li Ye's mind raced with possibilities.

If the news of Magie Friedman's death was true, then this Magus shouldn't be under anyone's control. But this raised another question.

How many Maguses of the same model as Aleka were there?

Aleka possessed exquisite magic for creating chimera stitched beasts, but this Magus commanded familiars and wielded various other magic. Even if they were the same model, there were still differences compared to Aleka.

"Master Sanzang, do you have any incantations that can make people speak the truth?"

Li Ye made a gesture.

As if understanding Li Ye's intent, Sanzang leaned back with a sudden realization, striking his palm with his fist. "Nope. Back then, it was always that idiot disciple Wukong who made the demons talk obediently."

'Ah, the truth through force.'

Hearing Sanzang's answer, Li Ye regretted that Nitocris wasn't here. If she were, as a true Magus, Nitocris would surely have provided a solution.

"Honestly, threats probably won't work on you, so I don't plan on wasting words. If you don't tell me about the Crusaders' intelligence, I'll have to take you to the Holy City and let King Ozymandias deal with you."

"Besides, your continued concealment offers no advantage; it only causes you more trouble."

As Li Ye finished speaking and prepared to lift the Magus, "My King, leading us—"

The vacant-eyed Magus finally spoke.

'!'

Li Ye, who had been feeling listless, perked up instantly at these words. Without interrupting, he decided to quietly listen to the Magus's account.

Li Ye even held back Sanzang, preventing her from speaking.

However, what Li Ye waited for was silence.

The Magus had started but didn't continue, causing Li Ye's brow to furrow slightly.

But the Magus's next words almost made Li Ye burst out laughing.

"Why aren't you asking me anymore?"

The Magus continued to stare blankly at the sky, but the question, tinged with a hint of confusion, sounded incredibly innocent.

Li Ye cleared his throat and, under Sanzang's surprised gaze, played along with the Magus's rhythm, posing a question: "Ahem, and who is this King you speak of?"

"The King, naturally, is the great Lionheart Richard I. Only he can lead us to achieve supreme greatness."

The Magus spoke slowly, but the content of his words was something Li Ye couldn't ignore.

When the Magus mentioned that the Crusaders had another King, Li Ye had already harbored suspicions. He hadn't expected it to truly be [Lionheart Richard I].

But could it really be Lionheart Richard I?

Li Ye harbored doubts about this.

Yet, the Holy Grail was undeniably in the possession of someone within the Holy City of Jerusalem. Coupled with the ability to deploy a Heroic Spirit Summoning Circle of such magnitude, the Crusader main force must have been present in Jerusalem at that time.

But where did this Lionheart come from?

Being able to appear outside Jerusalem, or even hidden in Ozymandias's desert, the Lionheart must have evaded the Holy Lance's devastating strike, or perhaps the Lionheart wasn't in the Holy City of Jerusalem at that time.

However, to have gathered so many Crusader members in the time it took the Lion King to destroy the Holy City and rebuild Camelot, it was evident how swift the Lionheart's actions were.

The ability to freely create Chimeras, use Life Magic and Curse Magic, deploy Heroic Spirit Summoning Circles, and even these Homunculi models identical to Aleka's.

The trump cards held by the remnants of the Crusaders far exceeded Li Ye's expectations.

This didn't seem like a hastily assembled force.

"What are your thoughts on Lionheart Richard I?"

Seeing how cooperative the Magus was, Li Ye didn't hesitate to press further.

Since he lacked knowledge about Lionheart Richard, he would try to glean as much information about the Lionheart as possible from the Magus.

"The King is great, wise, and intelligent. To us, he is both King and Father—"

Super thanks to Brother Meng Hu Qing Chi for the 2000 Qidian Coins and 20 monthly votes! (lol)