A Sudden Turn for the Worse

Yorkshire's face had gone completely black. He had long since lost the ability to think.

He stood stupidly beside Leisi, staring at the stripped-bare knights, the General Affairs Hall reduced to ruins, and the sentries and messengers wailing across the ground.

He could not even be bothered to ask why Allen and Legion Commander Xiulunte had started fighting.

Not long ago, he had still secretly counted himself fortunate that Lord Allen, the good-for-nothing Lord, had never interfered in county affairs, much less meddled in or inquired about the General Affairs Hall.

Yorkshire, who had devoted himself to improving the county's impoverished condition, had not even been happy for two days before everything changed.

He had thought he understood Lord Allen well enough. He was just a shut-in living in an old castle. Whenever Yorkshire had doubted whether those rumors about Lord Allen in the Royal City were true, chaos would begin.

The Lord's maid had brutally beaten a Court Mage's personal guard. The Lord had toyed with the diocesan bishop. The Lord had wiped out the Legion Commander's entire guard detail. The Lord had brought down the General Affairs Hall. Then the Lord and the Legion Commander had started fighting, and from the looks of it, they were fighting to the death.

Yorkshire was now absolutely certain that the rumors about Allen in the Royal City were all true. Compared to everything that had happened over the past few days, those rumors were child's play.

Seeing Yorkshire's pleading gaze, Old Butler Leisi shrugged and said indifferently, "What are you panicking for? If that Xiulunte really gets killed, as long as you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who will know?"

Yorkshire was speechless. Brother, that was not what he was worried about, okay? Even taking a step back, Lord Allen was no match for Legion Commander Xiulunte. Was this old man not a little too confident in his master?

His concern was indeed justified. Although Allen had possessed incredible strength since childhood, and his Mental Power had surged after eating the dragon egg, it was still utterly useless.

After all, he had not cultivated Battle Aura. Against Xiulunte's swift swordsmanship, his thick Wolf-tooth Club could do nothing but parry. It could not touch his opponent at all.

Xiulunte's sword never strayed from vital points. Worthy of being the Legion Commander of the Holy See, even without using Battle Aura, he relied on his nimble movements to constantly circle around Allen. Every sudden strike sent a chill down Allen's back.

Allen swung his Wolf-tooth Club like a clumsy black bear being toyed with by a wolf.

The Lord was deeply frustrated. Every full-force strike felt like it had hit cotton and was easily neutralized by Xiulunte. The slender sword was like a cunning venomous snake, forcing Allen into a passive position from impossible angles.

Dina's situation, on the other hand, was much more promising. Sakre, as a noble raised on the spirit of chivalry since childhood, did not strike at Dina with lethal force. He only wanted to capture her alive, so that when the Holy See held him accountable, he would have an explanation. Besides, his uncle was watching from afar. If he went too far, he would never get past him.

Unfortunately, he was simply winking at a blind woman. Dina had no psychological burden whatsoever when she fought. She possessed a barbarian's natural Stone Skin, and after her Titan Bloodline awakened, Sakre's Golden Battle Qi could not be used at all.

Sakre only had himself to blame for thinking too highly of himself. He always relied on his extraordinary Battle Aura and swaggered through the streets with two rusty broken swords, as though showing everyone how formidable he was and how he had no need for divine weapons.

But today, the heavens could no longer stand it. Pretending without showing it was the deadliest kind, and Dina was the terminator of every show-off.

If Sakre's weapons had been even slightly better military-issue weapons, or even a noble sword just a little sharper, perhaps the scene would not have been so embarrassing.

Those two chipped, dull, rusty knight greatswords did not hurt Dina in the slightest when they struck her. They could not even break through her Stone Skin.

Realizing that she had become increasingly hard to hurt, Dina showed no restraint in fighting dirty. She bent at the waist and charged forward like a rampaging bull. She used every move the Second Young Master had taught her—Heart-kicking Foot, Slaps from Both Sides, Black Tiger Heart-Gouging Groin Kick—at the most vicious angles possible, hitting wherever it hurt most. She did not care in the least that this man was Old Laixi's grandnephew.

Under normal circumstances, even two Dinas might not have been Sakre's match.

Unfortunately, reality was reality. It would not spare Sakre the slightest sympathy.

The Golden Battle Qi he cultivated was exceptionally domineering. Combined with the military Martial Skills he had learned since childhood, its broad and forceful style had few rivals. But against Dina, who could suppress Battle Aura, he was like a lion stripped of its fangs and claws. And that lion had just encountered an enhanced oversized black bear.

Sakre, who considered himself quite handsome, had thought he could be like a war god descended to earth, his entire body covered in dazzling golden Battle Aura.

Then things became very awkward. Sakre raised both swords high and leaped into a Great Cross Slash.

The two broken swords struck Dina's shoulders. Dina rolled her eyes and sent Sakre tumbling across the ground with a Heart-kicking Foot.

After Sakre got back up, he thrust both swords forward and stabbed them into Dina's shoulders.

Dina had not reacted in time and jumped in fright. After looking down at her completely uninjured shoulders, she rolled her eyes again and stepped forward with Slaps from Both Sides, landing two hard slaps across his face.

Sakre's vision swam with stars as he blanked out, then Dina hit him with a Black Tiger Heart-Gouging Groin Kick.

Sakre threw away his two broken swords, sucked in a sharp breath, and fell sideways to the ground clutching his crotch like a cooked shrimp.

Perhaps Dina thought Sakre looked too wretched in that position. She picked up a stone pillar taller than a man from nearby and smashed it down at his head.

Sakre was indeed a high-level Qi Warrior. He took the blow to the head head-on, rolled his eyes, and passed out immediately, a huge blood-red lump rising on his forehead.

The three lackey knights who loyally protected him had just rushed forward and had not even gotten close when Dina swung the thick stone pillar and hurled it at them. The three lackeys flew backward in a neat row, clutching their ribs as they began coughing blood.

After dealing with Sakre and his three lackeys, Dina picked up two more roof beams and joined Allen's battle against Xiulunte.

After Dina forcefully entered the fight, the situation began to tilt overwhelmingly to one side.

Allen switched from defense to offense. Muttering vulgar curses under his breath, he swung his Wolf-tooth Club and started hacking at his opponent.

Dina worked with Allen as the sturdiest shield. Relying on her tough body, she completely ignored the slender sword. After all, her opponent had no Battle Aura, so he could not hurt her.

A faint sheen of sweat appeared on Xiulunte's forehead. The broken walls and shattered tiles covering the ground hindered his movements. As he struggled to parry, Allen's Wolf-tooth Club clung to him like a parasite. Having completely abandoned defense, Allen smashed down wildly at him like a shrew chasing down her husband's mistress.

Just as Xiulunte was about to die beneath the Wolf-tooth Club, thunderous sounds came from the distance.

Countless knights rode in on warhorses, holding their lances level as they charged forward and surrounded the General Affairs Hall, now reduced to ruins.

Allen and Dina stopped pursuing Xiulunte and stood alertly where they were, looking toward Wood at the front of the knights.

Xiulunte sneered and shouted, "Attacking the Legion Commander of the Holy See is tantamount to rebellion! Bishop Wood, kill them!"

Yorkshire's face showed shock. No wonder there had been such a huge commotion here, yet no one from the outskirts of Outpost County had appeared.

It turned out that Wood, that old fox, had feared the Grand Duke's guards hidden in the shadows and gone to summon reinforcements.

Judging by the heavily panting warhorses, the Earth Dragon Legion's knights must have ridden here without stopping.

One look at those fully armed knights was enough to tell that they belonged to the Heretic Extermination Legion. Their icy masks could not conceal the fury in their eyes.

That made sense. Their legion's highest-ranking leader had been chased down and beaten by a poor frontier lord and a shrew as if he were someone's mistress. His subordinates definitely could not stand for it.

Wood grinned darkly and whispered something to several knights at the front.

Even Old Laixi, who had remained calm all along, now showed a trace of anxiety.

Several hundred knights leaped from their warhorses and rushed forward to surround Allen. One knight tossed Xiulunte a golden emblem.

"Magic Beast Space Emblem!" Old Laixi's expression darkened.