Escaping Patel City

The hand the Jettanson Family patriarch reached out to grab the Death Scythe was severed at the wrist by the Hanguang blade in Matthews's hand.

"Murder!"

As Matthews killed the Jettanson Family patriarch, the maid shrieked instantly. Matthews ignored such trivialities and immediately attempted to bind the Sovereign Artifact, the Death Scythe, to his soul once more. Finding that the binding was successful, Matthews immediately called for the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion and prepared to rush out of Patel City.

The guards of the Jettanson Family were naturally unable to stop Matthews, who was already a warrior of the ninth rank, and a peak ninth-rank magic beast, so the two of them charged straight out of the family estate.

The Patel Family controlled this city, and Matthews's act of killing and leaving the Jettanson Family estate inevitably caused a commotion, which was reported by the city guards to the patriarch of the Patel Family.

"Patriarch, someone has reported that something has happened at the Jettanson Family!"

The patriarch of the Patel Family had been busy with matters concerning their Saint Realm ancestor during this period, so he asked indifferently, "What happened?"

"A ninth-rank warrior killed their patriarch at the Jettanson Family estate. The city guards and the Jettanson Family members are in pursuit, and the enemy is estimated to have already charged out of the city!"

"Do you know the reason?"

"I do not."

"Fine, let people go after them."

The patriarch of the Patel Family assumed it was an ordinary vendetta involving a ninth-rank warrior, so he didn't pay much attention once he saw people were already in pursuit. There was no need to trouble their family's Saint Realm ancestor for such a minor matter.

An hour later, Matthews did not linger too long. He knew that Patel City had Saint Realm powerhouses, and if a Saint Realm expert were to come out in pursuit, he and the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion, Pal, would have no chance of survival.

"Hm, interesting."

Ford, the eldest son of the Jettanson Family, heard the voice of Lyriel, a ninth-rank angel riding a horse nearby, and asked curiously, "What is it?"

"A ninth-rank warrior is coming this way, riding a ninth-rank Blood-Eyed Mane Lion!"

Just as the ninth-rank angel Lyriel finished speaking, Ford Jettanson, who was himself a ninth-rank mage, also sensed Matthews and Pal. Feeling the hurried manner in which Matthews was riding Pal, he remarked, "Indeed, it is interesting. A warrior capable of subduing a peak ninth-rank Blood-Eyed Mane Lion is likely not far from the Saint Realm."

Just as they intended to recruit Matthews for the Church of Light, Matthews passed them by without even stopping, as if there were some terrifying beast chasing after them.

"Forget it, the birthday of the Patel Family's Saint Realm ancestor is more important."

Ford Jettanson thought it over and agreed; this was a province near the Magic Beast Mountain Range. Therefore, winning over a Saint Realm powerhouse like Patel to pledge loyalty to the Church of Light was the top priority.

Not long after they parted ways with Matthews, they encountered the members of the Jettanson Family who were pursuing from Patel City. Ford Jettanson recognized a knight who served his family at a glance, walked up, and asked, "What happened?"

"Young Master, a ninth-rank warrior just killed the Master in the family estate and then rode off on a magic beast!"

"What?"

The ninth-rank angel Lyriel also walked up at this moment and asked, "What is it?"

Ford Jettanson guessed what had happened as soon as he thought about it. His father had obtained a weapon at an auction ten years ago. Later, through a stroke of fate, he had bound it to his soul, and only after testing it did they discover it was a sharp divine artifact.

Because he was a mage, that divine artifact, which looked like a death scythe, had always been used by his father. Looking at the current situation, the ninth-rank warrior they had crossed paths with just a short while ago was his father's killer. He also understood that since that ninth-rank warrior had a peak Blood-Eyed Mane Lion, it was unlikely he could retrieve the divine artifact on his own.

"Lyriel, do me a favor!"

Although descended angels could not cultivate to become stronger, they still possessed human thoughts. Furthermore, such descended angels were generally regarded as consumable materials by the Church, so they often had allies within the organization.

Lyriel looked at Ford Jettanson. They had come for the birthday of the Patel Family's Saint Realm ancestor. The birthday banquet was in a few days, and helping Ford Jettanson kill a ninth-rank warrior would likely not take much time, so he nodded.

Matthews, who was truly rushing along on the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion, suddenly felt the fluctuation of magic elements and urged the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion to dodge, narrowly avoiding a fire snake that had rushed down from the sky!

Forced to a halt by this magical attack, Matthews had no choice but to stop. He looked up to see an eighth-rank magic beast, a Thunderbird, flying in the sky, with a mage standing upon it.

On the path ahead of Matthews, an angel also blocked his way. Matthews jumped off the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion and said directly to it, "You hold off this angel; I will go kill that mage."

In this brief moment, Ford Jettanson in the sky unleashed an area-of-effect spell.

"Meteor Shower!"

In his mind, neither Matthews nor the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion could fly. Therefore, he had used his strongest attack, hoping to take Matthews out in one wave.

Matthews's figure, flashing with electric light, suddenly darted into the air. A flash of blade light swept past. The eighth-rank Thunderbird, which was not flying very high to begin with, was slashed down by Matthews, and the ninth-rank mage Ford Jettanson only managed to dodge the strike by jumping off.

Just as Matthews prepared to kill the ninth-rank mage, the angel Lyriel flew up, dodging an attack from the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion. He flashed in front of Ford Jettanson, blocking Matthews's fatal blow for him.

"This is troublesome, Ford. Let's retreat!"

Seeing that Matthews also possessed lightning-type magic that allowed for flight, and that Ford Jettanson had lost his flying mount, the angel Lyriel knew that Ford would fall into a disadvantage when facing the ninth-rank warrior.

If Ford were killed, he likely wouldn't be able to escape either, so the angel Lyriel began to consider retreating. Looking at Ford, who was glaring at Matthews with hatred, the angel Lyriel advised, "We must prioritize our mission!"

Ford Jettanson shook his head at this moment. Through the exchange just now, he realized that he was no match for this warrior on his own, and retrieving the family's divine artifact was impossible.

He said to the angel Lyriel, "He took a precious treasure I intended to offer to the Church; that item must be retrieved."

The angel Lyriel hesitated for a moment and asked, "What is it?"

"A divine artifact! So he must be killed, otherwise, he will be the most dangerous enemy of the Light in the future."

While Ford and the angel were deliberating, Matthews and Pal had already agreed on a tactic. A mage who had lost the advantage of flight would only be slaughtered when facing a peak Saint Realm magic beast, so Matthews would go to deal with the angel that Pal had not managed to pin down.

Before the angel and Ford had finished their discussion, Matthews and the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion had already charged over. The angel Lyriel had no choice but to brandish his blade and engage the incoming Matthews.