Facing the Black Spear

Outside the city walls, numerous troops stood ready for battle. Barghest looked at the report her subordinates had brought her. She recognized every word in the report, but when put together, it left her somewhat bewildered.

"This Boggart guy... wants a knightly duel with me?"

"According to the report... yes."

The report, sent by Sheffield, specifically challenged their opponent to a one-on-one duel. Looking at this absurd, even amusing, challenge, Barghest's eyes were filled with disdain, but his mouth twisted into a grin, revealing his teeth, like a wild beast ready to devour its prey.

Barghest believed he had been quite lenient; in such a small place as Sheffield, he had already given Boggart the opportunity to surrender. But Boggart, true to his character, declared that in Sheffield, there were only lords who would rather die than surrender.

"Nonsense," was Barghest's only opinion of Boggart. "Clearly at his wit's end, yet still unwilling to admit defeat? Doesn't this guy know that if he waits any longer, it won't just be him and the lazy, good-for-nothing Melusine coming, but the entire Britain army, the Clan of the King, and even the Grand Duke of Heat Discharge?"

By then, a quick and painless death would be a luxury.

Now, instead of surrendering, Boggart is challenging me, trying to provoke me?

"Alright, then I'll grant his wish. Watch me twist his stupid head off and make a cloak from it, along with his White Lion skin!"

Barghest was clearly enraged by Boggart's absurd behavior. At this moment, Boggart's actions completely exceeded her code of conduct. The strong should protect the weak, but when that protection can no longer continue, they should face reality and make the choice to preserve their people as much as possible.

In Barghest's view, Boggart's actions were not only foolish but also irresponsible towards his people. He would rather drag everyone down with him than admit defeat.

"Go out and prepare the army; I'll crush Sheffield once I'm done!"

The attendant immediately rushed out of the tent to reorganize the army, and just as Barghest stood up, a clear sound came from afar, crisp and clear, like a sharp blade splitting a bamboo tube.

Then came the sound of the wall collapsing, the bark of the tree being cut in two, leaving a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through. From that gap, a figure slowly walked towards Sheffield. Barghest's eyes widened suddenly; she knew that figure all too well.

The next moment, on the high-rise of Lord's Castle in Sheffield, dark magic began to gather, as if some monster from the deep sea had opened its gaping maw to devour everything.

Countless fairies who wanted to rush in halted in their tracks, intimidated by the powerful magic emanating from the Black Spear, barely daring to take a step. This wasn't the first time they had breached the defenses, but... unless the Fairy Knight Gawain stood in their way, they still didn't have the courage to face that thing.

But at this moment, both Sheffield's and Barghest's men watched the battle with excitement, and the next shot from Black Spear would directly determine the outcome of the fight.

The Black Spear's radiance contracted and then released. In that instant, the sky seemed to turn pale, all colors were swallowed up, leaving only that blackness.

The light struck, seemingly relentlessly trying to annihilate its enemy. Its residual power soared into the sky, devouring everything in its path. The land near the point of impact trembled, and in the distance, vegetation withered in an instant.

The dark light dissipated, and everyone held their breath.

Then, the footsteps sounded again, and Bai Mo waved his hand, as if he had just flicked away some inconspicuous dust.

"Wow! It was blocked! Lord Boggart's all-out attack was blocked!"

"Wasn't it said that this power Tianxia invincible? How come there are others besides the Fairy Knight Gawain who can stop it?"

"Alas, all their last resort was useless; Boggart has lost!"

In an instant, almost all the Sheffield soldiers became losers, clutching their heads in regret, bowing their heads like geese.

On the high platform, Boggart's heart stopped upon witnessing this scene. Even his Black Spear was ineffective, proving that he was completely out of options.

After a moment, he raised his head, looked up at the sky, and let out a long sigh.

"Heaven is against me! Someone, bring me the poisoned wine!"

"Wait, it's too early to die." Beryl appeared out of nowhere, holding a Mystic Code in his hand. He tapped the casing of the Black Spear and said to Boggart:

"Now that things have come to this, I won't hide anything from you. I'll tell you the truth: the true power of this Black Spear."

"True power?"

Boggart was like a drowning man; at that moment, he no longer cared whether what he held in his hand was a rope or a poisonous snake.

"That's right. The true power of this Black Spear lies in its ability to analyze an opponent and deliver a fatal blow once it obtains even a small amount of material from Black Spear. Well, you wouldn't understand even if I explained concepts like the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception to you, would you?"

"If you manage to shave off even a single hair from his head during your fight, and then bring it back using this Mystic Code, I can analyze it and then shoot and kill my opponent."

Hearing Beryl's words, Boggart's spirits lifted; this was truly a case of "after the darkest hour comes the dawn." However, a lingering doubt remained, and he asked:

"Since you have this ability, why didn't you say so earlier?"

"It wouldn't be good if we were exposed. There are two fairy knights on the other side. Killing either one will alert the other. This trump card must be used to its fullest potential."

"Besides... without this period of battle, we wouldn't have been able to collect materials for Fairy Knight Gawain or Lancelot. Even though it's just hair that happened to fall during their battles, collecting it isn't easy, is it?"

"I see... I understand. Now, let me go and duel him!"

Boggart grabbed a knight's straight sword from the side, which looked disproportionate to his size, and leaped down, leaving a deep scratch mark on the city wall where the White Lion landed.

"Come on! Let me see your strength! This is a glorious duel! My guards, charge with me!"

The words fell, but no one responded. Everyone looked over and saw the guards immediately flee.

"Damn it, Boggart's gone mad! Let's run!"

"Phew, whatever, even if I'm alone, I can handle all of this!"

Boggart let out a low growl, grabbed his weapon, and charged fearlessly at his opponent. Meanwhile, atop the city wall, two elf knights watched this battle, which was now a foregone conclusion.

Melusine's lips twitched as she asked Barghest was standing beside her:

"That guy, is he that brave? Doesn't he know how powerful the person in front of him is?"

"That idiot Boggart, if he had any self-awareness, he would have surrendered... Lancelot, why do you seem to know Bai Mo? You two shouldn't have any connection..."

Barghest was clearly not the type to rely solely on brute force; he immediately sensed something amiss. Bai Mo after meeting her in New Darlington, he should have gone straight to Norwich. How could Melusine, who had been in Salisbury, have run into him?

"You... have you been to Norwich?"

"H-How could that be? I absolutely hate business trips. My working hours are only four hours in the afternoon; the rest of the time is wasted."