Chapter 41: Futile

"Before I kill you, I must say..."

The pale-white mist surging behind Ron converged into the shape of a 'divine emblem.' Although it looked blurry from any angle, the evil god's power contained within it was intensely sharp and heavy. He smiled at Mo Dan and said, "You are a mad genius without any bottom line or stance. If we were somewhere else, I think we might have gotten along quite well~"

Logically speaking, since Ron had so modestly flattered Mo Dan, it should have been the latter's turn to praise him back. After all, mutual boasting was a form of politeness these days, and it could also help boost one's stylishness. In literary works, it even served the rather challenging task of padding the word count.

Yet Mo Dan seemed indifferent to this routine procedure, merely shrugging slightly: "I admit that I am indeed exceptional, it's just a shame that a good opponent is so hard to find..."

"Then I am truly honored~" Ron ripped off his tattered steward's robe, revealing a set of dark gray, mysterious priest's vestments. He crossed his hands, and two long, sharp, crescent-like black blades snapped out from his wrists—at a glance, they were clearly pieces of fine equipment.

"You?" Mo Dan rolled his eyes in response: "You're nothing!"

A period of awkward silence...

"Die!" Ron's anger finally reached its peak. The pale-skinned half-elf who had utterly ruined his plans for years the moment he appeared was so despicable in nature, so vicious in thought, and his very words felt like poisoned blades that drove him to the brink of madness...

He who can bear small insults can achieve great things. Since the great things had already gone down the drain, there was no need to endure any longer!

His body, far more agile than it looked, lunged forward amidst a howling, chilling wind. The black wrist blades slashed viciously toward Mo Dan's throat. From Dave, Ron had already roughly gauged how capable this opponent was; even the slightest graze from this strike would be enough to kill this bastard on the spot!

Yet Mo Dan didn't even bother to dodge. Aside from the fact that he couldn't have dodged it anyway, this also stemmed from his absolute self-assurance.

Bang!!

The dual black blades were intercepted half a meter away from Mo Dan by a giant warhammer that suddenly thrust across. Bayes, who had blocked the blow with one hand, glared at Ron and asked, "Just how much longer do you plan on ignoring me?"

Another two-handed warhammer swept outward with a burst of exploding sparks, forcing Ron to leap back and fly several steps away. The owner of the Rye Tavern turned his head to glance at Mo Dan, his gaze carrying a hint of confusion and dissatisfaction: "Why did you just stand by and watch those two fellows die?"

"Because they were indeed trash," Mo Dan said with a spread of his hands and a smile. "One spent all these years completely clueless about what kind of person his most trusted subordinate really was, while the other was actually preparing a promotion ritual for a cultist, refusing to shed a tear until he saw his own coffin..."

He glanced at the two corpses on the ground that hadn't completely cooled yet and smiled with pursed lips: "So isn't this the most fitting ending?"

Bayes was stunned for a moment, then a bitter smile appeared on his face. He slammed his twin hammers into the ground, sending out a cone-shaped shockwave that once again blocked Ron's charging figure. Nodding noncommittally, he said, "Maybe you're right, but I always feel..."

"Always feel that these two pieces of trash—who indirectly led to the deaths of several innocent lives—didn't deserve to die?" Mo Dan said with a cheeky smile from behind him. "Actually, I don't care either, I just thought this method of death was quite interesting, so I gave that Lord Steward a little push~"

Bayes let out a long sigh: "Alright, alright, I get it, they deserve to die. So what's next? Kill him?"

"No." Mo Dan shook his head, then suddenly said in a deep voice to Bayes: "Stay alive!"

??

Before the latter could react, a mesmerizing whisper sounded from not far away...

"You cannot stop me!"

The radiating shockwave was instantly breached. Ron brought his twin blades together and slashed down toward Bayes's head!

"Get back!" Mo Dan shouted lowly to the powerful warrior beside him: "Don't take it head-on!"

This sentence made Bayes—who had originally intended to parry with his giant hammer—subconsciously shift his body...

And then he watched helplessly as the 'Fated Star Warhammer' that had accompanied him for many years was shaved off at the corner, the enchanted array of the Blazing Surge engraved upon it instantly losing its luster.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Bayes was instantly shocked. Having witnessed Ron's strength earlier, he had still been at least ninety percent confident he could hammer him all over, but now he grew instantly vigilant because he figured his head was definitely not as hard as the warhammer in his left hand that had just had its corner hacked off!

Ron grinned and spoke softly once again: "Your resistance is meaningless!"

As a result, Bayes's sudden kick didn't even leave a mark on Ron; instead, he was instantly closed in on by his opponent, who pressed right up against him.

As a close-combat style of fighting, a grappling range with virtually zero arm span was the optimal distance for wrist blades, daggers, and gauntlets to perform at their best. This instantly gave Ron the advantage, while Bayes, who used two two-handed warhammers, found himself in the exact opposite situation!

At this moment, the large number of cultists in the plaza were trading blows evenly with the knight academy instructors and holy priests, and the scene gradually fell into a stalemate.

[If things continue like this, it could get really bad!]

Bayes couldn't help thinking to himself. And in that fraction of a second when he was slightly distracted, Ron instantly left two deep slash marks on his armor.

"Go find Cole and Leduo, run first!" Bayes roared at Mo Dan, then tossed aside the warhammer in his left hand that had been whittled down almost to an iron rod, and swung both hands with his remaining hammer toward Ron: "I'll hold him off!"

[Heavy Storm]

Weapon-Class Active Skill

Prerequisite: Dual-Handed Mastery 10, Strength 20

Cost/Restriction: 130 Stamina, Wielding a Two-Handed Weapon

Effect: Brandish your weapon to spin at high speed, continuously dealing massive physical damage to surrounding enemies for 5 seconds. Movement speed is reduced by 30% during the duration, with damage stacking by 10% per second. Cooldown: 20 minutes.

[Remarks: Due to individual physical differences, random side effects such as dizziness, vomiting, confusion, and paralysis do not appear in the above description, but please act within your capabilities. As a traffic department poem puts it: A moment of windmill joy, a thousand lines of family tears.]

This windmill spin was indeed formidable. Under Bayes's overwhelming warhammer storm, even Ron, who bore the power of the evil god, dared not confront it head-on and was forced to retreat repeatedly.

"Just as I guessed..." Mo Dan muttered, standing completely still in the same spot. "There is a limit to that kind of power, but it varies from person to person. Just like when they were both splashed with that holy water lunatic's water, Dave that retard spontaneously combusted on the spot, but this fellow merely puffed out a bit of smoke."

In the time it took to say eighty-some characters, five seconds passed in a flash. Bayes looked back and saw that Mo Dan was still standing in place without moving, so he couldn't help roaring anxiously: "Run already... ugh...!"

And then he threw up...

Ron had lightning-fast reflexes. Muttering to himself, he charged forward with a dash and slashed down at Bayes's head!

And then he was blown away by an explosion...

"Are you trying to play the hero for five seconds and then go die?!" Leduo, who had blown Ron away with a lightning storm, leaped down from mid-air supported by a few leaves from afar. With a wave of her staff, she knocked Bayes head-over-heels and scolded, "You're acting all manly now, huh?!"

At the same time, with a wave of her slender hand, several thorny vines intertwined into a cage around Ron.

Bayes was dumbfounded on the spot: "I wasn't..."

Crash!!

"What do you mean you weren't?!"

"I mean I didn't mean to..."

Crash!!

"What do you mean you didn't mean to!"

"Ouch, it hurts, listen to my explanation..."

Crash!!

"I won't listen!"

Crash!!

"I won't listen!"

Crash!!

"I'm not listening to a single word!!"

Crash!!

Mo Dan made a rough calculation from afar. Bayes, who had been tangling with Ron for quite a while, was clearly losing blood at an even faster rate right now. If Leduo kept smashing him with her staff at this rhythm, he reckoned that uncle would meet his demise in two minutes at most...

"My lord is above!" Ron, who had shattered the thorny cage, lunged forward from not far away looking somewhat disheveled: "I'm going to kill you two lovebirds!"

Bayes leaped into the air and smashed down with both hands gripping his hammer in a move of Mountain-Shattering Strike: "Who are you calling lovebirds?!"

As for Leduo, she held her staff vertically in front of her chest. Spiked giant vines, spinning at high speed, burst forth from the ground and spread toward Ron, her expression looking somewhat delighted: "Say 'lovebirds' two more times~"

The cooperative attack they subconsciously executed was flawless, sealing off every possible angle from which Ron could dodge. This showed that despite all these years, everything they had shared in their youth had not faded away with time!

However...

"Useless!" Ron just muttered softly, "Everything is in futile!"

And then he directly stepped on the terrifying, drill-like vines, charging straight toward Leduo while raising his hand to forcibly endure Bayes's hammer descending from above.

Despite having set up an elemental shield in advance, Leduo's cheek was still scratched.

"Try not to let him talk!" Mo Dan squatted not far away, shouting with a cheerful smile: "It would be even better if you could block your own hearing~"

This guy was certainly talking without standing back pain!

The two of them felt somewhat terrible, but they still followed suit right away, though the effect was minimal...

Frequent attacks could hardly plug Ron's mouth...

Even after setting up a soundproof barrier, they were still affected by some unknown force...

It was miserable!

Attacks that should have hit inevitably would suddenly become weak or even dissipate into thin air.

The opponent's seemingly non-threatening moves and stances would always instantly accelerate or gain a surge of destructive power.

In less than five minutes, Bayes and Leduo gradually fell into a disadvantage. Moreover, if not for the tacit understanding engraved in their souls, they would have found it hard even to put up a reluctant resistance...

They had to protect themselves as much as possible while constantly keeping an eye out to ensure that kid wouldn't be ambushed and instantly killed by Ron!

The situation was getting worse and worse...

"In front of absolute power, everything is empty talk!" Ron laughed wildly as he suppressed the two of them with a flurry of fierce attacks: "Soon I will slaughter the two of you, then go deal with the other two brats, and lead the rest of the congregation to fight our way out of Pato City, root ourselves in another place, and eventually make my lord's whispers echo through the high-and-mighty City of Light!"

[This won't do...]

Bayes and Leduo, growing increasingly powerless to support themselves, both began to sink into despair. Although their previous plan had been seamless, a loophole had ultimately appeared. That kid had miscalculated Ron's strength. If this kept up, this powerful cultist with bizarre divine power would soon kill the two of them, and then he could even slaughter the entirety of Pato City with his remaining hundred-plus followers before swaggering away...

"Leduo!" Bayes crossed over to block a quick slash for his companion—who remained as beautiful as ever after all these years—and let out a muffled grunt before smiling bitterly at her: "Run with this kid and Cole and the others... I have a few trump cards left that can hold this Lord Steward off for a while."

"In your dreams!" Leduo's light golden hair was somewhat disheveled. She waved her staff to conjure a layer of flower-leaf shield to protect Bayes behind her, shouting angrily, "Starting today, even if you die, you'll never shake me off!"

Bayes slammed fiercely into Ron's waist. Although it didn't do much, it still knocked him back several meters. Looking back, he scolded, "Get lost, you crazy girl, I hate that stinky temper of yours!"

"I won't get lost!" Leduo threw a tantrum as well, summoning a cluster of sharp, blade-like leaves to slash at Ron, while conveniently slapping a hand toward her teammate's bear-like face.

Slap!

"You..." Leduo stared blankly at her own hand, muttering, "Why didn't you dodge..."

Bayes wore a handprint on his face and smiled gently at her: "This slap is what I owed you. I'm sorry, Leduo."

"But..."

"Don't say it, I won't leave you ever again."

"But..."

"?"

Leduo glared fiercely at the clueless, silly uncle in front of her: "But why on earth didn't you dodge? My hand hurts so much!!"

"Huh?" Bayes's entire mind was blown.

"Huh, what huh!" Leduo said angrily, "You have thick skin and a tough hide, but I'm a mage!"

"Uh, I'm sorry."

"Heehee, I forgive you!"

The two smiled at each other, the air filled with the sour, pungent smell of romance...

And then, pale-white mist frantically billowed from not far away!

Ron, who had been charging his ultimate skill for a long time, instantly appeared between the two of them. With a fury fueled by (being a single dog), the wrist blades on the sides of his arms cut fiercely toward each of them!

Blood splattered!

"Run!"

"Take Cole and that little girl... don't worry about us..."

The two of them, having each blocked an attack for the other, tumbled to the ground right by Mo Dan's feet, shouting loudly at him at the same time.

Deep, bone-visible bloody gashes appeared on both Bayes's and Leduo's sides. One look was enough to tell that their injuries were extremely severe.

And then...

And then why on earth was this kid's expression so calm?!

"You finally made it in time." Mo Dan didn't pay them any mind at all, completely ignoring the approaching Ron as well, and instead gazed into the northern distance, murmuring softly: "The speed was slower than I thought..."

By this time, both Bayes and Leduo had revealed expressions of despair. Ron had walked up to Mo Dan's side, smiling cordially: "Are you delivering your last words?"

"No." Mo Dan shrugged. "I was just thinking about something you said earlier, it seemed to make a lot of sense."

"Oh?" Ron looked slightly puzzled.

Mo Dan blinked at him: "It was that line, 'In front of absolute power, everything is empty talk.' It makes total sense!"

After that, light shone upon everyone...

Pure light, holy light, endless light...

Illuminating Pato City under the setting sun!

A solemn voice exploded like thunder in everyone's ears!

"By the Holy Light! That bunch of evil deserves a battle!"

Chapter 41: End