Blood tax

Chapter 538 A sudden temporary truce

Aaron!Why is he here?
The child of prophecy was placed in the rotating magic ball, and the terrifying annihilation and mysterious aura exuded, like the extreme north wind, was mixed with a confusing chill that penetrated into the bone marrow.As soon as you see him, you will have the thought of retreating from the depths of your soul!

Aaron raised his wand, pointed it casually in the direction of Griffith's retreat, and released a black fireball.The fireball, which at first seemed to be as big as the palm of your hand, flew a short distance, then expanded rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and soon exceeded the size of a house. A conch-like rotating texture appeared on the surface of the black flames.

The pitch-black flame ignited everything it touched, boiling and rolling, dissolving into an indescribable black liquid.The blue corrosive liquid splashed out and fell to the ground, burning the rocks until they creaked; when it fell on the water of the stream, it boiled like adding fuel to a fire.

Even the shields of the few Extraordinaries standing in front were contaminated by the flying black fire, and were corroded until they kept shining!It seems that it will be annihilated in the next second.

There was a flash of lightning in the air, and Erza's figure emerged from the silver refraction.Her eyes were shining with magnificent light, and arcs of electricity crackled around her feet, lashing the ground from time to time, stirring up puffs of smoke.

Griffith was grabbed by her arm and avoided Aaron's fireball at the critical moment.When he landed on the ground again and looked back at the devastated land, his heart beat faster.

This is the fire of the virtual realm!

Griffith had seen Galadia's evil eye summon this terrifying substance.This is an attack that cannot be defended. Once it is contaminated, it will be burned to death by a strange psychic flame!

The situation is too unfavorable.Commodus with a large number of subordinates is already difficult to deal with, plus a son of prophecy whose strength is bottomless...

On Griffith's side, due to battlefield restrictions, he, a war knight, has neither a reliable army nor a "Bloodthorn" lance.Erza, on the other hand, has not yet completed the trial, and her psychic abilities are extremely unstable.Although her combat skills are unparalleled, she also lacks core equipment. Continuous battles and teleportation consume a lot of her psychic energy.

Being in this state and facing two powerful forces is like a mouse caught in a millstone and will be shattered to pieces at any time.

Therefore, Griffith and Erza fled north at the same time in a tacit understanding.The two of them are definitely no match for Aaron and Commodus in this state, and the decisive battle must be postponed to the appropriate time and battlefield.

Aaron withdrew his gaze from the fleeing knight and huntress, and looked at Commodus again, gentle and calm, as if he was a guest with a gift.

"What is this?" Commodus pressed his hand on the holy sword and asked in a deep voice.One part of his men pursued Griffith closely, while the rest spread out their formation and vaguely surrounded Aaron from both sides.

"The spiritual flame of the virtual realm burns all things and will not disappear until the target is burned out," Aaron said, "I call it goodwill."

Several Beyonders infected by the black flames had their shields burned through, rolling on the ground in despair and pain, wailing heart-breakingly.

Aaron waved his magic wand, and the black flames were immediately extinguished. The ignited Beyonders collapsed to the ground one by one, and the burned parts of their bodies disappeared without a trace.

"bona fide……"

Commodus' face was as cold as ice, and he faced the son of prophecy with full vigilance.Based on the reliable information from the intelligence agent, he knew that Aaron had the authority to create a psychic army, enough to make any strong person fear him.However, the scene just now means that Aaron even has the means to use and control the energy of the virtual realm at will.

Is there anything Aaron can't do?He did not directly smash down the fire of the virtual world, which can indeed be called "goodwill".

"What do you want, wizard." Commodus nodded slightly and accepted Aaron's kindness in principle.

Aaron was happy with that.He raised his right hand and pointed to the sky with his index finger and middle finger: "The God of Contract witnessed that a truce agreement was concluded between the four hands of gods here."

Commodus's men were all shocked for a moment.

Rorschach and Overseer Ekirum stepped forward, following the Son of Prophecy in silence.Aaron pointed elegantly in the direction of Zulhaka:
"The ancient eggs are about to hatch. Every high-ranking troll lord you defeat is the key to the bloodthirsty false god's escape from his prison.

"This is a trap, son of Aurelius. You know what is buried here, but you don't know its nature. The shadow of Zulhakar is tempting you. This is its territory. The more you fight, the more sacrifices you give to it. The richer.

"When it condenses into a physical form, you will find that you have been deceived. The bait will send you and your pursuers into the mouth of the false god."

Commodus was silent for a while: "False rumors. Griffith and Valkyrie, two daring traitors have reached the end of their rope and are just waiting to sacrifice their blood to the military flag. What else can stop me?"

"Blood sacrifice?"

The corner of Aaron's mouth curled up: "In the past few days, you and the entire army have failed to capture Valkyrie. After Griffith arrived, your army was suffering casualties every moment. Son of Aurelius, Tell me, how many more squadrons are you prepared to lose for them, and how many more knights are you prepared to die in battle?"

Commodus's face turned livid, and his ice-blue eyes rolled like burning ice.

"Arrogance.

"Wizard, could it be that this king, Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus, can no longer fight? The one who needs a truce to regroup is the only legitimate king of Bjeland?
"Have you forgotten that you are also my prey? Are you trying to stop me with the fire of the virtual realm?"

Aaron didn't take it seriously. He waved his hand towards the north and sent Rorschach and the Troll Overseer to join in the pursuit.And he himself walked towards Commodus as if he wanted to drink tea with an old friend:
"Don't be anxious, son of Aurelius,

"I'll give you an offer that you can't refuse."

……

A silver moon hangs in the false sky, and twilight is approaching.

"The one wearing the dark gold helmet is Griffith!"

The rapid hooves of horses broke the silence, and shouts came one after another from the left and right.

Griffith heard an explosion and hurriedly leaned on his horse. A spear grazed his helmet and was nailed to the rock beside him.Then there was another roar, and the troll warlord Ekirum swung his steel axe, almost cutting him and his horse in two.

Griffith had no intention of fighting, so he could only drive the skeleton army and horses to break out of the encirclement with all their strength and run towards the northern outer city of Zulhaqa.

Suddenly, an indescribable premonition of danger suddenly appeared in his heart. From the corner of his eye, he saw a grotesque and ferocious snake slithering through the woods.This thing has scarlet eyes, disgusting worm-like tentacles clearly curling up in its fangs, long spikes on the back of its head and a pair of extremely incongruous wings.

It seemed to be flying or gliding at a speed that was too fast to catch. It suddenly bulged its abdomen and opened its mouth in the direction of Griffith.

"Shoot it!"

Erza, who was leading the way, sensed the danger but had no time to turn around and rush to help.Before she could finish her shout, the flying snake spit out a forked red tongue and sprayed out a little fluorescent green mucus.Griffith raised his hand and threw an ice-condensed throwing spear, which missed the bit of green slime.The sharp ice spear penetrated the flying snake's big mouth, burst out from the back of its head, and exploded into a bloody mist.

The green mucus spread into countless green mucus threads in the wind, forming a huge light green spider web, covering Griffith inside.

Corrosion, stench and severe pain!

Griffith's eyes darkened, and he fell off the horse. His whole body was covered with mucus that was difficult to break free, making movement extremely difficult!

This is the unique ability of flying snakes, a rare extraordinary creature, to "entrap", which has the negative effects of hard-to-resist restraint and slowing down.

Seeing Griffith fall from his horse, the Ekirum warlord who was in hot pursuit was overjoyed. He rushed over and slashed down, smashing the skeleton of the horse with the first axe.Griffith, who had just stood up, hurriedly raised Hanguang to resist, and the second ax knocked Hanguang away, knocking him directly to the ground.

"Eagle Shield! Ice Shield!"

As soon as Griffith opened several layers of shields, he was directly chopped into a ball of light shavings by the third axe, and a large gash was cut open in his breastplate.

Unable to block or parry?Has the power of this troll crushed me? !

Convicted, too late to draw the gun...

Death Coil, if you raise your hand at this time, your arm will be cut off...

Turn into a blood bat and escape?No, it will be torn into pieces by the sharp edge.

The troll's combo attacks were like a storm, with overwhelming crushing and heavy blows, whizzing down on the fallen knight.Griffith was suffocated, as if he was in the heart of the storm and couldn't break free, and could only be torn apart bit by bit by the despair of the end of the road.

Suddenly, a bright light shot past, and the unstoppable troll warlord was pushed back five or six steps.The light dissipated, and the troll was seen kneeling on one knee, blocking the blow with his staggered axes.

Erza arrived.She threw her spear, knocked back the warlord at the last moment, and rode her horse to stop Griffith.

"Stand up, knight," Erza, who lost her main weapon, only had a short sword left, but her eyes shone like gems, "This is not your end!"

Four pursuers arrived.Rorschach's shadow hovered in the sky, and the Beyonders led by Steiner rolled in.

"Griffith, I can only accompany you so far."

After continuous battles, Erza's unstable extraordinary characteristics were once again on the verge of losing control.Her eyes were shaky, and the magic ring on her index finger was emitting an astonishing light.

"I will enter the form of a mythical creature again. While I fight Aaron and Commodus, you rush into Zul'haka and seize the power of the Eternal Staircase, or leave here."

Without waiting for Griffith to answer, the pursuers suddenly relaxed the siege like a retreating tide. Even the powerful troll warlord suddenly restrained his violent fighting spirit and stood aside honestly.

Among the crowd, Aaron, who was wearing a pure white robe and surrounded by colorful orbs of lightning, and Commodus, who was holding the holy sword of Enduil, stood out.

"A truce for now, Mr. Knight, Miss Huntress," Aaron said, "I mediate your fight in the name of arcane magic, and initiate an agreement under the watchful eye of the God of Contract——

“1. The four God Hands present shall not attack any party to the agreement or harm or hinder any party in any way.

“2. This agreement is effective for the allies and servants of Hand of God.

"3. The armistice agreement is valid for 24 hours.

"4. Violators will be punished by God, suffer bad luck, severely weaken their physique, strength, agility, perception, and spirit, and be deprived of their three best pieces of equipment and hand them over to the party that keeps the promise."

Griffith suddenly felt light all over, and his pure stance was surging, allowing his extremely tired and tense spirit to relax.A mysterious and indescribable contract was touching his mind through thoughts.

A very high-ranking being cast His will!
Griffith had no other choice. A temporary truce seemed to be very beneficial to him, even if it was just to allow a few undead nests to form an army for 24 hours.

But why did they agree to a ceasefire?What is Aaron's purpose?He must have some plan that can only be completed with the help of the hands of other gods, and this is also in Commodus's interests, allowing him to temporarily resist the temptation of two powers...

"Huh--" Erza finally got a moment to breathe, and immediately agreed to the sacred contract.

The armistice agreement came into effect, and from this moment on, Commodus suspended his pursuit of Griffith and Erza.A strong will that no one dares to disobey oversees the armistice.If Commodus and Aaron, who were in an advantageous situation, took the initiative to attack, they would be severely punished.

Aaron expressed satisfaction with the situation:
"I bring peace to you because the fight forced upon us by the Chosen One is meaningless——

"Not long ago, my investigators discovered that ancient fragments of the godhead remained in the depths of Zul'haka. The material form of the life fabric from the void left behind a strange creation that can give creatures an astonishing vitality of eternity. ladder'.

"Its roots are rooted in the underground of Zul'Haka, drawing strength from the material fragments of the life fabric of the virtual world. Its stems and leaves, condensed with the essence of extraordinary characteristics, occupy the altar in the outer city.

"The high-level witch doctor Yeklik is there, trying to use divine power to reshape their god 'Domon', a monster who falsely calls the 'God of Blood'. Now, the flesh and blood of this monster is hatching in the ancient egg. Its time for resurgence is not far off.”

Commodus seemed very interested in this matter.He let most of his men leave, taking only a few of his close associates with him.

"By destroying Yeklik, we can prevent Domon from entering reality," Aaron said. "This will also give us the authority of the outer gods. With this power, I can activate the wishing device."

Griffith asked: "Thank you for your mediation, Aaron, so, what do you need from us?"

"That couldn't be simpler!" Aaron said, "It's naturally what you are most familiar with and best at——

"Let us concentrate our efforts, break into Zul'haka's outer city, kill Ye'krik, take away the power of the Eternal Staircase, and then awaken the incomplete Domon and defeat it!
"The power of such an ancient evil god is enough to support us in summoning the wishing device."

(End of this chapter)