Chapter 579 - 312: Followers
"That’s right, it’s only half of it, but it’s definitely the Violet Ring!"
"Wait! Isn’t the Violet Ring only supposed to have the Violet Eye..."
Raine took in the changes in the three people’s expressions, then quickly turned his gaze to the half-circle metal pendant hanging from his neck on a thin cord.
’As expected, it’s just like I guessed before—this is an item from the Violet Castle in the Floating City.’
’Judging from their expressions, the origin of this thing must be anything but ordinary. Good thing I didn’t proactively go to the Violet Castle in the Floating City before.’
’But... this is a ring?’
Raine carefully examined the half-circle metal again. If you duplicated it and pieced the halves together, it really did look like the shape of a ring.
"Raine, this ring, you..." Leonore had just started to ask when she seemed to think of something. She immediately waved her hand and said, "Wait, now is not the time to talk about this."
"If this ring is really what we think it is, Raine, then it’s extremely important. We’ll talk about it later."
"Let’s deal with what’s in front of us first." Leonore pointed around them as she spoke.
"Understood, Your Highness." Raine had no objection to that. After all, he had waited over ten years already; there was no need to rush the unveiling of the ring’s secret in this very moment.
He swept his gaze around.
Raine noticed that although "Plaguebringer" White Mann and "Unclean" Heigan had been killed one after another by him, the remaining Black Fist Army elites had not thrown down their weapons to surrender. They were still locked in fierce combat with the castle guards and the Kingdom elites.
"These ones have all been brainwashed by the Black Fist Army’s doctrine." Leonore shook her head, then took the lead and eliminated several elites in short order.
The others also joined the fray.
With a host of Transcendent combat power joining in, the fanatical Black Fist Army elites finally began to scatter and flee.
Leonore raised her staff; as the water-blue light at the staff’s tip surged, an inverted, water-blue dome suddenly appeared beneath the castle’s ceiling, shaped like a giant blue bowl that descended over the castle from above.
"I already set up a defensive array inside the castle."
"They’re not getting out."
Raine nodded.
If they chased the Black Fist Army elites one by one, there would almost certainly be some lucky ones slipping away into the night. But with this array in place, the enemy basically had no chance of escape.
The Black Fist Army elites soon realized this as well, and despair spread across their faces.
In fact, faced with Leonore’s array, the most dispirited person wasn’t the Black Fist Army elites on the castle plaza, but Lilith, who had been one step away from getting out of the castle.
With her movements restricted by the anti-flight array she herself had activated, Lilith wasn’t able to cast the Flying Spell.
So ever since just now, she’d been trying to retreat via the stairways. But just as she was about to leave the castle’s boundary, a few meters in front of her a water-blue membrane appeared, descending from the dome above.
"This..." Lilith’s beautiful eyes widened, terror flashing across her face.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t cast Magic to blast the membrane.
In fact, given her Transcendent level, there was a real chance she could break through the restriction of that water-blue membrane.
But Lilith knew full well that if she actually did that, she would immediately draw the attention of those few people inside the castle.
And the moment her mind conjured the image of that figure wielding a Warhammer, Lilith’s expression twisted with fear, her delicate body trembling.
"What do I do! What do I do!"
Lilith screamed silently in her heart!
At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded behind her.
"It’s over, someone’s coming!"
"I’m going to be discovered!"
Her terror surged to its peak. She immediately raised her staff and swung it hard toward the water-blue membrane ahead. A gigantic hand wreathed in black light slammed into it over and over.
"Boom!"
The giant hand had considerable power; ripples spread across the water-blue membrane, but it still did not break.
The array was created by Leonore, a High-tier Spellcaster. Even as a wide-area spell, it was not something Lilith could break easily.
Meanwhile—
On the castle plaza.
"Right, Elder Grenum, this is Princess Leonore of the Soladin Kingdom."
With Henry and the Kingdom elites more than capable of handling the panicked Black Fist Army, Raine turned to introduce Elder Grenum the Dwarf to Leonore.
"He’s a member of the Elder Council of the Mountain Dwarf Kingdom, Elder Grenum. This time, Elder Grenum came to lend us his aid."
"Hahaha, Mr. Rein, I didn’t actually help that much. Those three bastards were all killed by you." As a Dwarf, Elder Grenum clearly enjoyed Raine’s words, and burst out laughing.
"Elder Grenum, welcome to the Soladin Kingdom."
Huh?
As she spoke, Leonore’s expression suddenly turned to surprise.
She had clearly sensed the power level of a Fifth Level Spell attacking the array she had laid down, from the southeastern corner.
Yet by rights, the high-level leadership of the Black Fist Army and the Talin Association had already been wiped out in one go this time. How could there still be...?
"What is it?"
"Seems there’s still a deserter at the Extraordinary Level over there."
"Hm? Extraordinary Level?"
Everyone present, including Raine, turned their gazes that way.
"Then shall we...?"
"No need, leave it to me." Leonore lightly shook her head. She raised her staff once more and began chanting softly.
In a flash—
A several-meters-high passage entrance formed entirely of flowing water appeared before everyone’s eyes.
In the next instant, Lilith, clad in a tight red Magic Robe and desperately Spellcasting to resist, was wrapped up in a massive torrent of water and flushed out from the other end of the passage, deposited right in front of the crowd.
Upon seeing Raine’s figure, Lilith, who had still been struggling to fight back just a moment ago, suddenly lost all strength. She could barely even stand.
"I... I surrender!"
Having given up on resisting, Lilith was drenched from head to toe by the water, turned into a drowned rat. Her hair was in disarray, her beautiful eyes wide as she stared at Raine in terror and shouted.
Her voice carried a distinct tremor.
What’s going on?
Leonore, who had been planning to move to subdue Lilith, along with Elder Grenum and the others, all stared in astonishment at Lilith, who was crying out "I surrender."
Following Lilith’s gaze, everyone’s eyes converged on Raine.
The scene left Raine himself somewhat surprised.
She’s this scared of me?
Raine sized up the Lilith before him. The force of the water had left her already form-fitting red Magic Robe soaking wet, clinging to her like lace, outlining her feminine curves to the fullest.
Since Raine was the greatest hero of this battle, no one—including Leonore and Elder Grenum—voiced any opinion regarding Lilith’s surrender, instead silently waiting for Raine’s decision.
Raine looked at Lilith in front of him and fell silent, considering her declaration of surrender.
Yet Raine’s calm gaze weighed on Lilith like an immense pressure. Her beautiful face blanched again; with a tone that was practically begging, she said:
"M-Mr. Rein—no! Lord Raine! I hope you can give me a chance, let me become your follower."
At these words, Leonore, Harold, and Chandler all exchanged looks of shock!
After all, Lilith was at least an Extraordinary Strong Person, and this was just... too...
...