City of Sin

Book 7, 96

A Legend Falls

Godfrey wasn’t a native stuck on Faelor; as a powerhouse who was beginning to explore the myriad planes, he knew of people with powerful bloodlines who didn’t need to be high level to take on powerful opponents. Regardless of their shape or size, such people could not be provoked; they normally had terrifying families and elders backing them.

The Son of Gold didn’t say a word as he took to the skies, fleeing towards the imperial capital. Mountainsea’s appearance made it clear that these invaders had powerful backers, and were definitely not people he could take care of himself. The choice of the three goddesses made much more sense now as well.

However, Richard’s lips curved into a sneer, “Think you can just flee?”

A black mist surrounded Godfrey’s body once more, forcing him down. He was prepared this time and burst forth with energy to counter it, but even if he started to look like a descended star some of the black still remained around him. These tendrils of gas were extremely resilient, and it would take ten seconds or more to whittle them away. While he didn’t fall to the ground completely, his speed was greatly reduced.

His blood immediately froze; he had assumed he’d overestimated Asiris, but even so it still wasn’t enough. All of his power couldn’t instantly dispel the curse, making it clear that it held a hint of the power of lows. Someone who wasn’t even legendary could use laws? It was only in the fiftieth year after he entered the realm that he even managed to start, and a century of twisting paths led him to the law of metals that suited him. Even so, he was luckier than most legends of Faelor; and yet, there were so many people here today that overturned that common sense.

Those ten seconds of slow down were the difference between life and death. Godfrey grew determined, planning to unleash all of his trump cards if need be. He still had the strength to fight, and the priest in the distance was already dazed from using forbidden spells twice in a row. However, the expected attacks didn’t come at all. For two full seconds, nobody even approached him and just watched as he flew out of their formation. This only left him more apprehensive; the calmer they were, the more dangerous the situation. He didn’t think he would be able to leave without paying a price.

It was in the third second that all of the 200 rune knights reached their spots, as many specks of light in Richard’s mindscape indicating the shadowspears directing them. A large, invisible web had formed during this battle, and Godfrey was flying right into the middle of it.

It was in that third second that Richard sent the order to attack, leaving the Son of Gold feeling like he had been plunged into a frozen ocean in an instant. The world screamed about his impending death, and before he could even figure out what here could threaten his very existence 200 auras flared up amongst the soldiers like stars in the sky.

When the javelins were launched in his direction, it felt like the reaper was smiling at him from above. This was Godfrey’s first time seeing the rune knights’ attack, but it didn’t stop him from realising the sheer danger they posed; he could take on the combined attacks of a dozen sub-legends, but a hundred of these would be enough to kill him. Even if he dodged a full half of them, he would die!

The javelins were incredibly fast, giving Godfrey no time to dodge. His eyes filled with blood as he instantly made a choice, golden energy surging out of him as he formed all sorts of weapons and equipment around his body, using the momentum to charge straight for Richard as he tried to dodge the dozens of javelins in this direction. Those he couldn’t avoid or deflect were taken on directly.

Half of Godfrey’s body turned into a bloody mess, with hundreds of javelins still trained on him from behind. However, he just chuckled madly as he activated all of his energy without a care, a dark gold armour wiping out the last of Asiris’s gas and returning him to top speed. The Son of Gold pounced towards Richard like lightning, his reformed sword stabbing straight towards his chest.

“You’re dying with me, bastard!” his roar thundered into the clouds.

Richard didn’t dodge, pursing his lips and blowing out a breath of blue fire that shot a dozen metres forward. It looked like a line of pure blue, so concentrated that it was almost solid. The tip of Godfrey’s sword melted in an instant, the rest of the blade following before the gauntlet and the Son of Gold’s very arm. By the time he was within ten metres, Godfrey’s very body was being destroyed by the flames. He still didn’t stop, pouncing towards Richard while laughing like a maniac. However, this laughter came to a sudden halt as Richard seemed to disappear from view, a green blade now lodged in his chest.

Richard twisted Moonlight to enlarge the hole in Godfrey before pulling out, calmly retreating. Godfrey slowly turned around, watching all the javelins suddenly fly past him before turning away and landing harmlessly in the distance. His voice croaked as he spoke with difficulty, “How...”

How had a grand mage dodged him with the skill of someone in the legendary realm? How had that mere epic blade managed to pierce him without taking any damage? How could someone control flames from the star of destruction? There were just far too many things that he wanted to understand, but the Son of Gold would never get the chance. Blue flames already covered the entirety of his body, flowing across it like water and melting him into nothingness.

Godfrey’s body shrank rapidly as it fell to the ground. The soldiers below had been dispersed already with a silent command, but some still hadn’t made it far enough away. Those within a hundred metres of the landing crumpled to the ground, some even beginning to burn right there. Richard instacast a snowstorm to cover up Godfrey’s remains, but the high heat immediately vapourised the snow and even destroyed his magic. He had to cast the grade 8 spell four times before the temperature returned to normal, causing even him to shudder. This heat all came from the blue flames, used at full strength with his truename powering them.

At the very centre of the army was an empty area several hundred metres across, containing dozens of charred bodies as well as hundreds of soldiers that were crying out in pain. The clerics and priests of the three goddesses were all hiding far away, cowering and afraid to approach the corpse. Their very souls shook in fear of those blue flames.

Richard floated down and walked towards Godfrey’s corpse, Nasia appearing by his side as well. As they entered the shallow pit that had now formed, they saw the golden dagger Nasia wanted alongside an orb of gold that was the remains of the Son of Gold.

Richard walked over and picked the ball up. It wasn’t particularly large, but it weighed an entire tonne and forced him to use Mana Armament just so he didn’t drop it. He immediately felt traces of Godfrey’s aura within, and as he used Insight he realised there was a chance to analyse the laws of metals from it. However, there were just far too many laws for him to analyse right now; even tens of thousands of years wouldn’t be enough for them all.

While he was hesitating, Nasia picked up the golden dagger on the ground and flipped it over, staring at it, “This thing can actually tear through space, and I smell that guy’s aura on it. This was probably the key to summoning him, but it’s far more valuable than that. This is worth more than a top-tier offering; I can give it to you for one. What do you say?”