Chapter 98: Racing Against Time |
Kyle’s current soul power was still very weak; if the quality of his soul power did not significantly improve, he likely would not be able to use so many star powers simultaneously.
“Not bad.”
Third Elder Melina also slowly withdrew her stance, her eyes filled with undisguised admiration for Kyle.
“Your talent in swordsmanship is even greater than before. It seems your ‘trial’ yielded extraordinary results.”
“You flatter me.”
Kyle smiled and bowed slightly. The recent battle had greatly eased his dissatisfaction at being “beaten” by an elder.
With a flick of her wrist, the longsword in Kyle’s hand dissolved into starlight before reforming within the sheath in her hand.
She elegantly sheathed the sword once more while casually brushing aside her flowing silver hair with a graceful and decisive motion.
“You’ve passed my test!”
The recent exchange of spiritual swordsmanship with Kyle had given her new insights, and she needed to immediately return and calmly reflect upon them.
Kyle had only just let out a sigh of relief, not even having time to settle his exhausted emotions, when a cold and heavy object shot straight toward his face.
Instinctively, he raised his hand to catch the object flying at several times the speed of sound. With a slight twist of his wrist, he effortlessly neutralized the tremendous force behind it.
Looking carefully, he realized it was a finely crafted pair of custom gauntlets, flashing with a dull metallic sheen and feeling extremely heavy in his hands.
“My turn.”
The tall, stern-faced Fourth Elder Vlad had appeared opposite him at some unknown point.
He stared coldly at Kyle, his gaze clearly carrying the meaning of “Don’t even think about escaping”.
Kyle looked at the gauntlets in his hands, then at the expressionless Fourth Elder, and sighed inwardly.
It seemed he would only be allowed to leave this training ground after “satisfying” the demands of these old ancestors.
***
While Kyle was “struggling in agony” on the family training grounds—
Far away in Coral Thorn City, after the departure of the legendary figure Lila, Gann Cole did not dare waste even a single moment.
His figure flashed as he appeared above Coral Thorn City, overlooking the “gloomy” city below.
Taking a deep breath, a sonorous and powerful voice rang throughout every corner of the city:
“The crisis in Coral Thorn City has been completely resolved. There is no need to continue panicking. The entire city will immediately resume normal operations!”
“…resume normal operations!”
“…operations!”
Gann Cole’s booming voice echoed across the entire city as he loudly repeated the announcement three consecutive times, ensuring no one missed it.
This declaration was like a shot of adrenaline, dispelling the final traces of unease lingering in the air.
Over the past two days, there had only been two “important figures” within the city whom everyone recognized and trusted, and the owner of this voice was one of them.
With his assurance, more and more people emerged from temporary shelters onto the streets below, raising their heads toward the sky in search of the source of the voice. Their faces carried both disbelief-filled joy and exhausted relief.
After issuing the announcement, Gann Cole immediately returned to Adventurers’ Guild headquarters and used encrypted communication arrays to contact the “allies” who had foreseen the situation early in the crisis and fled without a trace!
To fully restore order within Coral Thorn City, those bastards were still indispensable.
“What? The crisis is resolved?”
“A legendary figure of the Empire personally intervened? That quickly?”
“Ghost ships? That happened after we left?!”
From the other side of the communication channels, several shocked and uncertain voices quickly sounded.
The moment they received the message, they almost immediately used informants left behind in the city to verify the intelligence.
When they learned that after their “strategic retreat,” Coral Thorn City had actually suffered a disaster resembling the ghost fleets found only in terrifying legends, not one of them felt even the slightest fear or gratitude for their own “wise decision” at the time.
However, now that the crisis had been resolved, naturally none of them intended to continue fleeing.
The industries of Coral Thorn City were golden hens that laid golden eggs!
They would never hand over such an enormous cake to someone else!
Yet only half a day later, a powerful fleet appeared on the distant horizon.
Nearly a hundred large sailing ships led countless smaller vessels as they slowly sailed toward Coral Thorn City’s enormous harbor—once shrouded in the mist of death—like a swarm of bees returning to their hive.
Zack cautiously followed behind the unique and luxurious caravan fleet of the Silver Moon Chamber of Commerce.
The decks were crowded with people, especially the half-grown children from Zack’s orphanage. All of them excitedly clutched the railings and stretched their necks toward the harbor growing ever closer.
Dean, Zack, Old Owen, and the others eagerly searched through the crowded masses on the docks, hoping to spot that reassuring figure.
However, the O’Brien whom they were all thinking about was currently burdened with worries.
Within the temporary medical zone established in the harbor district, he was busy removing the frigid death energy from countless patients infected by the ghost ships.
Although these people had luckily survived, it was only temporary; if the death energy could not be rapidly removed, the cold aura would inevitably invade their entire bodies and lead to death.
O’Brien was now racing against death itself!
From dawn until now, he had continuously cleansed death energy from thousands of people. His own spirit had already reached its limit, sustained solely by sheer willpower.
He could not stop; every second of delay might mean a life fading away in despair.
With the constitutions of ordinary people, many of them might not even survive to see the sunrise of the next day!
Around him, numerous adventurers and low-level professionals who had voluntarily come to help silently watched the Holy Knight who had never once paused, their eyes filled with reverence, gratitude, and concern.
They spontaneously maintained order, transferred the wounded, and provided water and food.
As for the patients enduring the piercing cold and agonizing pain brought by the erosion of death energy, most displayed extraordinary restraint.
Even when tortured beyond endurance by the death energy, they merely clenched their teeth until traces of blood seeped from the corners of their mouths, stubbornly refusing to cry out in pain for fear of disrupting the Holy Knight’s treatment.
Some who truly could not endure it tightly covered their mouths with torn clothing or the corner of a blanket, letting out only muffled whimpers.
As for the “thugs” who attempted to cut the line or deliberately shout loudly to attract attention, under the murderous gazes of the adventurers and professionals, they only dared lower their heads and curse inwardly without causing trouble.
“Lord”
Mario stood two meters behind O’Brien alongside several of the guild’s finest chefs. Taking advantage of the brief moment after O’Brien completed a purification ritual and turned toward the next patient, he spoke softly and respectfully:
“These are high-grade life potions and meals prepared using spirit beast meat. You must replenish your energy first so you can better treat the patients.”
“Yes, Lord Crusader. If you collapse, even more patients will be unable to receive treatment. Please rest for a moment!”
Several doctors who had assisted O’Brien also urged him to do so.
O’Brien gently exhaled and did not refuse. He directly picked up the blue potion bottle and drank it down, then grabbed the food from the plate and began eating in large mouthfuls.
While eating, he rapidly condensed the power of Holy Light within his body.
He had already experienced this sort of multitasking countless times before.
Time waited for no one.