Chapter 14: First Battle of the White Feathers

Behind that large hole was a place resembling a lounge.

It had already been devastated by the aftermath of battle, with two groups still fiercely clashing inside.

To be precise, one side was wildly destructive while the other was desperately defending and trying to suppress the chaos.

A strong aura of “Disaster” was emanating from a woman and two men.

In a sense, they could no longer be considered “humans.”

Compared to when Vilyric saw them earlier, their wounds had not healed at all but had instead worsened, cracking open further. No blood flowed, but blackish-gray vines, resembling plant branches, had sprouted from their flesh like vicious spikes.

Moreover, another pair of arms, not made of flesh but resembling those vines, had sprouted from their shoulders. These “hands” were immensely powerful and sturdy, seemingly able to recover quickly from any injuries.

The most frightening thing was that each of them was constantly emitting visible black-gray mist. Anyone who got close, especially those who made physical contact, would inevitably become contaminated, like three moving sources of pollution.

Compared to this, what spread to the outside world was merely a fragment.

“Hey! Who are you?! Never mind… get out of here! Can’t you see that Disaster has gone berserk?!”

Just as they crawled in through the large hole, both sides of the battle immediately noticed these intruders. The three seemingly contaminated individuals didn’t seem very intelligent, simply continuing their fighting and ignoring Vilyric and others at a distance.

On the other side, a middle-aged man in armor, evidently the leader, shouted a warning at them.

This person, the Priestess, recognized a bit.

He had also been the one yelling for people to clear the way at the city gates.

Judging by appearances, he seemed to be at the peak level of Earth-tier, solidifying his position as one of the top experts in both Anilo City and the entire Kwei Kingdom. Currently, the only person in the adventurers’ guild stronger than him seemed to be Edgar, that half-beastman guildmaster.

But this guy looked pretty awful; his breath was ragged, and there was a dull gray gloom deep in his eyes.

Especially the wounds on his body, presumably caused by the enemy, had flesh covered in gray mist that appeared to be writhing, as if something were about to burst forth.

Not just him, the adventurers with strength ranging from Fine Gold to Ink Steel were mostly in poor condition, especially those who had been injured and then eroded by “Disaster” over time…

What kind of transformation “Disaster” brings about to living beings, Vilyric had already seen outside, so there was no need to verify with these people.

“Enough, tell your people to retreat.”

Without saying much, Vilyric advanced forward under the expanding golden barrier until the middle-aged man, who seemed intent on stopping them, was enveloped within it, and then she spoke lightly.

However, despite the Priestess recalling this familiar face, the other party clearly hadn’t paid much attention to her casual demeanor.

Although he was instantly purified when shrouded by “Radiant Protection,” making his complexion much better, he still looked somewhat skeptical.

“Holy Light magic… Are you all priests sent by Guildmaster Edgar? You certainly don’t look the part… and there shouldn’t be anyone like you in the temple of Anilo City, right?”

The Priestess furrowed her brows.

Why is this guy so long-winded? Can’t he see that she’s here to help? Asking him to step aside doesn’t mean sending them to their deaths.

“One more time, tell your people to get out of the way. Otherwise, any accidents won’t be our responsibility.”

Feeling the slight impatience in the black-haired girl’s tone, he furrowed his brows as well.

“Please wait, ‘Disaster’ is no small matter, we should act together…”

“Mr. Awen! Just listen to Miss Vilyric; she’s a legendary adventurer and won’t have any problems! Didn’t you feel how powerful this barrier is?!”

Seeing the Priestess’s increasingly displeased expression, the little Cat Daughter hiding on the side quickly stepped out to mediate. At this point, Mier could care less about secrecy; after all, it was something everyone outside already knew.

She had just witnessed the prowess of the golden-haired Holy Knight by Miss Vilyric, and it wasn’t an exaggeration to say she was likely stronger than Guildmaster Edgar. Moreover, this obvious leader, the black-haired girl, had to be even stronger.

Awen and his team were also crucial adventurers in Anilo City, and naturally, Mier didn’t want any unnecessary conflicts to arise between them.

Awen had already noticed this Cat Daughter mingling among the several girls, yet the urgency of the situation left him no time for pleasantries.

“Since the popular figure of the guild and Guildmaster’s sister, Miss Mier, is vouching for this…”

Though Awen said that, everyone understood it was really the two words “legendary” that held significant weight.

“Alright, but please, if it’s not absolutely necessary, don’t let them die. This favor will definitely be remembered by our Wind and Cloud Adventure Group, I beg of you.”

No thanks, who needs your meaningless favor…

The Priestess rolled her eyes internally.

In the end, it all boiled down to the fear of her striking without care and killing a few of his teammates. Just looking at how timid they acted showed that even though they had turned into this, they still stubbornly insisted on preserving their lives; truly greedy.

However, she never intended to solve the issue by killing these three.

Seeing the troublesome guys finally hesitating to disperse under Awen’s loud command, Vilyric gave a nod to her two winged sisters and the Little Dragon Daughter behind her.

“Go ahead, each take one, don’t kill them; I still have use for them.”

“Yes! Master / Lady Vilyric!”

These three contaminated individuals, while bizarre, weren’t exceptionally strong. Even with the enhancement of “Disaster,” they still barely matched Awen’s strength, just reaching the Earth tier’s threshold.

These adventurers were fearful of accidentally killing them, and the indiscriminate erosion of “Disaster” was the reason for the precarious situation they found themselves in.

In fact, Xiao Guang alone was more than enough to subdue the three; Vilyric simply wanted to test the abilities of her two new underlings while giving them a chance to strike together.

The three girls rushed out from the “Radiant Protection” barrier simultaneously.

The Little Dragon Daughter’s case was unquestionable; without any preparation, “Disaster” couldn’t even get within a yard of her. Gently tapping her smooth, fair toes on the ground, she instantly appeared beside the contaminated female adventurer and flicked her forehead.

With an overwhelming speed advantage, the enemy, which had managed to fend off over a dozen adventurers, couldn’t even react and swiftly collapsed to the ground, forcibly knocked unconscious.

The entire process took less than three seconds.

On the other side, the battles of Renée and Leila weren’t particularly tough either.

Leila, as a Sky Vanguard, was a class balancing melee and ranged attacks. Using a spear as her weapon, she employed a set of battle techniques passed down from the White Feather Wing Tribe that were remarkably refined and effective, pushing the opponent back with no chance to counter.

Had it not been for the need to spare this person’s life, she probably could have killed him in three moves. New legendary talent, still a legend.

As for Renée, the younger sister who was a Sky Mage, she focused purely on ranged attacks, using summoning magic to unleash various falling stars in her battles.

Renée didn’t even need to get close to the opponent; she conjured irregularly-shaped massive stones with several meters in diameter, which fell with a rumble, crushing the enraged man beneath while cleverly avoiding any vital spots, ensuring he wouldn’t die.

As a legendary mage with powerful attack capabilities, she single-handedly ended her battle in one move.

Both she and Leila displayed a glimmering white light on their surfaces, temporarily resisting “Disaster” erosion.

However, this clearly wasn’t the usual Holy Light; it was a special form of energy that Vilyric had never seen before.

   

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