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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: selkie
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A vast forest, Canna, where countless lush trees grow.
This place, where countless trees, whose exact number is unknown, grow, is where countless living creatures were living their lives in their own ways. As a place where various kinds of natural resources such as timber, fruits, and herbs could be obtained, it has bestowed the grace of nature upon the lives of the continent for a long time.
In this way, the Canna Forest, which is a treasure trove of nature and at the same time serves as a living and breathing solid fortress for the elves of the Elf Church, has been accepted as an object of respect and grace not only by the elves but also by countless people on the continent as a sanctuary designated by the gods for thousands of years.
However.
At this moment.
Such facts did not exist at all in the minds of a group of soldiers who appeared deep in this forest.
“Is this Canna Forest? I’ve heard a lot about it, but it’s surprisingly nothing special.”
“Whatever it is, this place is still a forest. Isn’t it natural that there’s nothing in sight other than trees and bugs?”
Cassandra, one of the three Imperial Knights, spoke in an indifferent voice.
In response, the adjutant next to her gave an appropriate answer as always,
Listening to this, Cassandra killed her unpleasant feelings for the time being and immediately began to take action.
“Well, that’s probably true. Anyway, I’ll start the operation now.”
“Yes, General.”
As soon as Cassandra’s instructions were given, the soldiers immediately began to take action.
At this moment,
They each held something like a black bottle in their hands. Inside was an oval sphere about the size of a small quail egg.
An object that gave off an ominous feeling at a glance.
And,
Holding the same thing in her hand, Cassandra paused for a moment and pondered.
‘Achilles… I feel it every time, but he came up with such a dirty trick again this time. In order to achieve our family’s long-cherished wish, we must first get rid of that man…’
At that time…
“!”
In an instant, a sharp presence swept through Cassandra’s mind.
In response, she jumped up from her seat and used the shield she was holding to create a huge barrier.
Right after…
Wham!!!!
Streams of light with a green glow flew and collided with her barrier.
Immediately after, a cold smile began to spread across Cassandra’s lips.
“Oh my, if it isn’t teacher? It’s been a long time.”
“Cassandra… I felt a familiar presence and came to see, but it was you after all?”
A male elf wearing green armor appeared before her with a small number of elven soldiers.
A middle-aged man with a black eye patch on one eye.
Sula was looking at Cassandra Inclemonte of the Falcon Empire in front of him…
No,
To be exact.
He began to show a cold expression as he looked at the figure of a young holy knight who was once Sula’s proud disciple.
“Oh my, I didn’t expect to meet you again in a place like this. To be honest, I’d like to have a warm conversation between master and disciple, but I’m a little busy right now, so it’ll be impossible.”
“Quiet! I have nothing to talk about with you, so get out of here! Don’t even think about doing anything suspicious in this sacred Canna Forest!”
Unlike Cassandra, who was not losing her composure, Sula was showing a very sharp appearance.
In response, Cassandra gave a light smile and said to her old teacher.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. Even though I look like this, I’m a little busy moving to fulfill His Majesty the Emperor’s wishes.”
“! Th… that can’t be.”
Cassandra was talking while looking at the bottle in her hand.
Immediately after, Sula began to show a stiffened expression at the sight of the black bottle that was visible in front of him.
“You… do you know what you’re trying to do?”
“Of course, teacher. I’m trying to get rid of this troublesome obstacle for the victory of the Empire.”
“You bastard!”
Sula, with a face full of deep anger, jumped down from the tree and stood in front of Cassandra.
Immediately after, he held a sword that seemed to be made of green light in his hand and pointed it at Cassandra.
At a glance, it was a sign that he would summarily execute Cassandra without any intention of further dialogue or compromise.
Seeing this, Cassandra also drew her shield and sword, and then began to unleash magic to cover them.
“It’s been a while, but that personality is still the same, teacher. Well, that’s fine. It’s something we had to do someday anyway. I’ll end it by cutting off your head this time.”
With those words, Cassandra charged straight at the opponent in front of her.
Seeing her like this, Sula swung his green light sword and struck it down at her.
Clang!!
The weapons of the two people clashed with a sharp sound.
Cassandra’s shield, surrounded by blue light, deflected Sula’s sword with a feeling like a bludgeon, not just a tool for defense.
Then, Cassandra swung the sword held in one arm to attack Sula.
However, immediately after.
Her attack was deflected as if it had been blocked by an invisible shield in the air.
Clang!
After exchanging one blow with each other, the two people immediately swung their weapons once again.
Sula was not simply suppressing her with force,
but unleashing a flurry of quick swordsmanship at a rapid pace to bombard Cassandra.
However, his attacks only resulted in Cassandra’s shield, which moved too quickly despite its heavy weight, blocking them in vain or interrupting the flow in the middle, neutralizing the attacks.
Meanwhile,
Cassandra’s attacks came in, striking at Sula’s weaknesses at every moment.
Each time, her attacks were blocked by an invisible wall, proving largely ineffective, but Cassandra showed no signs of agitation or disappointment.
At this moment, she was already well aware that,
Unlike herself, who was maintaining her defense without faltering, using a shield imbued with powerful magic,
Sula’s defense in front of her was relying solely on magical power, and thus was weakening little by little with each passing moment.
And as a result…
“!”
Clang!
With a shattering sound, Sula’s barrier was destroyed into pieces.
Cassandra’s attack flew straight towards Sula’s abdomen.
However.
“Tch!”
Swish!
In an instant, Sula seemed to vanish from sight.
A brief clicking of the tongue escaped Cassandra’s lips,
At the same time, Sula reappeared about 10 meters away from where she stood.
“Hah… hah…”
Breathing heavily, Sula’s condition was visibly deteriorating.
Seeing this, Cassandra, still with a relaxed expression, spoke to her former master.
“You’ve grown much weaker, haven’t you? As an elf, you couldn’t have aged… Could it be the problem with your chronic illness?”
“Keuk….”
“I see, how unfortunate… To think that the mighty Master Sula would show such a figure. As a disciple, it pains me to see. In that regard,”
“!”
“As your disciple, I shall grant you the honorable end you’ve always wished for, here and now.”
With those words, she sheathed her sword, then took out a black bottle she had kept in her bosom.
The moment she saw this, Sula’s face hardened.
“Y-you!”
“Farewell, Master Sula!”
With those words, Cassandra lightly shattered the bottle and threw it somewhere.
However, it was not towards Sula, who was in front of her.
It was towards the small number of elf soldiers Sula had brought with him.
‘That’ which Cassandra threw flew quickly towards them, who were clearly his disciples.
Immediately after,
Sula threw himself in front of them, shielding them.
And then…
BOOM!!!!
An enormous black explosion occurred.
Within it, Sula’s body began to burn away like paper thrown into flames.
Sula, who had lived for hundreds of years and trained countless holy knights.
He met his end fighting to the last for the sake of his disciples, as he had always wished, but even so, words like happiness or glory were nowhere to be found in his heart.
The thoughts that filled his dying mind.
Were of…
The future that would inevitably come, starting with his death.
A great vortex of disaster that would engulf the Elf Church… and even this entire continent.
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The elf holy knight Octavia.
The last thing she saw as she went into battle with Sula was the figure of her master, trying to protect them by pouring out his remaining magic.
Following that, the sight of her master engulfed in black flames and meeting his end before her eyes.
However, before she could feel sadness at that scene, Octavia could only feel a deep sense of dread at the tremendous event that had begun to unfold from that moment.
The black flames that had completely swallowed Sula.
Like a fuse, they spread rapidly in all directions and instantly engulfed the forest.
The trees of the Canna Forest, which had lived for hundreds and thousands of years and possessed the power to withstand ordinary flames.
But at this moment.
Those trees, which had lived for countless ages, were swept away by the unknown black flames and turned into charcoal in an instant.
A scene that seemed to show a paradise of nature being devoured by the fires of hell.
With that as the end, Octavia lost consciousness amidst the unbearable heat, despite her master’s sacrifice.
In her last moments, she bore witness to the gruesome sight of her comrades collapsing around her.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: selkie
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