Taking the Holy Maiden Away

Faced with the incoming attack and the killing intent gleaming in her opponent’s eyes, Su Ran stood her ground, unperturbed, and raised the flintlock in her hand.

This was not the first time she had faced a Holy Glory Slash.

The knight who had devoured a Holy Stone to elevate himself to Sequence Five had used it against her once before, back when she first arrived in Noda Forest.

However, compared to the power gained from a Holy Stone, the aura erupting from this Sequence Six knight before her was far more turbulent and immense.

[Magic Essence Bullet: Frost Rose, Price: 300 Yuan]

Su Ran directly selected the spell she had used before.

The price of the spell this time was lower than its original cost in Hermel, mainly thanks to the improvement in Su Ran’s own sequence level.

The magic essence bullet she purchased from the system loaded directly into the flintlock in her hand.

The profound patterns carved into the bullet’s tip were visible through the crystalline body of the gun, reflecting in Su Ran’s eyes.

If she had looked closely, she would have discovered that the patterns on the bullet were the very roses that would bloom when the spell was cast.

Standing beside Su Ran, Yuffie was still immersed in the words Kold had spoken upon his arrival, her heart filled with emotion.

He hadn’t doubted her faith; he merely believed she was under the witch’s control and wanted desperately to pull her out.

Feeling the Holy Glory Slash draw ever closer, Yuffie even felt a surge of anticipation, hoping this one sword strike could send both her and Su Ran to their deaths together.

In that moment, Yuffie prayed to her god.

As long as it could eliminate this greatest threat to the Church’s invasion of Tukulu, taking her along with it, Yuffie was fearless.

However, Yuffie’s prayers were ultimately not to be answered.

Just then, she suddenly sensed a powerful surge of magic essence beside her.

She turned in shock toward the source of the magical fluctuations.

Though she could only perceive with her spiritual sense, it did not hinder Yuffie in the slightest from realizing the source of the fluctuations was the witch beside her.

‘Impossible!’

‘Su Ran already used two powerful spells during our battle to shatter the Divine Will Gauntlets on my hands.’

‘How can she still possess such a vast amount of magic essence?’

If she knew the reason for Yuffie’s shock, a smile might have graced Su Ran’s exquisitely beautiful face.

Using the Ring of Pride’s characteristic of rapidly recovering magic essence, Su Ran had no need to worry about her reserves ever being depleted.

When it came to a battle of magic essence attrition, they had truly picked the wrong person.

She pulled the trigger, and the intricately patterned bullet shot out from the translucent barrel.

Yuffie sensed a wave of magic essence erupt from the muzzle, powerful enough to startle even her.

The moment the bullet was fired, the ambient temperature instantly dropped by several degrees.

She looked at the attack hurtling toward Kold, her eyes filled with worry.

Moreover, besides Kold, there was a group of loyal knights still immobilized on the battlefield.

What if they were caught in the shockwave of their clash?

These knights, loyal to the Church, should not be buried here.

They were needed elsewhere, where the Church needed them most.

At this very moment, all Yuffie could do was pray that the immobilized knights would survive the impact created by the two of them.

The attacks from Su Ran and Kold collided mid-air, kicking up a rolling cloud of dust and smoke that obstructed everyone’s vision.

When the smoke cleared, one could see fine traces of frost gradually appearing on Kold’s body, while the vines of the Frost Rose coiled around his feet.

Although the magic contained within the Frost Rose had been mostly expended in nullifying the power of the Holy Glory Slash, in the end, any discerning eye could see that Su Ran held the advantage.

Kold raised his hand, intending to take another step forward and compel the witch before him to release Her Holiness, the Saintess.

But Su Ran paid him no mind. She reached out, pulled Yuffie into her embrace, and clamped a fair, slender hand around Yuffie’s delicate neck.

With just a slight application of force, she could snap it.

“You cannot defeat me, Sir Knight. And let’s not forget, I still have a hostage here.”

Pulled into Su Ran’s arms, Yuffie was both ashamed and annoyed.

Her nose caught the intoxicating fragrance that belonged to the witch.

While she was still clear-headed, Yuffie twisted her body, trying to struggle free from the witch’s control.

However, before Yuffie could move more than a few times, Su Ran’s voice sounded by her ear.

That witch Su Ran’s voice was saccharine and incredibly pleasant to listen to; she was the most melodious speaker Yuffie had ever heard.

Yet, the owner of such a sweet voice spoke utterly chilling words into Yuffie’s ear.

“Don’t move! If you keep struggling, I might accidentally detonate that mass of magic essence in your head. The dear Saintess wouldn’t want to be blown to bits and scattered everywhere, would she?”

Only then did Yuffie remember the mass of magic essence the witch had injected into her head.

It would explode at the witch’s whim, with no room for negotiation.

Thus, Yuffie could only nestle obediently in Su Ran’s embrace, as if she were willingly sinking into the witch’s arms.

“Despicable!”

Hearing this, Kold stood frozen in place, terrified that Yuffie would truly be blown to pieces.

Su Ran’s threat was highly effective.

As expected of the Church, which claimed to guide people toward goodness, both its knights and its Saintess possessed a strong moral compass.

“The Saintess said something similar. But I’m a witch, you know. Isn’t being despicable perfectly normal?”

“Besides, compared to fighting you, threatening you directly saves me quite a bit of magic essence, doesn’t it?”

Su Ran’s retort left Kold speechless.

He was not accustomed to dealing with someone as quick-witted as Su Ran, and his mind couldn’t keep up.

After a long pause, he could only force out two words.

“Shameless!”

This was likely the harshest insult Kold could conjure.

After all, he was a knight of brawn, not one of those bishops or priests who lived by their words.

“Then I’ll stop wasting words. I have a hostage now. If your Church still intends to attack Tukulu, you’d better weigh the importance of your Saintess.”

“Witch, don’t think I’m the only Saintess the Church has! Even if I die, the Church will simply select a suitable candidate from the Saintess reserves to take my place! To think you can make the Church give up its chance to attack Tukulu is a fool’s dream.”

Yuffie struggled restlessly, adopting a pose of one who would rather die than submit.

“Of course I know that. But I don’t believe a single knight can decide such a momentous matter.”

Su Ran’s purpose in capturing Yuffie was to stall for time.

Even the Church would need a few days of discussion to decide whether to truly abandon their Saintess.

Taking this opportunity, Su Ran decided to properly deal with the five major powers within Tukulu and forge the city into an ironclad fortress first.

“Alright, allow me to take my leave with your esteemed Saintess.”

With those words, Su Ran wrapped an arm around Yuffie and, under Kold’s furious glare, slowly ascended into the sky.