Chapter 254: The Test of Usefulness

  Talise's expression turned grim, but Yabin's was even grimmer.

  "However, I can give you a chance. Cut off her head and show me your determination to be of use to me."

  Even the most seasoned judges and inquisitors had never spoken with the coldness and authority of Knight Tamika. His gaze was still as vacant as ever, but its intimidation was no less than that of the scythe on a giant guillotine. Yabin's expression grew even more grotesque, his features twisting completely.

  "Judge for yourself. I'll count to ten. If you don't act, you'll lose your chance."

  The female knight on the ground yelled, "Tamika, can your actions still be considered that of a Temple Knight? Are you still worthy of receiving the Lord's glory in The Radiant Citadel? If His Majesty the Pope finds out what you've done, he will surely punish you."

  Knight Tamika didn't even glance at Talise, keeping his eyes fixed on Yabin as he pronounced the sentence: "One."

  Yabin was not only twitching on his face, but his entire body began to convulse.

  "Two, three..." Knight Tamika counted not slowly. He wasn't the type to deliberately drag things out to show his superiority; this pace was just enough to make one feel the urgency.

  Yabin's body was still trembling. Bean-sized beads of sweat rolled from his forehead, gathering on his chin and dripping. The hand holding his sword was pitifully white from gripping it too hard, as if it could shatter from the pressure at any moment.

  "Four..." Knight Tamika had already raised his sword. And yet, his face still showed no killing intent, though everyone knew he was certainly not joking. Talise could no longer speak either. She could only feel a despair and terror that was absolute and all-consuming.

  Yabin suddenly threw his head back and let out a roar like a cornered beast on the verge of death. His expression was completely replaced by a ferocity that was almost animalistic; anyone who hadn't seen it could never have imagined that such a handsome, clever, and lively young man could make such a bestial sound. He abruptly raised his sword and brought it down toward Talise's neck.

  The sword light was like a bolt of silk, the air it split hissing like the cry of a wild beast. But with a "clang," Yabin's sword was deflected.

  Knight Tamika retracted his blade. He looked at Yabin and Talise, his expression still wooden. It seemed he was thinking again. Finally, as if he had understood, he nodded at Yabin. "Fine. Perhaps you really will be useful."

  Yabin collapsed to the ground, panting in great gulps. As if he had just run a hundred-mile race, he was so exhausted it seemed his very spirit was drained.

  Talise, on the other hand, was completely stunned, dazed. It wasn't just because she had returned from the very gates of hell, but more because the one who had raised the sword was Yabin. She knew that his strike had not been a bluff; she could feel the killing intent in it. If Knight Tamika hadn't intervened, her head would truly have been severed by that sword.

  If such a strike had come from someone else's hand, she wouldn't have been so surprised and disbelieving, but coming from Yabin, it was something she could not accept at all. If his earlier ambush that stabbed and brought her down could be excused as a way to save both their lives, then this strike left no room for doubt.

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  When it came to the word "friend," the most direct image that appeared in Talise's mind was Yabin. Having trained in Celeste since she was a child and living her adult life in the glory of the Temple Knights, she was surrounded either by dull, taciturn priests or by Temple Knights whose solemnity was like a great mountain. In a life as harsh and rigid as ordinary people could not imagine, she didn't even have a suitable person for conversation and communication. It wasn't until she met him in Erathia that the word "friend" truly took on its proper meaning in her heart.

  Even as a woman, she had developed some other, strange feelings for this clever, lively young man who nevertheless possessed the firmness that a man should have.

  The situation had changed suddenly and dramatically afterward, and she had completely lost track of him. When she suddenly ran into him again in this forest, in such a chaotic and helpless situation, Talise had long regarded him as her only temporary friend. But it was this very friend who had just raised a sword and nearly cut off her head.

  "Very good. You've proven that you know where your interests lie and can read the situation. I have a reason to keep you."

  Tamika nodded at Yabin, then gestured to the two Templars. The Templars immediately found a vine from a nearby tree and deftly tied Talise up.

  "You two bastards, you animals... Your hearts have been corrupted by the devil, filthier than a Necromancer's. You are not worthy of using white magic..." Talise snapped out of her shock and rage and began to yell again. But this time, it was different from the explosive tone before; this time, it was hysterical.

  One of the Templars casually grabbed a ball of leaves and weeds and stuffed it into the female knight's mouth, muffling her shouts.

  So this was all I was—"useful"? After being brought out and hearing the dialogue between Knight Tamika and Ethan, Talise felt as if her mind had become completely empty.

  Knight Tamika's sudden attack, and then the sudden betrayal of someone she thought was an old acquaintance from her homeland, had already thrown her mind into chaos. The unwillingness rampaged through her mind, feeling as if it would burst.

  Although she knew that from a strategic standpoint, using her to threaten Ethan was ridiculous, and Ethan seemed to have a reason to be indifferent, when she saw that Ethan didn't even seem to look at her, didn't even blink, and even smiled with indifference, her mind, which was already near its breaking point, simply stopped. It went blank.

  Companions? Who were companions? Were there any companions here? Who was right? Who was just? Was there any justice?

  And then, when Knight Tamika's black Fangs longsword chopped down, she felt almost no fear. She only felt a coolness on her face, and then the sound of a blade cutting into flesh, and a thick, bloody smell rose up.

  After a brief daze, she suddenly realized that nothing was missing from her body. Then, after coming to her senses a bit more, she knew that the sword had not struck her, it had only grazed her.

  That Knight Tamika could miss, that he couldn't kill a person who couldn't move, was as inconceivable as a person accidentally eating their own hand and arm along with their meal. Talise completely understood what was going on.

  And then everything that happened next made her even more confused, and she had no time to understand. The whole world, under this incomprehensible strike from Knight Tamika, suddenly exploded in a way that was completely incomprehensible.

  Explosions, the roar of flames, the sound of shattering, the snapping of bones, the clashing of swords, and screams—all erupted at the same time. Everywhere there was blood, limbs, and violent magical elements, as if they had instantly jumped from a quiet forest to the heat of a fierce battlefield.

  Talise had just come to her senses when she discovered that Knight Tamika was retreating. The black Fangs longsword was trailing a spray of blood, the other end of which was connected to a hand flying into the air. It wasn't her hand. She, in turn, was being carried away as someone retreated—it was a one-armed person carrying her.

  After retreating another step, Talise realized that the person carrying her was Yabin. The hand that held his sword had been severed at the shoulder. The long sword he had originally been holding was now stabbed into Knight Tamika's waist. Although it didn't look deep, this was the reason Knight Tamika had been forced to take a step back.

  The Templar who had been standing next to Yabin, holding his sword, was now gone. To be precise, he had flown through the air and was pinned to a large tree by a black sword, like a scarecrow. Half a scream struggled from his throat. The sword in his hand also had blood on it, but Talise knew it wasn't hers.

  All of this seemed to be just the smaller changes and sounds. The biggest commotion came from the person who had thrown the sword and pinned the Templar to the tree. He had originally just stood motionless in the pool of blood, with a look of indifference on his face, but now he had become the most formidable and active person. He was charging straight here, bringing with him the sky-full of explosions and magic.

  Ethan was charging. A white light was already blindingly bright. Battle Qi, like a tidal wave, surged from his body. His physical strength had been pushed to its absolute limit in these few short moments. Outside the protective white Battle Qi were magical elements as if gone mad—explosions, flames, earth spikes, lightning. He was forcing his way through all this magic, charging straight ahead.

  Ever since Knight Tamika had summoned Yabin and Talise, he knew this must be the final part of the trap. Using hostages as a threat was such a tedious method. Especially since the relationship between him and the female knight, while clearly that of companions, was one of completely opposing stances. Even if there were emotional reasons to see her as a hostage, someone with Knight Tamika's insight could see that Ethan would not be flustered by such a threat at a moment of life and death. So Ethan understood: his threat was not just a threat; he would really dismember the female knight right in front of Ethan's eyes. He wanted to throw Ethan's mind into chaos.