Chapter 53
Escape
"They have already been completely corrupted by the evil god. Kill them all, leave none alive!"
Lilith hovered in mid-air, the tip of her staff bursting with a blinding cold light.
The face of this peak-level apprentice was so gloomy it seemed as if water could be wrung from it. The arriving apprentices from the Three Towers quickly formed a defensive formation behind her.
Although intelligence on the Golden Cult’s infiltration of the Principality of Kolo had long been grasped by the tower, the fact that they dared to attack the ducal castle right under the noses of the wizards was no different from declaring open war on the wizard organizations of this land.
The relationship between the wizard organizations, scattered across the continent like stars, and the mortal nations was extremely delicate.
By rights, under the absolute power of the wizards, so many fragmented nations should not exist. However, because of the existence of the Star Law Institute, all wizard organizations were restrained by it, and great autonomy was granted to the nobility.
Moreover, the vast population was not only key to ensuring a sufficient number of wizards but also served as a medium for the evil gods to gain faith and power.
When a region suffered heavy civilian casualties, the Star Law Institute might even send envoys to take over, evaluating whether the local wizard organization still had the capability to control the number of cultists in the area.
"Gear... Crush!"
Lilith raised her staff high with both hands. A massive gear-shaped phantom condensed and slammed into the castle gates with a thunderous crash.
As the ground trembled, more than a dozen cultists who attempted to rush into the castle were instantly crushed into pulp.
The remaining enemies quickly scattered under the attacks of the other apprentices, yet everyone’s expressions only grew more serious.
More divine power fluctuations were surging in from all directions. Such a reckless charge clearly indicated some kind of fatal attraction.
"Lilith, senior!"
At the sound of the shout, Lilith suddenly turned and flew toward the shadows on the side of the castle.
Lu Xi was shielding a shivering Olivia behind her. Black scorch marks still lingered on her Fractured Crystal Shield, but after exiting combat, it was visibly recovering at a speed noticeable to the naked eye.
"The cultists have discovered Her Highness’ identity!" Lu Xi pointed at the massive crater blasted out from Olivia’s bedchamber. "That maid suddenly self-destructed. They’re trying to capture Olivia alive!"
Lilith’s face turned extremely grim upon hearing this.
Sensing something, she looked back toward the square, where the leader of the Eternal Silence Blackthorn, Raphael, was gripping a cultist by the hair, interrogating him.
After a brief exchange, this peak apprentice, nicknamed "Little Bat," slowly turned his head. His snake-like gaze pierced through the smoke and locked firmly onto Olivia.
Malice and surprise rose on his thin, pale face.
At the same time, more cultists climbed over the walls, and all the eyes burning with golden flames locked onto the same target.
"Do you remember what I told you before?" Lilith’s voice was as if tempered with ice.
Lu Xi gripped her staff and slowly nodded.
"This is it!"
As soon as the words fell, Lilith’s figure shot up, and a surge of magical energy spread out like a tsunami.
A phantom of a steam machine emerged behind her. White steam and black coal smoke intertwined into a gray haze, which instantly engulfed the entire castle.
Not only did it obscure vision, but the scattered magical energy within the haze also disrupted mental strength, briefly rendering witchcraft modeling ineffective.
Raphael spat out the coal ash from his mouth. Several attempts to construct a witchcraft model all ended in failure.
At this moment.
Lu Xi seized the chance to grab Olivia’s wrist and rushed toward the rear wall relying on memory, but was pulled back by Olivia in turn.
"It’s a dead end over there."
Olivia’s underskirt had been torn by thorns, her body trembled involuntarily, yet she maintained astonishing calmness. "Follow me!"
The two stumbled into a storage room.
Olivia lifted a mold-covered carpet, revealing two rusty iron rings.
"Help me."
With their combined strength, the trapdoor let out a harsh creak, revealing a pitch-black passageway below.
"This is an escape tunnel leading directly to the outer city."
Without hesitation, she jumped into the darkness. Lu Xi followed closely behind, and the trapdoor slammed shut above their heads.
In the narrow passageway, the damp smell of mold mixed with the stench of some dead animal, making them instinctively hold their breath.
Olivia’s breathing grew heavier, but she never stopped her steps.
It was unclear how long they had been crawling when, just as Lu Xi’s lower back was almost numb, the tip of her nose suddenly bumped into something soft.
Judging by the sensation, it should be a buttock.
"Ah!" Olivia's exclamation was especially clear in the darkness.
"Sorry!" Lu Xi hurriedly apologized.
"There's no need to mind, Lady Lu Xi. We have arrived."
The sound of wood scraping came from ahead.
Faint morning light pierced the darkness. She instinctively squinted and saw Olivia struggling to push open the hatch leading to the surface.
Moments later, the two finally climbed out of the passage.
They were inside a residential house in the city, which had clearly been uninhabited for quite some time judging by the layers of dust around.
Ignoring the mud-stained underskirt, Olivia went straight to rummage through a wooden box in the corner.
"It should be here... here it is!" She pulled out several sets of coarse cloth dresses and a bulging pouch of coins, quickly slipping into a dark brown long dress. "At least this way we won’t stand out too much. Were those cultists just now? I hope nothing bad happens at the castle."
Lu Xi shook her head.
"Don’t worry. Senior Lilith is a peak apprentice closest to becoming a formal witch. With her there, your father should be safe."
"I’m not exactly worried about him… I’m more afraid it will affect the surrounding civilians."
Lu Xi glanced at the princess with slight surprise.
However, the grand duke's castle was still quite some distance from the civilian district. By the time the battle spread that far, the civilians would likely have already fled upon sensing danger.
The ones who truly needed to be worried about were the two peak apprentices from Eternal Silence Blackthorn and Witch’s Cottage.
News of Olivia being a witch had already leaked; it was unwise to stay here any longer.
"What should we do next?"
Lu Xi looked at the princess, whose face was smeared with mud from crawling through the passage.
"Leave the city. I will escort you back to the Tower of the Four Sages."
After thinking for a moment, the slightly pale Princess Olivia nodded decisively.
"I’ll listen to you!"
They encountered no accidents while leaving the city; the chaos at the duke's castle had not yet affected order in this area.
They bought two packhorses and some rations from a merchant by the roadside.
However, once the merchant left, Lu Xi awkwardly realized that she didn’t know how to ride a horse.
Olivia, who had nimbly mounted, noticed the embarrassment on Lu Xi’s face.
She scooted forward on the saddle, leaving half of it open, and extended her hand.
"Lady Lu Xi, let me take you. The other horse will serve as a spare."
After a brief hesitation, Lu Xi grabbed her hand and mounted the horse.
Fortunately, though both of them were well-endowed, they were not heavy. After a brief adjustment, the packhorse began moving steadily.
Seated behind, Lu Xi instinctively wrapped her arms around the princess’s waist. The sensation transmitted through their bodies made both of their hearts tremble slightly.
"The Golden Cult will never let you go easily. We can’t take the main road."
"I know a small path."
Olivia lightly tugged the reins, and the two packhorses turned onto a narrow side road.
Less than half an hourglass after they left.
A commotion erupted at the gates of Beckett City. Dozens of Golden Cult cultists burst through the gates and charged down the main road in pursuit.
Immediately after, a bat with human eyes flew over the city wall, with Lilith in hot pursuit behind it.
Following them were knights from the Three Towers on horseback, along with a large contingent of the principality’s cavalry.
...
Even though they took the small path, neither of them dared to follow the trail directly.
Shortly after entering the wooded area, they plunged into the dense forest.
The downside was that their speed was once again reduced, but the advantage was that the cultists had no way of tracking them.
However, as time passed, Olivia’s condition grew increasingly abnormal.
Her body began to sway uncontrollably.
"Your Highness Olivia, you…"
Before Lu Xi could finish her sentence, Olivia slumped forward and nearly fell off the horse.
Fortunately, Lu Xi was prepared. She quickly reached out, pulling her down while dismounting herself to cushion the fall.
Laying Olivia flat on the ground.
Her pretty face was deathly pale, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.
Without hesitation, Lu Xi tore open her collar, gasping in shock.
A large area around her right rib was bruised purple, and beneath the skin, she could faintly see the misaligned outline of displaced bones.
"I… when I fell from the balcony…" Olivia tried to explain but was cut off by Lu Xi’s stern gaze.
"Climbing through the tunnel and riding with this kind of injury? Are you insane!"
She suddenly realized that all the groans and pauses along their escape were Olivia silently enduring the pain of fractured bones grinding together.