Chapter 314: Shackles
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Just two days before you summoned me to fight that large snake, a group of vampires appeared at the Imperial Capital. As if they had gone mad, they flew all over the capital and then to the Church institute in broad daylight like a swarm of bees and launched a suicidal attack."
Sky gave a supercilious look and shook his head.
Rody frowned. "The vampires attacked the Church’s institute in broad daylight? Have they gone mad? What did you two do when that happened?"
Andy gave an evil laugh. "What could I do? I was unconcerned. What does their quarrel have anything to do with me? That day, the sky was full of bats. I simply ordered for more troops to patrol the streets."
"What happened then?"
"After that…" Sky was the one who replied. "The vampires attacked the religious institute as though they were mad. They must have gathered a lot of power. I have never seen that many vampires in my life. That day, those guys at the Church were very busy. The mages could almost shoot light spells to the sky at random and hit the vampires with their eyes closed. However, the vampires were also really bold. They noticed that the defense power of the religious institute was lacking and declared war on the Church after gathering so many people. In other words, the vampires now really have guts.
"The Church obviously did not expect the vampires to cause such a huge scene. Even I did not expect the vampires to become so aggressive. After discussing with the Old Skeleton, we felt that there must be a big problem there."
"Yes." Andy smiled. "I immediately thought of this Dracula’s Spear. This is the vampire’s sacred weapon. At first, I thought it was strange that they did not make any fuss after the Dracula’s Spear was taken away by the Church. There was not even a single move then. But now, however, I also did not expect them to make such a big move."
"Haha." Sky laughed cunningly. "I do not dare to fight Corsica VI directly. I am not certain I can endure that God Summoning spell. However, when I see them running around hastily, I felt it would be foolish to not take advantage of the opportunity the vampires created for us."
"You…" Rody had a smiling look in his eyes.
Andy shrugged his shoulders and put on a solemn appearance. "I had naturally given the order to the officer of our Imperial Guards, Sky, to take our valiant warriors to assist the Church, the pillars of the Empire, to fight against the wicked and heretical vampires."
Sky also solemnly said, "I had also completed His Majesty the Emperor’s orders strictly. I created a strong gale at the periphery. It killed and blasted all the vampires within several tens of meters, eradicating a lot of these evil enemies!"
Rody was surprised. "Wi-Within several tens of meters? Blasted?"
Sky gave a sigh and looked regretful. "Yes. Blasted...However, because of my small misjudgment, it was not only the enemy but also half of the religious institute was destroyed. Hopefully, the Gods would understand that his people were forced to do it." Sky drew a cross at his chest.
Rody suppressed his impulse to laugh. Suddenly, he remembered something. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "What about Corsica VI? He..."
"Hahaha. After the vampires came and caused the ruckus, His Holiness the Pope together with the elders went to oppose the master of the vampires together. They all went to the outskirts of West Hill and fought a big battle. That was a world-shaking incident. I extremely admire the display of the Pope’s invincible might."
Sky sighed. "However, in order to prevent wanton destruction by the vampires, I had, en passant, carefully searched both the inside and outside of the Church’s institute. Of course, this was done secretly. As a result, I found a sealed treasure chest underground."
Andy narrowed his eyes and smiled. "At a crucial moment, our loyal and valiant warrior Sky had encountered the vampires and, under the patronage of the Gods, got rid of all of them. Unfortunately, all the religious magicians had died tragically too...Ah...May their souls rest in peace!"
The Skeleton then devoutly made a cross at his chest.
They had taken advantage of the other side's misfortune and stolen the Dracula’s Spear. Furthermore, they had destroyed the entire cathedral, erased all the evidence, and then blamed it on the vampires...
Rody sighed weakly. "You guys…you guys are really daring!"
However, Andy said, "The usually cautious vampires did such a bold and crazy thing. If we did not gain some benefits from this, I would feel sorry for the cute bats that died!"
Rody gently caressed the cold spear in his hand and pulled it out of the box.
The cold texture touched the palm of his skin. Rody felt a strange feeling. No wonder this spear was the vampire’s sacred weapon. Its evil murderous aura could be felt just by holding it.
The murderous aura made Rody suddenly feel cold and he said, "Master…Master Autumn is…"
Sky and Andy's faces turned gloomy as they looked at each other. Andy laughed bitterly and said, "I did say that the Dracula’s Spear is a dark magical artifact that could absorb the soul but…"
"But what?"
Andy sternly said, "I am not a God! Do you think it is easy to revive a person that has become a soul? If a soul is exposed, it would quickly disperse. Did you know that? If we took out Master Autumn’s soul from the spear just like that, it would vanish in a short moment. At that time, everything would be gone and lost forever! Furthermore…" Andy sighed. "I don't know how to get his soul out."
"What!" Rody became angry and glared. "You say you do not know! At that time, you…"
"Boy, you do not need to glare." Sky sighed. "If we did not say that, you would have long ago went and desperately looked for Corsica VI. Besides that, Master Autumn’s soul was really absorbed by the spear. This is a true fact. But we are not Gods. We also do not know how to do some difficult things like resurrection."
Andy smiled and said, "The Dracula’s Spear is one of the most ancient magical artifacts. There would be countless souls absorbed by it. In the past thousands of years, there should be at least eight to ten thousand souls at a minimum. Have you heard of any single one reviving?"
The to and fro statements of the two old guys made Rody speechless. Rody stared at them and frowned. "Then Master Autumn…"
"We can think of a solution slowly. But I think that since this spear can absorb the soul and stop it from disappearing, there must be something like a shackle inside. Let us first find a way to interact with the soul and then think of a solution. Maybe…" Sky smiled. "It has been such a long time. Whether the soul still exists is another matter."
"Interact? How to interact?" Rody frowned.
Sky laughed bitterly. "This is not something we can do. I heard that the reason you could cultivate so quickly initially was because a power seed was planted in your body by Master Autumn. Since you have Master Autumn’s power seed, we may need to rely on you to make his soul respond. That is something that I can't do."
Although Sky and Andy tried to console Rody, he was insistent on staying. He just sat there on the ground with his legs crossed as he held the Dracula’s Spear and racked his brains thinking about the matter.
In Rody’s mind, Master Autumn was like a teacher and a father. He was an idol who had guided him to the peak of swordsmanship. Saving him was one of Rody’s greatest wish.
Andy was helpless and could only pull Sky away. Before leaving, he once again covered the entire room with a barrier that blocked the aura from leaving.
Rody’s fingers gently stroked the cold spear. He tried hard to calm himself down to sense the inside of the spear but he could feel only the coldness of the spear and nothing else.
He tried to send a bit of his fighting energy into the spear...
The spear gave a humming sound as though a power had surged through it. Black qi emerged from the spear. The black qi felt tyrannical and murderous, throwing Rody’s calmed heart into chaos.
"No…Not right…" Rody shook his head and frowned, and then just sat there thinking hard for a long time.
The secret room had already been blocked and sealed. Gradually, the candlelight burned out and the place was surrounded by darkness. Only Rody’s breathing could be heard in the dark.
A night had passed unnoticed and Rody still remained in the room. He had not rested, slept, eaten, or drank anything. He was still holding the spear and sat cross-legged. He had not moved at all.
Outside, at the Duke’s residence, Nicole had received news of Rody’s return and had already dispatched someone to the Imperial Palace, but she received the message that Rody was discussing an important secret matter with the Emperor.
Rody, thus, was still there on the third day. He sat there like a statue as though his face and body had frozen.
"Fatty, do you think that boy has gone bonkers?" Andy sighed.
Sky shook his head. "I hope he comes out quickly. Otherwise, Nicole might send people to fight and kill their way into the palace. Hopefully, she does not think that we have murdered her husband…"
The two of them were standing outside the room when they suddenly heard a loud humming sound from inside...
"Huh?" Andy’s expression changed. 'I had isolated the space in the room. How could the sound from inside escape?'
The two old men looked at each other. Sky strode in.
Rody, who had not rested for three days, had a beard stubble on his chin and his face looked pale. He was using his finger to tap hard on the spear. The weird thing was every time he tapped on the spear, it gave out a loud and clear humming sound.
"You…How did you do that?" Andy frowned.
Rody remained expressionless as though lost in thought. He just kept tapping hard on the spear.
Sky pursed his lips and wanted to go and pull Rody. However, the moment he stretched his hand, he felt Rody’s body covered in an aura. He was instantly hit by a huge force and his large body bounced back.
"What the hell!" Sky exclaimed as he stepped back a few steps. "When did he recover to this level?"
Andy also showed a weird gaze.
This time Sky tried harder. He cleared his throat first. Seeing that Rody still did not respond, he once again reached out slowly. He could feel that Rody’s body was covered with a weird aura. The aura was pushing, pressing and spinning. These forces were tangled up as though there were no rules governing them as they were being released from Rody’s body.
Rody’s fingers were tapping harder and harder. The humming sound started to become ear-splitting. Black qi began to emerge from the spear and became thicker. More and more murderous aura was coming out.
Andy’s expression changed. "This is bad! If he continues to tap it like this, the black qi would leak and spread out. If the people from the Church finds out, it would become troublesome! Why is my barrier not working?"
Sky’s expression had changed drastically. His eyes then lit up and he said, "No! This boy is projecting his domain! Right now, we are in his domain! No wonder your barrier is not working!"
"Domain?" Andy looked hard at Sky and asked. "Didn’t this boy lose his powers already?"
Sky was also puzzled. "How would I know? I have been standing outside together with you!"
Rody suddenly opened his mouth and shouted. He withdrew his finger and then spread both hands out to hold both ends of the spear tight and then started to use force to...
"What does he want to do?" Sky’s eyes opened wide.
Andy shook his head. "He… Is he trying to destroy the spear?"
The spear continued to hum in Rody’s hands. The sound seemed to carry a heavy pressure. Gradually, that sound was slowly filled with sadness...
"Boy, are you mad? Are you trying to destroy it?" Sky’s expression changed. He took a deep breath and then forcefully charged towards Rody.
As Sky was prepared to attack this time, he had managed to hit Rody. Rody fell and the spear also dropped onto his body.
"What are you doing?" Rody asked as he lay on the ground and looked at the two geezers with an unhappy expression.
"Are you trying to destroy this magical artifact?" Andy's tone was solemn.
Rody thought for a moment and replied, "I am just trying to tear open the shackles imprisoning the souls."