Chapter 75: A Just Verdict

In an instant, the knight's armor on Li Nanke transformed, replaced by a 'powered protective suit' forged from high-strength alloys. Azure flames erupted from the propulsion jets behind him, unleashing tremendous thrust as he pushed off the ground with force.

“Boom!”

The war hammer’s barbed head whipped past his face, missing his nose by a hand's breadth, the wind it stirred stinging his cheek.

“What kind of prayer armor is that?” Fariyano's gaze was bloodthirsty and vicious; his killing blow had been dodged, and he hadn’t managed to quickly eliminate this bothersome knight.

His thick arm hefted the hammer, ready to strike again, but a wolf-headed greatsword wreathed in roaring flames slashed in from the side.

Fariyano let out a cold laugh, spun, and hammered back with a brutal swing!

Even someone as powerful as Reynold dared not meet that savage blow head-on. Reynold deftly dodged, his greatsword skirting the hammerhead and slicing along the handle toward Fariyano’s massive hands.

Sparks flew, the blood-red gauntlet tore open, but there was no time for a follow-up strike to widen the wound—another brutal hammer blow came crashing in!

Reynold could only rely on agile footwork to contend with Fariyano. Though he occasionally struck his foe, the armor was so sturdy that, after breaching it, his sword lacked the strength to inflict serious harm.

Reynold himself, meanwhile, was tense, unable to risk the slightest mistake. The enemy could err many times, but if Reynold was hit once—even if he survived, he would be gravely wounded and lose his fighting ability.

The soldiers of the Penitence Corps, watching from afar, saw Reynold’s predicament clearly. If the battle continued like this, his defeat and gruesome death were only a matter of time.

Suddenly, shouts of alarm erupted from the distant ranks of soldiers.

Fariyano, locked in combat, heard a distant buzzing sound that grew louder and louder.

He whipped his head around and saw Li Nanke standing far off, a strange cylindrical weapon hoisted on his shoulder, gathering a dazzling light.

Fariyano realized nothing good was about to happen and lunged toward Li Nanke, but Reynold threw himself in the way, blocking him desperately.

“Hey! Big oaf!”

Fariyano’s anger surged, and he turned to glare at Li Nanke.

But he didn’t see the man—only a blinding flash!

A torrent of light consumed his vision, searing rays instantly heating the metal visor red-hot; some of the laser burned violently through the eye holes!

“My eyes!”

Fariyano’s anguished scream echoed across the bridge, stirring a strange excitement among the watching soldiers—just imagining the pain made their own eyes ache.

While the linear laser beam fired, Fariyano’s eyes burst, and he collapsed, howling and writhing, one hand over his face, the other raising his hammer defensively.

Li Nanke kept the cannon’s barrel trained on Fariyano; seeing him raise his weapon to block, Li Nanke adjusted his aim, the laser carving a scorching mark along the crimson armor, targeting the enemy's lower body.

Even with the prayer blessings on the crimson armor, it could not withstand the superheated laser for long. Metal turned to molten red, mingling with flesh and blood, smoke rising with a stench of charred meat.

Should he protect the upper or lower half, the big or the small? In agony, Fariyano couldn’t think—he simply blocked wherever the pain struck.

The soldiers, watching from afar, suddenly felt that eye injuries weren’t the worst; seeing what happened now, they instinctively wanted to cover themselves below.

“Reynold!”

Li Nanke didn’t need to remind him; Reynold would never let such a golden opportunity slip by!

If he didn’t seize this moment, it would be much harder to finish things later.

For every member of the Penitence Corps bore a ‘Refuge Mark’: unless mortally wounded, injuries could be transferred to the Lady of Eternal Pain and rapidly healed.

Though severed limbs and missing organs could only have their wounds closed, not restored, the higher the officer’s rank, the stronger the mark. For a legion commander like Fariyano, his recovery was astonishingly fast.

Reynold uttered the syllables of a prayer, and the wolf-headed sword in his hand transformed into a giant flaming blade. In an instant, a torrent of fire surged forth, the sword trailing a waterfall of flames as it cleaved downward!

The crimson blaze was as beautiful as silk, as powerful as a waterfall, descending from the heavens to claim Fariyano’s head!

Reynold used his battle prayer again—his signature move, 'Flame Cascade'.

Just then, the laser beam faded, but Fariyano’s hammer still blocked his lower body.

In the distance, Archbishop Kolonna, surrounded by soldiers, watched with a shadowed gaze, muttering a syllable and tapping his staff to the ground without expression.

He was secretly using a prayer spell to interfere with the judgment!

Suddenly, Reynold’s body trembled; his face contorted in pain, as if stricken by a terrible force. His flaming sword twisted, the blow veering off course.

“Boom!” Shards of stone flew, and the entire Judgment Bridge shook.

Even its solid surface cracked under that blow, scorched marks spreading.

The sword’s cleft landed a hand’s breadth above Fariyano’s head, only a few stray flames singeing him.

“Kolonna! Is this the just judgment you promised?!”

Reynold, eyes red, roared furiously, slashing again. The gravely wounded Fariyano, hearing the sound, hammered aside the sword and lunged at Reynold, grappling with him.

With his eyes destroyed and his lower body mangled, Fariyano could only tackle Reynold for close combat—otherwise, blind as he was, he’d be defeated in a few exchanges.

Li Nanke spun to glare at Archbishop Kolonna, who smiled, spreading his hands as if to say, “I did nothing.”

Yet every soldier saw what had happened. Fariyano had been sprawled on the ground, howling, nearly a sitting duck for Reynold’s killing blow. For the sword master to miss such a strike—what kind of instructor would he be, what guidance could he offer?

It wasn’t just Reynold; any soldier, under normal circumstances, would never have missed that strike.

But Reynold, a master swordsman, missed—what else could explain it but outside interference in the judgment?

The soldiers glanced at the archbishop with complicated expressions, quickly averting their eyes.

Archbishop Kolonna, sensing their strange looks, dropped his smile and wore a stern, expressionless face.

A flash of wrath appeared in Li Nanke's eyes; he would remember this grudge.

Fariyano, taking advantage of the close-quarters melee, threw aside his war hammer, and the two rolled together. Reynold quickly fell behind—his strength was no match for his foe.

Fariyano’s wounds were healing rapidly. He stared through the bloody holes where his eyes had been, let out a furious roar, and locked Reynold in a crushing embrace. His thick arms flexed, and Reynold’s joints popped, his face swelling purple.

Li Nanke knew he had to end this quickly; Kolonna had interfered once and could do so again.

With the judge aiding the foe, victory couldn't be won by ordinary means!

He strode forward, chainsaw sword in hand, its thorned grip biting into his palm, the jagged blade slicing toward Fariyano’s head.

Though blind, Fariyano heard the rush of wind and the shrill whine of the spinning teeth; he released Reynold and rolled toward his war hammer.

Reynold, bones broken all over, felt weak and struggled to stay upright.

Without hesitation, Li Nanke slapped a 'Refuge Mark Talisman' onto Reynold. The talisman dissolved into sparkling motes, merging into Reynold’s body and rapidly transferring his wounds.

Seeing Fariyano reaching for his weapon, Li Nanke would not let him succeed so easily.

His left hand summoned a concussion rifle, the shock beam forming a snowy white blast, making Fariyano flinch.

Li Nanke advanced, swinging his sword to drive the enemy back, keeping him from his weapon.

His sword strikes lacked Reynold’s power; even Reynold needed to first breach the armor to inflict real harm.

Li Nanke, however, targeted Fariyano’s lower body—the armor there had already been melted by the laser, now a defenseless weak point. Where else could he strike?

“You’re despicable!”

“Not as despicable as your archbishop.”

Ignoring Li Nanke’s attacks, Fariyano roared and charged straight at him.

The whirring chainsaw sword’s shriek made its power immense but also served as Fariyano’s beacon.

The shriek helped him judge where the sword was coming from—and where his enemy stood.

As Fariyano lunged, Li Nanke did not sheathe the chainsaw sword or halt its teeth; instead, he pushed the 'Armament' trait to its limit, making the shriek even louder.

Following the sound, Fariyano charged in, but Li Nanke turned and ran, the propulsion pack at his back firing at full power.

As he ran, he drew out a long armored belt, looping it around the sword’s hilt and tightening it in place.

In a few breaths, he reached the side of the Judgment Bridge, where a waist-high stone railing edged a howling abyss that dropped thousands of feet below.

(End of chapter)