The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 273 The Beginning of the Long Winter
Spin slash!

Faced with a target who was temporarily unable to resist, Eric unleashed all his power, his longsword aimed straight for the demon warrior's throat.

Pfft!

The attack intensified with each rotation; the blade swept across, and the resulting impact slashed open a gash in the demon warrior's neck, a gash far larger than the blade itself.

The demon warrior, still unconscious from the shock of the soul, was completely disconnected. His body was still standing, his huge head tilted back, and blood gushed upwards from his severed throat.

His professional instincts, which craved blood, were nourished, instantly unleashing even more and longer-lasting power that filled Eric's limbs and bones, allowing his strength, speed, and skill to remain at their peak.

Despite the sudden death of his companion, another demon warrior was almost unaffected and charged forward again, his curved sword aimed at Eric's neck.

Eric lowered his head, leaned forward, and pushed off with his feet, using the momentum of the fall to propel himself forward, circling around to the other side of the demon warrior's body and plunging his sword into its flesh.

With a roar, the demon warrior slammed his unarmed arm at Eric, the attack swift and powerful.

Eric retreated again, while the demon warrior picked up his companion's weapon from the ground, brandishing his twin blades and instantly expanding the area of ​​attack, closing in on Eric.

The blade blocked his space to dodge, so he could only retreat temporarily to create distance, but he was already next to Natalia and Rusdy after only a few steps.

"..."

Can't retreat anymore.

Eric immediately came to his senses. His task was to escort these two frail ordinary people to safety, not to engage in a protracted and entangled battle with the demons.

"One more time!" Eric charged at the demon warrior again, shouting to Rusdy, "Help me take him down!"

"Stop it! Don't keep moving! Soul attacks must be precise!" Rusdy responded, then raised his staff to the demon warrior, looking for an opportunity to cast a spell.

Eric had no choice but to use himself as bait to create an opportunity for Eric to attack.

He deliberately moved closer and took a few steps, almost exposing his weaknesses to the maximum extent. The demon warriors' curved swords slashed at him from both sides, almost blocking his space to dodge. Rusdy still couldn't make a move.

In the nick of time, Eric could only leap into the air and disappear from the attack's range the instant the two curved swords struck simultaneously.

As the two swords slashed down in a cross pattern, Eric lightly touched the weakened curved sword with his toes, making himself feel as light as a feather. Using the blade as a fulcrum, he leaped up again and swept his sword horizontally at the same time!
Pfft!

From left to right, the sharp blade left a straight horizontal wound on the demon warrior's face, and blood flowed down instantly, like a blood-red veil.

However, this was not fatal to the demon warrior. The two weapons that were slashing down were quickly raised. Eric tried his best to dodge in mid-air, but the raised blade tip still grazed his calf.

The taut muscles clashed head-on with the blade, and the latter clearly prevailed, immediately cutting a wound that then widened, causing blood to gush out.

As soon as he landed, the demon warriors, in an almost frenzied state, spun around and brandished their two curved swords, rapidly closing in on him, Natalia, and Rusdy.

Eric leaped backward, leaving a bloody footprint with each step, while Rusdy suddenly straightened his staff.

The approaching demon warrior let out a scream, halted his attack, and even dropped his weapon, covering his head with his hands as if something inside was wreaking havoc.

"What are you still standing there for!" Rusdy yelled. "I can't hold back for much longer!"

"I'm fucking injured!" Eric cursed back, enduring the pain as he exerted his strength, leaving a deep bloody footprint as he swiftly closed in on the demon warrior, cleaving its throat in two with his sword.

The demon warrior fell, and Rusdy, who had just finished casting the spell, also swayed slightly.

"Is this spell very energy-consuming?" Natalia quickly helped him up.

“This is a pure soul attack… It doesn’t rely on any elements, so it doesn’t require any magic, but it consumes a lot of mental energy,” Rusdy explained after a pause.

"How are you?" he asked Eric.

"no problem."

Having dealt with the demon warrior, Eric didn't have time to slowly heal the wound on his calf with divine magic, but he couldn't ignore it either. He took out one of the Pure Hearts of Life that he always carried with him and pressed it onto his calf.

The flesh writhed, the wound healed rapidly, and the pure heart of life, which had originally shone like a pearl, quickly dimmed.

The battle here was over in the blink of an eye, over in a few rounds. Kasha, who had originally planned to come and help Eric after seeing him injured, stopped in mid-air and looked at the demons who were still struggling in the giant waves.

Reverting to human form, Kasha took out a spell scroll from his body and flew up again, tearing it open above the heads of the demons.

Suddenly, a dark cloud gathered in mid-air, and a strong blizzard descended, covering a large area outside the north gate of the academy. The temperature plummeted, and the giant waves, which had gradually lost their power, began to freeze.

“A world of ice and snow…” Rusdy stared at the second spell being cast, his face showing surprise. “Another tenth-tier spell. Is that druid lady also a mage?”

“It’s all thanks to the power of the scroll itself, just like the scroll I gave you earlier,” Eric said, putting away his Pure Heart of Life. “Be surprised when we’ve escaped.”

At that moment, several more demon warriors struggled out of the gradually freezing giant waves and blocked the way outside.

They clearly didn't have the academy badges and were wary of the gargoyles' presence, so they dared not come in. However, they kept their eyes fixed on Eric and his two companions, waiting for them to leave—or rather, for them not to leave, which would be even more in line with their expectations.

Eric took out several scrolls from his body and handed them to Rusdy and Natalia respectively. "I'll hold them off. You two find an opportunity to use the scrolls. Don't worry about me, I can dodge."

While his buffs were still active, Eric picked up the curved sword dropped by the demon warrior and rushed out of the academy.

Several demon warriors stood ready, while behind them, many others were frozen in the solidified waves, unable to move.

In the distance, another group of demons and traitorous mages were rushing towards them.

Eric's gaze swept over them, his expression unchanged, but his heart sank lower and lower.

Just how many demons have entered Casterfel...?

Could it be an entire demon army from Tebnity, preparing to bypass this area and attack Gradia, while also dealing with him and Natalia, these two roving bandit leaders?
Without a second thought, he rushed out of the academy's north gate and instantly appeared among several demon warriors, slashing with his curved sword in his left hand and his longsword in his right.

when! when!
These demon warriors had been watching him closely for a long time and were naturally on guard against his attacks. They blocked him from both sides and then surrounded him from four directions.

Eric leaped high into the air using the effects of his combat technique, reaching the highest point. He glanced at Natalia and Rusdy inside the north gate; the two had already followed him to the gate, spell scrolls in their hands.

Looking down, he was met with several demonic curved swords slashing down at him simultaneously.

Then let's not go down.

A pair of dazzling wings of light suddenly unfolded from behind Eric, stopping his fall and suspending him in mid-air, even lifting him a little higher.

A sacred place of devotion!

Circle after circle, divine runes resembling magic circles rapidly unfolded beneath his feet, golden light surging upwards. Eric threw away the demonic curved sword in his hand and instead gripped the Holy Spirit pendant on his chest.

Rusti and Natalia, who were about to cast a spell with the scroll in hand, both paused for a moment.

"He can fly?"

"I have no idea……"

The next moment, Eric, who was suspended in mid-air, released a strong and dazzling light. Countless golden rays, like threads or sharp golden needles, pierced towards all the demons around him.

Eclipse of Light!

"what!"

Accompanied by screams, smoke billowed from the bodies of the demon warriors below, revealing large areas of burn marks. They tried to shield their faces with their hands, but smoke rose from their hands as well. They turned their backs to the demons, but their backs were also burned, leaving them with no way to escape.

"Run!" Rusdy reminded Natalia to seize the opportunity.

Regardless of what Eric's move was, it wouldn't harm them; its purpose was simply to cover their escape.

Natalia and Rusdy rushed out, and the demon warriors at the door tried to stop them, but their bodies were scorched by the holy light, and they struggled to take half a step toward the two of them before collapsing.

"Don't worry about me, run!"

As the two ran past him, Natalia looked up at him, and Eric quickly reminded her.

Out of the corner of his eye, Eric caught a glimpse of a black spell flying towards him from the other side. He turned his head, and the black spell was dispersed by the surging holy light as soon as it entered the range of the Holy Realm of Devotion. It vanished into thin air with a short wail.

Necromantic spells...

Eric looked at the approaching group of demons and traitorous mages, when suddenly two more figures ran back down his feet.

"What are you doing back here!"

It turned out to be Natalia and Rusdy.

"See for yourself!" Rusdy ran over to him and immediately tore open the spell scroll in his hand.

Eric looked in the direction where he had cast his spell. The surging flames temporarily separated the two sides, and another group of demons surrounded them from the other side.

"..."

Looking around, they realized they had lost any chance of breaking through.

The light wings behind him gradually dissipated, and before they completely vanished, Eric landed on the ground first, and then looked back at the Star Origin Academy behind him.

To break out means certain death.
Back inside, it seems the demons from the other directions haven't broken in yet, so we can buy some more time...

He looked at several high points in the academy.

The Moon Elves' mage towers can hold out for a very long time!
Eric pulled the two of them back.

"Are we doomed to not escape?" Rusdy asked breathlessly.

“It’s me and Natalia who can’t escape.” Eric didn’t even turn his head. “You’re a guest of honor of the demons. Surrender to them, and they won’t kill you. At most, they’ll make you suffer a little.”

“That means I have no chance of escaping again,” Rusdy said immediately. “Being captured by the demons and used for the Demon King’s research is worse than dying now.”

Eric didn't say anything.

Natalia followed closely, her eyes fixed on his face.

He misspoke... or perhaps he misspoke intentionally.

The only one who can't escape is her; he himself is perfectly capable of escaping from here.

Of course, she also had the option to surrender; her status as the Grand Princess of the Empire was enough to save her life.

However, she wouldn't make that choice.

"Where are you going?" Rusdy asked again.

"The Moon Elf's Mage Tower".

Eric quickly replied, "By destroying the magic-powered floating staircase, the demons won't be able to attack for a while. In addition, there should be quite a few scrolls and other items left by the moon elves in the mage tower, which should allow us to hold out for a long time..."

"--Then what?"

Eric finally turned around. "What do you want to say?"

“I wonder if anyone will come to rescue us?” Rusdy looked at him.

Eric paused, opened his mouth, then closed it again.

The answer is no.

Even if all the knights he brought, the monks from the monastery, and even Ferdinand's group of alchemists came and swarmed in, they would only be overwhelmed by the sheer number of demons in the process of rescuing them.

Unless the elite group of knights and mages who left this morning turn back, no one can rescue them from here.

This is Castelfel, the land of chaos.

"We'll hold out as long as we can." After a moment's thought, Eric became resolute again. "If you refuse to surrender, I promise you will die without pain in the end."

"Then I'd rather die a glorious death!"

Rusdy grabbed him, "Don't go to the mage tower, let's go underground!"

"What?" Eric was taken aback.

“There’s a meteorite underground at Xingyuan Academy. You should know that, but only I know the secret of that meteorite!” Rusdy said.

“I know that meteorite absorbs souls,” Eric said quickly. “Could it be that you can use it?”

Rusdy paused for a moment, cursed Molly, and then said, "I secretly tried it before and found that I could use that meteorite to amplify my soul magic. Maybe I can kill a lot of demons before I die!"

Eric's mind raced. He glanced inside the academy and said, "The demons haven't invaded yet. You guys go underground first, I'll go to the mage tower and find some more scrolls!"

“Okay.” Rusdy led Natalia toward the underground entrance, while Eric ran toward the nearest mage tower.

I had only been searching on the tower for a short while when I heard a commotion behind me. It was Kasha flying over.

"Eric!" She returned to human form, landing in his arms. "You can't die!"

Eric pushed her away and continued searching for spell scrolls, taking them all regardless of whether he recognized them or not.

“I won’t die, and neither can you. We’re going underground. If you can fly, don’t go in. Leave here and return to Lutia immediately… no, go to the nearest governor’s mansion and tell them what happened here.”

There was silence behind me.

A little while later, Kasha also started rummaging through his things.

Eric glanced at her twice. "I'll handle this. You go to the other mage towers and drop down any spell scrolls or anything that looks useful."

“Okay…” Kasha gave him a deep look, then turned and jumped off the mage tower, transforming into a bird in mid-air and flying towards another mage tower.

Eric tore down the curtains in the room and used them as a makeshift bundle, then carried the large bag of scrolls he had plundered down from the mage tower.

There were already quite a few scrolls that Kasha had thrown down on the ground. He picked up a few at random and dragged the package to the entrance to the academy's underground.

As you descend the passage, Natalia and Rusdy are already waiting; the latter is examining the meteorite.

"Will it work?" Eric asked.

“I’m definitely better at souls and magic than you,” Rusdy said without looking up.

Eric then looked at Natalia, who walked over, took off the necklace from her neck, and put it on him. "If I die, take this to Her Majesty the Queen."

"..."

Eric picked up the pendant, glanced at it, then looked at her, said nothing, and went back to carrying the pendant.

"—This is a dead end, what makes you think he can survive?" Rusdy's voice came over, sounding strangely ethereal.

Natalia was momentarily stunned. "I love him... I hope he can live."

"I'm sorry, Princess, I used you as an experiment."

She snapped back to reality, turned to look at Rusdy, whose hand rested on the meteorite, his face showing no remorse but rather excitement. "This thing really does amplify my soul magic!"

Recalling the words that had just slipped out, Natalia pursed her lips. "Would that allow us to survive?"

“It’s easy to survive, Princess, for all three of us.”

Rusdy didn't look at her, and took out something else from his body. "You should ask if we can kill those demons and survive."

"Can we?" Natalia asked again.

Rusdy didn't speak, looking at the small box in his hand.

Eric made two trips, carrying a large number of spell scrolls to the ground. On his third trip, he suddenly heard a series of chaotic footsteps approaching from afar.

"They're in!" Kasha said to him as he flew down from the tower.

"Go!" Eric said without hesitation. "Do as I just said, get out of here right now."

Kasha just looked at him.

"I will definitely find a way to survive." Eric gave her one last hug.

"..."

Kasha, tears streaming down her face, hugged him tightly. Then she transformed into a bird, soaring into the air and flying towards the direction from which the demons were attacking. She then tore open a spell scroll to buy him some time.

Hearing the thunder rumbling in the distance, Eric dragged the last bundle of scrolls back underground.

"Rusdy, take a look at these scrolls and see which ones we can use."

Rusdy had already categorized the scrolls he had previously acquired. He and Natalia could only use a few; the rest required a certain level of spellcasting ability to activate, meaning only Rusdy could use them.

Looking at the pile of scrolls in front of him, Eric then looked towards the exit of the underground staircase.

Maybe half an hour had passed, or maybe only a few minutes had passed, when suddenly a series of rapid footsteps sounded overhead.

Rusdy tore open the spell scrolls one by one, continuously applying various protective spells to the three of them.

Before long, the first mage to rush down spotted them.

"They're here! Someone come here! Someone come here! They're all here!"

Immediately, he was engulfed by the raging flames, and his screams came to an abrupt halt.

One demon and traitorous mage after another, seemingly driven by someone above, continued to charge downwards, throwing out various counter-spells.

"Kill them! Kill them!"

"Charge forward! Don't be afraid! His Highness said we must capture them alive!"

Eric, shielded by a magical barrier and wielding his longsword, stood at the forefront, dealing with the few survivors that the spells had failed to completely block.

Lightning, fire, ice storms, and various spells unfolded in the not-so-large underground space, either amplifying each other or canceling each other out, creating a constant interplay of light and shadow.

Because Rusdy's spells were imbued with a soul impact amplified by the meteorite, they could even penetrate the mages' shields. Some mages would cast spells and suddenly feel a headache, or simply straighten up and fall into the spells they had cast.

“To avoid jeopardizing the unsolved secrets of the meteorite, the use of magic was originally forbidden here,” Rusdy said. “But we’ve certainly blown it up enough today.”

Eric tore open the scroll, added a fiery earth to the front, glanced back, and noticed that the floating meteorite behind him was faintly glowing.

"This is……"

“I don’t know.” Rusdy touched the meteorite, “but I can feel the magic power generated by these spells being absorbed by it, and it doesn’t even care about the little magic power in my body anymore.”

"What happens if you absorb it to its limit?" Eric looked at him. "Will it explode?"

"Probably, otherwise how else could we release it? The magic power absorbed from all over the world, plus what we've absorbed from these high-level spells today, is enough to blow up the entire Star Origin Academy—isn't this the spectacular death we've been looking for?" Rusdy retorted.

Rusdy didn't hear what Eric said, but he vaguely heard "Mom" in his words.

The ease with which we can still talk like this won't last much longer.

The scrolls were used one by one, and although the violent spells greatly hindered the enemy's attack, their number was ultimately limited.

At one point, Natalia seemed to have made up her mind.

"Here are two more protective scrolls that His Highness gave me."

Natalia handed the two scrolls to Eric, then took off her protective ring, paused, gently kissed it, and handed it to him as well, saying, "And this too."

“Without us holding you back, Your Highness should be able to fight your way out alive. Don’t forget to give my necklace to Mia.”

Natalia gazed at his face closely, tears streaming down her face.

“I’ve thought about countless possibilities with you, but I never imagined I’d die here. But this is just my end, not yours… You must live, Eric.”

A sharp pain shot through her chest. Eric wiped away her tears and put the protective ring back on her finger.

"It's not over yet."

Natalia looked down at the ring, then at him, about to say something, when Rusdy spoke up: "If you want to escape, now is indeed your last chance."

He threw away the last torn scroll in his hand, "We won't be able to stop them anytime soon."

Both of them looked at him, and then noticed the meteorite was flashing.

Rusdy took out the small box containing the purple crystal that Simmagu had given him and said, "I felt that the meteorite's magic had already reached its limit just now, but nothing happened. I guess it still needs to absorb some soul power before... some kind of qualitative change can occur."

Eric looked at him. "But if it's really as you say, with the power of that kind of explosion, I wouldn't have time to escape now."

Rusdy looked at him, then at the crystal in his hand.

“You’re right, it’s a pity I didn’t warn you sooner… But now there’s another option: stand closer, because instantaneous annihilation will come faster than your thoughts.”

Eric and Natalia both gathered around the huge meteorite.

The raging flames released by the last scroll gradually subsided, and the figures of the demon and the traitorous mage reappeared on the other side of the flames, their voices also carrying over.

"Rusdy! Give up the resistance, and you can still live!"

This, in turn, prompted him to make up his mind.

“If nothing happens, then kill me with your sword!” Rusdy said, and then placed the crystal from the small wooden box upside down on the meteorite.

"..."

No explosion occurred, but an invisible wave suddenly spread out.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment, and Eric seemed to hear countless vengeful spirits wailing and flying past his ears, but it was so brief that it seemed like his illusion.

The meteorite, which had been flickering, now shone brightly.

Natalia, who was standing almost touching the meteorite, instinctively reached out to touch it, and suddenly disappeared.

Eric was surprised, then delighted, "Teleport!"

Rusdy looked on in surprise, but he continued to press the soul crystal onto the meteorite with the wooden box in his hand. "Go quickly!"

Eric then touched the meteorite, and he vanished instantly.

Several demon warriors had already rushed across the dying flames and were heading towards the last remaining Rusti.

Without time to hesitate, Rusdy placed his other hand on the meteorite.

"..."

It felt cold to the touch, and the enormous meteorite had lost its luster and began to absorb his magic again.

·
[The Dust and Smoke of the Southern Frontier - End]

(End of this chapter)