Badge in Azure Chapter 295

Chapter 295: Tribunal Hunting (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Nailisi jumped from one tree to the other, not caring about the crossbows below. The trees were too tough and the thick branches could protect her incredibly well.
Dozens of metal arrows flew through the air and nailed themselves deeply into the thick branches. The two fully constructed puppets managed to kill three black armored warrior as soon as they appeared.
Fresh blood spilled onto the snowy ground as the fully constructed puppets stomped heavily through the pile of snow, cruelly chasing after their targets.
Saleen only realized then that there was a problem with his train of thought in combat. In such a situation, the fully constructed puppets were definitely the best choice. Even if the other party had a holy master, it would take a lot to harm those fully constructed puppets. So long as it was a deacon that could not fly, Nailisi and him would be safe on top of the trees.
However, he still concealed his tracks. Combining his senses within the thousands of snowflakes, he patiently searched for any signs of the holy master.
Seeing so many of their warriors being killed, those outside the forest could not hold back any longer as the more than one hundred remaining people rushed into the forest.
It was only two fully constructed puppets and these people from the tribunal were not afraid to die. Using their numbers to push forward, they would be able to take down any puppet regardless of their grades. However, they had not expected these two puppets to already possess early signs of life, and they were not normal fodder. One of them had already retrieved its sword blade and the puppet that had been using an axe rushed forward, using inhumane strength to swipe through any enemies standing in its way.
The puppet using the sword blade utilized the advantage of its weapon in piercing. It did not need to hide from the long bows of the black armored warriors.
The sound of clashing metal resounded. Some of the crossbows arrows were indeed alchemical equipment, as they drove deep into the puppets’ chest. However, these fully constructed puppets were not normal machine puppets. The alchemy arrows were not able to pierce through their incredibly thick armor.
The two mid-grade swordmasters returned to the battle. Their curved knives shone with a red glow, which were obviously rare sword auras. The offensive power of their curved knives surpassed that of the crossbow arrows, and with the joint forces of the two mid-grade swordmasters, it would be possible to take down a fully constructed puppet.
The sword auras shimmered, and with a clanging sound, chopped off the head of the sword blade. The two swordmasters jumped forward, and with this retaliation, the pressure on the black armored warriors was lessened as they took up their weapons and pressed forward.
However, the combat style of a fully constructed puppet was entirely different from that of a human. The tip of the sword blade was chopped off and the fully constructed puppet held up the rest of the spear like an iron rod, smashing it down towards a warrior’s head. The metal body of the spear could be considered a heavy weapon on its own. As a black armored warrior was struck right in the head, he immediately turned into a limp pile of mush.
The swordmaster towards the front swung his curved knife up, landing it on the inner thigh of an fully constructed puppet. If a human had taken this blow, he would have been sliced into half from the middle. The fully constructed puppet made a noise as it slowed down, the curved knife lodged within its metal body.
The mid-grade swordmaster looked on in shock as an axe swiped past his chest area.
Without the protection of any metal armor, this blow chopped off the part of his body above the chest. The other swordmaster was stunned. However, the leader of the team had not given any orders to stand down, and he did not dare run away no matter what. However, fighting against such a large piece of metal, he was at a disadvantage. If he had a heavy weapon in his hands like a combat hammer, he could have still tried to destroy the puppet. With his curved knife now, he could only destroy the fully constructed puppet’s outer shell at best.
“Found him! Come out!” Saleen suddenly opened a scroll from the trees. From the tree that he was hiding in, a five-meter-long magic snow beast formed from the pile of snow and charged towards a withering tree.
This magic snow beast had a weak body that was formed from snowflakes and ice. However, as it charged towards the black armored warriors, anyone struck by it flew far away, and blue ice crystals condensed on the surface of their bodies. It seemed they would be able to survive.
Boom!
The magic snow beast struck a withered tree as wood shavings flew everywhere. The entire magic snow beast lost half of its body and could no longer come together, falling to the ground. The withered tree shook before falling down. It was over ten meters tall, and with the hit from the magic snow beast, the tree fell forward eerily, revealing a short figure behind it.
He was dressed in a black long robe. Barely reaching the height of Saleen’s shoulders, he looked almost like a malnourished child. His face was a waxy yellow, and not wearing a mask or any gloves, his tiny hands were frozen red. He was holding onto a red book and standing there. Then, he turned towards Saleen’s direction and gave a faint smile.
“I have found you too.”
“Black deacon!” Saleen was able to deduce the man’s rank from his height. The ice totem was level-5 magic and could even smash apart rocks, yet a withered tree had stopped the ice totem. It had been entirely created by the powers of the black deacon.
The black deacon was only a rank away from a grade-1 holy master. Their combat power, however, was miles apart. The black deacon was the central power of the tribunal and could even be compared to the chapel of the pivotal council. A black deacon had the power of a grade-5 mage, and those who were good could even reach the combat ability of a grade-6 mage.
“Once you’re dead, those puppets will be useless, won’t they?” The skinny black deacon took another step forward. This single step had covered over ten meters, and he had made use of the powers of a swordsman.
Saleen felt a chill go down his spine. The book in the black deacon’s hand was a divine equipment, and together with his swordsman’s abilities, he would be ten times harder to deal with than a holy master. The black deacon’s words had reached Saleen clearly. He was not showing off, this was pure power.
Saleen immediately opened a second scroll – level-5 magic, Mist Concealment spell.
The Mist Concealment spell was not the same as the mist of concealment. This level-5 spell was an incredibly complex attack spell. Its main purpose was not to hide oneself, but to make the surrounding air unbreathable. Once a mage used this spell, even if a swordsman were to approach, their attack power would be greatly reduced.
Within an unbreathable, blinding, and corrosive mist, even a high-grade mage would not have much combat power left. Saleen had seen that this black deacon actually possessed the power of a swordsman and was afraid that he was some grand swordmaster. If that was the case, this black deacon could easily catch up with him, unless he abandoned Conan and flew away.
Saleen could easily judge the power of a divine spell since his icy sight specialized in magic and divine spells. Despite having researched the sword aura, he could only distinguish the powers of high-grade swordmasters and below. When it came to grand swordmasters, even zhun grand swordmasters were very good at concealing their powers.
Saleen could not tell what grade the black deacon’s sword aura was. Hence, his second spell had been intended to protect himself for now.
The Mist Concealment spell was a level-5 spell that he was not very confident in using. He had only been able to release it so quickly with the help of the scroll. Once the mist started dissipating, Saleen released his third scroll.
He no longer cared about using them up as he took out all of his level-5 scrolls. The third level-5 scroll was the poisonous fog. This magic was a little sinister and any living creature within its radius would be hurt. Under normal circumstances, mages did not like to use such magic, but now that Saleen was up against such a powerful enemy, he could not care less about the balance of nature.
The Mist Concealment spell together with the poisonous fog made everything blinding, but the fully constructed puppets were not affected as they did not rely on their eyes to see. As the black mist rolled over the area, the black armored warriors in the forest started dying one by one.
The black deacon did not seem to be affected either. He could not have cared less about the lives of his men as he took another step forward, and jumped over ten meters again. He was already within forty meters of Saleen’s location. This was within range of Saleen’s attack spells, and a level-4 spell could easily reach that distance.
Whizz!
Dozens of ice blades were released as Saleen opened another scroll. They were over half a meter in width and over three meters in length, no longer being a level-3 spell.
When Saleen released a spell with a scroll, he was unable to control its aim. Hence, he could only fight using such ranged attacks.
Dozens of ice blades circled in the air and blocked every spot that the black deacon could have hidden in. Five used scrolls were by Saleen’s feet. This was not a battle. It was burning money.
Saleen had a reason for going this far. He knew this hunting team was not the main force of the Holy See in the north. If a small team like this had a black deacon as its leader, then there must have been a black-clothed chapel or even a black bishop.
Saleen knew that he would not be able to deal with a holy master who held the rank of a bishop and needed to return to the three kings before an enemy of that rank appeared. With them, even if an oracle were to come, Saleen would not be too worried.
The black deacon smiled. It turned out that Saleen was only a grade-4 mage, and he had worried too much. He did not release any divine spells. Instead, he extended a hand and grabbed onto a giant ice blade, wielding it.
The other ice blades fell onto the snowy ground, and a red light glowed from the black deacon’s eyes, almost as if two pure gemstones had been inlaid there.
This mist could not block Saleen’s sight either, and upon seeing this, he knew that his worries were becoming reality. This black deacon was a grand swordmaster.
Holding onto an ice blade that had been condensed with magic with one’s bare hands was not something that a zhun grand swordmaster could do. The black deacon was at least a black metal grand swordmaster. If that was the case, he would be able to reach the top of this over ten-meter-tall tree in a single leap.
Saleen gave up using his scrolls to attack. He tapped against the calabash at his waist as a green water current flowed out and wrapped around his body. Since this current was so formiddable, it meant that Saleen had another level-5 spell that did not require magic chords. Besides the fact that its range and speed were a little lacking, this current was his strongest trick.
“Mage, do not hide.” The black deacon split apart the ice blade and threw the piece he had in hand aside. He took another step forward and came to the tree that Saleen was hiding in.
Saleen knew that the grand swordmaster’s body was too flexible. This tree was still more than ten meters high, and the speed of the current might not deal a fatal blow to the black deacon. He opened another scroll. It was a level-4 spell, the Phoenix spell that he was more familiar with.
The Phoenix spell was another spell that could be evolved, and even though Saleen could not control it, the Phoenix spell was an attack that honed in on its targets. He was already within thirty meters of the black deacon, and within such a distance, by the time Saleen opened the scroll, it had already locked onto the black deacon.
Even a black metal grand swordmaster will not be able to take the high temperatures of fire magic, right?