Chapter 256: The Battle in the Courtyard
Night fell, and the darkness deepened.
The commotion outside did not affect the Bard Earl's residence.
Shrouded in darkness, the Bard Earl's mansion was eerily silent.
"Help! Ah!"
Suddenly, a scream echoed at the courtyard gate.
A group of commoners fled down the street.
A swarm of Faceless Ghosts pursued them.
The commoners were no match for the Faceless Ghosts in speed.
One by one, the commoners were pounced upon and brought down.
The Faceless Ghosts tore into their bodies with sharp claws.
With a single swipe, the commoners' bodies were shredded.
Deep gashes down to the bone marked their flesh.
The stench of blood stained the streets red.
In no time, hundreds of commoners had fallen in front of the Bard Earl's mansion gate.
"Help! Help! Haha, what pitiful humans!"
On the dimly lit street, a man howled strangely.
He walked leisurely among the corpses strewn across the street, a mocking expression on his face.
Strangely, the Faceless Ghosts ignored him.
They ran past him, quickly climbing rooftops and scattering.
"Heh, so this is the place?"
Kidd arrived at the Bard Earl's mansion gate.
He sneered, releasing an invisible force.
With a loud "boom," the heavy iron gate flew off.
It soared over ten meters before landing in the courtyard.
Kidd entered the courtyard with a look of disinterest.
"Anyone here? I am Kidd, the Archpriest of Sloth. I've come for a visit!"
The courtyard and mansion remained silent.
Only the outer district blazed with firelight.
Screams echoed from all directions.
"How rude!"
Kidd stopped in the courtyard, squinting at the mansion in the distance.
At that moment, the ground beneath him suddenly cracked.
A towering pillar of fire erupted, engulfing Kidd.
The fiery pillar rose a hundred meters high.
The searing heat turned the surrounding ground fiery red, partially crystallizing it.
As the flames subsided, Kidd stood unharmed on the charred, cracked ground.
He glanced around, patting the blood-patterned black robe he wore.
His actions and demeanor showed utter disregard for the earlier attack.
"So, it's both offensive and defensive?"
On the mansion's second-floor corridor, Bard watched the figure in the courtyard through a mirror.
Bard had assumed the man's ability was purely offensive.
Now, it was clear he was mistaken.
Bard began chanting softly.
The crystal on his wrist glimmered faintly.
In the courtyard, flames flared up again.
A massive wall of fire rose from the courtyard in front of the mansion.
The wall transformed into a barrier, blocking Kidd's view.
Bard had one objective: to disrupt the Archpriest of Sloth's vision.
The Divine Child's abilities didn't rely on magic.
Kidd shouldn't be able to pinpoint his location through magical fluctuations.
"How troublesome! Such an impolite host!"
Kidd sneered, tilting his head 90 degrees to the left.
An invisible force surged outward.
A massive hole instantly appeared in the fiery wall.
"Boom!"
The mansion's second-floor wall behind the fire wall shattered.
A huge gap was torn open.
"Boom!"
The sound of destruction echoed repeatedly.
Large portions of the mansion collapsed.
Windows on the second floor shattered into pieces.
Under Kidd's relentless assault, the mansion suffered heavily.
"Heh, I'm bored now. Die!"
Kidd extended his hand, palm facing the mansion.
He prepared to unleash a powerful attack to obliterate the entire building.
"Dragon Lance Technique: Break!"
Suddenly, a cold voice echoed from the courtyard.
A blood-red streak shot out from a nearby flower bed.
It was Faris, wielding a long spear.
Faris merged with his spear, charging straight at Kidd.
His speed left only a flash of blood-red light.
The blood-red streak was about to pierce Kidd's body when Kidd turned his head toward Faris.
A bizarre grin spread across Kidd's face.
"Not good!"
A chilling sense of death washed over Faris, making his expression change drastically.
"Dragon Lance Technique: Plummet!"
Faris shouted, suddenly soaring into the sky.
"Damn it!"
As he ascended, Faris realized his mistake.
In the air, he had no leverage to dodge.
If that man could match his speed, he was doomed.
"Foolish creature!"
Kidd sneered, looking up at the falling Faris.
That guy was dead.
No matter how fast he was, he couldn't outpace Kidd's eyes.
"Wishful thinking!"
From the mansion's second floor, Bard shouted.
He left his hiding spot, waving his hand.
A brilliant explosive fireball shot toward Kidd.
Kidd frowned, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes.
He turned his head to face the incoming fireball.
"Boom!"
The fireball exploded mid-air as it crossed the fire wall.
A mushroom cloud of flames slowly rose in the courtyard.
The massive shockwave blew the fire wall apart.
"Now's my chance!"
Faris, in the air, transformed into a blood-red streak and rushed toward Kidd.
"I'm out!"
Kidd backflipped, narrowly dodging Faris's attack.
"Boom!"
A loud crash echoed.
Faris hit the ground, creating a large crater and sending debris flying.
Seeing his attack miss, Faris looked momentarily surprised.
He hadn't expected Kidd's reaction speed to be this fast.
As Kidd completed his backflip, his head turned toward Faris.
The chilling sensation of death swept over Faris again.
Instinctively, Faris raised his spear to defend.
"Crack!"
In that instant, Faris felt an immense force slam into him.
It felt as if an invisible mountain had crashed down.
His spear shattered.
Faris instinctively crossed his arms in front of him.
"Bang!"
The powerful shockwave sent Faris flying.
Both his arms were shattered in an instant.
He flew dozens of meters before crashing into the mansion.
The wall caved in, leaving a gaping hole.
"I've found you!"
After knocking Faris away, Kidd stood on two fingers, balancing upside down.
He spotted Bard on the second floor.
"Triple Fiery Shields!"
Seeing Kidd's gaze, Bard's expression shifted.
He raised his palm outward, chanting quickly.
Scarlet elemental light shimmered.
One by one, magical shields overlapped, standing in front of Bard.
The shields were two meters wide, three meters tall, with intricate magical runes.
"Boom!"
The outermost shield shattered the moment it formed.
A blast wave spread outward.
The second and third shields followed, breaking apart.
"Holy Light Shield!"
The crystal ring on Bard's left middle finger emitted a soft, white glow.
A holy shield materialized.
Kidd's invisible force struck the shield, causing it to emit a dazzling light.
The holy shield lasted less than 0.01 seconds before shattering.