Amber Sword-Chapter 853 - 159: Convergence (First Update)

Otarais moved like a ghost, swiftly passing through the forest, with the Gray Sword Saint trailing far behind her. They advanced for about a few minutes in the forest, one in front and one behind, but Otarais suddenly frowned slightly.

She raised her head in a certain direction. Seemingly, the deeper she went into the forest, a long-missed scent faintly permeated the air, causing her unease.

"Oh."

"What's wrong?" Brand inquired in his mind.

"There's a scent of blood, so thick it's almost impossible to dissipate. Is there a monster nearby?"

"The scent of blood? Let's go and take a look—"

"Isn't it time not to meddle in others' affairs, little one?"

Brand hadn't expected Otarais to be so unfamiliar with the Black Forest—as monsters themselves feed on magic power, even though they occasionally attack other animals, there shouldn't be such a heavy scent of blood. Brand worried that adventurers had been attacked, which would imply unknown dangers lurking around.

However, surely it shouldn't be the case, given that King of Flames, Jier, also had experiences treading the wilderness, and the Wind Elf of old shouldn't be better off there either. Or perhaps, the Black Forest of this era had become different from the past? He shook his head and said, "Let's go and take a look, Lord Otarais."

"Oh?" These words made Otarais suddenly stop, squinting in the direction ahead, then her figure darted away like an arrow.

This sudden turn made the trailing Gray Sword Saint Mephisto frown slightly. He heightened his vigilance and followed suit.

Otarais—Brand didn't pay much attention to the Gray Sword Saint behind. She passed through two or three patches of woodland composed of tall black pines covered with moss, and the scent of blood in the air grew stronger.

Then she suddenly stopped.

In the valley, the woodland unfolded broadly before their eyes, revealing a small clearing, yet the scene on the clearing was unbearable to witness. The original grassland seemed smeared with a layer of blood paste, with human limbs scattered everywhere, along with entrails drenched in blood. Corpses stretched from one end to the other, at least a hundred or two hundred in total, layered, with a thin blanket of snow on top.

But the white snow was also soaked with crimson blood.

Otarais and Brand simultaneously took a light breath; though the Female Knight had grown accustomed to scenes of slaughter, battles of such brutal severity hadn't been seen for centuries.

The air was thick with a nauseating scent of blood.

"They're from the Flame Temple," Brand immediately recognized: "Almost the entire army annihilated." He spotted the bodies of two Lower-level Priests among the layers of monk soldiers' corpses, confirming this point.

In a single battle, the death of at least two priests was a big deal.

In fact, within the Flame Temple, clergy are divided into three categories. The first category consists of the High Priests from various countries, eleven in total. These eleven High Priests form the Flame Council, which is the core of the Temple's power.

Following that are the various regional Great Priests, Priests, and Lower-level Priests, each belonging to different factions, forming the backbone of the Flame Temple. To truly become a presence in this rank within the Temple, one must not only have a firm belief in the Golden Fire worshipped by the Flame Temple but also reach at least Gold Level strength.

The Lower-level Priests correspond to the Reserve Temple Knights of the Flame Temple Armament, but their status is much higher due to their scarcity—a loss of just one is a huge loss for the Temple.

Thus, every Lower-level Priest on a mission should at least have three Reserve Temple Knights to ensure safety, meaning among the corpses here, there should be eight Gold Level existences.

Brand drew in a sharp breath, not because of the strength of the Flame Temple's team, but considering—what trouble these guys had run into for such a powerful team to end up in such a miserable state. He immediately recalled the bodies he found a few hours earlier, also belonging to subordinate knights of the Flame Temple.

He furrowed his brows deeply, this BOSS was ridiculously strong.

At this time Otarais heard a sound behind her, she turned her head, seeing the Gray Sword Saint carrying a giant sword on his shoulder, stepping on dry branches with cracking sounds, parting the fog in the forest and slowly walking out from it. But as Mephisto chased after Brand, thinking the stop was to lead him into a trap, he couldn't help but be stunned by the tragic scene before him. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

He frowned, asking, "What's going on here?"

"Attacked by monsters, I guess."