Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 777 - The Blood-Stained Bride

Chapter 777 -777 The Blood-Stained Bride

He turned around, intending to head towards the Nature Chapel, but suddenly stopped and looked back at Shard.

Shard raised his left hand, holding a Red Butterfly Pendant:

“I know I can’t beat you now, but you must understand one thing—resurrecting the dead comes with a price. I knew two girls who, even blessed by the deities, still paid a heavy price to live beyond their destined time. Do you know the price? It’s being perpetually haunted by separation, the torment of loss, and the cycle of time. Mr. Barton, what price are you prepared to pay?”

“Any price, everything.”

He paused, then looked back at Shard:

“Mr. Watson, in half an hour, the power of True Death will strike the Interstice again, causing Midshire Fort’s third earthquake, which will be the last. At that time, I will lead all the Undead of the Interstice city to assault the Nature Chapel; I will lead all the Undead of Sicarl Mountain in the Interstice to attack both the mountainside and peak. Tens of millions of souls will launch the final assault on the three seals, and even if the churches can hold them off, I will merge the remaining Undead into the ultimate Death Aggregate for the final battle.

Whichever ‘I’ it may be, one will get through one of the passages, enter True Death, and bring back my beloved.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I hope you can leave this place.”

Shard shook his head while clutching his right shoulder, his arm truly broken: freewebnσvel.cøm

“The Church will start the ritual early, which weakens the seal’s effect and won’t last three years as intended, but at the very least, after the ceremony is successful, the souls in most of the Interstice will fall into slumber again.”

“Then, we shall see whether the Church’s speed or mine is greater.”

The deformed middle-aged man walked alone into the mist, gradually vanishing from sight.

“It’s another one of these troublesome race-against-time situations.”

Shard stepped out of the shop’s ruins and retracted his Night Watchman, then picking up the kerosene lamp that had fallen to the ground. For his multiple fractures, he could only use the Magic Potion he prepared in advance for a temporary healing to suppress the pain, then headed down the street towards the Nature Chapel.

The battle around the Nature Chapel hadn’t yet ended. Riding a deep red steed and cradling a man’s head, the bride was engaging in hit-and-run combat with two High Ring Sorcerers from the churches.

The two, belonging to the Church of Creation and Peace Church, could not stray too far from the Chapel, so the horse-riding woman managed to briefly escape combat by distancing from the Chapel. However, she did not leave, instead, after a brief recovery, she harassed them once more.

This tactic would eventually give the Church Magicians an opportunity, but before the Church could counterattack, the woman noticed Shard limping out of the mist, his right arm dangling, his appearance utterly wretched.

She tightened the reins, and the deep red horse reared on its hind legs. The bride brandished her scythe, charging down at Shard from above.

Shard raised his eyes to look at her:

“You think I’m an easy target in this state?”

The people from the Chapel noticed Shard too, dressed in a black coat and wearing a mask. Although they didn’t know who he was, they didn’t want to watch him die under a scythe.

Two High Ring Sorcerers from above flew in, and Iluna, standing at the Chapel’s doors, rushed over with a small squad of Magicians.

Shard stopped in his tracks, watching the horse-riding woman draw nearer. As she swung her scythe at him, Shard’s body dissolved into a swarm of red butterflies, allowing the scythe to sweep through them.

The horse’s downward momentum was too great, and after it touched the ground, it slid forward a little before stopping. Shard holding the Red Butterfly Pendant, now appeared behind the horse.

Swiftly sidestepping the horse’s backward kicks, he raised his hand with a clang, blocking the pitch-black scythe. Having experienced Joey Barton’s strength, Shard found it remarkable how feeble the scythe felt.

Standing beside the horse, he clearly saw the bride’s finger wearing a wedding ring while holding the scythe.

The scythe flung Shard’s longsword aside and swept towards Shard’s neck again, but Shard’s left hand thrust forward, accurately striking the woman’s wrist. Then he swiftly dodged back, avoiding the black mist spraying from the man’s head she cradled, and retreated swiftly.

With the clatter of hooves, the bloodstained bride turned the horse and, raising her scythe high, the Undead appeared once more before Shard.

This time, Shard sidestepped the scythe again, even cutting the horse with his Night Watchman at the moment of contact.

The bride, indeed mighty as the Church’s final pawn, unfortunately, was weakened too much from being imprisoned for so long. Moreover, she was not adept at wielding a scythe, a special weapon, while Shard could now barely call himself a “Swordmaster.”

After several exchanges of weapons in the mist, despite Shard using his left hand only, he repeatedly wounded both the bride and her steed.

After a brief engagement, the churchgoers had arrived. Iluna directly threw a Sunlight Gun in their direction, causing the horse to fly into the foggy sky with the woman.

However, entwined on the horse’s hooves was Shard’s Great Sin Chain, which he could not have pulled down even if he were uninjured—not being a Herculean figure from the tales. But the restraining effect of the Great Sin Chain still exerted some force.

The horse stalled abruptly in the air, and the Golden Thunder Spear followed, piercing directly through the woman’s heart.

The Great Sin Chain slackened, the High Ring Sorcerers landed, and Iluna approached with her squadron.

The horse, carrying the woman, gently landed on the ground and slowly lay down, issuing a faint neigh. Dusty gray smoke billowed from the woman, but she simply kept caressing the head she held in her arms.

“Do they have a story?”

Shard asked, with no intention of distancing himself from the Church Ring Sorcerers.

The middle-aged Twelve-Ring Sorcerer holding a long staff with a dove perched on his shoulder spoke in the local accent:

“This is about Lady Maria, an Undead from three hundred years ago. Her husband was a very famous knight who, on the night of their wedding, was called to the front lines by the Lord. What Lady Maria finally received was the knight’s head, ransomed back by the Lord, along with the knight’s warhorse… ”

He didn’t continue, as the group quietly watched the last nail vanish into the Interstice.

“This is bad, we haven’t received the signal that she’s been eliminated.”

Iluna said somewhat anxiously, her eyes surreptitiously glancing at Shard with the mask:

“Killing her prematurely might trigger an early transformation of the Interstice.”

Of course, she knew who was in front of her, even if Shard was not carrying the Night Watchman, she could guess the odd character showing up here was definitely Shard.

“Don’t worry about this, I know a thing or two.”

Shard said, and everyone turned to look at him, the very long stick on his back indeed attracting attention.

He coughed forcefully, to convey that he had suffered an internal injury, his lungs bruised. Then he stuck his sword into the ground and with a trembling left hand, he pulled out a letter:

“I’m here to deliver a message and… may I request some healing?”

He gestured toward his limp left arm.

“This…”

The Peace Church Twelve-Ring Sorcerer hesitated and then asked:

“Swordmaster, may I ask to which organization you belong?”

They had all seen Shard grappling with the blood-stained bride by relying on his swordsmanship despite being at a disadvantage. In this era, the Supernatural System leans more towards what is called “Incantation,” and Sorcerers skilled with cold weapons are rare. As a result, they did not associate Shard with a God Summoner.

After all, the hallmark of the God Summoner is the complex and dazzling Moonlight Series Magic.

“I’m a Lone Walker from the New World, aiming to hunt demons. I heard about a Flame Demon at Midshire Fort, came here last month, but instead of finding the Flame Demon, I ran into this situation.”

He passed the letter over, and the Church Ring Sorcerer from the Peace Church took it and introduced his name as Newman Longdale.

“I think you need help, and I need help as well.”

Shard covered his right shoulder:

“I’ve taken some pain-killing Magic Potion a while ago, but the effect is wearing off fast. The Church of Nature should have a physician capable of Healing, right?”

Mr. Longdale, with the pigeon on his shoulder, nodded. He opened the letter, glanced at it to confirm there was no issue, then looked at Iluna.

Iluna nodded, moved forward, and extended her hand to Shard:

“This… um… Demon Hunter, you’re aware of the current situation, the Church won’t allow a suspicious person to enter the Chapel in the Interstice. But you’ve now earned our friendship, so after a small test, you can accompany us.”

Shard shook Iluna’s hand and then noticed the seventeen-year-old girl was struggling to suppress her laughter.

Behind her, a brass-colored Ring of Fate appeared, and as it spun, it transformed into the dark-gold Balance within the dazzling Glimmer of Gold.

The Balance, symbolic of the Ancient God Power, appeared and instantly dissipated the surrounding mist. Iluna, still holding back laughter, posed the earnest query:

“Good, Evil?”

Time seemed to revert to a summer night, the moment when Shard and Iluna gained further trust in each other. Shard cherished that time and it was evident that the nearby Iluna did too.

Shard didn’t need to answer the question, as the Balance behind Iluna tilted overwhelmingly to the left. It seemed that in three months, the Outlander’s morals hadn’t changed at all, and he was quite pleased with himself.

After all, apart from trying to illicitly claim someone else’s cat, he hadn’t really done anything bad.

“Very well, sir, it seems you are a good person, so then… Order, Chaos?”

The Balance returned to equilibrium before tipping again to the left under the dark-gold light, as if pressed down by a finger. Shard even thought that if it moved any faster, the entire Balance would topple over.