NOVPUB
Chapter 197: Close Call
After Aldrian sent the prisoners back to their designated destination, they were shocked to find themselves already in their own town. Many of them began crying out in joy. As they looked towards the devil’s territory—more specifically, the direction of Sazim Fortress—they started kowtowing in that direction.
"Thank you, thank you," many voices resounded throughout the two towns.
In Ilyon, the First and Second Fingers that Aldrian had asked to come had already arrived, accompanied by some people from the Vicanti to help arrange the town’s security. They also received information from Pavilion Master Arson Vuran regarding Aldrian’s orders, which granted them access to the Pavilion’s connections within the Doria Empire. As skilled assassins, they naturally had some ties inside the Rivas Grand Duchy. Using these connections, they pulled some strings to have mercenaries and adventurers assist in guarding and cleaning the town.
They also provided the Rivas family with information about Ilyon town, allowing them to send their men to begin the reconstruction process. With this, they had fulfilled all of Aldrian’s orders for Ilyon town.
However, when they first arrived, they were deeply shocked by the destruction the devils had wrought upon the town. They could only lament the fate of the many innocents here. Yet, one thing stood out that made them realize what Aldrian had done to the devils in this town. Almost all of the devils were dead with their expressions frozen in terror, much like those in the Battle of Vicanti.
They were killed in a horrific manner, their dantian crushed, and they seemed to have endured extraordinary pain, with veins bulging on their skin and all of their orifices bleeding before they were killed. They also found the naked bodies of women, covered with white sheets, and assumed it must have been their master’s doing.
At this time, many began working to gather the corpses of both the victims and the devils, separating them throughout various parts of the town. It was clear that all the work was part of their plan, and they would return to the shadows once the main force of the Rivas family arrived.
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Returning to Aldrian’s location, he looked in the direction where the Lust Devil was last seen by the devils at Sazim Fortress. The devils here, of course knew that the Lust Devil had passed through this way, as it was their area of responsibility, and the Lust Devil did not seem to hide his presence. Having already surrounded the fortress with his own formation, Aldrian then disappeared from the sky and teleported to the ground.
After that, he kept teleporting in the direction of the Lust Devil. Along the way, he encountered many devils rushing toward Sazim Fortress. If he wanted to reach his destination quickly, he would have to pass through these devils, as there was no other route. From the deeper parts of the devil territory, many devils were coming in large numbers. Whether Aldrian liked it or not, he had to confront them. It would have been different if Aldrian wanted to hide, but he was in a rush to save his mother.
Some of the devils Aldrian encountered were at the King stage, and they instantly sensed his presence, taking battle stances as they assumed he was with the hostile unknown faction that had taken over the fortress. They attacked him, but Aldrian simply dodged and teleported past them without much thought.
"Stop him! Don’t let him go!"
One of them shouted, and all the devils who heard him began flocking in Aldrian’s direction. However, how could they catch Aldrian when even low Emperor stage cultivators couldn’t follow his teleportation? They could only watch as he disappeared into the distance, but they didn’t give up and continued chasing after him. The group numbered in the tens, with some King stage devils among them.
They also reported their findings to other nearby units to help them catch Aldrian. At this moment, the situation among the devils in this region was quite chaotic, as they had to retake Sazim Fortress and had found this intruder deep within their territory. This intruder could pose a threat if allowed to roam freely, as they didn’t know what kind of abilities he possessed. Aldrian, however, remained unfazed, even as thousands of devils began chasing him. He kept moving forward, feeling that he was getting closer to his mother.
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At the same time, Irene hid behind one of the dead trees in the forest—or at least, what could be called a forest, as it was a vast area filled with many dead trees. She couldn’t move as freely as before due to the sudden surge in the number of devils passing her from all directions, heading toward Sazim Fortress. Watching their reactions, she thought that the situation at Sazim must be dire for the devils to deploy so many of their forces to retake the fortress.
After the wave of devils had passed, Irene began to move again. She occasionally used her movement technique, eager to join whatever faction was in control of Sazim as quickly as possible. She had to move fast to avoid encountering another wave of devils heading toward the fortress. However, there was a setback to using her movement technique—each time she used it, her elemental traces were left behind, which could be tracked by high-ranking cultivators.
But she didn’t have any other choice; it was a matter of time—whether she would be found first or reach Sazim first. She continued using her movement technique and even drank an energy replenishment elixir to prevent her energy from draining.
Suddenly, Irene felt movement from afar, or more precisely, from behind her. She immediately searched for a hiding spot and found a pile of bones of varying sizes. She hid inside the giant skull of a beast, large enough to conceal her body, and stopped moving. She had used this method several times before, so she was confident it would work again. She didn’t peek or even look, afraid that doing so would compromise her position.
Each second felt like an eternity as she waited for the devil to pass. Only when she could no longer hear or sense anything through her five senses did she finally peek from behind the bone. She looked to her right and left but saw no movement. Just as she was about to continue her journey, she instantly used her ice technique, covering the surroundings with a frozen environment and ice spikes protruding to protect her.
She then used her movement technique to create distance when she sensed movement from behind her. She turned to see a man appearing in the middle of her ice field, and her eyes widened.
"You truly have sharp senses and are decisive, my dear. That is how my woman should be." The man’s voice was soothing, but to Irene, it was her nightmare.
"Why does it have to be him?!"
The Lust Devil had finally found her, and her worst fears had come true. Even now, as she looked at his figure, her body trembled, and sweat dripped from her forehead. She was on the "edge of a cliff" with no way to escape, except for the last escape talisman. She truly didn’t want to use it for obvious reasons, but with no other choice, she crushed the talisman in her hand. However, to her shock, it didn’t work.
Looking at Irene’s efforts to escape, the Lust Devil merely smiled as he spoke to her.
"Oh dear, do you think I would make the same mistake twice? I’ve already made this entire area impervious to space laws," he said, then took out an artifact shaped like a small pyramid.
"So, my dear, you’ll have to work much harder if you want to escape."
Looking at the artifact in the Lust Devil’s hand, Irene fell into despair. There was no way she could get out of this situation now. She thought of suicide to evade the humiliation, but suddenly, she remembered Aldrey and Aldrian’s figure, a figure she had already considered as her husband, and a figure representing the fruit of their love—her son, a figure she had last seen a few years ago. She dreamed of her happy family, dreaming that they would live together in harmony in the future.
"I want to see them!" Her eyes cleared, filled with new determination. She decided to use the Rivas family’s secret technique to boost her power and unleash her most powerful elemental technique. She would pour everything she had into this attack and leave her survival to fate, knowing it would be her only chance.
The Lust Devil watched Irene with amusement, seeing her futile struggle as nothing more than entertainment.
"Good, good. Show me your most powerful attack. After you’ve depleted all your strength, I’ll enjoy your body."
Irene ignored his words, focusing solely on gathering all the energy she had left. She knew her attack wouldn’t be strong enough to kill the Lust Devil, but she would give it everything she had. She would not give up—not for her little family.
Her body and the surrounding environment’s temperature began to plummet, and soon, snow began to fall, blanketing the area. A fierce, icy wind whipped through, forming into a tornado that twisted violently around her. The entire area within a five-kilometer radius was now engulfed in a blizzard of ice and snow. The howling winds and spiraling tornadoes were capable of freezing any being to death, while countless ice swords formed in the gale, slashing and stabbing everything in their path. This was her signature technique—the one that had earned her fame as the "Blizzard Witch". A wide-area technique powerful enough to kill even opponents with higher cultivation.
The Apocalypse Blizzard
She held the technique for as long as she could, to the point where she felt on the brink of fainting, but she knew she couldn’t afford to lose consciousness here. She continued to pour everything she had into the attack, her will steadfast despite the overwhelming strain. But eventually, she could no longer hold it.
With a final surge, she canceled the technique. The blizzard subsided, and as the energy left her, she collapsed to the ground. Her body was completely drained, and the side effects of the Rivas family secret technique kicked in. She felt weak—so weak that she could no longer feel her lower body.
She wanted to sleep, to rest, but her determination forced her to glance at the condition of the Lust Devil, hoping that at least her attack had left some mark, some injury. But the reality was cruel. Her heart trembled as she saw that he was still unharmed. The blizzard she had poured all her energy into hadn’t even left a scratch on his clothes. His smiling face remained directed at her.
She tried to drag her body in the opposite direction, her every movement a desperate attempt to escape. She couldn’t afford to be captured by the Lust Devil. But his grin only widened as he leisurely walked toward her, savoring her struggle. She pushed herself harder, trying to hold onto consciousness. But no matter how much she tried, she could sense him getting closer and closer, until she was within his reach, and she could do nothing to stop it.
"Now I really have you, my dear," he said, his grin widening as he reached for Irene’s body. Sensing his hand move toward her, Irene was overwhelmed with despair.
"Aldrey, Aldrian."
However, the Lust Devil suddenly halted his hand as he swiftly dodged backward, narrowly avoiding a slash that almost struck him. In an instant, he was standing 500 meters away, frowning at the sudden intrusion. His gaze turned toward the source of the attack—a strike powerful enough to cut through the spatial barrier created by his artifact. He now looked at the sudden appearance of a young man now standing in front of Irene.
For the first time, his danger senses tingled at the sight of this man, whose blue eyes similar to Irene’s locked onto him with killing intent. It was the first time in a long while that he wore a serious expression in front of an opponent.
