Mann was battling this burly man, and for a moment, neither could gain the upper hand.
“Kid, you’re a decent opponent. What’s your name?”
Mann didn’t answer, instead striking him hard with the Holy Light Dagger.
It was this sudden move that caught him off guard, leaving a bloody gash across his chest.
“Ugh… ahh… that really stings!”
“What? Want to keep fighting? Or shall we call it a day?”
Mann kept his gaze fixed on him, not daring to lose focus for a moment.
“Call it a day? What a joke!”
“It’s rare to meet a worthy opponent—how can I not enjoy this to the fullest?”
He grinned fearlessly, his wounds healing at a visible rate as his aura surged higher.
“I know you haven’t gone all out. Let’s settle this with our next move!”
The surging Battle Qi nearly materialized, sweeping through the surroundings like a fierce gale.
Seeing the situation turn dangerous, the onlookers quickly fled.
“Perfect. All the nuisances are gone—you no longer have to hold back.”
Mann smiled—a genuine smile from the heart.
The instinct ingrained in his genes made him agree without hesitation.
As the Divine Light on him grew more intense, their fierce clash of auras began to distort the very light around them.
‘The strain on his body? The consequences? Such things no longer mattered.’
‘In short, all he had to do was attack this enemy with full force! His opponent must be thinking the same, right?’
In the next moment, both figures vanished almost simultaneously. Then, Battle Qi and Divine Light devoured and assimilated each other, the shockwaves of their clash even sending dust flying into the air.
They matched each other blow for blow, and both continued to ramp up their output.
Just as they were about to mutually destroy each other, a pale blue light barrier appeared between them.
With a loud shattering sound, they were forcibly separated.
Overburdened, Mann could only kneel on one knee, gasping for breath.
His opponent wasn’t much better off.
His face was pale, and his breathing had become uneven.
“Sophien… you came?”
Mann looked into the distance through the dust.
Light footsteps approached. Sophien’s Mana parted the dust, and she wore a gorgeous dress, beautiful and imposing. Yet she still did not show her true face.
“Both of you, how about stopping here?”
The burly man stood up, bowed deeply to her, and left without another word.
The onlookers who had returned saw this scene and exchanged glances, murmuring among themselves.
“What’s going on? Is Senior Sophien going to confront that guy?”
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
“But he is indeed strong. Judging by his face, he seems to be a freshman…”
“A freshman? That’s certainly a first.”
—
Sophien ignored the murmuring crowd and looked down at Mann from above.
“Lord Mann, let’s talk somewhere else.”
The two left the school and went together to the student council of the academy.
“I sensed the intense battle fluctuations and rushed over immediately. I never expected it to be you, Lord Mann.”
Sophien studied Mann and nodded lightly.
“Your injuries have healed well—that’s a relief. Sorry, I had planned to report to my father and then visit you… but unfortunately, news of the Heretic God Sect suddenly came up here in Darquez.”
“So it was you who asked Kris to explain the situation to me?”
“Yes. This city is too large for me to handle alone…”
She said this calmly, and it reminded Mann of the scene when Kris contacted him last night.
“By now, you should have arrived in Darquez. Please help her fight against the Heretic God Sect. Also, she must never know about the Armor of Time.”
This presumptuous tone irritated Mann greatly.
“I’ll say this one last time: I only want information about the God of Time!”
“Regarding that, it actually has to do with the Heretic God Sect there as well.”
“So how do you know the Heretic God Sect has information on the God of Time?”
“If you’re not going to tell the truth, then our so-called cooperation ends here.”
At this, the Communication Artifact on the other end was silent for a long time. It wasn’t until Mann’s patience was nearly exhausted that he finally spoke slowly.
“Just last month, the Armor of Time, which the Elven Tribe had guarded for generations, was stolen.”
“And the Heretic God Sect in Darquez became more active after that.”
“Heretic God Sect… Armor of Time…”
“Exactly. Since this involves the Demihumans, I haven’t told my sister. Moreover, I need the Armor of Time for some matters. But rest assured, once we obtain it, I won’t ask how you use it.”
“After that, hand it over to me. Once I’m done, I’ll return it to the Elven Tribe.”
“And how did you learn about the theft of the Elven Tribe’s Armor of Time?”
“Last month, while my sister was away, the Elven Tribe sent someone to commission me. If you don’t believe me, I can show you their Commission Letter as proof. As for the Armor of Time, they only asked me to retrieve it, and they didn’t forbid me from using it.”
“I swear on the honor of the Royal Family that every word is true.”
After hearing this, Mann recalled a detail briefly mentioned in the original novel.
‘In the original novel, this item was equipment left behind by Helgort before his disappearance, and Sophien did obtain it from the Heretic God Sect. But since she couldn’t use it herself, she returned it to the Elven Tribe.’
‘From this perspective, Kris couldn’t use it either, so there was no need to worry about what he would do with it—he couldn’t use it anyway.’
‘But the biggest problem wasn’t here.’
‘The timeline didn’t match, and in the original novel, Kris wasn’t involved in this matter.’
‘This was supposed to happen much later.’
‘And even so, could this item really help Helgort escape?’ Mann was skeptical.
‘But… should he really let this opportunity slip by?’
‘Although he hadn’t had much hope to begin with, this was the only lead he had. Kris said he wouldn’t question what Mann did with the Armor of Time, just hand it over after finishing—only careful to hide it from Sophien. That showed sincerity.’
‘Moreover, if he missed this chance, he might never have another.’
‘Either way, he had to deal with the Heretic God Sect. Thinking about it this way, it wasn’t so hard to accept.’
After much deliberation, he agreed to Kris’s conditions.
He looked at Sophien again, and for a while, both fell into silence, the atmosphere somewhat awkward.
After all, Sophien had expelled Mann from the Mercenary Group. But when she reported back later, she helped conceal the Evil God Possession.
Although it was just speculation, given the country’s stance on Heresy, if not for her concealment, his fate and that of his entire family would have been obvious. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he owed her a great debt.
Thinking so, Mann spoke first.
“Lady Sophien, I’m very grateful for your help in covering up my situation.”
“No, I should be the one thanking you.”
She shook her head.
“If not for you, I might have died in Matthews Territory.”
“And regarding the Mercenary Group matter, I owe you an apology.”
Mann wondered if he had misheard.
That matter was originally a tactic she used to eliminate the Heretic God Sect, and he hadn’t taken it to heart anyway.
Moreover, she was a Princess! Apologizing so easily?
“Um, if I may be so bold… did you change your mind and want to find an excuse to get rid of me?”
“No… not at all.”
“It’s just that after going through life and death together with you, I felt it was unfair to you. And saying this has lightened the burden on my heart.”
Mann looked at the smiling Sophien, and somehow, his heartstrings felt touched.
From just reading the novel, she seemed too perfect to be true, but after experiencing it firsthand, he unexpectedly found her quite decent.
Seeing Mann stunned, she spoke again.
“So, are you willing to join forces with me again?”
“Lord Mann?”
Looking at her outstretched hand, Mann grasped it without hesitation.
Whether it was to bring Helgort back or to find a strong ally for the future, there seemed to be no reason to refuse. Although hiding things from her felt a bit uneasy, as long as he did his best to help, it should be fine.
It was just a small Heretic God Sect, right? Take them down!