Chapter 148: 148

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“Uwaaaahk! D-do you have any idea who I am?! I’m Ruppel Olfolse! I’m the Third Imperial Prince of the Theocratic Empire!”

Ruppel loudly cried out . Even in the middle of crying out in fear, he somehow managed to swing a sword around indiscriminately .

Even a third-rate mercenary would tut at that unsightly spectacle . However, the amount of divinity gushing out of him was still more than enough to be described as shocking .

As a matter of fact, the divinity flooding out from his sword was what had managed to stop the advances of the hashashins up until now .

Hans’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at that sight . “But I heard that the Third Imperial Prince was an incompetent mama’s boy?”

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He had heard about some information regarding the Imperial Family, so this scene came across as rather surprising to him .

But then again, Ruppel did achieve successive victories as a slave gladiator, didn’t he? And even if the rumours said he was incompetent, one shouldn’t forget that he was the Holy Emperor’s grandson .

His skill set, fostered within the Imperial Family’s rather unique environment starting from his young age, was still quite considerable .

Tina shouted out, “Now isn’t the time to be impressed, Mister Hans!”

Her summoned plants had barely managed to catch the hashashins, thereby temporarily sealing away their movements . Large sweat drops were trickling down on her forehead .

She continued to shout . “We’ll surely get captured if you remain dazed like that! Don’t you have any magic tools we can use to overcome this situation?”

Hans could only make a troubled expression at her question . “Even if you ask me that, I’m a non-combatant, you know?”

“Just… just buy me some time, please . I’ll find a way to stop them for sure!”

After hearing the last part of her declaration, Hans quickly began rummaging through his bag . Unfortunately, he didn’t have an item that seemed perfectly suited for the situation they were in .

She had asked him to buy some time, so he pulled out smoke bombs and flash bangs . When injected with Mana, the former would pour out lots of smoke while blinding rays of light would burst out from the latter .

“Tina, stop resisting and surrender . ”

“Stop disappointing our father . ”

“Hand over the Imperial Prince . Our father may acknowledge your contribution and allow you to join our ranks . ”

“We do not wish to fight against you . ”

Hashashins continued addressing Tina . Their tone of voice was monotonous, but a slight hint of sorrow could still be sensed from the way they spoke .

These assassins were, once upon a time, her brothers and sisters who underwent life-or-death training together with her, while Damon oversaw their growth as their training instructor .

They couldn’t let Tina leave from this place since their father had ordered them . However, the story might change if she apprehended the Imperial Prince herself and handed him over .

Tina shook her head . “I can’t do that . ”

“Tina, we’re saying this out of our concern for you . If our father captures you, then…”

“I wish to live on . That’s why… I won’t stop fighting back . ”

The hashashins lowered their postures .

“You’re being foolish till the end . ”

But, before they could rush in towards her…

“Close your eyes!” Hans shouted out, and Tina urgently closed her eyes .

Just as Ruppel tilted his head while muttering, ‘Eh?’, Hans threw down the flash bang on the ground with everything he had .

BANG-!

Bright light exploded out and the hashashins urgently covered their eyes .

“Aaaahk?! Eyes, my eyes!”

Ruppel screamed while shielding his eyes, then began thrusting and swinging his sword blindly at the empty air .

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For the encore, Hans chucked smoke bombs on the ground next . The smoke spread quickly and blocked the view .

Hans stammered, “Th-this is enough, isn’t it? Let’s hurry and escape from here . ”

But Tina shook her head . “We can’t leave behind Lord Angel . ”

“Wha? The likes of us won’t be any help to him right now, you know?! No, we’ll just get in his way!”

“…”

She bit down on her lower lip .

Getting in his way, was it? She couldn’t allow that .

Didn’t she clearly state it earlier? That she’d not become a hindrance to Lord Angel?

Not only was he the sacred angel, but more than that, he was the benefactor that saved the lives of Tina and the subjects of this kingdom . She might not be strong enough to repay that kindness, but that didn’t mean she’d abandon him here and run away by herself .

“I shall use the summoning magic . ”

“Summoning magic, you say?”

Hans’s brows shot up high .

He knew why Tina decided to tag along with Allen Olfolse – to learn the ways to summon the holy undead . To master that magic, she’d been asking Allen this and that during their travels and got to learn a few things .

“H-hang on . Can you actually summon holy undead, though?”

“No . ”

Tina shook her head .

The ‘divinity’ residing within her was a ‘new’ type of energy and quite different from the regular divinity . It was currently in a bit of an ambiguous state where divinity and Mana had been blended into one .

This power might possess a similar nature to what Allen Olfolse wielded, but due to Mana in the mixture, she couldn’t summon the ‘pure’ holy undead .

Maybe summoning the holy undead was the authority granted solely to Lord Angel and no one else .

Was that why? What Tina managed to summon earlier on Evelyum’s streets was a different existence compared to the beings Allen often called out to this world .

She took out the flower pot from the baggage and placed it on the ground . Then, she raised up her staff .

Even she knew the theory behind summoning the undead . However, something about how Allen did it was different from how others did it . What he summoned were not the usual undead filled with hatred and rage towards the living, but pure and uncorrupted existences that stood in stark contrast to them .

Tina recalled all the stories she heard during their trip to the city .

The principles on warp magic as explained by Hans, then Allen’s version of Necromancy summoning technique…

Not some simple evil phantoms or souls, but existences brought into this world through divinity and his will…

Now was the time to put those things into practice .

Tina recalled the sensation that Allen talked about .

-I just imagine it in my mind .

‘Yes, I must imagine it . ’

She pictured the image of the being, the one she wanted to summon to this world, in her mind .

-What the summoned undead will look like, what its ability will be, and the amount of divinity spent summoning one .

‘I must think about its appearance, its ability, and its attributes . ’

She thought about the attributes that spoke to her and her companions .

-Like… how the undead with ego answer my call and show up .

‘I must ask about their intentions . ’

When she reached this point, it felt as if she had entered a pure-white space .

She began sensing their presence coming from beyond the wall of dimensions . What she sensed was spirits possessing pure, child-like wills .

They looked back at her and their eyes opened wider in surprise . But eventually, they began tilting their heads in confusion .

Tina reached her hand out to them .

‘Please, help us!’

These mischievous-looking ‘children’ stared at her hand for a little while, before reaching out to her as if to answer her calling .

Tina’s eyes shot open .

The existence she wanted to call forth to this world…

And the existence that answered her call…

It was…

The pot with the weed growing in it shattered and at the same time, roots rushed out to all sides .

The weed was gone by then, replaced by a massive wooden ‘pillar’ rising up in its spot . The roots broke through the ground and spread out instantly in all directions . Then, tree stems and branches rapidly spread out to the heavens, adorned by abundant green leaves dancing in the winds .

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And with this huge tree as the centre, all sorts of vegetation began sprouting out on this withered land .

On this barren landscape dyed in the hues of death, vitality and Mana’s aura suddenly gushed out and overflowed in every direction .

Tina, Hans, and even the hashashins all stumbled back at the sight of this huge tree at least eight metres tall .

Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets . This tree was on another level compared to the existence she originally intended to summon .

This tree, this existence that boasted thick arms and legs, as well as a wrinkled face of a person…

The huge ‘tree man’ slowly raised its body up .

-You must be the one who called forth our children .

A melodious voice came from the tree .

The wrinkles denoting the passage of unaccountable time gently arched as if to express the feelings of the tree .

Its expression shifted like a real person, and the green-coloured irises slowly moved and landed on Tina .

The thick branches bent as if they were its arms .

The existence with slow, leisurely movements, yet giving off a snug and inviting aura…

Tina muttered out while staring in stupefaction at the creature, “The tree spirit…?”

The guardian of the forest thought to be lost back in the ancient era had returned to plant its roots on the barren wasteland .

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Fin .

(TL: Only one chapter today and tomorrow . )