Translator: CinderTL
The thunderous booms of spells and the shockwaves of energy erupting in the distance behind them bore witness to the fierce battle raging between Duerden and Tula.
But Roland didn't spare a single glance back. Gritting his teeth, he poured all his will into his legs, sprinting along the path Phyllis had guided them toward the entrance to the Underdark.
He could feel it—the breath of Galvis, slumped across his back, growing ever lighter, ever fainter, like a fraying thread about to snap.
Each brief pause, each labored gasp, made Roland's heart sink a little more.
His own keen senses, which he now resented, acted as a mercilessly precise ruler, measuring the rapid drain of his dear friend's life force.
There's no time left...
A cold thought echoed in his mind.
At this rate, the bard's last spark of life would surely be extinguished before they ever reached safety.
Yet, even as hope dwindled, Roland refused to give up.
Durga had once mentioned that he had used a special method to seal the soul of an important friend, Rudolph, within the Radiant Moon Longsword.
Ever since he had acquired Radiant Moon, Roland had tried countless times to sense and communicate with the blade, yet he had never detected the slightest hint of a soul imprint within.
But his time with Durga had taught him that the seemingly gruff Grey Dwarf was no liar.
This meant the Grey Dwarf Leader might truly possess a method to preserve a fading soul—or perhaps even...
...Reverse death itself?
Wasn't Durga himself the living proof? Had he not returned from the depths of time, a millennium gone, through some still-unexplained means?
Though Durga had never openly admitted or explained this, if there was even a sliver of a chance to save Galvis—no matter how faint, how defiant of all reason—Roland was willing to do whatever it took.
Amidst this whirlwind of thoughts, a spark suddenly ignited in his mind, giving rise to a hypothesis that left him stunned.
Wait... The soul of the friend Durga said was sealed within Radiant Moon... Could it be...
His thoughts came to a sudden halt. Roland turned his head, his gaze falling upon the familiar face behind him—a face aged by the ebbing of life, now drawing its last, faint breaths.
"...It's Galvis, isn't it?"
Sensing Roland's gaze, Galvis, draped across his back, struggled to lift his head and coughed heavily.
A forced, easy smile touched his pale lips as he spoke in a teasingly weak tone.
"Roland... I'm afraid I don't have much time left... Cough, cough... Why don't you tell me now? How did you get involved with those grey dwarves in the first place, and how did you find that legendary shell ship?"
He paused, his breath growing even more shallow, yet he still managed a faint, strained chuckle.
"But... in my current state, I'm afraid I can't offer you any proper stories or intel... to trade for them, like I used to..."
"Don't say that, Galvis."
Roland's voice was steady and firm, cutting through the surrounding noise and the sense of crisis looming behind them.
"You will have a long, long time to hear me tell you all about these adventures—especially... about Rudolph."
The name "Rudolph" acted like a shot of adrenaline, instantly reigniting the dying embers of Galvis's life force.
The bard, who had been drifting in a stupor with glazed eyes, suddenly snapped awake. His breathing smoothed, and his voice rose with incredulous excitement.
"Yes! Yes! Roland! 'Rudolph'! Tell me—how on earth did you get involved with a legendary hero like him? This is... this is more astonishing than the wildest epic!"
Seeing his friend temporarily rallied by his innate passion for legendary tales, Roland felt a slight wave of relief. He was about to explain his own complex theories regarding his connection to Rudolph.
But in the next instant, his brow furrowed sharply.
His keen senses, which had been extending outward like invisible tentacles to guard his surroundings, suddenly recoiled as if pierced by a red-hot poisoned needle.
Simultaneously, an indescribable, vast, and terrifying aura descended upon him like an invisible shackle, locking him in place with crushing precision.
And on this chaotic battlefield, there could only be one being capable of such an aura...
As he realized the aura locking onto him was rapidly approaching, Roland's gaze sharpened. He immediately called out in a low voice to Phyllis, who was leading the way.
"Miss Phyllis."
His voice was kept very low, yet it was exceptionally clear.
"I have some matters I must attend to. Could you please help me by escorting my friend safely back to your camp? Find Durga—he's the Gray Dwarf Leader who always speaks very loudly."
Hearing this, Phyllis nodded immediately without any hesitation.
"I understand, Lord Roland. Please, be careful."
With her confirmation, Roland wasted no more time.
He carefully set Galvis down from his back, but the movement startled the bard, who had been lost in the topic of "Rudolph."
Only when his feet touched the ground did Galvis's weakened, sluggish mind suddenly realize something was wrong.
He grabbed Roland's arm, his fingers trembling slightly from the effort, his voice urgent.
"Roland? What are you going to do?"
Roland gave him a reassuring smile, his tone light.
"Don't worry, I'm just going to meet an 'old friend.'"
"Stop joking!" Galvis retorted immediately, his voice hoarse with agitation. "How could you possibly have a fri—"
He didn't get to finish. Roland had already deftly settled him onto Phyllis's sturdy back.
The bard clawed futilely at Roland's sleeve. Even after being hoisted up, he still struggled to twist his head back, shouting urgently, "Hey! Hey! Roland! Damn it! What the hell are you going to do? Answer me!"
But Roland only gave him a long, deep look. Then, he turned resolutely and strode away from them, his figure quickly receding into the dim forest.
As Roland's silhouette vanished, Galvis broke into a violent coughing fit. An indescribable sense of despair and helplessness washed over him.
Just then, he felt a strange warmth spreading against his chest, as if he were cradling a slowly awakening jade.
He frowned in confusion and struggled to reach into his robes. After a moment of fumbling, he withdrew the thick notebook with Mortal Hero: The Roland Epic written on the cover.
The notebook was now emitting a soft, steady glow. It wasn't blinding, but it carried an indescribable, warm, and ancient aura.
"This is..."
A flash of incredulous astonishment flickered in Galvis's clouded eyes as a long-forgotten memory resurfaced.
"Teacher Vesna once mentioned... a bard's 'Revelation'?"
Before he could fully grasp the situation, something even more astonishing occurred.
The notebook in his hands began to flutter without a breeze. Its heavy pages, as if guided by an invisible hand, flipped backward with a rapid fwoosh.
A moment later, the flipping stopped on the very last page.
The soft glow that had enveloped the entire notebook began to flow inward, condensing and focusing entirely on the blank space at the bottom of the final page—the same spot where he had signed his own name, Galvis.
Roland looked up, his gaze steady as he watched the figure suspended in mid-air, bathed in the radiance of the distorted barrier. He took a slow, deep breath, drawing the air—thick with the stench of blood and scorched earth—into his lungs.
His earlier assessment had not been wrong. In fact, he had underestimated the being before him.
Judging solely by the aura that pressed down on him with tangible weight, this elf named Tula possessed an energy level on par with Monen's—vast as an abyss, unfathomably deep.
Yet, what truly weighed on Roland's heart was something else.
He could clearly sense, amidst Tula's boundless aura, a faint but unmistakable and unique "essence."
This essence was not unfamiliar to him.
He had encountered this transcendent nature before—once in the eternal darkness when he met Shar, and again during the solemn ritual of the Blazing Sun Church when he met Lathander.
It was...
The aura of a god.
Though the aura within Tula was still mixed and impure, as if different divine authorities had been forcibly mashed together, it was undeniably there.
Divinity...
Realizing this, Roland slowly lowered his center of gravity, crouching like a cheetah ready to spring at a tiger in a desperate struggle.
Simultaneously, his right hand rose steadily and slowly, gripping the hilt of the Radiant Moon Sword at his waist. The cold touch from the palm brought a sliver of calm to his restless mind.
But Tula, floating in the air, made no move to strike.
He didn't even look at Roland. Instead, he raised his indifferent eyes to gaze into the distance and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
"Is that... Mr. Galvis?" Tula sighed softly. "Ah... it seems his life's flame has finally flickered out. What a pity..."
A perfectly timed expression of regret crossed his flawless features, like a merciful monarch mourning a fallen subject.
"Speaking of which, if Mr. Galvis had been more 'cooperative' back then, I wouldn't have been forced to use such crude methods to obtain what I needed."
"After all, what real threat could a useless bard possibly pose to me? His folly only hastened his own end."
Only then did he turn his gaze to Roland, who stood ready for battle. His tone remained gentle.
"So, what about you, human?"
"Will you willingly 'share' the God's favor bestowed upon you, allowing me to take it more 'gently'... or..."
He paused deliberately, as if granting Roland time to think.
But the vast, overwhelming pressure radiating from him continued to rise silently, like invisible shackles tightening their grip.
"...choose the more painful path, the one with a predetermined end, and fight a losing battle?"
The final word, "battle," had barely faded from his lips.
Zheng!
A cold, brilliant flash of light tore through the heavy air.
There was no warning, no omen, not even a flicker of killing intent.
Roland's figure seemed to vanish into the space between heartbeats.
One moment, he stood there, bent low. The next, the unsheathed Radiant Moon Longsword was already striking forward with unstoppable resolve.
The blade's tip tore through space, thrusting straight for Tula's throat.
(End of the Chapter)
---------------------------
📖 You are reading [252] Chapters behind with [98] Free Chapters available on site.
🔥 Read up to Chapter [664] now, only on ᴄɪɴᴅᴇʀᴛʟ.ᴄᴏᴍ.
📚 Read upto [14,100+] Chapters on Site with [10,900+] Free Chapters!
---------------------------