Mercenaries - no, the knights of the Black Crow spread out to both sides, drew out their weapons, and ran toward the man close at hand in an inverted triangle shape.
They held their left hands in front of their chests and prayed briefly and forcefully. A dark purple light appeared out of thin air, like a solid mist, shrouding their hands. The light slowly faded away, like a beast that chooses and devours people.
Yuffie recognized that it was a magical spell given to his followers by Mal, the god in charge of "death." It could turn any substance it came into contact into a wisp of worthless dust.
The knights surrounded him from three directions, and their sharp blades flashed with cold light, attacking the man's neck, right rib and left leg respectively. The Kamal young man did not join the battle. He glanced at his companions and walked quickly
Bypassing the man holding a heavy sword, he ran straight towards the fortress.
Although he was surrounded, Barak did not move at all. He squatted slightly, twisted, stepped, and waved his right arm. Even in the eyes of Yuffie, who was not familiar with swordsmanship, the man's body, arms, and heavy sword seemed to be perfect.
Integrated into one. The sword is him, and he is the sword——
A sword sweep.
With a dull sound of piercing the air, the heavy sword sliced open the body of the man on the far left without any hindrance, and then the two people in the middle and right. Their eyes were filled with surprise and a little unwillingness, and their arms still tried hard to reach out.
Ahead, but ultimately unable to touch Barak's body.
Yuffie quickly turned around and looked at the young man who was running with all his strength. In just a few seconds, he had already run more than thirty meters, turning his head to look back from time to time. She saw the young man's expression suddenly changed.
Frightened, the body leaned to one side as hard as possible——
But something broke through the air and cut deeply into his neck.
It was a sharp hand axe. The young man covered the wound with both hands, but it had no effect at all. He tried to continue running forward, but the gushing blood took away the last of his strength. Yuffie watched him lying prone
On the ground forty meters away, until his death, his right hand was still pointing in the direction of the castle.
She heard the noise of the mercenaries and Barak's orders coming from behind.
"Continue training." The man said calmly, as if nothing had happened just now, "For the team that lacks a captain, you will choose a team member to take over. Then, each team will follow the order-"
There was another slight commotion, and then shouts conveying orders rang out one after another, drowning out the faint discussion.
Someone seemed to have tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and found that Lily had come over to her at some point. Bell was not with her, so he probably volunteered to participate in the training - to be honest, in the Lily Nono group, there was no one for him.
It is actually this seemingly arrogant Peron man who has the most respect for Barak's reputation.
"Is this war, Lilinono?" Alphonse asked from beside him.
"Probably, right?" The female mercenary licked her lips, "Killing, plundering and deceiving - at this time, any method is acceptable?"
"But, why is there a war?" The agent still didn't seem to understand, "Isn't it great that everyone is together and harmonious."
"Then we don't know." Lily spread her hands, "You should ask Yuffie this kind of question?"
The girl felt the agency man's gaze on her, but she didn't know how to answer this question. She shook her head slightly at Alphonse, and then lowered her gaze.
"Speaking of which... Yuffie, do you think he really has a way to capture this place?" The female mercenary seemed to sense her somewhat depressed mood and tried to change the topic - although the change was not very good. You Fei
Fei understood the other party's good intentions, she pursed her lips slightly and answered Lily's words.
"I don't know." She shook her head, pointed to the ditches and obstacles on the hillside, and then looked at the mercenaries who were training. "However, it seems that Mr. Einhardt did not intend to fight with the opponent in the wild from the beginning.
.”
"The tactics they practiced before were obviously for fighting inside the castle. But I can't guess how he would send these soldiers into the city." There was a hint of doubt in her voice, "If it was Dean Collens, even if
Unable to teleport, he can also use powerful spells to destroy this wall. But Mr. Einhardt... is only a swordsman after all."
"But he must have a way?"
"I think so." Yuffie said firmly. She believed that the "Wolf Shepherd" would never do useless things, but for some reason, she suddenly lost interest in the outcome in the near future.
She took Lily's hand and they walked along the edge of the woods.
"I have some bad feelings... Sometimes I think that maybe we shouldn't be involved in this war." After walking for a while, Yuffie said softly.
She didn't think that what Barak did was wrong, nor did she feel sorry for the dead Black Crow Knights - they were not familiar with her at all. She just had a vague hunch that things would turn out as she expected.
There was something different. She always believed in her intuition, but this time, she couldn't understand her own thoughts.
Because the premonition told her that this incident was just the beginning, and its follow-up may affect the entire empire, and even the entire El Continent. As for whether it is a bright future, a revolution of blood and fire, or
It was the deepest darkness - she couldn't see clearly.
"Just don't think too much?" Lily patted her back, "We are mercenaries. Although mercenaries also pay attention to the legitimacy of entrustment, there is no right or wrong in this kind of thing.
.”
"Maybe." Yuffie bit her lower lip gently, raised her head, and looked at the fortress standing on the top of the hillside in the distance. Holly Castle has stood here for more than 170 years. Due to the blessing of divine magic and the members,
It has been carefully maintained, and even though it has gone through several wars, there is still no obvious damage. There are green ivy growing on the south wall of the castle, covering half of the entire city wall, giving this isolated fortress an extra sense of nature.
breath.
She closed her eyes and remembered its appearance in her mind.
The castle is inhabited by so-called 'cultists' - that's just another name for pagans. Yuffie doesn't believe in any gods, so the name naturally has no meaning.
She has never had close contact with the members of the Black Crow Knights - not counting the ones just now. From the rumors she heard before, the Knights are not all evil people, at least not as cruel and ruthless as the commission said. They
They are also human beings, and may have relatives and friends, happy and sad memories, likes and dislikes like her. The only difference is that they have faith, but she does not.
What does faith look like? Yuffie thought silently in her heart.