Chapter 007: Weaving Through Chaos

It seemed that since that thunderstorm-like punishment from the gods, the scales in the Fate Goddess’s hands had begun to tilt slightly in favor of Aldas. Although there was no news of Du Fan at first, not long after, Wit and Farmer, who had been sent ahead, sent back several messages using communication magic scrolls.

It appeared that that thunderstorm was the last trap in this dense forest, and nothing else followed. At first, Aldas wasn’t convinced, but thinking about the traps he had encountered along the way, he realized it must have taken days—or even weeks—to set them up. Although the members of the Holy Church set out a few days earlier than him, how fast could they go given that they were accompanied by diviners and mages? It was already remarkable if they arrived just a day ahead of him, and the fact that they could set up so many traps in less than a day was downright astonishing.

With this reasoning, Aldas became even more certain of the messages sent by Wit and Farmer. Yet if he had known that all those traps were actually taken from Du Fan’s basement before he left, and that setting them up didn’t take much time at all, he might have vomited blood on the spot.

Another half hour passed, and Wit and Farmer sent more news—seems Du Fan’s whereabouts had been found deep in the forest. But after attempting an ambush and failing to hit him, he quickly retreated. Though Wit and Farmer tried to chase after him, their unfamiliarity with the terrain meant they couldn’t catch him despite their best efforts.

In Wit’s words, that bastard shaman was as cunning as a fox. They had tried several times to approach him carefully, only to be discovered at the last moment, which was extremely infuriating.

Still, there was good news too. Wit said that although that bastard shaman had escaped several times from them, he had been struck by Farmer’s sword. Though he had run away now, his situation wasn’t much better.

Aldas knew that although Farmer wasn’t well-known on the Roland Continent, almost everyone at Roland Academy knew of his vicious and ruthless swordsmanship, as well as his combat energy infused with various curses. Anyone struck by his sword, unless they were exceptionally strong, would be plagued by curses, and it was hard to say how long they could endure.

Ordas was well aware of Farmer’s deadly sword skills, so this rare good news delighted him beyond measure. His heart was already filled with anger; he didn’t even take the time to verify the truth of the news. With a wave of his hand, the rest of them rushed through the jungle like meteors. As they sped forward, Ordas realized he was getting closer and closer to the edge of the dense forest. With continuous updates from Whit and Farmer, he knew Du Fan was about to be forced near the lake in the valley. There, he would have nowhere to hide unless he turned into a water creature and stayed submerged forever. When they reached the lake, the messages from Whit and Farmer suddenly stopped, and a faint scent of blood began to fill the air. Ordas frowned, thinking those two bastards might have already killed Du Fan. Though that might not be bad, it still felt unsatisfying compared to letting Du Fan suffer a painful death. After less than a second of consideration, he waved his hand again, and his figure shot through the jungle like lightning. From afar, he could see a sizable camp by the lake, along with corpses stained red with blood. Upon closer inspection, Ordas felt dizzy and nearly collapsed. Fortunately, he had some self-control and managed to stop mid-air. His expression shifted as he stared at the two corpses. The bodies were half-submerged in the lake—whether out of Du Fan’s whim or intentional, they had been torn into countless pieces, turning the water red with blood. The scene was utterly horrifying. By then, the students following behind had also arrived. Kris came to Ordas’s side and glanced toward the lake. She suddenly felt nauseous and covered her mouth. Ordas scanned the area with a furious gaze but saw no sign of Du Fan. His anger had nowhere to vent, so he merely grunted and said, “A few of you go and collect Whit and Farmer’s bodies. The rest, go into the camp and check if you can find any clues.” A few students stepped back as ordered. Moments later, those who had searched the camp rushed out, whispering, “Senior… we found something…” Ordas asked, “What is it?”

The trainee spread his palm, revealing a small piece of black charcoal. Aldas snatched it up only to find it still warm. After examining it several times, Aldas suddenly sneered and said, “This wood was cut with a Templar knight’s sword, and it’s still warm—this means those guys from the Holy Church haven’t been gone long. If we chase after them now… they can’t do much to us.”
The trainee responded with a nod and quickly retreated.
Chris, however, asked doubtfully, “Senior… what about Du Fan…”
Upon hearing those words, Aldas’s expression changed slightly, his teeth grinding together. After a moment, he took a deep breath and regained his composure. He said gravely, “What is Du Fan? There’s no need to waste time on him now. If we keep playing cat and mouse with him here, wouldn’t that be utterly foolish? As long as we can achieve our goal this time, when we return to the capital, I’m sure I’ll have a chance to settle accounts with him.”
Chris sighed softly and nodded.
Seeing that Chris had no objections, Aldas felt inexplicably warmed. He raised a hand, ready to give orders, when suddenly, a shrill scream was heard.
Aldas and Chris both froze and glanced in the direction of the scream. At some point, a huge shadow appeared on the lake’s surface, with several tentacle-like things extending from it. The two trainees sent to dispose of the bodies were now trapped by those tendrils around their throats. Despite struggling desperately, they couldn’t break free.
A nearby trainee let out a scream. He seemed quite knowledgeable and said hoarsely, covering his mouth, “It’s over… this… this is an octopus monster…”
As soon as he finished speaking, the octopus monster tightened its grip, and the combat energy in the two trainees’ bodies gradually faded. Then, blood sprayed as their heads were crushed.
Their bodies didn’t even have time to hit the ground before being dragged into the lake.
The other trainee’s face turned pale. He growled, his voice filled with despair, “This… this is an adult specimen… This monster… is beyond our capabilities. We should run away quickly…”
Before he could finish speaking, he felt a blur before his eyes and a sharp pain on his cheek—as several of his teeth were knocked out by Aldas’s sudden slap.

Ordas moved with the speed of wind, his combat energy having long since recovered to 88-99%. As a result, no one present except Kris could see that slap clearly. With no time to think about anything else, Ordas snorted coldly and said, “So what if it’s an octopus monster? What if it’s an adult? With me, Ordas here, am I supposed to be afraid of these beasts?” The student who had been slapped spoke intermittently, “Senior… our goal is the Divine Palace… there’s no need… no need to get entangled with such monsters…” Ordas glared at him and said sternly, “What do you know? The depths of this lake are also part of the Divine Palace. If we don’t eliminate this thing, even if we manage to enter the Divine Palace alive, we won’t be able to get out alive.” As soon as he finished speaking, all the events that had happened to him that day flashed through his mind. Looking at the bloodstains by the lake, he thought of the octopus monster inside and suddenly sneered, saying in a bitter tone, “Good job, Du Fan. So you had planned all along to lure people from Roland Academy here to deal with this monster… You really thought I would definitely intervene… But… do you really think I, Ordas, would be that stupid?” Though he said that, after thinking for a moment, Ordas realized that unless he eliminated this monster, he would never be able to enter the Divine Palace in peace to search for treasures. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed he was bound to suffer losses. At that moment, Kris could only grit his teeth and draw the long sword at his waist. The tip of his sword turned slightly, and a silver-colored combat energy radiated out from the sword in his hand. Everyone around immediately felt lighter, as if they could fly at any moment. At the same time, as the silver light covered them, everyone’s strength, agility, spirit, and defense increased slightly. Ordas was incredibly skilled; he used a group blessing technique called the Sacred Light, which only high-ranking Temple Knights could employ, with effects that were just as remarkable. He slowly retracted his combat energy, and in just one breath, earth-yellow combat energy replaced the silver one. Surrounded by combat energy, he stepped forward toward the lake.