PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Desmond’s arms began to buckle, unable to withstand the thrust of the beam of light. The sword in his hands trembled due to his inability to hold it properly.

Although Desmond couldn’t see past himself due to the blinding light, he knew where this attack was coming from.

Xavier, the strongest of the holy knights, had arrived at the scene and couldn’t wait to bite Desmond to death.

“Do not underestimate me.”

With a gasp, Desmond changed the angle of his sword, thus redirecting some of the pressure exerted by Xavier’s attack. Until now, Desmond had remained firmly rooted to the ground, leaving a trail of broken stone slabs in his wake.

From one moment to the next, Desmond ultimately released his hold of the ground, nearly being pulled away by the beam of light pressing down on him. Out of nowhere, a pair of chains of water shot out from his side, clinging tightly to his torso and pulling him out of the way of Xavier’s attack.

Desmond went down, rolling a couple of times on the ground, but not before letting out a mouthful of blood. Blood trickled from his lips in large amounts falling to the broken ground as his arms barely managed to keep him slightly upright.

Desmond had taken too much punishment so far; Although few, Camila’s attacks on his person had caused tremendous damage. The few hits he took from William in the sky added to the other little nicks of damage he took throughout the fight had exacerbated his injuries.

.....

To keep up with the fighting ability of these royal knights, Desmond had already had to resort to the continuous use of . That last surprise attack by Xavier had put Desmond on edge.

Speaking of the man in question, Xavier, who had just arrived on the battlefield, now glared at Desmond and Cecilia with boundless hatred. Desmond only had a moment to look at Xavier, enough to corroborate his suspicions.

Xavier, the strongest holy knight in the Church, possessed a unique lineage. Although Xavier’s curly golden hair and almond-colored eyes hadn’t changed, it was impossible to ignore his skin, which now seemed covered in diamonds.

Desmond was unaware of Xavier’s particular lineage. Still, based on appearance alone, Desmond could already imagine that Xavier’s bloodline had effects similar to Mei Fei Long’s dragon strength.

Xavier’s arrival caused a strange silence in the now semi-destroyed square. An aggressive stillness fills the environment. William had already gotten up from the ground looking a little hurt; probably, his ego was what hurt the most. Frederick was a similar case; although he had recovered from the shock, a lingering fear filled his eyes.

On the other hand, Camila remained the same; her cold calm was almost unsettling. In his released form, Xavier felt tremendous pressure from Camila, which greatly surprised him.

He had to know that even though the holy knights were always considered weaker than the knights of the royal family, this only applied to the rest of them; Xavier was different. That was especially the case when Xavier activated his bloodline power. He never thought there would be someone who could put pressure on him even under these circumstances.

Xavier wasn’t stupid; the presence of three knights from the royal family had put him on high alert. His loss to Desmond’s schemes had already put him on cue, so he didn’t dare make a reckless move.

Analyzing the current state of affairs, it seemed that the royal family knights were also trying to get rid of Cecilia. And Desmond, who got in their way, was paying the price.

When he first arrived, Xavier’s first instinct, consumed by rage, was to attack Desmond and kill him instantly. Since that had failed and now Desmond was practically defenseless and cornered by those three knights, Xavier turned his attention from him to Cecilia.

“I guess I’ll get rid of you first.”

The adamantine glow intensified on Xavier’s right arm, the light mana seeming to condense and amplify on his skin. With an arm extended in Cecilia’s direction, Xavier released another beam of light similar to the one he had previously used to attack Desmond.

Oddly enough, Desmond didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Taking advantage of the momentary peace in which everyone was focused on Xavier’s arrival. Desmond began to ingest a couple of potions, but not before injecting himself with two doses of Sasha’s new potion.

It might seem that Desmond was abandoning Cecilia to her fate, but that wasn’t even remotely true. Desmond might not have Kyuru’s empathic abilities, but he still had a decent amount of insight to read people. Desmond had no doubt that someone in this place would never allow anyone to hurt Cecilia other than himself.

A grayish blur crossed the gap between Cecilia and Xavier in an instant. Although Desmond was sure this would happen, he still couldn’t help but smile bitterly as he realized that this woman was much faster than he thought.

The gigantic silver-edged sword came face to face with the beam of light fired by Xavier. The owner of this sword slapped the beam of light as if she was throwing off a very annoying insect.

Other than Camila’s monster in human form, it couldn’t be another person. For the first time since she had appeared on the scene, Camila showed a tiny hint of annoyance as she looked at Xavier.

Beneath those gray eyes, Xavier began to feel extremely small, like a child looking at the top of a mountain. From Xavier’s point of view, this was absurd. Xavier was the strongest holy knight by a wide margin, and in his released form, he believed himself to be without a rival. Camila’s presence called all of his beliefs into question.

“Holy Knight, Xavier Laezir; this is a royal family business. Please withdraw.”

Although it seemed that Camila was making a request, the tone of her voice was firm and unquestioning. As a predator at the top of the food chain, Camila didn’t allow anyone to question her authority. This was rather strange, considering the approach she took when asking Desmond.

In retrospect, when she questioned Desmond, she almost seemed satisfied with the answer given by the young hunter. She seemed to be daring him to keep his word. On the other hand, she wasn’t the least bit interested in dealing with Xavier.

Years of being at the top, of ruling the holy knights with an iron fist, did not allow Xavier to give in so easily. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Cecilia is part of our Church of the holy light and is accused of serious crimes. I am afraid I must take her with me to stand trial.”

Showing the most subtle smile in the world, Camila responded with a flat tone of voice. “As far as I know, Cecilia has already been excommunicated; even her name was taken from her. She is no longer the Cecilia Laezir that you have the right to judge. Cecilia Astryd is a person of great importance to the royal family. I am afraid I must insist you retire, holy knight Xavier.”

Even Desmond was surprised by Camila’s words. He didn’t expect her to play on a little technicality like that to force Xavier to back off.

At the very least, that insignificant detail gave Camila the right to interfere in the capture of Cecilia by the Church. At this point, it became a no-brainer that the royal family showed their fangs to the Church.

On second thought, Desmond thought that was only natural. The Church had gone too far in supporting the invasion a couple of weeks ago; they had become a malignant tumor that had to be removed.

He had done the dirty work by burying all the holy knights except Xavier alive. It was only natural that the royal family would jump at the chance. It became clear that the royal family was looking for Cecilia to use her in some way as a pawn.

Either to play against the Church or to replace her.

Whatever the case, none of it had anything to do with Desmond. He preferred to concentrate on healing his wounds as much as possible, mobilizing mana within his body to focus the healing energies of ingested potions.

Xavier gritted his teeth at her with undisguised hatred and aggression. He couldn’t wait to jump on top of Camila and beat her to a pulp before fucking her to death. Before such a beautiful woman, it was natural to have a lustful thought or two, but Xavier didn’t dare to act on his lust or anger. He had no interest in finding an early grave.

Glancing briefly at William and Frederick, who were waiting around Desmond, Xavier had an idea. Since getting Cecilia wasn’t possible, Xavier would at least send the bastard who killed his friends to hell.

“I understand. Since that is the case, the Church recognizes the royal family’s right to claim Cecilia Astryd. But Desmond Astryd is a different case. That man is a traitorous knight who conspired to assassinate multiple holy knights. He must be executed immediately.”

Desmond wasn’t even surprised by the sudden twist in the plot. Xavier’s hate for him was not something new. With Camila blocking the path to Cecilia, Desmond figured this would happen, so he focused on getting his back.

It was one thing not to be surprised and another thing not to be pressured. Camila was already enough to put Desmond on the ropes, with the addition of Xavier and the other two knights of the royal family; Desmond knew this would be a deadly dance.