It felt so good to be close to the witch!

"You're still too inexperienced..."

The calm voice reached his ears. Watching the figure of the border duke gradually disappear into the distance, Golden Ruler Eric calmed his breathing and silently followed.

Since he couldn't stop them, he at least had to make sure he didn't lose them.

Moreover, the direction the border duke went... that's where the Temple of the Privy Cathedral is located!

-

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Chapter 181 Independent of Forbidden Zones, A Grade Stronger Than Epic

阶！

Saint Fuye, the capital of the Radiant Empire, was once known as the "City of Gods".

Legend has it that the great god worshipped in the temple once performed miracles here.

Of course, such secrets could only be known by those ancient noble families.

In present-day Saint Fuye, the people have very little knowledge of "God," and the temples and churches throughout the empire are only symbolically open, with little emphasis on the greatness of the gods.

Compared to religious organizations, temples today are more like secret institutions on the supernatural side.

Even so, the Privy Cathedral, as one of the three iconic buildings in the royal capital of San Fuye, still receives a great deal of attention.

Therefore, when the border duke came alone to the white jade square in front of the Confucian Cathedral and plunged his greatsword into the flat ground made of white jade, the people who dared to hide in the distance, intimidated by his imposing presence, began to discuss among themselves.

"Who is that? Their eyes look so scary. I took a peek from afar and almost peed my pants."

"Don't even mention you, I also... cough cough."

“That’s the Duke of the Border,” an older resident said. “Every year around this time, the Duke of the Border comes to the Cathedral of the Privy Council to pray for blessings.”

"The Border Duke?! The Border Duke who guards the empire's borders and has a distinguished military record!" the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

However, some people raised doubts: "Praying for blessings? Old man, are you sure the border duke is here to pray for blessings?"

The old man being questioned was speechless, because the border duke's current behavior did not seem like that of someone who had come to pray for blessings.

Just then, countless temple knights emerged from various locations, forcibly dispersing the residents who were discussing the matter, and even those hiding inside their houses were not spared.

Soon, within a three-kilometer radius of the Cathedral of the Privy, there was no longer a single ordinary person.

"Squeak-"

The heavy metal gate slowly opened, and a strong wind rushed in, causing the border duke's wild, long hair to fly wildly.

A knight, dressed in lead-gray armor with bright silver trim and a knight's sword at his waist, slowly walked out from the center of the wide-open entrance of the Privy Cathedral.

The face under the knight's helmet was very ordinary, looking to be around thirty or forty years old. He was also not very tall, only about 1.8 meters. If you didn't pay attention while walking down the street, he wouldn't leave any impression at all.

The only difference between him and ordinary people was that there was a strange dark gold pattern between his eyebrows, which looked like an open eye from a distance.

He walked forward step by step until he was fifty meters away from the Duke of the Border, then stopped and said in a low voice, "Breton, is this your choice?"

"This is the last time I'm giving you this advice."

"A century is not unbearable for a legend."

"If you fail, not only you, but also the Soros family behind you will be wiped out."

"Even royal and noble ceremonies cannot protect you this time."

Upon hearing this, the Border Duke merely chuckled and said, "Rilko, it's been years, and you've become even more of a chatterbox."

"You're only fourth seat, not even good enough to get past the top three. Get out of here and let your boss out."

"Ha, good, very good!" The lead-gray armored knight laughed in anger: "Then let me, the fourth seat, experience the border duke's high skills."

"Chong-"

The cold, sharp sword was drawn instantly, its gleaming light illuminating the surroundings in a flash.

At the entrance of the Cathedral of the Privy, Rielko's figure vanished, replaced by a sword light so piercing that even space itself rippled and twisted.

On the rooftop of a house several kilometers away, Golden Ruler Eric gazed at the sword light, his eyes filled with solemnity.

The fourth seat of the Divine Punishment, the legendary Limit Knight, the Wave Knight Rielko's sword strike was terrifying to the extreme. He knew he had no chance of taking it head-on and could only choose to dodge.

Having just reached the Legendary Limit, he still has a considerable gap to close compared to Legendary Limit Riders like Wave Rider Rielco, who has been at the Legendary Limit Rider level for several years.

Golden Ruler Eric's gaze was fixed on the border duke.

He wanted to see how the border duke would deal with a sword strike that he could never withstand.

On the white jade plaza, facing the incoming sword light, the border duke's eyes remained indifferent until the sword light was less than two meters away from his body, at which point he slowly raised his hand.

Without using any weapon or battle aura, the raised finger moved seemingly slowly but actually swiftly, just in time to stop the sword light.

The next instant, a blinding light suddenly shone.

"boom!"

A torrent of violent fighting spirit surged toward the Cathedral of the Privy Council, only to be blocked by a semi-illusory protective shield that appeared on its surface, causing ripples to spread continuously.

As the battle aura dissipated into a sky full of radiance, the scene that came into view caused Golden Law Words Eric in the distance to have his pupils shrink sharply, leaving him standing there dumbfounded.

The fourth seat of Divine Punishment, Wave Knight Rielko, who had launched the attack, was kneeling on the ground, his hands tightly gripping his knight's sword, resisting the seemingly slender finger on it.

Beneath his feet, the white jade ground, known for its hardness, shattered with a terrifying crack tens of meters in radius, and then caved in.

Tide Knight Rielco's hands trembled incessantly, and his armor clanged loudly. His battle aura dissipated one after another, clearly indicating that the power of just this one finger was enough to overwhelm him.

“…How…is it possible…”

Blood gushed from the corner of his mouth, flowing down his chin and dripping to the ground. The voice of Tide Knight Rielko trembled: "Could it be... that you've also entered... that realm?!"

"I told you, you talk too much nonsense." The Border Duke said coldly. The next second, he flicked his finger, and with a "clang" and a loud sonic boom, Tide Knight Rielco's body was pushed back to the entrance of the Cathedral of the Privy Council, about to be embedded in the protective shield.

Just then, a hand came from behind and supported Tide Knight Rielko's shoulder, catching him steadily.

It was an old man wearing a worn-out gray robe.

His hair was completely white, and his face bore the marks of time. Although he looked like an old man nearing his twilight years, his body was incredibly strong.

His bulging, muscular physique couldn't be concealed even by his loose robes, and the intense, indescribable aura of blood made the surrounding space glow slightly red.

"Rilko, go and rest. I'll take care of things here."

A kind and gentle voice rang out, and the old man lowered his hand, walked past the Wave Knight Rielco, and walked steadily toward the border duke ahead.

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

Ryle Knight took a deep breath and bowed respectfully in response.

The old man, resembling an ascetic, stood a hundred meters in front of the border duke, his bright, clear eyes fixed on the duke: "Breton, is this your choice?"

The border duke's expression turned serious as he looked at the old man before him: "Chief of Divine Punishment, Eternal Wind Knight Oxus, according to the covenant of the past, the day I defeat you will be the day the temple releases Mayina."

"Now that I'm here, are you ready?"

The border duke gripped the hilt of the black greatsword stuck in the ground with his right hand and slowly pulled it out. During this process, crimson-gold patterns lit up on the black blade of the greatsword. When the light reached its peak, raging crimson-gold flames covered every corner of the greatsword.

The chief of divine punishment also wielded a greatsword, but its blade was entirely blue. The moment it appeared, a fierce gale suddenly arose.

"Beyond epics, a sacred artifact!" Golden Law Words Eric, who was secretly watching the battle from afar, exclaimed in shock.

Normally, weapons are ranked in tiers from lowest to highest as follows: Common, Rare, Precious, Legacy, and Epic. However, what most people don't know is that there are actually even higher tiers of equipment above Epic.

Their existence is irreplaceable; the birth of each one is a coincidence within a coincidence, a miracle within a miracle. Because of their power far exceeding that of the mortal world, they are also known as "sacred artifacts".

The power of a sacred artifact is comparable to that of a forbidden item of the A-grade weapon class. Unlike forbidden items, however, using a sacred artifact does not require paying any terrifying price.

Therefore, the existence of sacred artifacts can be considered the foundation of a nation.

Even searching the entire Radiant Empire, one could not find more than a few sacred artifacts.

And now, two of them have appeared!

Moreover, the sacred artifact in the hands of the border duke was something that had never appeared before.

Leaving aside the shock on Eric's side, as described by the Golden Rule.

On the White Jade Grand Plaza, the Border Duke, wielding a sacred artifact, and the Chief of Divine Punishment officially began their confrontation.

There was no earth-shattering destruction, nor any dazzling brilliance. The two fought like formal knights who had not yet mastered battle aura, using only their most primitive physiques and weapons to clash.

What appears to be an ordinary battle, in reality, if someone were to observe it up close, would notice that every collision of the weapons causes fine black cracks to appear in the air.

This is not the black phenomenon of air falling into a vacuum during a battle between low-level legendary beings, but rather a sign that space is on the verge of collapse.

Such power has already surpassed the boundaries of legend. If it weren't for the unfavorable environment, the two of them would probably have already reached a higher realm.

"Kachacha..."

Like the sound of shattering glass, after hundreds of clashes, the Border Duke and the Chief of Divine Punishment returned to their original positions, gazing at each other.

"Your strength has indeed improved a lot. With such talent, even in such a barren world, if you are given enough time, we can study together and perhaps find a way to break through to divinity."

“Breton, I’m giving you one last chance. If you back out now, I can pretend none of this ever happened.”

"Release Mayina and I'll turn around and leave," the border duke said expressionlessly.

"Is it worth it for a witch?" the Chief of Divine Punishment sighed.

"With so many witches in the entire empire, your temple would rather be my enemy for the sake of Mayina alone?" the border duke retorted.

"...It seems you are unwilling to leave." The Chief of Divine Punishment shook his head and said no more.

The next moment, the two figures disappeared from the spot again.

……

Inside the royal palace, about ten kilometers away from the Privy Cathedral.

The second prince stood on the top floor of a palace, gazing towards the battlefield.

In front of him was a mirror with ripples like water, reflecting a clear picture of the battle.

Sunlight fell on his blond hair, reflecting a dazzling light. It should have been as bright as spring, but for some reason, it gave people a particularly mottled feeling.

A tall figure stood behind the Second Prince, like an unchanging ancient boulder.

"Marquis Hermann, who do you think will win this battle?"