Capítulo 216: ...way more bite than you can handle
After some time, the announcer finished the introduction, and all the participants entered the stage with the side of the Church taking significantly longer to take their place than their opponents.
With the two knights on the stage and their supporting groups backing them up, the Saintess Elita and Melinda Fenrioette took their seats of honor.
As the preparation time was announced, the Saintess was the first to cast the buffing spell on the Holy Knight. After her, all forty-seven members of the Choir of the Deacons of Blessing cast their spells, which the Saintess's magic enabled to stack, finally finishing it all with yet another blessing from the holy maiden.
The blessed Holy Knight raised his massive tower shield with his sword at the ready, appearing more like an impregnable fortress than a man in the eyes of the audience.
By the end of it the Holy Knight was gleaming with white glow of such intensity that it appeared as if he was standing in the pillar of light.
And then, Melinda, who seemed to be politely waiting for her turn, lifted her arm and pointed her index finger at the back of the Royal Guard almost dismissively.
"My Lesser Blessing."
"!"
The gold-haired girl cast a seemingly insignificant spell, but the visual effect stunned the amphitheater audience and the Saintess herself.
*UMPH*
The golden light, appearing to descend from the heavens, fell on the Royal Guard, spreading a faint golden shockwave as it hit him, leaving whisks of gold energy emanating from him like an electric current.
The Royal guard didn't raise his shield, and neither did he take out his sword.
The start of the duel wasn't announced for a few long moments as if the person chosen as the judge expected more spells to come, but Melinda lowered her hand and leaned back into her seat, keenly observing the stage.
Was that really enough?
Did she believe in the power of the knight representing the Royal Guard that much?
Or… Was it all that she was capable of…?
"BEGIN!"
Amidst the confusion in the audience and the Church representatives' side, the judge called out!
*BOOOM* *WHAM*
The Royal guard kicked off the ground, breaking his side of the stage and sending the debris straight into Melinda's spot. However, none of it actually reached the gold-haired girl. While Lucas Vendro'in stepped in front of her, Gabriel Kava'lir, with a golden gleam in his gray eyes, stepped in front of both of them and, with a punch, created a shockwave that stopped all projectiles from passing through.
But that amazing feat wasn't noticed by even a single soul in the audience. Everyone watched in stunned silence as, at the same time as the shockwave-sending punch was thrown, the Royal Guard reached the heavily armored enchanted Holy Knight in a single lunge, pressed his hand against his opponent's tower shield, overpowered him completely, utterly, and undeniably, and then smashed him down with it.
*SQUELCH*
As the Holy Knight crushed between his own shield and the stage had his upper half burst into a splatter of blood, the stage itself broke apart from the exerted power.
But the damages didn't stop at that.
With the stage getting smashed into pieces, the ground beneath it followed. The earth underneath the feet of the Choir of the Deacons of Blessing literally split apart, raising and falling like a wave of a stormy ocean. With the Saintess Elita jumping away and pitifully falling to the side on top of her men, the part of the amphitheater behind them crumbled down together with all the empty seats.
…all of which happened within the first seconds of the duel…
"!!!"
The next moment, absolute chaos and panic erupted, and Melinda left her spot and trotted over to the broken stage.
"..."
Her expression was tense, and her naturally sharp eyes were full of worry.
The commotion got worse, people were screaming, half a dozen fully-armored members of the Holy Knights attempted to barge onto the stage but were stopped by the two youngsters guarding the gold-haired girl.
Someone shouted something about the murder.
Another voice howled in sorrow at the loss of the life of a father.
One of the Holy Knights seemingly snuck past them, only to get grabbed by Lucas Vendro'in, get his shoulder pad crushed by a bare hand, and then get tossed back into his comrades, knocking them over.
Melinda wasn't paying any attention to any of them, fully focused on the shield surrounded by blood.
Because no one seemed to notice that the duel continued.
If she was in the mood for jokes, she might have found the legs sticking from underneath the tower shield embedded into the stage funny.
But she wasn't, and she didn't.
Instead, with her expression changing into the one about to burst into tears, she grabbed the corner of the tower shield as if it was a light blanket and pulled it up in that ease, revealing a gruesome sight of vile gore pulsating and convulsing in a nauseating manner amidst the crumpled metal.
Cries of desecrating a corpse joined all the others.
"Blessed Heal."
Melinda pointed her index finger at the minced meat that once was a member of the Holy Knights and chanted a spell.
*UMPH*
"!?!?"
The burst of brilliant golden light engulfed the whole stage and spread a shockwave of warm golden breeze through the audience, stunning them into silence.
…and once the brightness faded, leaving the world as it once was…
"...huh…?"
And the flattened pile of gore and stringy intestines sat back up upright, letting out a baffled voice as a man chosen as a Holy Knights' representative once more.
Although without armor.
"...wh-what…?"
The dark-gray-haired man with his torso exposed gasped, glancing back at the stage that got crushed alongside him.
What he saw was all the crumpled pieces of metal, leather, and cloth from his formed his armor.
"I wasn't doubting the effectiveness of those, but even so, I'm glad everything went well. Here, take another one. They are one-time-use, after all."
"...wh-what…?"
Seeing the man start moving around more, albeit still extremely confused, Melinda breathed out in relief while swapping the charm that had lost its shine from the knight's scabbard to a new one and stood back up.
"Luke, Gabi. Stop being rude, and let's get back to our seats."
The gold-haired girl then called out to the two youngsters and trotted back to her spot.
The silence within the arena was so absolute that the sounds of her footsteps seemed as loud as explosions.
The two youngsters didn't hesitate even for a second and showed their back to the Holy Knights, who were dead set on fighting them to the death mere moments earlier.
"...oh, come on…!"
One of said knights, the one who was attempting to crawl past the youths, ended up grabbing onto Gabriel's ankle, making the boy let out an annoyed grumble before shaking off the man as if he was something unsightly that got stuck to his shoe.
Only one person in the entire arena was as lost and confused as the representative of the Holy Knights, who was surrounded by his disheveled and roughed-up comrades who wanted to check up on him.
That person being the Saintess, Elita.
Even while being helped up by her Choir, Elita could not take her eyes away from Melinda anymore.
Basically, everything became clear.
Melinda's demands, the Church's disdain towards her, everything.
Even the actual origin of the magic phenomenon that turned all mana-less liquids into healing potions.
It was no miracle at all.
At least, it wasn't a miracle caused by the goddess Perseverance…
"?"
Noticing Elita's gaze, Melinda tilted her head curiously as if interested in how the Saintess would react.
"~?"
"!!!"
With Elita simply staring wide-eyed at her, Melinda ended up smiling brightly at the Saintess, causing her to turn completely red and lower her head.
The only reason Elita didn't drop down where she stood was because two Deacons were already supporting her.
"???"
And it definitely wasn't the reaction that Melinda intended to cause…
"Shall we go on with the duel? It is supposed to be a showcase, so how about we time our attacks in a way they would clash against one another to see which one is stronger?"
"?!?!"
Shocking everyone, the representative of the Royal Guard continuing emanating the golden whisks clenched his fist and proposed with gusto.
"If your buffs and enchantments ran out already, I can wait for the Saintess and the Choir of Deacons of Blessing to reapply them. If you don't wish to continue, once someone else takes your place, please pass them the protective charm Her Grace gave you. It protects the wielder from a deadly attack one time."
The Royal Knight declared before glancing at the destruction he caused.
"Of course, my offer only stands as long as you deem continuing the duel as necessary,.."
He added politely after looking back at the Holy Knights gathered at the crumbling side of the stage.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Sound_Hammer
Sound_Hammer >:D
Capítulo 217: The caravan travel (part 1)
A merchant caravan was traveling through the wilds.
It wasn't as if they were pioneering a new route though, in fact, they were already quite used to the path they followed, it's just that the rest of the civilization couldn't catch up to their destination.
Funnily enough, while on one side, their route might have been more dangerous because of the monsters roaming around unchecked, but on the other, the surroundings were so wild that there were little to no bandits.
At least, that was the case until recently…
"Halt!"
One of the hired bodyguards raised his hand, and the whole caravan stopped.
"Roy and Bern, go check out that rubble. Be careful. I saw movement."
The same man who stopped the caravan spoke up and waved his hand to the right where the wild plants seemed to be the thinnest and a pair he called out ventured forth with their weapons at the ready.
"Everyone, stay alert."
The man in charge of the bodyguards commanded while the merchants began to talk amongst each other.
After a few tense minutes, the scouts returned with rather odd expressions.
"Bandits. They attacked a wagon, killed the people, and stole everything, including whatever creatures were pulling the thing."
"There seems to be one survivor. A roughed-up-looking guy. He's finishing burying the corpses and seems completely out of it."
Roy and Bern reported.
"Could it be a trap?"
"We checked the surroundings and didn't notice anything suspicious.
"If it is, then that guy is the best actor I ever seen. He seems genuinely depressed."
The leader of the bodyguard inquired, and the two scouts shared their thoughts.
"...what do you want to do about him, boss?"
The bodyguard in charge breathed out and asked, turning back towards a captivating woman with wavy green hair and a thick fringe that completely obstructed her eyes, wearing protective traveling gear.
"As odd as it may sound, I have a good feeling about that guy. Let's meet him organically and call out to him while passing him with the whole caravan. We'll decide what's next based on his reaction."
The green-haired woman declared, leaning back in the driver's seat and lightly shaking the reins to make the horse-sized four-eyed goat start pulling her wagon.
"You've heard the boss! Onwards!"
The leader of the bodyguards declared and his men moved hastily as to not get overtaken by their clients who followed the green-haired woman's cart without any regards to their protectors.
As they moved, the vegetation on their right was getting thinner and thinner leading to a massive opening where a wagon must have strayed off the path.
Said wagon, now nothing more than a pile of rubble of wood and cloth, was only a dozen or so feet further, and beside it, under a particularly large tree, a platinum-haired man with an unkempt beard was half sitting half kneeling by fresh graves marked with small stone piles with his back to the caravan.
"..."
The green-haired woman straightened her back, and although her eyes couldn't be properly seen, it was obvious that she was keenly observing the stranger.
The next moment, she beckoned one of the merchants and passed him the reins while agility jumping off the driver's seat.
By the time she approached the grieving man, the green-haired woman was already accompanied by three bodyguards, one on each side and one watching her back.
"Greetings, fellow traveler. Is it okay for me to pay my respect to the departed?"
She called out from a distance she deemed respectable and awaited the response.
"..."
The platinum-haired man reacted for the first time, glancing over his shoulder at the woman, her bodyguards, and the caravan behind them.
"Hello. Feel free. The dead will surely be more happy with prayers from someone besides me."
The man answered, inching away without getting up as if making pace for the green-haired woman.
"Don't say that. The sole survivors often blame themselves for not doing more, but you have to move forward."
"They weren't my comrades."
"...!"
The green-haired woman spoke up without getting any closer and the moment the platinum-haired man pointed out, the two bodyguards stepped in front of their client with their weapons drawn towards the stranger expecting an attack.
"..,?"
But when the man didn't make any moves, and no one jumped out to ambush them, all the caravan bodyguards started looking around in confusion.
"You seem awfully bothered by their deaths for someone who denies being comrades."
The green-haired woman who didn't even flinch before pointed out in a kind voice.
"...I"m just a vagrant exploring the area. I'm mapping the monster spawning grounds and culling their population to make it bearable. I accidentally met the family traveling on this wagon the other day. A husband, wife, and a little daughter. There were good people. I warned them about the monsters that might spawn, including the variables, and since I already explored that part, I assured them there were no bandits. I was wrong. They were worried regardless of my words; they offered to take me to the closest settlement, but I refused, wanting to hunt some more. If I went with them, they would still be alive."
"..."
The bodyguards didn't let their guards down, but the green-haired woman tilted her head as if considering something.
"I have a good feeling about him."
"..."
The green-haired woman straightened her back and announced, to which the bodyguards in front of her stepped back, freeing the way for her to approach the suspicious stranger.
Which she did, kneeling next to him and lowering her head, offering a silent prayer for the dead.
"Everything was stolen. Even their guild cards, if they had them, that is."
"Three graves. It means that everyone was killed..."
After the woman raised her head, the platinum-haired man spoke up, but she focused on something completely different.
"..."
At her words, the platinum-haired man furrowed his brows…
"...!"
…only to flinch and turn wide-eyed in realization.
"Wait, you're right…! Around these parts, slavery is outlawed but not uprooted! Based on the tracks, the bandits grossly outnumbered those three. There is no way that those travelers could put up such a fight that it would be required to kill everyone instead of capturing them to sell off later!"
"..."
He gasped in shock, making the green-haired woman face him in silence although it was impossible to tell what kind of look she had in her eyes covered by lush fringe.
"Is it safe to say that you have a tracking ability?"
She asked, once again steering the conversation in whatever direction she wanted.
"Not an ability. Skills. Footprint recognition and tracking, as well as tracking by scent. Although the latter one would require a strong, distinct smell to work properly."
The platinum-haired man answered casually as if he didn't take any pride in the feat of acquiring skills outside his inborn ability.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
Sound_Hammer
Sound_Hammer
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