203: Chapter 203 A Crimson Rose Blooming in Desperate Circumstances! Cangyuan City Falls!

Cangyuan Castle, Council Hall.

Karen watched the lifelike Battle Aspect of the Blood Rose, a flicker of undisguised admiration flashing in his eyes.

"Blood Rose Knight, you truly are a rare genius in the North in recent years."

"At such an age, you have already reached the final step of a High-Order Grand Knight, only one step away from condensing the Earth Knight domain."

He paused, the corners of his mouth curling slightly into a meaningful smile: "If you were given more time, you would surely become an Earth Knight. It is a pity—"

Before he could finish his sentence, his aura suddenly exploded outward!

The lights in the Council Hall flickered violently at that instant, almost extinguishing!

On the ground, with Karen as the center, a visible grey ring of light spread outwards.

That was the power of an Earth Knight's domain!

Within the range covered by the domain, the air seemed to become viscous, and every breath required more effort than usual!

He hadn't even finished speaking when his body moved.

It was unbelievably fast, completely inconsistent with his ordinary, plain face.

In the blink of an eye, he had already appeared in front of Garuvi, throwing a punch without any fancy tricks!

Garuvi's pupils contracted, but she did not retreat!

She gripped her sword with both hands, and the light of the Blood Rose Battle Aspect surged instantly. Countless rose petals condensed from Battle Qi shot out like flying blades, meeting Karen's seemingly plain punch!

Boom!!!

The two forces of Battle Qi collided violently, emitting a deafening roar!

Several oil paintings hanging on the walls of the Council Hall were shaken off by the shockwave, and glass shards scattered everywhere.

On the stone floor, with the two of them as the center, fine cracks extended in all directions.

Garuvi's body slid backward several steps.

Her hands gripping the sword trembled slightly, the web of her thumbs had split open, and blood dripped slowly down the hilt.

As for Karen, his posture was relaxed, and his breathing hadn't even been disrupted in the slightest.

Just one move!

Garuvi had fallen into a position of absolute disadvantage!

The difference of one realm was like the difference between heaven and earth!

But Garuvi gritted her teeth, raised her hand to wipe away the blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, and flames of defiance burned in her crimson eyes.

She knew very well that when facing an Earth Knight, running away would only accelerate her defeat.

The only chance of survival was to tear open a bloody path head-on!

So—she did not hesitate and launched another attack!

The sword's edge dragged out a bright red arc.

The air was filled with the final fragrance and killing intent of the rose petals before they withered.

Her sword light crisscrossed like a streak of silk.

The petals of the Blood Rose danced and spun in the air, setting her off like a war god born from blood and fire!

Her swordsmanship was bold and unconstrained, carrying the sharpness and decisiveness honed on the battlefield. Every sword strike went straight for the vital points, without the slightest hesitation.

However, the gap in realms could not be completely bridged by will and talent alone.

As a veteran Earth Knight, Karen's use of the domain had reached a level of perfect control.

Each of his moves perfectly sealed off Garuvi's attack routes, like a giant net slowly tightening. Without haste, he compressed her activity space step by step, consuming her stamina and Battle Qi.

At the same time, he still had the leisure to chuckle: "The path of blood and fire... is indeed an extremely powerful path..."

"Unfortunately, you met me..."

After several more rounds, Garuvi already had several more wounds on her body.

Her armor was torn, her flesh was mangled, and blood soaked through her inner garments.

After being sent flying by Karen's punch once again, her body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a stone pillar in the Council Hall.

The dull thud of her back armor hitting the stone surface echoed through the empty hall.

Stone dust fell rustlingly. She slid to the ground, propping herself up with her sword, kneeling halfway to support her swaying body.

Sweat and blood mixed together, dripping down her chin.

Her vision began to blur, her ears were filled with buzzing, and the Battle Qi in her body was nearing exhaustion.

Just within this blur and buzzing, just at the moment before her consciousness was about to be swallowed by darkness—she suddenly felt something.

An indescribable epiphany, like cold spring water poured over her head, made her whole body tremble.

The bottleneck that had troubled her for months became clearer than ever at this moment.

It was like a lamp suddenly lit in the darkness, illuminating corners she had never noticed before.

So that was it...

She closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. A burning pain came from her chest.

But she ignored all of this, sinking all her attention into the deepest part of her body, gathering the remaining Battle Qi scattered throughout her limbs and bones, one wisp at a time.

Then, she ignited them all!

In a manner bordering on self-destruction, she detonated all the remaining Battle Qi in an instant!

Her body spasmed uncontrollably.

A mouthful of blood surged from deep in her throat, spilling out along the corner of her mouth.

But she gritted her teeth tightly, letting that violent force rampage inside her body, rushing toward that incredibly clear threshold—

She poured her entire will, soul, flesh, and everything she had left into it!

Impact!

Boom!!!

A dull, massive sound exploded inside her body!

A faint layer of crimson light began to rise on the surface of her body.

And at the same time—with her as the center, a crimson ring of light slowly spread outwards.

Wherever the ring of light passed, dust in the air paused in mid-air, and the fractured stone slabs on the ground trembled slightly.

That was—the domain of an Earth Knight!

Garuvi slowly opened her eyes. In those crimson eyes, a more Blazing flame was burning at this moment.

However, at the very moment she broke through—that incomparably overbearing fist arrived as well.

Karen clearly did not intend to give Garuvi any chance to catch her breath or consolidate her realm.

Taking advantage of the moment her domain was newly formed and her internal Battle Qi was in chaos, he struck brazenly!

This punch concentrated ten percent of his power!

Grey Battle Qi wrapped around his fist, carrying an aura that crushed everything, aiming straight for Garuvi's chest!

Wherever the wind of the fist passed, gravel on the ground was swept up by the shockwave, turning into powder in mid-air!

Garuvi had just broken through, and her internal Battle Qi was in a state of chaos; she simply could not make an effective defense.

She watched that fist getting closer and closer, the wind of the fist had already messed up her hair and stung her skin—a strong sense of unwillingness surged in her heart!

Having just touched that realm, having just seen a glimmer of hope, was she to end here...

Just at this moment—a figure appeared in front of her like a ghost, forcefully blocking that fatal punch!

Bang!!! A dull impact sounded, and the figure staggered back a few steps, crashing heavily into Garuvi, and both of them fell to the ground together.

Gravel pressed against her back. But she couldn't care about the pain, she suddenly raised her head and saw clearly the person who had blocked in front of her.

It was a tall, middle-aged man with greying temples and a resolute face.

He was wearing armor stained with blood and dust, and there was a wound on his chest that was still bleeding, clearly having just gone through a fierce battle.

His breathing was rapid, the veins on his forehead were bulging, but his back was still held straight.

"Father?!" Garuvi and Richter exclaimed almost at the same time.

Marquis Lance did not look at his son. He stood up, standing in front of Garuvi, his body like a mountain, firmly blocking Karen's line of sight.

His face was somewhat pale, the wound on his chest was still bleeding, but his gaze was still sharp. He was like a grey wolf that would not tolerate provocation even when severely wounded.

He swept an expressionless glance at Richter standing opposite. Under his father's gaze, Richter involuntarily lowered his head, not daring to meet his eyes.

Just then, a grey light flew in from outside the castle and landed in the Council Hall. The light dispersed, revealing a burly man with a bald head tattooed with a crimson crack pattern.

Seeing this, Karen frowned and looked at the burly man, his tone carrying a trace of dissatisfaction: "Lieying, what are you doing? How did you let the Marquis run over here?"

Knight Lieying touched his shiny bald head and grinned innocently: "This old guy risked his life, what could I do? He burned his source Battle Qi, and the combat power he erupted in a short time was almost close to the peak of an Earth Knight."

"I can't really perish together with him, so I could only let him come over."

Karen snorted coldly and didn't say anything more. The two Earth Knights stood side by side, their gazes locked on Marquis Lance and Garuvi.

Marquis Lance was silent for a moment. Then, he spoke. He did not turn back, just said one sentence to Garuvi behind him in a low and calm voice: "Garuvi, go!"

Hearing this, Garuvi's body shook violently. She looked at her father's slightly trembling shoulders. She knew that was not fear, but the backlash from burning his source Battle Qi.

She bit her lip, her eyes heating up, but she didn't say a word. She knew this was not the time to be willful.

In her current state, staying behind would only become a burden to her father, preventing him from fighting with all his might.

She didn't say a word, scrambled to her feet, gripped the sword in her hand, turned around, and rushed toward the direction outside the castle!

"Stop her!" Karen shouted in a low voice, his figure moved, and he was about to chase after her.

But Marquis Lance was faster than him! He took a sudden step forward, and the Battle Qi in his body surged wildly like a burning fire!

His eyes turned crimson in that instant, and fine cracks like spiderwebs appeared on the surface of his skin, with Blazing light shining from the fissures.

In a manner bordering on self-destruction, he pushed his own combat power to a terrifying level in a short time, forcefully holding back the two Earth Knights!

"You old thing, are you crazy?!" Karen's face changed, and he had to withdraw his pursuit, dealing with Marquis Lance's storm-like offensive with all his might.

As fists and feet collided, shockwaves rolled, gravel splashed, and the entire Council Hall was trembling!

Garuvi rushed out of Cangyuan Castle, passed through the burning streets, and passed through the crowds that were fighting.

The Blood Rose danced in the night, cutting open all obstacles in her path. Whether it was the warriors of the Blood Barbarian Tribe or those rebels who had betrayed the family.

Blood stained her light armor. She added several new wounds to her body. She seemed not to feel any pain, just mechanically swinging her sword, running, swinging her sword, and running.

Her whole body burned with pain like fire. But she didn't dare to stop. And she couldn't stop.

When she finally rushed out of the gate of Cangyuan City, a deafening roar came from behind. Boom!!!

The sound was so loud that even the ground beneath her feet was shaking violently, and some bricks and stones on the city wall were shaken off, hitting the ground with a dull sound.

She turned her head abruptly, looking toward the direction of Cangyuan Castle. The castle where she had grown up since she was a child collapsed in the fire, kicking up dust and sparks that filled the sky.

Rubble fell like rain, hitting the ground with a dull roar, one time, and another time...

She knew. Her father was dead. Her lips trembled a few times, but she could not make a sound. Blood tears slid silently down her cheeks.

But she did not stop. She could not stop.

She identified the direction. To the north was the occupied area of the Blood Barbarian Tribe. To the west was the sphere of influence of Duke Witton. To the east, the Mess Mountains stood as a barrier. Only the south. Only the south had a glimmer of hope.

She remembered her friend Princess Alice, who had once sent her a handwritten letter and a token. She didn't have time to think carefully, looked at the pursuers getting closer and closer behind her, and then, dragging her heavily wounded body, ran wildly toward the direction of Gino County in the south.

The night wind howled. Behind her, the firelight of Cangyuan City reddened half the sky, as if the entire city was seeing her off...