Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 87 - Seventy-Eight: Fight to the Death (Part One)

Chapter 87: Chapter Seventy-Eight: Fight to the Death (Part One)

"Chaos!" the Elf shouted loudly, though his aim with the spear was anything but steady.

There was no need for him to remind everyone; all present had seen the black-armored Chaos, driving the different kind before them.

Malin frowned—if Spirits represented local trouble, and the different kind were nuisances from other planes, then Chaos could be considered residents of those other planes.

However, unlike those planar travelers, most planar travelers could speak human language, especially like Malin’s father, who was said to be a Planar Traveler. He had united with Malin’s mother to give birth to Malin’s... original form.

Of course, Malin didn’t know what happened afterwards.

For Malin, trouble was merely trouble, because whether it was Spirits or the different kind, they were all lower life forms that relied on instinct to fight.

But Chaos was different—they were born assassins, living yet akin to death, serving as the minions of Evil Gods from other planes, like these tall humanoid figures clad in armor. They entrusted their lives to the Evil God, and death was no longer an end for them—as upon dying, they would be reborn in Subspace, which made them very dangerous foes.

And now, there were ten of such opponents.

"I need volunteers!" the Paladin shouted loudly, "Make the children leave faster!"

"Kid, if I were you, I’d be hightailing it out of here with my friends right about now," the Dwarf said, gripping his axe tightly; he pulled a large square shield from his back, "Go on, kid, the sky won’t fall as long as us adults are here to hold it up."

"Old Cold Iron, you’re not wrong," the leader of the mercenaries moved to the front row. He glanced at Malin, took off the ring on his left hand, and tossed it toward Malin, "Sir, please take my ring to Mimiru at 214 Karl Street in the Southern District. Tell her that I did my duty, just like my father, and then... if you can, please take care of my daughter. I thank you, Sir."

Malin turned around and threw the ring to Maya. The little Cat Girl caught the ring and looked somewhat puzzled at her brother.

"Maya, remember what this gentleman said, and then hurry up and follow your sister Faye and everyone else," Malin said with a smile.

"I don’t want to!" Maya pouted, visibly unhappy.

"You can’t help out here, so don’t cause trouble. I don’t want to worry about keeping you safe while fighting Chaos," Malin glared at the little leopard, "Otherwise, I won’t like you anymore."

Maya pursed her lips, and finally, with her head hung low, she moved to Faye’s side and clutched the hem of Faye’s garment without lifting her head.

"Don’t worry, we’ll retreat and cover Malin from behind," Faye said—although she also knew that sticking around was tantamount to seeking death.

She really wanted to stay, but... with their ranks split, adding just one more person would only result in one more soul cut down by Chaos.

Faye knew that Malin was definitely going to stay; she wanted to stay, too, but... damn it!

"I’m staying!" Malin heard Jason, the half-grown boy, shout.

"You must be crazy!" Selena screamed.

"Run faster, my dear," Jason didn’t look back; Malin saw the whole expression—It was a smile tinged with both fear and fearlessness.

"You bastard! I’ll wait for you to come back!" Having said that, Selena hurried to catch up with the retreating group.

"Let me make this clear—if you all die, I’m just going to run for it," the Half-human said as he joined the group that was staying.

"You coward, I agree to that," the Healer Miss smiled as she came to stand beside the leader of the mercenaries, "Thinking about it, this one thousand gold Mowish sure is hard to earn. If we make it out alive, would you marry me?"

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Wow.

Malin took a glance at the Healer and the mercenary squad captain, these two young people, neither handsome nor beautiful, nor particularly pleasing to the eye, at best, could only be considered average... but their affection was genuinely sweet.

Such a conversation reminded Malin of Sara and Bubka.

If possible... he must do everything in his power to preserve this couple... seemingly made for each other.

"They’re speeding up! The different kind is flanking!" the Elf looked at the Paladin. "Sir from the Church of Justice, can you hold off those different kind?"

"Yes, no problem, but if I do that, I can only help you guys for three minutes."

"Three minutes is enough, the children can escape a great distance, and perhaps the people that mage brought over can stop these damned mixtures," the Dwarf spoke loudly. "Right, lad from the Oakleaf family!"

"What is it?" the Elf turned to look at the Dwarf.

"...I forgive you! Know that! You’re willing to live and die with us Short-lived Species! What reason do I have to remember those trivial matters!" While speaking, the Dwarf pulled out a potion. "Stone Skin Potion! Honestly, I’ve never drunk such a high-level potion."

"If we survive this battle, I will provide you with one every month," said the Elf, finishing with a chuckle and shaking his head, then turning to Malin. "Kid, why do you want to stay behind?"

"I like Faye, and I want to protect my little leopard sister. Also, there are three girls here today because of me, I must see that they can live to fight another day." Malin, while speaking, switched his spear back to a hammer, "I don’t know if I can survive, maybe this moment is my end, but I always remember these words, ’Fate does not spare you because you’re a child.’ If I run today, and if a girl dies here because of it, I would be haunted by nightmares for the rest of my life, and I would never forgive myself."

At this point, Malin looked at the Chaos, they had already drawn their longswords, and the different kind began to speed up their encirclement.

In that moment, Malin noticed the Paladin who was smiling at him: "Mr. Malin."

"Yes, your Excellency, what is it?"

"You are a child with an excellent Spell Talent for Blessing Spells, therefore I have an impolite request. After I set up the defense line, I have three minutes. Once the time is up, I will no longer be myself. So... before the time runs out, please Purify me, will you?"

"Is there no other way?" Malin frowned— he was beginning to grasp what this meant.

"In the battle against Chaos, there’s always death. My predecessors died, my successors too, even my mentor perished in the fight against Chaos, now it’s my turn." The Paladin said with a smile, planting his longsword into the ground, then kneeling on one knee in front of it.

Behind him, a wall of Spiritual Energy rose up, and the different kind rushing to flank on both sides collided with this thin wall as if it were made of metal, disintegrating instantly.

Meanwhile, in Malin’s eyes, the Paladin who knelt before the Longsword stood up—in the form of his soul.

His physical form, along with the Longsword, began to disintegrate, and his soul let out a piercing scream at the advancing Chaos, while in the hands of the departed, a Spectral Power Longsword was taking shape.

’Remember... our... agreement...’

It looked ahead, while the mental conversation echoed in Malin’s mind.

’I will remember, forever and always.’

Malin nodded, then gripped the handle of his warhammer tightly, beginning to charge it with Spiritual Energy, the engravings on the handle starting to glow.

Malin, Apprentice of the Goddess of Harvest Church, in the year since his rebirth, had never felt such a pressing desire to become stronger as he did now.

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