Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 873 - 873 Wrath's Punishment

Although it appeared that Sylvia was "flying" Shard to the rooftop, in reality, Miss Sylvia held Shard's hand and jumped right out of the window. As soon as gravity pulled Shard downward, he felt as though someone yanked him by the hair, pulling him back up.

The momentary feeling of weightlessness and the confusion of not knowing the direction of gravity nearly made Shard stumble when he landed the next second. Fortunately, the Grand Witch beside him supported him just in time.

Due to the functional needs that sometimes arise, the rooftop of the noble estate's mansion could even serve as an open-air terrace.

At this moment, the March sky hung high above, with clouds drifting in from an unknown direction, covering most of the stars. The slightly cold wind of early winter brushed against bodies, causing involuntary shivers.

There were no gas lights on the mansion's rooftop, and under the glow of March, the battle here had already begun.

As expected, Princess Margaret was there. However, her face was ashen, and she stood there grabbing her skirt, not knowing what to do.

In reality, the battle was between six people. On one side were Mr. Benhart and the exceedingly robust Viscount Lamadi. The two vampire nobles had transformed into large clusters of blood-red bats under the moonlight. Their companion, surprisingly, was the middle-aged priest from the Peace Church who had warmly shaken hands with Mr. Benhart at the banquet.

He stood solemnly guarding Princess Margaret, with the core spirit rune "White Dove" on his eight rings sorcerer's Ring of Fate glowing brightly behind him. Countless white doves continuously flew out from the rotating ring's center, exploding silently in mid-air, each explosion no less powerful than a full-powered steam cannon.

"A Peace Church priest, summoning doves of peace to use as bombs..."

Shard found the scene rather absurd.

Of the opponents they were fighting against, Shard had actually seen two of them before; they were the same people chatting by the banquet hall window.

The lady in a black-and-red dress had won two special Roder Cards in the card game. She was holding a large silver book with a hard cover, and the six rings sorcerer's Ring of Fate behind her was fully engaged in combat against Mr. Benhart's blood bats.

The gentleman chatting with her by the window, dressed in scholarly attire with gold-rimmed glasses, had a nine rings sorcerer's Ring of Fate behind him indicating his identity.

The last person, a slim man with no eyebrows, stood behind his companions holding a brass box covered in water plants. Neither was his Ring of Fate visible, nor had he joined the battle. Shard glanced at him and knew he was merely a low rings sorcerer.

"Stop!"

Seeing Shard and Miss Sylvia suddenly appear, the lady with the silver book's face changed, and she abruptly retreated. The middle-aged gentleman with nine rings followed her back, despite him being high ranked, as if obeying her commands.

Mr. Benhart and Viscount Lamadi reverted from bats to human form and approached the Peace Church's eight rings sorcerer, the vampires and the priest standing together, defending the princess.

"Since when did the Church's priests become friends with vampires?"

The woman holding the silver book asked. She too was lightly made up for the banquet, appearing around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with sharp, distinguished features and a crisp Carsonrick accent, making one think she should be a public speaker instead.

"They are my friends."

The priest, with a white dove on his shoulder, replied, his gaze sweeping over the three opponents:

"A Truth Society professor of nine rings, surprisingly taking orders from you, ma'am. Which member of the Truth Society are you?"

The articulate woman merely smiled and didn't answer, instead turning her gaze towards Shard and Miss Sylvia standing aside. Of course, due to their current disguise, no one recognized them either:

"Firstly, we have no hostility towards Princess Margaret Anjou or the Anjou Royal Family. The Truth Society does not."

She said seriously, squinting slightly, her eyes sharp:

"Secondly, the individuals causing trouble in the banquet hall were from the Pantanal Voodoo Society, and they should be held accountable for this mess."

She looked down at the large book in her hands:

"Thirdly, our aim is to obtain something from Princess Margaret Anjou, but we do not even know what it is. We had planned to ask her, but you arrived too swiftly."

Upon hearing this, Shard looked at Princess Margaret, who seemed utterly bewildered.

"Miss Pawo, are we not going to fight?"

The professor of nine rings from the Truth Society asked, somewhat puzzled, as the lady called Miss Pawo gently shook her head:

"My book just showed that our winning chance was sixty-three percent. But now, with these two appearing, our chances have plummeted to below ten percent."

The vampires and the Peace Church priest guarded Princess Margaret tightly, while the Truth Society's lady looked at Shard and Miss Sylvia:

"This tall lady, according to my book, is at least a twelve rings magician. None of us would win in a one-on-one combat."

Miss Sylvia's eyebrows rose in surprise at how the opponent could discern the power of a witch beyond a warlock's rings.

"As for this gentleman, he is even stranger. My book cannot even analyze our chances against him, as if his power oscillates between mortal and deity levels. Maybe we could easily defeat him, or perhaps he could destroy us so completely that even our souls wouldn't remain. I have never encountered such a situation."

She looked at the priest of the Peace Church, the only "official" personnel here:

"Numbers don't lie, so this time our mission failed, but we will always find another chance to talk to Princess Margaret alone. By the way..."

She deliberately paused to make sure everyone could hear her clearly:

"Our goal was just to talk to the princess, but we found the princess because the Blood Spirit School used 'The Puppeteer's Notes' to divine that she had something important on her. Weeper Helmons was severely injured in the Darkness Descends event in Tobesk, and he still holds a grudge against the Church."

"Do you want us to go after the Pantanal Voodoo Society and the Blood Spirit School?"

The priest asked loudly. Miss Pawo smiled:

"I have told you the truth, what you do should be your own decision. But numbers don't lie, I can guess your decision."

"Do you think you can leave smoothly?"

Miss Sylvia, who had not spoken all this while, said. Miss Pawo shook her head slightly and said softly:

"The Truth Society spent so much money hiring a priest of the Old God Fury Storm, holding their holy relic, the angel-level relic Wrath of Divine Punishment, to help us just so we could escape in the worst case scenario. I always anticipate the worst outcome."

"Lady, is it really good for you to expose my situation like this?"

The man who hadn't participated in the battle, holding a box covered with waterweeds and without any eyebrows, asked in a muffled voice. He spoke in Delarion language, with an accent that seemed to be from the Coldwater Port region on the West Coast.

"The cooperation agreement didn't say I couldn't reveal it."

Miss Pawo, holding the book, smiled and then gestured to the cultist:

"Use the relic quickly, otherwise none of us will escape."

The drifting clouds completely covered the three moons at this moment. Darkness briefly enveloped the earth, and in this darkness, the Circle Sorcerers struck almost simultaneously.

The white dove on the priest of the Peace Church's shoulder charged towards the three people opposite at a speed even Shard's eyes couldn't discern. Mr. Benhart and Viscount Lamadi simultaneously drew blood-red arcs towards the enemies. And the Grand Witch beside Shard stretched out her finger and gently slashed; amidst the sound of shattering glass, the space on the mansion roof appeared to completely break, showing that the Grand Witch was making a desperate attack.

But none of these attacks worked.

Squeak~

A soul-shaking power manifested in this not-so-large space. Everyone's movements froze, the flying dove and blood arcs naturally dissipated, and the shattered space seemed to rewind to its original state.

Shard felt his breath halt because of the oppressive force as if from the sky. In the silence, he could only feel the clouds drift past the moon, and then the moonlight shone again, illuminating the box held by the cultist of the evil god Fury Storm.

The man without eyebrows held the brass box covered in waterweeds, slowly opening it, the golden light emitted even causing the two from the Truth Society to freeze momentarily.

The grand power flashed by, but at this moment, centered on the Rothschild Estate, everyone could see the pitch-black clouds quickly covering the entire night sky, blocking out the stars and the three bright moons.

The extremely strong spiritual oppression swept across the roof, forcing everyone, including Miss Sylvia, to take a step back.

A storm appeared out of nowhere. In the depths of the long night, a huge shadow loomed faintly on the horizon. They all heard the sound of the ocean waves, the roar and wrath of nature.

In just an instant, the lid of the brass box fully opened, and the Vampire Kind, the priest, Shard, Miss Sylvia, and Princess Margaret all felt something in the cloud-covered night sky lock onto them.

"Hurry up and leave!"

The Nine Rings "Professor" of the Truth Society pulled his two companions, jumping off the roof in a bid for escape.

"Be careful!"

The witch instinctively shouted, soaring into the air to block the impending thunder, but was shocked to find her movements slowed. As the angel-level relic opened, not only did it summon thunder, but a higher-dimensional force froze space and time. The six remaining on the roof watched helplessly as lightning gathered in the clouds directly above them.

The Wrath of Divine Punishment approached; even the Grand Witch dared not face its power.

The light of divine arts formed a pure gold barrier above their heads, followed by a blood-red glow.

Emma Sylvia widened her eyes at the lightning in the clouds, knowing these defenses were futile. She was about to use the power of space to forcibly divert the attack that was sparing Princess Margaret when she suddenly felt her hand painfully squeezed by another warm hand.

She turned to Shard, finding the handsome young gentleman looking up with ecstasy at the thunderous sky:

"Could it be..."