"Hm?"
Vincent, who had control of the entire battlefield, had clearly noticed the strange crow that had suddenly burst onto the scene.
He immediately cast the True Knowledge Skill to investigate, but the information he received made him furrow his brow. He couldn’t find any useful information. The Magic Power feedback indicated that it really was just an ordinary crow, albeit a slightly smarter one.
His eyes narrowed. His gaze swept over Chen Yu, who was flying toward the crow, and then to the bulging leather pouch clutched in the crow’s talons.
A thought flashed through his mind, and he seemed to grasp Chen Yu’s intention.
Vincent abandoned his long-range Magic duel with Louisa and gently tapped the air in front of him with his Magic Staff.
Complex, silver Demon Patterns flowed and intertwined as if coming to life, quickly forming an Arcane Gate for short-range, precise teleportation.
Meanwhile, two or three kilometers away, another identical Arcane Gate materialized out of thin air directly in Count Brand’s flight path.
Vincent reached his left hand into the Arcane Gate before him, and that same arm miraculously emerged from the other gate two or three kilometers away, grabbing for the approaching Count Brand.
"CAW!" Count Brand was so startled by the suddenly appearing arm that its feathers stood on end. It quickly dropped the leather pouch from its talons and frantically raked at the arm with its sharp claws.
"You pathetic Assassin! This Count is not afraid of you!"
The sharp claws instantly left several stinging, bloody marks on Vincent’s arm. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Vincent lunged with his arm and finally caught Count Brand’s flailing talons.
"Little crow, I’m going to use you as a sacrificial ingredient," Vincent’s voice echoed through the Arcane Gate, laced with coldness.
Count Brand beat its wings desperately, but it could not escape Vincent’s grasp.
Just as Vincent was certain of his victory, with half his body already passing through the Arcane Gate, a cunning glint flashed in Count Brand’s small eyes.
It immediately stopped struggling. With a "POOF," its entire body exploded into countless black feathers, dissipating like smoke and breaking free from Vincent’s control.
Then, Count Brand materialized out of thin air within the smoky cloud of feathers and slashed its talons at Vincent’s face.
"ARGH—!!"
Several deep, bloody lines appeared as Vincent felt a sharp pain in his eyes. He hastily shut them, blood seeping from between his fingers as he clutched his face.
"Damn feathered beast!" he roared, his face contorted in a hideous expression. It was the first time he’d truly lost his composure, his voice twisted with fury.
But Count Brand had already swooped down, snatched the fallen leather pouch, and was speeding toward Chen Yu. It even let out a triumphant caw. "CAW HA HA! As expected of this Count! You want to catch me? Train for another hundred years!"
But before it could get completely clear of the Arcane Gate, Vincent opened his eyes again.
Compared to his previous azure eyes, his eyes were now blood-red, and his pupils resembled burning lava, flowing with a tangible, evil fire.
He had clearly cast some kind of Demon Magic originating from the abyss, sacrificing his sight temporarily in exchange for stronger Magic Power perception or other abilities.
His gaze instantly locked onto the fleeing Count Brand. Without hesitation, he raised his Magic Staff, and the Gemstone at its tip began to glow with an ominous, dark green light.
[Plague Swarm]
A vast swarm of locusts, reeking of plague and corruption, appeared out of thin air. Buzzing loudly, they converged into a dark, oppressive cloud and swept toward Count Brand.
Wherever they passed, even the air was polluted, turning black.
It would have been better not to look. Count Brand glanced back and was so terrified by the oppressive swarm of locusts that it began to caw frantically.
"Your Majesty! Help me! This Count is about to be eaten by bugs!!"
Chen Yu was flapping his Gel Wings with all his might, flying in its direction, but the flight speed of the Gel Wings was not fast at all.
Just as the plague-ridden swarm of locusts was about to engulf Count Brand, a woman’s teasing voice suddenly sounded out beside it.
"Well, well, if it isn’t our esteemed Count Crow. Looks like you need a little help."
The figure of a Giant Eagle—Celeste in her transformed state—instantly flickered in front of Count Brand. She beat her enormous, grey-green wings, stirring up a powerful hurricane that swept away a large number of the locusts, instantly tearing a huge hole in the oppressive black swarm.
However, Celeste knew how terrifying Vincent’s Magic was and did not dare to linger.
She quickly transformed back into the slender figure of a Half-Elf, grabbed the still-flapping Count Brand, and plummeted toward the ground, trying to evade the swarm’s continued pursuit.
"CAW!!" Count Brand shrieked. Amidst the feeling of weightlessness, it suddenly understood something.
"You wretched woman! Are you manipulating this Count’s destiny?!"
Celeste and the crow were both Believers of the Lady of Defiance, and she understood the nature of the power of "Defiance" far better.
For Believers of Defiance, it wasn’t difficult to influence, or even "arrange," the destiny of a fellow believer to a certain extent.
Her timely appearance was a clear sign that she had predicted it would run into misfortune, or rather, that destiny had guided her to intervene at this very moment.
’Caw! That wretched woman has definitely been scheming against me ever since we first met in Shield River City!’
Celeste waved the simple Magic Staff in her hand, a corner of her mouth lifting into a smirk. "Don’t put it so harshly, Count Crow. This is the Lady’s will."
As she fell, she spoke quickly, "The Lady of Defiance did indeed reveal that a ’Dark Noble’ would come to Shield River City... but I didn’t tell you the second half of the prophecy back then."
"She also revealed that your destiny would henceforth be closely tied to the Crown of Ignis."