Only God

Chaos erupted in the darkness; after days of peace and still within the boundaries of the Empire, no one would have expected an attack.

The convoy was massive and fully armed, so much that ordinary bandits and robbers wouldn't dare approach it. Eden was puzzled—just who had the audacity, the recklessness of a bear-hearted leopard, to attack this wedding procession?

In the dense curtain of night, the soldiers of the Royal Guard scrambled to pick up their weapons and don armor. Then, with several utterances of the Ancient Language, orbs of light sprang into existence, illuminating the entire campsite and the surrounding meadows.

These were spells relating to illumination, cast by the accompanying Priests.

Eden slowly drew his short sword, standing cautiously at the edge of the tent. For safety, it'd be best if the situation was handled by the Royal Guard and the Night Watchmen.

Under the tent's lamplight, two long shadows stretched across the ground.

"Don't you go out!"

Spotting Arsia's eagerness, Eden voiced a warning.

"Hey, it's just an attack, right? This is the perfect opportunity,"

Arsia said, clutching her crossbow.

The crossbow in the Princess's hands was a product of Dwarf Craftsmen, with intricate mechanics and seamless parts. It was smaller than an ordinary crossbow by half and could even be wielded with one hand if one was strong enough.

"What are you talking about? If something happens to you, everything would fall apart!"

Eden warned again.

"Good, let it fall apart. I never wanted to marry into Ausenco to begin with.

In my opinion, it'd be better to get slightly injured,—break an arm, a leg, or blind an eye. Then I could go back to Danschel."

Seeing Arsia's recklessness, Eden felt an extreme headache coming on.

"Move aside, let me go out."

Arsia lifted her crossbow.

"No way, keep still!"

Eden raised his voice.

While preventing Arsia, he listened intently to the noises outside.

There was commotion in the camp, but little sound of combat; it seemed the enemy was few in number, and this matter would be resolved quickly.

"Let's just get this over with."

Eden murmured.

At that moment, a seemingly ordinary breeze blew through the tents of various sizes in the camp, and the curtain behind Eden fluttered open on one side.

Arsia raised her crossbow.

Eden froze, instinctively thinking Arsia had gone mad and intended to shoot him.

Swoosh!

The sound of a crossbow bolt slicing through the air was immediate—a sharp silver streak passed by, grazing Eden's ear.

"Behind you!"

Arsia shouted.

Eden spun around to see a shadow silently closing in from behind, holding a purple-black dagger in its hand.

Arsia's crossbow bolt penetrated the shadow's left arm accurately, and deep purple blood flowed out.

Looking up, Eden noticed the assassin had dark purple skin and pointed ears, with agile movements and a nimble figure.

Zor Elves?!

A shock went through Eden's heart, and he quickly began to chant Ancient Language, entering Spiritual Cultivation State.

His soul momentarily left his body, and with soul sight, one wouldn't see their physical form but sense nearby souls instead.

In the briefest of moments, Eden perceived, not just one assassin, but two—with another swiftly approaching from not far away!

The Zor Elf also chanted rapidly, turning into a shadowy mist and darting towards Eden's body with immense speed.

"Mubaro sare."

The Ancient Language for "Possession."

In a moment of desperation, Eden extended his hands, his soul shining brightly like the song of the Holy Chorus.

As the luminescence from his soul touched the black mist, it visibly slowed and eventually came to a stop.

The Zor Elf's face was twisted in a fierce struggle as he fought Eden for control of the body.

Unfortunately for the Elf, whose chosen path of shadow assassination was greatly inferior to the Holy Chorus when it came to spiritual strength.

Eden raised his hand slightly, feeling a sharp pain in his left arm.

It worked!

In an instant, the spiritual resistance of the Zor Elf crumbled, and Eden took control over the body with the injured left arm.

Excitement surged within him as he successfully used this new ability for the first time.

But with one more assassin to deal with, it wasn't time for excitement. Eden regained his composure, maneuvered the body, and looked out of the tent.

Grasping the dagger, he recalled the Ancient Language associated with Shadow Assassins and tried to chant softly:

"Boso?"

"No, is it Sarasso? Also not..."

Eden recited several words in succession but got no response.

The possession by the Holy Chorus seemed overwhelmingly dominant and incredibly useful, but not only was there a time limit for a possession, when the object of the possession was a Miracle Worker, if one did not know the Ancient Language of their God-created Path, one couldn't use the corresponding abilities.

Gradually, he began to hear footsteps.

"Damn it... Right, it's Au..."

Before Eden could finish the recitation,

a crossbow bolt shot out, and with the sound of tearing through the air, Eden suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Eden turned his head abruptly, looking at Arsia in disbelief.

Arsia was yelling in another direction, anxiously calling out:

"Eden! Why aren't you moving?"

As her voice fell, Eden immediately understood and couldn't help but laugh and cry.

She didn't know that he had successfully possessed someone!

An arrow piercing the heart was a fatal wound even for Elves, feeling his body growing weaker, Eden immediately ended the possession, and then, the Zor Elf's body fell to the side.

Arsia didn't realize that she had caused a friendly-fire incident, she kicked the Zor Elf's body aside and ran towards Eden's flesh.

Eden didn't rush back to his body; in his soul state, he stepped out of the tent and saw another assassin, a human.

The assassin seemed to sense something, immediately pressing the brow, a wave of soul energy rippled out from within.

In his soul state, Eden clearly saw invisible ripples spreading out in circles, surging towards him.

Under the night sky, the chilling wind that could freeze people to their bones picked up, and the assassin recited an Ancient Language:

"Rosa Malu."

Eden suddenly felt an indescribable force acting on both his soul and body, he opened his mouth, wanting to recite the Ancient Language, but couldn't utter a single word.

The Ancient Language "Silence."

Realizing this, Eden hurriedly turned around, rushing back to his body.

Back in his body, the Priest brushed off the anxious Arsia, took hold of the Short Sword, and without a word, charged outside.

In the dim light, Eden and the assassin collided head-on, the Priest gritted his teeth and thrust the sword at the assassin in the darkness.

The assassin twisted away just in time, narrowly missing the thrust, and was about to counterattack when another whooshing sound filled the air.

The crossbow glittered with a cold light under the moon, Arsia had rushed out of the tent at some point, and her arrow struck the assassin's thigh, eliciting a wretched scream from the latter.

This assassin was not a Zor Elf but a human, and after being struck by a crossbow bolt, fell to the ground on his knees.

Arsia's arrow not only gave Eden a hand, but also severely wounded the assassin.

"Spare me! Please spare me!"

The assassin cried out desperately.

After hearing this, Eden hesitated for a moment, subconsciously wanting to put the Short Sword back into its sheath.

He wasn't some battle-hardened soldier or a ranger roaming the lands; he was just a Priest, and upon hearing someone beg for mercy, he couldn't help but lower his Sword.

Just as Eden was sheathing the Short Sword, another crossbow bolt tore through the air.

Swoosh!

The sounds of blood spurting and bones breaking occurred nearly simultaneously.

A crossbow bolt went straight through the assassin's head, creating a gruesome hole, with blood splattering onto Eden's cheek.

Eden stood there, stunned.

Then, Arsia's voice rang in his ear,

"I've killed someone, I've really killed someone! And it's two!"

Arsia, holding the crossbow, cried out joyously, she ran over, looking over the body as if admiring her workmanship.

"Dead on target, my practice with the crossbow has finally paid off today."

Arsia said as if cheering.

"You... what have you done..."

Eden's voice trembled slightly.

Arsia looked up, puzzled:

"Killed someone, what about it?"

Eden didn't know what to say for a moment, and after a while, he said:

"Did you... hear him begging for mercy?"

"I heard it, so what?"

Arsia kicked the corpse at her feet,

"They were assassins, I was defending myself!"

Eden was left speechless, Arsia was right; he had no grounds to scold her.

After a while, as the camp gradually calmed down, Eden heard the soldiers approaching and finally sheathed his Short Sword completely.