Chapter 1065: Woodwose's Fate
"Phew... That was a tough fight. I'm exhausted—I'm going to rest now!"
Miss Okita wiped her forehead, brushing away sweat that wasn't actually there.
Then, with a sunny smile, she returned to the clock tower.
"What was that about Miss Okita...?"
Mash didn't know how to react, her face full of confusion.
"Ahaha..."
"Hehehe..."
Gudako and Artoria both forced dry laughs.
They had actually already noticed.
But this matter... wasn't something easily spoken aloud.
"What's happening outside?"
Thinking of this, the group hurried toward the city outskirts.
Arriving at the city gates, the girls saw large numbers of Fang Clan soldiers surrendering, each with a shattered expression.
Woodwose had fled right before their eyes.
The clan leader they had always regarded as the strongest of the Fang had actually been defeated?
The collapse of their faith led nearly thirty percent of the Fang soldiers to surrender.
"What about Woodwose?"
"He escaped too suddenly—we didn't have time to stop him."
Grimm came before the three.
"However, Percival, Tristan, and Muramasa have all gone after him. Given Woodwose's heavily injured state, dealing with him shouldn't be difficult."
"..."
Habetrot remained silent.
She lowered her head dejectedly, her hat-like ears drooping along with it.
Though her relationship with Rainerc wasn't good, he had secretly supported Tonelico's actions multiple times in the past. Emotionally, he was undoubtedly a comrade.
Having to eliminate a former companion before her eyes left her with complicated feelings.
"We've defeated the strongest Fang Clan! Our reputation is sure to skyrocket now!"
Oberon approached the group with a beaming smile.
"Where were you earlier?"
"I was cheering you on the whole time—didn't you hear me?"
Facing Artoria's chilly gaze, Oberon smiled indifferently.
"Back to the main point—the Fang Clan is undoubtedly Queen Morgan's strongest card. By defeating them, we'll make many fairies see us in a new light. The labels of 'weak' and 'unpromising' will soon disappear. Those dissatisfied with the Queen will likely flock to us from all directions. You should prepare to become famous!"
Over the past two thousand years, the Fang Clan had always been the sharpest sword in the Queen's hand.
Even the Mors King from the Great Calamity a thousand years ago was defeated by Woodwose.
Though in recent years, the emergence of the Fairy Knights had slightly diminished the Fang Clan's prestige, their strength hadn't weakened in the slightest.
The Round Table Army was about to become incredibly famous!
"Oberon, I'm sorry to interrupt your victory speech, but I have some very bad news!"
At that moment, Da Vinci-chan arrived before them with a grim expression.
"Fairy Knight Gawain is leading troops toward the Autumn Forest of Wales... which is your territory!"
...
"Guh!"
Woodwose clutched his chest, struggling to climb out of the river.
All the strength in his body seemed to have drained away. After crawling onto the bank, he collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
"I survived... I survived..."
He muttered incessantly.
Just minutes ago, after escaping Londinium, he was caught up by the three members of Percival's group.
Without even a chance to speak, he was met with a fierce assault.
The power of the Grand Duke of Heat Dissipation had already been greatly depleted, and after his defeat at the hands of Okita Souji, his physical strength and magical energy were nearly exhausted. He was like a lamp running out of oil, completely outmatched by the three.
His mind went blank for a moment, and he fell into the river. Only after swallowing several mouthfuls of water did he barely regain his senses.
Perhaps because of this, the three assumed he was dead, allowing him to narrowly escape.
"Those two aside, Percival, how dare even you raise a hand against me!"
Woodwose's eyes burned with intense fury.
Losing to Okita Souji could be chalked up to a lack of skill.
Being bullied by the once-despised Muramasa and Tristan was merely a matter of changing times and fate.
But he never expected that even that brat Percival would so resolutely thrust his spear at him!
"Ugh! No, I must find a place to treat my wounds...!"
Anger tugged at the wound on his chest, causing him to groan softly.
Woodwose had no choice but to force himself to calm down.
"Reinforcements... the Queen sent reinforcements... As humiliating as it is, I have no choice but to rely on the Queen's reinforcements now."
Earlier, he had felt that the Queen sending reinforcements was an insult to his dignity.
Yet now, he found himself depending on those very reinforcements.
This made Woodwose deeply uncomfortable!
However.
The resentment in his heart remained unresolved.
He had to confront the Queen and demand an explanation!
Why didn't she trust him?
Why didn't she trust him, her most loyal servant?
How could she hand over command of the entire Queen's army, including the Fang Clan soldiers, to the leader of the reinforcements?
What a joke!
Was his two thousand years of loyalty worth so little?
This was absolutely unforgivable!
"Oh my, what an expectedly pathetic sight, Lord Woodwose?"
Woodwose suddenly froze.
He slowly turned his head toward the source of the voice.
"The legendary chieftain of the Fang Clan isn't all that impressive, is he, Mr. Red Beryl?"
"Not at all, Miss Green Spinel. Objectively speaking, Lord Woodwose is plenty strong—it's just that the opposition was stronger."
Beryl stepped forward with a leisurely pace, stopping in front of Woodwose.
He looked down at him with a smirk.
"But you see, in war, failure means nothing! Lord Woodwose's defeat only proves that you're still a useless waste! Ah, don't misunderstand—I respect you, of course. But this is the truth, isn't it? I doubt the Queen will rely on a failure anymore, right?"
Sarcastic and manipulative.
His words were incredibly provocative, acting like a spark that instantly ignited Woodwose's explosive temper.
"Beryl, you spineless bastard!"
Woodwose's eyes turned bloodshot. Without a second thought, he lunged upward, completely ignoring the wound on his chest, and swiped his claw at Beryl's head.
With his strength, a single strike would have reduced Beryl's head to a bloody mist, like a shattered watermelon.
"How weak."
But something imperceptible blocked his path.
It was a web of white threads.
Fairy Tristan's fingers extended fine strings, binding him like a puppet.
Woodwose was immobilized.
The meager strength he had just recovered was far from enough to break free from his restraints!
"Sorry about this, Lord Woodwose? See how much I respect you—I'm still addressing a worthless piece of trash like you as 'Lord'!"
Beryl reached out a hand before him.
With a gleeful smile, she tore open the wound on his chest and thrust her hand into his thoracic cavity.
His grinning expression suddenly twisted into a vicious snarl.
"No balls, no balls—let's see you keep saying 'no balls'!"
Family elders are heading to the temple again. I have to see them off tomorrow morning, so just two chapters today. An eighty-year-old person, falling ill but refusing to go to the hospital, only knowing to visit the temple—obsessed with studying Buddhism, praying for blessings, and repenting, spending five or six hours chanting scriptures every day. I really don't know what to do about it, sigh.