"Solmen!" Duke Attawa trembled, turning to look at the figure in the dust, calling out the man's name in surprise and anger.
"Duke, you know I'm only loyal to His Majesty the King. So you shouldn't have killed His Majesty!" Viscount Solmen, in his human-beast form, slowly emerged from the dust, his eyes cold as he stared at Duke Attawa, his voice filled with regret and hatred.
"You two go first; he's stalling for time. No more talking!" Cross clapped the stunned Countess Shanna on the back, then flashed to block their path, his expression calm.
Cross had anticipated Viscount Solmen catching up. After all, the man was a heavy unit; his sheer size meant the force generated by his running alone wasn't something simple enlivened creatures could block. Siren, being a speed unit, would be more troublesome as she wouldn't be able to ignore the enlivened creatures' encirclement.
"It was Siren who did it! If you want to avenge the King, you should go after Siren!" Duke Attawa replied to Viscount Solmen in a panicked tone, scrambling onto the silver eagle's back.
"That neither-man-nor-woman is merely a tool. Even without them, there would have been others. But ultimately, you were the one who hired the assassin and gave the order to assassinate His Majesty Doma VII!" Viscount Solmen shook his head, saying in a low voice, "But don't worry, once this is over, I will kill that person, even if it costs me my life!"
With that, his body once again swelled and grew, directly transforming into a massive dinosaur, easily three stories high and over ten meters long. It had two wing-like horns on its head and several rows of protruding scales along its back, looking exceedingly ferocious.
"ROAR—!"
The next second, this enormous and ferocious Carnotaurus roared, charging forward with immense power, accompanied by heavy thump-thump-thump footsteps, yet moving incredibly fast.
"Ah—!"
Duke Attawa was startled by Viscount Solmen's aura, letting out a piercing shriek like a woman. He fell heavily from the silver eagle's back, even his golden crown tumbling off. In contrast, Countess Shanna, without a sound, quickened her pace and calmly climbed onto the silver eagle's back.
"Useless!"
Cross couldn't help but curse under his breath, wondering if he'd saved the wrong person. Despite his thoughts, his actions were swift. He reached out and touched a nearby bronze statue, animating it and giving it life.
This bronze statue depicted a mythical creature: a serpent-headed beast with horns and a crown, its forked tongue flicking out like a snake's. Its neck was long, its head and body covered in fine snake scales. Its front limbs were lion's paws, its hind limbs eagle's talons, and its tail was long and slender, ending in a scorpion's stinger.
This was the Mushussu, a mythical creature worshipped by the Bion Kingdom, and also considered a guardian deity by the Doma family. Even the Doma family's emblem and flag bore the image of the Mushussu.
Everyone watched as the Mushussu statue, as if a real creature, humanly stretched its body, then leaped from its pedestal, blocking Viscount Solmen's path.
"Bastard! How dare you desecrate the Bion Kingdom's guardian beast!" Viscount Solmen roared in fury, his violent aura intensifying. He opened his mouth and bit down on the Mushussu statue. The enlivened Mushussu didn't dodge, allowing Viscount Solmen's gaping maw to clamp onto its back. One by one, sharp, bone-white teeth sank into its bronze, metallic body.
But almost simultaneously, the Mushussu's tail swept across, smack!—lashing Viscount Solmen's neck and coiling around it several times.
"Quick, go!"
Seeing his enlivened Mushussu statue block the enemy, Cross quickly grabbed Duke Attawa's collar and threw him onto the silver eagle's back.
"Screech—!"
The silver eagle cried out, its massive wings spreading, stirring up a chaotic gust of wind. It immediately soared into the sky, and Cross seized the opportunity to grab one of the silver eagle's talons, his body being lifted into the air.
But just then, as the silver eagle was about to fly out of the open-air garden, a figure suddenly leaped from a nearby rooftop. A cold gleam flashed as an arm swung, effortlessly slicing through half of the silver eagle's wing as if cutting a cream cake.
"Siren!" Cross was greatly alarmed. He hadn't expected this top assassin from the underworld to ambush them from the castle rooftop, catching him completely off guard.
Her incredible ability to conceal her presence meant his Observation Haki hadn't detected her beforehand. He only noticed her the moment she attacked, but it was already too late, especially since his attention had been on Viscount Solmen below.
"Screech—! Screech—!"
The silver eagle cried out incessantly. Despite desperately flapping its wings, it couldn't control its body and spiraled erratically downwards.
"Geppo!"
Cross gritted his teeth, immediately letting go. He then somersaulted, stepping on air to walk, and with one arm for each, he caught Duke Attawa and Countess Shanna from the silver eagle's back.
Boom—
Subsequently, the crippled eagle plummeted, crashing heavily onto a nearby castle tower. Its weighty, all-metal body acted like a cannonball, instantly demolishing the upper half of the granite tower. Countless shattered stones mixed with dense dust flew outwards.
Just attending a banquet, and inexplicably losing a high-grade enlivened creature... Cross's facial muscles twitched. He wished he could turn around and tear the other party limb from limb.
Thankfully, he still retained some sense of reason, understanding that his most important task right now was to get Duke Attawa and Countess Shanna to safety; otherwise, all the losses would be meaningless and futile.
"Hurry!"
"They're in the sky!"
"Shoot! Shoot them down, dead or alive!"
"..."
At this moment, Marquis Mankervis arrived in the open-air garden below with a squad of Royal Guard soldiers, spotting Cross and the two nobles in the sky. To prevent his prey from escaping, Marquis Mankervis coldly gave the order to attack, no longer requiring Duke Attawa to be captured alive.
Bang, bang, bang, bang...
A dozen musketeers immediately raised their flintlock pistols and pulled the triggers towards Cross in the sky. Muzzle flashes blazed in the night, and amidst the rapid, popping gunfire, hot lead bullets flew out.
"Damn it!"
Cross frowned, quickly dodging and swiftly landing on the nearest castle rooftop, setting Duke Attawa and Countess Shanna down. With two burdens, even gunshots that posed no threat to him became troublesome.
"Little brat, prepare to die!"
Suddenly, Siren leaped over from the other side, the umbrella-sword in her hand transforming into countless cold glints, instantly enveloping Cross's entire body.
Clang—!
Cross's expression turned cold. He drew his sword, Shusui, with a single hand, easily parrying all of Siren's attacks amidst a rapid clang-clang-clang of collisions.
"You fake loli who deceives people's feelings! I wasn't going to settle scores with you, but since you've come to seek death, I'll grant your wish!"
"One-Sword Style: Flying Edge!"
In a flash, Cross's expression turned stern as he let out a low growl, swinging his blade forcefully, unleashing a crescent-shaped blue slash.
"Not good!"
Siren's expression changed slightly. Before she could retract her sword to defend, she was struck by the oncoming slash, instantly cut in two. At the same time, the slash continued unabated, flying rapidly for hundreds of meters and bisecting another granite tower.
However, at this moment, even though Cross had cut the opponent in half, there was no joy on his face. This was because the opponent's body slowly vanished like an illusion, as if they had never existed.
"So close! You're truly impressive!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out nearby. Cross turned his head and saw Siren, who should have been cut in half, perfectly fine and unharmed not far away. Such a strange sight even made the panicking Duke Attawa and Countess Shanna curious and bewildered.
"Fortunately, I didn't use my real body for the attack, or the outcome wouldn't have been good either!" A hint of apprehension appeared on Siren's exquisite face, and then her body flickered, immediately splitting into several identical Sirens. Their nimble expressions, red Lolita dresses, and umbrella-swords with red handles, everything indicated that these Sirens were all real.
"Illusion? No, these are all real!"
Cross stared solemnly at the five Sirens present. Even his Observation Haki couldn't distinguish the real from the fake. He couldn't help but guess, "Could this ability be a Paramecia-type Clone-Clone Fruit?!"
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Carnotaurus: a fast-running, high-speed predator, known as the fastest large dinosaur, capable of speeds up to 60 kilometers per hour. With its slender lower legs, high head, thin tail, and extremely long legs, it's also called the "Cheetah of the Cretaceous."
Mushussu: a creature from Babylonian mythology, one of the monsters created by the chaos mother goddess Tiamat to fight the chief god Marduk, and also the prototype for the Hydra in Greek mythology.
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