"The Certificate of War?"
Aubrey Tilden Atwood and Vinnie Arsenault exclaimed in unison. Aubrey, being a high-ranking knight himself, was well aware that the War Emblem was one of the most challenging among the eight Knight Emblems to acquire. Vinnie, though not a knight, also understood how difficult it was to obtain a Knight Emblem, let alone the nearly impossible feat of acquiring the War Emblem.
Annie's cousin, Claire Brittany, and Dorothy's brother, Abner Sumer, were both seventeenth-ranked knights, but neither had ever set foot on a battlefield or experienced war, leaving them both just shy of reaching the Holy rank due to their lack of the War Emblem.
Charlotte felt a tremor in his heart. He had already employed the secret technique of the human philosopher Protágoras, activating the lightness rune on his left leg and channeling four streams of Bloody Glory into the other four bloody vortices, boosting his speed by forty percent, with no possibility of further enhancement.
Although Charlotte had mastered four bloody runes and possessed combat strength comparable to a mid-level transcendent, thanks to Insight, Bloodflame Qi, Lightness Technique, and Angel's Thrust, he was still at a disadvantage when dueling a true high-level transcendent.
While Harriet was using pure battle energy, Charlotte could still rely on his Lightness Technique and Angel's Thrust to maneuver. However, now that Harriet had activated the War Emblem, one of the eight Knight Emblems, Charlotte wasn't foolish enough to continue engaging head-on.
Without hesitation, he retreated deeper into the ruins of Machu Picchu.
Harriet's Radiant Qi also changed, subtly enveloped by a layer of blood energy, as he strode forward in pursuit, confident that Charlotte couldn't escape from him.
Wielding his military saber with grand and sweeping motions, Harriet pursued Charlotte, who fought while retreating, occasionally using Bloodflame Qi to launch remote strikes with his alchemical staff. The battle swiftly moved deeper into the Machu Picchu ruins.
Aubrey Tilden Atwood and Vinnie Arsenault, serving as witnesses, hurriedly followed them, racing to keep up.
Sylvie also tried to follow, but having not yet awakened her Battle Qi, she couldn't match the speed of the four transcendent beings, especially since three of them were high-level transcendents.
Although Charlotte wasn't a high-level transcendent, with his Lightness Technique and Protágoras' secret technique, his speed was on par with an average high-level transcendent.
It wasn't long before Sylvie lost sight of everyone. Despite continuing to run, she soon found herself lost, growing slightly fearful.
She called out a few times, but then, worried she might disturb Charlotte, she fell silent. Searching the surroundings, she found every path unfamiliar, completely unlike the route they had taken earlier. Before long, she couldn't even determine her direction.
Aubrey Tilden Atwood and Vinnie Arsenault fared better than Sylvie, but it didn't take long for them to lose sight of the dueling pair as well. Soon, they too were separated.
Aubrey Tilden Atwood, an experienced detective, quickly realized he was alone and, suddenly alert, slammed his hand onto the ground. Using the residual energy of his Battle Qi, he sensed the environment and, with a look of shock, exclaimed, "It's a maze!"
"How could a maze have formed here?"
"Even if Machu Picchu was overrun by some powerful creature, it couldn't have formed such a complete maze in such a short time!"
Being decisive, Aubrey Tilden Atwood immediately turned and ran. Although the paths ahead were unpredictable, Aubrey's experience with mazes allowed him to escape Machu Picchu within half an hour.
Once outside the Machu Picchu fortress, he looked back with lingering fear, his eyes filled with deep apprehension.
Vinnie Arsenault also quickly sensed something was wrong. Being a cat spirit, she was in her element. She transformed into a swift desert cat, leaping onto a nearby building and quickly disappearing into the ruins.
Charlotte had to focus entirely on his battle with Harriet and had no time to control the maze. Although he regretted letting Aubrey escape, he could do nothing more.
With the War Emblem activated, Harriet's Radiant Qi was tinged with a blood-red hue. The blood-colored military flag unfurling behind him weakened his opponents while enhancing his own strength, giving his attacks a strange, unsettling edge.
Every time Charlotte's alchemical staff clashed with Harriet's saber, the Bloody Glory within him threatened to boil over, causing his heart to race and his mind to become restless and irritated.
After exchanging a few more blows with Harriet, Charlotte took a deep breath, then suddenly disappeared.
Harriet Alva, a seasoned soldier who had fought in numerous battles and forged an unshakable confidence, believed that no matter what tricks Charlotte had up his sleeve, his military saber would cut through them all.
As Harriet's saber swung, the blood-red flag behind him unfurled, spreading out in a wave that soon located its "target."
Harriet thrust forward, clashing with a rapier and was knocked back by a powerful force. Surprised, he exclaimed, "Charlotte! You've been holding back?"
Harriet swung his saber down with a backhanded slash, shouting, "No matter what else you've got, you're dead today."
A rapier countered, retaliating with a fierce, blood-infused sword technique that paid no heed to the effects of the War Emblem. The attacker was none other than Lord Leo.
Lord Leo didn't care who Harriet was. As far as he was concerned, they were both from the Falce Empire, and killing him was just part of the job. There was no need for questions.
Seeing his opponent wasn't Charlotte but a noble from Byron, Harriet quickly pieced together the "truth" and shouted, "Charlotte! You're shameless, colluding with Byron and becoming a lackey to the vampires!"
Charlotte, suppressing the irritation caused by the War Emblem, shouted back, "My real name is Qinnan, and I am from Byron."
"You should consider it an honor to die at the hands of the Arthur royal family."
Harriet cursed Charlotte's shamelessness, but Charlotte paid him no mind, drawing out his anti-space long-range rifle and loading it with a Breaking Armor Shell.
Being a high-level transcendent knight, Harriet's senses screamed of danger, prompting him to dodge just in time. A flash of fire streaked past, exploding into the ground, leaving a deep crater.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Lord Leo unleashed a flurry of attacks, forcing Harriet on the defensive, leaving him drenched in sweat.
Both combatants were high-level transcendents, but Lord Leo was a skilled swordsman, well-versed in the Arthur family's esoteric techniques. Meanwhile, Harriet, with his solid and fierce Radiant Qi, wielded his saber with unmatched precision. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a battle of equals—a duel of skill and power. But with Charlotte watching from the sidelines, armed with such a deadly weapon, Harriet was thoroughly outmatched.
Lord Leo was confident that he could kill this human warrior within twenty moves.