"The power of Lifdrasir, the God's Heart, isn't a 'prophetic' ability? Why is it..."
Hearing Sheffield's words, Henrietta covered her mouth in disbelief, while Queen Marianne of Tristain also wore a look of astonishment.
However, Queen Marianne quickly came to a realization. Although she didn't understand how Wood had foreseen the future without having a prophetic ability, it was clear that Wood had lied about his abilities to make his words more convincing. After all, at that time, he was just an ordinary civilian...
At the same time, they also understood why Wood's combat power in this battle far exceeded anything they had seen before, even surpassing their understanding.
It turned out that the power of Lifdrasir, the God's Heart, was obtained by burning his own life force.
When Wood proposed the bait plan, he must have already decided to burn his life force to protect them!
"He is a commendable familiar, and he has fulfilled his duties as a familiar to the fullest. But as his master, it's laughable that you didn't even understand your familiar's power. In my opinion, you are not worthy of being his master. So, whether it is Lifdrasir, the God's Heart, or this boy, let me take them. I will grant him a new life."
Although Wood was her enemy, Sheffield couldn't help but admire his actions, which also made her despise Henrietta even more.
As for why Sheffield was approaching the dying Wood, there was a reason for it.
To grant him a new "life" wasn't just an empty promise; it was something she could genuinely accomplish through the magical item on her finger.
The Water Spirit Ring was a treasure of the Water Spirit race, capable of bestowing a "false life" upon its target. The recipient would obey the commands of the item's user.
However, even with the treasure of the Water Spirit race, it couldn't truly bring someone back to life. It could only "stabilize" the target's life, putting them in a "half-dead" state, which is why it was called a false life.
When using this effect, the target must be at least in a near-death state. If they are already dead, the Water Spirit Ring will not work.
Moreover, the Water Spirit Ring can only affect one person at a time. Previously, Sheffield had used it on Prince Wales.
But now that the war between Tristain and Albion was nearing its end, Prince Wales was no longer useful.
In contrast, Wood's performance in this battle was astonishing, earning him the title of Tristain's War God.
Although, according to Lifdrasir's ability, Wood might no longer have any life force left to burn after receiving a false life, his combat power was still extraordinary.
Furthermore, those given false life by the Water Spirit Ring, even if their bodies were injured, could rise again like the undead, truly resembling zombies.
Unless they encountered Void magic, such as 'Dispel' or 'Purify,' they would be truly immortal.
An invincible body, combined with Wood's impressive combat skills, would make him an incredibly valuable puppet for Sheffield to serve her master, Joseph.
Would Sheffield care whether Henrietta agreed?
Hardly. Especially now, when Henrietta couldn't even protect herself, let alone anyone else.
After severing the connection with Prince Wales, who had been in a daze in Albion's palace, the terrible injuries on his body suddenly appeared as soon as the Water Spirit Ring's magic effect was lifted, staining his clothes with blood.
The unfortunate Prince Wales didn't even have the chance to say his last words before meeting his end.
And just as Sheffield severed the connection with Prince Wales and was about to use the Water Spirit Ring to grant Wood a false life, a figure suddenly leaped from the sky and slashed off one of Sheffield's arms.
To be precise, although there was only one figure that leaped down from the sky, there were actually two people.
One was a black-haired boy dressed in a tracksuit and wielding a long sword, while the other was a cute girl with long pink hair, resembling a doll.
At that moment, the lost rune on the back of the boy's left hand glowed brilliantly, proving that he was a legendary familiar, just like the exhausted Wood and Sheffield before him.
Saito, with a sword in one hand and a girl in the other, epitomized the ideal winner in a different world. Judging by the fact that Louise allowed Saito to hold her, it was evident that their quest to find the Dragon's Raiment had significantly deepened their bond.
Sheffield, despite having one of her arms cut off by Saito, showed remarkable resilience. After initially grunting in pain, she managed to keep her composure, clutching her severed arm as she retreated.
Landing on the ground, Saito initially aimed for a cool, heroic entrance, complete with some impressive lines, since he rarely got the chance to show off in front of Wood.
He had already thought of what to say, and he had indeed managed to severely injure and push back Sheffield. However, due to the large amount of blood on the ground, Saito nearly lost his balance and slipped in the blood as soon as he landed.
"You idiot, Saito! What are you doing!?"
Louise, who had almost fallen because of Saito, naturally expressed her displeasure.
However, she quickly realized that Saito wasn't responding to her, and she was about to lash out in anger.
But when Louise looked up and saw the surrounding scene, she finally understood why Saito had chosen to remain silent.
"Ugh—!"
Compared to the male Saito, Louise, a noble lady, had never seen such a shocking sight.
The entire forest was now a true scene of carnage, with bodies piled everywhere. Severed limbs and blood had completely dyed the ground red.
For someone like Louise, who had always lived a sheltered life, seeing such a scene for the first time, it was completely normal for her to start vomiting on the spot.
Even the Wisdom of the Sword, Derflinger, in Saito's hand, admitted that it had only seen such a scene of carnage during the great human wars thousands of years ago.
"Could it be that all these people were killed by Wood alone?"
Although Saito had some understanding of Wood's combat strength, he was still stunned by the scene before him.
As for Louise, after a brief bout of vomiting, she quickly began searching for their primary objective.
When she saw that Henrietta and Queen Marianne, covered in blood but still alive, Louise didn't care about the surrounding corpses and immediately ran over to them.
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 200+ at patreon.com/Betek.