Chapter 13: The Madness of Uwe

The moment soldiers blocked the church’s entrance, an undeniable premonition settled over everyone: something monumental was about to unfold.

By now, it was the fourth day since Uwe had extended his invitation.

Just hours prior, his family had hosted a lavish ball.

Up until the very last moments before the ball concluded, he had desperately hoped Cai would make an appearance as an esteemed guest.

Yet, even after the last guests had departed and the day officially drew to a close, the Sacred Maiden, whom he had so eagerly anticipated, remained conspicuously absent.

The spoiled young master felt his affections had been cruelly trifled with, and his rage, now unbridled, pushed him to an act of sheer madness.

The private legion his father had entrusted to him for personal defense was, by Uwe’s command, fully mobilized this very night.

‘That despicable black-haired woman—she must be the one meddling!’

Wang Xiaole found herself targeted by his resentment once more, despite the matter being utterly unconnected to her.

Cai had been entirely oblivious to the ball, and even if she had known, she would never have attended; the notion of her presence was nothing short of a delusion.

But the self-absorbed young master, lost in his own fantasy, dismissed such realities.

He steadfastly believed that without a particular individual’s interference, the progression of his affections for Cai would have been considerably smoother.

It was at this moment that Uwe unleashed a torrent of killing intent directed at Wang Xiaole.

This outburst served as ample proof that his mindset was far from conventional.

After all, not every man possessed the unique capacity to view a woman as their romantic rival…

In the deep hours of the morning, his private legion materialized outside the church.

Following this, the soldiers sprang into action, diligently carrying out Uwe’s commands.

Their task was to erect battlefield-grade obstacles before both the front and rear entrances of the massive edifice.

The ensuing clamor, predictably, roused everyone within.

As time wore on, Cai, accompanied by a procession of monks and nuns, began to emerge before the church doors. Naturally, Wang Xiaole also stepped out.

The street housing Olan Cathedral was undeniably part of Dibiles’s territory; however, the cathedral itself was an exception.

It served as the central hub for numerous branches across the Western Continent, revered as one of the Holy Lands of the Main God Church.

Even the current empress of the nation, through her ancestors, had long ago acknowledged this precise area as an exclave of the Papal States.

Indeed, the plot of land was minuscule, yet its diminutive size was hardly a justification for Uwe to besiege it with his troops.

Any unauthorized entry of an army into another nation’s territory, regardless of its size, was tantamount to a declaration of war!

The soldiers Uwe had brought were well aware of this fact, yet they were ultimately under the command of a young master notorious for stirring up trouble, serving as his personal legion.

When the leader of their legion had given his direct orders, it was simply unrealistic for them to defy his command.

With a silent curse of ‘unlucky’ echoing in their minds, the soldiers reluctantly steeled themselves and proceeded to carry out the military order.

While his subordinates understood the gravity of the impending crisis, the very individual issuing the commands remained inexplicably at ease.

He possessed not even a glimmer of clear comprehension regarding the severe repercussions his actions would undoubtedly unleash.

The root cause of this predicament lay in a life of perpetual indulgence, which had slowly eroded what little wisdom resided within his mind.

Uwe, as he existed now, was less aptly described as a ‘scoundrel’ and far more accurately portrayed as an ‘idiot’!

For Cai, however, this was a most welcome development…

“You have initiated an invasion of my nation,” Cai declared, her voice calm, “and thus, whatever transpires hereafter, the primary responsibility shall not rest with me.”

Despite the relaxed tone of her words, Cai’s expression was utterly frigid, chilling enough to alarm anyone who knew her.

“All who have emerged, return inside,” she commanded, “seal both the front and rear doors, and under no circumstances is anyone to exit.”

Cai issued her decree as the Sacred Maiden, and the sheer authority emanating from her voice rendered refusal impossible for the monks and nuns at her side.

After a brief, collective hesitation, the individuals receded into the church like a retreating tide.

Only one person present disregarded the command.

“I insist on remaining,” Wang Xiaole stated, “you won’t dismiss me later, will you?”

Wang Xiaole advanced several steps, positioning herself directly beside Cai, close enough that the latter could reach out and touch her.

“You truly do enjoy a jest…”

Joking aside, Cai had no intention of forcing Wang Xiaole to leave, yet she still wished, deep down, that she would depart.

After all, the Sacred Maiden harbored no desire to reveal her true, hidden self before Wang Xiaole.

Yet, the present circumstances appeared to leave Cai with no alternative.

“I only hope you won’t come to despise me later…”

When Cai had first emerged, she had instructed the guards to remain within the cathedral, for she had no need of their strength.

A few thousand enemies, nothing more than a few thousand corpses in the making.

A forbidden spell initiated!

As Cai took a step forward, a potent ripple, emanating from the depths of her eyes, unfurled with a speed that eclipsed even a sudden gust of wind.

In the span of a single breath, all five thousand soldiers, meticulously arrayed in formation, fell completely under its influence.

“Seize your weapons.”

Be it sword or spear, it mattered not; every single one of the mesmerized targets moved precisely according to Cai’s will.

“Now, I bid you perish!”

Death was the sole command, and the puppets, their wills utterly obliterated, naturally had no capacity to refuse.

What Uwe witnessed next was a gruesome spectacle: thousands of his own men committing mass suicide!

Never in his life had he encountered such an ocean of blood, nor had he ever experienced the sensation of being drenched head-to-toe in crimson.

Not even the most brutal execution grounds, where mortals were mercilessly slaughtered, could boast air so thick with the stench of blood.

The three individuals standing outside were confronted with a horrific tableau, one capable of plunging even the stoutest heart into a lifetime of inescapable shadow.

By this juncture, the situation had escalated to an unprecedented degree!

The Empire had chosen to invade the Papal States’ territory, and Cai, as the incumbent Sacred Maiden, had single-handedly transformed the land into a river of blood.

Now, both factions possessed ample justification to ignite a full-scale war.

“Sacred Maiden, why did you feel the need to bring things to such a pass?”

Following his initial shock, Uwe slowly regained his composure.

At his core, he was profoundly selfish; though his entire retinue had been utterly annihilated, he himself remained completely unscathed.

As long as he remained unharmed, the outcome was, in his eyes, perfectly acceptable!

“Given the circumstances,” he mused, “if we don’t marry, I fear this situation will be rather difficult to resolve…”

Even now, his words were those of a madman.

Uwe was, without a doubt, a prime example of profound egocentrism.

In the personal fantasy world he inhabited, at least, the Empire and all its inhabitants revolved around his father, and his father, in turn, would always heed his every word.

Even someone from another nation, like Cai, was expected to fall into line.

His level of conceit could only be described as the epitome of arrogance.

Unable to tolerate such a brazen display, someone launched an attack on Uwe at that very instant!

Devoid of weapons, Wang Xiaole, if she chose to attack, would naturally rely solely on her fists and legs.

A mere flicker of intuition was enough for Uwe to sense imminent danger.

Before arriving here, he had entertained the thought: ‘If Wang Xiaole chooses to fight one-on-one, I will unleash my true abilities and make that odious woman suffer immensely.’

Now, Uwe’s moment had arrived.

With the opportunity to prove himself squarely before him, facing an opponent who attacked alone, he made the only choice he deemed inevitable.

To flee!

The young master chose to evade.

Fearing he might not evade quickly enough, he didn’t even hesitate to roll through the pooled blood, casting aside his last vestiges of dignity in his desperate bid to ensure his own safety.

From the perspective of sheer evasion, no one could possibly question that he was giving anything less than his absolute utmost.

As her intended target rolled across the ground, Wang Xiaole’s descending foot instead impacted the earth.

The road, meticulously laid by construction workers long ago, was now utterly ruined.

Cracks fractured its layers, and sections collapsed; without extensive repairs, it would surely remain impassable.

“Is this truly the extent of your prowess?”

In Wang Xiaole’s personal estimation, the battle she had envisioned with this loathsome individual was nothing like this.

Regardless of the outcome, if her opponent refused even a direct confrontation, it was, without question, profoundly disappointing.

“Do you actually intend to settle this, or not?”

Confronted by Wang Xiaole’s challenge, Uwe offered no reply, merely steeling himself for another swift evasion.

“If you refuse to fight,” Wang Xiaole declared, “I’ll consider it a forfeiture. And from this day forward, you are forbidden from bothering Cai ever again!”

“Hmph, in your dreams!”

He responded this time, yet his attitude was a perplexing tangle of contradictions.

On one hand, he stubbornly refused to yield, vowing to relentlessly pester his target to the very end.

On the other, he refused to display any semblance of backbone, lacking even the courage to throw a single punch.

What kind of utterly perverse individual was this?

Small wonder Wang Xiaole began to question if the creature before her could even be classified as a carbon-based life form.

Another kick descended, and this time, Uwe failed to create any distance.

The radiating force sent him hurtling backward, and his subsequent fall was nothing short of brutal.

There was but one detail: in the instant before impact, he frantically shielded his face.

Such persistence, however, held little meaning, for if Wang Xiaole continued her assault, the outcome would likely extend far beyond mere disfigurement.

After all, with countless lives already lost, both sides had effectively declared open hostility.

Under such circumstances, Wang Xiaole found herself with nothing left to restrain her.

Even if crippling the young master meant an inevitable stint in a prison cell, she was prepared.

Having considered this, Wang Xiaole remained resolved not to hold back.

This wasn’t merely for Cai’s sake; from a personal standpoint, she harbored a strong urge to thoroughly pummel this detestable individual.

Despite having met only twice, Uwe had quickly become the most loathsome person she had encountered in this world so far.

The outcome was never in doubt!

It was precisely because Cai could accurately assess their respective strengths that she did not intervene during Wang Xiaole’s fight.

Currently, the Sacred Maiden was preoccupied with another thought:

‘That person should be arriving soon.’

Such an immense commotion was bound to attract a figure of significant power and influence.

And in this nation, strictly speaking, only two individuals truly fit that description.

One was the current Empress.

Even if she didn’t appear, the other would…

After all, Uwe was…

The young master was currently agonizing over how to dodge the next strike.

Just then, a dark silhouette flashed through the night.

Wang Xiaole instinctively tensed, retracting the fist that had been poised to strike Uwe.

As she pondered whether to change her target, the dark figure appeared behind Uwe like a phantom.

A chill ran down Uwe’s spine as the targeted individual turned around.

What he saw was not an enemy, at least not in his estimation.

He relaxed, and thus made no move to dodge.

But in the very next instant, his throat was violently seized, and he was lifted clean off the ground.

The dark figure, shrouded in night, stared at Uwe with eyes that gleamed with cold light.

For approximately five or six seconds, he uttered not a single word.

After that brief pause, he flung the person in his grasp to the ground, then stepped forward.

“Pfft!”

The impact sent blood gushing from Uwe’s mouth, yet it was not over.

The same foot, a moment later, pressed down onto his face.

The dark figure showed no hesitation in applying force; after ruining that face, he would proceed to crush the head.

If necessary, he would do so.

‘He truly has arrived…’

A voice echoed in Cai’s mind:

‘Regent Duke of Dibiles, to have such a son is truly your misfortune.’