The Enigmatic and Elusive Male Lead (30)

As soon as Jiu finished speaking, the high priest completed the last syllable of his incantation.

A torrent of light magic surged from his body, coalescing into a blazing arrow that shot toward Jiu.

Xiu spread his wings and shielded her completely. The arrow struck him, but nothing happened; the elemental power dispersed in an instant.

The high priest’s eyes widened in fury. “Impossible!”

How could it be impossible? Try magic immunity.

Charles still seemed to be out of the loop. “High Priest, why would you attack His Highness?”

The people of the temple stood nearby, equally bewildered by the sudden turn of events.

Charles had been fighting a stranger, and the high priest had said that man was the Dragon God. Then Charles and the Dragon God had abruptly stopped fighting, and now the high priest was trying to kill Prince Jian Yu.

What in the world had happened?

The high priest gave a cold laugh. “Black hair and black eyes are the mark of a demon. As high priest, what is wrong with me eradicating a demon?”

“That’s rich coming from you. Let me guess: you’re not the one who worships the Black Dragon, colludes with the Kingdom of Haman, and conspires with necromancers to lure the Black Dragon into this world, plunging the kingdom into war for your own selfish ends?”

“Or do you think all the things you’ve done are bright, righteous, and noble?”

Jiu’s words rang out clearly, and a murmur rose all around them.

“Is what His Highness said true?”

“No way, that sounds terrifying.”

“Shouldn’t the high priest explain himself?”

The high priest’s expression darkened. “Slander. This is slander.”

“Whether it’s slander, you know best,” Jiu said. “Besides, even if it were slander, what can you do about it? What can you possibly do to me?”

Her brazen, shameless confidence only made the high priest’s rage burn hotter. “You’re courting death!”

With a cold snort, he began muttering an eerie chant. The light magic that had filled the air around him suddenly changed; thick black mist billowed up from his body.

“Ah... a necromancer! That’s the aura of a necromancer!”

The deathly energy around the high priest swelled and swelled. Black fog roiled around him, his eyes turned red, and there was not a trace left of his usual sanctity. He looked for all the world like a fiend.

The temple attendants were stunned by the sight.

Jiu was astonished that the high priest had exposed himself so openly, then frowned and said abruptly, “Big Black, catch him. He’s trying to run.”

Xiu’s figure was so fast it was nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye. In an instant, he vanished to where the high priest stood, his fingers shifting into sharp dragon claws as he reached for him. But the high priest’s image distorted and shattered at the scrape of those claws, then dispersed.

It had only been an illusion.

The real high priest had long since fled.

“Tch. How cunning. No wonder he can be a mid-tier villain,” Jiu muttered.

“Are you two still fighting?” she asked Xiu and Charles.

With such a huge matter as the high priest’s betrayal, Charles had no time left for jealousy. “Your Highness, I need to make a trip to the palace.”

The old notion of “whoever wins gets to have her” had never been something Charles truly believed, though he had indeed been swept up in the heat of the moment. And after fighting for so long, he also knew he could not beat the Black Dragon.

“What I said just now is the truth. The high priest has long been colluding with the Kingdom of Haman. Besides the temple, he has people he’s won over in the cabinet too. Even among the constitutional guard, Charles, you should investigate carefully.”

“You should not remain here any longer, Your Highness. I’ll have someone escort you... perhaps to my estate for now?”

“No need. I have Big Black.”

Charles’s gaze dimmed. “Then please be careful, Your Highness.”

He hurried away at once.

The temple’s people, having just witnessed the high priest’s transformation, were already reeling. Now, after hearing Jiu and Charles speak, each and every one of them was uneasy to the extreme.

Whether as a necromancer hunted by all, or as a traitor in league with a foreign nation, either identity alone was enough to land him before a tribunal and be sentenced.

Their temple was doomed.

“Everyone, disperse. If you’re planning to run, do it early. And those who’ve done nothing wrong needn’t panic either. His Majesty the King won’t slaughter everyone without discrimination.”

After saying this, Jiu looked at Xiu. “Come with me.”