Episode 26. Show Me Your Skills
Valkain Guild and Oblea Mercenary Corps.
The two dark factions’ elite forces launched their assault.
Sensing the tension among his subordinates, Sirius spoke calmly.
“Don’t worry.”
“Lord Commander…”
“I will lead the way.”
To the fearless White Demon Bai Mulang, there was a conviction.
In the midst of fierce combat, the leader must stand at the forefront.
If they were to stand at the rear watching their subordinates die, that wouldn’t be a proper organization.
From that perspective, the Kalstein Sword Sect fell short.
And the same goes for the Valkain Guild and the Oblera Mercenary Corps.
“Ugh…!”
“Ahh…!”
Swish!
The bandits fell in droves to Sirius’s swung longsword.
The blade was already imbued with the energy of valor.
“What are you waiting for!”
Alleon’s voice echoed.
“Our leader is at the forefront of the battle! Follow our leader…!”
“Ughh…!”
With that cry, the knights began their assault.
Unlike Kalstein, who always held back, Sirius was leaping into the enemy lines ahead of anyone else.
This clear difference boosted the morale of the knights.
“The atmosphere is good.”
But what about the Valkain Guild and the Oblera Mercenary Corps?
The leaders, Valkain and Oblera, were stepping back, protected by their subordinates.
Seeing this, Sirius felt contempt.
“You…!”
As Sirius mercilessly cut down the bandits blocking his path, a man in a blue coat sprang out.
It was Julian, who had injured many of the Heaven’s Edge Swordsmen yesterday.
“So, you deceived us in the end…!”
“Come to think of it.”
Reflecting on yesterday’s events, Sirius muttered.
“Many were harmed by you yesterday.”
“…!”
Julian had his magic sword activated.
However, after knocking the sword from Julian’s hand with one strike, Sirius swung his sword again to inflict a fatal wound.
“Ugh!”
At this point, Julian displayed an unexpected move.
As the blade pierced his torso, he firmly grasped it with both arms.
“Kill…!”
As Julian shouted, those around him rushed in unison.
They judged that if Sirius couldn’t swing his sword properly, there might be a chance.
“He’s a tough one.”
But that was a misconception.
Sirius had already unleashed a powerful force in the opposite hand.
“Cough!”
“Ugh…!”
Thud! Crash!
Bones broke, and flesh tore apart.
Even without a sword, everyone was shocked by Sirius, who was killing people barehanded.
“W-what is he doing?”
“How can he do that barehanded…!”
It was a dark night.
It’s not easy to discern the dark aura emanating from Sirius’s hands with the naked eye.
“T-this guy, using magic swords, not blades, but barehanded…?”
Only Julian, who was close by, vaguely sensed what Sirius was up to, but he couldn’t speak loudly as he was bleeding and dying.
Amidst the continuing screams, Sirius continued to slaughter his enemies barehanded.
“Are you just going to stand there and watch, Valkain, Oblera?”
“…!”
Valkain and Oblera, who were standing back, were taken aback.
“Seems like you’re waiting for me to tire out while sacrificing your subordinates endlessly…”
After pulling the staggering Jarngi, Sirius coldly struck.
“It seems like it’ll be quicker for just you two to remain than for me to tire out.”
“…!”
At those words, Valkain grimaced, and Oblera wore a stern expression.
“Valkain, there’s no other way!”
“Oblera…!”
“Lead your subordinates from the front! That’s the only way!”
“Grr…!”
Valkain bit his lip and stepped forward.
And as he raised his right hand, flames began to spew from it.
However, it wasn’t like typical fire magic where flames were shot forward.
The compressed flames started writhing in the air like snakes.
“A whip of flames? Such magic exists, huh.”
“Bring it on!”
Valkain rushed towards Sirius with his subordinates.
Among the subordinates, some used magic swords, while others used regular attack magic, but none could stand against Sirius.
Sacrificing his subordinates in this way, Valkain lunged at Sirius’s side.
Swish!
The fiery whip tried to strike Sirius.
But with agile movements, Sirius dodged the attack and charged at Valkain.
“…!”
Sirius’s hand, charged with dark energy, was about to capture Valkain.
The sound of the air vibrating was heard.
“Die…!”
Swish!
Oblera unleashed a blade of wind upon Sirius.
Though similar to Oblera’s subordinate, Ragnas, it was far superior in scale and speed.
However.
“It’s quite impressive.”
“…!?”
The wind’s blade only grazed Sirius’s coat.
Evading the invisible blade rushing through the darkness effortlessly, Sirius exclaimed, “How…!”
“I’ve seen it before,” he said calmly.
Despite Oblea continuously sending blades of wind, none reached Sirius.
Moreover…
“You’re quite skilled, but handling someone like Kalstein would be a different story.”
“…!?”
Sirius deflected the wind’s blade with the sword he picked up from the ground.
Watching this, Oblea swallowed hard.
“I see why you avoided a direct confrontation with Kalstein, Oblea.”
“Grr…!”
In a battle where the goal is to be the first to kill a hundred, Oblea might outmatch Kalstein. However, in a one-on-one duel, Oblea wouldn’t stand a chance against Kalstein. As a master swordsman, Kalstein could easily handle the wind’s blade.
“Valkain! What are you doing? Push Sirius harder to create an opening!”
“Ugh….”
Oblea nudged Valkain, but he hesitated to charge, wary of Oblea’s magic.
“What a mess, truly a mess.”
Sirius muttered in a relaxed tone.
“Valkain, you’re going through a lot.”
“What….”
“Oblea couldn’t care less if you get hurt. Even if attacking me accidentally severs your limbs, she wouldn’t bat an eye.”
“…!”
Originally, Valkain and Oblea were enemies. Today, they only joined hands to bring down Sirius, each vying for the position of ruler in this domain.
“Her thoughts are probably something like this: ‘If I could harm both Sirius and Valkain at once, that would be ideal…'”
“…!”
“What nonsense is this!”
Oblea raised her voice urgently.
“Valkain, don’t be fooled! We need to cooperate to defeat him!”
“I know!”
Valkain attacked Sirius urgently with a whip of flames.
But Sirius deftly dodged and chuckled.
“Do you really think we can win if we cooperate?”
“What did you say?”
“I think it would be better to fight separately.”
Sirius spoke in a cold voice.
“One attacks from a distance with the blade of the wind, while the other launches close-range attacks with the whip of flames… At a glance, it seems like a good combination, but it’s not at all.”
“…!”
“Is magic really limited to this extent? Or is it just that your skills are lacking?”
Valkain and Oblaea grimaced at Sirius’s criticism.
“This doesn’t seem to be working.”
Sirius let out a short sigh.
“It’s better to fight one on one.”
“What…?”
At that moment,
Sirius kicked the ground and soared into the sky.
“What!?”
Everyone was shocked to see Sirius flying high without even using magic.
Valkain, in particular, was completely taken aback.
“…!”
The target of Sirius, propelled by aerial acrobatics, was Oblaea.
A subordinate guarding Oblaea desperately tried to intercept with magic, but Sirius’s thrown sword pierced through their torso.
“You fool…!”
At that moment, Oblaea raised her voice and sent blades of wind flying.
She thought it would be difficult to dodge in mid-air.
Furthermore, Sirius had just thrown his sword and was unarmed.
Confident that he couldn’t deflect wind blades barehanded, Oblaea fired the blades.
“My Lord…!”
Alleyon, who saw Sirius fighting with the enemies, urgently raised his voice.
“Focus on your fight, Alleyon.”
Muttering like that, Sirius waved his right hand in the air.
At a glance, it seemed like a futile gesture, but it was far from that.
He was in the process of releasing the second stage of the Celestial Dragon’s Art, emitting the force of the White Dragon.
The aura of the White Dragon glowed brightly in the darkness, causing the wind blades aiming for Sirius to freeze in mid-air.
“…!?”
Everyone was shocked by the spectacle that defied common sense.
Freezing wind blades was an impossible feat with any kind of magic.
“I, I can’t believe it…”
Oblaea exclaimed in shock, stepping back.
But Sirius was already closing in on Oblaea.
“Argh…!”
Oblaea unleashed another spell.
She compressed the air to create a barrier to block Sirius.
But even that was futile.
As Sirius extended his right palm forward, the barrier shattered into pieces.
“This, this isn’t just ordinary coldness… Is this a power that freezes even magical energy!?”
Attempting to escape, Oblea’s wrist was grabbed by Sirius.
At the same time, a chilling aura began to seep through her wrist.
“Agh…!”
Oblea tried to cast a spell, screaming in agony.
But it was futile.
The white aura penetrating through her wrist was freezing the flow of magic.
“Stop making such a fuss.”
“Crack…!”
Thud!
Sirius’s fist struck Oblea’s solar plexus.
Oblea, sent flying, crashed into the collapsed rocks, spitting blood as she fell to the ground.
Right after that, Sirius’s pupils moved swiftly.
“Haah…!”
From behind, a fierce flame was pouring down.
Watching the fight with Oblea, Valkain seized the opportunity to unleash his magic.
“Alright, show me what you’ve got.”
Unhesitatingly, Sirius emitted a burst of white energy.
The chilling coldness cut through the raging storm of flames, creating a path.
“Urgh…!”
Valkain also leaped into action.
From Noble mtl dot com
From his right hand, a whip of flames split into four strands, writhing.
Facing the approaching Sirius, Valkain lashed out with the whip.
“Haap…!”
The four strands of the whip covered Sirius, tracing different trajectories.
But Sirius did not retreat in the slightest.
He dodged two strands and deflected the remaining two with his hands, which were now imbued with white energy.
With each collision, the flames of the whip shattered.
A spectacle of red flames etched with white ice.
Valkain’s face was contorting more and more.
“Urgh…!”
Suddenly, Valkain squeezed out his last bit of strength.
The whip of flames instantly multiplied from six to eight strands.
Simultaneously, tears of blood began to flow from Valkain’s eyes.
He had pushed himself beyond the limit with an overloaded magic.
However, even that final desperate act didn’t work against Sirius.
Unflinchingly, Sirius plunged through the flames of the whip, finally approaching Valkain face to face.
“Sirius…!”
Thud!
A white ball of energy was embedded in the right fist, piercing through flames and embedding itself in Vakain’s chest.