Yordel Gato, At Your Service

Chapter 16: Yordel Gato, at Your Service

At extreme speed, Yala and Gulaton shot toward Kohn simultaneously!

If Kohn were a point, then the directions Yala and Gulaton charged from formed a right angle with Kohn as the vertex—Gulaton on the left, Yala on the right.

Gulaton let out a low growl, veins bulging, as his crimson sword intent stabbed toward Kohn!

No blood spilled, no rest.

Kohn was stunned for a moment at first, but Yala, mid-charge, merely tapped her left shoulder lightly, then her right shoulder.

Kohn, who was about to draw his sword to meet Gulaton, caught the look in Yala's eyes behind her goggles.

The Alert Officer instantly understood Yala's intent.

Kohn assessed his own heavy injuries and didn't overthink it.

He knew he couldn't block Gulaton's strike.

So he simply chose not to defend.

Girl, Kohn thought, don't let me down.

Kohn's gaze was clear, ignoring the Azure Longsword drawing ever closer, and decisively switched his silver-white sword to his left hand, gripping it in reverse. He abandoned all defensive stances, focusing solely on the Barmaid's arrival!

Sure enough, the next moment, Yala hurled the Wolf Leg Knife from her right hand at the menacing Gulaton!

The flying Wolf Leg Knife shot from the left side toward the Red-Black Swordsman's chest and abdomen.

Yala's right hand was now free, but she didn't slow her charge toward Kohn.

The next moment, Gulaton's blade reached Kohn's chest and abdomen.

The Azure Longsword stabbed straight into Kohn's belly.

But Yala's Wolf Leg Knife, still in the air, also slashed across Gulaton's left chest!

Gulaton roared in fury.

Kohn grunted in pain.

Because of the Wolf Leg Knife's interference, the thrust was slightly off, avoiding his vital organs.

The Glory of the Stars within Kohn surged rapidly, gathering around the wounded muscle.

Staring into the Red-Black Swordsman's fierce eyes, Kohn stubbornly turned his head through the pain to look at the Barmaid on his right!

He had chosen to trust her.

And her?

Would she trust him?

Gulaton snorted coldly and instantly withdrew his sword.

He turned to face the oncoming Yala.

Before him, the Alert Officer gritted his teeth against the pain in his chest and abdomen, the Glory of the Stars flaring as his left-hand sword crashed down.

It stabbed into the earth beneath his feet.

He looked like a wounded swordsman barely holding on, making one last struggle.

Gulaton's expression was cold, and the violent Ending Power, so different from the Glory of the Stars, surged once more.

His sword was ready.

One thrust was all it would take to pierce this Little Girl's brow.

You can't save him.

The result of recklessness is that you'll die too.

But Yala only cast a cold glance at Gulaton, her form flashing past Kohn.

She even veered around Gulaton!

Rushing toward Kohn's back.

Gulaton was stunned for a moment.

She's not going to save him?

Yala didn't choose to take advantage and strike Gulaton—she knew he was already prepared to counter.

Behind her, Rolf came rushing in with the wind.

The Barmaid knew there was only one chance.

Next, she calmly extended her right hand.

Her life and death were both in Kohn's hands.

The Alert Officer gritted his teeth, and with the Glory of the Stars empowering his right hand, he swung it back violently.

Now!

Just as Yala swept past him, he clamped down on her right hand in midair!

Like a baton pass in a relay race.

"Ah!"

Kohn roared, the last traces of Glory of the Stars within him gathering into specks of blue light that spread up his right arm, yanking Yala behind him with all his might!

The Alert Officer's left hand, planted on the longsword in the ground, served as an anchor point, scraping out an ugly screech from the immense pull.

The next moment, as the Alert Officer braced and pulled back, the lithe Yala swung through a half-circle in midair like a flail, instantly swept by Kohn to the other side of Gulaton.

Instant change of direction!

Yala gripped Kohn's hand like a lover, her left hand wielding the Wolf Leg Knife from above, the cold, sharp blade slashing down!

Shock erupted on the Red-Black Swordsman's face.

Her goal—so that's it—to gain the Green Skin's cooperation, combining their strength to strike at my undefended side in an instant.

He calmly pressed his lips together: A good idea, but in the end, they're still Mortal Tier, underestimating the capabilities of a Transcendent Rank swordsman.

The Ending Power on his arm fermented rapidly, the Azure Longsword's speed surging, swinging to the right faster than usual.

I can cut you down before you arrive—hmm?

Gulaton's eyes sharpened in an instant.

Before him, Kohn charged with gritted teeth.

Using his body to block Gulaton's sword!

In a flash of lightning.

"Crack—squelch!" It was the sound of Gulaton's shoulder bone splitting, followed by his chest and abdomen being torn open.

The Wolf Leg Knife's blade sliced from Gulaton's right shoulder downward, ripping open his right chest.

"Crunch—shriek!" It was the sound of Kohn's right arm dislocating and his right ribs being slashed.

A torrent of blood erupted from Gulaton's right shoulder, spraying into the air!

Splattering all over Yala's face!

By then, Rolf's wind had only just reached Kohn's side.

Gulaton opened his mouth, spitting blood in disbelief.

Then he smiled as if relieved, and collapsed in an instant.

Good blade.

Good coordination.

Gulaton closed his eyes gently.

In the blink of an eye, the fearsome Red-Black Swordsman was slain by Kohn and Yala's strange yet seamless cooperation!

Rolf the Wind Ghost saw Gulaton's fate.

He couldn't believe that the terrifying Transcendent Rank swordsman beside the Air Elementalist, who had held the upper hand moments ago, was now easily cut down!

But he had no time to be shocked.

Because Kohn roared, stomped his foot, pulled his sword from the ground with his left hand, and ignoring his dislocated right arm, turned and charged at him!

Sword light flashed.

Rolf chuckled lightly. At this speed, how could he possibly intercept the Wind Ghost?

Even in a high-speed clash, I can change direction at any time—what?

Rolf watched in astonishment as Yala, beside Kohn, dropped to one knee and slammed hard into Kohn's chest!

The Alert Officer grunted in pain as he turned, but his speed charging at Rolf instantly more than doubled!

Damn it!

At this speed, there's no way I can—

Rolf howled, unleashing his ability with all his might!

As the wind howled, Rolf's sleeve swords shot out, barely parrying the Alert Officer's lethal strike.

But the Alert Officer's longsword moved like it was alive, twisting and thrusting, firmly suppressing Rolf.

Sword Lock.

One of the Terminus Swordsman's signature techniques, designed specifically to lock an enemy's blade.

Rolf then watched in despair as Yala, nestled in Kohn's arms, revealed her cold, stern face.

No.

In the moment he couldn't break free from Kohn's sword, the Barmaid reached out her right hand.

And casually, effortlessly, crushed his throat.

The two of them and the corpse fell to the ground together.

Thankfully—the Alert Officer thought—this ability user had never been on a battlefield.

If he had advanced instead of retreating at the first moment... we'd be finished.

Kohn spat blood wretchedly, the sharp pain in his chest and abdomen and the dislocation of his right arm leaving him unable to rise.

"You—who are you?"

The Alert Officer asked weakly, holding the girl in his arms.

Yala, at the end of her strength, lay exhausted in the officer's broad embrace, turning her face to wipe the blood across her cheeks on his uniform.

The barmaid trembled slightly but still wore a relieved smile.

"None of your damn business."

The young barmaid replied with a laugh, her eyes stinging.

Kid, you should be able to get away, right.

Boom!

At that moment, a muffled explosion sounded in the distance.

"Qiren, research requires passion; you can't be lazy. Academia is a lifelong interest and dedication."

"In the end, when you reach my age, you'll find yourself out of step with the crowd, becoming withdrawn, indifferent, hard to stir. You'll realize that what truly sustains you to the end isn't vanity, not achievements, not satisfaction, but that purest bit of persistence from the very beginning."

"So you need to understand Professor Chen's stubbornness and madness—that's probably the only obsession he has left in his life."

Tales shook his head, pulling another memory back into his mind, and extricated himself from the rubble.

When the boy crawled out of the debris, covered in blood, he looked up and saw Ashida, his expression complex, staring down at him from above.

The Air Elementalist's clothes and long hair remained pristine, as if they had never been touched by the explosion.

A madman, a fanatic.

Tales cursed inwardly, too exhausted to resist any further.

He simply rolled over and lay back in the rubble.

He was a little tired of this lawless world where strength reigned supreme.

"You—Elementalist, do whatever you want."

Tales gasped heavily.

A madman who kills at the slightest disagreement.

No wonder the Elementalists lost the war.

Ashida silently watched Tales on the ground, his expression strange. After a moment, he suddenly let out a eerie chuckle: "Haha, is this also a coincidence?"

The bizarre Elementalist lightly waved his right hand, and Tales was lifted into the air by the pressure.

But Ashida did not strike again.

He waved his hand once more, and the air pressure around Tales began to flow, instantly stopping all the bleeding from the boy's wounds.

Tales was set upright by the Elementalist, his feet touching the ground.

But the boy still glared at the blue-clad Elementalist—he no longer held any hope for rational communication with Ashida.

"Child, you just used some kind of power to break through my elemental barrier—what you call 'Air Walls'," Ashida said softly, his tone carrying a hint of excitement.

"Only experts at the 'Extreme Realm' can do that, yet you—and that power inside you, capable of interfering with and affecting my elemental energy, do you know what that means?"

"I don't even know what the 'Extreme Realm' is," Tales replied weakly. "Even if I did, I wouldn't want to talk to a madman who just tried to kill me."

Ashida's smile faded, and he looked at him with deep, penetrating eyes.

"It seems you don't know your own nature, child."

"But that's fine; everyone has their first Loss of Control. We all start from ignorance."

Who's going to take this madman—huh?

Tales calmed his emotions and pondered the meaning of Ashida's words.

Then, startled, he looked up at the Elementalist who had just tried to kill him.

"First Loss of Control?"

"We?"

Ashida looked at the child, a fervor blazing in his eyes.

"Yes, we—the Elementalists."

Seeing the intensity in the Elementalist's eyes, Tales suddenly felt an inexplicable fear.

He instinctively stepped back, shaking his head in alarm.

But the Elementalist pressed forward, his voice filled with a chilling fervor and madness:

"Yes, child."

"You were right just now—your future value is absolutely worth my letting you go—no, worth my doing everything to guide you! Child, what is your name?"

"Ever since we were betrayed by those two bitches and lost the Ending War, there have been fewer and fewer of us!"

"You'll be the piece that turns the tide for us—they'd never dream of it..." Ashida gripped his shoulder tightly, as if afraid that if he let go, Tales would run away.

"I... I don't know what you're..." Tales murmured, stepping back, but Ashida's hand still held him fast.

The smile on Ashida's face was somewhat sickly.

It felt like someone who hadn't smiled in years, who had forgotten how to, suddenly stretching their lips wide across their cheeks.

"Today is the turning point of your fate," Ashida said ecstatically. "Come with me..."

For no reason, Tales thought of the three "human balls" beneath the Chess and Card Room, and then of the scene where this man had tried to kill him in the basement.

He looked at Ashida's sickly smile, and beyond the panic, a strange feeling welled up inside him.

God.

Tales thought of Ashida's power, and his throat moved involuntarily.

A Magic User...

But...

This...

Murderous madman...

Go with him?

Tales struggled to speak: "But..."

He had only just managed to escape the Brotherhood's control, to shed his identity as a beggar...

But...

The next second, the Erroel World seemed to hear his thoughts—he no longer had to hesitate.

"You can say 'no,' but you can't refuse. This is only the first Loss of Control, and every—ugh!" Ashida, who had been rambling on, suddenly froze.

A smooth blade had suddenly pierced through his chest.

Ashida looked down in disbelief at the sword tip before him, and let go of Tales.

Tales was also startled. He stumbled back several steps, tripped over a plank, and fell to the ground.

But Tales didn't see fear, panic, or confusion in the Magic User's eyes.

It was as if he hadn't just been stabbed in the back, but bitten by a mosquito, and was wondering, "How did a mosquito get here?"

It was as if he couldn't even feel the pain.

Even though his heart had been pierced—Tales thought in terror.

Ashida stared strangely at the blade in his chest.

"Impossible." Ashida frowned, raised his head, and thought carefully, speaking to the person behind him:

"Even if you're an Extreme Realm expert, you can't not breathe, you can't move without disturbing the air, you can't have no air pressure inside your body. As long as there's breathing, air flow, and pressure changes, you can't escape my surveillance!"

"How long have you been on Red Quarter? How did you fool the Air Magic?"

"No, you couldn't have broken through the Air Wall either, or you would have acted back in the house, right?"

"Tell me."

No answer.

Ashida's expression turned grim as he turned around, ignoring the blade still embedded in his back, and coldly addressed the attacker behind him:

"Tell me."

This time, Tales saw clearly who the attacker behind Ashida was.

The attacker stood silently, wearing a hooded black outfit, from gloves to boots all black.

Even stranger, the attacker wore a dark purple mask, with only two dark lenses where the eyes should be.

He didn't move.

Like a ghost.

At that moment, anger flashed through Ashida's thoughts, woven from magic.

Anger—that emotion belonging to humans—had long since left him.

So the magic surging within him quickly helped him regain calm and rationality.

"I think you must have been very patient," Ashida said in a low voice.

"Waiting until my magic was unstable and my perception weakened to ambush me?"

"Good, you did it. You ambushed a Magic User." Ashida, unconcerned about the blade in his chest, stared intently at the attacker in the strange mask.

"So, who are you?"

"Did you notice the commotion on Red Quarter and stumble upon me by accident?"

"With skills like that—which family are you from?"

Several questions in a row, and the masked weirdo remained completely motionless.

Ashida frowned. After asking those questions, he found himself utterly unable to sense any air pressure flow within the weirdo's body. Was the man neither surprised nor smug, showing no reaction to these questions at all?

The Air Perception, which had never failed him before and worked like mind reading, had actually lost its effect?

He would have to resort to force.

"You think this is enough to kill me?"

Ashida stepped closer, raising his left hand lightly, his eyes seemingly devoid of emotion or thought.

With a flick of his fingers, the air began to move, and the space around the masked weirdo started to compress under the pressure of the atmosphere.

Can't let it spill beyond Red Quarter, Ashida thought. Otherwise, Wrath of the Kingdom and Black Sword will detect it and rush over, and today's operation will lose its meaning.

I'll just mobilize a small portion of my elemental power. I only need to deal with this masked man in front of me.

This time, the masked weirdo spoke:

"No, an Elementalist cannot be killed."

His voice pierced through the mask, faintly audible.

"So you're not mute or deaf." Ashida stared at the two lenses on the mask, but beyond the complex Mechanical Gears behind them, he saw nothing at all.

Doubt rose in his mind: He doesn't seem completely ignorant of us either...

Tales, however, nearly gasped out loud.

Because the weirdo's voice was a hoarse, indistinct tone.

It was the same voice that had told him to "duck" during Yala and Rolf's fierce battle.

Realizing this, Tales's trembling hands gradually steadied.

The masked weirdo took a light step, moving past Ashida.

As if the terrifying air pressure around him couldn't stop him for even a single step!

Under the Air Elementalist's unsettled gaze, the masked weirdo swung his hand in an instant, and the Short Sword vanished from Ashida's back, appearing in his grasp!

It was a sleek Short Sword with a cross-shaped guard, its tone dark.

Ashida's brow darkened with uncertainty, yet he made no move to resist, merely watching the uninvited guest coldly, weighing the situation before him.

What is he relying on? According to yesterday's updated intelligence, the Judgment Gun is on the Western Front, the Immobile Bow is in the outskirts, the Star Scepter is in the Revival Palace. As for the mysterious Supreme Sword Shield, I heard half of it is still cooling down, and the other half is at Dragonbreak Fortress. The other standard anti-elemental weapons in Everstar City aren't enough to seal an Elementalist above the Extreme Realm.

This masked man—why is he so calm?

Tales watched in disbelief as the mask pulled the Short Sword from Ashida's back—the wound on Ashida's chest, which should have been bleeding, instead emitted a faint blue light.

Then the blue light transformed into his clothes, pristine and new, as if he had never been pierced through the chest by a Short Sword.

Elementalist—Tales was starting to believe Ashida's earlier ravings—what kind of monster is an Elementalist?

But before Tales could think through the question, a shadow fell over him.

The masked weirdo walked up to Tales, and before the boy could react, scooped him up into his arms.

Tales tried to struggle, but the masked weirdo gently pressed the back of his neck, and the boy felt all his strength slowly drain away, collapsing limply into his embrace.

In his daze, Tales caught a glimpse of Ashida raising his hands from the corner of his eye.

"Hey, watch out for his—" the boy tried to speak, but the masked weirdo clamped a hand over his mouth.

Ashida stood behind them, no longer willing to observe.

This boy was too important.

"Since you know an Elementalist can't be killed, why did you still strike?" Ashida's elemental power surged, mobilizing all the air within fifty meters around him.

"You can't be at the 'True Realm' level, but you should at least be a peak expert in the 'Extreme Realm.'"

"And you even have means to fool elemental power?"

Ashida waved his hands with a hostile look, and Tales immediately felt the air pressure around him shift.

The Air Elementalist was about to make his move.

"But no matter who you are—"

However, Ashida's words were cut off by his own panicked discovery.

"What! What is this!"

And with it, the surrounding air pressure was also interrupted.

Tales lifted his head, looking over the masked weirdo's shoulder, and saw terror in Ashida's eyes.

The Elementalist trembled as he stepped back, staring at his own chest. At the spot where the masked weirdo had pierced him, a purple light was now flickering.

That was the first time Tales had seen fear in an Elementalist's eyes.

The masked weirdo lowered his head close to Tales, his hoarse voice echoing in the boy's ear: "An Elementalist cannot be killed, but an Elementalist is not invincible."

For some reason, Tales suddenly felt at ease.

In his subconscious, he felt that this weirdo in front of him was far safer than the madman behind him.

Ashida clutched his chest in panic, his face full of terror!

It was as if that purple light was about to explode from his chest.

"No, no..."

He jerked his head up, staring at the Masked Weirdo, his voice laced with both fear and hatred!

"This is... the Imperial Kingdom's... Legendary Anti-Magic Weaponry!"

The Masked Weirdo reached out and covered Tales's eyes.

"This weapon... I've never seen it... no, no..."

"Those two bitches..."

Tales couldn't hear the rest of Ashida's furious words.

Because in the next instant, as Ashida gritted his teeth in resentment and transformed into hundreds of beams of light, erupting with boundless energy, Tales felt as if he had entered another space—all sound and light vanished from his senses.

Tales knew he had already left the Red Quarter far behind.

This night was finally coming to an end.

When Yala woke again, she found herself being carried over a sturdy shoulder.

The streets on either side were slowly receding.

Realizing her situation, she urgently slapped the familiar person:

"Hey hey! Edmund! Put me down! I need to go back—"

The fat cook just grunted impatiently: "Let you go back to that pretty-boy lover? And a Green Skin at that? If the boss lady finds out—heh heh—"

Yala's face flushed red: "That Green Skin is not my lover!"

"I clearly saw you lying in his arms, with that blissful look on your face—"

"Did you even notice our surroundings, hey!"

"I did! Dark night, high wind, deep stillness, flowers under the moon, no one around, a secret rendezvous—"

"You've got the wrong focus, you fat bastard!"

"Wrong or right, we'll find out later—"

"Ugh, I'm not wasting words with you, I still need to find someone—"

"In this state, don't count on me letting you go back."

"Fat bastard! Lousy cook! Put me down, I challenge you!"

"With you? You're only decent within the Mortal Tier. Come talk to me when you reach Transcendent Rank."

"Hey, I really have someone important to find—"

"Don't say it's a Green Skin, even if you were looking for the Prince, it wouldn't matter!"

"Fat bastard, always using that to jab me! Oh come on, just put me down, pretty please, Uncle Edmund—"

"Over twenty years old and still acting spoiled? Still think you're a young girl? Aren't you ashamed?"

"Where's the shame? You're over forty yourself, aren't you as young as a three-year-old?"

"Hmph, I'm young at heart—hey, doesn't that sound a bit off?"

At the same time, on the other side of the street in the distance, Kohn was woken up by a slap to the face.

Dazed, he found himself staring at his direct superior, Lobik Dila, the Head of Vigilant Hall!

But the Head's expression was grim as he applied medicine to Kohn's wounds. Seeing him awake, he immediately sneered:

"Hero, awake? Spent the whole night wandering—did you wipe out the Brotherhood and the Blood Bottle Gang?"

"I—"

"You've got some nerve! Openly defying orders, a lone hero! Pretty proud of yourself, huh?"

"But—"

"But what! If it weren't for your father's sake, I'd have shot you long ago! Would I have bothered to come find you after seeing that sword light?"

"Yet—"

"Yet what! Having a subordinate like you is the worst luck I've ever had! Do you think you're the male lead in some Midnight Temple play, and that girl just now was the female lead?"

"She—"

"Don't mention that girl! If your father finds out you were in the Red Quarter looking for women in the dead of night—"

"No—"

"You still have the nerve to talk! Even Miss Lillian, the top girl at the Laiya Club, came to report that you visited her bedroom in the middle of the night, hey!"

"This—"

"Security Captain, Second-Class Vigilant Officer, openly defying orders and carousing in the middle of the night! I'm telling you, you're suspended when we get back!"

"Ahh—"

Just then, from the center of Red Quarter, a second thunderous roar erupted!

"BOOM!!!"

The entire city of Everstar heard that terrifying explosion!

"CRASH!"

This time, the shockwave of the air blast shot straight into the sky!

The scorching dust kicked up by the explosion surged violently from afar!

Director Lobik and the dejected Kohn both stared in shock toward the center of Red Quarter!

"This—damn," the director muttered, "the construction funds I just got approved..."

"Director, you're missing the point!"

"Shut up, you've never managed money or run a household!"

On the other side of the street, the cook Edmund and Yala on his shoulder both stared in astonishment at the aftermath of the explosion.

"Little Yala," Edmund murmured, "good thing we ran fast and got far away."

"Is that the point?"

"Didn't the big sister say it? Safety first."

"You—you really are my three-year-old uncle!"

"Hey hey, watch your mouth!"

When Tales's feet hit the ground again, he couldn't help but collapse onto all fours, coughing.

The wounds all over his body seemed to start aching only now.

The Masked Weirdo stood silently nearby, as if nothing had just happened.

"Ashida—is that Magic User dead?"

"No, the armament was incomplete, unable to seal him permanently," the hoarse voice replied. "But at least for a dozen years, he won't reappear."

Tales's heart tightened at first, then relaxed.

The Magic User's madness, abnormality, and eeriness had left too deep an impression on him.

A dozen years—enough time to figure out a countermeasure.

Tales suddenly lifted his head, remembering something:

"I had a companion, she protected me when—"

"She's fine," the hoarse voice answered as if reading his mind. "She's on her way back to the Lower City District."

Tales let out a breath, his whole body going limp.

But then he remembered something crucial.

"You—this sir," Tales asked cautiously, with the bad experience of dealing with the Magic User fresh in mind, "who are you?"

Tales didn't expect a masked, hidden figure to answer him kindly.

But the next scene nearly made his jaw drop!

The masked weirdo, who moments ago had been radiating murderous intent, suddenly stepped back in a precise, formal motion, placed his right hand over his left chest, swept his left arm behind his waist, dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and answered with solemn respect:

"My name is Yordel Gato, at your service."