The Turmoil, Part Two

At the edge of a forest, a young man stood quietly.

Across from him, more than a dozen warriors watched him with grave expressions. They looked tense, as if facing a formidable enemy.

In fact, they were.

A Knight Rank powerhouse, unless opposed by someone of equal strength, could easily take down more than a dozen elite warriors single-handedly. There was little doubt about it.

"Are you people from Arcadia?"

Standing where he was, Arthur looked at Aisila across from him and suddenly spoke.

Aisila and the others were taken aback. Before they could answer, they heard Arthur continue to mutter, "No, that's not right."

"Although Arcadia is hailed as the Northland's foremost knight, he can't have that many knights under his command. He has other places where he needs them more. He wouldn't send two knights here to deal with me."

As Arthur spoke, a flash of swordlight suddenly appeared beside him, and a figure darted past.

The man wore pale green leather armor that blended into his surroundings. He seemed to have trained in some special technique, too, moving without making a sound.

Feeling the gust of a sword beside him, Arthur shifted slightly. To the attacker's disbelief, he dodged the strike.

Pale green Life Energy rippled along the longsword, then the blade thrust toward Arthur from an impossible angle.

The few meters between them vanished in an instant.

Just as the sword was about to pierce Arthur's chest, he stepped back and raised his own blade. A streak of black light glimmered along it.

Clang!!!

The swords crashed together. As they crossed, Life Energy clashed between them with a deafening roar.

Arthur applied a little force. To his opponent's disbelief, a tremendous power surged through the blade and sent him flying.

The Knight Secret Skill was forcibly interrupted. The man felt a sharp pain in his chest and, after hitting the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood.

Arthur and the man had moved so quickly that by the time it was over, only Aisila had managed to react. He now charged at Arthur with his sword.

Seeing what Arthur had just done, Aisila held nothing back. His aura turned razor-sharp.

His body gave off a series of thuds as his Life Seed erupted. His muscles tightened, making him look powerfully built, and his aura surged.

"Target has entered Life Seed eruption state! Immediate interruption advised!"

The Chip's mechanical alert sounded in Arthur's mind.

Watching the man charge, Arthur remained calm. He simply raised his sword slightly, then swung it down with all his strength.

The blade came crashing down, Life Energy gathering along it to unleash terrifying force. Combined with Arthur's own fearsome physique, its power was no less than a peak knight's full-strength blow.

A fierce gust of sword wind howled ahead of the blade and struck Aisila, making his expression change. He felt the threat of death.

I can't block it!! The thought flashed through his mind. He leaped violently to the side, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth.

A sword wind as tangible as a blade tore through the air before him and struck a large tree several meters away. It cleaved the tree in two, and the heavy trunk toppled to the ground with a thunderous crash.

Aisila broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of that power.

If that strike had hit a person, it would have cut him in half at the waist—even if he'd been wearing heavy full-body armor. There would have been no question about it.

Arthur wasn't disappointed that his opponent had dodged. His expression remained calm.

He took a step forward. His incredible agility carried him across the distance in a second or two, bringing him right in front of the group of warriors.

Shk!

The sound of a sword piercing flesh rang out. Several heads flew into the air before Arthur, followed by a few headless bodies collapsing to the ground. He dispatched them with astonishing efficiency.

The warriors before him were capable enough. They were well trained, in better shape than ordinary people, and wore leather armor. But they were utterly helpless against Arthur.

Their reactions were too slow. Even when they saw Arthur move, neither their bodies nor their minds could respond in time, let alone keep up with him.

Their crude leather armor offered some protection, but Arthur had excellent control over his body and precise aim. He never struck the parts they had protected.

With the Chip's help, Arthur could quickly analyze his enemies' weaknesses even in the heat of battle. Almost every strike went where it would take the least effort and be most effective. He never hesitated.

Warriors like these posed little threat to Arthur. Only their numbers, and the way they were closing in around him, made any difference.

Several swords swept toward Arthur at once.

After Arthur killed a few of their number, the warriors seemed to come to their senses and rushed to surround him.

Arthur's body swayed. Before they could complete their encirclement, he stepped back and swung the sword in his right hand behind him. It struck a man's breastplate and sent him flying. He crashed hard onto the ground and groaned in pain.

Sword in hand, Arthur charged forward, keeping up an efficient, rapid rhythm. Nearly every strike left someone dead at his hands.

Behind him, Aisila exchanged a glance with the other knight. While Arthur slaughtered the warriors, they charged forward to join the ordinary soldiers in surrounding him.

With two knights joining the fight, Arthur came under much greater pressure. His previously swift slaughter slowed somewhat.

But it only slowed.

At one instant, Arthur suddenly accelerated and appeared right in front of Aisila.

Aisila stared at the figure before him in astonishment. He instinctively tried to draw his sword and swing it forward.

His body had only just begun to react. His sword had not yet risen when a chill suddenly spread through his chest.

A black longsword had silently pierced his chest and emerged from the other side.

Arthur's hand jolted. The Life Energy coating his sword spread through Aisila's body, destroying his organs.

"You!" Aisila stared wide-eyed at the black sword protruding from his chest.

He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. But as his strength ebbed away, he could no longer muster the energy. His body fell backward.

After his death, the Life Seed eruption state vanished, and his body returned to normal.

Arthur calmly withdrew his sword from the corpse and turned to face the handful of warriors who remained. He wore a serene smile. "Warm-up's over."

As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand. A glimmer of silver battle aura began to appear.

Across from him, the last surviving knight stared wide-eyed at the silver radiance. Despair filled his heart.