Baleful Shadow

Danger Warning flared violently in Leon's mind!

Every cell in his body screamed the same thing the instant the wolf howl rang out:

[Run!!!]

A black shadow—an imposing figure seemed to descend from the sky, its cast shadow completely enveloping him. Within it, the silhouette of a greatsword was perfectly clear.

Along with the shadow of that greatsword came a bone-chilling cold that had already coated Leon's hair with white frost!

Without the slightest hesitation, he instantly drew the Backhand Blade at his waist, lowered his body, and unleashed Swift Slash toward the open ground ahead.

Under the effect of the Swift Slash Battle Skill, his body became an afterimage as he dashed forward. Before the afterimage had fully faded, a heavy, lavishly decorated greatsword slammed into the spot where he had just stood.

"Boom!!!"

Cold air and ice crystals erupted like a high-yield bomb. The surrounding airflow was thrown into chaos in an instant, and even the air seemed stained with violent color!

"Urgh!"

Swift Slash was interrupted halfway through by the cold blast, whose speed and power were both far beyond normal. The impact struck Leon's back like a runaway locomotive, sending his body pitching forward—no, flying forward!

With a dull thud painful just to hear, he rolled several times across the ground before finally crashing into a large tree and barely coming to a stop.

"My... my back..." Leon groaned like Peter Parker.

No blood had spilled. Perhaps that blow had not caused too much damage?

No. It was because his entire back had been frozen beneath a spreading layer of solid ice. Before his blood could even spray out, it had frozen into irregular crimson gemstones.

In truth, his Swift Slash had still been too slow. By the time he realized he was the target, it