Quite clearly the enemy was human, as Xun Lian Jia predicted. His silhouette was shadowy, his body encased entirely in obsidian armor that was as black as night. What seemed like purple veins ran along the surface of his gleaming armor, glowing eerily with barely contained demonic power. In his gauntleted hands, he held a single sword that was also the shade of midnight, the point of its blade thrust down into the steaming lake.

He was literally standing on water.

His face was hidden behind a helm, yet I could see glowing red eyes behind his caged visor burning ferociously into us. Heaving up his sword slightly, he then slowly approached us, taking one deliberate step at a time. Just like a deity from the times of mythology, he was walking on water. Each step he took vaporized more of the lake, sending boiling steam jetting upward like volcanic geysers.

"No way…impossible…" beside me, Xun Lian Jia was whispering. "Why is he here?"

"Huh? 'He'?" I repeated incredulously, turning to stare at him. "Do you know this guy?"

"The number one nightmarish killer of Grimaldus…their strongest warrior mage. The Black Swordsman of Grimaldus, he has never yet failed to kill anyone that the Dark Guild has sent him after. They say that he was a former a.s.sa.s.sin from the Umbra Sect, before the leader of Grimaldus took him in. He killed his way out of the a.s.sa.s.sin's Guild just to join Grimaldus." Xun Lian Jia looked as if he was on the verge of collapse, his knees shaking. Tears leaked from his eyes. "We're doomed."

Holy f…that was one h.e.l.l of a guy…to think that he could brutally slaughter his way out of the a.s.sa.s.sin's Guild and escape to become the number one killer of Grimaldus…

This wasn't going to be good.

Before the Black Swordsman could cross the halfway point of the lake, however, something enormous burst out of the waters to ram into him. The White Whale, roaring furiously, made use of its immense bulk to slam the enemy away. To make use of overwhelming brute force to expel the audacious human who had trespa.s.sed upon its territory.

The Black Swordsman couldn't even be bothered to look at the gargantuan monster. With a single swing of his s.h.i.+ning black sword, he cleaved the charging White Whale apart. A flash of black light erupted, and the White Whale split into two, both of its halves falling on either side of the Black Swordsman and spewing blood into the boiling water. The steam turned red.

I couldn't help but be stunned. The very same White Whale whose incredible resilience allowed it to withstand a sustaied onslaught of spells from over a hundred mages for an hour…had been sliced apart by a single stroke from the Black Swordsman. Yeah, I knew that those mages were middle school students, but the amount of firepower from over a hundred kids still couldn't be underestimated. It was still sufficient to level an entire city block. And the White Whale had shrugged that sort of firepower off as nothing more than a minor irritance.

That same White Whale was now sinking into the depths of its lake, its corpse sundered into two by a single sword strike.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

The black swordsman continued to walk toward us, as if the White Whale had been nothing more than pest that he had casually swatted away.

"Ah…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

With a yell, Xun Lian Jia began casting a spell and launching a burst of blue lightning at the approaching Black Swordsman. I whirled around, my jaw dropping.

"No, don't!" I yelled. "Stop!"

I was too late.

The next sequence of events unfolded in what almost seemed like slow motion to me. Even as everything appeared to crawl past me in a surreal, illusory manner, my body still wasn't able to catch up with my horrified mind.

First, the Black Swordsman dispelled Xun Lian Jia's ill-advised spell with a single slash of his sword. Then he disappeared from the surface of the lake.

No, he didn't literally disappear. He was moving so fast that he turned into a black blur. Kicking off the surface of the lake and sending up a large splash, he streaked toward the sh.o.r.e. In the next millisecond, he already reached the stunned Xun Lian Jia. Even as the chief trainer pulled up his sword to defend himself, the black blade flashed down.

"Gah!"

The single strike obliterated Xun Lian Jia's sword, destroying the weapon utterly and sending the poor, burly chief trainer flying in a fountain of blood. I didn't know if Xun Lian Jia had been killed by the blow, but I knew for certain that he would no longer be able to partic.i.p.ate in the fight.

"d.a.m.n it…!"

The Black Swordsman was already turning toward me, as if Xun Lian Jia had been some inconsequential foe that he couldn't be bothered to keep track of him. I was barely able to ward off his strike in time by parrying his blade with my crossed swords.

"Ugh!"

That single blow almost broke my arms. Staggering a few steps back, I struggled to keep with with the next barrage of attacks. The Black Swordsman's strokes were swift and precise, each one striking with the force of a hurricane. Despite doing my best to parry them, I was left with a series of cuts across my arms, cheeks and shoulder. Several gashes on my chest dripped blood, and I winced from the pain.

However…

"!!!"

The Black Swordsman whirled around to strike at Green Dragon, my Celestial Guardian materializing behind to strike at him. Claws met sword and exploded. Petals swirled about Green Dragon and he launched the razor-sharp petals at the Black Swordsman, who deflected each and every single one of them with insane speed.

While he was engaged with Green Dragon, I struck at his seemingly exposed back. Both of my swords streaked forward at different spots, aimed at his vitals. Hei Yue at his heart and Bai Ri at his kidney.

To my utmost surprise, the Black Swordsman spun around and easily fended off my strikes while retaliating fiercely. I had an impression of a gigantic demon bearing down on me and instinctively warded off his s.h.i.+ning, onyx blade as desperately as I could. His attack almost knocked my swords out of my hand, and for a millisecond I could see closing in on me to capitalize on his advantage.

And then he swung about, ignoring me to parry Green Dragon's claws and knock away the petals. While he was engaged with me, several of Green Dragon's flower petals had cut sliced through his skin and drew blood, but they were minor injuries. Nothing too fatal, and nothing that would incapacitate him. In fact, his attacks seemed faster and more precise than before.

"Ugh!"

Despite trying to trap him in a pincer attack, the Black Swordsman fought off both Green Dragon and me at the same time, and even carved a couple of new wounds into my arms. I gritted my teeth as I staggered back, heaving from the pain. At this rate, even if I avoided his lethal hits, I would eventually die a death of a thousand cuts.

The Black Swordsman blasted Green Dragon with a wave of obsidian energy that incinerated the flower petals and vines that had whipped out to entangle him, as my great Celestial Guardian was knocked a few pegs back. At the same time, I tried to stab him, but he swung about and struck me with his sword. I barely managed to parry his blade in time, but even though I crossed both of my swords to block his strike, the sheer force of his attack sent me hurtling backward.

"Argh!"

The immense shockwaves had almost broken my arms, and they felt numb from the strike. I hit the ground and rolled, blood dripping from my mouth. The Black Swordsman then descended upon my position, but before he could reach me, White Tiger materialized and struck him with a paw. Lightning exploded against a malicious black aura, and both parties sprang apart, with White Tiger nursing a bleeding claw and the Black Swordsman coughing out some blood. His black armor and cloak smoldered, having taken a direct hit from White Tiger's lightning bolt.

"Impressive."

I gaped at him in shock. This was the first time I had heard him speak. The Black Swordsman merely regarded me, and held his sword perpendicular to the ground as he adopted a new offensive stance. The point of his glowing onyx blade was directed at me, as if he planned to stab me with a single thrust. But from that far away?

Then again, he was a combat mage. Things weren't always as what they appeared.

Boom!

"!!!"

As I expected, the Black Swordsman unleashed a lance of destructive mana that cut through the entire field, ploughing through the soil and almost piercing through my flesh. Fortunately, I had dove to the side while simultaneously summoning another of my Constellation spirits.

"Scutum Sobiescianum!"

The s.h.i.+eld of Sobieski materialized and blocked the sharp lance of mana, only to disintegrate almost immediately. Fortunately, my Constellation s.h.i.+eld had bought me enough time to conjure a more powerful defense. The air around me froze into ice as I acc.u.mulated all of the moisture in the atmosphere to erect a dense s.h.i.+eld.

"Snow Aegis!"

The black lance surged into the gigantic snowflake-shaped s.h.i.+eld and dissipated harmlessly. The Black Swordsman appeared to narrow his red eyes, and he disappeared into a blur once more. Spiraling about, he swept through the unguarded flanks where my Snow Aegis didn't reach and struck at me.

However, as swift as he was, I was prepared.

Clang!

I just barely managed to ward off his vicious stroke before he twisted around to slash at me again. This time, Green Dragon and White Tiger converged upon him, their claws crackling with elemental energy. Razor-sharp petals accompanied ferocious lightning as they danced toward the Black Swordsman's back, but as always he was able to fend all of them off with consummate skill.

Like a black whirlwind, he spun about, his sword moving so quickly it gave the impression that he was wielding a thousand different weapons. Despite my best attempts, I found myself driven back with fresh injuries, which I promptly froze over with ice magic. Struggling to move forward to land a decisive blow, I ended up being kicked back by the Black Swordsman while his sword flashed up to intercept electric claws and killer plants. Vines were cut apart and petals scattered harmlessly, while deadly electricity dissipated ineffectively against his blade. Both of my Celestial Guardians growled in frustration, but he somehow continued to keep them at bay.

Even so, the Black Swordsman was still human. Even one as skilled as him was not able to keep up with the relentless onslaught from three opponents forever. With a yell, obsidian mana surged up from his body like an unbreakable pillar and knocked all of us back. The three of us dispersed, our bodies somewhat ravaged by the devastating torrent of malevolent mana.

However, I was far from done. Even as I retreated, I already had yet another trump card in play.

"Vermillion Phoenix!"

The vermillion bird materialized high above and enveloped the entire field in a h.e.l.lish inferno that engulfed the Black Swordsman right after the black pillar of destructive mana faded away. Even with his superlative skills and awesome reflexes, the Black Swordsman wasn't able to escape the divine flames or cleave through them. I watched in satisfaction as he disappeared under the crimson stream of heavenly fire.

My relief didn't last very long. the next second, a powerful tide of black energy ripped the inferno apart, and while not completely extinguis.h.i.+ng it, sent smaller sparks of embers flying all over the blazing field. Broken down into smaller, individual fires, the inferno didn't possess the power it once had.

Not that it mattered. The Black Swordsman stood tall in the center of the blackened field, his onyx armor still as pristine as ever. He appeared to brush soot off its polished surface, and then held his sword up to face me once more.

"Hmm…not bad. Now I understand why the Duke of the Franklin family appointed you to be the private tutor of his daughter. And I finally comprehend how someone as incompetent and untalented in the sword like her could become such an impressive swordswoman. You…you are just like her. No talent in the sword, yet you more than make up for your deficiency through tenacious perseverance and other more esoteric means."

He glanced at my Celestial Guardians, who had gathered protectively around me to fend off a counterattack. Even though his features remained concealed behind that helm, I could tell that he was smirking.

"However, it won't be enough."

"I know," I acknowledged with a fearless smile of my own. "Which is why I've prepared even more surprises for you."

Barely had I finished my sentence when Hydra reared up behind the Black Swordsman and crushed him onto the ground.

"!!!"

"You have a point," I admitted as I approached the struggling killer. "In terms of swordsmans.h.i.+p, you surely have me outcla.s.sed. In a straight-up sword duel, I will never be able to best you."

The Black Swordsman lashed out with his sword, decapitating one of Hydra's heads. In response, three more regenerated, fierer and stronger than ever, hissing as they bit and crushed his armor with their fangs. Cursing, the Black Swordsman kicked out and tried to free himself, but this time, his armor no longer looked as refined as it once was.

And when he finally dislodged himself from the multiple jaws of Hydra and blasted it away with a black burst of mana, Vermillion Phoenix unleashed yet another inferno upon him. Unlike the previous time, his armor smoldered and grew red-hot from the intense heat. By relentlessly attacking him over and over again, we were slowly tearing down his defenses. The damage to his once majestic armor was gradually acc.u.mulating, until it reached a point where it started to crumble apart.

"Fortunately," I continued as I struck him when he stumbled out of the inferno, his sword cleaving through the flames. Blood spurted into the air as he staggered. He countered with a riposte, but White Tiger slashed him in the back, forcing him to divert his attentions elsewhere, and I avoided a messy death. Smiling at my narrow escape, I nodded my grat.i.tude at my Celestial Guardians. "I'm not a true swordsman, but a summoner."

Please go to to read the latest chapters for free