Chapter 101

Zichs eyes quickly moved as the knights swords tried to pierce him in all directions. He narrowed his focus, and his senses became sharper and more precise. He also increased his concentration to the maximum.

One sword aimed at his heart; one at his neck, and another at his side. He didnt even have time to think. He had to sense their attacks and immediately move his body.

Clang!

He flicked away the sword aimed at his chest. Then he shifted his balance, twisted his body, and craned his neck.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The swords narrowly missed his neck and side. Zich swung his sword between the gaps.

Clang!

His sword was blocked. A knight behind Zich extended his sword and blocked Zichs attack. Zich took that moment to launch his second round of attacks. Four swords shot toward him this time, and each aimed at a different place on Zichs body. None of them were on the same track, and this indicated that the knights were used to doing cooperative attacks.

Zich swirled his mana. The mana extending from the tip of his sword swerved according to his intentions. As expected of a sword that the Karuwimans had gifted him, his mana flowed out much more easily than it did for other swords. Then he keenly raised his senses and infused mana into his eyes to increase his vision. He poured out an explosive amount of mana to only one side of the blade.

This skill was called Flashing Sword.

When mana seeped into only one side of the sword, the sword gained an incredible increase in speed from the reaction. Like its name, it instantly became a shining light. Zich focused his attention even more. He knew he couldnt simply be fast; he had to also maintain perfect control and consider multiple factors at once.

The sword shot forward like a wild horse. Zich clutched his sword handle and tilted it. One of the swords from the Bellid knights collided against Zichs sword.

Claaaang!

The sword bounced off Zichs sword strongly. A large ringing numbed his hands, but Zich didnt even blink and placed more pressure on his hands.

Swish!

Zichs sword continued straight ahead and changed directions only under his commands.

Claang!

That was the second collision, and another sword bounced off. Zichs sword also twisted off track from the rebound, but that was within his calculations. He drew a closer projection with his sword.

Clang!

A third collision.

Clang!

And finally, the fourth. In the blink of an eye, Zich had flicked away four swords. The Bellid knights looked at him with shock. But Zich couldnt afford to be smug or mock them, and he pierced his sword into the closest knight.

Push!

The sword penetrated through the knights armor and pierced into his chest. However, Zich didnt push his sword in too deeply; he pierced just enough to damage the knights organs and took out his sword again.

Whoosh!

As soon as Zich pulled out his sword, the knights hands brushed where Zichs sword had been. The knight also looked surprised, and Zich ran backward.

Ruuuush!

Water pillars with a tremendous amount of force struck where Zich was. The knight whose heart Zich had pierced got mixed up with the water pillars and exploded. The intense water pressure in the pillars shredded him apart. However, Zich avoided it, and not a single drop of water landed on him.

You bastard! Trislowa spat out curses as he shot water pillars. His attacks sacrificed his subordinate rather than capture Zich.

They arent holding anything back.

The knight Zich killed didnt evade or block Zichs attack; this was a result of Zichs fast judgment and the flashing sword skill. However, there was a difference between being unable to block or escape and not thinking of their lives at all.

Zich landed a critical wound on the motionless knight and immediately stepped behind.

He tried to capture me even at the cost of his life.

The knight had planned to stop Zich from pulling out his sword even if he was stabbed. If he had succeeded, Zich and the knight would have been hit by Trislowas attack and accompanied each other on their way to the afterlife.

The knights who had scattered under Trislowas signal rushed towards Zich again.

Time is on my side. Those guys are going to rush towards me even while putting their lives at stake.

Thats what both Trislowa and the knights wanted.

Then, theres only one thing for me to do.

Zich had to minimize his chance of getting injured, and he had to respond passively with a focus on defending. Of course, he didnt plan on turning down an opportunity to attack if a similar situation like before happened.

I have to watch out for myself.

A battle, which had a characteristically different nature than the ones Zich had ever fought before, unfolded.

* * *

After entering the Bellid temple, Weig advanced forward without hesitation. As soon as he spotted a Bellid priest, he separated their heads from their bodies and continued forward. The Bellids who had lost the protection from their barrier were helpless against him.

Where is Zich?

Zich should have heard the commotion caused by the Karuwimans entry, but Zich still hadnt joined them.

He could be dead or still have some work left to finish. Or he could be captured. Weig quickly erased the terrifying thought that Zich might be dead.

Sir Zichs target was Trislowa.

Then, Zich could be fighting with Trislowa now. Weigh mercilessly sliced the Bellid priests blocking his way and tried to sense Zichs presence.

Found him!

He felt Zichs presence from not too far away; there were also many other presences that he felt besides Zichs. Weig was sure that Zich was in the middle of a battle. Theres a high chance that Trislowa could be there.

Lady Lubella!

Yes? Lubella struck a beam of light through a resisting Bellid priest and turned around.

Lets go to meet Sir Zich.

Did you find out where he was?

Yes.

Lubella gripped her staff and stood behind Weig. Lets go.

Weig moved towards the presence he felt in front of him. It was not far; when they ran a little further, they reached the front of a shattered door. Weig and Lubella ran into the room.

Mr. Zich! Lubella cried out to Zich. Without saying anything, Weig looked around the room. There were gruesome corpses covered in blood on the ground, but when he saw that they were wearing Bellid uniforms, he lost interest in them. When he looked up, he saw people who looked like knights surrounding one person. From a distance, a Bellid priest was standing by himself.

The Bellid knights looked straight at Weig. Looks of dismay strongly appeared on their faces as they recognized who he was. There were even some who stepped back. However, Weig paid no attention to any of them and stared at the man they were surrounding.

Hey, you have finally arrived? Zich suffered minor injuries, and waved at Weig and Lubella.

Weig asked how his condition was. Are you all right?

Yes, Im all right. I have no deep injuries.

A great amount of blood was flowing down from his body, but it really did seem like there were no deep injuries.

Thats great. Then why dont we Weig, who had been smiling while talking to Zich, became cold in an instant. First take out the trash.

Whoosh!

Weig swung his sword. The holy energy inside his body shone brightly and spread out of him like bright rays of light.

Crassssh!

An enormous sound echoed across the room. As if Gods judgment was coming down upon the world, a sharp ray of light shone in only one part of the area. Zich closed his eyes from the harsh ray of light. However, light still seeped through his eyelids. His ears were numb from the loud explosion, and his clothes fluttered from the shockwaves. Small shards of debris hit his calves and feet. When the light disappeared, Zich opened his eyes.

Wow! He lightly showed his admiration.

Next to him, an enormous black stain was on the ground. No trace of the Bellid knights who were standing in that area could be found. The remaining Bellid knights quickly retreated; they moved near Trislowa and stood guard against Weig. However, they were unable to hide the terror in their eyes.

But Weig did not even take a moment to acknowledge their behavior. You must excuse me, Mr. Zich.

Its all right. Since I was in this cave for so long, I was slowly missing the light. All the light Ive experienced so far since I came here was light from a torch. The fluttering wind was also comfortable and nice.

Weig laughed out loud at Zichs easygoing attitude. Lubella walked towards Zich and used her healing magic. In an instant, all of the injuries on his body were gone.

Thank yo