Chapter 174: Just Right (2)
Chapter 174: Just Right (2)
‘Dammit...’
‘How can this be happening?’
Count Gilsian wasn't the only one trembling with shame and humiliation.
Marquis Luid and Count Zigler were also glaring at Patrick, their teeth clenched in frustration.
Patrick had already been fighting a fierce battle inside the encirclement for over two hours. In the process, he had lost over a thousand troops, and his knight order had sustained significant damage.
Naturally, Patrick Schneider was far from peak condition.
The wounds scattered across his body and the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth made it clear he was pushed to his limits.
And yet...
Three 7-Star Knights were ganging up on him, only to be the ones getting overwhelmed.
How were they supposed to accept this reality?
How was this even possible?
Before they could even process the blow to their pride, they simply couldn't understand it. How could they be struggling like this against Patrick, a mere student who hadn't even graduated from the Academy?
"Cough, cough... Look at those faces..."
Patrick let out a blatant sneer at the three men, whose expressions had turned sour.
"I can see exactly what you're thinking, you bastards."
"..."
As they ground their teeth, Patrick wore a provocative smile.
"Just admit it."
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"That I'm waaaaay stronger than all of you."
"..."
"If you don't admit it... Cough, cough... Damn, I'm starting to feel dizzy."
The proud 7-Star Knights of the Caesar Kingdom looked miserable as they watched Patrick wipe the blood from his lips.
They knew.
In fact, they couldn't help but know.
Look at the Double Dragon. He was wiping away blood that overflowed every time he coughed. He was definitely not in a normal state.
And yet, he wasn't just holding his own against the three of them; he was dominating. Which meant...
‘If he were in perfect condition...’
‘It wouldn't have even been a fight.’
A hollow sense of helplessness and self-loathing caused the shoulders of Count Zigler and Count Gilsian to slump.
That was when Marquis Luid spoke up.
"Don't lose heart."
He addressed the two who were on the verge of giving up.
"We are lucky."
"What?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Marquis Luid didn't take his eyes off Patrick as he answered.
"I mean that right now, we can actually take down this monster."
"..."
"..."
"This is an opportunity that will never come again in our lifetimes. Pull yourselves together and do what must be done for the future of the kingdom!"
He was telling them to completely discard their personal pride and honor for the sake of the nation's future.
At those words, Count Zigler and Count Gilsian forced their heads up.
Perhaps it was just an excuse.
In the end, they were leading an entire army and three 7-Star Knights to gang up on a single person.
However, humans are surprisingly capable of committing foul and despicable acts as long as they have a justification.
"They say people are the same wherever you go... but I'm really seeing this shit again. Again."
Patrick's memories drifted back to the distant past.
[To protect the honor of my sect, I cannot let you leave peacefully!]
[So you're going to gang up on me?]
[Everything is for the honor of the sect.]
[So you're saying you're going to gang up on me?]
[This is by no means for my own personal gain.]
[Can you even hear me? Hey! Hey!]
[Prepare yourself, Radiant Dragon Hero!]
"These guys are really putting on a show."
Thinking back on it made him grind his teeth again.
Those so-called members of the prestigious Orthodox Faction—as long as they had a nice-sounding excuse like 'the honor of the sect,' their behavior became more disgusting and cowardly than even the Unorthodox Faction.
"Honor, my ass. You're just ganging up on me because you lack the skill."
Fine. I already know exactly how to deal with people like you.
I'll just have to teach you.
"Feel it in your bones. Exactly what kind of man I am!"
With that, Patrick charged toward the three of them first.
* * *
The flow of the battle shifted completely.
Originally, this fight was intended to capture a single man named Patrick Schneider. Patrick was the prey, and the Caesar Kingdom's army was the hunter.
But now, the roles were reversed.
Patrick was the one aggressively stepping forward to attack, while the proud heroes of the Caesar Kingdom were busy desperately blocking and dodging his strikes.
"Urgh..."
Count Zigler, who barely managed to block Patrick's attack, felt a numbing ache in the arm holding his shield. The relentless follow-up attacks were so fierce and savage that it felt like he would be carved to pieces if he let his guard down for even a second.
"You brat!"
Fortunately, his comrade, Marquis Luid, came to his aid. By attacking Patrick, he allowed Zigler to narrowly escape the storm of strikes.
However, Marquis Luid had to pay the price for poking the tiger's tail.
"Who do you think you're calling a brat?!"
Clang!
"Gah...!"
Patrick's kick flew low and connected. Marquis Luid, who had been charging forward, was forced to stop as a sharp pain, as if his leg were snapping, surged through him.
"There are only two people allowed to call me that."
Then came Patrick's storm-like continuous assault.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
If Luid hadn't quickly raised his shield and infused it with Aura, his body would have been hacked into pieces and scattered on the ground.
"Kh..."
Marquis Luid grit his teeth.
He had to endure. He had to hold on for just a little longer...
"Aaaaah!"
"Die!"
Count Zigler, having caught his breath, and Count Gilsian, who had drawn his Aura Blade to its maximum length, joined the fray to double-team Patrick.
"These guys, seriously..."
In that instant, Patrick's body blurred and seemed to split apart.
"Huh!?"
"Urgh..."
It was a movement technique superior even to the Afterimage Step.
Seven clones of Patrick split off simultaneously, turning into flashes of light.
Flash Dragon Strike: Adaptive Form
Big Dipper Sevenfold Strike
Boom! Crash! Bang!
"Guh..."
"Aaargh!"
The three 7-Star Knights were blown back at the same time. Like goblins kicked by a horse, the three tumbled across the ground several times before forcing themselves back up.
Patrick frowned at the sight.
"Their endurance is weirdly high. Is it because of that armor?"
Ordinary plate mail couldn't withstand Patrick's attacks. Yet, the armor those three were wearing maintained its shape even after taking his Flash Dragon Strike head-on.
It clearly wasn't an ordinary item.
As the fight dragged on pointlessly, Patrick let out a sigh.
"You're really being a nuisance."
On the other hand, while Patrick felt something close to annoyance, the emotion his opponents felt was...
"...He's a monster."
Count Gilsian spat the words out, a sentiment shared by the other two.
Marquis Luid spat out the mud that had entered his mouth and said, "Just once... I don't care what it takes. We just need to create a single opening."
"Mm..."
"..."
At Marquis Luid's words, Count Gilsian and Count Zigler nodded and forced themselves to stand.
Patrick frowned at the sight of them burning with a fighting spirit that suggested they still had hope.
‘What is wrong with these guys? Are they stalling for time?’
If they were stalling because reinforcements were coming, their stubborn persistence would make sense. However...
‘I don't feel anything like that.’
Even when he expanded his Energy Sense, there was no change in the encirclement's formation. There was no sign of reinforcements.
Then what was the basis for the fighting spirit that refused to die in their eyes?
‘There's no way they don't realize the gap in our skills...’
Just then, the opponents bravely charged at Patrick again.
"Here we come! Double Dragon!"
"Uooooh!"
Watching the three charge as if they truly believed they had a chance, Patrick felt a nagging sense of unease.
There was no clear evidence, but his instincts, sharpened through countless brushes with death, were screaming at him.
Warning him that something was dangerous.
‘Let's wait and see for a moment.’
Patrick trusted his gut. A master's intuition was sometimes more reliable than logical judgment.
He planned to defend calmly while figuring out what the enemies were aiming for. But then...
"Now!"
"Fire!"
A rain of arrows poured down from behind Patrick.
"Oh? Look at these bastards."
Had they really discarded even the slightest shred of dignity?
The soldiers, whom he thought would watch quietly while he dealt with these three, fired their arrows at him.
Patrick swung his sword, batting away the arrows flying toward him. It was impossible for such arrows to harm him. However, the enemies lunged in as if they had been waiting for this exact moment.
For a second, Patrick thought: Even so, isn't that reckless? Why would they—
"Huh?"
That was when Patrick saw it.
Ting! Ting-ting-ting!
The armor they were wearing easily deflected the arrows. A few arrows should have lodged themselves in the gaps of the armor, but every single one was bounced away.
Come to think of it, those suits of armor were exceptional enough to maintain their shape even after being hammered by Patrick's Flash Dragon Strike. Arrows wouldn't even leave a scratch.
"Dammit..."
This was Patrick's mistake.
In the Jianghu, with a few exceptions, people generally didn't wear armor. What was the point of wearing it when it would be easily sliced through by Sword Qi anyway? It was just heavy.
However, the knights of this world—even the soldiers—wore at least basic armor to cover their vitals.
And the high-quality plate mail worn by knights could withstand a fair amount of arrows.
In particular, the sets these three were wearing were special products reinforced with enchantments from the Tower of Truth.
Material Strengthening, Shock Absorption, Weight Reduction, and more...
They were magical tools imbued with over seven different spells.
While not quite at the level of a Soul Weapon, a single set was a luxury item expensive enough to equip an entire knight order.
Patrick hadn't realized this. Or rather, he knew it in his head but hadn't truly experienced it yet.
The three enemies charged through the rain of arrows as if it were nothing.
‘Tsk, can't be helped.’
Patrick, who had been swinging his sword to deflect arrows, shifted his blade to deal with the three of them first, even if it meant taking a bit of damage.
But then...
"Patrick Schneideeeer!"
Marquis Luid made an unexpected move.
He threw his sword and shield directly at Patrick.
Patrick, unable to ignore the power of weapons flying at him while imbued with Aura Blades, quickly moved his sword to intercept those two threats.
Clang! Bang!
Immediately after he swatted the weapons away.
"Double Dragon!"
"Die!"
Count Gilsian and Count Zigler lunged from the left and right, aiming for an opening.
However, Patrick's body moved as if possessed, appearing to split to the left and right simultaneously.
And then...
Crash! Boom!
He smashed aside even their desperate attacks.
"Kh..."
"You monster..."
The two were sent flying back by Patrick's powerful counter.
But in that moment...
Grab!
The now-unarmed Marquis Luid lunged forward and wrapped Patrick in a bear hug.
Then, he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Mageeees!"
In that instant, Patrick saw them.
A group of mages chanting spells behind the knights, and the massive spheres of fire rising above their heads.
"This is driving me crazy."
Grit his teeth, Patrick slammed his forehead into Marquis Luid's face at point-blank range.
Crack!
"Aaargh..."
Marquis Luid's nose collapsed and his front teeth shattered. Yet, the strength in his arms tightly gripping Patrick didn't waver for a second.
"Hurry!"
"You old geezer, seriously...!"
Patrick forced his pinned arm to move, placing his palm against the center of Marquis Luid's chest.
And then...
Thump!
He performed a powerful stomp.
The reactionary force rising from the earth traveled through his knee, waist, and shoulder, before exploding through his palm.
Explosive Force
BOOM!
"Guaaaah..."
A powerful burst of force erupted at point-blank range.
Marquis Luid's body jolted as if it were inflating, and a sound like a giant drum bursting echoed out. However...
"Hehe... It's... useless."
Despite groaning in agony from broken ribs and torn lungs, Marquis Luid wore a victorious smile.
And Patrick saw them.
The countless spheres of flame already hurtling toward him.
‘Ah... am I screwed?’
Boom! Crash! KABOOM!
Terrifying flames swept over the spot where Patrick and Marquis Luid stood.