Chapter 274: Ganging Up is the Way (1)
Chapter 274: Ganging Up is the Way (1)
Oliver’s house.
Waiting for the comrades who had arrived with wine and bouquets as gifts was…
“Welcome.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Stacy.”
“I’m Aria.”
Light seemed to descend from the heavens.
And at that moment, they all shared the same thought.
‘I shall have no regrets in my life.’
They were beautiful.
They looked kind, too.
Why? Because they were beautiful.
If someone is beautiful, they are kind.
At least to these men right now, that was the absolute truth.
“Please, come inside. I’ve prepared some food.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
“We’ll enjoy it.”
“It’s not much, but please accept this gift.”
And so, a pleasant home party began quite normally.
Oliver helped Rita carry out the prepared dishes, and the beauties—supposedly Rita’s friends—sat down next to each of the knights.
Every one of them was a rare beauty, and they were showing clear interest in the knights.
“Oh my, is training really that difficult?”
“That’s amazing. To be at the 5-Star realm at such a young age…”
“Please, tell us about when you fought in the war against the Harbor Kingdom.”
The women skillfully boosted the knights' egos and showed them affection, leading the men to drink far more than usual.
They emptied every glass as soon as it was filled. And then…
‘Wait, am I a little drunk?’
‘I can’t believe a few glasses of wine are making me tipsy…’
The knights began to feel a pleasant buzz. However, they couldn’t afford to look weak.
“My, you drink so well.”
“Down the hatch. All of it…”
“I’ve always liked men who can handle their liquor…”
The women continued to press drinks upon them, expertly pricking the men’s pride as if they had done this many times before.
In truth, they were all disciples of Rust and had been deployed on similar missions in the past.
Manipulating pushovers like these was child’s play for them.
As the alcohol continued to flow, the knights' minds grew increasingly foggy.
That included the host, Oliver.
And once things reached that point…
“Master. I believe they are ready.”
The women’s expressions shifted instantly.
The coquettish, fawning behavior was gone, replaced by cold, clinical gazes.
Rust let out a sigh as she looked at them.
“That was easier than I thought. Did I overthink this?”
Because Oliver was involved, Rust had taken extra precautions.
She had suspected that the Aura Blessing practiced by the Double Dragon Knights might possess some resistance to magic.
However, these so-called comrades of Oliver had fallen far more easily than expected.
Though they had used a drug crafted by Grid, it was still absurdly simple.
“If I’d known it would be this easy, I wouldn’t have even asked Grid for help…”
The thought that she had to share the merits just because he’d made a single drug made her brow furrow.
She needed to accumulate more achievements to secure a higher position on that promised day, the Salvation’s Sunset, when they would emerge as victors.
“Well, it can’t be helped. Shall we get to work?”
Rust approached Oliver, who was slumped over, and grabbed him by the hair, jerking his head back.
Then…
“Consider it an honor. To become my slave…”
Rust’s mouth unhinged to an extent impossible for a human, and something wriggling and insect-like began to emerge from within.
Just as the creature was about to crawl into Oliver’s open mouth…
Shweeeek!
An arrow streaked through the air, aimed directly at Rust’s head.
Without even looking, Rust caught the arrow.
She glared toward the source of the projectile with predatory eyes.
“Who dares…”
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Before she could, countless arrows pierced through the walls of the house, raining down upon her.
“Hmph.”
Rust didn’t even bother to dodge. She surged her dark magic.
Pitch-black mana erupted from beneath her feet, swirling upward to form a protective barrier around her body.
The rapid-fire arrows failed to pierce the shield and fell harmlessly to the floor.
However, the next attack was far more powerful than any arrow.
Boom! Crash!
Two streaks of light smashed through the walls and charged toward her.
Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles
Third Form
Flash Dragon Strike
Sanson and April.
Rust’s expression stiffened at the simultaneous ambush from the Captain and Vice-Captain of the Double Dragon Knights.
“Hmph!”
She concentrated mana into both hands to block the two streaks of light. But…
KABOOOOM!
The impact of the dual Flash Dragon Strikes was beyond anything she had imagined.
As Oliver’s house was blown to smithereens, she was sent skidding backward.
“How dare you… Who are you?!”
As Rust screamed with a venomous expression, a voice drifted toward her.
“Who am I? No, you should be asking who we are. You old dark mage hag.”
Rust bit her lower lip as she looked toward the voice.
“Patrick Schneider.”
“Having a good evening? I heard there was a party, so I decided to crash.”
As Rust scanned her surroundings, her face turned grim.
The Double Dragon Knights.
Evolved Orc warriors.
Mages and magic swordsmen who appeared to be from the Tower of Truth.
There were even Elven warriors.
The elite forces of the Schneider Duchy had completely surrounded the area.
To have such an elite force lay a secret siege…
It was impossible unless they had been certain and prepared in advance.
“Since when did you know?”
“I wonder. Since when? Why don’t you try guessing?”
“……”
Rust hesitated, seeing Patrick’s refusal to leak even a shred of information.
‘Should I fight? Or should I flee?’
The skill of the Double Dragon?
To be honest, she didn’t know for sure.
According to the cult’s investigation, he was on par with the Empire’s Sword Saint, perhaps even superior. But…
‘Does that even make sense?’
Whether it be the sword or magic, personal power cannot ignore the weight of time.
No matter how much of a monster the Double Dragon was rumored to be across the continent, his personal martial prowess couldn't possibly rival that of the Sword Saint.
In fact, if he were truly confident in his own strength, why would he have mobilized such a massive force?
‘I can do this. I am one of the Jonsa’s direct disciples.’
Though Rust was the weakest in terms of individual combat power among the seven disciples, she believed she could handle someone like Patrick on her own.
‘Fine. Then I’ll—’
“Hey, hag.”
Rust flinched.
The moment she heard the voice, she realized Patrick was already standing right in front of her.
In that split second of hesitation and panic…
BAM!
A powerful blast of Explosive Force erupted at point-blank range.
“Gah…!”
Rust was sent flying backward, the agonizing sensation of her ribs shattering echoing through her body.
“Master!”
“No!”
Rust’s disciples rushed to their fallen master, casting shields and standing guard against Patrick.
Patrick took that opportunity to issue an order.
“Grab Oliver and the boys and wake them up.”
“Yes, Young Lord.”
He had moved quickly to rescue the knights first, fearing they might be taken hostage.
The Double Dragon Knights began slapping Oliver and his comrades across the face.
“Wake up, you punk!”
“Stop sleeping and open your eyes!”
Oliver and the others, still groggy from the slaps, couldn't grasp the situation.
“What? What’s going on?”
“Where did the ladies go?”
Patrick shook his head at the pathetic sight.
“Tsk, tsk. You pathetic lot…”
Patrick clicked his tongue in disapproval.
Oliver, finally coming to his senses, ran over to Patrick.
“Wait, Young Master, what is happening?”
“Do you want the short version or the detailed version?”
“The short version, please! Why is my house destroyed, and why are you here…”
Rumble, rumble, rumble…
It was then.
Before Oliver could finish, a terrifying surge of mana erupted from the direction where Rust had been blown. And then…
“DOUBLE DRAGOOOOOON!”
Rust reappeared, floating in the air, her eyes glowing with a murderous red light as she unleashed a hideous aura of dark magic.
Patrick pointed his sword at her and said, “That’s why.”
“…Why is my ‘baby’ acting like that?”
“Because she’s a dark mage.”
“……”
Oliver looked as if he had been struck by lightning. His instinct was to argue, ‘How does that make sense?’ But…
“I will kill you! You miserable little shit!”
Looking at her now, no one could deny Patrick’s words.
Patrick let out a sigh toward Oliver.
“I have a lot to say to you…”
“……”
“But let’s save that for later. For now…”
Patrick raised his sword and began walking toward Rust.
“I need to catch that thing and beat the hell out of it.”
All traces of playfulness vanished from Patrick’s face.
*
A streak of light shot toward the sky. And then…
“Blink!”
Rust evaded the attack using a pre-cast spatial movement spell.
No matter how high-ranking a dark mage she was or how much she had transcended humanity, she wanted no part of a close-quarters battle with a swordsman estimated to be at the 8-Star level.
‘Once I’ve opened up enough distance—’
“Urgh!”
BOOM!
“Where do you think you’re going? I’m hurt.”
“Double Dragon, you dare…!”
Before she knew it, Patrick had charged at her again.
If not for the mana barrier she always kept active, her head would have been taken off.
Even now, her barrier was flickering precariously, on the verge of shattering.
Patrick poured more strength into his sword.
“You shouldn’t let your guard down just because you dodged once.”
“You brat… I’ll kill you!”
KABOOM!
Mana and Aura Blade collided head-on, resulting in a massive explosion.
Rust retreated and screamed to her disciples, “Kill them all!”
“Yes!”
As the disciples began to channel their mana upon their master’s command, Patrick shifted his gaze toward them.
‘Those ones aren’t ordinary either. Should I clear them out first?’
But he couldn't.
“Hellfire!”
In the air, Rust summoned a massive fireball of terrifying proportions. Then…
“Die!”
Patrick watched the fireball descend, radiating intense, searing heat.
‘No time to look away.’
She wasn't an opponent he could handle while distracted.
Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles
Second Style
Great Dragon Cross Sword
A brilliant cross-shaped flash of light tore through the hellish flames, resulting in a spectacular explosion.
Once again, the dazzling streaks of light and the black mana clashed repeatedly.