Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Archenemy (3)
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Even in his loss of reason, Demian's actions were swift.
The moment he seized the wrist, he used the Face-Saving Golden Needle to paralyze the muscles and seal the acupoints.
After completely neutralizing the enemy, he grabbed the head and smashed it downward.
With a deafening crash, Tarbulra's head buried completely into the ground.
Only after finishing these actions did Demian finally regain his senses.
'I went too far.'
He couldn't suppress his rage and laid hands on a Holy Knight. Still, he felt no regret.
His emotions hadn't settled enough for such thoughts. A moment's lapse, and his reason might vanish again.
"......What the hell do you think you're doing!"
At that moment, a voice filled with fury rang out.
Turning his gaze, he saw Nadin glaring at him as if he wanted to kill him.
"You dare lay a hand on our sect's disciple, you outsider?"
Nadin drew his sword. A sharp aura surged like a tidal wave, pressing down on Demian.
"I won't let you get away with this!"
Nadin charged at Demian. Paramon stepped in front of him.
"Paramon!"
Nadin spat his rage and swung his sword down. Paramon blocked the falling blade with his forearm.
A Grade 1 Holy Knight.
High-class powerhouses clashed.
Vast holy power collided in midair. Just being exposed to the aura turned some Holy Knights' faces pale.
"Get out of my way!"
"I can't do that. Sir Demian is a guest of our sect."
"That bastard touched my junior brother!"
"He was the one who pointed a weapon at us first."
Nadin glared at Paramon with murderous intent. Paramon did not avert his eyes.
The two stood in sharp opposition. The killing intent they emitted grew ever stronger.
Just before it reached its peak, someone wedged between them.
"Calm down, both of you."
It was Serbo, a Grade 1 Holy Knight bearing dazzling agony.
As a fellow Grade 1 Holy Knight, Serbo pierced the storm of holy power and approached them.
"Serbo, are you insane? You see that and tell us to calm down?"
Nadin glanced at Tarbulra buried in the ground.
"It was Bound Gale who acted rashly first."
"You're taking that bastard's side now!"
"Sir Demian has already received permission to accompany from Elder Azure Flame. And our patriarch, Radiance, has also tacitly approved it."
In that instant, Serbo's eyes sharpened.
"Bound Gale's actions can be seen as insulting our patriarch himself. Do you truly wish for us to turn against you as enemies?"
With even Serbo defending Demian Haksen, Nadin could no longer push aggressively.
"Damn it."
In the end, Nadin sheathed his sword first. Paramon lowered his arm as well.
"What are you all standing around for! Go treat Tarbulra!"
At Nadin's command, two Holy Knights from Bound Gale rushed over and pulled Tarbulra from the ground.
Tarbulra lay unconscious, his face caked in dirt.
Nadin looked at him with pity. Then he shouted at Paramon.
"Paramon, Bound Gale will never forget today's events."
"That's my line. The Everburning won't forget either."
Nadin shot a gaze full of killing intent, but Paramon didn't blink.
"Bound Gale will act separately from here!"
With those words, Nadin vanished with his sect's Holy Knights.
Only the Holy Knights from The Everburning and Blinding Agony remained at the scene.
"Damn bastard. This is why I hate dealing with Bound Gale. So rigid and narrow-minded."
Paramon spat on the ground toward the direction Nadin had gone.
Then, grinning, he turned to Demian.
"Don't mind it. They were the ones truly in the wrong. No matter how much they dislike it, trying to overturn a decision from headquarters on their own whim."
Demian's inclusion had been approved not just by Azure Flame, but by the Holy Emperor himself.
No single sect could arbitrarily overturn such a decision.
"Your senior brother is right. If they had complaints, they should have lodged a formal protest with the sect later. Not act so recklessly."
Agnes chimed in.
"I never imagined Blinding Agony would take our side."
Paramon said to Serbo. Serbo replied nonchalantly.
"No need to worry. I merely follow Master Radiance's will."
"Did Radiance command you to support us?"
"He didn't say to support you, but he didn't say to oppose you either."
It was an inscrutable attitude. Truly befitting of Radiance.
"Anyway, now we're chasing the fiends with just us."
They couldn't gauge the fiends' forces, and the first step had gone wrong.
Paramon scratched his head with a troubled look.
* * *
In a forest a short distance from the Mandarine Kingdom's central branch.
Two shadowy figures perched atop trees, overlooking the central branch.
"Why are they fighting among themselves?"
"Wouldn't it be nice if they got along like us?"
"Yeah. I don't get why fellow kin act like that."
"Dear, don't say such extreme things. We're just unusually close."
A man's and a woman's voices sounded simultaneously.
But both wore thick robes, making it impossible to discern their exact genders.
"Anyway, the bastards came just as we planned."
"I told you, didn't I? Stir up the central branch, and they'd come running."
"We got an earful for making us wait so long."
"You're right. Spot on."
They were the only two there. Yet they chattered excessively for a pair.
"Even better, they're divided because they're fighting each other now."
"Who cares if they're divided? With His grace, we fear nothing."
"Exactly. Nothing to fear unless it's a hundred-grade Holy Knight!"
"They should be the ones fearing us."
As their conversation continued, the two grew increasingly excited.
"If we wrap this up well, He might even take us as covenant bearers."
"Keh... Just imagining it thrills me. Then that unlucky bastard Gasdal won't dare mess with us."
"Don't even mention that guy! Thinking of how he treated us like dogs despite His favor... my blood still boils!"
"What a detestable prick. If I could, I'd tear him apart with my own hands."
As the two bantered, the sun fully set. Darkness thickened.
"It's dark enough now... Time to move."
The two figures headed toward the Holy Knights.
* * *
Bound Gale picked a nearby building and entered.
"Paramon! That muscle-headed idiot!"
The moment they entered, Nadin erupted in fury.
"I don't get what's so great about dragging an outsider into headquarters' mission!"
"Exactly. And that outsider even laid hands on Sir Tarbulra!"
"For an outsider to touch a Holy Knight... Such blasphemy!"
Bound Gale's Holy Knights spoke in rough tones. This incident had wounded their pride too.
"Tarbulra? Has he come to?"
"He's still unconscious."
"Weakling. Once this mission ends, I won't let him off. A Holy Knight losing to some regular knight!"
Nadin couldn't quell his anger.
Suddenly, Nadin's eyes changed. He picked up the sword leaning nearby.
"Sir Nadin? What is..."
In that instant, pitch-black Aura sliced through the building. Nadin raised his sword to block it.
"Argh!"
"Eek!"
The Holy Knights screamed at the sudden commotion. Nadin stared at the gap sliced by the Aura.
Someone was outside.
Robed, gender indiscernible.
But the sword in hand was clear.
Its surface was thickly coated in black Aura. Evidence of a Dark Knight.
"Cheeky bastard. Prey trying to bite us hunters."
Nadin's lips twisted.
"A fiend appeared! Weapons up, now!"
Nadin swung at the wall. Countless sword winds rent it apart. The wall crumbled in pieces.
Through the gaping hole, Nadin and the Holy Knights emerged.
"You're the Dark Knight who attacked the central branch, aren't you?"
Nadin said to the robed man.
When the central branch was attacked, the Grade 1 Holy Knight guarding it was slain by a Dark Knight.
Survivors said he was toyed with before death. Indicating a vast gap between them.
The black magic power from this man was no joke. Nadin rarely encountered such a foe.
This man had to be the Dark Knight who struck headquarters.
"I heard there's another Black Mage. Where are you hiding them?"
The Dark Knight said nothing. At the silence, Nadin smirked.
"No use staying quiet. I can guess. Probably lurking somewhere to snipe me."
Typically, Black Mages supported knights from the rear.
That's when they shone brightest. Likely their strategy too.
"I'll take this one. The rest, search the surroundings and find the Black Mage!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Holy Knights shouted and scattered.
Even if they didn't catch the Black Mage, they'd keep them in check.
Now Nadin could focus solely on the Dark Knight before him.
"I'll collect the blood debt for the Holy Knights and believers slain here."
Nadin drew his sword. Winds swirled around the blade.
Bound Gale was a sect that converted holy power to wind.
They moved more nimbly with it, or deceived enemies' eyes.
But their greatest strength was elsewhere.
"Let's see your skill!"
Nadin swung. Dozens of sword winds assaulted the Dark Knight.
The ground split long furrows in their wake. Stones atop them halved.
Razor-sharp sword winds like Aura assailed from all sides. Blocking or dodging seemed impossible.
But the Dark Knight was no pushover.
He swung, black Aura trailing afterimages, enveloping him.
The sword winds vanished entirely against the Aura barrier.
"Not bad!"
Unfazed, Nadin condensed holy power into his blade again. He released it all at once.
A massive sword wind flew at the Dark Knight. He raised his blade to block.
But he couldn't withstand the full impact. His sword bounced back, stance crumbling.
Nadin seized the opening. He summoned wind to close in, then swung not with wind, but blade, aiming for the neck.
"Die!"
In that moment, the world flipped.
Sky and earth swapped. Vicious vertigo hammered his brain.
Senses muddled, his sword's path wavered. Nadin's blade cleaved empty air.
The Dark Knight exploited it, slashing diagonally downward.
Nadin instinctively leaped back. But he couldn't fully evade.
From chest to abdomen, a diagonal gash. Blood sprayed.
Nadin clutched the wound and retreated. He hastily summoned holy power to heal.
But the deep cut resisted regeneration.
"Cough, cough."
Nadin spat blood. Still, he stared at the Dark Knight in disbelief.
He'd fought countless Black Mages. He instantly knew what hit him.
The "Confusion Curse" that scrambled senses.
But it was impossible. Curses weakened sharply with distance.
To curse a Grade 1 Holy Knight like him required a high-tier curse.
Yet no Black Mage was here. Only the Dark Knight.
"I heard the Holy Knight named Nadin was pretty strong. Rumors were true."
"Right? Didn't expect him to dodge the slash even under the curse."
Then, two voices emerged from the Dark Knight.
At the bizarre phenomenon, Nadin could only gape.
"Dear, look at that face. Doesn't he look so dumb?"
"Even the esteemed Holy Knight makes that expression."
The Dark Knight shed his robe.
The moment Nadin saw the bare body of the Dark Knight, his eyes widened in shock.