Chapter 17
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Silent Arrow
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Ruyan's appearance was so ominous that just looking at him made one's limbs tremble in terror.
"Where did this bastard come from...?"
Only then did Branch Manager Alex sense the gravity of the situation and urgently shouted.
"Knight Commander, what are you doing! Subdue him now!"
At Alex's bellow, the Knight Commander scowled in displeasure but held his tongue.
He too had already detected the chilling sense of crisis.
"I don't know what you're plotting, but it won't go your way!"
The Knight Commander kicked off the ground and charged straight at Ruyan.
It was indeed tremendous speed.
In an instant, he closed the distance to Ruyan and slammed down his sword, cloaked in sword aura.
Slash.
The monstrous sword aura cleaved Ruyan's body clean in half.
Or so it seemed.
But after the sword aura passed, Ruyan's form gradually dispersed. It was merely an afterimage—Ruyan was no longer there.
The vanished Ruyan suddenly reappeared behind Boldkan.
'You first—I'll kill you!'
Ruyan thrust out his hand and seized the defenseless Boldkan's throat.
Grab.
Then he shoved the mana exploding within his body straight into him with all his might.
Boom.
Boldkan's neck couldn't hold out for even a second before bursting apart.
There was no way a mere 4th Circle mage could withstand the rampaging mana that even Ruyan himself couldn't contain.
A gruesome and brutal ploy.
'I'll kill them. Hurl them all into hell!'
Consumed by rage, Ruyan gave no thought to the consequences. Even knowing his own body was breaking down, he thrashed wildly.
Yet this all-but-suicidal strike yielded an unexpected outcome.
By expelling a massive surge of mana in one go, a check was finally put on Ruyan's rampage.
The endlessly churning mana faltered.
Ruyan, who had been berserk, felt his mind clear somewhat.
'Don't stop! Kill them, then I'll die too. Dying is fine!'
Ruyan screamed inwardly.
He could never be satisfied until he shoved them into the darkest pit of despair.
But with the rampage halting briefly, his body instinctively began purging the excess energy.
His body knew full well: at this rate, he'd perish before settling the score with his enemies.
Frustrating as it was, he had to concede the point.
'Right—I can't die before you bastards.'
If even one survived, he'd never rest in peace.
For now, death would have to wait.
'The rampage is already underway, so no other choice. I have to vent it out.'
That was the sole path to avoid exploding like Boldkan.
As Ruyan slowly regained control, a furious roar erupted right beside him.
"You bastard! You dare look down on me?!"
The Knight Commander, who had caught up unnoticed, swung his razor-sharp sword.
Whoosh.
Sword aura descended with ferocious momentum.
It sliced through the surging blue mana rising from Ruyan's body, tearing into Ruyan himself.
Splash.
But once again, the Knight Commander's blade caught only empty air and an afterimage.
'Tch! Slippery eel!'
Realizing his strike had missed, the Knight Commander whipped his head around.
The failure aside, he could now predict Ruyan's moves with certainty.
'Aiming for the troublesome mage first, eh?'
A solid choice by any measure. But with his intent read, the chase was over.
The Knight Commander unleashed a long stream of sword aura and hurled it at the mage with full force.
Swish.
A chunk of energy sheared off the gleaming blue blade and rocketed forward at blinding speed.
And there was Ruyan, materializing right in its path—just as predicted.
'Got you!'
The Knight Commander's eyes flashed as he inwardly cheered.
But astonishingly, Ruyan stayed cool even in that dire instant and flicked his hand.
Grab.
Just before the sword aura struck, Ruyan's fingers clamped around the mage's head.
And it detonated immediately.
Boom.
The mage crumpled lifelessly amid the fierce blast, head gone.
The tardy sword aura halved what remained of his falling body.
Slash.
A nightmarish scene straight out of a nightmare. Yet only one casualty.
Ruyan had already vanished from the spot.
"Argh! You filthy coward!"
Fuming, the Knight Commander amassed more sword aura and gnashed his teeth.
For the man hailed as the region's strongest, Ruyan's mockery was an intolerable disgrace.
Not that Ruyan gave a damn.
The more the Knight Commander's face twisted, the calmer Ruyan's grew.
'Energy's finally stable.'
Thanks to those two massive discharges, he could now rein in his power.
A hefty amount of mana still roiled inside him, but nothing poised to drop him right then.
Evading the Knight Commander's renewed charge, Ruyan funneled every scrap of energy into his mana circles.
'Gotta make use of what's left. No room for thirds.'
The mana flooded in, instantly filling the modest confines of his 1st Circle.
Surplus kept gushing out regardless.
Biting back the blood rising in his throat, Ruyan kept wrestling the mana under control.
He seized the energy threatening to scatter and packed it tight around the mana circle.
'Obey me! I am your master.'
Ruyan's ironclad resolve for vengeance subdued even the wild surge.
Captured, the energy quit bucking and drifted listlessly over the mana circle.
Then, at last, it settled naturally—like bumping into a fresh barrier.
The second circle!
Far from perfect. Battling while shaping it left it malformed.
A makeshift container born of the rampage, doomed to unravel soon after.
'Still, crisis averted for the moment.'
Buying time was what mattered. He wouldn't die first, at least.
Only now did Ruyan halt, lips twisting into a full, predatory grin.
Every twitch of muscle, every fine hair brimmed with raw killing intent—an unearthly smile.
'Now, time to reap your sins.'
Before anyone noticed, his bow snapped perpendicular, dead on the Knight Commander.
"Filthy coward! Finally grown a spine to fight for real?!"
Seeing Ruyan stop at last, the Knight Commander lit up, eyes blazing.
So long as he didn't flee, one clean stroke would end it—he trusted that much.
And his confidence wasn't baseless.
He was a supreme expert who wielded sword aura.
Twang.
In that instant, Ruyan's bow shuddered as an arrow launched.
Whoosh.
Unthinkable velocity for a crude bow's shot.
Ruyan's mightiest arrow yet.
But the Knight Commander was no slouch.
A casual sidestep let him evade with ease.
"That all you—"
He crowed in triumph after dodging. Or tried to.
He clamped his mouth shut in haste.
Whoosh.
Another arrow streaked toward his dodge spot.
No escaping this one. Too late.
'Damn—got cocky.'
The Knight Commander scrapped evasion and yanked his sword up.
Slice.
The arrow met sword aura and sheared apart pathetically, dropping.
True enough—nothing withstood sword aura's edge.
Yet the Knight Commander's face stayed grim.
'Trouble. Can't break free!'
Starting to block chained him—no dodging now.
Divine Bow's rapid fire!
Nocking, drawing, loosing—all a blur.
Just death arrows hurtling in relentlessly.
Slice.
Flailing his sword madly to bisect them, the Knight Commander roared.
"Branch Manager! Do something!"
A snap at the idle Alex.
Alex wasn't spectating for fun, of course.
He yearned to shred Ruyan. Two ace subordinates lost in a blink.
'Useless oaf! Then trap him yourself!'
Ruyan's ghosting moves defied high-circle spell targeting.
'Knights—utter wastes.'
Alex tsked and stepped up. If the Knight Commander couldn't pin him, he would.
"Chains of mana, bind my foe. Hold!"
Hold—a 3rd Circle spell sealing motion utterly.
Projectile-free, instant effect on target. Prime combat efficiency.
Even an ogre exposed couldn't shake it.
Crackle.
'Hold' took effect without fail.
Ruyan's body locked rigid.
Frozen mid-draw, bowstring taut.
Freed from the barrage, the Knight Commander whooped and barreled in.
"You bastard! It's over!"
Monstrous sword aura arced long toward Ruyan.
But then—
Ruyan's lips curled higher.
'He twitched his face?'
Thought the Hold perfect—a ruse.
Bow fully drawn, Ruyan leered wickedly and released.
Pew.
Frightening speed.
Point-blank—no dodging.
'This one's lethal!'
Ice prickling his back, the Knight Commander scrambled to raise his sword.
Clang.
Sword aura or not, the jolt hammered through his arms.
Reverse: only sword aura caliber could parry it.
'How'd he shrug off Hold?'
The Knight Commander reeled in disbelief.
Wrong premise from jump.
Ruyan hadn't evaded Hold.
He'd felt it seize him.
Dense mana enshrouded, pressing to isolate.
But for one whose Heavenly Martial Body had merged with nature, isolation was impossible.
A 3rd Circle bid to quell his energy? Laughable overreach.
As the Knight Commander reeled from parrying the first, Ruyan prepped his finale.
'This ends it.'
The arrow brimmed with mana.
'Silence!'
Mana cloaking the arrow melted seamlessly into nature.
No outward shift. Silence merely muffled sound—a basic effect.
Mages dismissed it as dead weight.
But fused with Ruyan's arrow? Game-changer.
It streaked utterly soundless, stealth incarnate.
Like spawning from nowhere.
'Urk!'
Having barely blocked the prior shot, shock settling, the Knight Commander gaped downward.
A sharp sting pierced his chest.
'What the...'
His golden plate armor lay in glass-like shards. Crimson seeped from the gaps.
'I got hit?'
He hadn't sensed the arrow at all.
"Damn!"
Last words, curt as they came.
With that mutter, his body slumped.
A final shot no supreme expert could counter!
Ruyan's go-to finisher from the Central Plains.
Silent Arrow.
Breaking the sound barrier, it dealt death in utter hush. Some dubbed it the Divine Bow's retribution.
No small feat.
Sound-breaking needed at least half a jia of inner force.
Yet Ruyan had recreated it with a mere 2nd Circle spell.
Supreme Archmage!
Magic-martial synergy shattered his youthful shell's limits.