052. Noble Bloodline
A noble blood beast's roar echoed out.
“Groooaaarrr!”
It was a bone starfish monster. The creature charged straight at the guards encircling Ganain.
Shouts of shock from the guards rippled through the forest at the sight of its house-sized bulk.
“……A monster?!”
“What the hell is this bone monster……?”
A massive bovine form stripped down to bones alone. The grotesque starfish's appearance terrified the guards, their bodies instinctively stumbling back.
But they couldn't retreat just like that. Ganain was watching from behind.
Fail in their duty, and who knew what backlash awaited.
With no choice, the guards drew their swords.
Ching!
As one drew his blade, the others followed suit, weapons at the ready.
“Everyone, stay sharp and protect him!”
“Yes, sir!”
But no matter their resolve, a 3rd-class assassin like the starfish wasn't something willpower alone could fell.
Swords, spears, maces—they struck at the starfish, but only the clang of metal on bone rang out.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Not a scratch on the bony body.
The stunned guards could only wonder.
“Why……”
“No effect at all……”
The moment their words trailed off, the starfish lunged.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Friction sounds erupted in sequence. As the starfish tore through their ranks, the guards protecting Ganain were flung in all directions.
Seizing the opening, countless skeleton soldiers charged with their arms as weapons, targeting Ganain's guards.
Creak, creak.
The racket of joints clashing assaulted their ears. Soon, dull impacts followed.
Crack! Crack! Crack……!
Dozens of guards crumpled unconscious, skulls smashed.
The sight of their comrades falling raised the surviving guards' voices in outrage.
“Where'd these skeletons come from?!”
“These damn bones……”
As they raised swords, spears, clubs—
Bang! Bang!
Explosions rang out. Guards lifting weapons toppled.
Torn brown clothes. Pirate skeletons wielding guns were to blame.
They grinned slowly, barrels raised. Smoke wafting from muzzles scattered in the wind as the pirate skeletons spoke.
“We can't sit this out, eh? Heh heh heh.”
“Where there's treasure, we're there too.”
Codic's summons were capped at fifty including himself. Adding pirate skeletons had cut the regular skeleton count.
Bin's current skeleton forces:
Skeleton soldiers: twenty.
Pirate skeletons: thirteen.
Elite skeleton knights: four.
Gusts: ten.
Starfish, Gold Tooth, and Codic himself. Exactly fifty.
As the horde of skeletons rampaged, Ganain wore a baffled look.
“You lowly scum! Do you know who I am……? Daring to touch a servant of the gods……”
Ganain's words cut short. Powerful magi pulsed around him.
From amid the skeletons, the source revealed itself.
Thud. Thud.
Fear-inducing footsteps. Black smoke coiling from one hand.
Bin, greatsword in grip.
With a cold expression, he eyed Ganain and spoke.
“Ganain…… So what?”
“……?!”
Guards and Ganain alike blinked in shock at the words. An utterly unfamiliar reaction.
Who dared act this way before Ganain? Him, guarded by his personal retinue and the Super Novas.
The guards were momentarily speechless. Maybe calm him down first—
But Bin had already decided.
His eyes caught a naked woman encircled by guards, weeping. Her back soaked in blood, the agony evident at a glance.
And one guard had stripped his lower half.
Body and soul defiled. Witnessing such depravity soured his mood.
Ganain blinked at Bin's appearance.
“A Bascon whelp? That's the one from before.”
The black uniform gave it away. And the overwhelming mana suggested age.
Yet only mid-teens.
Ganain, puzzled, asked a nearby guard.
“What class knight does that punk look like?”
“Hard to say exactly…… but around 4th-class.”
“What? 4th-class?!”
Only then did Ganain's rigid face soften.
'What, that's it? The skeletons follow him, so they're weaker…… Means my forces outmatch his.'
Protected by his retinue and Super Novas, a 4th-class knight was no threat.
Regaining confidence, Ganain bellowed at Bin.
“You bastard! What do you think you're doing?!”
Bin replied with a sneer.
“Commit a crime, pay the price.”
“Crime?! Me?”
Ganain let out an incredulous laugh. Crime—a word that never applied to him.
His whims became reality. His thoughts and actions were law, truth itself.
Such a status made "crime" feel alien.
Throwing his head back, Ganain burst into laughter.
“Crime…… Haha hahaha!”
His gaze fixed on Bin.
“You seem too young to grasp it. I decide crimes and punishments, fool!”
“No point talking to a beast worse than beasts.”
“What?!”
Thud. Thud.
As Bin advanced on Ganain—
Ching.
Blade sounds from around. Guards grazed by the starfish rose again.
Bin narrowed his eyes at their sturdy torsos.
'Plate mail saved their lives?'
Plate mail. Steel plates riveted over chain mail. Plates visible on chest, shoulders, shins, backs of hands.
Heavy armor demanding strength and stamina. These guards weren't pushovers.
“Insolent Bascon pup! Daring to touch Ganain?!”
As risen guards closed in, Codic—in Gust form—spoke.
“Protect the lord.”
With that, skeleton soldiers blocked the approaching guards.
“Protect!”
A guard, eyes red at the skeletons, shouted.
“These puny skeletons?!”
Crack! Crack!
Dual swords and staff swung—skeleton soldiers shattered.
They targeted legs, drawing on experience. Legs broken, skeletons flailed with arms alone.
The guard smirked at the wreckage.
“Hahaha. Nothing to……”
His words choked off. Four elite skeleton knights had closed in unseen.
Bodies marked Gap, Eul, Byeong, Jeong.
As guards lunged, the elites seized arms, snapped them in an instant, disarming them.
Elites then aimed seized weapons at armor gaps. Swift motions.
Onlooker guards gaped.
'F-Fast……'
“Skeletons……”
Swish— Slash—
Arms and heads flew. Screams poured out.
“Argh!”
“Guh……”
Blood-soaked guards collapsed in seconds.
Other guards trembled, deeply shaken.
Before them stood the four elites, proudly wielding dual swords, dual axes, flails, staff.
Gap, Eul, Byeong, Jeong—seized weapons in hand.
Guards' momentum broken, the elites darted toward Ganain.
Swish—
Dual swords, axes, flails, staff surged at him.
Yet Ganain smiled leisurely.
“Think you lowly things can touch this body?”
He raised a shield hidden in his white uniform. Square, turtle-shell patterned on white field.
Superior weapon, Turtle Shield.
A transparent barrier formed around it, futilely blocking the four weapons.
Ting. Ting. Ting. Ting……
Stunned elites flew back.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack……!
Not just flung—
Crack.
Cracks spiderwebbed their bones.
Ganain smirked viciously.
“Hahaha. Nice try. You bugs can't pierce this weapon no matter what!”
Bin frowned at the white shield.
'Turtle Shield……'
Sturdy defense that reflected attacks. As he said, hard to breach with ordinary arms.
Ganain leered at Bin.
“Crime?! I'll make you pay for your insolence!”
“……”
Ganain glanced at Behemoth. The 15-meter behemoth lumbered away to escape.
Bin scowled at Ganain.
'Won't let you escape.'
Let him slip away here, and the incident would balloon.
Then—
Swish—
Bin unleashed agility mana. Shadows layered, closing on Ganain in a flash.
He swung Luminare.
Ganain smiled leisurely at the approaching Bin.
“Useless. Even a 3rd-class couldn't pierce it. Not you.”
Shriek—
As Ganain shut his mouth, Luminare met Turtle Shield.
Thud!
Dull sound. The barrier's durability was clear.
But Bin wouldn't stop at one strike.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Dull clashes continued. No change in the barrier despite repeated blows.
Moments later.
“Hah, hah……”
As Bin's breath grew ragged, Ganain muttered.
“Lowly scum! Daring to target noble blood like me. You'll pay dearly. Imagine when I report this to the Gana Empire? Hahaha.”
With a lewd grin, Ganain continued.
“Countless families under Gana will hunt the Bascons. But don't worry—I won't kill you.”
“……”
As Bin watched, Ganain spoke on.
“I'll show the world what happens when scum like you touch me. Force you to kneel and grope your mother's tits right in front of you. Hahaha!”
The instant Ganain finished—
Bin's one eye shifted to reptilian slit.
With icy glare, he swung Luminare at Ganain.
“I'll rip that flapping hole shut soon.”
Swish!
Air parted. The greatsword tore into the barrier.
Zzzzzzz!
Ganain's pupils quivered at the blade.
'Sil-silver……?!'