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Chapter 32
“You stray-cat woman!”
Bang! Kaang!
Bruto’s irritation surged as Lea darted through the trees, constantly evading him.
Yet, he didn’t let it show. He always hid his emotions in the shadows, converting that energy into sheer will and channeling it into the aura he had mastered.
By now, he had also adapted to opponents whose movements seemed almost untouchable.
Slither…
Stopping his pursuit, he suppressed his aura. Just that alone made him seem to blend into the darkness.
He intended to take advantage of the advantage Lea’s dark armor and dusky skin gave her.
In conditions of darkness, light becomes blurry up close but is visible from afar.
Thus, the conditions were equalized, and the subtly gleaming armored Lea was now at a disadvantage.
“There you are!”
Pahhat!!
Bruto attacked Lea without manifesting his aura.
It was the moment Lea, hiding in the bushes and searching for Bruto, realized too late.
Kaang!!
It was like a black panther in the darkness snapping at the neck of its prey. Lea sensed that brief murderous intent and barely managed to block the strike.
Though the aura conditions were now equal, the difference in skill remained.
Kaang! Kaang! Kagagagang!!
Every clash of their swords reminded Lea of her disadvantage. She tried to avoid direct contact, but even that was difficult.
“I’m being overwhelmed.”
She realized Bruto’s concealment ability surpassed hers. Still, she didn’t regret stepping up. By now…
“He must’ve escaped on his own.”
Lea assumed Lian had fled. Bruto, noticing the brief lapse in her thoughts, didn’t miss the opportunity.
Bam!!
Bruto’s gauntlet slammed into Lea’s face. It was an unexpected attack, exploiting the patterns of her evasive movements whenever his blade flashed.
“Ugh!!”
Lea fell to the ground. She tried to move, intending to dodge rather than succumb to pain.
Crack!!
Bruto’s boot pinned her down. Retrieving his sword from his side, he raised it to her throat.
“The holy blood. Hand it over, and I’ll let you die gracefully.”
Bruto had a single purpose: find the holy blood.
While dealing with Lea, he sensed a minor presence but concluded it wasn’t the holy blood and ignored it.
Whether it was her surrender or a misstep into certain death, it didn’t matter; she was running toward monsters and soldiers, which didn’t require interference.
So Bruto assumed Lea had led the monsters here with the holy blood.
Yet, seeing her eyes, which seemed to silently await her death, he realized something:
“If it weren’t sealed in the demon pouch, there’d be traces of malice. But I can’t sense it.”
Then it happened.
“Bruto!!!”
From afar, the voice of Marquis Arzen rang out, cutting through the soldiers’ screams and the monsters’ chaos. The urgency was unmistakable.
“Your Grace!!”
Pang!!
Bruto immediately unleashed his aura and dashed toward Arzen. The thought of his lord possibly dying left him no concern for Lea.
That said, he hadn’t left Lea completely. He pinned her down, intending to resolve the urgent matter first and return for interrogation.
“Ugh!!”
Lea moaned and fainted, pinned down as Bruto rushed off. Had he applied more force, her bones would have crushed, her heart shattered. Bruto’s restraint was a miracle for her.
“Just a little more!”
Lian forced his way through the Imperial soldiers blocking him, keeping his eyes on Arzen.
From the left, he noticed a flash of blue light.
“Lea.”
Was she dead? Or was she reacting to Arzen’s voice and rushing over? He couldn’t tell. But that made his own mission even more urgent.
Thud-thud!!
Lian drew a deep breath and charged the guards again.
Despite being smeared in both his and others’ blood, he fought even more fiercely.
Kaang!!
Each was a skilled opponent, rivaling Gerard. Still, he did not fall behind.
Fuhuk!!
He drove his blade between helmet and breastplate, spraying blood. Ignoring attacks from the sides, he rolled across the ground, retrieving a sword to slice the legs of a guard, condemning him to a crippled fate. His focus remained: reach the Imperial commander.
“Hoo… huff…!”
By the eighth guard, the temporary surge of his physical enhancement faded.
“Hoo… hooo…!”
His breath burned, and the sword in his hand felt like a rock. Only two guards remained. The commander, still on horseback, was trapped by monsters and couldn’t flee.
The surrounding soldiers hesitated, paralyzed by fear. Their eyes flicked toward the approaching blue light, now visibly cutting through the monsters.
If they survived until their master arrived, they might live. That was their thought.
But Lian had no intention of waiting.
Thang!!
He charged again, about twenty steps from the commander. Two guards blocked him, slow with fear.
Kaang!
Dodging a sword above his head, he shoved one aside with his shoulder and hurled his blade toward the commander, who had been observing from above.
Hiiing!!
The commander, either reacting cleverly or due to a startled horse raising its forelegs, had the horse take the blow instead. The commander was thrown to the ground.
“You bastard!!”
The remaining guard screamed, swinging at Lian.
Whish-
Lian sidestepped and drove a fallen sword into the guard’s throat.
Thud-thud!
He charged the fallen Arzen.
“It’s over.”
Finally, just five paces from the Imperial commander, their eyes met. Fear was evident. He was just an ordinary human.
No pity could stop Lian’s resolve. He would end the instigator of the war. His only thought: behead him.
Thap-hat-
Three paces remained—enough to strike the neck.
Swish.
He planted his weight and swung.
“How dare you!!!!”
A voice filled with fury rang from behind, and flames erupted across his back.
Pook!!!
The sword barely missed the commander’s neck. Calculated to account for a retreat, the strike would have decapitated, but it didn’t.
The blade tore through his back, shattering bones and piercing his heart.
Crack!!
Even the artifact he had intended to preserve was destroyed as the blade pierced the armor.
“Ugh… cough!!”
The heart pierced, his body went limp. Looking down, he saw the dark, viscous liquid on the blade—death confirmed.
Yet why did the commander’s expression resemble despair rather than relief?
“No…”
Arzen’s face twisted with terror and hopelessness, letting out a scream:
“Nooo!! Everyone!! Everyone retreat!! Now!!!”
Lian closed his eyes at that cry. Bruto discarded the fallen Lian and rushed to Arzen.
“Your Grace! Are you all right?!”
Bruto checked Arzen, who, apart from himself, muttered like a madman:
“We… we must hurry. The holy blood has shattered inside the Author…”
Trembling, he pointed to the fallen Lian.
“Molgrak might awaken.”
Arzen recalled the bishop’s warning when acquiring Molgrak’s holy blood:
“Never break it. Its malice could inhabit the living or dead, becoming Molgrak itself.”
As a child, he had wondered why fragments of a monster-blood-infused sword needed retrieval. Later, he understood it was crucial for reclaiming territories corrupted by magic.
As an adult, he realized Molgrak’s holy blood was an artifact necessary even for the Empire.
Through a massive donation, he had gained contact with the bishop who had sealed it, acquiring it for himself.
At the time, he thought it was just a fabricated excuse for their failed sealing—but experiments with vagrants proved it was no lie.
Now, shattered inside a corpse, the threat was unimaginable.
“Hurry! We must get out!!”
Arzen shook off Bruto’s support, mounted a horse, and fled. His mount had died, leaving him no choice.
Bruto’s gaze fell to Lian on the ground—death was certain. The shattered holy blood had shown no signs of awakening; it was just a lifeless body.
“Molgrak, the Northern Abyss gatekeeper… could it really become him?”
Bruto had no clue. Initially, he assumed Arzen’s near-death state had impaired judgment. But noticing the sword he had set down began corroding changed his mind.
“The blade… it’s corroding?”
The dark, viscous liquid emanated a gray haze, corroding the blade. It was now unusable. He retrieved a guard’s sword and mounted it to his side.
“Officer!!”
Arzen urgently shouted at him. Bruto obeyed and surveyed the surroundings.
The soldiers, confused by the sudden retreat order, needed guidance.
“It’s the Marquis’ order!! Retreat immediately!! Protect the Marquis!!”
Bruto relayed the order, moving the sluggish soldiers while grinding his teeth.
Damn…
Over a thousand soldiers were dead, yet dozens of lycanthropes, trolls, and frost wolf beasts continued to hunt the fleeing troops.
“The losses are immense.”
He slaughtered all remaining monsters until the forces safely retreated.
“……”
Finally alone, he watched the burning forest caused by torches left behind by fleeing soldiers.
He wanted to see if Molgrak truly would arise from the slain soldiers—but only fire and black smoke rose. No magic or malice was felt.
“Could the Marquis be mistaken?”
Bruto murmured and turned the horse toward the retreating army, having failed to spot Lian amidst the gray haze.
