??Chapter 43: Chapter 18: The Farr and the Snake
Chapter 43: Chapter 18: The Farr and the Snake
A night without words passed, yet the three groups each harbored their thoughts, unable to find peace in sleep. The Thunderhorse Knights pondered the Fallen Knights’ motives, while the Fallen Knights were calculating how to avoid or shake off the entanglent of the Thunderhorse Knights to complete their mission. Even though Kor’s group was unclear about the origins of the Fallen Knights, they likewise sensed the dangerous aura emanating from these unwelco guests. Even Fran, who seldom spoke up, reminded Kor to be wary of the Masked Knights’ movents.
Until dawn, not a single trace of Magical Beasts was found, not even the slightest sign of ordinary wildlife.
By the ti they set out on the road, Kor found himself still in an odd state of excitent.
Since the battle with the Gray Wolf Pack had ended, he had been in a somnambulant state, using his already limited spiritual power to invoke Magic more than he thought would leave him completely paralyzed, or even lead to a ntal breakdown due to Magic Power Rebound. Unexpectedly, when he exerted himself to the utmost to chant the “Golden Snake Dance,” which he hadn’t truly mastered, the massive rebound of Magic almost drained his brain dry at that instant.
In that mont, Kor almost thought he would perish due to his impetuous act. However, a surge of imnse spiritual power suddenly rose from his chest, swiftly filling his brain as it traveled upward, and countless dream-like fragnts flooded his mind, making Kor feel as if his scalp was about to burst.
War, slaughter, Magic, Dark Arts—scenes he seed to have never seen before yet sohow familiar paraded through his mind; puppets, skeletons, Magical Beasts, zombies, dragons—creatures that seed to only exist in dreams danced wildly in his thoughts. Joy, excitent, happiness mixed with pain, sorrow, anguish, but more than anything, confusion and guilt washed over Kor’s mind like a tumultuous tide, taking him from crest to peak.
He even discovered that he could observe these mixtures of positive and negative emotions clogging his chest with the detachnt of an outsider; sotis wildly chaotic, sotis as serene as a still mirror. This bewildered state persisted until the injury of the Gray Wolf Pack dissipated, gradually calming down. Fortunately, at the ti, everyone else was busy repelling the attack of the Gray Wolves and did not notice anything unusual with Kor, who was in a trance-like state.
Because of this chaotic mindset occupying his chest, Kor was in a semi-delirious state the whole ti, even showing an absent-minded deanor while talking with others. Though he lay down early, every ti he closed his eyes, those chaotic scenes that had once appeared in his mind swept through once more. With his head reeling, Kor deliberately entered a ditative State, hoping that these persistent thoughts would dissipate like being filtered away.
However, what puzzled him was the fact that the thod that had always worked in the past was now completely ineffective. Those scenes, like trickling streams flowing into a deep pool, gradually settled down, erging more clearly and completely in his mory as if they had always been part of it.
In fact, Kor knew that all these inexplicable changes stemd from that piece of round crystal stone, a piece of dark, cool crystal that had brought him such extraordinary experiences, making Kor reconsider whether it was wise to keep this object close to himself.
Why had an item obtained from the body of a dead thief caused such trendous changes in him, changes that could even be described as earth-shattering? He didn’t know, but he was aware that the two Thunderhorse Knights who had been following him surely knew sothing; however, not only did he not dare to inquire, he also had to pretend that everything was under control.
What was destined to co would co. When the two Thunderhorse Knights were drawn by the anxious expression of a Masked Knight scouting ahead and rushed forward together, Kor finally felt a faint murderous intent emanating from behind.
At the sa ti, two Masked Knights drew out their dark, gleaming Knight Spears. Kor’s sharp Spiritual Sense allowed him to realize in an instant that he, along with Ilot and Puber, were the targets of the two Masked Knights. Clearly, this was an ambush from Cyprus; no one else would target him without reason.
Kor had no ti to ponder whether it was Your Grace the Duke or so disgruntled mbers of the Business Association who had planned this assassination. The Knight Spears were already whirling up gusts of wind, hurtling through the air, evidently aiming to eliminate him in one fell swoop.
“Ilot, be careful! This guy has mastered Fighting Qi and Dark Magic; he’s a Fallen Knight!” Kor’s acute Spiritual Sense imdiately alerted him to the origin of their adversary. He didn’t know why a foe intent on sending them to their graves would seek out these notorious individuals, but their infamous reputation throughout the Continent was known to almost no one.
Kor had not anticipated why the Fallen Knights would target him initially, but when his opponent unleashed a lance attack imbued with Dark Magic, he imdiately realized that they truly sought to end their lives.
Ilot, who had been on guard, drew his hefty Great Sword from his waist without hesitation to confront the spear tip emanating dark light. His sword, blessed with a Magic Attack, emitted a faint blue luster as it cut through the air—the culmination of years of rigorous martial arts practice. Although Ilot had not yet reached the ranks of Martial Dao, his achievent was remarkable for a mortal warrior.
Dark halos, one after another, poured forth from the spear tip, creating a massive sucking force as if trying to drain the air from the space itself. Leaves from the surrounding trees spiraled in the wind caused by the swirls. This displayed the true strength of a Fallen Knight. Even when fighting to the death against Magical Beasts, Jack had not resorted to this Dark Magic-laced technique known as “Phantom Sky Ripping.”
When Jack attacked with his spear charged with Dark Magic, Kor knew Ilot couldn’t contend with their current foe, especially since the other had unleashed his signature move right from the start, aiming to bring certain death upon them. Without a mont’s thought, a spell materialized in his mind, and he unconsciously chanted, “Nine Nether Fire, myriad points of heart, go!”
The mont they clashed, Ilot was deprived of his combat ability. The massive devouring force of the Dark Magic absorbed the Inner Qi that he had mustered on his Great Sword upon impact, leaving it limp like a weak serpent. As the sword drooped, his opponent’s spear was deflected by the forceful strike, sending Ilot flying several yards without any resistance. Even though Ilot was clad in armor enchanted with Protective Magic by Kor, the series of rolls upon landing caused blood to spray out in a fine mist from the reverse flow of his blood.
A sudden volley of Magic Fireballs exploded into a vast net of flas. Under the overwhelming consumption of the Dark Magic, the fiery net quickly dissipated, but it did provide the defeated Ilot with a chance to escape.
Kor’s eyes blazed red as he lost all other senses, fixated only on killing the man who had dared to harm his friend. Overco by violent stimuli, his mind filled with bloody thoughts of revenge. Before his volley of Fireballs could explode, Kor twisted his body in a bizarre manner, suddenly accelerating and closing the distance to within two yards of the Masked Knight. He then roared out a curse, “God of Darkness, I swear by the Abyssal Demon Dragon—lend
your Power so the Devil’s Exchange may trade a promise of light!”
As the Duke’s n stared in disbelief, Kor, who had confronted the force head-on, seed to be caught in a tempest, standing on the brink of a stormy cliff. The Battle Qi bursting from the Lu Chen Spear unleashed wind blades capable of tearing apart any creature, as Kor exploded into action. His broad robes whirled and shredded into fluttering butterflies, his hair stood on end, reaching to the heavens, and his movents beca eerily slow, like those within a frozen space.
Kor’s hands separated slightly, capturing the Knight Spear that vibrated with successive circles of energy. Two Dark Forces collided like opposing whirlpools, distorting the air currents with sharp wails. Dark mist dispersed, and a chilling laugh, laced with a sense of ancientness, broke across a youthful face that seed mismatched with such a sinister expression.
The Masked Knight’s pupils contracted sharply as his whole body quaked uncontrollably, unable even to make a sound before he twisted and tumbled away, breaking conventional physics and catapulting ten ters away like a flash of lightning.
“Go!” In a frantic shout, another Masked Knight, who had just entered the fray, wasted no ti contemplating. Igniting a Magic Smoke Bomb to create a shield of dark miasma, he leaped back and vanished swiftly, just as Fran and Baoling managed to hold him back.
anwhile, thunderous hoofbeats sounded from the road ahead. Two Thunderhorse Knights, sensing sothing amiss, broke off from their skirmish with another Masked Knight and raced back, only catching fleeting glimpses of their retreating figures like a passing breeze.
Kor was plunged once more into a frenzied state by the imnse rebound of using Dark Magic. Staggering with disorientation, he silently invoked ditation techniques in an effort to control the overwhelming urge to kill within him. Waves of revolt surged within his chest, forcing involuntary retching, and even the corners of his eyes began to show signs of blood. The escalating murderous intent made it impossible for him to do anything but close his eyes and fall into a sitting posture. He needed to harness the full focus of his ditation to suppress the violence, fearful that he would lose control of his mind if he succumbed to the madness. He could not afford to be distracted even as the resounding hoofbeats approached, not until the Thunderhorse Knights were upon him.
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