Chapter 258

“Bullshit.”

Another human, the Messenger, spat out a curse as he watched the scene unfold.

His face was contorted with annoyance.

Not only had unexpected obstacles appeared in what was supposed to be a smooth mission, but things weren’t going his way either.

And those two walking corpses.

They were supposed to be easy to deal with, just bodies to dispose of, but they were putting up a surprisingly tenacious fight, getting in his way.

Their desperate struggle, fueled by the arrival of reinforcements, was as pathetic and repulsive as ants writhing in their death throes.

“Huff… Huff… Huff…”

“Ugh… Just hold on a little longer.”

Hiwyn, exhausted and battered, but still standing strong, and the elder, in a similarly dire state, encouraging him.

The only thing keeping them going, despite being on the verge of death countless times, was hope.

Hope gave them the strength to push past their limits and cling to life.

They couldn’t let Hiresia and the human’s efforts be in vain.

Protect.

They had to protect their mother and her land.

That was the only thought in their minds.

But their desperate struggle only served to irritate the Messenger.

And they weren’t the only ones who annoyed him.

That human, Max Celtrine, who was acting all high and mighty, roaring like he had already won the fight.

He had been a thorn in the organization’s side from the beginning, interfering with their plans at every turn, and now he was here, causing even more trouble.

He was the most annoying of them all.

And on top of that,

‘Damn it, he was so confident he could take him down, but why can’t he even handle a single guy like that?’

As expected, there was no one in this world he could trust.

He could only rely on himself.

He would finish this himself.

The Messenger glanced at Max, gauging the distance.

His back was completely exposed.

He couldn’t have asked for an easier target.

This distance was enough.

Those two walking corpses were in no condition to defend themselves, let alone interfere.

The Messenger subtly shifted his stance, preparing to launch a full-powered attack.

He also gathered his energy, ready to unleash it.

A cunning and underhanded tactic.

That was the Messenger’s style.

He silently counted down in his mind.

And then,

*Bang!*

He kicked off the ground and shot forward, not with his usual ghostly movement, but with an explosive burst of speed.

Like a hawk swooping down on its prey.

“Ugh?!”

“No! Stop him!”

The high elves reacted in alarm, but it was too late.

The Messenger was already upon Max, his attack as swift as lightning.

* * *

The Messenger’s eyes turned white.

He was unleashing his full power.

A pale mist gathered around his hand.

The hand of death, which had ripped through countless bones, flesh, and hearts.

It reached out to pierce Max’s back.

Max was aware of the attack.

He knew there was more than one enemy, and that the Messenger could attack at any moment. He had been on guard.

If he had been in peak condition, he would have reacted in time.

But his senses were dulled, his body battered and broken.

That’s why he was too late.

“Die.”

The Messenger’s hand collided with Max’s back.

*Thud!*

“Ugh!”

Max was thrown forward by the impact.

He almost fell headfirst, but he managed to catch himself with his arms.

The surprise attack had been a complete success.

But the Messenger’s expression was strange.

“Huh?”

He had put all his power into that attack, aiming to kill.

If it had connected, it should have pierced through flesh and bone, ripping out Max’s heart.

But instead of piercing through, his hand had been stopped, as if it had hit something solid.

“This bastard…”

The Messenger’s face contorted in anger as he realized that Max was wearing something hard under his clothes.

He was about to attack again, to finish him off, when

Something suddenly approached him.

The moment he realized it was that monstrous high elf, the Messenger frantically gathered all his strength.

Not to attack, but to dodge.

He instinctively sensed a tremendous threat.

His body was enveloped in a white mist as his spirit energy surged.

He tried to escape in an instant.

But Hiresia’s bow was already drawn.

And it was loaded with ten arrows.

Multiple arrows fired at point-blank range.

*Whoosh!*

The Messenger moved first.

But the arrows followed closely behind.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

“Get down!”

Natasha shouted sharply.

It was the only way to avoid the attack, a precise warning.

But it was too late for the Messenger.

*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*

“Aaaaaargh!”

The Messenger’s screams of pain tore through the air.

Four arrows had pierced his body, creating gaping wounds.

His chest, abdomen, arm, and leg.

Blood sprayed from the holes in his body.

He was severely injured.

“Die.”

Hiresia, her eyes burning with cold fury, nocked another arrow, aiming to finish him off.

At that moment,

“Tsk, your opponent is me.”

Natasha’s invisible sword pierced Hiresia’s back, her face contorted in a frown.

*Thud!*

Hiresia kicked off the ground, retreating, and landed gracefully after a spin.

“I won’t let you escape this time!”

Natasha, berating herself for momentarily losing track of Hiresia, launched a fierce attack.

Hiresia countered.

And so, the two monstrous elves resumed their deadly battle.

But the situation wasn’t resolved.

It had become even more complicated.

Because the one who had been focusing on the weakest opponent, the one who was in the best condition, was now severely injured.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

The Messenger groaned in pain, blood dripping from his wounds.

Two high elves approached him.

The elder and Hiwyn.

“Huff… Huff… You cowardly bastard, attacking from behind.”

Hiwyn glared at him with disgust and raised his spear high.

“Huff… Huff… We won’t tolerate any more death in this forest.”

The elder also gripped his staff tightly, his expression grim.

“Ugh… Y-You think you can… You insignificant ants!”

The Messenger roared in defiance, gathering his strength.

But his aura was less than half of what it had been before.

He was clearly forcing himself.

Of course, he was still in better shape than the two high elves.

“I’ll tear you apart!”

“Huff… Huff… Come at me!”

“Huff… Huff… The forest will not fall!”

The Messenger and the two high elves clashed again.

More fiercely than before.

Only one battlefield remained.

* * *

“Ugh.”

I winced.

My back, where I had been struck by the surprise attack, throbbed with pain.

I was lucky to be alive.

The mithril armor had saved my life.

My thorough preparation had paid off.

And,

‘If it wasn’t for the elf senior, I would have been in real trouble.’

Hiresia had rushed to my rescue without hesitation.

I had never seen her so enraged.

Not even when she had witnessed the death of her fellow high elves.

It meant that I held a special place in her heart.

The weight of responsibility grew heavier.

Once again, I had been saved by her.

I was truly grateful, but this couldn’t happen again.

At least not on this battlefield.

I stared at Kalkus.

I was injured, but Kalkus had been recovering his stamina during that time.

It couldn’t be helped.

On the battlefield, the one who gets hit is at fault.

But the elf senior had managed to land several arrows on the Messenger, so the situation was actually in our favor.

I glanced around, assessing the situation.

‘What a mess.’

It was a chaotic scene, with everyone fighting desperately, blood splattering everywhere.

My fight would probably be the same.

In the end, the important thing was,

‘To finish my fight first.’

My goal was clear.

To finish off Kalkus here and now.

Eliminating a dangerous enemy like Kalkus would have a positive impact not only on this battle in the forest, but also on our future battles against the Red Rain.

Kill when you have the chance.

I tightened my grip on my sword and gathered my energy.

Because I knew this opportunity wouldn’t come easily.

“Let’s finish this!”

“Try me, you arrogant brat!”

Kalkus and I charged towards each other, unleashing our remaining strength.

Kalkus, his hammer shattered, was now wielding an axe from one of his fallen comrades.

That was also to my advantage.

He wouldn’t be able to fight at his full potential with an unfamiliar weapon.

“Haaaaah!”

“Ha!”

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

My sword clashed with his axe.

Kalkus’s attacks were still heavy.

He was a truly monstrous dwarf.

‘I’ll play it safe here.’

I decided to use the Eight Forms of the Empire for the first time.

It was a less powerful swordsmanship style, but it was incredibly solid and reliable.

I chose this style because I believed I had a clear advantage in terms of physical condition.

Kalkus was severely injured internally.

On the other hand, I was exhausted, but I had no internal injuries.

Of course, I had a nasty bruise on my back from the Messenger’s surprise attack, but it wasn’t hindering my swordsmanship too much.

It meant that Kalkus would be the one getting desperate as time went on.

That’s what I was aiming for.

When someone was desperate, they would go for big attacks, creating openings.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Our weapons clashed repeatedly.

I continued to defend steadily with the Eight Forms of the Empire.

“Damn it!”

Kalkus seemed frustrated that he couldn’t push me back.

I had to stay calm and sharp.

Downward slash, upward slash, diagonal slash, horizontal slash, thrust, double slash, triple slash.

I used all the techniques of the Eight Forms of the Empire, giving him no openings.

I waited.

I waited for the opportunity to present itself.

I kept my mind calm and focused.

And then, finally, Kalkus seemed to be getting desperate.

“Cowering like a turtle, only defending! You pathetic coward!”

He was wasting his breath on a long taunt when he should be conserving his energy?

It was clear.

He was getting desperate.

I smiled provocatively, taking my time.

Kalkus’s forehead vein throbbed.

I knew.

Kalkus was a brave and strong warrior, but he wasn’t good at controlling his emotions.

He would eventually lose his patience and charge recklessly.

And finally,

“Raaaaaargh!”

Kalkus roared and leaped into the air.

It was the first time he had jumped in this fight.

I realized that he was putting all his remaining strength into this attack, making a final gamble.

I wouldn’t take it head-on.

*Tap, tap.*

I sidestepped quickly, retreating.

Taking a powerful attack head-on would drain my strength and stamina as well.

But if I dodged, I would remain unscathed.

Whereas he would expend energy even if his attack missed.

*Whoosh!*

His axe cleaved through the air.

Kalkus’s bloodshot eyes blazed with fury as I dodged his attack.

“How long do you think you can keep running?!”

I knew.

The attacker was always faster than the defender.

So I would eventually get caught.

But I intended to drain his energy as much as possible before that happened.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Kalkus swung his axe repeatedly.

I could feel the raw power behind his attacks.

I dodged three times.

But I was eventually caught.

“Got you, you little rat!”

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

His axe swings became faster and more powerful.

Five consecutive strikes.

It was a desperate all-out attack.

I couldn’t block it with the Eight Forms of the Empire.

But I still had a trick up my sleeve.

The ultimate defensive technique.

-Net Slash Form.

*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*

“Ugh!”

My impenetrable net of blades perfectly blocked Kalkus’s axe strikes.

His attack was nullified, creating a slight opening.

Should I attack now?

The chances of success were slim.

But I had one more trick that I hadn’t shown him yet.

A trick I had been saving for a critical moment.

My hand reached into my pocket and ripped out a scroll.

*Rip.*

A Light Scroll.

A blinding flash of light erupted.

Of course, I had closed my eyes.

“Ugh?!”

Kalkus cried out in surprise.

It was a clear reaction to having his eyes suddenly exposed to a bright light.

I opened my eyes.

And then I unleashed the attack I had planned in advance.

*Bang!*

-Executioner’s Enhanced Strike.

*Whoosh!*

“Y-You…!”

*Slice!*

Kalkus’s head flew off before he could finish his sentence.