Ahom’s sword, taken from the floor space, had no trace of dark energy.
Rather, it was a peculiar sword that emitted a bright and warm light.
When the Undead in the vicinity saw Ahom’s sword, they hesitated to approach.
“I will defeat you with this holy sword! Flames of the Apocalypse!”
As the sword, referred to as the holy sword, began to ignite with dark flames around it.
Before closing the distance, I swung the sword, releasing mana.
“Holy Shield!”
As the mana struck, my attack was neutralized with the sound of shattering glass.
“What are you? What’s your identity?”
“I think I’ve already introduced myself; it’s Ahom.”
He watched me with hazy eyes while holding the ignited sword.
“My holy sword and your sword. Which one is stronger?”
If we compare strength simply, it would surely be his holy sword.
The Wind Sword is not a real sword made from my mana.
“I will kill you and take that sword.”
“Take my sword?”
“Yes, I have taken the swords of countless warriors.”
Ahom created a black hole and poured several swords out of it.
“This is proof of my strength. Do you have any swords you have taken?”
His words seemed to demand that I present proof of my strength.
“I don’t.”
“Then, challenger. I will concede one move.”
I adjusted my grip on the Wind Sword and assumed a ready stance.
With the intention of cutting him down in one swift motion, I brought the sword down with a large arc.
Slash!
Ahom lifted his holy sword to block the Wind Sword.
“Ugh!”
He shouted and took a few steps back.
“Could it be… does that sword also bear the shadow of darkness?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, is the sword only materialized when attacking the enemy?”
“Hmm. Similar, but incorrect.”
The Wind Sword possesses the ability to penetrate regardless of how thick the enemy’s armor is.
A true skilled fighter would not be struck down by this sword unguarded.
“Since I’ve conceded a move, let’s truly begin!”
Despite taking a solid hit, Ahom held his sword without a care.
“Rush Attack!”
After taking a stance, a slow but sharp thrust came striking deeply.
The thrust grazed my left shoulder!
Whether it was a miss or deliberate, I couldn’t tell from his expression.
Drawing close enough, I swung my hand and struck his head with the sword.
Thwack!
“That’s a heavy punch.”
Ahom, whose head turned from the impact, casually turned back to look at me.
“You want to fight recklessly.”
As if comprehending something, he nodded, and at that moment, my vision flickered.
Feeling a chill in my jaw, I checked to find that Ahom had kicked me with his long leg.
“Let’s have some fun!”
Engaging hand-to-hand with him offers me little advantage.
I widened the distance slightly and swung my sword again.
As mana shot forth, Ahom charged straight into it.
“Before the Holy Shield, no attack can penetrate.”
To subdue Ahom, I first needed to eliminate that annoying shield.
I held my sword in one hand and, releasing my transformation in the other, cast a spell.
As we collided, two transparent barriers clashed first.
“You… are not a warrior.”
“You are a magic swordsman.”
His techniques and abilities were anything but ordinary.
He was a skilled fighter, with swordsmanship and abilities at a considerable level.
Considering such an existence, the only explanation was being a magic swordsman.
However, my personal opinion was that the combination of a holy sword and Undead was too strange.
Usually, holy swords are of light, and Undead are of darkness; their compatibility is the worst.
I questioned how he could handle both at the same time.
“Strange question, but are you really Undead?”
“I am the Apocalypse. I will bring about the world’s end as part of the Legion of Demise!”
“How can someone like that use a holy sword?”
As my question left my lips, Ahom’s eyes began to waver.
“That’s… I’m a subordinate of Karim…”
Just moments ago, he was able to converse well, but when asked about himself, he couldn’t respond properly.
Hanging his sword limply, he muttered something quickly to himself, and a crimson energy began to seep from his entire body.
“I am a subordinate. A subordinate of Karim. I bring the end.”
“You don’t seem to be in your right mind.”
Ahom’s sword lunged quickly, but it lacked the sharpness from before.
It merely repeated a thrusting motion meaninglessly.
Deflecting the sword, I slashed at his side with the Wind Sword, bringing him down weakly.
“I will be going back!”
As Ahom raised both arms and shouted, he was enveloped in black smoke and vanished.
With Ahom’s disappearance, the Undead soldiers began to gather once more.
Melorna hurriedly dealt with the surrounding Undead to clear a path.
“Let’s get out of here for now.”
“Okay.”
I embraced Melorna from behind, taking off into the sky.
“Wow!”
Startled, Melorna stumbled for a moment but soon regained her composure.
“Can you fly?”
“My wings are not just for show.”
Looking down at the city from the sky, I quickly scanned the situation around us.
The battle between Riki and the Giant was still ongoing.
Before long, Iwaf and Jie joined the fray, teaming up with Riki against the Giant.
Unlike the time at Raden, the captains’ skills were all remarkable.
Although Ahom fled, he didn’t manage to inflict serious damage.
The Giant was withstanding three members of the Knight Order without losing ground.
Perhaps we had underestimated our opponent too much.
They were far stronger compared to the lackluster minions of the Necromancer!
I retrieved the Lightning World that Last Ape was forming.
I commanded it to return without having to retrieve it myself.
As Last Ape returned, the lightning that rained down on the city gradually subsided.
If left alone, it would naturally dissipate within a few hours.
Injecting refined mana into Last Ape, I compressed the lightning.
Given its history of striking the Giant’s arm, if I just hit my mark, I could take its life in one go.
With Melorna tucked under my arm, I fired the highly compressed lightning at the Giant’s back.
Zing!
Despite the distance, I was confident I could hit my target.
Avoiding the lightning would be impossible!
Boom!
Just before the lightning struck, the Giant twisted its body urgently, but could not fully evade.
It clutched the large hole formed in its side and glared up at me.
“Attacking from behind is cowardly!”
What a monstrous creature.
In that fleeting moment, it attempted to avoid the lightning.
As I slowly descended towards the ground, the Giant was bearing its weight on one knee.
It had avoided my attack by instinct, but even just grazing it dealt a fatal blow.
“A warrior’s… honorable duel…”
“Though it wasn’t fair, I acknowledge your strength.”
“Dying while receiving praise from the enemy… g-gun…”
The Giant could not finish its words, meeting its end with its eyes wide open.
“Is everyone okay? Did anyone get hurt?”
“Yes, we’re fine.”
I expected everyone to be unscathed, but Riki stumbled as he got up.
“Looks like you used it.”
“Yes. There was no other way to face the sword he had.”
We moved to join Frey and the Knight Order, who had gone to rescue civilians.
Riki needed Jie’s support to move.
During the journey, there were almost no Undead that hindered us.
The diminishing number of Undead was visibly noticeable.
With the Giant dead and Ahom gone, it seemed the leader of the Undead was no longer in the city.
As we neared Frey and the Knight Order, we found no Undead in sight.
“There she is.”
Not far off, Frey was hopping while waving her arms.
Her transformation had worn off, revealing a mix of beastkin and demonic appearances.
“We took care of one captain. How about you?”
Frey approached with a bright smile, completely fitting her title as a captain.
“We took down one and the other fled.”
“Then there were four captains here.”
“Four?”
“Yes. When we came to rescue civilians, oh! That civilian… he doesn’t seem like a civilian. He took down an enemy captain on his own!”
Frey excitedly relayed the story.
If someone had enough power to defeat the leader of the Undead Legion, that person couldn’t possibly be an ordinary citizen.
With that level of skill, they must have boldly charged into the castle full of Undead with nothing but a sword.
The 7th Knight Order was gathered at the entrance of the castle wall.
Among them, the first figure that caught my eye was a demon with red hair.
As I got closer, I could clearly recognize the face of the demon.
“Jema?”
“Huh? Do you know her?”
Judging by how quickly Frey recognized the name, it seemed an introduction had already occurred.
I was not the only one to recognize Jema.
“What are you doing here?”
“Riki! Where’s Ririan?”
Walking up swiftly, Jema bluntly asked Riki where I was.
Riki raised one arm and pointed at me with his finger.
Turning my head, Jema was staring at me, slowly walking over to stand before me.
“Ririan?”
“Oh, it’s been a while.”
“What’s wrong with your body again?”
Jema reached out, poking my chest with her finger.
“Well, it’s a bit of a situation.”
“You had a hard time finding me!”
“Seems like it.”
Since we couldn’t have a calm conversation here, we decided to head back to the base first.
If Frey’s words were true, then it would mean Jema had taken down a captain of the Undead Legion.
I hadn’t counted exactly how long I had been away from Sarita, but it hadn’t been half a year yet.
I was quite surprised that in that time, she had gained the strength to take down an Undead captain.
There were so many questions I wanted to ask at once, but there were too many people around now.
As soon as we joined, Jema stuck closely to my side without leaving.
Walking steadily back to the base would take nearly half a day.
By the time we arrived, it had turned into late morning.
With Frey and I reporting the ambush situation, we quickly stopped by Leon’s tent.
“We have taken down three enemy captains.”
Upon hearing the report, Leon had quite a satisfied expression.
“Both of you did well. Everyone has worked hard today, so make sure to rest well.”
When we returned to the tent, soldiers were on guard around us.
“Why are you here?”
“We were told to guard so that the knight order returning from a special mission can rest properly.”
It seemed to be Leon’s consideration for us to relax today without worry.
