Here Gorochi's terrified soldiers were trying to attack Damien, but his vampire form was far too much for them to handle. The moment they came close, Damien moved like a shadow among them. His crimson eyes glowed in the darkness while blood magic swirled around his body like smoke.
One soldier screamed and charged with a spear. Damien dodged with unbelievable speed, grabbed the man's face, and smashed him into another soldier. Before either could recover, Damien's sai daggers flashed through the air, knocking both unconscious instantly.
Another group attacked together.
Five soldiers surrounded him from all directions.
Damien smirked.
"Bad choice."
One sword came for his neck. Damien bent backward, avoiding it by inches, then kicked the attacker in the chest hard enough to send him crashing into a tree. Another soldier swung from the side, but Damien caught the blade with his bare hand. Blood dripped from his palm, yet he smiled as if he felt nothing.
The soldier trembled.
"M-monster…"
Damien twisted the sword from the man's hand and struck him with the hilt.
Around him, fear spread rapidly.
The soldiers were losing their courage.
Nearby, Roneth fought while protecting Korran's family. His wound still bled through the bandages Damien had wrapped earlier, but he ignored the pain and kept swinging his twin katanas. Every movement was sharp and clean.
Two soldiers rushed toward Felis and Korran.
Roneth stepped between them instantly.
His swords flashed.
One soldier fell.
Then another.
Korran held tightly onto Orzen's arm while staring at the battlefield with wide eyes.
"Brother… are they going to die because of us?" he whispered fearfully.
Felis knelt beside him and grabbed his shoulders.
"No. They came here to save us. We have to trust them."
Skarn stood protectively near them, growling at every soldier who dared come close.
Meanwhile, the battle between Eamon and Haizer was getting intense. Both were fighting toe to toe, neither ready to back down even for a second. Their swords clashed again and again, sending sparks flying into the dark forest.
Haizer swung downward violently.
Eamon blocked.
The impact shook his entire body.
Even with his newly increased strength, Eamon could feel how monstrously powerful Haizer truly was.
But Eamon refused to retreat.
He pushed Haizer's blade aside and quickly jumped backward. Flames gathered around his hands.
"Arcana Flame Barrage!"
Dozens of fireballs formed around him instantly and blasted toward Haizer one after another like meteors raining from the sky.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The entire forest lit up orange.
Haizer blocked some attacks with his sword while dodging others, but several explosions struck directly around him. Smoke and dust covered his figure.
Eamon didn't stop there.
He raised his hand again.
"Arcana Fire Beast!"
Flames twisted together beside him, taking the shape of a huge wolf-like creature made entirely of fire. The burning beast roared and rushed toward Haizer before biting directly into his left arm.
The explosion shook the ground.
Haizer disappeared completely inside the flames.
Eamon breathed heavily.
Sweat dripped down his face.
He tightened his grip on the Vixterium sword.
"This is it…" he thought. "I'm winning."
Without wasting another second, he charged forward for the final blow.
But before he could even reach Haizer—
laughter echoed through the forest.
Dark.
Mad.
Completely insane.
Eamon stopped.
From inside the burning flames, Haizer slowly walked out laughing like a maniac. Parts of his clothes were burned. Blood dripped from his arm. His hair was messy, and his eyes looked almost feral now.
Yet the smile on his face only grew wider.
"HAHAHAHA!"
His laughter made even the soldiers nervous.
"It's been so long," Haizer said while laughing uncontrollably, "since someone made me this angry."
Even Eamon felt uneasy hearing those words.
Something about Haizer had changed.
He no longer looked calm.
He looked dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Gorochi suddenly shouted from behind the soldiers.
"Why the hell are you laughing, Haizer?!"
The fat governor's face was red with fear and anger.
"I didn't hire you to lose against some brat! Get up and kill him, you fool!"
The laughter stopped.
Slowly, Haizer turned his head toward Gorochi.
The air itself felt colder.
He stared at him silently for a few seconds.
Then he spoke.
"Shut up, you fat bastard."
Everyone froze.
Even Gorochi looked shocked.
"Don't ever dare interfere in my fight."
Gorochi's face twisted with rage.
"How dare you talk to me like that!" he screamed. "Did you forget who your master is, huh? Dog?"
Silence.
A terrifying silence.
Then Haizer slowly raised his sword toward Gorochi.
The governor stood almost fifty feet away from him.
Eamon frowned in confusion.
"What is he doing?"
Suddenly, Haizer's sword began vibrating strangely.
Small whirlpools of air surrounded the blade. Wind started spinning violently around him, lifting dust and leaves into the air.
The pressure rising from the sword felt unnatural.
Then—
a sharp bullet-like wave of compressed air blasted from the edge of the sword.
Boom!
The invisible attack crossed the distance instantly and slammed directly into Gorochi's stomach.
The governor screamed.
His fat body flew backward and rolled across the ground before crashing into a rock.
The soldiers stared in horror.
"What was that?!"
"Did he just attack Lord Gorochi?!"
Even Damien stopped fighting for a moment. Roneth narrowed his eyes. Eamon himself couldn't understand what had just happened.
Haizer slowly lowered his sword. His expression remained cold.
Gorochi groaned painfully on the ground while clutching his stomach. Blood leaked from his mouth.
"You… bastard…" he wheezed.
Haizer ignored him completely. Instead, he looked toward the soldiers.
"Get rid of the vampire and the swordsman," he ordered calmly.
The terrified soldiers hesitated. None of them wanted to fight Damien anymore after witnessing his vampire form.
Haizer's eyes sharpened.
"Move."
That single word was enough. The soldiers forced themselves forward again despite their fear.
Then Haizer turned back toward Eamon. The smile returned to his face.
"You see what you made me do, kid?"
Eamon tightened his grip on the Vixterium sword.
"What's this?" he asked cautiously. "What happened to your sword?"
Haizer looked amused.
"Ahh… I thought so."
He slowly walked closer.
"Since you used a tier three spell on me, I guess tier three is your limit. You can't go beyond that, can you?"
Eamon frowned.
"Yeah. So what?"
Haizer smirked.
For a moment he said nothing. Then, while still standing several feet away, he casually swung his sword sideways.
Eamon blinked in confusion. The blade hadn't touched him. But suddenly— a sharp wave of air rushed toward him at terrifying speed.
Eamon's instincts screamed danger. He jumped away immediately. The invisible slash barely missed him.
A second later— the wave struck a huge tree behind him. The entire tree was cut cleanly in half.