It wasn't the number of cultists here that made Marcus's heart drop, no.
He was well aware that there was an ungodly number of them in Agard.
Hard to locate, difficult to completely kill. They were persistent like cockroaches.
What made his heart drop were the thousands of common people under the trance of many replicas of the Amulets of Dreams.
From where he was, he could see a long line of them already walking down a wide corridor. And yet, their numbers in the hall were yet to be reduced.
Just how many people had they kidnapped in ten years!? How had they kept them alive and silent for so long?!
Marcus realized that this was beyond him. All the guilt that had been eating him up since he awakened, it wasn't entirely his fault.
This was something that had been orchestrated and planned over time, even if he was awake and well throughout the last decade, he might not have been able to do much.
"My failure isn't as a result of my absence and incompetence…" Marcus began, clenching his fist so hard his knuckles audibly cracked.
He spoke loud enough to attract attention from some of the cultists closer to where they were.
His voice was also enough to snap his knights from the stun they had received from this view.
Upon turning their gaze to Marcus, they saw his body trembling, as though he was trying to contain something within.
Is the young lord… angry? Knight Brown thought, a bit scared of the expression on Marcus's face.
This was an emotion that Marcus had rarely shown, despite knowing him for many years.
He was either too cunning to be angry, or too amused to even consider anger.
But now, the emotion of anger could be sensed by those around him.
"My failure isn't even mine to claim. Just a victim of some heartless bastards!"
Marcus had just finished speaking when his figure vanished, bringing forth a wild gust of air that pushed everyone a step back.
Even the cultists who had noticed them hadn't had the time to react when Marcus vanished.
And right when they wanted to, a powerful flame engulfed them.
Within two seconds, more than five cultists were set ablaze, burning to their deaths.
"Argh!" Their agonizing cries alerted the others.
"I will make sure to kill every one of you. You all shall burn!" Marcus swore.
With this, tendrils of flames rose from his body, forming around him like a thin layer of cloth.
This was a result of his imbalanced will reacting to his emotions, but this time, Marcus didn't care about it.
Marcus stretched his hands out, pointing all ten fingers in the direction of the Delirious Mutants.
No chanting or hand signs were needed.
Just a thought, and blazing flames engulfed six of them. Just below what he intended.
"Tsk! Contain the mutants, don't let them harm the commoners around. As for the cultists, leave them all to me." Marcus ordered and all his knights moved to obey.
With a wave of his hand, he cast level 1 fire spells. Shooting out fireballs and arrows.
With another wave, he balled his hands into fists and punched forward.
The air trembled slightly, giving way to his strength and igniting the flames around his arms.
Scorching heat burst forth.
Every cultist Marcus's hand hit had some of their bones broken by the impact, sending shocks of pain into their brains before angry flames consumed them.
He killed them one by one, increasing his proficiency.
Marcus started to take down three to four with a single move.
The more he fought, the better at killing he became.
All the other knights that had spread out to contain the dying Devilish Mutants trembled.
There wasn't a thread of doubt or wonder in their eyes, just fear.
Such power…
They couldn't help but wonder if that was their young lord fighting.
"Spread out! Half of you should crush those damn Amulets and move the Awakened ones behind us. The remaining, try to keep them from harm's way! Be fast about it!"
"Yes sir!" His knights moved, not daring to delay.
The six Devilish Mutants were already melting, there was little harm that they could do.
Marcus pointed at the remaining six, setting them ablaze.
"Argh!!" Screeching screams shook the air in this underground hall.
The Mutants cried out as their gory forms began melting.
Those things with the sigils implanted on their bodies must be the reason why they haven't attacked. Is that how they're controlled?
Marcus wondered.
From what he recalled, these monsters weren't as docile as these were. So he could only come up with an explanation from his understanding.
Just when Marcus felt like dealing with these guys was easy, he sensed stronger presences coming from the front.
His hands stopped mid-movement. "Radiant rank?!"
Even in his previous life, they hadn't come across any Radiant rank fighters over the entire expedition. This was a rank of power almost non-existent in Agard.
The only time they came across stronger opponents was when they went into the auction house. And those creatures were way stronger than the Radiant rank…
Marcus had just caught a whiff of them, when suddenly, his head veered upward, only to see four of them slashing down with their swords.
With quick thinking, he cast a ball of wind in his hands, which he infused with a lot of mana, forcing it to expand rapidly.
The ball of wind grew, slowing the descent of the Radiant rank fighters, almost to the point of sending them back.
Their slashes had stopped midway too, giving Marcus the chance to jump at one of them.
However, these opponents were unlike the other cultists he had easily killed. They were fast to react and able to track Marcus's movement.
The cultist Marcus was heading for in the air, pretending. Acting as though he could follow Marcus's movement.
When Marcus arrived before him, the cultist quickly changed the direction of his sword, striking diagonally.
It was only now that Marcus realized that he was being played.
They're definitely faster. But I'm not helpless against them.
"Hmph!"
Marcus punched with his left fist, the hand wearing his prototype gauntlet.
At the same time, he activated one of its enchantments.
A circle of runes appeared over the scales of the armor. They initially started turning clockwise, only to switch in half a second.
Their change also affected a limited range. The cultist suddenly felt a strong pull, as though the gauntlet had turned into a magnet that could draw people.
His chest collided with the gauntlet, making a loud "thud" sound.
Followed by the grating sounds of bones being crushed.
Blood spilled out from underneath the cultist's mask, and yet, the runes were still rotating anti-clockwise.
The faster they became, the stronger their pull was. The cultist's body began to deform due to the pull from the enchantment.
It's already fading!
Marcus gritted his teeth, knowing that this enchantment of his was a one-time use.
"Die!"
Before it ran out completely, he forced the runes to twist clockwise.
Boom!
This change in rotation brought about a change in its effect. Anti-clockwise attracted a target to the enchantment, and clockwise repelled.
Right underneath the ceiling, a huge splash of blood, crushed bones, and torn organs, splattered on it.
Everything that happened, from the moment these four cultists of the Radiant rank appeared, to when Marcus killed one of them, didn't take up to five seconds.
Marcus exhaled heavily. The air ball took a good part of his mana, while activating and maintaining the enchantment in that short while drained more than a thousand points of mana.
The other three cultists paused, hesitating to attack Marcus after what they had witnessed.
This man was giving off an aura even more powerful than theirs, however, it felt as if the aura was being restrained.
Like a beast that had been caged.
"He's almost exhausted, kill him!" One of them said, before they charged forward together.
"Exhausted my ass!"
Marcus finally opened Heart Pulse. A powerful rush of energy surged through his body, inflating his muscles a bit.
His hair billowed behind his head, even though there was no wind. A multicolored light appeared over his body, replacing the tendrils of flames.
Marcus tightened his fist and punched forward.
The air around his fist twisted, as though a hurricane would emerge from it.
Pressure from his aura froze these cultists. If Marcus could see their pupils, he would see that they had dilated.
"Magic?" One of them managed to say, before…
Boom!
A loud explosion that shook the entire underground hall came forth.
The ceiling above now had a deep dent in it, with three broken corpses embedded in it.
"Magic or not, what difference would it make to a dead fool?" Marcus muttered as he began closing his Heart Pulse. His feet had slightly lifted off the ground.
At this junction, in the corner of his mind, he quickly processed what he had experienced in this battle.
Now he could clearly understand the real difference between Aspect and Mana.
Between The Physical Path and Magic.
One was Armament Embodiment, and the other was Manifestation.
The former imbues the user with great strength, born from their cultivation. The latter is a strength summoned from the world.
In this fight, Marcus was displaying the two. Though it was rough, some missteps in his control. It was enough to overwhelm these enemies of his.
Grrr!
The hall shook, causing dust from the walls to cloud everywhere.
"A stronger presence… several of them." Marcus took a step back, shocked at this revelation.
Just where did these powerful cultists hide in his last life!?