****
"Do not let your guard down!!!"
"Hold your positions! Watch your spacing! Do not let them advance even a step!"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Die, you filthy bandits!!!"
"Uarghh... you damned knights, die!!!"
Shouts of command and curses merged into one chaotic roar, echoing across the snowfield now stained with footprints and spreading blood. The clash of steel rang out without pause, sharp and grating, tearing apart the frozen silence of the white expanse.
A dozen Elite Knights fought in disciplined coordination. Their formation remained tight, movements overlapping to seal every opening. In front of them, the bandits attacked with no structured pattern, driven by raw aggression rather than honor. Several among them displayed even greater brutality, as if fear had long abandoned them.
Tak! Ting! Tak! Ting!
Blades collided relentlessly. Vertical cuts, horizontal sweeps, and diagonal slashes crossed in lethal rhythm. The knights parried, twisted their wrists, and countered with precise strikes, attempting to confine opponents who were agile and unpredictable.
"Huuu... damn it!"
"Greg! Reinforce the flank! Arnold is struggling over there! Move! Do not let a single one of them get near the Duke's carriage!"
The command came with a sharp hand signal.
"Understood, Sir Harris!"
Krang!
A vertical strike descended toward Harris's head with full force. He raised his sword in a split second, catching the blade just before it could split his skull. The impact vibrated through his arms, sending a jolt of pain through his nerves.
Damn it. This bastard is strong.
Harris locked eyes with the middle aged man before him. The opponent's gaze was wild, his wide grin revealing yellowed teeth. The stench of alcohol lingered in his breath, mixing with the cold air between them.
"Keukeu. Is this all the Velmora Knights can do? Pathetic!"
Harris did not react to the provocation. His right leg, reinforced with aura, shot forward.
Buk!
The kick struck the man's abdomen. Though the bandit raised his arm and coated his body with aura to absorb the blow, the force still hurled him several meters back.
Fsshhhh!
Snow scattered upward, forming a white curtain that briefly obscured vision. In that instant, Harris vanished from his original position and reappeared at the man's right side with explosive acceleration.
Wsshh! Slash!
His blade swept toward the neck in one clean motion.
Klanngg!
The bandit barely blocked in time. The violent collision produced a ringing vibration that pierced the ears.
Bzzrrnng!
The pressure from Harris's swing forced the man backward. His heels carved deep trails into the snow.
Harris did not allow a pause. His attacks grew heavier, faster. Each swing carried denser aura weight than the last.
"Bastard!!!"
Klang! Krang! Krrrang! Tak! Krang!
The barrage continued.
Sparks of steel and bursts of aura scattered into the air. Without noticing, both of them drifted farther from the main carriage, creating significant distance from the center of the battlefield. Every collision split the frozen air, building a brutal tempo across the snowfield.
Haaa... Huuu...
Harris paused for a fraction of a second to regulate his breathing. His chest rose and fell heavily. Across from him, the middle aged man grinned again before inhaling deeply.
He admitted internally that the knight before him was no ordinary opponent.
The man glanced down. A stinging sensation flared sharply. His expression twisted as he noticed a thin cut along his arm. Fresh blood flowed and dripped onto the white snow, creating a stark contrast. Rage ignited in his chest, fueling a wilder killing intent.
"Urrgkhh! Damn you! I will cut you and turn you into a eunuch!"
Harris remained calm. Insane old fool.
His gaze sharpened, analyzing every detail. The way the man shifted his weight. The rhythm of his breathing. The angle of his shoulders before a strike.
There.
He caught something.
The man's footing was slightly unstable. A subtle imbalance in his stance.
Is he limping?
I need to increase acceleration. But if he anticipates it, I could be trapped.
However.
Harris briefly glanced toward the silver carriage.
The distance between them had grown considerable.
Only now did he realize something unsettling.
I was dragged away from the initial position without noticing.
My Lord Duke? Why has she stepped out of the carriage?
Duke Velmora stood near the carriage door alongside the man named Sasuke. Her gaze scanned the battlefield with vigilance. Meanwhile, the other knights fought with fierce intensity. Killing intent thickened the air, mixing with the scent of blood and iron.
Tang ting ting krang!
Several bandits had already fallen. Yet the enemy numbers remained overwhelming. They seemed to emerge endlessly from multiple directions. Where did all these scum come from?
If this battle dragged on, the situation would deteriorate further. The border of the Marquis territory was still far ahead. Reinforcements would not arrive anytime soon.
The circumstances forced the Duke to prepare to intervene personally.
I have to end this quickly.
Aura surged into Harris's legs. The remainder flowed evenly through his veins and muscle fibers. A dense gray mist began to envelop his body. This was the manifestation of his aura, proof that he was a true Expert.
The color and density of aura reflected one's realm. The more faint and seamlessly it blended into the air, the higher the attainment. An Aura Saint could split a mountain through pure concentration, their sword aura perfectly fused with the atmosphere, invisible to the naked eye and perceptible only through crushing pressure.
Fssshhh!
Harris burst forward.
The snow beneath his boots split apart from the sudden pressure. His body shot straight ahead like an arrow released from its bow.
This time, he had no intention of allowing a second chance.
On the other side of the battlefield, the clash was no less savage. The Velmora Knights fought with a fervor that bordered on madness, swinging swords and spears within a lethal vortex of steel. No one retreated. No one hesitated.
Klang! Krang! Krrrang! Tak! Krang!
Relentless impacts thundered without pause. The knights' blade trajectories followed high level techniques forged through years of training under the unforgiving northern climate. Every swing was precise. Every parry efficient. Every step calculated to restrict the enemy's movement.
"Vile bandit!"
Slash!
"Agkhh!"
Srrk!
Hot blood sprayed across the white snow as flesh split under the edge of steel. Without granting even a breath of reprieve, the knight moved his arm again.
Slash! Crrk!
The blade drove deeper into the killer's chest cavity. Agkhhh! The cry of agony tore through the cold air, yet it only fueled a fiercer rage within the soldier.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Srrk! Chachachacha! Crrk!
With a savage expression, he hacked his opponent apart without mercy. Crack. Crak. The sound of bones snapping and splintering rang clearly as the bandit's life ended in a gruesome manner.
"Pukki, do not lose yourself! Focus on efficiency! We are outnumbered!"
"I know!"
Pukki's breathing was ragged, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
"Hhhh! Let him be. Scum like them need to understand that attacking the Duke means their corpses will never return whole."
Another knight's firm voice cut in, defending the brutality.
"Force them back! Do not pursue too far!"
"Yes, Sir!"
The formation tightened once more. Yet within that precise coordination, a bandit seized a brief opening.
The spear in his grip suddenly emitted a dense dark red glow. The aura of a Transition stage warrior, on the verge of Expert, condensed and wrapped around the entire shaft until it gleamed like darkened blood.
Krekk!
The muscles and joints of his arm tensed violently as he poured all his strength into the throw. Veins bulged beneath his skin.
FRAAASHH!
The spear shot forward in a straight line, tearing through the air with lethal speed. The wind around it was forcibly split apart.
"Danger! SPEAR!!!"
One knight turned his head, breathing hard. His armor was already stained with enemy blood.
"What...!"
His survival instinct flared. He attempted to twist his body away, but his eyes only managed to catch a red flash closing in.
Too late.
Trang! Krak!
Steel armor shattered into fragments.
Schraaahhk!
Flesh fibers ripped as the spearhead pierced through his abdomen and burst out from his back. Blood erupted violently.
"Arrggggkhhhh!"
The anguished scream shook his comrades.
"What happened?!"
The knights, who had held the upper hand moments ago, jolted in shock. Fury boiled within them as they saw one of their own skewered and collapsing onto snow that rapidly turned crimson.
"Damn it! Pull him back!"
"Yes!"
"Bastards! I will slaughter every last one of these scum!"
The knight closest to the spearman launched forward without restraint. Aura around his body pressed down heavier, distorting the air in his vicinity.
KRAANG! Krang! Klang! Grrrkk!
Metal shrieked under overwhelming force. Each arc of his weapon became more violent, more destructive. Sparks burst from colliding steel, flashing briefly against the frozen battlefield.
"Dog knight! Die!!!"
The bandit's roar echoed as he swung his sword to meet the incoming retaliation that descended like a storm.
The bandit swung his sword in savage arcs, struggling to withstand the relentless chain of attacks crashing down on him like a storm without gaps. His arm began to feel heavy, his breathing uneven and strained. The Velmora Knight before him was clearly no ordinary opponent. His gaze remained sharp and composed, tracking even the smallest shift in movement.
He caught the instant when the bandit's blade moved diagonally, aiming from shoulder to chest with the clear intent to cleave him in two.
With precise calculation, the knight stepped diagonally forward, entering the opponent's range instead of retreating.
Slash! The blade sliced through empty air.
Buk! His right elbow slammed hard into the bandit's temple. The man's head snapped sideways, his balance collapsing at once. There was no space to recover.
Bukk! A left kick wrapped in dark blue aura drove into the bandit's chest with full force. The impact sent him flying several meters, his back plowing through snow before he crashed down.
Thud.
"Save him! That knight is going to kill Marco!"
Ting! Ting! Ting! Krang!
A bandit locked in another duel shouted in panic, his voice cracking between the clashes of steel.
Before any help could arrive, snow around the knight's boots began to lift, trembling from the pressure beneath his stance. The dark blue aura flared brighter, enveloping his body like a dense, stable flame.
A lightning assault began.
Fssshhh! Snow split apart along the path of blue light that shot low across the ground. In less than two seconds, the distance between them vanished completely.
Kshraaang! Metal screeched violently right in front of Marco. His eyes widened, catching only a blinding blue flash.
Slash! A diagonal cut descended without mercy.
Khrsshk! Flesh tore in a single swing. From shoulder down to the side of his abdomen, his body split cleanly beneath an aura infused blade.
"Aaagrkhhhh!"
Marco's scream echoed, then cut off as his body collapsed.
"Your mother is a bitch!" "Kill that knight first!"
Several bandits attempted to surround him. The knight's sword moved again, faster, smoother, far deadlier.
Srrk! One man's neck was severed cleanly. The sound of bone separating rang clearly amid the chaos. Blood sprayed violently, staining the once pristine snow.
Thud. The head struck the ground first, followed by the lifeless body.
"You… damn Duke's dog! How dare you kill my brother!"
To the knight, the shout was nothing but meaningless noise. Two enemies remained within reach. The priority was clear. Swift elimination.
Fssshhh! Dark blue light surged once more. Snow scattered in the wake of his movement.
Clang! Cling!
"Arghh!"
The targeted bandit managed to block two consecutive strikes, but his hands trembled violently under the crushing pressure of aura pressing against his blade. His knees nearly buckled.
The knight's sword technique shifted patterns.
Vertical slash!
Kraaang! A prolonged impact thundered as the bandit blocked with everything he had. The defense wavered.
Sensing a fleeting opening, the bandit forced the opposing blade upward and countered with a diagonal cut aimed at the groin.
Wrrsshhh! Air split apart.
Too late.
The knight had vanished from that position a fraction of a second earlier.
Slash!
A thin line flashed across the bandit's neck, so fast it was almost invisible. A heartbeat later, his head separated from his body. Blood sprayed high before gravity dragged everything down.
Thud. The body followed without direction.
"YOU…!!!"
Other bandits stared with eyes reddened by rage. Yet their fingers trembled. The efficiency of this Velmora Knight was too cold, too methodical. He killed without wasting a single motion.
From behind, a fellow knight's voice rang out.
"Fall back! Reform the formation!"
Fall back? What does that mean?
He was about to step forward again when more than a dozen figures emerged from behind trees and between scattered rocks ahead. Their steps were heavy and synchronized. The aura they emitted was far denser.
The killing intent radiating from this new group felt different. More controlled. More seasoned.
This was no ordinary rabble.
A greater danger stood directly before him.
Commander Roderic was still locked in a fierce duel against a mysterious sword master on the other side of the battlefield. This situation was clearly no coincidence.
Damn it! How could a force this strong move freely within northern territory?
Mercenaries? Defected knights? Or something far more organized?
He turned, reassessing the situation. Crude insults and dying screams echoed from multiple directions. The sounds mixed with clashing metal and pounding footsteps over snow, forming a nauseating din.
Before fully returning to the formation line, he moved once more. During his backward retreat, his sword swung without hesitation.
Srrk!
One enemy attempting to close in was split apart before he even understood what had happened.
At least one more down.
He would not allow a single one of them to escape unpunished.