A flash of cold light, the blade unsheathed — Iaido strike! Thorne pushed his body to its limit, moving with sudden swiftness and ferocity. In an instant, the blade slashed toward the opponent's waist.
However, the tall figure before him suddenly leaned forward the moment he drew his blade, rolling ahead with reaction speeds far beyond that of an ordinary person. The passing blade sheared off a few tufts of fur. Thorne's eyes widened as he looked at the figure that had sprung up so quickly. "Such fast reflexes. Even the real Blaidd wouldn't be able to dodge this strike of mine."
Without hesitation, he stepped forward to pursue his opponent. Like flowing water, he twisted his wrist to raise the long blade above his head, then gripped the hilt with his left hand. "Ashina Cross!" The horizontal and vertical slashes formed a perfect 'cross,' colliding with the greatsword a split second later.
"Clang!!" The werewolf hunched over. Sparks flew from the friction between the long blade and the greatsword. He was astonished, yet remained cold. "What are you doing?" he asked, but his brain raced, wondering when he had been exposed. Unexpectedly, Thorne grinned, letting out a villainous laugh. "Blaidd, today is the day you die!" "What?" The assassin was confused. If Thorne had directly called out his identity, he wouldn't need to keep up the charade, but this sounded like the swordsman had some personal vendetta against the werewolf. "So I wasn't exposed, just purely unlucky?"
The organization hadn't gathered any information on this swordsman, didn't know where he had come from, and had no way of knowing what grievances he had with Blaidd. After a moment's thought, he raised his right fist and threw a punch. "Thud." With a muffled sound, the fist struck the sole of Thorne's foot as he kicked. The force was immense, causing both parties to retreat several steps. Thorne twisted his ankle a few times, his suspicion now turning into firm belief. This was definitely not Blaidd.
Even though the strength was greater than his own, it was still a distance away from the power that could cleave several people in two with a single strike. However, the movements were extremely agile, reminding him of a ninja. The werewolf slowly stood up, resting his greatsword on his shoulder, and asked word by word: "Why do you want to kill me?" "You have the nerve to ask?" Thorne took a sliding step forward, dragging his long blade behind him, and roared: "Just because you're competing with me for Ranni!"
Vertical slashes and horizontal sweeps. Diagonal lifts rained down like a storm of light. The werewolf kept retreating, nimble footwork dodging the blade's edge. If not for the wolf-head mask, he would have looked amused.
"It's some melodramatic romantic dispute?" He knew the Princess of the Moon's status in Caria, and that Blaidd was just a loyal hound. Two dogs fighting for their master's affection. In a flash, he had an idea. "This person's martial arts are mediocre. I'll take him down first, directly draw out the target, and then it will be better to make a move!"
He glanced at the cliff to his right, where a dozen grappling hooks were tied with ropes. Invisible psychic power transmitted a message. "Lady Alecto, the plan has changed."
In an instant, Thorne noticed the werewolf, who had been dodging his dozen strikes, stop in his tracks. After pausing for a moment, he suddenly pounced forward. "Just because of you? Come with me and explain yourself before Her Highness!"
This seized the moral high ground, and the counterattack was extremely fast.
Without thinking, Thorne raised his blade to his chest.
"Clang!"
The greatsword slammed over like a door plank, sending him sliding sideways several meters, his steps slightly messy. Following the inertia, Thorne leaned backward, watching the blade's edge scrape past the tip of his nose. The strike missed.
The werewolf saw the swordsman push off the ground with both hands, perform a backflip, and throw several flying knives while stretching his body in mid-air.
"Cling, cling, cling..."
The greatsword sparked, blocking all the flying knives like a shield. The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing sharp canine teeth. "A peer? Good technique, but unfortunately too weak!"
Almost the moment Thorne landed, he pounced with a tiger's leap, forcing his opponent to jump with a low-to-the-ground strike. No flashy moves; his shoulder, compounded with inertia, slammed straight into Thorne's chest.
"Bang—Boom!"
Thorne flew far backward, completely collapsing the already dilapidated greenhouse.
It took him quite a while to slowly crawl up and wipe the blood from his forehead. "That's got some kick!" Compared to those knights with their wide-open movements, this attacker countered him better; his physical fitness was superior, and his technique was quite formidable. "With such a big commotion, you can't really be asleep, can you?" He glanced at the magic tower several hundred meters away with his peripheral vision, staring fixedly at the encroaching werewolf. "Surrender, and I will beg Her Highness to spare your life."
The cold words hung in the air, and Thorne wiped the blood from his forehead, revealing a victor's smile. "It's useless. I have already pledged my life to Ranni. Even if you kill me, her heart is still mine!"
"Huh?"
Hearing this, whether this Blaidd was real or fake, he was stunned for a moment. Then he saw several bricks flying toward his face.
"Bang!"
The greatsword swept the bricks into powder, like a smoke bomb exploding in front of him, instantly obscuring his vision.
"Not good, I was distracted." In such a fast-paced battle, he'd already been distracted twice in a row.
His eyes widened slightly as he saw the dust floating in the air solidify into ice crystals. "Frost Slash!" Thorne swept his sword, freezing everything within the range of the frost-coated blade. This strike was a diagonal slash from right to left, and as it slammed into the ground, an ice flower immediately bloomed. The werewolf's ankle was frozen, but he didn't panic, slashing backhanded at his opponent. Just as it was about to make contact, the person disappeared from his sight. "Bloodhound's Step!" Having been prepared, Thorne darted to the side, dodging the first strike.
He half-crouched on the ground, then avoided the werewolf's second, turning horizontal slash, and sprang up instantly amidst flying hair. Force rose from his feet, passed through his waist, and his arms delivered the long blade—
"Head Breaker!"
Man and sword as one, the blade pierced through the central gap, heading straight for the werewolf's jaw. But the latter had raised his head in advance. Even with the cold blade inches away, there was no panic.
He simply released the greatsword, stepped forward half a step with his unfrozen left foot, and held Thorne firmly in his arms before he could pull back. "Caught you!" The two were pressed tightly together. Thorne only felt a pair of iron arms wrapped around his waist, pressing so hard his ribs ached faintly. His nose was filled with a pungent, fishy stench. The sword in his hand pointed to the sky, and no matter what, it could only strike the air. At this distance, no martial arts existed, but in an instant, Thorne grinned. "I bet correctly.
You just wanted to capture me alive to use as bait, right?"
"!?" The werewolf's eyes widened in shock as a complex pattern appeared, and a ball of light floated into the air.
"This is..."
"Magic Downpour." The ball of light flew into the sky, turning into crystals that fell, magnifying in the werewolf's pupils. At the same time, Thorne released the sword hilt, pulled his hands back, and curled his entire body within the werewolf's tall frame.
The werewolf subconsciously wanted to dodge, but the coldness in his right leg reminded him of what had just happened, and he couldn't help but let out a sharp, feminine voice:
"How dare you trick me!?" Chapter 20: You Have Brought Shame Upon the Witch
The so-called art of killing is to use any means necessary to achieve the goal, from verbal taunts to deception, from pestering to suicide charges, all for the sake of that final strike.
Verbal taunts distract people, exquisite swordsmanship creates fixed patterns of thought, and a calm brain accurately seizes what others want to do.
When all conditions are met, the fatal opportunity has already actively delivered itself to the doorstep—
"Magic Downpour!"
'star-frost' is a sword that cuts people, and also a medium for casting spells. In an instant, no one could recover. Thorne felt the sensation of muscle in his embrace vanish instantly, and a dark shadow sprang out from within 'Blaidd's' body.
But Thorne had long anticipated this and had deliberately released an area-of-effect spell. "Thud, thud, thud..." The sound of magic crystals piercing into flesh blended into one, and blood bloomed in the air.
Thorne, holding the skin suit, caught a fleeting glimpse and saw the opponent's face clearly. The person was slender and tall, wearing a suit of silver armor. She wore a black veil over her head, making her face unclear, but judging by her mouth and nose, this should be a female. "Black Knife Assassin?" Thorne's eye twitched. This was the legendary assassination organization of The Lands Between. All members were composed of female Numen, the executors of the 'Night of the Black Knives.' The demigod Godwyn had died by their blades. 'Why are they here? Right, I remember they were also the ones who killed War Counselor Iji. There is also a Black Knife leader locked up in some prison in Liurnia. So they have a grudge against Ranni.'
Thoughts flashed by quickly, and soon he knew how ruthless the difference in timelines was. Five or six people dressed in the same way jumped up from the cliff, holding short, winding, peculiar daggers. The moment they all looked over, Thorne felt his heart being fiercely squeezed by an invisible hand, and the blood in his whole body froze. A sinister, cold, and cruel aura came rushing toward him.
Thorne forced himself to stop his pursuit to finish off the target. Don't look at the assassin posing as Blaidd being drenched in blood, and don't look at the other Black Knives still a hundred paces away; he was certain that those strange daggers would be sent into his throat first! "You, when did you see through the disguise?" A low female voice came. The Black Knife in the center was obviously taller than her companions, likely approaching two meters. Thorne gripped the hilt tightly, his fingertips turning white, trying to keep his tone steady: "I saw through it from the very beginning.
"How about that? I acted it out quite vividly, didn't I?"
The atmosphere was frozen. Thorne had not only crippled their subordinate but also slapped them in the face.
"You are not strong, but those tactics were interesting. It is a pity that you are just a weak human."
The tall woman shook her head. Slowly, she raised her leg. "I forgot to tell you, it is impossible to wake that sinner. Her soul is attached to a doll, and she needs to use sleep to resist the passage of time."
Thorne hadn't known about this, but it didn't matter now. Several Black Knives took a step simultaneously, and their bodies vanished from view.
"Invisibility?"
The oppressive feeling vanished at the same time. Only the footprints pressed into the grass remained, extending outward. Soon, even the footprints disappeared. Only his intuition sounded the alarm, frantically. Thorne froze. His brain didn't think because his limbs had already reacted. No need to think. No need to ask.
Only hold the sword with both hands above his head, lean his waist, bow his body, forward—
"Charge!"
Leather boots kicked up grass. Star-frost gave off a cold light. The swordsman ran wildly against the wind, feeling as if he had merged into this night. He couldn't see where the enemy was, nor could he tell where the murderous intent came from. His faintly reddening eyes were filled with ruthlessness and madness. "Even if you stab me to death, I'm going to slash you once!" His eyes, scanning all around, suddenly snapped to the side.
A peculiar dagger suddenly appeared from the air. "Stab my kidney?!"
The dagger was too fast. Intercepting with the sword was impossible. Thorne gave up on defense, twisted his body to avoid the fatal point, and slashed diagonally the moment he felt severe pain in his flank. "Woo—"
The long blade wreathed in frost cut through the air, suddenly bursting out a spray of sparks. A Black Knife Assassin's figure appeared in the air, her dagger blocking the long blade. At the same time, more daggers appeared. Pierce the kidney, gouge the eye, break the spine.
Every Black Knife was in a different direction, as precise as a surgeon. In the history of The Lands Between, there was a saying:
A single Black Knife might not defeat a knight, but several Black Knives are enough to make a hero drink the cup of regret. Thorne still disregarded everything. The Caria crest appeared on the tip of his sword, even if it meant just cutting a wound into an enemy. But at this moment, the sky suddenly brightened, and the radiance of the full moon seemed to surge tenfold! "Swish, swish, swish..."
It was as if a storm had fallen, instantly cutting Thorne's cloak into tattered rags.
He froze in place, turning his head to look around. The grass had long since disappeared, and countless one-foot-long glintstone crystals covered dozens of square meters of the ground. Only beneath his feet was a patch of pure land.
"This kind of magical control."
Thorne turned his head back quickly, seeing a petite figure walking out as if from the full moon. Her four arms had their fingertips joined, and her off-white dress moved with the wind. It was as if she were out for a post-meal stroll.
"Good evening, Lady Alecto."
She nodded gracefully in greeting, her gaze lingering on Thorne for a moment. He understood immediately and retreated with his sword. This time, no one came to pursue him.
The air twisted, and the tall assassin revealed her form. She glared at Thorne with full murderous intent, thinking she had wasted too much time on this small character. How could Ranni have awakened?
A bad feeling flashed from the bottom of her heart, and she immediately felt that this was a trap!
"Woo—"
A fierce wind howled.
A huge Glintstone Dragon charged up from the cliff, and a Troll stood on its back, lifting a big hammer and bringing it down heavily.
"Boom!"
The mountaintop trembled for an instant, and War Counselor Iji roared: "Alecto, it's only been a few days, why are you here to throw your life away again!?"