Chapter 132 – Brendel’s reply

Brendel combined several techniques and unleashed them onto his foe.

It was an altered Power Break enhanced by his grandfather’s unique technique and combined with his own Frontal Assault. In that single moment, Brendel’s strength rose more than three times and broke through the limits of what a Gold-ranker could achieve.

The air distorted as though refraction had occurred.

Rovak was dumbfounded but he reacted in time by pulling out his own sword to defend himself.

An ear-splitting metallic shrill caused everyone to flinch—

Rovak’s pupils narrowed even further as he watched the broadsword bend his sword to the limits. Cracks appeared across his blade, and when the blade could not be bent any further, it turned into metallic shards that fired into the Beastman with incredible velocity.

Such blunt fragments were unlikely to harm a Gold-ranker’s body, but there was so much force behind them that they simply sank into his body like it was made out of paper.

A loud shriek of pain filled the clearing.

But it only lasted for an instant, stopping abruptly just as it started.

Even before Halran Gaia reached the Beastman, the compressed shockwave forced his body to bend backward. Bones shattered audibly, while his skin and muscles were torn away. Very quickly, the entire upper body was forcibly removed from its lower half, and both sections shot out backward like arrows with a stream of blood following closely.

An explosion sounded off a moment after Brendel’s blade completed its path, and a cone of destruction laid waste to the forest.

Most of the Beastmen were stunned, but there were a few veteran fighters who reacted and rushed towards Brendel.

“Mother Earth, bestow blades to me!” Brendel roared as he swung his sword again.

The earth moved like it had been turned into liquid, before countless spears made out of rocks shot out from the earth like upturned rain. Each needle-like projectile was approximately three meters long and the size of a human arm, and it pierced the approaching Beastmen from below.

The stalagmites quickly changed the forest landscape over a few hundred meters.

The twenty-odd beastmen in front of Brendel were turned into porcupines in an instant.

Glass vials fell onto the ground as Rono stood up and stared at the event in shock, not even noticing that he knocked over his bag. Faena was trembling out of fear. There were blood flecks on her face, left behind by Rovak’s body parts as they flew past her. She would have screamed in disgust if she were normal self, but she did not even dare to leak out a sound and even forgot to blink.

Elman was the only one who still had his senses, but his heart was racing when he saw Brendel’s first slash.

Even though Veronica’s swordsmanship could render people ineffective because of her control over her Element power, there was something terrifying about Brendel’s swing. It was as though the latter was swinging his sword in front of them, bringing along endless bloodshed—

[This level of bloodlust…… It’s a pressure that’s similar to Lady Veronica’s swordsmanship! It’s fortunate that I did not suggest to pick a fight with him head-on—]

“H-he’s……” Rono stuttered with difficulty: “a Runic Swordsman!”

Elman’s expression changed again as he thought about Brendel’s second slash.

The nobles next to Brendel seemed like they were turned to stone. They initially believed that Brendel’s earlier words were mere puffery. Dolant opened and closed his mouth several times like a fish as though he was trying to speak, but his words seemed like they were stuck in his throat and could not come out.

Austin was in a readied stance to pull out his sword ever since Rovak spoke to them. He intended to fight once things went awry, but he found his blade to weigh like a ton after Brendel pulled out his sword.

[This crazy bastard is Aouine’s noble? When did our kingdom have someone like him?]

Brendel stayed in his pose for nearly two seconds before exhaling loudly. The first swing drained an incredible amount of stamina and made his Unyielding talent activate. The second swing even caused him to freeze for a moment.

But even so, none of the Beastmen dared to move after that display of prowess.

Rovak’s death was understandable. The youth looked like he used an incredible technique, but his second attack was beyond common sense. Nearly a hundred meters of earth was turned into liquid and reformed to fire a torrent of projectiles that could not be defended against.

An Arcane Knight?

Or Runic Swordsman?

Brendel sheathed his sword, and the stalagmites formed crumbled and returned to soil. He glared coldly at the frightened Golden Lionmane Beastmen. They surrounded him like a crescent moon, but no one dared to advance a single step.

“I think King Erik could never have imagined there would be a day where his descendants would be mocked by a bunch of beasts.” Brendel turned around and said as he looked at the ambassadors: “Aouine’s flag of glory that has fallen onto the ground, do you think you’re capable of carrying it up again?”

Brendel’s voice was not loud and his tone was even.

Dolant glanced at the Lionmane Beastmen, then at Brendel. He was unwilling to acknowledge his words, but he was unable to refute him. The female scholar lowered her head. Austin was the only one who pulled out his sword in silence.

The Lionmane Beastman adjutant eventually regained his composure. Even though Brendel astounded everyone with his strength, he was still a Gold-ranker regardless of whatever techniques he possessed. It was clear that he would not be able to repeat the same feat many times. There were more than a hundred Silver-ranked warriors behind him. In addition, he and one other captain were also Gold-rankers.

The ambassadors were unlikely to be warriors, while their guards would have only one Gold-ranker at most. The motley crew of youths and mercenaries following Brendel could be completely disregarded.

The Lionmane Beastman adjutant quickly made his decision. He had to end things before the Druids came: “Kill them all! Get revenge for Captain Rovak!”

His roar woke all the Beastmen up. After a chaotic moment, they prepared to surround the humans completely and rush them.

Brendel’s army of youths and mercenaries were already alert when Aouine’s ambassadors appeared. When he raised his sword against Rovak, Carglise had already signaled them to prepare for a battle. A cacophony of weapons pulled out from their sheaths could be heard.

Count Austin walked to Brendel’s back and tossed his scabbard away.

“We only need to hold on for a while. The rest of our men would be coming very soon since a battle has broken out in your camp.”

“Hold on?” Brendel did not bother to turn back his head and answered in an icy tone, surprising Count Austin.

“Carglise, Kodan, Ropar, Scarlett,” he glared at the Beastman as he yelled, “lead the men and kill them all!”

“As you wish, my lord!” Carglise answered in excitement.

“Understood!” Scarlett replied as though she had been waiting for this order and rushed into the fray, with lightning dancing around her weapon.

[Another Gold-ranker with an unsealed Element Power?!]

The Lionmane Beastman adjutant felt his eyelids jerk.

But he quickly discovered there was another big threat in the battlefield. The Fireclaw Lizardman appeared from nowhere, dashing across the battlefield silently and knocked the Beastmen’s left flank out of formation with a single swipe of its gigantic tail.

With a single horizontal slash of its two-handed Greatsword, a sea of fiery flames turned a row of Lionmane Beastmen into ashes. They lost a single squadron with a single blow. It was as though a wall had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. The Lionmane Beastmen quivered in front of the Lizardman Chieftain, but the latter was not yet done. It raised its three-fingered hand and pointed its thumb at them.

Ten-odd Fireclaw Lizardmen lancers emerged from nowhere and charged towards their enemies.

Kodan walked slowly to Brendel’s side as he pulled out his sword: “I don’t think I ever agreed to work for you, boy?”

“You didn’t?” Brendel replied.

“At least I never agreed to accept your orders.”

“But I’m not ordering you.”

“What?”

Brendel glanced at Austin and asked: “Count Austin, was there ever a time where our ambassadors were insulted when King Erik was alive?”

Austin returned the youth’s glance with a strange look and shook his head.

Flames covered Halran Gaia in an instant.

“Then, should we give Aouine’s reply with our swords?”

Austin smiled wryly: “Understood.”

Brendel’s eyes returned to Kodan. The latter did not answer and merely tossed his sheath away. A whirlpool of green light revolved around his body.

Elman who watched the events unfold widened his eyes.

[Another Gold-ranker! No, even that ambassador is a Gold-ranker? When did Aouine gain so many of them?!]

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