Chapter 41: Chapter 41 To Barmwich
Elwin and Ganulf circled each other on the canyon rock. Their blades glistened under the torturing glare of the sun. They'd been fighting for hours now, yet victory and defeat seemed so far.
Nesterin and his men still watched from afar. He started to felt his arms again which was a relief.
"Nesterin," Jharteel called. "We should leave. This is not our fight."
"No. We'll kill the ones that survive after the battle. I'm sure they'll tire themselves."
Jharteel nodded.
Elwin stopped and Ganulf did the same. The sect leader stood in an elegant stance, his blade at the ready. It seemed quick and precise even though it didn't even move yet. Ganulf on the other hand stood strong, rough, and tough. He was like impenetrable boulder compared to Elwin.
But Nesterin knew appearance meant nothing in this fight.
Ganulf raised his greatsword, extending it all the way towards the sky. Elwin sprinted, circling the giant monster, trying to dodge the incoming attacks. But as last time, Ganulf didn't attack but turned only turned his body towards Elwin.
That monster was smart. He knew Elwin could dodge its attack very easily, so it waited for Elwin to move.
His guess were correct. When Elwin charged towards the monster, Ganulf slammed his weapon not towards Elwin, but towards where he moved. The monster changed the course of his greatsword mid-swing and it happened really quick.
Nevertheless, Elwin came out unscathed and slashed at its rear. The monster didn't let out a groan or showed an expression of pain. The wound on its body spurted out rotten flesh and some kind of black, sticky liquids. None of it touched the sect master. His movement were quick and graceful.
While Elwin was on its rear, Ganulf swung its sword to the back, its arm was so flexible and it almost reached the sect master.
Leaping backward, Elwin hopped on the greatsword and struck like a whip. Nesterin only saw a line of light flashing on the monster's face, before dark blood spurted out of the wound.
The attack didn't seem to injure the monster much.
Ganulf raised its weapon again. Unlike Elwin, the gigantic monster attack focused on delivering the most possible momentum and weight behind each strike. Elwin stepped back, missing the blade by a strand of hair.
The ground under them shook and cracked. It exploded dust, and rock up into the air.
Nesterin couldn't see their battle from all of the debris. But then another force exploded from the battle, throwing all the dust and rocks towards the soldier.
"Duck!"
"Be careful of those rocks!"
Hundreds of rock with various sizes shot towards them.
The Black Wolves threw themselves in prone position. Holding the back of their head with their hand. Jharteel also pulled him to prone, but Nesterin didn't budge. He wanted to see where this would go.
With all the obstruction gone, Nesterin had a clear view of the battle.
Elwin jumped out of the way, his limbs were nimble and quick. Any attack from the monster were easily dodged.
The favor seemed to be on the sect master's side. But he was wrong.
The thick bone-like vambrace on the monster's arm cracked and a dark air leaked out.
What was that?
Ganulf roared. Shaking the ground and sky. It rattled his ears and making it hard to breathe.
"Such power. Does the norm still have a place in this world," Nesterin said. "Can we defeat something like that with our own hand?"
The monster stared at Elwin. It charged and not with the usual slow, hulking steps. It was the quick, hulking steps. With the speed of a hundred magic bulls, the monster crashed into Elwin, knocking him into the air.
Blood came out of the sect master's lip. It was the first time Nesterin saw him injured.
The attack didn't end there. While Elwin was in mid-air, Ganulf spun and slammed his greatsword.
Boom!
Elwin were knocked to the ground. The rock cracked and a burst of blood came out of his nose. The monster stepped on him.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Each step shook the earth like an earthquake.
Ganulf raised his greatsword again.
But before it could struck, a long line of light starting from the ground and end on top of the monster flashed through the monster's wrist.
A dark goo of blood blasted out. Elwin came out of the hole and charged. He got into its face and stabbed through the neck. The monster released its sword and was about to grab him. Yet Elwin became much quicker, he yanked the sword and leaped away.
Ganulf seemed irritated. It grabbed the greatswords again and bashed it against Elwin tiny body. The attack was quicker than expected. Elwin couldn't dodge and the attack made his feet ran deep into the rock. The sect master held on with gritted teeth. His sword blocked the direct attack but the force was still unbearable.
Elwin slipped to the side and—
SLASH!
A golden line flashed for a split second, lighting up the world.
One greatsword fell. Followed by the left hand of the monster.
Elwin successfully cut the monster's arm!
"He's strong," Nesterin said.
But it wasn't over yet.
Unexpectedly, the monster didn't become weaker after it lost its hand. In fact, it became stronger and faster. It struck over and over. The frenzied assault left not chance for Elwin to counter-attack.
There was no gap to dodge, and Elwin had to block the attack with his sword. Nesterin could see Elwin taking a lot of strain. The ground beneath them were very much destroyed as every step and attack cracked them even more.
But it wasn't just the ground that was broken.
CRACK
Like the sound of a thousand bone being shattered, the sword in Elwin's hand broke into pieces. With nothing to use as shield, the greatsword slammed against the sect master.
This time, Ganulf didn't left any chances. It sprinted towards the man and pummeled with heavy yet quick strikes. Each strike was brutal and lethal. If a norm were to be the receiving end of the attack, their body would be crushed.
The monster became faster and faster as it send out relentless attacks. Its arm constantly flashed left and right, leaving no breathing room for the sect master.
Blood covered the land. And Ganulf whipped the greatsword back over his head, before slamming down towards the sect master.
Yet in that split moment, Elwin flashed forward. Golden light enveloped his figure and he pierced through the creature's torso.
The monster swayed in the wind before it fell. It tried to grab the sect master, seemingly unwilling to accept its defeat.
The monster had lost.
And Elwin stood not in triumph but in fatigue and emptiness. Blood sprayed all over him and his clothes were tattered into a rag. His knees fell to the ground. Dark blood dripped from both of his hand.
"Nesterin. This is our chance," Jharteel said.
"Surround him!" Nesterin ordered.
The Black Wolves approached the sect master. Though the fight earlier made them scared, they still had to obey order.
Elwin lightly scoffed before smiling.
"You still here?" Elwin asked. "A curios one, I see."
"You're weak now," Nesterin said. "We can kill you whenever we want to."
"Go on kill me. I have lived long enough and made a lot of legacy."
"You legacy. You mean the Nefarious Sword? Humph. Just so you know our army will attack your sect in a few days. You will have no more legacy when we raze it to the ground."
Elwin smiled. "You haven't been listening haven't you, young one."
"I don't care about anything you say."
"You should."
"About what?" Nesterin stared at the man. How could the man still stayed calm even when his life was at stake. And what was he talking about.
I don't need to listen to you… Wait.
Nesterin turned to the monster and his eyes expanded. His feet swayed and he looked at Jharteel.
"It's bad."
"What's going on, Nesterin? What do you mean by bad?"
"These thing can smell the death."
"What's wrong with th—" Jharteel realized the implication. "Oh no. We need to tell the army about this. If they attack then these monsters would come for them!"
"Barmwich is at least two weeks from here," Nesterin said. "The army would probably attack or even conquer the sect by that time."
"There must be something that we can do," Thalanil said. "We can't let them die."
"I can help," Elwin said.
"You?" Nesterin said. "You think we're going to believe what you said?"
"Kill me then. And you will lose all your chance to save your friend. Beside, I also don't want my sect to be destroyed."
In normal situation, Nesterin would immediately put a bullet into the man's head, but he currently considered the offer.
"If Hax die, the rebellion army would collapse," Jharteel said. "Even if we can't save everyone else, we at least need to save him."
"Hax?" Elwin asked. "Is that your leader? The one who made all these weapons?"
"Shut your mouth for a minute," Nesterin said. He pulled Jharteel away. "We can't trust him. He will kill Hax not save him."
"Then what should we do? Using bird is also not an option."
"Didn't I tell you that a magician can send a message through a magic circle?" Nesterin said. "Maybe we can find a magician that can do that, and then we'll force him to send the message."
"Will Hax believe a message that came from a magician? What if he think someone was trying to trick him. He wouldn't believe the message we send. Sending the sect master is our best choice."
Nesterin turned his sight to Elwin.
The sect master blinked and smile at them.
"There's no way I would trust that man. Just look at his face. And Hax wouldn't believe a cultivator anyway, especially when he's the sect master."
"At least he can stop Hax."
Nesterin sighed. "Fine. But I will go with him. Take this." Nesterin pulled a small note out of his pocket and gave it to Jharteel.
"What is this?"
"It's the blueprint of the gun. If I don't return in a few weeks, then you should give this to someone smart. Hax has paved a way for us. His legacy and our rebellion will continue even if he died."
"Where did you get this?"
"I stole it," Nesterin said. "Now, organize our men and quickly return to the Royal Palace. Keep on gathering information. Who knows what you'll find."
Jharteel was speechless for a moment, but then he pocketed the note and nodded. "I will do as you say. Be safe, Nesterin."
Nesterin turned to his men. "All of you will listen to Jharteel from now. I will go Barmwich with this man." He pointed at Elwin.
Elwin smiled. "People usually don't point at me like that or addressed me like I am unwanted."
"Let's go guys," Jharteel led his men to leave the canyon.
"Wow so they just gonna leave us like that?" Elwin asked.
"Shut up. Tell me how you plan to go to Barmwich before our army attacked."
Elwin watched the caravan set off into the distance. "You're a reckless one."
"What? Because I'm traveling with you?"
"No. It's because you didn't even ask for supplies for our travel. Don't you norms need to eat and drink ever so often?"
Nesterin just realized that too.
"I'm fine. I can go without eating for a few days."
"Don't cry on me if you're hungry or thirsty. The air is quite hot these days."
"You talk too much. Just tell me how do we go to Barmwich."
"We use our feet, of course."
"Are you playing with me?!"
"What? you expect wings to come out of my back?"
"How can we reach Barmwich quickly just by running?"
"How do you think?"
"I'm the one who's asking idiot!" Nesterin shouted.
"Oh."
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