Turning Chapter 713

Chapter 713

"Sir Zuckerman, please take the horses and retreat."

Yuder skillfully deflected the oncoming condensed energy with his sword, then summoned the power of the wind to create a small whirlwind. Dust flew everywhere, obscuring the enemy's vision. Nathan Zuckerman shook his head in response to Yuder's hurried command.

"I cannot do that."

"Then who will protect the horses?"

Scanning the surroundings quickly, Nathan Zuckerman released the reins and energetically patted the white horse's hindquarters while blowing a high, short whistle. Amazingly, the horse, as if responding to a command, hurriedly turned and galloped towards the back of the stable, away from the front where the battle raged. Yuder felt a momentary confusion, unsure if it was right to let the horse go like that.

"What have you done?"

"There's no time to explain. It's better to let it escape on its own than worry about who will protect it."

'...He has a point.'

Realizing Nathan Zuckerman was determined to join the fight, Yuder refrained from further argument and withdrew his power. Through the settling dust, the southern swordsman sharply called out.

"Bahram!"

A subordinate to his right, unnoticed despite continuous observation, suddenly stepped away from the group and stomped the ground. As he moved, a translucent aura surrounded him, partially obscuring his form.

Wrapped in that aura, his footsteps became silent. Even the light overhead and the natural sounds of movement hushed, and his speed increased dramatically, like a nearly invisible phantom.

Nathan immediately chased after him.

'He must be the Awakener who can conceal his presence.'

Indeed, with such a skill, from the stable, he and Nathan weren’t even able to notice the three adversaries.

'But its weakness is too obvious.'

The power only worked when unseen by the enemy.

A regular person might find such stealth threatening, perfect for slipping away unnoticed.

However, Yuder and Nathan Zuckerman had previously encountered the ultimate stealth abilities in an arena.

'Compared to Cyregina's complete invisibility, this is just child's play.'

Nathan Zuckerman, with his formidable observational skills, had even captured Cyregina. How could he miss someone still visible? Yuder, confident in Nathan's pursuit, completely lost interest in that direction.

"Aren't you going to follow your comrade?"

The southern swordsman, noting Yuder's swift disinterest, inquired. Yuder replied impassively.

"Why should I?"

His faith and certainty that Nathan would handle it allowed such a response. However, his stark expression perhaps led the enemy to misunderstand.

"Are you saying it doesn't matter if he dies? You facing the two of us alone is sheer arrogance."

Yuder remained silent. While the latter assumption was correct, the former was not. He had no intention of abandoning a talent like Nathan Zuckerman to death, but saw no need to explain. The unknowing southern swordsman smirked coldly, sword in hand.

"At that time, I was unsure where you intruders had come from, leading to several misunderstandings. It wasn't until after escaping Tainu that I understood your true nature. How you discovered our location is beyond me, but it doesn't matter."

As he spoke, he lifted his sword and charged at Yuder.

"You won't be leaving here alive."

Yuder raised his sword to block the attack. The clash of the two swords produced a loud, sharp sound, and Yuder felt a sensation as if his grip might tear apart. Just this single exchange was enough to give him a thrilling sense of his opponent's skill.

'Indeed, he's not just all talk. His strength is more impressive than it appears.'

His gloves, always worn for protection, proved helpful in this moment. Without the magic-infused gloves, his palms might have split open from that initial clash.

His adversary seemed to quickly realize that Yuder's strength was slightly inferior. Observing the slight tremble in their locked swords, the man spoke.

"You wield a weapon too grand for its master. Be thankful for your sturdy sword."

"..."

"The one I fought before had a much better sword than yours... Didn't he come? Or was it the one who just disappeared?"

"..."

"Seeing you use the wind earlier, you must be the one who used wind and... water before. Is that the extent of your abilities? Or..."

Unable to bear it, Yuder finally sighed.

"You really do talk too much."

"What?"

Engaging in a pointless contest of strength here would be as good as offering his back to the other guy and asking him to kill him. However, if he could lure the enemy into acting prematurely, even a disadvantageous power struggle can be a useful decoy.

'Now!'

Yuder let his clashing sword slide away and jumped back, scattering the power of the wind in all directions.

"Ugh!"

The southern swordsman, and the other attacker who was approaching from Yuder's blind spot, staggered as they were mercilessly hit in the face by the wind carrying dirt and dust. Seizing the moment, Yuder extended his hand holding the sword upward, then forcefully brought it down. The enemy's swords, momentarily weakened in their grips, followed Yuder's movement, rising and then plunging downward.

"Ah...!"

They must have felt the illusion of their swords becoming momentarily lighter and then unbearably heavy, slipping from their grasp. The southern swordsman, despite losing balance, managed to cling to his sword hilt, but his ally, who had tried to ambush Yuder from behind, was not so fortunate. The sword slipped through his loosened grip and rolled on the ground with an undignified clatter.

In that moment of shock and disarmament.

That brief span was more than enough for Yuder to drive his sword into his opponent's body.

Yuder instantly leaped up, stepping on the wind, and threw a small dagger he had drawn from his cloak. It was a new dagger given to him by Sunz and Emon.

'Proving useful right from the start.'

"Kuhk...!"

The southern swordsman's ally, pierced in the shoulder by the dagger, fell with a stifled scream. The fact that he didn't cry out disgracefully showed that he, too, was well-trained, despite appearances.

"You...!"

Just as Yuder heard the southern swordsman's voice, laden with intensified emotion, he leaped back again, stepping on the wind. The forces hurled by the southern swordsman in pursuit, carrying a fearsome momentum, suddenly collided with each other in mid-air and exploded violently.

'...He could do even this?'

Despite his relatively calm mind, Yuder's body, caught in the blast radius, was flung to the ground as if hurled from above.

"Ugh..."

Reacting instinctively, Yuder wrapped his head protectively and rolled, using a falling technique. There was no significant impact, but he couldn't fully shield himself from the continuing onslaught of attacks.

Boom, Crash! Bang!!

In the midst of the relentless onslaught, Yuder summoned a wall of earth and wind that swiftly enveloped and protected him.

‘Think only you can launch such frenzied attacks?’

He had thought this before, but the southern swordsman used his power in a way not much different from the aura attacks utilized by knights. The mid-air collision and subsequent explosion were somewhat surprising, yet the long-range attacks, merely quick and straightforward attempts to target the enemy, lacked any element of novelty.

Even as he fell, Yuder didn't lose grip of his sword. Planting it into the ground, he unleashed his strength.

-Rumble, rumble...

A much larger and more immense force surged through him, and crimson veins pulsed across the gloves and clothes covering his skin. A golden glow flickered brightly inside his left eye.

As the power of the earth intensified, the southern swordsman, sensing the abnormal movement, paused his attack momentarily. Seizing this opportunity, Yuder got to his feet but was momentarily distracted by something that had fallen from his torn outer garment.

What captured his usually unwavering focus during battle were colorful pieces of wrapping paper and translucent, candy-like fragments, shimmering like colored glass.

'...Ah. This.'

It seemed his pocket had torn during the blast. The issue was that it contained candies Kishiar had given him before coming here.

'...I had only eaten one of them.'

For the first time, Yuder felt an unfamiliar emotion as he looked down at the shattered candy pieces. He didn't need to feel around to know; there was nothing left in his pocket now.

"..."

The rumbling from beneath gradually subsided.

Yuder turned his head to look directly at the southern swordsman. Both of them were in a sorry state, but the appearance of the southern swordsman was now completely different from the beginning.

His face, previously meticulously concealed, was now exposed due to the torn clothing, revealing deep copper-brown hair and bright denim-blue eyes. His physique was imposing, contrasting with a noble and delicate appearance that would surprise anyone. However, none of these details mattered to Yuder.

"Those eyes..."

The southern swordsman, noticing Yuder's differently colored eyes, spoke with a furrowed brow. At that moment, the golden light flickering in Yuder's left eye suddenly burst forth with an intensity incomparable to before.

Simultaneously, the vibrations of the earth, thought to have died down, exploded anew.