Zakriel's sudden appearance disrupted the situation and caught everyone off guard.
Stake furrowed his eyebrows tightly. The assassins' gazes flickered, and Yodel remained silent.
But for Thales, this was the biggest surprise he encountered that day.
"Zakriel, urk, sir." Thales endured the stench of blood coming from Zakriel's body. He could not be bothered with the man's current state. "Do you understand the situation we are facing now? They are … "
"Ah."
Zakriel snorted softly and shook his head. He shifted his attention from his left hand, which was hurting from the impact, to the person in front of him.
"Shadow Shield," the Knight of Judgment enunciated each word clearly. His tone was dark.
"How unforgettable."
At the moment Zakriel shook his head, his hair spread to both sides of his forehead. Stake finally saw the brand on the man's forehead clearly.
At that moment, Stake's expression became incredibly unpleasant.
He suddenly realized who this person was.
"This is bad," the leader of the assassins mumbled.
He gestured for his subordinates to move back slowly. Even Yodel, who was bound by their chains, moved back.
When he remembered the man's former identity and reputation, Stake became even more nervous and vigilant.
'How unlucky.'
He secretly glanced at Thales.
In contrast, Thales was in high spirits. He was glad that he was lucky at this moment. "Then you …"
But Zakriel immediately shuddered violently!
As if he was being tortured, he lowered his head and covered his face with a pained expression. His entire body trembled.
"Ahhh, enough!"
Zakriel looked at an empty corner beside him with a savage expression. His tone was unpleasant. "I know what to do!"
Thales was startled.
The Knight of Judgment panted rapidly and looked at the corner with an air of seriousness.
It was as if there was really someone there.
He was talking to him.
"I will try … to be more careful and cherish the limited time I have left prison … I'm so f * cking hungry." The veins on the back of Zakriel's hand bulged as he covered his forehead. He gritted his teeth and communicated with someone who did not exist.
Thales' heart sank when he saw Zakriel suddenly acting abnormally. He subconsciously took a small step back, but he forced himself to stand still.
'No.'
He could not step back.
Yodel was still in danger.
Thales looked at Yodel in the distance. He still held the Supreme Sword in his hand. His limbs struggled, but he did not surrender.
Strangely, he shook his head at Thales in a barely noticeable manner.
On the other side, Stake's eyebrows twitched as he observed all of this. He seemed to be deep in thought.
"Are you okay? Another world? "
Thales took a deep breath and asked the long-faced man beside him in a tentative manner.
Zakriel took a few deep breaths. His face turned from green to red and returned to normal.
"It's fine." The Knight of Judgment shut his eyes tightly and pushed against his forehead with his palm. Every time he spoke, his body would twitch violently.
"Just like in the past, when you were trying your best to defend against Tony's attacks, the detestable instructor was still shouting in your ear, as if you weren't flustered enough …"
Not a problem?
Thales cast him a worried glance and suppressed the words in his heart.
His current state …
Would it work?
But he glanced at Yodel again and tried hard to shake off his hesitation and fear.
He had no choice.
"Alright, can you …"
Thales activated hell's senses again and tried to find a flaw in his opponent's formation.
The prince fixed his gaze on Yodel.
"Save him?"
Zakriel's breathing gradually calmed down. He opened his eyes and looked forward with exhaustion and wounds all over his body.
His gaze swept past the assassins and the captured Yodel.
"Killing is easy. But saving him? That's another matter. "The Knight of Judgment seemed to have just recovered from his unconscious state. His words came with intermittent gasps.
Thales' eyes darkened.
Stake drew out the awl and dagger in his hands again. His eyes shone brilliantly, but his thoughts were unknown.
"And they have a lot of people, brat." Zakriel frowned.
He lowered his head to look at Thales and said coldly,
"Once we fight, I can't protect you."
Yodel shuddered violently in the chains and shook his head firmly.
Thales was slightly startled before he smiled.
"You don't have to worry about me, Sir Zakriel." Thales' gaze was firm. He raised his weapon at the assassins. "You just need to save him.
I can protect myself. "
At that moment, he suddenly felt that the sword in his hand was no longer as heavy as before.
Zakriel narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Your Highness!"
On the other side, Stake suddenly spoke loudly.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
He showed a gentle smile again. "I believe that we can solve this through negotiation."
Thales snorted softly.
"Aren't we negotiating right now?" The prince took a step back and flung Ricky's longsword away. He positioned himself in the Iron Body Style and said coldly,
"With a sword, not with your mouth."
Stake's expression darkened.
Zakriel was silent. He looked at Thales, then at Yodel.
"How important is he to you?"
The Knight of Judgment asked faintly, "Is he worth throwing away your life for?"
Thales curled up the corners of his lips.
"Zakriel."
"How important are your brothers in the Royal Guards to you?" the prince asked with a smile.
Zakriel was silent for a moment.
The brand on his face trembled slightly under the waning firelight.
"Don't die." The Knight of Judgment stared at the enemy in front of him. He coldly bit the shortsword in his left hand back into his mouth.
"Your Highness, I don't know your name."
At that moment, Stake's expression changed drastically!
Right after he said 'no', Zakriel's figure flashed, and he closed in on Stake!
Amidst the howling wind, he went straight for the four people who were restraining Yodel!
Zakriel, who was covered in weapons, was not fast, but his momentum and agility at that moment were not to be underestimated.
The Shadow Shield assassins, who had been prepared for a long time, reacted very quickly. Four to five figures immediately jumped out of the darkness and went to intercept the long-faced man.
At that moment, Thales could clearly see scattered orange-red light coming from Zakriel's body with hell's senses.
Compared to Arracca, Sonia, and Nicholas' Power of Eradication, which was connected to each other and covered their entire bodies, the man's Power of Eradication seemed intermittent and scattered, like the stingy rainwater in the desert. There was a drop here and a drop there.
There was no order to it.
But Thales' thoughts immediately changed.
'No.
It's not that there's no order to it. '
Thales watched the orange-red light change its trajectory, and a thought appeared in his mind.
First, it gathered at his waist and left hand.
* Shick! *
A gust of wind sliced through the air!
The moment Zakriel took a step forward, he turned his body sideways as if he had predicted it, and narrowly avoided an arrow that grazed past his nose.
He swung his left hand, and the throwing axe on his back flew out to the ceiling on the upper left.
* Swoosh! *
With a grunt, an assassin with a crossbow fell to the ground from the darkness.
'The first.
'A piece of trash with terrible aim.'
Zakriel counted in his heart.
The Knight of Judgment's momentum was blocked, and three assassins had already caught up to him. They moved to Zakriel's sides, one on the left, and two on the right. They attacked with their weapons!
The fourth assassin went up to Zakriel. He held four hiltless daggers in his right hand!
When he saw that Zakriel was surrounded by four people, Thales, who was watching from the side, held his breath.
In his field of vision, the orange-red light alternated between bright and dark. It spread intermittently to the Knight of Judgment's calf, right hand, and back …
At that moment, Zakriel calmly stopped moving and stomped on the ground!
With a nimble turn of his body, he passed by the enemies on his left and right.
For a moment, Thales thought he saw the Kingdom's Wrath charging into the enemy's formation alone.
But the Knight of Judgment did not charge forward in anger, nor did he break through at all costs.
He did not bleed in exchange for his life.
The middle-aged man shook his shoulders. The quiver on his back and the two swords in his right hand instantly flew out!
The quiver flew towards the enemies coming at him from the front, and the longswords shot towards the two assassins on the right!
* Shick! *
A soft sound rose. The quiver collided with the flying daggers and was torn to shreds. The bundle of arrows scattered in the air.
* Thud! * * Clang! *
Two swords pierced the ground and perfectly blocked the path of the two assassins on the right, forcing them to adjust their postures or leap over them.
The moment the three assassins paused for a moment, Zakriel attacked the remaining assassin.
The Knight of Judgment spun around in a strange manner and moved into the arms of the assassin on the left at a tricky angle. He accurately seized the assassin's dagger-wielding arm!
Zakriel leaned his head against the assassin's neck as if he was hugging a lover. The shortsword in his mouth trembled slightly.
* Thud! *
The assassin moaned in pain and watched in disbelief as the shortsword in Zakriel's mouth slit his throat.
'The second one.
'What a slow idiot.'
Zakriel thought faintly.
He let go of the shortsword in his mouth, licked the cut on the corner of his mouth, grabbed the assassin's dagger-wielding hand, and turned around to deliver it!
* Shick! *
On the right, an assassin was forced to jump up by the longsword on the ground. He could not avoid it, and he watched in disbelief as his companion's dagger pierced his chest.
'The third one.
'Blind fool.'
Zakriel did not have time to rest. He silently evaluated his enemy. He extended his right arm and used the momentum to push the poor fool whose chest was pierced. He used him as a shield and pushed him forward!
The second assassin on the right gritted his teeth. He was about to push his companion's corpse away, but against his expectations, a bloody straight saber pierced through the corpse's back and went straight into his throat!
'The fourth one.
'Brainless idiot.'
Zakriel's expression remained calm.
He let go of the saber that pierced two people with his right hand and touched the back of his waist. His left hand grabbed a falling arrow in the air, and he threw it at the assassin in front of him with his bare hands!
* Clang! *
A soft sound rose. The assassin blocked the flying arrow, but he was shocked to find that in the span of a breath, a sledgehammer had already arrived in front of his eyes.
* Crack! *
The clear sound was like an egg being smashed.
Even Thales could not help but tremble.
'The fifth one.
'A coward who hesitates.'
Under the terrified gazes of the remaining assassins, Zakriel put away his sledgehammer, pulled out a dagger from his arm — his only injury in this battle — and silently completed his evaluation.
* Drip. *
The last arrow in the quiver fell to the ground. It bore witness to the lightning-fast exchange of blows.
Thales subconsciously held his breath as he watched.
'This man …'
The throwing axe struck the enemy, the longsword intercepted him, the shortsword pierced his throat, the dagger pierced his heart, the saber bullied his enemy, and finally, the sledgehammer smashed his opponent's head. All of this happened almost at the same time.
Thales suddenly had a feeling that when he faced five assassins, the Power of Eradication in his body surged like loose sand. Zakriel did not fight against many alone, nor did he fight against many alone.
Instead, he split himself into five people and faced five opponents.
No matter which side he fought against, he could fight with ease.
His palms, his arms, his waist, his shoulders, his legs, every part of his body, and even the seemingly cumbersome weapons all over his body, seemed to have their own consciousness. At the moment his Power of Eradication erupted, they woke up and danced without anyone teaching them how to do so. They faced the enemies in different directions.
Some blocked the enemy's path, some lured the enemy deeper into their ranks, some blocked the damage, some counterattacked at the right moment, and some secured victory.
When Thales saw the assassins' daggers pierced into their companions' chests, the sabers pierced through corpses, and the arrows scattered all over the ground, he felt that everything that happened at every moment on the battlefield, be it an accident or a coincidence, could immediately become Zakriel's weapon and bargaining chip, and become the chess pieces that would help him secure victory.
'This man …' Thales stared at Zakriel in a daze. 'He's not just one person.
He's practically … a mighty and awe-inspiring military camp, a well-coordinated battle formation, and a well-trained army all by himself.
No matter how many people he faced, he always had victory in his hands. He was fearless, and he faced his enemies calmly.
Zakriel did not stop. He strode forward and charged at Yodel.
'No.'
The center of Stake's eyebrows trembled. He simply could not believe that there was such a person in the world who could kill five people in one move.
'That's Shadow Shield, who has been trained strictly since he was an orphan, and his attacks are ruthless and precise!
'How could this be …'
Stake, who was also shocked by the scene before him, gritted his teeth and shouted into the distance.
"Hurry!
That boy! "
Following his command, two assassins who had bypassed the battle took advantage of the moment when Zakriel was too busy to deal with his enemies to charge at the prince!
'They're here.'
Thales felt his skin crawl. He looked at the enemies on his left and right, and attacked with his longsword.
The Sin of Hell's River surged towards him like a tidal wave. Time slowed down again.
* Clang! *
Thales barely managed to block the extremely aggressive blade of the first enemy. He was just about to avoid the attack when the second enemy swung the chain in his hand, and the sound of the wind whistled through the air. It arrived next to his ear.
'Damn it!'
Thales was in a difficult situation. He first avoided the blade, then painfully blocked the chain. He could not even organize a proper counterattack, and the longsword in his hand almost slipped out of his grasp.
It was just like … when he faced the orcs in the desert. Attacks came from all directions. He could block one, but he could not defend against two …
'Damn it. When I saw Zakriel fight against many alone, he was so relaxed and at ease. He even used the enemy's attacks as his advantage …
'But when I truly face this moment …'
Thales sucked in a deep breath. Suddenly, a thought appeared in his mind.
'Wait.
'One against many.
'Zakriel.
'He used the enemy's attacks as his advantage?'
The slowing down of time gave Thales time to think.
The enemy on his left held a short blade. It was clear that he wanted to engage in close-quarters combat. He wanted to force Thales, who held a longsword, to be at a loss as to how to advance or retreat. He had no choice but to widen the distance between them.
The enemy on his right held a chain in his hand. He should be waiting for the moment Thales panicked and retreated to capture the prince alive.
One was long, and the other was short.
'Then …'
On the other side, the chained Yodel changed his previous silence. He anxiously shouted at the Knight of Judgment, who was getting closer.
"Zakriel!"
But they were too far away. No matter what they did, it was too late.
But Thales moved at that moment.
The Sin of Hell's River surged into the prince's arms and waist, causing him to lower his body in a flash of inspiration. He executed a side slash from the Cold Attack Style and faced the enemy's blade.
* Clang! *
The eyes of the enemy with the short blade moved, and he took the opportunity to attack!
But he was shocked to find that Thales' sword was soft. He did not use any strength at all.
'This is …'
Before he could react, Thales took the opportunity to retreat in the next second. He brought his opponent with him to face the other fierce chain!
When he saw that his companion and target had entered his range at the same time, the chain-wielding assassin immediately stopped attacking.
The whistling by Thales' ears was no longer fierce.
'Now!'
Without the threat of the chain, Thales gritted his teeth. The Sin of Hell's River disappeared without a trace in an instant, and the Twist of Fate, which he had imitated the most over the past six years, rose from his bones!
* Shick! *
The prince's retreating longsword inconceivably went against the flow and avoided the blade in front of him. Under the assassin's shocked gaze, it pierced straight into his chest!
'Damn it!'
Thales gritted his teeth. He felt the enemy's short blade stab into his shoulder, and it was incredibly painful.
The assassin's eyes trembled as he met Thales' gaze.
In the end, he fell limp and powerless.
Stake's eyebrows twitched as he watched from the side.
'That's not right.
'The strange Power of Eradication, and this kind of decisiveness in battle …
'This prince's fighting strength …
'This is seriously inconsistent with the information the Northlanders gave me about the thin and weak boy who is a little smart!'
Stake gritted his teeth. 'Damn brainless Northlanders!'
The sound of the chain swishing in the wind rose again.
Thales did not have time to rest. He supported the enemy's corpse with his blood-stained hands, and with all his might, he turned and pushed!
* Slap! *
The second enemy's chain struck the shield Thales pushed out. It wrapped around the shield a few times, but it did nothing.
Thales took the chance to roll out of the danger zone while holding his shoulder. He endured the pain and raised his sword again.
The enemy was very surprised by his companion's sudden death. In his anger, he flung his weapon again.
But he no longer had the chance.
* Shing! *
A crisp sound rose.
The chain-wielding enemy trembled slightly. An arrow had pierced through his neck.
Thales, whose face was covered in blood, turned around in surprise.
On the other side, Zakriel, who had knocked down another person, released his grip and threw down a crossbow that had finished firing.
By his feet, the last bolt that had fallen to the ground had already disappeared.
The Knight of Judgment said coldly to the prince, "Not bad."
Thales was instantly stunned.
'The seventh.'
Zakriel cast a glance at the chain-wielding assassin and said quietly,
'Stupid idiot.
Useless, idiot, blind, stupid, coward, idiot … '
Zakriel continued to charge at the enemy, but he could not help but think disdainfully. 'Under that Far Easterner's command, the assassin from Shadow Shield was clearly so terrifying …
'But during the years I was in prison …
'Have they become so weak?'
As his thoughts raced, Zakriel moved forward unhindered. Only the four people who bound Yodel were left in front of him.
When he saw that success was at hand and that he was safe, Thales could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, Stake, who had almost used up all his trump cards, roared, moved past all his subordinates, and rushed forward!
At that moment, the bound Yodel struggled with all his might and cried out involuntarily.
"No!"
Something unexpected happened.
The previously unstoppable Zakriel and the seemingly fearless Stake stopped at the same time when they were one foot away from each other.
The situation became calm again.
Zakriel and Stake stared at each other in silence. One of them had a solemn expression, while the other had a fierce look.
'Hmm?'
"Zakriel?"
Thales leaned on his sword and wiped off the blood on his face. He endured the pain and walked forward. "How …"
But in the next second, Thales was also stunned.
Zakriel stood in front of Stake. His body was tense, and his eyebrows were tightly furrowed.
Stake, on the other hand, was in a rather disheveled state. His face was ferocious, and he raised his right hand high.
'That is …'
Thales saw the thing in Stake's hand clearly: a metal sphere with complicated patterns carved on it.
The prince understood something. He looked at the small space around him and instantly shuddered.
"Alchemy Ball."
Zakriel slowly put down the saber in his left hand and said in disgust.
"This is why I hate wizards the most — and their restless legacies."
In front of him, Stake smiled.
"Yes."
The leader of the assassins shrugged.
"Six years ago, when Teng saw it."
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