Chapter 279

Chapter 280. How to Protect What’s Precious (4)

Puan, the praised Grandmaster, had little experience in war. Thus, he gave orders strictly by the book.

“Send 50 Masters and Knights from the left and right wings surrounding Sephira to the main house to prevent occupation. We alone are enough to stop the Special Forces.”

Since Sephira’s surprise attack squad that occupied the Baydant family consisted of 50 members, he sent double that number of troops and Masters. And the Grandmaster Puan himself would face the 100-strong Special Forces. It was a textbook response.

As the Baydant forces moved, Sephira immediately responded.

“About 50 Masters and Knights from the left and right wings have separated from the main force! Their direction is towards Baydant’s main house!”

Mail, who received information from the spies, filtered out the most crucial details and reported them to Hisop. Hisop also gave immediate orders.

“Deploy the Constellation Knight Order. Simultaneously strike Baydant’s left and right wings. If you sense the enemy trying to return for support, retreat immediately!”

Twenty members of the Constellation Knight Order gathered at the training ground. The 500 soldiers they commanded were highly disciplined, but the tension was palpable.

Sephira’s army numbered only 500. Yet, the forces surrounding Sephira were 2,000 strong—a fourfold difference. The Captain of the Constellation Knight Order’s speech was brief and heavy.

“If each of you fires five arrows, we’ll win!”

The Captain joked with the tense soldiers, who stifled their laughter. Then, the Vice-Captain added to the joke.

“We’ll be running more than fighting!”

“Ahahaha!”

“Anyone who doesn’t empty their quiver in this battle is definitely on the middle night watch!”

“Captain! That’s torture!”

“But for those who do, I’ll buy you drinks and meat with my own money!”

“Is there a limit?”

“Who do you think I am? The Captain, the Knight Captain! Don’t compare it to your measly salaries!”

“You bragged, didn’t you? Today, I’ll make sure to drain you dry!”

Excessive tension stiffens muscles. But thanks to the Captain’s wit, the soldiers entered the battle with just the right amount of tension.

Such news should have immediately reached Baydant’s ears. After all, 500 troops had left Sephira.

Yet, for some reason, Baydant failed to notice that Sephira had deployed the Constellation Knight Order.

It was inevitable. The spies who were supposed to deliver the information were all dead. Almost simultaneously.

That was impossible. Spies typically don’t reveal themselves and are extremely well-hidden.

Moreover, they are not within arrow range, and even if you try to catch a spy, they flee without fighting.

The one who killed those spies was a single man.

A man precariously standing on the roof of Sephira’s tallest tower. Handling a bow of absurd size, he clasped his hands and muttered.

“There would have been no pain.”

The Big Dipper, Nelson Mizari. Usually wearing an eyepatch, he had now removed it.

His exposed eyes were like mirrors. Looking at the sky, it was reflected perfectly in his eyes.

At least hundreds, if not thousands of meters away, he had sniped and killed all the hidden spies, shedding tears.

“It’s what I had to do, but it’s still sad.”

Nelson, covering his eyes with the eyepatch again, lay down flat.

He usually covers his eyes to focus his vision. That was the secret and the flaw of his long-range sniping.

After sniping, he couldn’t use his eyes for a while. Of course, he could still hit targets 100 meters away with perfect accuracy, but since there was no need to shoot now, he decided to rest.

The Big Dipper who returned to Sephira wasn’t just Mizari.

In the command room where all of Sephira’s key figures had gathered, the person guarding the door was quite unique.

His pineapple-like hair was one thing, but the ‘arrows’ fixed around him were even more noticeable. They looked like arrows hung from the ceiling with strings.

Then, a chef appeared, pulling a cart. Dudu immediately shouted.

“Stop right there.”

The chef was startled.

“Why?”

“Dudu finds you suspicious. Lift that cloth.”

The chef lifted the cloth. Delicious food was revealed. Easy-to-digest foods were the main items. Moreover, the cart was packed with food, leaving no space for anyone to hide.

“Try that potato soup yourself.”

“Yes…”

The chef, with a face full of dissatisfaction, carefully took a spoonful of the potato soup.

Gulp.

Dudu, who had been watching intently, stroked his chin and said.

“Your affiliation and name.”

“I’m from the main kitchen, Alex.”

“Did you make this dish?”

“Yes. I made it myself.”

“Then tell me. Was there parsley powder sprinkled on the potato soup you just ate?”

“Haha, you’re thorough. Yes, it was spr-”

Twang! Crack!

The arrows floating around Dudu shot out and attacked the chef. Dudu’s archery was the fastest in Sephira, but the chef deflected all the arrows with his fingers.

Thud.

The chef’s face twisted grotesquely. The chef, who had almost torn his mouth to his ears, muttered.

“There was parsley powder, wasn’t there?”

“Do you think everything green is parsley? What was sprinkled on the potato soup wasn’t parsley, but celery powder.”

“Tsk, why grind celery into powder and make a fuss?”

“My name is Dudu. What’s yours?”

“Tell the Grim Reaper that Kreight sent you.”

Sizzle!

The chef tore at his face. It wasn’t his real face to begin with.

Gulrag, the Blood-Drinking. With his hair neatly swept back, he swung his empty hand.

“…!”

Dudu hastily crossed his arms. The Aura Arrows floating around him fixed themselves in mid-air, layer upon layer, but-

Crack!

Dudu’s arrow barrier, which could even block sword strikes, was torn apart in an instant, nearly severing Dudu’s right arm.

Thud!

But Dudu attacked and defended simultaneously. Arrows shot at Kreight with incredible speed.

The Release Bow, using the same principle as a sword draw, was the fastest in Sephira at close range.

Swoosh!

But Kreight reacted. A slash derived from his fingers tore through the arrows, mercilessly splitting the corridor and windows.

Crash!

Then, arrows flew in from outside the window, pouring down on Kreight. Dudu wasn’t the only one guarding the command room. The Silver Knights were guarding the command room from outside.

“Fast, very fast.”

Kreight, while admiring, caught all the arrows flying from beyond the window with his fingers and threw them back at Dudu.

Dudu dodged them and simultaneously shot an arrow he had fixed in place.

That arrow was the slowest of Dudu’s arrows. So Kreight yawned and slapped it away with his palm-

Boom!

The aura embedded in Dudu’s arrow exploded. It was a tremendous explosion, enough to shatter the thick door of the command room.

It was a technique Dudu used, prepared to be caught in the explosion himself. Indeed, he was caught in his own explosion, his whole body covered in blood. The wound on his chest was so severe that the bone was visible.

“Quite a surprise.”

But unfortunately, Kreight was still alive. However, his right hand, which had tried to deflect the arrow, was dripping blood.

Kreight raised his finger to finish off Dudu. But his gaze shifted.

“Tsk.”

His target wasn’t Dudu. It was Sephira’s Deputy Lord, Hisop.

But now, he saw Hisop hurriedly evacuating. There had to be an emergency exit in the command room where key figures gathered.

Even using 0.1 seconds to finish off Dudu was a waste. Kreight ignored Dudu and dashed into the command room.

“How dare you!”

An arrow flew with a roar. Kreight, seeing the arrow, tried to slap it away but hastily dodged instead.

Boom!

The arrow he dodged instantly collapsed the thick wall. It looked light, but the power within was anything but.

“Elder! Leave this to us-!”

The Silver Knights inside the command room stepped forward. But Panir did not back down.

“You alone can’t stop him!”

“Tsk, can you stop me?”

Whoosh!

A sword appeared in his hand, which had been slashing without a sword until now. Kreight stroked his sword with his palm and laughed.

“Consider it an honor. To die by the power of a Transcendent Being.”

The privilege of a 7-Star Transcendent Being, ‘Authority’. It manifests here and now.

“Eye Encounter, Immediate Kill.”

The moment the sword’s existence is ‘recognized’, the target is cut. No matter where, no matter how many at once!

Swoosh.

A line was drawn on the necks of everyone, including Hisop and Panir. It was a line of death.

But then, a knight rushed at Kreight. A knight a head shorter than the others.

His Eye Encounter, Immediate Kill has a time delay based on distance. Thus, the closer you are, the faster you are cut.

Slash!

Recklessly charging, the small knight’s whole body was engraved with slashes. At that moment-

Splat!

Blood spurted out.

But it wasn’t the charging knight’s blood.

“…What?!”

The one spitting blood was Kreight. His whole body was cut, and blood scattered.

Thud!

Simultaneously, the charging knight shot an arrow. Its speed and power weren’t exceptional, but it came at an angle that was subtly unavoidable.

But Kreight had no intention of dodging the arrow. He cut the arrow with his sword, and at the same time, the effect of Eye Encounter, Immediate Kill cut the small knight before him again-

Slash!

“What?!”

Clearly, the slash had cut the knight, but it was Kreight who was cut. Hisop and Panir were shocked at the sight.

“Sir Luke!”

“Why are you here?!”

The small knight was none other than Luke Blendor.

* * *

Luke had hidden his misfortune detection and misfortune reflection abilities.

‘A trump card is best known by as few as possible. Even if they are allies.’

Thanks to Keter’s advice, no one in Sephira knew about his abilities. Thus, Luke was only considered a somewhat talented knight in the House of Sephira.

“Sir Luke! Weren’t you part of the assault team?”

Originally, Luke was a Holy Knight included in the 100-man assault team. But suddenly appearing in the command room, he saved them with a mysterious technique.

While Kreight hesitated due to Luke’s misfortune reflection ability, Luke quickly answered Hisop.

“I had a bad feeling and left. I will definitely accept the punishment for disobeying orders.”

“An ability… Impressive.”

Meanwhile, Kreight, who had deduced Luke’s ability, regained his stance. Eye Encounter, Immediate Kill had already been withdrawn.

‘Tsk, not a good match for me. Eye Encounter, Immediate Kill can’t target individuals separately.’

Just showing it briefly had already severely injured or killed over ten of Sephira’s knights, and two key figures had died.

But Kreight had originally intended to kill everyone in the command room, so he felt great regret.

‘To think Sephira had a troublesome reflection ability user. This doesn’t add up.’

Even with a reflection ability, if you want to kill, you can kill. Abilities aren’t invincible. There must be a weakness, and Kreight was confident he could find and exploit it.

But now, this was the heart of Sephira. The encirclement would soon be complete, and then thousands of arrows would fly.

With the Authority of Eye Encounter, Immediate Kill, even thousands wouldn’t matter. He could cut them all. But the problem was he couldn’t use it. All because of that one knight, Luke.

‘This is unfavorable. I don’t like unfavorable situations.’

Kreight immediately changed his plan.

“You, Luke, was it? I’ll remember your name.”

“Running away?”

Luke provoked, but Kreight shrugged.

“Let’s call it a strategic retreat.”

Whoosh!

Kreight, covered in blood from reflecting slashes, moved at an unbelievable speed despite his injuries.

Everyone, including Luke, tensed at his terrifying speed. They didn’t think Kreight would leave quietly.

Thus, everyone surrounded Hisop. If he was going to target someone before fleeing, it would naturally be Hisop.

Just as Luke moved to protect Hisop with his misfortune detection ability, Kreight targeted someone entirely different.

“I’m more frugal than you think. This much is enough.”

His target wasn’t Hisop. He knocked out the second son, Mail, in the blink of an eye and slung him over his shoulder.

“Mail!”

“Prince Mail!”

The knights aimed their arrows but didn’t shoot. Kreight was using Mail as a shield.

“Why? Go ahead and shoot. Kekeke. If you’re not going to shoot, I’m leaving.”

He intended to use Mail as a hostage to threaten. But the target wasn’t Sephira.

“There’s no reason not to fight advantageously.”

His ultimate goal was Keter. He had infiltrated Sephira to kill all his family and break Keter’s spirit. Although that failed, he had kidnapped Mail, who was close to Keter.

Using Mail as a shield, he exited Sephira’s territory, licking his lips and laughing.

“Keter, can you shoot? Me, using your brother as a shield! Kekeke.”

Already excited at the thought of seeing Keter’s distorted face, Kreight was in high spirits.