Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Sage and the Swordsman

Dong—dong—dong—

With each strike of the golden bell, my body grew more sluggish. The surrounding black smoke immediately lost its ferocity, almost dissipating into a thin mist.

My slow-moving body made my arm lose its previous speed and strength. Finally, a knight rushed through the defense, leaping up with a fierce expression, and swung his sword at me.

Clang—

The sword struck my lower abdomen, colliding with the armor and sparking, leaving a faint white mark on it. The knight who swung the sword staggered and showed a pained expression on his face.

Having just reacted, I grabbed him and held him in front of me, enduring the discomfort in my body and looking at his increasingly sinister expression as I whispered softly.

“Why do you kill me… in the Abyssal Language?”

“#$%^#…” The knight’s expression was terrifying, struggling to slash at my tightly gripping right hand with all his might.

Because my hand had no armor, he cut several shallow wounds, and black fog seeped from the wounds. I thought that must be my blood.

In a short while, three or four more knights approached. They raised their swords high and leaped, roaring as they slashed or thrust. The swords clashed against the armor with a continuous clanging sound, but they couldn’t harm me at all.

Even two knights, after leaping and slashing, lost their balance due to excessive force and fell into the black smoke entwining my lower body. In an instant, they were eroded, unable to struggle, and turned into ashes.

After absorbing two pale green lights again, my body remained extremely heavy.

Those pale green lights were the souls of the knights?

If so, then I really am a terrifying monster.

I took a deep breath, and the air was filled with a strong stench.

You truly hate me.

I felt somewhat weary.

I looked at the knights surrounding me, ready to attack. Their eyes often glanced at my right hand, seemingly wanting to save their comrade.

So I spoke to them.

“In the Abyssal Language, I don’t want to hurt you, and you shouldn’t hurt me. Let’s stop fighting, okay?” A soft voice carried a hint of pleading.

“…$%#&*% Death in the Abyss!” The knight’s angry words seemed to have a small part I could understand now. Was it because I had devoured so many people?

“In the Abyssal Language, tell me, what am I?”

“…Human… Immortal… Sacred… Protected!” The knight I held tightly in my hand showed a resolute expression in his eyes, muttering incomprehensible words. His sword glowed slightly red and stabbed directly at my face.

Snap… Bang… Bang… Squish…

The sound of bones breaking and organs being crushed came from my hand. The knight’s eyes turned blood red, and blood and fragments of organs dripped onto my hand.

I scanned the knights around me who were filled with grief and anger. I didn’t know what expression was on my face at this moment, but I thought it probably looked weak.

I was the one doing the killing.

“Whoosh—” A sharp sound came from the right side. I instantly became alert, but before I could turn my head, a powerful force hit my right shoulder. My body uncontrollably flew several meters away and crashed heavily to the ground.

A piercing pain surged through me. I sat up and turned to look, a golden spear with intricate engravings pierced through the armor and stuck into my shoulder.

I didn’t notice who had attacked me. I tried moving my right arm, which shook with pain. This depth must have injured the bone.

I dared not pull out the spear. With my left hand, I swung and sliced a knight who attempted to approach, and then struggled to stand up.

Dong—

The hanging golden bell let out another roar. The heaviness and dizziness intensified. I gritted my teeth, trying to recall the black smoke that was still far away, frenetically killing the knights. But I was surprised to find that I didn’t actually know how to control it.

It seemed I could only release them, but I didn’t know how to make them obedient.

I tried waving my arms at them, but it had no effect. So I shook my head forcefully, trying to dispel some of the dizziness.

I needed to figure out how to deal with the robed sage first. That golden bell was causing too much pain. Without the bell, the knights wouldn’t be able to harm me at all; they would be insignificant.

I raised my hand again to kill two knights swinging their long swords at me. I looked at the old man’s position, estimating the distance to be about a hundred meters away.

Not particularly far… Is there a chance?

How can I know if I don’t try!

“Roar!!”

I let out a long cry, and the black smoke snakes sped out, roaring across the green field, sweeping over a long death zone, and heading toward the old man’s location.

At the same time, I lifted my heavy steps, using all my strength to slowly close the distance with the old man.

The hundred-meter gap was nothing for the black smoke; it arrived in an instant.

The robed old man clasped his hands, and a dazzling golden light appeared on him again. The black smoke immediately collided with an invisible shield wall and was blocked outside. No matter how many times it retreated and tried again from different angles, it was useless.

Seeing this, I clenched my teeth and quickened my pace, while also swinging my left arm again. Two black snakes, one after the other, roared toward the old man.

The combined power of the three black smokes formed a dark cloud, finally enveloping the old man completely, and the golden light was suppressed to barely visible.

The range affected by the golden bell seemed not as large as imagined. As the distance increased, my steps became easier, and soon the gap with the old man was halved.

“Boom! Bang bang bang—”

The thick black smoke enveloping the old man suddenly broke apart. A golden light streaked through the air, causing explosions as it flew straight towards me!

Damn, I can’t dodge it!

In desperation, I raised my left arm high and swung down with all my might at the incoming glow!

“Boom—”

Dust exploded in the sky, instantly blinding me. A giant spear identical to the one embedded in my right shoulder was smashed deep into the ground, slanted next to my feet. The ground cracked inch by inch, and my left hand trembled slightly.

Numb, but still feeling something. My right hand couldn’t move, and if my left hand was injured badly too, that would be trouble.

But with the dust as cover, he should not be able to see me. Opportunity!

I quickly rushed forward, leaping high with a “bang” after covering over ten meters. The thick black smoke around me was like a liquid, turning into a violent black meteor, colliding with the old man shrouded in black smoke.

“Boom—!!! ” It broke through the nearly vanished golden light effortlessly, scattering large chunks of earth with its powerful force.

Something’s wrong… It seems I missed him. Where is he?

Suddenly, familiar heaviness and dizziness swept over me again. A golden bell cut through the dense black smoke, hanging high above. But the robed sage had already disappeared.

I’ve been tricked! That old man seems to be a mage-type character; mages in games often have skills like teleportation for survival!

Could it be that this damn old man has one too? I should have thought of this earlier!

I endured the intense discomfort and slowly retreated, trying to escape the range of the golden bell while observing the battlefield.

Most of the knights were still struggling with the black smoke. Rather than struggling, they were desperately trying to escape. The protection the old man had cast on them seemed to be ineffective.

Even if a few knights managed to escape the black smoke’s pursuit, they couldn’t keep up with my speed and could only follow behind, eating dust.

After a quick look around, I didn’t see the old man again. Where did he hide?

Behind the battlefield, the knight leader still stood at his original position, riding a horned beast, watching warily.

It seemed he wasn’t planning to join the fight for now.

Watching from afar?

Or waiting until I’m exhausted to finish me off?

But the two beasts beside him no longer had riders.

The robed sage should still be nearby. The key question is where is that swordsman dressed man? Although I only saw him briefly, the aura he exuded felt much more dangerous than the old man. When did he disappear?

My body felt so heavy. In this short time, I seemed to have only retreated less than twenty meters.

My head hurts… My right shoulder hurts, and I feel terrible all over. I can hardly breathe, and I just want to lie down and sleep…

As I was in a daze, a deep, resonant bell sound echoed again in the sky.

Oom—

An even more terrifying force pressed down, causing the ground beneath my feet to crack instantly. The black smoke swirling around me wildly almost extinguished.

Another golden bell appeared above my head. Could it be possible to have two at once!

Where is he! That damn old man!

The immense pressure made it impossible for me to lift my arms. Using all my strength, I could barely stay upright.

Suddenly, a flash of silver light appeared ahead, and a bearded, angular face abruptly appeared before me.

It’s the swordsman! My heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, I sensed how dangerous this person was. I immediately wanted to jump away, but my body couldn’t react.

The immense pressure from the two golden bells prevented me from moving even slightly.

In the next moment, lightning flashed under the swordsman’s feet, streaking across the grass with blue light, and silver flowers filled the sky, obscuring my vision.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, and my massive body was thrown backward, flying dozens of meters through the air before crashing to the ground and sliding several more meters before stopping.

Pain, my whole body felt like it was falling apart. With great effort, I lifted my head to look at my chest, and a silver sword was fully embedded inside.

“Guh… ” I wanted to shout, but the pain prevented me from making any sound. My body trembled violently, and I lay on the ground, unable to catch my breath for a long time.

A thunderous boom echoed, and the swordsman reappeared, stepping on my body.

I forced my eyes open wide, looking at his young face. His eyes were as blue as the sky, his gray-white hair tied back, and sparse stubble on his chin gave him a rebellious look.

Residual blue lightning danced on his bright silver armor, and his white cloak fluttered in the wind, exuding a heroic aura.

So dazzling… I also want to become such a heroic swordsman who slays evil.

If you gave me a chance to be reborn, why did you make me into such a monster?

A monster that looks so ominous.

“Human language: Die, monster.” The swordsman stepped on my chest, pulled out the sword, and with a flash of electricity, thrust it down again.

Ah, I finally understood this sentence.

“Guh… ” I used my last bit of strength to raise my left hand, grabbing the blade to prevent it from piercing deeper, and black smoke rose fiercely, creating a strong gust that engulfed both of us.

“Human language: Desperate struggle.”

Electricity crackled around the swordsman, and his blade glowed brightly. My hand holding the blade lost sensation instantly, and the sword pierced my chest again.

Black fog spurted from my chest, and I could clearly feel something rapidly slipping away.

Ah, I think I’m going to die.

Again.