Chapter 53: Calamity(1)

Since they weren’t screaming the names of their skills, I couldn’t tell what they called. However, despite not knowing their names, I could feel their incomparable might just from the after-effects. Just a moment ago, that blond knight’s sword slash left an ankle-deep impression on the floor. The dagger swing of one of the assassins let lose invisible and compressed air blades that cleanly sliced many trees around them.

I was impressed and bedazzled beyond words. The urge to wield such powers became intense in my heart, burning like an inextinguishable fire. Compared to these characters, the ‘me’ then was like an egg against a rock. Any one of them could break me like a glass. But with fear, there was a sense of reverence in me.

The blond knight alone slaughtered two out of seven assassins before suffering a crippling blow. While the blond knight was busy fighting against two in the front, an assassin sneaked-attacked him and managed to tear open a wound on his left arm. The wound was deep enough to display his bones. However, the young knight had a strong body, and despite the assassin’s best efforts, he wasn’t able to take away his arm. Even then, the wound was pretty deep.

“Sir Muen!” The knight, who had gone to tend to the first fallen knight, shouted in horror after seeing the strongest of them getting injured. Well, I couldn’t help but feel pity towards these fellows. Even so, I didn’t interfere. I had no interest in stopping their mortal combat and invite troubles. If both groups die, that’s the most optimal outcome for me.

“Farman, how is Hendry?” Despite his wounds, the blond knight didn’t seem distressed. Instead, he looked at his companions and asked about their conditions. I couldn’t help but salute this young man in my heart. Such conviction, as expected of a noble knight. They were as gallant as portrayed in stories.

“Alive, though barely,” Farman mumbled while standing up, “I have fed him a Health Tonic. He should be fine.” His eyes scanned over the four assassins standing not far from them with vigilance. He had first hand experienced their fighting prowess before and wasn’t going to underestimate them. Even so, he would cast his eyes on the blond knight’s hand every so often.

The smell of blood was thick in the air. Can’t tell about Logier and others, but it was clouding my mind. If I have to compare, it would be like the smell of an old wine enticing the mind of an avid drinker. The effect would be more or less the same.

It was hard, but I managed to control this impulse that was blinding me. From the Monsterpedia, I came to know that almost all monsters like to eat human flesh. Human blood was like a tonic to them, for example, the Marsh Mosquitoes. These mosquitoes were the size of small rats and were extremely bloodthirsty. Their individual strength was akin to an infant goblin’s. It may be weak, but these monsters never hunt alone. It was written in that book that these mosquitoes use human blood before their mating.

Though I had never seen the orcs and goblins eating human flesh, I was sure they wouldn't mind having one. While I was busy controlling my impulse, the battle seemed to have reached a climax.

Of course, the victory leaned towards the assassins. With the blond knight wounded, his efficiency dropped by 70%, giving the remaining five assassins an overwhelming advantage. However, the biggest reason for the assassins’ victory was their lack of feelings. Two died and one lost an arm; yet, they relentlessly besieged the knights.

Just when I thought the blond knight and the other man couldn’t hold on anymore, a miracle happened. Suddenly the first-ever wounded man, Hendry, if I remember his name correctly, stood up and charged towards the assassins. At the same time, its body started to emit a bright red glow.

“Master Muen, Farman, please both of you must run into the forest behind us,” Hendry shouted and threw a punch towards an assassin who got too close to him. “Leave these bastards to me. Just remember to take revenge later.”

“Hendry you…” Farman’s eyes moistened as he looked at the knight in black armor. Just as he was about to argue to change his mind, the blond knight, Muen, pulled him towards the dense forest behind them, “Let’s go, Farman.” For him to become the captain of a knight order, having such decisiveness was normal.

“But sir Muen, Hendry! He!” Farman wasn’t willing to abandon Hendry. Hiding in the dark, I felt pity towards them. However, I didn’t take any action. It was because both parties were humans and were very hostile. If anything, I wished for everyone to die while fighting with each other.

“Farman, Hendry is giving us such an opportunity. We shouldn’t waste it. His sacrifice, I will remember it in my heart. Later, after we return to capital, I will find the mastermind and take revenge personally.” Muen, the young knight captain, vowed with a vicious look on his eyes.

Farman may be emotional, but he hadn’t lost his composure. He knew Muen, their captain, was very wounded previously and hadn’t healed since. His fighting ability had taken a serious dip. He may be healthy without any visible wounds, but his strength was limited. Forget about five; he might not be able to take on even one of those assassins in this terrain.

Clenching his fist, he looked at Hendry, who was madly clashing with the remaining five assassins. “Hendry, I will find the ones behind this, and make them pay. Don’t worry! I will take care of your family for you.” After that, he, together with Muen, retreated into the darkness of the forest.

“Logier, what is he doing?” Unconcerned of Farman’s vows, I asked Logier about the red aura around this man, Hendry’s body. It left a deep impression on me. When I saw it with my special eyes, I got nearly blinded from the bright red light.

“He is exchanging his life to become stronger. We monsters can do it too.” Logier suddenly had a distant look on his face, “You remember that day when we met for the first time? Little friend?”

“Indeed, I do.” How can I forget such a day? That day had changed my destiny. If I hadn’t met Logier, could I have taken on goblin lord and become the leader of a bunch of powerful monsters? Meeting him that day was my fate, I guess.

“That day, I was suffering from the effects of exchanging my life to become stronger. Since I only used it for a short while, the effect on me was small, or else I would have died that day.” There was a smile on Logier’s face when he said so. Well, it seems that day was pretty memorable for this silly orc.

I continued to observe the fight. Soon I discovered the truth behind Logier’s words. The man, Hendry, started to show abnormal signs all over his body. His hair started to turn white very fast and fell down with each passing second. As for his body, it became thinner and thinner and soon resembled a twig. Even so, he fought on with everything he had. The sword in his hand had already broken due to the outburst of the red energy. And yet, he kept on swinging it towards his enemies.

“At this rate, that human will die before long.” Urt’s remark was spot on, and even I could see that. Hendry had already become as thin as an anorexic patient. The red aura around him taken the form of a flame. If I don’t know any better, I would have thought he was actually burning in fire.

The tragic battle didn’t continue for long. While Hendry was fending off against two in front, one of the assassins sneaked behind him and stabbed through his heart, thus bringing this battle to an end. With the host’s death, the red aura also vanished, leaving behind a mummy that looked centuries old.

‘This!’ I was frightened beyond belief at this so-called backlash. That mummy didn’t look like it belonged to a middle-aged man just a few minutes ago. This exchange of life to gain power was just too terrifying to my heart. If I felt elated and happy about magic previously, now there was a seed of dread sowed in my heart at the prospect. After thinking about it for a while, I calmed down from the shock.

“Master Lumina, what should we do? The fifth princess ordered us to kill them all, but two managed to run into that forest.”

Just when I was preparing to ambush this group, the assassins who hadn’t spoken ever since the beginning of the battle finally spoke.