As the ten assailants ferociously pushed onward, the three remaining knights had nowhere to move, at their backs was the ice dome where Ethan was, and surrounding them were the enemies.
Their hands were red with fresh blood, and shallow, deep cuts could be seen throughout their bodies as streams of blood flowed out. One of the knights had a large ghastly scar on his abdomen while the other had a fresh scar just below his right eye. Their armor was ragged, colored with red and brown dirt, as well as broken full of holes.
"Fuckin' bugs! Just die already!"
One of the enemies shouted in rage sweeping forward with his sword in hand. As the sharp longsword fell, the knight raised his shaking arm to block the strike. As he prepared himself to parry the strike, his vision suddenly blurred due to extensive blood loss.
Before he knew it, the knight felt immense pain in his chest before darkness fell over his eyes. The angry assailant laughed callously as he kicked the dead body of the knight away, setting his sights on the other two knights, glaring at them with dense killing intent.
Seeing one more knight going down, a burst of laughter erupted as the enemy's spirits reignited. Without any shame, all the assailants ganged up to kill the two remaining knights.
Five men raised their swords as their arms went down at once. A clank sounded as the knight blocked with gritted teeth, he held his sword vertically over his head as the accumulated weight and force of five full-grown adult men and their heavy swords made his whole body shake.
The knight got on one knee holding off the five swords from chopping his head off. Despite their foe being severely wounded and outnumbered, the assailants weren't able to bring him down. This humiliated them greatly as the two of them went full force bashing their swords repetitively at the knight with all their momentum.
"AHHHHH!" The knight yelled out as he pushed up with all his strength trying to stand on his feet and disengage the five enemy swords that he was holding back with his blade.
"Master!" Afriel spoke in Ethan's head with a concerned tone.
"Have patience," Ethan responded placidly as he closed his eyes.
Just as it looked like the knight was about to collapse, a glint reflected by a blade flashed at his left creating a straight red line on the knight's throat.
A fountain of blood gushed out from the wound splattering all over the men in black as the life from the knight's eyes fainted. His corpse fell on the ground along with the sword that he was wielding. The sword which was severely damaged with its fine steel dented fell at the side of the knight's corpse. As if the sword wished to rest with him.
Now only one knight was left to guard Ethan. All the enemies gathered around him to strike him down. They had smug smiles of triumph on their faces as the thought that their leader might be defeated did not even cross their minds.
"Heh, cowards! You devils… Have no honor. What do you think... will happen even if you kill me and ... my young master here? The Duke will find all of you and whichever group… You belong to. His grace… Will exterminate… Your entire families. You rock-for-brains have made a mistake. Hahaha!" The knight jeered with a mocking sneer.
The expression on the faces of the men in black changed. Seeing the dead bodies around them, reality dawned on them.
'If… If… Just six knights are so resilient… Then… The White Family… ' One of the men in black thought inwardly as a bead of sweat dripped down from his forehead.
"Shut up! We will take the brat as a hostage, you don't even know who we are! No one will know who we are so then how will you take revenge? Just die you motherfucker!" One of the men yelled out, raising his sword furiously and sweeping it down on the worn-out knight.
The knight readied himself to fight until his last breath just like his fallen brothers. Although he was already on a verge of death from blood loss, fractures, and internal injuries, his spirit wasn't weakened in the slightest. The knight stood tall like an injured lion in front of the ice dome preparing for a final struggle.
As multiple edges of the swords neared from all sides, the knight involuntarily squinted his eyes in trepidation.
A second passed.
Two seconds passed.
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ But nothing happened.
As if the entire world had gone silent, the entire forest became deathly still. The knight did not feel the harsh impact or the eternal sleep. Cautiously, he opened his eyes wide.
The swords were just above his head inches away from taking his life. The men in black were frozen stiff, their expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
As the knight came to a realization, the consciousness that he was tightly and forcefully holding softened as he finally collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.
The ten men in black could sense their hands go stiff, they could not move to sense the frighteningly cold murderous intent at their backs that was slowly approaching closer, making their backs drench with sweat and their spines grow cold.
The men slowly turned around and their eyes widened. They could see two cold eyes staring at them as if thirsting for blood. Coming from the forest, the eyes emerged from the darkness as the figure of Alier appeared clearly in sight.
His clothes were dirty and ragged, and scorched dark marks could be seen on them. His disheveled white hair had a hint of ashen gray as he walked leisurely carrying a dreading cold aura with him.
As the men watched him walk closer. Alier raised his arm pointing forward. All of a sudden, ice spikes protruded from the ground and the ice dome as the men in black jumped sideways moving away from the ice dome. Although one man was instantly impaled by the ice.
The men shivered in fear as they realized that their boss was dead. All they had was their inferior Martial Arts and Sword Skills honed by experience. They had no chance of defeating someone like Alier who was Awakened and had great Sword Arte.
Walking leisurely, Alier showed a smile that was not a smile as his pace gradually increased.
In mere seconds, he appeared before the enemies becoming their nightmare.
The men in black were running chaotically all over the place. With nimble movements, Alier targeted one man at a time as if he was picking up flowers from a garden.
Alier slashed previously at his enemy, his sword still having the bluish-white glow all over it giving off a cold aura that infringed on the enemy's body acting like a lethal poison.
*Cling!*
*Cling!*
*Shiing!*
The symphony of sounds rang in the surroundings as Alier struck with graceful finesse. The swords clashed merely ten times and Alier's foe's body had turned stiff like a statue after each clash.
"Aghh!" The man cried out as Alier severed his arms.
The sword along with his arm fell on the ground spraying blood all over Alier as Alier stabbed once again nonchalantly as if he was just slaughtering some inferior insects.
A head went flying shortly after as Alier's figure flickered. His movements were like drifting snowflakes, unpredictable and graceful.
Ethan didn't need Afriel to know what was going on outside. Just as he had expected, Alier had arrived before the enemy could get to him. Ethan smiled bitterly thinking that his uncle was going to an awful lot of trouble just for him.
Frightening shrieks sounded inside the barrier as the ghostly voices echoed in the shrine premises. The floor was bathed with blood and corpses all over the place and the previously serene, sacred forest became a haunted, ghastly graveyard for evil spirits.
The natural hazy mist of Adenberd which often fluctuated from dense to none had appeared in masses in the surroundings. This made the whole vicinity even eerier.
A faint glint reflected from Alier's blade made the final crescent Arc in the hazy mist as another head fell.
The shrine premise and then the forest that was inside the barrier once again fell into silence as Alier sighed with vexation. Only Ethan and Alier were now left inside the barrier as all the enemies were brutally slaughtered by Alier.
Alier raised his head, a resolute glimmer flashing in his eyes. At that moment, a resounding sound of boom and cracking rang amid of silence as the crack on the barrier extended.
Alier woke up from his daze seeing the barrier was on the verge of breaking. His gaze turned toward the Ice Dome in which Ethan was safeguarded and a smile appeared on his face.
Pointing at the Ice Dome he muttered, "Vanish!" And the Ice Dome abruptly disintegrated into bluish-white particles, revealing Ethan who wore a frightened, anxious expression.
Seeing his uncle, Ethan dropped the sword he was tightly holding in his hand as he yelled, "Uncle! You look injured!"
Smiling gently, Alier said, "I'm glad you're safe! Come here, boy! Let me have a look and see if you're injured somewhere!"
Ethan nodded with teary eyes as if he was most happy to see his uncle well and alive. Ignoring nausea from all the gore and blood around him that was vaguely visible despite the haze, Ethan ran up to Alier jumping into his embrace like a frightened kitten.
As Ethan ran up to him, the smile on Alier's face gradually disappeared quickly replaced with a menacing but regretful expression.
As Ethan hugged Alier tightly in trepidation, Alier's guard went down seeing and remembering Ethan's childish and innocent behavior. He hesitated slightly as his final bits of remaining conscience made him feel terribly guilty.
But then suddenly as if a string snapped deep in his heart, Alier remembered his dear wife and his son. A faint dark aura blanketed his heart as the final bit of kindness vanished from his heart.
Alier grabbed a completely different dagger from his waist and closed his eyes. Ethan's eyes were closed and he was shaking in fear. With his left hand, Alier patted Ethan's head gently as if to calm him down, while his right hand neared Ethan's heart.
The haze inside the barrier once again began clearing amidst increasing cracks in the barrier.
As his breathing steadied, Ethan tried to pull himself away from Alier's hug, a bitter smile emerged on Alier's face as he stabbed at Ethan's heart.
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