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Osner’s sudden punch and its intense aftermath.
Silence fell over the arena.
While everyone was having trouble comprehending the scene unfolding in front of them, a woman’s scream resounded throughout the arena.
“Noooo! Cloud!!”
Katarina, who had been watching nervously from the edge of her seat, shot up.
Frenziedly, Katarina snapped her gaze towards the pile of rising dust and scrambled for it.
Katarina’s screams awakened Alfred’s bleary thought process.
‘A H-Hero was blown away by father’s fist!?’
It was beyond common sense; unbelievably insane. The Osner he remembered was a weakling, not a great warrior who could knock a Hero against a wall with a single punch.
Because of that, Alfred was even more convinced that the man in front of him was not his father, but a fake made by Leslie.
“Archers!”
The archers who were doused to their senses from Alfred’s cry pulled their bowstrings tight.
“Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!”
Alfred’s hand frantically lowered repeatedly as a signal, and all of the archers let go of their bowstrings. To which, Leslie’s eyes lit up, literally. As she spread her hands out, the mist blew from her palms, forming a domed shield.
[Ice Barrier]
The rain of arrows hit against the barricade conceived of ice.
Except for a few arrows with strong tension, most of them bounced off the thick ice sheet.
“Father.”
Leslie called Osner, who was stroking the ice barrier. There was deep perplexity hidden behind her calm voice.
“Just what was that, father? Please explain.”
When he suddenly got up from his sickbed, she thought Goddess had heard her prayers. She considered it a miracle that, in less than a month, he had suddenly gained weight as muscle began to fill out his skeletal frame.
Common sense made no sense to her, so she chalked it up to being heaven’s grace.
Because she was so desperate.
Because she missed her father’s warm chuckles.
However, no matter how much she missed him, she couldn’t wrap it up as a miracle after what just happened. Because her father was a sickly man who spent half of his life in bed. He was not a monster of a human being who could cannonball people away with a punch.
“…just your father getting better.”
Osner stared at his daughter.
Just when he opened his mouth as if to add words to his statement.
Bang!
Someone broke through the ice barrier and entered. Through the white steam, she could see the silhouette of a man with six thick arms.
“Groooowl!!”
Iledric, a Chimera created inside the Mage Tower, slashed his thick ax at Osner. Osner dodged easily as the ax dug a hole in the floor.
“Father!”
Leslie was suspicious of Osner, but suspicion was only suspicion. He was still her precious father. A chilling blow of mist erupted from Leslie’s hand, forming sharp constructs in the air.
[Ice Thorn]
Just when she was about to fire the ice picks at Iledric.
Bang!
The ice walls on either side of Leslie were shattered, and the knight and martial artist rushed in.
[Shockwave]
The martial artist tapped the ground with her right foot. The ground cracked, and the floor Leslie stood on shook. Leslie’s posture shifted. Aiming for that moment, the knight’s arm moved quickly.
The silver sword glittered, drawing a curve.
Leslie threw an ice pick to block the knight’s sword incursion. Just as she twirled her fingers, readying a retaliation on the knight, a soft blow came.
[Qi Punch]
A light touch became a hard blow, knocking Leslie to the side.
“Cheuk..!”
Blood gushed out of her mouth with a brief flash of agony. Her body was flung away, bouncing sideways after being hit squarely by [Qi Punch], but that was only for a moment. Leslie froze her legs to the floor, keeping herself from being flung further.
Leslie gritted her teeth at the throbbing pain she felt not only to her side but all over her intestines.
“They dare…”
She wanted to have a proper conversation with her father and end this both quickly and simply, but these guys weren’t letting that happen.
Leslie’s eyes shone viciously.
The amount of mana flowing through her body increased rapidly. Tensions between her and the knight and martial artist rose as frostings began to fall around them.
Just then.
“Get off meeee!!!! Arrrrh!”
A terrible scream caught their attention. The three of them looked in the direction from which the screams rose. Iledric was being trampled under Osner’s feet. His arms, which had been six, had become five.
“There are still five left.”
Osner tossed the one arm he was holding on to and grabbed another of Iledric’s arm.
And—
“Aaaaaaa!!”
—ripped it off like candy.
Both the knight and martial artist froze for a moment at the brutal sight. Iledric was the strongest thug among the mercenaries hired by the nobles. Neither the martial artist nor the knight could predict their chances of victory against him.
However, Osner was pulling out the monster’s arm as easily as an insect’s leg.
‘There is no way unless it was a pincer attack.’
Both of them made the decision. The knight and the martial artist rushed towards Osner at the same time, regardless of which one came first. Thinking of saving Iledric first and then attacking him together with the three of them as node points.
[Bone Digger]
The swift sword drew a straight line and aimed at Osner’s neck. Osner reached out with his left hand and deftly grabbed the blade. The knight was momentarily taken aback, but the martial artist played her part calmly.
Her slender finger, balled together, touched Osner’s spine.
[Qi Punch]
The blow that shook Leslie for a moment hit Osner’s spine. She intended to damage his spine, but the result was unbecoming.
Her [Qi Punch] only worked to tear off Osner’s cloak, it did not give her a meaningful advantage.
“What the…”
His body was definitely not a piece of metal…
Osner slowly turned his head, while the martial artist was startled by the tingles on her knuckle.
“That’s it?”
The gaze of an old man assessing the pathetic performance of a young generation.
But the disappointment in his gaze was real. The startled knight and martial artist tried to distance themselves, but it was too late. To get out, they should have left right away when their attacks were nullified.
Osner turned around and swung his right fist. The knight hit by his fists bounced off and crashed into the ice barrier.
Without stalling there, he took a large stride forward and stretched out his opposite foot. Osner’s toes hit the stomach of the martial artist, who was widening the distance.
“Aagh…!”
She flew and crashed into the ice barrier, feeling the pain in her stomach intensifying. She sagged down, limp, and didn’t stand up again.
“Aaaaa!!!”
Iledrick, trampled by Osner, struggled to get out.
Osner lifted his foot and slammed it down again.
Crack! Iledrick’s chest caved into the shape of Osner’s sole.
After confirming that Iledric was dead, he headed outside the ice barrier, where dozens of warriors were waiting.
“Father.”
A misty chill froze Osner’s feet, stopping him in his stride.
“Is there anything left for you to explain to me?”
“…”
Osner turned his face towards Leslie.
The ice that froze his feet shattered with the slightest force he exerted. The tall giant approached with large strides. Leslie did nothing.
He came, looming right in front of her.
The father and daughter met their gazes.
Both the father and the daughter had eyes that made it difficult to read their thoughts.
The father opened his mouth first.
“Leslie. Please avoid.”
His right arm, with tendons sticking out, slowly rose. He was so slow that it couldn’t compare to the way he had performed his acts of force just moments ago.
Leslie did not budge.
She said, eye-to-eye with her father.
“I don’t know what happened to my father. But I know one thing. That you are no longer the father I knew.”
The cold mist coalesced in the air and materialized into an ice dagger. She grabbed the dagger and brought the tip to Osner’s chest.
“Do you want this? Is this really what you will?”
Tendons had sprouted all over Osner’s face before he knew it. Grizzled, he couldn’t answer. However, with warm eyes, he affirmed her question.
“It’s okay.”
Leslie laughed bitterly, then smiled brightly.
“Father. Thank you for giving birth to me and raising me with love.”
She just couldn’t stick in the dagger.
Her trembling hands turned weak, and her bright smile twisted terribly.
There was no way she could.
There was no way she could kill her beloved father just because of a sense of duty.
The dagger slipped out of her hand as she flopped down.
“I’m sorry, father. I just can’t do it.”
Tears flowed from Leslie’s eyes. Seeing her cry, Osner wanted to shout at her to come to her senses. But he couldn’t. It was clear as day that if he loosened up even a little to speak, his unruly arm would harm his daughter.
He could only hope that his daughter would win the struggle inside her heart.
However, Leslie did not have the strength to stand up against him.
For the past three years, she had been facing constant assassination attempts. Empire had dispatched investigators to find fault with her and try to break the pact; and within the Principality, she was detested and called a witch.
While she was busy making things work, without a support to lean on, her father miraculously recovered.
Her hope shot up.
Her hope that with just a bit of patience she would be able to go back to the good, old days.
And that hope was dashed.
She was… too exhausted to get back up.
Seeing his daughter not standing up, Osner narrowed his eyes.
‘Ah… what have I done…’
As his illness grew serious, and his death neared, a voice spoke to him.
It said, ‘I’ll save you.’
It said that it would fix his weak body and make him an outstanding warrior.
Osner accepted its offer.
Because he wanted to live longer.
Because he wanted to get rid of the disease that had plagued him all his life.
It did work. Better it had not.
He shouldn’t have been greedy for life already well spent.
Osner was so afraid that his beloved daughter might not only suffer but also lose her life because of his foolish choice.
Creak!
The overextended muscles were torn, and the bones began to strain. The arm was getting out of his control. If left unchecked, these out-of-control cleaver of arms would break his daughter’s head.
‘Leslie. Please. Please, avoid it.’
However, contrary to his wish, Leslie slowly closed her eyes instead of avoiding him.
As if she were accepting her fate.
Osner, who felt the despair in her, lost control of himself for a moment, and his palms were swiping forward, to split Leslie’s head like a watermelon.
A fist that came out of nowhere struck him in the jaw. The fist contained considerable strength. Osner was knocked back, sent rolling on the floor.
Touching his stinging chin, Osner raised his head. He saw a man, a crazy man, with his face covered in blood and his shirt off. The madman looked at Osner and laughed.
Pounding on his chest vehemently, he hollered out an unintelligible word, “Carnock—!”
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