Chapter 366 Association Guardians Vs. Syndicate Regents
While streets and neighborhoods were being destroyed by the clashes between the guardians of the association and the regents of the syndicate, one of those fights also occurred in the marketplace.
Both the monk and the berserker weaved between the attacks raining from above to face each other. The monk proved quick and versatile, facing the berserker with his fists or occasionally using a bow staff. At the same time, the berserker proved forceful and immoveable. The battle between the two was growing more powerful by the second.
"Why have you come?" asked the monk, chatting whilst he traded blows.
Chuckling, the berserker replied, "If you can still chat casually, then I'm not pressuring you enough."
Taking things up a notch, the berserker stepped back and charged an attack. Now, more blackness filled the glacial energy around the berserker's sword and made it grow in size, feeling more dubious and blood-curdling. With a smile, the berserker stated, "Block this, and I'll answer your question."
Hesitant to face such an attack head-on, the monk took the risk. As he took a deep breath, golden light started to gather around him. That golden light formed a buddha of sorts with eight different arms.
"Then here I come!"
As the giant blade slammed down on the monk, the monk and the image behind him both reached out to stay the blade. For a moment, both attacks remained still on contact. But then, one attack shattered while the other only weakened. The loser coughed up mouthfuls of blood, falling to their knees.
"We came… to settle the score… and prepare for the true final battle."
"I… see…"
Struggling to breathe and cling to life, the monk looked at his wound. The greatsword had cut clean through his shoulder and was driven into the monk's chest.
Breathing heavily and disregarding blood dripping from his busted lip, the berserker smiled. "You… were a worthy opponent."
"I'm… glad… I…"
The monk never finished speaking. His life left his broken husk before his final words could escape his lips.
Placing one foot on the corpse's other shoulder, the berserker removed his blade. He fell to one knee with the greatsword supporting him. Still smiling, the berserker looked up to see another piece of Hadurt's attack coming at him.
Rolling aside, the berserker narrowly avoided the attack and returned to the mutilated husk of the monk. It didn't take long for the berserker to find the monk's storages and loot his former opponent in time to avoid the next attack that deflected towards him.
"That berserker is quite skilled," Lorwynn complimented.
Conversing while continuing his strikes, Hadurt replied, "Ollan's the craziest of the regents. Of course he'd be strong."
"Too bad…" added Lorwynn.
Hadurt chuckled, understanding exactly what Lorwynn meant.
While Ollan's breathing started to return to normal, he noticed another figure rushing toward him. He swung his sword to block the knife thrown at him, forcing him to remain in the center of the marketplace and avoid Hadurt's attacks midbattle.
"So, rumors were true," Ollan chuckled. "Are you the fourth or the fifth guardian?"
That knife was suddenly pulled back toward the woman who had thrown it, revealing a tiny chain connected to the hilt. "I'm the fifth."
"Two extra guardians… that could be a problem, good thing I've already killed one," chuckled Ollan, content to fight again.
"Then try both facing both of us!" shouted another voice. Another woman wearing a robe stood at a distance while she started to cast her spells.
Shaking his head, Ollan's smile got wider. "And there's number four, right?"
"Leave or die!" shouted the ninja woman, with a katana in one hand and chained knife in the other.
"You see…" Stretching his arms and back, Ollan made himself comfortable despite his busted lip and tired appearance. "We also had two new regents ready for this invasion."
"Had?" Catching the strange wording, the ninja asked.
Ollan took a deep breath and readied his sword as he continued, "Yeah, he had two other regents. But I thought they would be better used as fodder than as extra bodies."
"You see, I crave a good battle but I'm not allowed to face the other regents because I might get carried away and kill them. So, when two new candidates arrived for the position, they let me fight them instead to increase my EXP," Ollan expounded on his statement as the ninja and sorceress were startled to hear such a thing.
Ollan shrugged. "Such is life in the syndicate. All that matters is strength. And if you're strength is better suited as fodder for others to grow, then so be it. That's how I see you two now if you didn't yet realize that."
As the sorceress finished readying her powerful spell, she asked, "And what makes you think you're able to beat us both at the same time?"
"Because that's how those candidates fought too," answered Ollan. "What, did you think I wouldn't give them a fair fight? Now, let me feel alive like your former companion just did!"
Rocketing forward the berserker brandished his blade, which had already activated the same attack that killed the monk moments ago. Ollan showed unrivaled determination in his eyes as he aimed his greatsword for the ninja, undeterred by the enormous fireball coming toward him.
The berserker managed to carve through the fireball, stunning his new opponents. Though it was weakened by the flames, the dark ice around the blade remained.
Slashing upward in retaliation, the ninja launched her an attack to collide with the berserker.
"Not enough…"
That simple phrase struck fear in the sorceress's heart as the icy greatsword pushed the ninja into the ground, making a crater on impact.
"Any last words?" asked Ollan, looking the broken ninja in the eyes.
She groaned and mustered some strength to spit on Ollan's blade. "You're not--"
Before she finished her sentence, Ollan's drove his sword into her skull. "You sullied my blade, so I must clean it with your blood. Now we're even."
Ollan then looked to the sorceress with a slight smile. "Let me guess, you're barely over lv. 70, right? There's no way that ninja was over lv. 73, so you should be around the same level, unlike that monk."
Finally showing distress, the sorceress started to hurl some smaller spells with one hand while casting a larger spell with her second.
Undeterred, the berserker swatted away the weaker spells as he sauntered toward the sorceress. He spoke loudly, "Dual casting… so you multiclass with battlemage, not bad at all. But you're not ready to handle me."
Ollan took his time, making sure to allow the sorceress to cast her powerful ultimate spell with her second hand.
Finally, a fireball that looked like a small sun hovered over the sorceress's raised hand. Using up all the mana possible, the sorceress boosted her attack to the fullest as she hurled it toward the berserker. With the wave of her arm, the small sun was aimed directly at the now motionless berserker.
"Interesting…"
Ollan clutched his greatsword tightly, pouring everything he had left into the growing frost sword. The blade grew in length and width, nearly becoming a sword meant for giants. The berserker shouted a battle cry at the top of his lungs while swinging the massive blade toward the incoming spell.
When the two attacks collided, an explosion of steam burst out and reduced the visibility to zero.
Falling to her knees and breathing heavily, the sorceress let her sweat fall unimpeded. Anxiously, she kept her eyes peeled in search of a fallen berserker.
"Not… bad… at all…"
That broken sentence took the sorceress's breath away.
As water vapor dispersed and the berserker came into view, the ice around his sword was reduced to barely covering the blade. His armor was in tatters and now completely useless. Burns and dried blood were evident everywhere that his armor had been compromised. And a smile was plastered on his face.
"Any last words?" Ollan asked, pointing his blade at the tired sorceress.
Knowing that it was over, she said the first words that came to mind, "Glory to Halmut."
"You've earned my respect."
The tip of Ollan's blade pierced into the sorceress's chest, stabbing directly through her heart and killing her instantly. He carefully removed his sword and laid her down on the ground. "You were a worthy opponent, indeed."