Chapter 285: How to Protect What is Precious (9)

Jordic couldn’t believe that Keter returned alive, but no matter how closely he looked, it was unmistakably Keter.

No, wait...

There was no need to look closely. Even at a glance, Keter was severely injured. His body was covered with severe wounds. A thick chunk of flesh had been torn from his left shoulder, and blood was still flowing out from the X-shaped wound in his chest. It was harder to find a place on his body without injuries, and the bleeding was so severe that a pool of blood formed at his feet in the blink of an eye.

Only his face looks fine.

Quite literally, only his face appeared unscathed. Below the neck, he was no different from a walking corpse.

It’s for show. He’s acting pretentious.

The look in Jordic’s eyes changed after checking Keter’s condition. The same was true for the others. Careful not to alert Keter, Jordic, Tesla, Gargan, and Zion subtly shifted their stances. Then Rajis ruined it all.

“At least fight while keeping your humanness.”

Turning his back to Keter, Rajis pointed his sword at the other four. Actions over words. Rajis had clearly learned that from Keter.

Jordic urgently shouted, “If not now, there won’t be another chance. Move aside, now!”

Keter was someone who remained fine even after being stabbed through the heart. His recovery was so extraordinary that it was visibly noticeable. Jordic had no intention of giving someone like that even a minute, no, not even a second.

Rajis knew it too. Keter was a powerful being who couldn’t be judged by common human sense, but it didn’t matter. That was precisely what Rajis believed justice to be.

“Sir Keter defeated a criminal of the kingdom alone. Before being an enemy knight, he is a hero. Can it truly be called honorable for us, who merely stood by and watched, to attack a hero when he is weakened?”

At that moment, Keter shoved Rajis aside.

“If you’re not going to fight, move.”

Keter was still dripping blood. The slowing of his recovery was clearly visible to the four, and with that, the fighting spirit that had cooled within them began to boil once more.

Keter smirked. “No matter how amazing I am, killing a Prime is pretty damn hard. My organs are crushed, and my bones are broken. I’m weaker than I look. But you see—”

The wounded beast, the archer who should have been advantaged by keeping his distance, instead took a step toward the hyenas.

“Do you really think you can beat me just because I’m in a weakened state?”

Tesla swayed his body as if about to charge, but in the end, only his mouth moved.

“R-ridiculous! He’s bluffing right now!”

Keter took another step forward, and the four retreated a step at the same time.

“I’m in really bad shape right now, you know. If I fight you in this state, I don’t think I can let you live. As you know, holding back is harder than killing.”

Keter showed no sign of stopping. The four continued to retreat until their backs slammed into a large rock.

“

Huh?!

”

“H-how did we end up here already?”

Forced back by pressure until they hit a wall, the four flushed red. The pride of being Grandmasters, the pride of being among the kingdom’s best knights, was being crushed. However, instinct spoke louder. Pride mattered, yes, but not more than their lives.

Keter grimaced as he grabbed his stomach. “You guys are making me starve to death. I’ll give you three seconds. Those who want to die, stay standing. Those who want to live, get into a plank.”

Veins bulged on the neck of Gargan, the commander of the Grand Corps. His pride was deeply wounded. Yet at the same time, a thought crossed his mind.

Can he really kill me? I’m a royal knight commander. If he kills me, someone who serves the second prince, neither he nor Sefira will be safe. Isn’t that why he has spared me so far?

Believing Keter couldn’t kill him, Gargan thought he could push back a little, saying, “My life belongs to Her Majesty the Queen!”

A finger-sized hole opened in Gargan’s forehead. Still gripping his sword, Gargan fell backward. The remaining three only stared blankly at Gargan.

What just happened?

Gargan was dead, and Keter had killed him. They understood nothing beyond that. Watching this from behind, Rajis bit down on his lower lip to the point it bled.

Was he really sparing us?

For just a brief instant, Rajis had seen it. A pure white flash pierced through Gargan’s forehead. It was White Cloud, the white arrow created from the Authority of Eslow, the lord of the south. Because of its unique effect that made it feel as though it didn’t exist even when it was right before one’s eyes, those struck by White Cloud never even realized what had hit them.

Keter hadn’t even directly controlled White Cloud. He hadn’t moved a single finger, yet White Cloud appeared out of nowhere and pierced straight through Gargan’s skull. That was the true power of Limitless Archery, Seventh Form: Drone.

White Cloud hadn’t appeared suddenly. It had been circling around Keter from the very beginning. Without any need for Keter’s direct control, it attacked the enemy with its own will. As a result, Grandmaster Gargan died in an instant, even though he believed Keter wouldn't be able to kill him.

The remaining three immediately dropped to the ground. In truth, they also shared the same misconception as Gargan.

Can he really kill us?

But Gargan had taught them otherwise. Keter could kill them. He had truly just been holding back. Realizing the truth, the three thought to themselves.

Thanks, Gargan! We won’t forget your sacrifice.

If Gargan hadn’t stepped forward, one of them would have. Then it would have been them lying there as a corpse. One was dead, and three surrendered. The situation seemed settled. However, Keter turned around with a look that said it wasn’t over yet. There stood Rajis, sword in hand, wearing a resolute expression.

“Please allow me one exchange.”

***

Keter scratched the back of his head and pointed at Gargan’s corpse as he asked, “Do you want to die?”

“I do not.”

“Then why fight? Because of justice?”

“Yes.”

“You still think I’m the villain?”

“I don’t believe you are a villain. But if I fail to stop you here, an even greater tragedy will occur. I want to prevent that,” Rajis said.

“So it’s fine if Sefira dies, but not fine if Bydent does?”

“It’s not fine. I will try to stop you as best as I can, so that Sefira may survive.”

“In short, you think I’ll kill more people, so you want to stop me.”

“That is correct.”

“Then if I say I won’t kill anyone anymore, will you take Sefira’s side?”

An interesting look formed in Rajis’ gaze. He answered without hesitation.

“If you swear it, gladly.”

“That won’t happen though. I kill anyone who stands in my way.”

“Sir Keter... Those who love fighting inevitably become unhappy.”

“Then what, do people who hate fighting become happy?”

“That is...”

Rajis tried to retort, but White Cloud flew in from behind him first. He deflected White Cloud, and Keter let out a whistle in response.

“Not bad. I’d like to play around a bit, but I’m starving.”

At Keter’s gesture, White Cloud accelerated. Chained acceleration caused the speed of White Cloud to double, triple, then quadruple, as it glided through the air. The sound of air tearing apart rang out, but White Cloud wasn’t where the sound came from.

Rajis chased White Cloud with his eyes, then gave up and simply closed them. Then he swung his sword. Blood sprayed. His blade hadn’t even grazed White Cloud, and White Cloud had pierced straight through his right ankle.

“

Argh

.”

Neither his eyes nor even his Superhuman heightened senses could keep up with White Cloud’s speed.

Then, Keter went one step further. Trajectory-shifting without deceleration. White Cloud, carrying absurd speed, changed direction without slowing down and launched continuous attacks.

Rajis gave up on trying to sense White Cloud and countered with a wide-area attack. Flawless Immortal Raiment: Sword Cyclone. Sword aura scattered in all directions, leaving no blind spots, but it was far too weak to stop White Cloud. Ignoring the sword aura, White Cloud pierced through Rajis’s left ankle.

With all sensation gone from both legs, Rajis finally fell to his knees. Yet he didn’t give up. Using only his core strength, he lifted his upper body and swung his sword to the very end. Both of his wrists were pierced almost at the same time. With the tendons in both his arms and legs severed, Rajis went limp like a puppet with its strings cut.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“I can still hold a sword.”

Rajis gripped the fallen sword with his teeth.

Keter picked up that very sword from him. “Rajis, you really are too good to kill.”

“Are you pitying me?”

“No. Just as the world has people like me, I think it also needs people like you.”

“

Hah

... I don’t understand what you mean.”

“No need to.”

Tired of talking, Keter struck Rajis on the back of the head and knocked him unconscious. Then he took out an elixir and treated both of Rajis’ arms and legs.

My top-grade elixir!

Of course, it wasn’t Keter’s. It belonged to Jordic.

***

In the command room of Sefira, which had been attacked by Cray, the Ghost Face Slayer, Hissop had been protected thanks to Luke’s intervention. However, a significant number of knights and high officials were injured or killed, and Myle had been abducted.

As everyone stood stunned, only Hissop kept his composure and shouted, “Sir Luke, go after Cray.”

It wasn’t a request, but an order from the family head.

Luke was already so exhausted that even standing was difficult, but he placed a hand over his chest and bowed his head.

“I will obey.”

Cray was a Prime, and they didn’t even know where he had gone. But trusting only in his own ability, Luke took his horse and set off in pursuit. He also made a vow that once this Family War ended, he would leave Sefira.

If I’m still alive, that is.

Even after the reliable Luke departed, Hissop hurriedly attended to the family. Then, as if nothing had happened, he regained his composure and began receiving reports.

“Sir Pekda has broken through three hundred Bydent cavalry and is advancing north! The breached cavalry is in close pursuit, but their numbers are said to be fewer than one hundred!”

“The Order of the Star is pressing Bydent’s encirclement and breaking it apart!”

Despite the continuous reports of victory, Hissop didn’t smile.

After some deep thought, he finally asked, “The whereabouts of Keter and the five Grandmasters?”

“They are nowhere to be found. It seems they have completely left the southern region.”

“If we can’t determine their location, then they must have gone into the forest to the east. Send cavalry that way.”

“Is it to support Keter?”

“Our cavalry cannot assist in a battle between Grandmasters. It is for assessing the situation.”

“I will send Navakin.”

“Good. Have we received any news from Katherine?”

Reganon answered instead. “We received a transmission eleven minutes ago. Bydent’s main estate had no knights present, so they easily occupied the mansion. Currently... following Keter’s orders, they are taking the vassals hostage and gathering valuables.”

“That must be Keter’s smokescreen tactic. Thanks to the raiding party, the encirclement has thinned. However, I am still worried. How does the raiding party intend to escape the encirclement? Elder Reganon, send a message asking whether Katherine has the means to escape on her own.”

“Yes, Lord.”

After that, Hissop continued receiving reports and issuing orders. Even with Jordic gone, Bydent was still a major family. Even without a head, the body could still fight on its own.

Just then, a report came in that made Hissop’s hair stand on end.

“Lord Hissop! A transmission from Sir Luke has arrived. He says he has found Young Master Myle! However...”

At the sight of the communications officer choking up, unable to continue the report, not only Hissop but everyone present clenched their teeth.