Theron’s horse dashed across the quickly moistening ground, his gaze calm as though he didn’t sense the sheer number of individuals surrounding him at all.
He let the rain soak himself through, droplets sliding down his cheeks and chin, dribbling down onto his black robes.
His hood was pulled over his head, his eyes forming a pair of sky-blue orbs that glowed in the darkness.
The gentle smile that seemed to always be on his face was nowhere to be seen.
‘They want to make me wait? Good luck.’
The sound of hooves and splashing water was all that could be heard, the whistling night air falling dull beneath them. But none of the enemies in the dark took action.
It was clear that they wanted to wait until he was a further distance from the city just in case Theron had help. Otherwise, his actions right now would be far too reckless.
None of them believed that Theron had well and truly left on his own.
**
“It’s been long enough. Whether he has help or not, they won’t show themselves so easily. We’ll have to force them out if they haven’t already appeared by now.”
A voice echoed from the shadows.
“Then you go.”
A snort came in reply. There was a slight shift in the leaves, and the figure was gone.
“Idiot.”
…
The figure accelerated through the night, the emblem of the Obsidian Eclipse Sect on his lapel. But there was another aura to him, one very reminiscent of the Bordeaux Clan.
This man, though, wasn’t Rowlan. It was Tian, an inner disciple already in the Fifth Silver Resonance. Amongst the Bordeaux, he stood ranked at fifth. Amongst inner disciples, he was much too far from the limit of their cultivation to be properly ranked.
However, if one were to speak only of those in the Fifth Resonance, he would certainly be in the top 200. While the number seemed large, that was only because of the sheer number of disciples in the Obsidian Eclipse Sect.
This feat was quite impressive alone.
But that was why his sudden death made so little sense.
He only crossed a 100-meter radius of Theron, hardly having taken a single step into it, when his head slowly slid off of his shoulders.
It happened so fast it was almost as though he had run his neck right into a steel wire.
His legs didn’t register what happened at all, and his gaze was still focused with all the intent in the world before he fell to pieces in a heap.
Theron continued to ride forward as though nothing at all had happened, his gaze calm and unhurried. Running through the rain around him without nearly enough protection…
Was asking for death.
…
“What happened just now? Did you sense that?”
“No. One moment he was running, the next he was—.”
“Water Mancy.”
“What?”
“It was the rain. There’s an expert in the shadows somewhere. It only makes sense. To create such a powerful Water Mancer, there has to be a master somewhere.”
“What do we do now, then?”
“Let the Knights go.”
A silence fell.
The best counters to Elementalists were without a doubt Flux Mancers. But much the same way, the best counter to Flux Mancers were Elementalists.
They were two sides of the balance, one pulling on the other. It was just a matter of if the Elemental Mancer’s control would win out, or if the Flux Mancer’s counter skills would.
…
Theron sensed the heavy steps from over half a kilometer away. Heavily armored knights wearing the insignias of their families.
‘Is this their counter?’
Knight Clans sounded like just an inferior noble title, and that was technically true. But the way the Knight Title was granted was a bit different from how the other Noble Titles were given.
Usual Nobles were descendants of the families that had fought and shed blood for the construction of the Empire. Knight Clans, though, could be promoted and demoted, overturning after a single or a handful of generations.
They were families of powerful Flux Mancers. Though there would be some exceptions here and there like Moreno, those that descended from Knight Clans would almost always be true Knights.
What set Knights apart was their ability to act as the vanguard of the Empire. And in order to qualify to do this, not only did you need to have at least three experts capable of wearing 70% Gold Grade Ebonstone Armor.
This wasn’t just a feat of absolute strength considering the heft of armor of that caliber, but it was more accurately a huge drain on Mana.
Ebonstone was known for its ability to absorb, disperse, and misdirect Mana. Wearing an armor like that in battle could bring a person to the brink of Mana Depletion in an instant.
A true Knight had to be able to resist the pull and still have the physical strength left over to lift the armor. This meant they had to be able to hold and move freely with upwards of 100,000 jin on their backs without relying on their Mana.
Such a feat was easy even for a Silver Mancer if they could use their Mana. But to do so without the support of any energy at all…
This was where true strength lied.
This was why Ebonstone Armor had become the signature of Knights and the strongest Flux Mancers of the Nightingale Empire. If you had such an armor, not only were you clearly wealthy…
But you were a genius amongst geniuses.
And right this moment, three Silver Mancers wearing 50% Silver Grade Ebonstone Armor were rushing for Theron, brandishing their heavy swords and spears.
Theron had no idea which families they came from, but it also didn’t matter to him whether they were from Moreno’s Clan or not. The difference was just the same to him.
Slowly, he raised his dagger into the air.
He really had to thank Dean Pennel. Without her insight, this might have been a little difficult.
But right now… the Ebonstone he had tried so hard to cut through before might as well have been wet tissue paper.
Theron’s eyes flashed.
The fun started now.
He vanished from his horse’s back.