C380 - How Runcandel Deals with Assassins (2)
Regardless of who started first, Jin's sword and the assassins' swords began clashing.
Sparks flew incessantly as the blades collided, and the entire room vibrated from the aura they emitted.
BAM!
The thick wooden chairs, interior decorations, and pillars shattered like fragile glass under the shockwaves.
The assassins were no longer complacent.
The killing intent infused in their swords had become more refined, and their movements had sharpened.
Especially the strike from the general-level assassin in the center of the formation was delivering menacing blows with each passing moment.
In terms of status, Fey Proch held the highest position, but that was only because she was the sister of the leader of the Spirit Evil Fortress, Lata Proch. In terms of combat ability, the general-level assassin was far superior.
Fey's twin swords were formidable, and she undoubtedly had the potential to be called a genius wherever she went.
However, she was just a twenty-five-year-old.
No matter how talented she was, to Jin, she was nothing extraordinary.
"I have to quickly finish off the general-level assassin to end this battle."
Having already lost five subordinates, he was filled with panic.
He moved across the battlefield like a venomous snake, countering smoothly and launching his most challenging and powerful attacks, making for quite an infuriating situation.
Jin had started this battle already fatigued.
Up until now, he had managed to lull the assassins into complacency with his hidden cards, but the Spirit Evil Fortress was not just any group of assassins.
They had their strengths.
"Your sword seems to be infused with some kind of magic, creating attraction. You adjust your movements accordingly."
The general-level assassin immediately recognized the power of Jin's Legends Sword.
Hearing this, Fey and the assassins regrouped.
"It seems like there's someone worthy of being assassinated here. What's your name?"
The general-level assassin didn't respond to the question.
"If you won't speak, then there's nothing I can do."
Woong!
Shadow Energy swirled through Bradamante, and along with its flow, a black aura spread in all directions.
Jin used it once again as a shield to disrupt the assassins' vision.
He was out of breath from releasing his techniques so relentlessly.
As he pushed his concentration to the limit, he could clearly sense Yona's killing intent in that state.
As his perception sharpened, the assassins' killing intentions became easier to read.
Jin skillfully slithered between the seven swords, and it only appeared precarious.
To Jin, the passing swords seemed distant and safe, as if they were just grazing his Shadow Force Armor.
I've heard that there's a level where you can completely control the battle by reading the killing intent.
Is this what it feels like?
At the pinnacle of his mind's eye, Jin experienced a similar state.
Despite the danger of the situation, the corners of his lips involuntarily lifted.
Jin always preferred fights like this.
Dangerous, but he never felt like he would lose.
Although his face was hidden by the Myulta Rune, it wasn't visible to the assassins, but the general-level assassin was unmistakably aware of it.
"He's enjoying this, even when we're right in front of him...!"
The general assassin couldn't help but feel that Jin was playing with them.
Although the assassins objectively had superior power, or at least the battle was intensely competitive, Jin should have shown some sense of urgency.
However, it seemed as if he were a predator with a delicious prey in front of him.
He was incredibly arrogant.
However, as someone who had wielded a sword all his life, he couldn't help but feel a strange reverence.
"Are you saying we're different, Jin Runcandel?"
Kwaaaah!
The general-level assassin unleashed a powerful strike, and Jin was forced to step back.
His stance faltered, and the Spirit Evil Fortress assassins didn't miss the opportunity.
Fey's twin swords and the other four converged on Jin.
However, they couldn't perceive any familiar sensation of swords penetrating flesh and bone.
Once again, the only thing transmitted through the swords was the hollow sound of metal clashing.
Jin wasn't completely unscathed.
"I'm using too much Shadow Energy."
Even with his Shadow Energy release of nearly 8 stars, it wasn't enough.
Releasing enough energy to overwhelm the assassins and even form an armor was exhausting.
The energy of the Shadow Energy Armor had weakened.
Normally, Jin would have easily blocked the six swords that pierced through his body without suffering any damage, but cracks had formed in his bones and muscles.
Creaking, Jin gasped for breath as he felt his ribs and femur tearing.
In life, losing something often led to gaining something else.
While using the Shadow Force Armor to defend himself, Jin executed a precise strike with his Second Shadow Sword Technique, Scissors, cutting the main assassin's wrist.
Jin severed the hand holding the assassin's sword.
He fell mercilessly to the ground before he could make a sound. Jin, who had lunged at him, impaled him in the chest with Bradamante.
"Now, there are five left."
Only Fey and four other assassins remained.
Jin and the assassins were breathing heavily.
Although the battle had been relatively short, everyone had exerted all their strength.
Shriek!
A sharp buzzing rang in their ears.
The one who lost concentration first would lose.
Jin tightened his grip on his sword, ignoring the buzzing in his ears.
In a brief moment, Jin's and the general-level assassin's gazes met.
In his mind, Jin once again imagined the impending sword strikes, and the general assassin made a decision.
He regretted it.
He shouldn't have missed the three opportunities Jin mentioned a while ago.
From the general's perspective, this situation was a blow to his pride, but his position was different from Jin's.
He had a duty to protect his master's only sister, Fey Proch.
"My lady, I will buy you some time. Please, escape."
Swoosh...
The general-level assassin's sword, enveloped in an aura, emitted a somber vibration.
It wasn't a Runcandel Final Move, a secret technique of Hairan, or any other martial art from a prestigious family or clan.
It was simply the culmination of an individual's constant training, the fruit of a Warrior's sword.
Jin had a premonition that this would be his final blow.
"We received the order to kill Jin Runcandel. And I gave the order to kill him."
"So we shall. But I cannot put your life in danger, Lady Fey."
"If you put your life on the line, I will put mine on the line too."
"My Lady."
"Such are the Assassins of the Spirit Evil Fortress and the honor of the Proch. If we fail, my brother will seek revenge."
The general-level assassin could no longer stop Fey.
Jin gathered all his aura once again and tried to muster all the strength he had left to block the final blow from the general assassin.
"If I can't stop it, there won't be a next time for me."
The outcome would be decided with a single strike.
If he could unleash the Sword of Legends, the Secret Sword Technique of the Magic Sword, or Riol Zipple's legacy, it would be perfect.
However, he had no energy left.
What Jin could unleash was a strike that contained the essence of the Shadow Sword, more than anything else.
"Well, here we go..."
And the will of the Warrior.
As if casting a spell, Jin poured his will into the sword.
For a moment, the surroundings fell silent, and everything ahead turned as black as coal.
Although Jin's vision had become blurred, the shapes of the assassins were barely visible, but it was easier to calibrate distances than when everything was clear.
Naturally, the Myulta and the Shadow Energy Armor dissipated.
Even the minimal Shadow Energy for his protection had transformed into a "will to cut" and merged into Bradamante.
In this way, for about ten seconds, while Jin and the general-level assassin faced off, Fey and the other assassins couldn't attack Jin, who remained motionless.
Because there was a moment when a barrier, invisible to others but visible to those of the same level, formed between Jin and the general-level assassin.
Fey and the assassins believed that the general-level assassin would finally finish Jin off this time.
Even if he couldn't kill Jin, they hoped he would inflict enough mortal wounds to secure their victory.
"They're coming."
Almost simultaneously, the swords of Jin and the general-level assassin moved.
A flash of light and dark energy crossed between them, and their swords, moving as fast as light, pierced each other.
Such bright swords weren't limited to those with extraordinary talents.
Anyone who devoted their life to the sword could achieve it through unwavering determination.
For the general-level assassin, this was the moment.
A moment when the flickering ember burned fiercely before extinguishing.
It was perilous.
"He must have suffered a mortal wound."
If he had known in advance about Jin's hidden final move, he would have surely inflicted a mortal wound.
The general-level assassin's sword grazed Jin's waist.
On Jin's back, where the sword had passed, a scorching ember had formed.
It was the blue flame contained in Bradamante.
"If it weren't for the strong pressure..."
In the last moment when the swords clashed, the strong pressure of the blue flame suppressed the general-level assassin.
In the midst of the fierce battle with the Spirit Evil Fortress Assassins, Jin intentionally hadn't used it, and it ultimately decided the outcome.
The assassins knew Jin was a Magic Swordsman and the contractor of the Phoenix Tess.
But since Jin hadn't summoned Tess throughout the battle, they had excluded the blue flame from their calculations.
They never thought the Phoenix would infuse its power into the Contractor's sword.
Kugh...
The general-level assassin, with his chest pierced, exhaled his last breath.
At the same time, Fey and the assassins rushed at Jin, but they had lost their center and were no longer able to oppose him.
The broken room was now covered in blood and flesh.
The remaining four assassins didn't take even three minutes to meet their deaths.
The poison was spreading, and despite taking an antidote beforehand, their bodies weren't as immune to poisons as Jin's.
Finally, only Fey Proch remained, shedding tears of blood as she gazed at Jin.
During the battle, she had also suffered injuries, and the poison had already started to paralyze her body.
"Without a doubt, my brother Lata Proch will kill you. In my name, in Grimol's name, and in the name of my fallen comrades."
"That guy was named Grimol?" Jin said as he turned to look at the lifeless body of the general-level assassin, Grimol.
At that moment, Fey, with all her strength, lunged at him, but Jin easily dodged her sword.
Fey lost consciousness and collapsed.
"I will remember that name."
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