Chapter 187 The Tracking Knight And The Mad Dog
But even after his hostile growl, he heard no response from the dark. The only thing that he could hear was the bare silence in the deep cold forest.
On Leon's side, no one panicked. They have long prepared for this kind of scenario.
The many battles they have gotten into have trained their mindset to never underestimate the enemy, nor let their guards down just because everything is going according to plan.
In fact, the smoother the operation is, the more they have to stay vigilant.
They knew very well that their opponent was a tracking knight, he identifies the enemies through smell. That is why they had everyone take the scent dispelling potion, which was exclusively made by Kayden.
Unfortunately, he could only support from the sidelines. That was because the chances of him captured by the tracking night is still high.
It was also imperative in every operation that they wear their disguised personas so as to not compromise their real identities as Blades.
Going against this bunch of experts, Igor's face turned darker and darker as no matter what he did, he couldn't recognize any scent of humans around. It was as if he was purposely lured outside for nothing!
The matter made him extremely uneasy and a great sense of danger arose from his body. Making up his mind, he decided to go all out. He reached in his pocket and took out a peculiar looking dagger.
It had a dull bronze handle and a sharp black blade. There was also a series of runes meticulously carved at the thick center of the sharp blade, all the way to the tip of the dagger.
When the moonlight shined on the mysterious weapon, the runes would glow into a deep purple light!
Upon seeing the weapon, Leon's already cold expression became intensely dangerous. This dagger was familiar to him after all.
Through Eli's description and rough sketch, he had an idea of what the cursed weapon that injured Elise's soul looked like. It's appearance was very similar to the dagger Igor was holding!
Without delay, he quietly pulled out a high grade notification paper and wrote, "I order everyone to disengage! At all costs don't get wounded by the dagger."
He had to warn his men, because he knew very well the effects of the dagger. Although Elise did not die due to this dagger, her soul was doomed to be injured. He didn't want the same thing happening to his men.
He didn't have any confidence that his men would be safe fighting against the tracking knight with a cursed weapon.
Aside from having their souls damaged, Leon hasn't figured out how the curses work nor how injured souls could be healed.
According to Eli's recount, even the guardians could do nothing to rescue a damaged soul. As such, he could only step out and face him head on.
Although he knew that the roaming blades could match Igor in terms of raw strength, the appearance of the cursed blade made everything complicated.
They knew nothing at the moment in countering curse magic!
However, him facing the tracking knight may also force Leon to reveal a crucial information - his open path constitution.
None of the Roaming Blades nor the rest of the Crimson Blades knew the extent of his abilities. The only thing they knew was his devourer magic had already long improved to a level beyond the A class.
But now, knowing that hiding his abilities may cause him more damage, he had to go all out to ensure the success of the operation! This sacrifice would be worth it if it means apprehending a threat to mankind!
Trusting his subordinates to stay still and not intervene, Leon dashed like a panther and flashed in front of Igor. He stood on top of a withered tree, tortured by the winter, the moon on his back looked like a halo enhancing his ethereal aura.
When Igor saw Leon, his senses immediately heightened. A man with silver hair and brown eyes, none of his features register on him. He could also not identify his scent at all.
Could he be a nonhuman creature? An elf? Perhaps a werewolf?
"Who are you? Speak!" He shouted in an attempt to intimidate the mysterious enemy.
But Igor was destined to receive no reply from the mysterious man. He only just received a piercing glance. There was a sharp cold glint in his eyes that seemed as if Igor murdered his entire clan.
This man is dangerous!
He tried his best not to show any signs of fear, immediately tightening his grip on the dagger. With his cold vicious eyes, he let his vision scrutinize the opponent, keeping himself alert.
Leon could tell that Igor would not initiate a fight by himself. In this situation, his party was the one who had limited time as the marching of the three princes must happen when the morning light came.
He decisively propelled his body to descend down on the spot where Igor was standing. Raising his sword, he immediately pointed it towards the opponent's neck, looking like he was attempting to finish Igor once and for all.
Clang!
Leon's sword and Igor's dagger created thin sparks of light, as they violently met each other's sharpness. Igor could feel his ears ringing due to the harsh crashing sound.
The first blow was a test of each other's strength and Igor suddenly felt frustrated as he knew from the first move that the person he was facing was strong. He had to focus on his survival.
But Leon didn't treat the first blow as an opportunity to test the waters. Growing up in the battlefield, the madman reputation that he earned came from his ruthless ways in the warzone.
His men knew that he would always execute an attack to finish the enemy, not to gauge the other's strength! Leon was never the one who would prolong the fight in order to indulge himself in bloodshed.
As soon as Igor met his blade, Leon used the pushing force to let his body bounce up to the air and swing his leg to brutally kick him towards the spot where the entrapment spell was installed.
Igor was completely caught off guard with his sudden actions. He didn't expect that Leon would do such a merciless follow-up attack. He felt the air around thin out as his chest welcomed the full force of Leon's attack.
What he didn't know was that Leon had grown to such a heartless environment where second chances are only for destined people.
Once you lose your chance to survive, you can only pray that the Creator favors you and gives you a way out. But if the heavens aren't merciful, that one mistake would cost your life.
As such, Leon and his team grew up grasping every chance of survival, not caring of frivolous warrior's honor nor chivalry.
In the warzone, life is life, and life is only one.
"Cough, cough!" Trying his best to stabilize his stance, Igor tried to catch his breath. He felt that few of his ribs were broken from the opponent's kick.
He gritted his teeth and promised to himself that he would not fall into his scheme again.
But how could his body easily recover from the attack of an S Class Devourer? Not only was his lungs badly damaged, his head was also dizzy from the sudden loss of oxygen, making his vision blurry.
Leon on the other hand squinted his eyes seeing the place where Igor fell, it was exactly at the place where he needed him to be!
Immediately, he activated the entrapment spell as every second matters in this operation. They intend to assassinate Igor to eliminate the threat however, they have to extract information from him about the Vesalas and the curses.
In this way, he could equip not only his men but the most trusted armies of the Empire to counter this sinister power. They have to think of a way to fight against them without sacrificing too much.
Vwooong!
The S-class level entrapment spell completely locked Igor's surroundings in a split second, making him surprised yet again. His heart skipped a beat remembering what had happened since entering the inn.
This man had set everything up! His target was him! But what was the reason? What does this man need from him?
Now highly desperate, he struggled to raise his dagger and hit a heavy blow on the invisible wall.
Clang! Clang! Skkk! Clash!
Igor hit aggressively using the cursed weapon with all the strength he could muster. Beads of cold sweats appeared all over his back and temples, as he was slowly getting eaten away by panic and despair.
The entrapment was impenetrable!
As Igor struggled, Leon on the other hand did not feel any sense of relief.
As the one who activated the entrapment spell, he could feel his body pumping up more mana than usual just to repair itself to its optimal defense.
His heart immediately sank knowing this.
Leon assumed that the caliber of the weapon was low to mid rank, yet it had already caused so much trouble for an S Class mage like him.
Fortunately, due to his open paths, he could store large amounts of mana, but keeping Igor in the entrapment spell could only last for four hours in his calculation.
If this is the case, how would the mages of lower rank face these people wielding these magic-ignoring weapons?
A great sense of insecurity and worry crept into his heart. He had to do something to counter this!
Being the mad dog that he is, Leon stepped into the entrapment spell and viciously threw a heavy punch on Igor who had already mentally broken down in panic.
Skkkk!!!
The weapon was flung away from Igor's hands, and with a flash, Leon took a spare space pouch and immediately seized the dagger.
He immediately knocked the weakened Igor out with a blow on his nape. Without any expression he stepped out of the entrapment spell and touched its walls to shrink it into a small bird cage.
But just as he was about to start uttering the enchantments, he felt a sharp gust of the wind fastly approaching the back of his head.
Immediately turning around, Leon saw a blade glowing with dark purple, ready to slash his crystal blue eyes!