Book 2, 142
Just as fear and hesitation flooded her mind, she suddenly felt burning pain at her heart, the middle of her back, and the side of her waist; this was a premonition of fatal strikes being launched at her. The sense of danger at her heart was the greatest; that was a blow that could determine her life and death!
She suddenly started to shriek, every strand of her long hair standing erect as the size of her heart almost doubled. A loud explosion sounded out as the energy erupting within her smashed apart the invisible divine power shrouding her body, allowing her thoughts and movements to return to normal speed.
It was too late. She saw a sharp glint heading her way, the tip of Baron Fontaine’s sword. The radiance at the sword’s edge was completely different from the flickering light before, appearing reserved yet dignified with nearly twice the might. This was clearly a secret sword art! If this sword pierced her heart, the formidable energy behind it would immediately crush it to pieces. Even Dark Sacrifice wouldn’t be able to save her from an irrevocable death. The heart was her greatest weakness!
An enchanted axe was aimed at the small of her back, while another longsword was cutting its way towards her ribs. The burly man who was using the axe burst forth with great might, the power behind his blow extremely astonishing. However, even that didn’t demand her attention. On the other hand, the young lady with the sword was only level 11. That sheer disparity in level meant she had no need to pay heed to that attack at all.
She knew she could cut the girl’s head off with a flip of her hand, but the young lady looked unruly and attractive. She possessed this indescribable sense of wild beauty around her, especially when she moved at high speeds. Despite enormous experience with both sexes, Sinclair’s interest was aroused; she had no intention to murder this beauty at all.
It was in that critical instant that her movements abruptly stiffened. A slowing spell from Richard and a curse from Zendrall had landed on her at almost the exact same time.
“RICHARD!” Sinclair shrieked with venom. The small delay bought enough time for Fontaine’s sword to arrive, and she was forced to defend herself. Her daggers cast blurry shadows everywhere— while one blocked the sword, another flipped over to aim for the Baron’s chest.
A look of unyielding determination flashed over Fontaine’s face, as the sharp sword jolted and flung the short dagger off. It continued on its path towards her heart, the flaming energy on its surface growing more and more concentrated. At the same time, he struggled to twist his body in a bid to protect his own.
The sharp sword and long dagger hit their opponents at almost the exact same time. With weakening spells holding her back, Sinclair couldn’t care less about the attacks from behind. She moved her body as well, struggling to use the armour on her left breast to block the edge of the sharp sword.
A loud clang sounded as the breastplate broke into pieces, leaving a bloody slash on the snowy white of her breast. The left of her bosom was exposed, making for an appalling sight. The fair and smooth appearance of SInclair’s perfect breasts only stopped at the exposed flesh— the part covered by armour was actually a refined gold plate covered in radiant blood-red runes.
This was her grade 4 rune, Dark Sacrifice!
Having sent the armour flying, Fontaine’s sword slipped into Sinclair’s shoulder and almost penetrated it. Although such an injury would only be a flesh wound normally, a blow with his full strength was not so easy to withstand. Sinclair herself didn’t excel at defense, shattering sounds coming from the rune on her chest as cracks appeared one after the other on its surface. The entire thing was almost completely destroyed!
“AHHH!” an extremely agonizing wail sounded out. A flip of her wrist cut Fontaine’s ribs apart, leaving a gaping wound in his chest while his left arm was chopped off completely.
At the same time, Gangdor’s axe and Waterflower’s blade landed on Sinclair. Although there was no wind, the cloak on Sinclair’s back suddenly rose to reveal a pair of golden, demonic wings extending out the back of her armour. The wings spread themselves out eerily, fending off Gangdor’s full blow.
All the muscles on Gangdor’s body were bulging, Gaia’s Force and the rune combining to amplify his strength greatly. A tremendous force that could cut gold and crush boulders landed on Sinclair, blowing the cloak to pieces. The gigantic axe cut open the black armour on her back, leaving a bone-deep wound before it was flung off by her energy.
The Shepherd of Eternal Rest pierced right through Sinclair’s side. A trace dark aura flitted across the edge of the sword before it plunged into Sinclair’s body. The dark radiance gleaming faintly on Waterflower’s body came from her rune set, allowing her to meld into the darkness. It caused her opponents to subconsciously neglect her presence.
It was still in the dead of the night, the sky its darkest shade of black. The full power of the Shepherd of Eternal Rest were unleashed, its powers boosted multifold by the black tint that had appeared on the edge. That was the shade of the Breath of Darkness.
This was the ability of the combined set, making for the most powerful blow Waterflower could deal. A sinister, icy feeling instantly flooded Sinclair’s mind; she had never come this close to death. It was almost as if the reaper had stuck out his icy, wet tongue, gently licking her earlobe. She shrieked hysterically, sending Fontaine flying with a kick that parted his sword from his hands. Beads of blood that were black as ink stained the edge of the sword.
Sinclair brandished her daggers behind her, causing Gangdor and Waterflower to dodge by reflex. She took this chance to charge wildly towards Richard.
Although every person who had set off on the expedition had been ready to face death at any moment, Sinclair had never imagined that the moment would come so soon. The serious damage inflicted on her rune was far more critical than the severe injuries elsewhere on her body, especially on a foreign plane where she could not find her way back.
At that moment, she had only one notion in her mind. Even if she was to die, she would drag Richard down with her! Everyone else here was useless trash with no power; only Richard could match her status, being worthy of her dying on.
All of a sudden, three majestic and powerful figures appeared between Sinclair and Richard. These were three of the Archeron knights. They couldn’t see Sinclair’s movements at all, but the trail indicated she wanted to harm Richard. The sheer difference in ability disallowed them from contending against this demonic young girl, so the only choice they had was to use their own bodies as a barrier to stop her.
Sinclair couldn’t even bother telling them to get lost. She didn’t take a glance at the weapons they wielded, nor did she try to dodge their blows. She used her sheer speed to shove the blades and their owners away, her daggers flying at unbelievable speeds. She would cut them up into tens of equal pieces that would fly away upon impact.