20demayo Chapter 84
Chapter 84
The arrow, tearing through the air, glinted in the sunlight, shining in a bright silver hue.
Hearing the unsettling sound of the wind, the Sword Saint stopped mid-swing and turned his head.
A massive arrowhead was flying directly toward the Sword Saint’s head.
A sniper shot from the great commander, Ariel, from outside his line of sight.
Had it been an ordinary soldier, they wouldn’t have even been able to recognize the arrow before their skulls were crushed.
Even an exceptional soldier would have had their head shattered the moment they realized the arrow was coming. And even someone as excellent as a top-tier warrior would have been unable to make any significant countermeasures due to the perfect timing of the shot.
The Sword Saint, however, was reaching out with his blade to sever Laguel’s lifeline.
Ariel’s arrow was aimed with perfect precision, striking exactly when the human consciousness would be focused entirely on the ‘attack.’
What made it worse for the Sword Saint was that his body was suspended in the air with no footholds beneath him.
‘Impressive.’
At first, he considered using his sword to deflect the incoming arrow. But soon, the Sword Saint changed his mind.
‘...The arrow has considerable force. If I block it, how far will I be sent flying by the recoil?’
On the ground, he could deflect an arrow with his sword and absorb the shock with his legs, but in mid-air, that wasn’t an option.
Even if he perfectly deflected the arrow, the Sword Saint would be launched far away from the center of the battlefield.
‘At this angle, if I deflect the arrow, my body will be sent much higher into the air. It will take at least three seconds before I return.’
Three seconds.
The moment he blocked the arrow, the Sword Saint would be forced out of the battlefield for three seconds.
For some, three seconds might be insufficient to rise from a fallen position, but for the great commanders, it was more than enough time to recover from their injuries and flee the battlefield.
He couldn’t afford to take the arrow head-on.
‘It’s better to avoid it.’
As soon as this thought reached its conclusion, his body moved without hesitation.
He kicked off from the air, twisting his body mid-flight, and the arrow, flying like lightning, merely grazed his hair.
Whoooosh!
A cold breeze passed in front of the Sword Saint’s eyes.
"...You crazy!"
As the Sword Saint performed an acrobatic dodge, Laguel’s damaged body had almost completely healed. Demonstrating the terrifying regeneration speed of a great commander, Laguel swung his long claws toward the Sword Saint’s neck.
Without showing any emotion, the Sword Saint swung his blade again, severing Laguel’s arm and leg.
While wielding his sword, the Sword Saint’s gaze was not on Laguel.
Behind him, the sonic boom created by the arrow that had flown at an immense speed reverberated across the battlefield.
"..."
The Sword Saint had been focused on tracking the trajectory of the arrow since it had first been fired. Laguel, standing right before him, cursed at the Sword Saint for not paying attention to him, but the words didn’t reach his ears.
‘I found it.’
Soon, he was able to spot a black shadow hiding beyond a mud hill.
The great commander Ariel, upon making eye contact with the Sword Saint, instantly felt a paralyzing fear run through his entire body.
He was over two kilometers away from the Sword Saint.
Despite the fog lifting and the sunlight brightly illuminating the battlefield, to have pinpointed the sniper’s location, hidden behind the shadows and over the hill, was something only a being far beyond normal human perception could achieve.
It wasn’t a typical human level of observation.
‘Laguel has lost all his forces. He’s not very intelligent and his skills are below par. I can kill him anytime. But what about that sniper?’
Even in this split second, the Sword Saint’s mind never stopped working.
Though his instincts were enough to dominate the battlefield with his sword alone, the Sword Saint was desperately
"With Grisha around, I don’t think the brain burning part matters. She’ll heal him immediately once it melts away."
"That’s why I said the scope and complexity of this barrier have exceeded the limit..."
Michael, clearly also growing anxious, continued with an irritated expression.
"The magic surrounding us can’t be something that can be implemented just by risking the brain melting. There must be other risks involved."
"Have you not identified what those risks are yet?"
"I haven’t identified them."
Michael answered bluntly.
"But there’s definitely a risk. And it’s likely a very dangerous one."
Hearing Michael’s certainty, Maltyel grimaced and smirked bitterly.
"I don’t like gambling, but..."
The oldest and longest-surviving of the nine great commanders, this monster’s mind was filled with countless tactics and strategies.
"It’s much better than waiting for death."
Thus, even in this desperate situation, with death looming before him, the monster began moving, searching for the most efficient and likely way to survive.