Chapter 46: New Troop
A man in a black garment hit his wooden crooked staff against the ground with a light force, and he became visible.
His beards fluttered gently as he watched his slave warrior oppress Asher's men. His eyes were on the wolf, for he hungered for its corpse. He averted his gaze from the battle that would soon end toward Asher, who was silently looking at his palm.
"Another foolish lord that wants to encroach into the desolate lands."
He lifted up his staff and was about to cast a spell when Asher lifted up his head, revealing a pair of cold white eyes.
The mage was alarmed by the radiating force erupting from Asher, so he pointed his staff, unleashing a ball of flames.
Asher nonchalantly leaned to his right, and the ball of flames hit the hill. While looking at the mage, Asher began to spin his sword. The speed of the blade moving at such intense speed slithered into his ears and also made the mage stunned.
He was certain Asher wasn't as good as Alex when it came to swordfighting, so how was he able to perform such top-tier spinning? In fact, it had left a casual spin. He could only see afterimages of the sword, and this was while Asher was walking!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Three balls of flames hurtled toward Asher. Upon seeing them coming down from the sky, Asher burst into a hot sprint. He easily evaded the flames and scaled the hill right to the top before the mage could run far.
When the mage turned his head and saw Asher, he said some words, and flames formed a beast that dashed toward Asher.
Asher lifted his sword, piercing through the beast's head, causing the body to burst apart.
He heard a whimper and turned to see Sirius had fallen.
Asher looked at the ground and slammed his foot against a protruding stone. His force broke the protruding part of the stone, and Asher swung his sword, launching the stone like a projectile.
It carried so much momentum that it pierced through the mage!
Swoosh!
Asher turned and leaped into the air, slashing his sword downward. The ogre deflected the strike, but instead of flying away, Asher absorbed the force and landed steadily.
The ogre dashed toward him; it's battle skirt dancing about. Having noticed it, Asher slid under the ogre, cutting its thighs and unleashing a swift, deadly cut at its back without turning.
The ogre staggered forward. It bore the sharp battle force ripping it from the inside and turned to attack, but Asher was waiting for this moment.
He thrust his sword, piercing through the ogre until the tip came out of the other side.
The ogre gazed at Asher's white eyes and made sounds, but as Asher pulled out his sword, it fell and kept growing weaker until it died.
Its metal armor was no match for the sharpness of Asher's gold-ranked sword, and his unusual expertise and overwhelming mastery subdued the ogre without giving it breathing space.
In the shura state, Asher was too fast. There was no time to ponder his next move because he was leagues beyond his enemies' battle knowledge.
[You have experienced an intense battle against a member of the Abyss Worshipers Cult and came out victorious, though at cost.]
[New upgrade and troops available.]
[Ding! Would the host like to upgrade Alex, the gold-ranked sword knight, to become a diamond-ranked grand sword knight? Yes or No?]
[Ding! Would the host like to upgrade your gold-ranked pet beast, Sirius, to become a diamond-ranked beast knight? Yes or No?]
'Upgrade them.'
Swoosh!
As the first light came down, the entity that caught Asher's attention was the 12-foot-tall white beast, which had sky-blue markings on its head and body. The Tenaria word on its forehead meant 'Knight!'
Sirius looked like a behemoth, and the fur around his neck was growing to look similar to a lion's mane. Its claws and teeth were so powerful that not even Asher's castle would survive an attack from Sirius!
With each breath, the temperature dropped.
Sirius was now strong enough to kill the ogre with a mere slap!
Looking at the muscular, well-built beast that still looked fit and agile despite its size, Asher felt impressed.
No doubt, it was a beast knight!
The second light died down, revealing a 7-foot-tall silver-armored knight. The knight had a thick coat, blue loincloth, a helmet that had wings on the side, a crest, and a blue plume that came down to his waist level.
His sword grew bigger, and the blade became silver. It had an emerald gem at the end of the hilt and pulsing meridians on both flat sides.
Alex looked at the sword in his hand with different emotions. He marveled at the things the system had put into his mind and adjusted his body to. The capabilities of a diamond-ranked knight were beyond his previous understanding.
It was at this moment that Alex understood how stupid he was thinking he could hold back the ogre and how insane it was that Asher killed it so swiftly.
A complete diamond-ranked gear was about 3000 sacred gold coins!
One had to know that a sacred gold coin could be exchanged for three immortal gold coins, which are used in the Eternal Immortal Empire. This meant Alex's gear was 9000 immortal gold coins!
Alex had never felt so powerful in his life.
Swoosh!
He leaped 7 meters high and landed on the top of the hill, causing fire sparks. Now that he was a diamond-ranked knight, his blazing battle force, which he practiced with his fire meridians, was beginning to produce small fire effects.
For example, staring into Alex's eyes for a prolonged period could make one feel as if their eyes were on fire!
At his current rank, his strength was easily over 8000 catties!
And the strength gained from the Moonlit Starhon milk and the Hexakad chicken egg wasn't included!
A punch could shatter an unreinforced wall; a kick could kill a human; a yell could shake the eardrums of those below his rank.
Such power could cause pride, but the sight of Sirius was enough to keep Alex humble. What was 8000 cattties before a beast that was two times that weight and could freeze a castle?!
"Your Lordship." Alex jumped down and went on his knees.
Asher shook his head.
He then looked at his castle guards. Three of them were dead, four had lost a limb or two, and three were badly injured.
[Would the host like to double upgrade his remaining 7 bronze-ranked castle guards to gold-ranked Shura Vanguard Swordsmen? Yes or No?]