The Return of the Limited-Time Sword Master

Chapter 141: The End of the Rampage (5)

Sien and Adel moved swiftly up the mountainside, using spatial teleportation to evade obstacles.

But the Second Prince’s nobles weren’t about to let them approach Theodore without a fight.

“Stop those two! Don’t let them near His Highness!”

“Anyone who cuts them down will be richly rewarded!”

Spurred by their commanders, soldiers and knights rushed forward.

Bang! Bang!

The infantry fired rounds of mana-charged bullets.

But Sien merely shielded her face with her left arm, pushing forward, while Adel didn’t even bother to defend.

Using her Mirage Form ability, she phased through every attack, letting the bullets pass harmlessly through her.

Ignoring the hail of bullets, the two women pressed on. Soon, a group of knights blocked their path—warriors known for their skills as the Second Prince’s elite guards.

The knights leapt from rocks and trees, displaying agility that showed their prowess.

“None of that matters,” Sien muttered.

In a flash, she teleported right in front of the lead knight, catching him off guard.

Despite the sudden move, he didn’t panic, expecting spatial maneuvers from them. He responded with a powerful, aura-infused sword slash.

Crash!

But Sien’s quick left jab shattered the blade as if it were brittle glass. Her punch then followed through, landing on the knight’s face with explosive force, shattering his skull.

“That’s one down!”

Sien shouted with satisfaction, spinning to her side with her zweihander. The centrifugal force added momentum, and her blade sliced from her lower right to upper left, cleaving an oncoming knight in half.

‘She’s always so dramatic.’

Glancing at Sien’s performance, Adel thought to herself while gripping her rapier tightly.

With swift precision, Adel phased through another knight, reappearing behind him as she twisted and slashed her blade across his neck.

“Gah!”

The knight collapsed, blood gushing from his throat.

“Watch for when she turns solid again! That’s your chance!” one of the commanders shouted.

“Talking is easy,” Adel sneered, weaving fluidly through soldiers and knights, slipping out of reach each time they tried to catch her in a solid state.

Unstoppable, the two women pushed forward, cutting through anyone in their path, until they finally reached Theodore.

Thud.

The last of the Royce knights standing guard fell to the ground, defeated.

With his guards and soldiers incapacitated, Theodore still wore an unruffled expression as he faced Sien and Adel.

“I am Adel von Igreet, head of House Igreet. Our acting family head has ordered us to capture you alive. Will you surrender peacefully, Your Highness?”

“A mere branch family dares to speak above its station,” Theodore sneered.

Sien shot him a mocking smile. “As a prince, I get the pride. But surely even you can’t handle two 6th Circle warriors on your own.”

Theodore’s smile grew sharper. “Your ignorance is astounding. Do you think all 6th Circles are the same? If a direct heir of one of the three great families stood before me, it’d be different. But for branch members like you two, the result will be no different.”

“Your arrogance is really getting on my nerves.”

“Agreed,” Adel said, her face growing serious as she locked eyes with Sien.

The two women wordlessly decided to knock the prince down a peg.

Hummm.

In unison, they teleported, flanking Theodore from opposite sides.

Behind him, Sien raised her zweihander for a crushing blow, while in front, Adel thrust her rapier with perfect timing.

But Theodore shifted his stance, extending both arms toward them as he activated his unique ability—Gravitational Dominion.

Woosh!

A powerful green aura burst forth, and the two women were thrown back, helplessly propelled by an overwhelming force.

Though they quickly teleported midair to avoid crashing, the green aura shifted, pulling them back toward Theodore with intense gravitational force.

“This ability is a real pain!” Sien growled, trying to teleport away again.

But the moment she channeled mana, a backlash surged through her, painfully disrupting her core.

“Gah!”

“Agh!”

Sien and Adel coughed up blood, their voices filled with pain.

They quickly realized what had happened—Theodore had warped the area’s gravity, distorting the coordinates they relied on for teleportation.

Even though they understood what was happening, the pain was so intense they couldn’t immediately move.

Thud.

Theodore grabbed both women by the neck.

Before they could react, he slammed them into the ground.

Adel grimaced in pain, while Sien defiantly stretched her hand toward his ankle.

“Get your filthy hands off me,” Theodore sneered.

Bam!

He kicked Sien in the stomach, sending her flying back as she coughed up blood. She quickly wiped her mouth and staggered to her feet.

In the meantime, Adel managed to distance herself from Theodore, creating space between them.

“I wonder how Martin Adalbert will react when I bring him your heads,” Theodore sneered. “Though no matter how shocked he is, it’ll never compare to the humiliation he’s dealt me.”

“This is absurd. You’re the one who walked into his trap, and you’re blaming him for it?” Sien scoffed.

“Royalty and direct heirs are famous for their shamelessness, but he takes it to another level,” Adel muttered, her voice dripping with contempt.

Ignoring Martin’s orders to capture him alive, both women’s eyes blazed with renewed determination. Theodore’s arrogance had infuriated them.

The two warriors raised their mana, intensifying their auras in perfect sync.

“No matter what you say, the outcome won’t change,” Theodore replied confidently, his green aura swirling around him like a vortex.

Theodore eagerly anticipated Martin’s reaction when he finally saw Sien and Adel lying dead.

Boom!

Once again, the three clashed fiercely.

—

For a knight who pursued the depth of martial arts, mastery often meant relentless dedication to a single path.

It was no wonder Martin was considered an anomaly for wielding multiple forces with his Omni Distortion ability.

Mages, however, pursued the vast truths of the world itself.

Whether or not they possessed a unique ability, mages learned and wielded a wide array of elemental powers. By the time they reached the 9th Circle, there was little magic they couldn’t master.

Crackle!

Green sparks erupted as Barthez conjured a mana barrier. It expanded swiftly, aiming to engulf Nicholas and the surrounding area.

But Nicholas remained unfazed, calmly raising his staff as a white magic circle appeared around him, dispelling Barthez’s barrier effortlessly.

Having blocked the attack with ease, Nicholas extended his staff toward Barthez.

Rumble!

Massive amounts of mana surged, shaking the air as countless white flames began to materialize, forming into hundreds of blazing pillars that scorched the nearby trees in seconds.

Barthez quickly chanted an incantation, unleashing a tidal wave of water to counter the oncoming fire pillars. The collision generated a massive cloud of steam.

Unyielding, Barthez continued his magic, channeling his unique ability—Blessing of Yggdrasil—to manipulate the burning trees around them. The trees extended and intertwined, their branches weaving together as they surged through the steam toward Nicholas.

But Nicholas was ready.

Summoning a sword of light with his own unique ability, he swiftly sliced through the branches.

Barthez tried to overwhelm him with even more branches, but they failed to break through Nicholas’ defenses.

“Looks like your end is near,” Nicholas commented coolly, focusing more mana into his sword of light.

Boom! Boom!

As Nicholas detonated the swords of light in a series of explosions, a powerful shockwave rippled through the air, breaking Barthez’s defenses and inflicting significant internal injuries.

“Guh!” Barthez grunted as blood trickled from his nose and mouth, the toll of the mana backlash evident.

‘The power of humans is truly unfathomable,’ Barthez thought bitterly.

He had dedicated over a century to the study of magic, reaching the heights of the 9th Circle, only to be overpowered by a human who hadn’t even lived half his lifespan.

While he’d managed to hold his ground at first, the gap between them had only grown wider as the battle went on.

‘I can’t defeat him alone.’

If he fell, Martin would undoubtedly step in. But as talented as Martin was, his chances against Nicholas were slim.

So Barthez made a decision.

He would give Martin every advantage he could.

Channeling all the mana he had left, Barthez activated his most powerful spell.

Creak!

The entire mountainside erupted as trees shot up and twisted together, forming an immense mass that took less than ten seconds to prepare. From this monstrous structure, a storm of branch-like projectiles rained down on Nicholas.

‘This might be a problem.’

Nicholas’ eyes flashed as he unleashed his unique ability, creating hundreds of clones of himself, each one a physical duplicate.

Together, the clones unleashed a barrage of blinding white orbs, slicing through the trees and raining down on the soldiers below, who scrambled to take cover.

Boom! Boom!

The two mages paid no heed to the chaos around them, focusing solely on their duel.

After nearly a minute of relentless exchanges, they both paused.

“Hah… Hah…”

Barthez panted heavily, blood trickling down his face, staining his robes. The strain of expending all his mana had severely aggravated his injuries.

Though Nicholas was in better shape, even he had suffered from the overuse of mana.

Suddenly, a golden cube materialized around both Barthez and Nicholas, trapping them.

“Well done, Elder Barthez. I’ll take it from here,” Martin’s voice sounded through the air.

“After all your confidence, it seems you still needed help,” Barthez replied with a faint smile.

“I couldn’t have even set the stage without you, Elder. Now, please, take your rest.”

“Very well.”

With a nod, Barthez stepped out of the cube, leaving Martin alone with Nicholas.

Nicholas sneered. “It seems you’re increasingly unfit for the role of a great family’s leader. Attacking a weakened opponent—have you no shame?”

Martin chuckled. “A weaker foe doing everything he can to take down a stronger one has no reason to feel shame.”

Martin’s smile grew sharper.

“You and the Royce family have pestered us for too long. Now it’s time you paid for it.”

“Do you think that’s possible? Even in this state, I can still easily defeat someone like you.”

“Well, we’ll see about that.”

Martin’s smile grew wider.

Nicholas might not realize it, but Martin could feel it clearly—his mana core was expanding, surging with power.

The insight he had gained upon reaching the 5th Circle in swordsmanship was finally manifesting in his body.