Chapter 78: Flaming Sword Bath (Part 1)
The sound of sword qi was extremely loud as it rapidly moved, but it was shattered by Reske’s dark sword shadow.
Verafia raised her gaze slightly, and in her big eyes, a ripple suddenly appeared. But she quickly turned her face away, not looking at him.
“Young Lady!”
Ig, unable to catch his breath, hurriedly called out. However, the girl did not pay him any attention. Her delicate little face leaned against the tree trunk, appearing as if asleep.
But Ig naturally knew that she, with her sulky expression, could not possibly be asleep! The young man was anxious and couldn’t help but take a step towards her.
Suddenly, with a sharp sound, Ig quickly retreated as sharp sword qi grazed him. In his raised blue eyes, Ig saw the overlooked mercenary swordsman emerge from the shadows.
“Reske!”
Ig tightly gripped the hilt of the End. Without even thinking, Ig could guess the reason why this one-armed swordsman, stained with abyssal aura, appeared before him: Ig was fully aware of the words and actions he had directed at the girl earlier!
“Long time no see, Young Master Ig. Look at you, these fierce eyes are just like your young lady’s!”
Reske used polite terms, but anyone could hear the sarcasm in his voice, “A young master from a noble family, do you really think you truly defeated me back then?”
“Reske! Leave Miss Verafia immediately! Otherwise…”
Ig took a deep breath. The End he held in his hand flashed with uncertain light.
“Otherwise, what?”
The sarcasm on Reske’s face grew even stronger. He looked disdainfully at the young man opposite him, who was tightly gripping his sword hilt but dared not act, “Young Master Ig, what about the Lan Dischlofen Family, do you think I’m afraid of you!”
From Ronald’s words, Reske knew that the young man before him was a noble scion from a Marquis family. However, unlike Ronald, he did not have the slightest fear of so-called background connections.
As an adventurer who licked blood at the tip of his sword, what did it matter if Ig was from royalty!
Ig took a deep breath.
“The abyssal demonic energy on your body is corrupting you…”
“Noisy! You nobles love to talk nonsense!”
Reske sneered, suddenly drawing his sword with his right hand. The silver Battle Qi poured into it completely, without any reservation this time. He swung at Ig in front of him!
Ig stopped talking. He tightened his grip on the hilt of the End with his right hand and pulled it out forcefully.
“Die! You idiot noble young master!”
The sword wind was fierce, as if it wanted to tear apart the blackness that shrouded the entire night sky. Ig took a step back to avoid the sharp sword edge amplified by Battle Qi, and the End held in front of him blocked the sword wind.
Merely colliding made Ig’s expression change drastically. The violent impact felt as if it were making him vomit his internal organs. The young man gritted his teeth and swung his insignificant attack, stomping his hard boots on the ground and rapidly shifting his body.
As he had guessed earlier, after Reske unleashed his full power, even an ordinary swing was far superior to the martial skills he had displayed during their previous match!
Reske grinned sinisterly. The qualitative difference in silver Battle Qi easily crushed Ig’s attack into pieces. The sound of drawing his sword and unleashing another gust of wind reverberated fiercely in the young man’s ears.
Under the strong wind, Ig barely managed to parry with his sword, but even the residual shock made him feel as if his entire body would be shattered, and the taste of blood filled his throat.
The gap between Silver and Bronze, as he had expected, was like an insurmountable chasm!
Under the night sky, Reske’s sword swings became more erratic, yet the force of his blows became even more chilling. He roared ferociously, his breathing like that of a ferocious wild beast.
“Abyssal demonic energy… is this corruption and assimilation?”
Ig thought to himself. However, such a situation was not a good sign for him at all.
Apart from a lack of rationality, abyssal demonic creatures possess greater combat power and life force than human warriors of the same level. And Reske, who originated as an adventurer and was not adept at swordsmanship or martial skills, would only see a greater increase in him by this!
By the rationality of any normal person, I should run away. Reske’s target is Verafia. Even if I pose a threat to him, based on his judgment, he will definitely pursue the Phoenix girl, who is more precious than any treasure.
Not to mention, standing here, I wouldn’t be of any use.
Although he thought this in his heart, the young man’s footsteps did not move at all.
Ig raised his gaze. In the air shimmering with silver moonlight before him, the oppressive sword wind first struck his face like a giant wave, but under each spray of the wave, the sharpest blades were hidden.
The pain on his face and the fear in his heart of the approaching danger did not stop the young man’s gaze.
Ig saw that under the moonlight, the small girl also slightly raised her small face. Her pair of golden eyes were still the most beautiful gems Ig had ever seen, but at this moment, he no longer saw the opulence of the past… instead, there was a heartbreaking dimness and weakness.
Like her small, beautiful cheeks, she was like fragile glass that could be shattered by a touch of wind.
Ig grasped the neck of the glass bottle in his hand. The night wind, mixed with the abyssal chill and the sharp aura of sword light, felt bone-chilling, but he couldn’t feel any coldness. He knew from the beginning what he would do.
In his hand, only the Blazing Flame remained.
—
Verafia gently raised her face, her slender eyelashes trembling slightly, and her eyes opened a little.
But unlike a certain young man, her gaze did not fall on Ig at first. Instead, she looked at Reske, whose abyssal demonic energy surged like demonic flames, consuming his meager rationality and vitality.
“Just a moment, and I will be able to recover a wisp of my spirit, and then this person…”
His fate was self-evident.
Verafia’s gaze was clear and cold, she thought silently to herself.
Suddenly, the girl’s golden eyes, disregarding her weakness, widened greatly. A look of surprise appeared on her porcelain-white snow-like face.
Verafia could see what it was… In the early morning, after refining the magic potion, she had casually thrown them all to Ig.
“Bath of Fire Potion”… Verafia had said at the time that if Ig drank it in one gulp, it could greatly increase his power for a certain period.
But her second sentence was not a joke either. With Ig’s current physique, it was far from enough to withstand such an intense energy, let alone the fact that Verafia had also added a drop of her blood to it!
“Ig, you idiot! I dropped two levels just to save you, and you’re wasting it like this! You could have waited a little longer, hurry up and stop!”
The words the girl wanted to shout couldn’t be uttered. She anxiously tried to support herself with all her might, but she had never felt so weak and powerless.
Ig drank the Blazing Flame. Pain appeared on the young man’s face. From the heat emanating from his bones, his black clothes turned to charcoal.
The young man forcefully raised his arm, and the dim surface of the End suddenly burst into a fiery crimson, with a hint of golden light flickering within.
Ig swung the End. In mid-air, the turbid corrosive demonic energy was also burned away by the high temperature, revealing the true light of the metal sword, and slashing towards Reske!
