224 Courage Part 1 (1/2)

With a snapping sound, Saleen opened his fourth level-5 scroll. The spell he unleashed was a more manageable one – Icicle Attack. Saleen gathered more moisture in the air to form half a dozen huge ice blocks and sent them hurtling towards Fellett.

The young black metal grand swordmaster glared at Saleen with his bloodshot eyes as he realized that his end was near. No sooner had the ice blocks made contact with him did his body rapidly swell, blood vessels rupture, and blood spurted everywhere. It was a terrifying sight.

Using whatever sword aura and energy he had left in him, the black metal grand swordmaster inhaled his last dying breath and swung his sword for the final time. As soon as the weapon came down on Saleen’s ice blocks, the latter’s spell was neutralized. That impressive counterattack was what the grand swordmaster had been training for his entire life. Technically, Saleen had displayed poor control over the icicle attack he had unleashed earlier. The swordmaster could easily pinpoint its weakness and disperse Saleen’s spell before the latter even had a chance to do anything about it. Alas, this was going to be the last thing the swordmaster would ever do.

Saleen knew this as well. He understood that if he had released the icicle attack without the help of the scrolls, he would have been better able to control its powers and complete the spell. However, since he had cast the spell using these scrolls, he could no longer establish a strong connection with the magic that came out of them.

With a splat, the black metal grand swordmaster’s body exploded upon impact. His internal organs dripped down beneath him as blood and flesh flew everywhere. Saleen flew across the sea and landed gently on the back of the rock turtle’s shell. As he stared into the darkness, Saleen suddenly saw an extremely bright flash of golden light illuminate the entire landscape. It was someone else’s sword aura.

Fearing for his life, Saleen dived into the sea immediately. Without hesitation, he made his way towards the rock turtle’s abdominal shell and hid there. Back on the surface, the sword aura shone brilliantly, showing no signs of dissipating. Back on the ship’s rail where Lex stood, Fellett glared at the female standing in front of him. His eyes were bloodshot as his sword aura glowed even brighter than before. It was blinding, to say the least. Lex simply gave him a dull stare as he hovered in midair, preparing to strike.

”All of you! Prepare. To. Die,” Fellett roared, spitting out each word venomously. The torn and tattered armor glowed a bright gold as magical patterns appeared on it, moving eerily. Those magic patterns, which appeared to be hand-sculpted, emanated yet another flash of bright gold light. It was so bright that Lex could see the ocean for miles.

The black metal grand swordmaster who had been battling Sika and Nailisi was momentarily distraught by the loss of his comrade. Taking the opportunity, Sika brought her wooden cudgel down. Hard. Her opponent, taken by surprise, tried to dodge the attack, but he was too slow. He was left with no choice but to use his sword in an attempt to alleviate the impact of Sika’s attacks.

Snap! That was the sound the sword made as it was smashed into pieces by Nailisi’s serrated cudgel. The dragon horn present on Sika’s cudgel struck the black metal grand swordmaster’s shoulders, cutting his skin so deep that a person could see bone. A ray of white light shot forth from Nailisi’s mouth and made contact with her opponent’s wounds.

Before his blood could even be shed, the black metal grand swordmaster’s wound, along with half of his body, was frozen into a giant block of ice which effectively left him immobile. Sika took that opportunity to strike once again. Just one hit from her wooden cudgel was enough to smash the frozen half of the swordmaster’s body into a million pieces. Not even god could save the black metal grand swordmaster now.

Sika did not stop there though. Turning around, she focused her energy on destroying the battlement instead. With a powerful grunt, she hit the foot of the battlement with everything that she had. With a creaking sound, the only remaining battlement crumbled into pieces. Satisfied, Sika scavenged through the rubble and retrieved the alchemy crossbows.

This crossbow was easily three meters wide. After grabbing a few spears that were strewn all over the ground, she stabbed them deep into the floor of the deck to create a simple stenting. She lifted the alchemy crossbow with ease and placed it gently on the stenting, before proceeding to draw the crossbow string with her hand. Alas, no matter how hard she tried, she did not succeed. Even a person as strong as Sika would be unable to pull the string of a magically enhanced crossbow.

Meanwhile, Fellett had flown towards the part of the ship that was currently making its way beneath the waves. As he did so, the golden flash of light trailed behind him. Lex’s face blanched slightly as she fought to recall the type of aura that Fellett was emitting. It seemed awfully familiar… That was it! Safilos! He was a golden grand swordmaster. Which would mean that Fellett was…

No! It could not be. Fellett did not exhibit enough skill to be considered one. His powers were derived from his armor. However, the body underneath the armor was unable to absorb all this power at once. Lex could distinctly hear the creaking of Fellett’s bones, as though they were about to shatter any moment.

Lex had originally planned to capture Fellett. Upon taking a closer look at Fellett, whose face was so distorted that it looked like the strips of metal that had been bent under the wrath of the winch, she decided to abort her plan. However, Fellett’s armor would not allow its host to die so easily. It was as if it controlled Fellett’s every move. Right now, Fellett was bringing his sword down towards Lex in an attempt to either kill or maim her.

As of this moment, Lex’s magic scrolls would be unable to block Fellett’s attack. Even releasing the most powerful spells she had stored in the level-7 scrolls could do little to help her situation right now. When faced with a powerful force equivalent to that of a golden grand swordmaster, any counterspell seemed petty and insignificant.

The eight bone puppets had scaled over the walls and were leaping towards Fellett. With just one swing of Fellett’s sword, everything within ten meters of him was grinded into dust by his golden sword aura.

Fellett had essentially lost control over his powers by now. However, he did not need to be in control. Just a few punches and kicks here and there would be sufficient to send Saleen and the others on a permanent trip to the ocean floor. As expected, the eight bone puppets disintegrated immediately. Still distraught by the loss of his ship and devoted followers, Fellett flew towards the tip of the ship and pointed his long sword at Lex. He let out a powerful roar of grief before screaming, ”Why?”

”Because I’m a Grukos,” Lex said calmly, even though she knew that any spells cast within five meters of a magical creature who possessed the strength of a golden grand swordmaster would be absolutely ineffective. She was not even scared that she was within that striking distance.

”Hahaha! I see! Good, good! So, you’re Qin royalty. If I had known earlier, I would have struck a long time ago!” Fellett laughed maniacally. As he said this, he made his way towards the ship’s stern again. By now, more than half of the ship had sunk beneath the waves. He glared at Lex, before continuing, ”I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to take you back to Shengfeng country as a gift to the emperor. But, before that, I’m going to have some fun. You look young for a mage. Want me to show you what a true man can do to that body? I could have you begging within seconds…”

Fellett’s eyes glinted sadistically. Lex let out a cold sneer, ”Oh yeah? Attack me now then! You can’t even control your powers, can you? If you strike, we’ll both die. You know that, right?”

”Yes, of course! But if I die, you’re going to purgatory with me, along with your little friends. Three mages as company in the afterlife sounds quite appealing, don’t you think?” Fellett said, laughing maniacally as soon as he saw Lex’s exasperated face.

At that moment, Fellett made the decision to fight Lex to the death. The two people who were going to restore him to his former glory, the black metal grand swordmasters, had been killed by Saleen, Sika, and Nailisi. Even if he made it to Shengfeng country in one piece, he would never be able to revive his family’s reputation, nor would he be able to seize back his territory.