CHAPTER 46: I’VE NOTED THIS GRUDGE.

"Boom..."

In the dim depths of an alley, a sound of someone falling suddenly appeared, heralding the end of a battle.

Attacker after attacker, all cloaked in black, lay on the ground without exception; some had lost consciousness, while others wailed in pain, their bodies drenched in blood.

Amid these attackers, whether on the ground or the walls, were carved numerous sword scars.

Reiger stood beside these fallen attackers, his silver sword dripping with blood, his expression stern, resembling a merciless executioner.

This scene, caught by the man in black leaning against the wall and hiding in the shadows, caused his gaze to shift several times.

Yet, from beginning to end, this man had not intervened in the battle.

"Such good skills, such good nature," the man in black blurted out in praise, but his tone filled with sarcasm was particularly harsh, saying, "Someone like you doesn’t really seem like they come from the loving Loki Clan, but rather seems like one of us."

Having witnessed Reiger’s combat, the man in black had begun to somewhat acknowledge him.

Despite only recently ascending to Lv.4, Reiger’s skills and combat techniques far surpassed the average of Lv.4; facing multiple opponents, he was easily able to crush a group consisting of several adventurers of the same level, a strength that was truly impressive.

Especially the young man’s speed, it was nearly comparable to a first-level adventurer specialized in ’Agility,’ which somewhat surprised the man in black.

With his exceptional speed and superior sword skills, Reiger managed to move back and forth with ease under the group’s assault, taking down each attacker one by one, resulting in successfully defeating the group brought by the man in black, unscathed himself.

He did not even seem to pant or sweat, making the man in black conclude that this young man must possess a ’Healing’ ability and that his ability was at a quite high stage.

Having such capabilities right after ascending to Lv.4, even the man in black had to admit, this annoying young man indeed had something unique.

However, what irritated the man in black remained irritating.

Thus, the man in black’s tone was still harsh.

"You might as well switch sides," the man in black said sarcastically, "If you joined us, I could legitimately discipline you."

Upon hearing this, Reiger’s expression did not change at all.

He just stared at the man in black and suddenly burst out a question.

"Beauty God’s Chariot?"

At these words, the face hidden under the hood of the man lurking in the shadows stiffened.

Reiger keenly sensed the change in the atmosphere around the man, immediately knowing he had guessed correctly.

"Allen Bolomo, Lv.6, vice-captain of the Freyja Clan, holder of Frey’s fastest speed, title—’Beauty God’s Chariot.’"

Reiger stated the identity of the man in black with a calm demeanor.

"It is indeed you."

As his words fell, the shadowed man in black also fell silent, only after a while emitting a faint murderous aura.

He stepped out and removed his black robe, revealing his true face.

It was a rather short feline youth with sharp eyes and expressions.

"How did you figure it was me?"

The widely known "Beauty God’s Chariot" in the city cast a sharp gaze at Reiger.

However, Reiger didn’t show even a slight hint of flinching.

"These attackers set upon me are at least Lv.3, and a few are even Lv.4, yet it was clear they were acting on your orders. If so, it’s quite likely that your strength surpasses these individuals."

"Having the command over Lv.3 and Lv.4 strong players implies a high probability that you are a first-tier adventurer of Lv.5 or higher."

"In Frey, the number of clans capable of fielding a first-tier adventurer along with so many second-tier adventurers is minimal, countable on one hand."

"Further, among these few clans, the only one bold enough to brazenly attack members of the Loki Clan is one."

"Thinking it through, doesn’t the answer become obvious?"

Reiger coolly explained.

"Who else but your Freyja Clan could do such a thing?"

The reason for guessing Allen’s identity was even simpler.

"Among the first-tier adventurers in the Freyja Clan, whose mouth is as foul as yours but yours, ’Beauty God’s Chariot’?"

This was deduced based on knowledge of the original story.

After all, Reiger had never seen Allen nor heard any rumor about him.

But Allen did not know this.

The analysis by Reiger that reached his ears could only make him think that perhaps some rumors about him had reached Reiger, leading him to guess his identity.

In fact, rumors of Allen being foul-mouthed were indeed common.

Anyone familiar with both the Loki Clan and the Freyja Clan would know that in each clan, there resides one fiercely foul-mouthed and intimidating first-tier adventurer.

Affiliated with the Loki Clan was the Lv.5 ’Fierce Wolf’—Bert Roka.

In the Freyja Clan, it was the Lv.6 ’Beauty God’s Chariot’—Allen Bolomo.

Both were renowned for their foul mouths and, being first-tier adventurers specializing in ’Agility,’ were often compared by some gods and adventurers.

This caused Bert and Allen to mutually dislike each other and have a very bad relationship privately.

Of course, this is irrelevant right now.

Now, Allen was simply seething with anger for having his identity revealed and for Reiger indirectly calling him foul-mouthed.

"You really dare to say these things to my face," Allen stated with a murderous aura overflowing, "You’re just a mere Lv.4, do you really think you can oppose me?"

With those words, Allen disappeared.

He blended completely into the darkness, his speed so fast that it was like a real chariot charging forward, carrying with it a rushing vigor, and in the blink of an eye, he had swooped in front of Reiger.

In his hand, a splendid long spear which he had grabbed at some unknown point sliced through the air and stabbed toward Reiger like lightning.

"————"

At that moment, time seemed to stop.

Even Reiger, now at his current level, couldn’t react to the Lv.6’s extreme speed strike known as the "Urban Fleetest."

Dodge? Impossible!

Counterattack? Impossible!

Parry? Impossible!

Impossible... impossible... impossible... All conceivable methods were impossible!

Thus, feeling the impending danger, Reiger made a reckless move without thinking.

That was, rather than retreating, he advanced.

"Puchi!"

Accompanied by the sound of flesh tearing, the long spear pierced through Reiger’s shoulder and protruded from his back.

"What?"

This scene left Allen in shock.

Clearly, he had never expected Reiger to take such an action.

If Reiger hadn’t moved forward, Allen had only intended to nick his shoulder, causing a mere flesh wound.

Instead, Reiger moved forward voluntarily and offered his whole shoulder, which was brutally penetrated by the sharp long spear.

With blood bursting forth, Allen’s pupils shrank, losing his response for a moment.

And in that moment, a storm swept through.

"Awaken, Tempest."

A dark voice, as if coming from deep underground, clearly emerged in the alleyway.

Ignoring his pierced shoulder, Reiger woke the "wind" blessing and gathered all the wind power on his blade, slashing down at the suddenly pale Allen.

"Tsk...!"

Allan’s expression changed again and again, and finally, he gasped in shock, without thinking, he unleashed Ola Lai’s fastest speed, trying to retreat explosively.

However, Reiger’s empty hand tightly grasped the spear piercing his shoulder, leaving no room for Allen to retreat.

"Puchi!"

The sound of the cutting strike resonated once more.

In the burst of bloodlight, the Nekomimi youth abandoned his spear and finally managed to avoid the wind-empowered extreme speed slash that would have decapitated him right there.

But Allen was a step too slow; a massive gash was directly opened on his front, spattering blood across the alley.

"You son of a...!"

Allen, covering his wound, furiously glared at Reiger.

"Hmm..."

Reiger pulled the spear out from his shoulder, tossed it aside, and met Allen’s angry gaze.

With copious amounts of blood flowing from his shoulder, Reiger ignored it and looked up at Allen with a pale face.

"So what if you’re just a Lv.4?" Reiger sneered, "You, a Lv.6, aren’t all that great either, are you?"

"You damn fool!" Enraged beyond reason, Allen’s murderous aura exploded, becoming many times more intense than before.

The Urban Fleetest adventurer was truly angered now.

Facing such an Allen, Reiger remained calm, still collected, the only change being the ice-cold chill like Absolute Zero emerging in his eyes.

That chill, like a cold bucket of water, not only extinguished the flames of rage in Allen’s heart but also made him feel the cold.

Instinct told Allen that if he really got serious and charged again, this time, Reiger would definitely risk his life to chop off his head.

Even if the opponent was a Lv.6 first-tier adventurer, if Reiger abandoned defense recklessly, disregarding his own life, the chance of his sword landing on Allen’s head would definitely not be less than 70%.

Realizing this, Allen’s face twisted.

"Damn madman!"

Allen cursed out loud.

He didn’t want to trade lives with Reiger in such a trivial mission.

"I’ll remember you, Reiger Brillhaut."

Allen stood up, stared intensely at Reiger for a while as if trying to memorize his face thoroughly, and after a moment leapt onto a rooftop of a building and vanished.

Reiger quietly watched this unfold until the surroundings quieted down completely. Then, holding his shoulder, he couldn’t help but kneel on one knee on the ground.

"Crack..."

As the wind dissipated, a crack also appeared on Reiger’s sword.

Reiger glanced at the crack, then feeling the intense pain in his shoulder, he murmured after a while.

"Freyja... huh?"

With the image of the Beauty God flashing through his mind, Reiger silently began licking his wounds in a corner.

"I’ve noted this grudge."