CHAPTER 276: AWAKENING

The Dragon Knights moved first. The two Dragon Knights wielded their swords with perfect harmony, proving their past as Knight Commanders.

Ethan’s eyes instantly followed the movement of those swords.

The swordsmanship of the two Dragon Knights was different, but their movements complemented each other’s weaknesses and amplified their strengths.

Like rain seeping into clouds flowing by.

Swish-!

It was a swordsmanship like a heavy, massive, yet ceaseless downpour.

Crack-! Crack-!

With each swing of the sword, the air-ripping sound burst forth.

The power could be fully conveyed just by the sound.

They were attacks lacking neither speed nor power, but Ethan was lightly deflecting those attacks.

On top of that, he took a step forward while breaking through the attack.

“Eternal Frost.”

Shaa-ak-.

Every time Ethan blocked an attack, intense cold spread from the Frost Sword.

As Eternal Frost enveloped Ethan like armor and wrapped around the blade, the Dragon Knights were inevitably exposed to the cold and suffered considerable damage with each sword swing.

“Damn it!”

The cold that spread like paint with each blocked attack gradually spread to the surroundings, eventually filling the entire room.

Crackle-.

The Thunder Sword cried out.

The Dragon Knights, who had exchanged dozens of strikes in an instant, stepped back to catch their breath.

But Ethan had no intention of giving them time to breathe.

Ethan Swordsmanship 3rd Form

Ten Thousand Thunder Frost Strike

Crackle-!

Lightning spread through the cold air around them.

At the same time, Ethan swung down both swords.

The Dragon Knights hurriedly responded as Ethan, who had been purely defensive until now, suddenly switched to offense.

They tried to block Ethan’s swords by crossing their own swords.

“Kuuugh-!”

But it wasn’t a good choice.

Counter Radiance.

Hang Woo’s enormous strength and the power of Immortal Hero’s Breathing spreading throughout his body strongly pressured the Dragon Knights.

The Dragon Knights could not possibly handle Ethan’s momentarily enhanced strength.

“Kuk-!”

Nevertheless, they tried to block Ethan’s attack with minimal damage using their rich experience and instincts built up over time.

“Damn it.”

Their bodies held, but their swords did not.

Crack-. Crack-crack-crack-!

Cracks started to form on the swords that could be called masterpieces.

“Wh-what kind of strength…!”

It didn’t end with the swords cracking. The waists of the Dragon Knights trying to somehow block Ethan’s two swords began to bend.

These were people who had rarely been overpowered before. Yet Ethan alone was pressuring the swords of both of them.

Shaa-ak-.

Strong cold flowed into the Dragon Knights through the connected swords.

Crackle-!

And then, even more powerful lightning than before pierced through them.

“Cough!”

Both Dragon Knights coughed up blood simultaneously. They managed to withstand the shock somehow, but in the end, their swords shattered.

Crack-!

As the swords shattered, the Dragon Knights lost their balance and stumbled.

Ethan didn’t miss that opening.

He thrust his sword into the solar plexus of one Dragon Knight.

“Kuk!”

As if he couldn’t believe he would die here at Ethan’s hands, the Dragon Knight looked at Ethan with an incredulous expression.

“Why such a disbelieving face? Weren’t you the ones who framed Lord Hecate and hunted him down? Did you think you became a high-ranking person just because you were close to one?”

Ethan pulled out his sword.

The Dragon Knight fell forward, his knees hitting the ground. Then he looked up at Ethan with fearful eyes, his body trembling.

“Don’t worry. Your high and mighty master will follow soon. You’re the escort, so you should go ahead, right? That’s how you can escort him.”

Ethan then looked at the other Dragon Knight gasping for breath beside him. He was pointing his broken sword at Ethan, but it didn’t look threatening at all.

“How… How could you have such skill… This is impossible. This… This is impossible!”

The Dragon Knight’s mind was full of information about Ethan.

Ethan was said to be so sickly that he was on the brink of death until recently.

That such an Ethan Whiskers possessed this level of skill. He couldn’t understand it, and he didn’t want to understand it.

Ethan shrugged his shoulders, looking at the screaming Dragon Knight.

“You didn’t know because I was strong from the beginning.”

An obsession with life.

Because he was weak, he desired to become stronger more than anyone else.

If he hadn’t had such a sickly body, he might have been less obsessed with power than he is now.

‘I could have been a bit more relaxed.’

But Ethan was in a state where he would die if he didn’t become stronger.

Paradoxically, he could become this strong because he was sickly.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he was grateful to Extinction. Although his survival probability had increased quite a bit and he had become stronger after awakening, it didn’t mean he was safe.

Grr-!

At Ethan’s words, the Dragon Knight grabbed his broken sword with both hands and pulled it in front of his chest.

Then he raised the sword and gathered strength as if praying.

Shaa-ak-!

“So you’re going to burn your life force.”

Bright red steam erupted from the Dragon Knight’s body.

“Your power is strong enough to devour the marquis.”

Now he had no choice but to acknowledge that power.

The thought occurred to him that this Marquis Dren family, which was responsible for one axis of the Twelve Families, might fall to this one Ethan Whiskers.

That had to be prevented.

“I have no choice but to stop you even if I have to burn my life.”

He no longer thought about winning or losing. What was important was to stop Ethan here for even a minute or a second.

The marquis is in the safe room anyway. He needed to buy even a little time to prevent Ethan from finishing this counterattack today.

If that happens, this counterattack will return as a considerable loss to Ethan Whiskers.

If Marquis Dren survives, an all-out war is impossible from Ethan Whiskers’ position.

“Now that we know your level, the marquis won’t let his guard down.”

The Dragon Knight raised his sword. The bright red steam condensed to become the new blade of the broken sword.

“That’s right. How could a person of marquis’ caliber make the same mistake twice? This mistake tonight will be a great lesson for the marquis, and the marquis will never make the same mistake again. But you know what?”

Ethan gripped his two swords tightly.

Shaa-ak-.

Even stronger frost and lightning spread around.

“There won’t be another chance.”

Thud-. Thud-.

At that moment, footsteps were heard from outside.

For a moment, the Dragon Knight’s eyes lit up. If it was his comrades coming in now, he could buy a little more time.

Even if he couldn’t defeat Ethan Whiskers, he could thwart the plan!

Thud-. Thud-.

The continued footsteps suddenly stopped.

“I’m a bit late.”

The hope that had momentarily settled in the Dragon Knight’s eyes disappeared.

The one who entered the room was Yerica.

There was quite a large wound on her shoulder, but even that was slowly healing.

She looked quite tired, but her expression was refreshed beyond measure.

“I’ll join in, Lord Ethan.”

Ethan looked at Yerica. Yerica was quietly and coldly angry.

“Well, looks like I don’t need to step in.”

She looked quite tired after dealing with one person, but it seemed best to leave this to Yerica. Having made that judgment, Ethan stepped back.

In that situation, the Dragon Knight looked for an opportunity.

If he could gain the upper hand against the seemingly tired Yerica and buy time, there might be a chance.

Separately, he couldn’t avoid death here today. But they could win the war tonight.

Having finished his calculations, the Dragon Knight stomped the ground hard and charged at Yerica.

The important thing in dealing with a magician was distance.

The Dragon Knight, who had stomped the ground hard, suddenly rushed in front of Yerica and swung his sword.

The blade made by burning life force flew towards Yerica’s arm.

Clang-!

“Do you know what Grandfather was most confident in? It’s fighting against those who wield swords. I saw the book Grandfather left behind, and he said there’s only one thing in their minds. Close the distance. Cut them down in one breath.”

Yerica smiled.

“The Dragon Knight I just dealt with moved exactly the same way. It was so fast that I had a bit of trouble.”

The Dragon Knight’s sword stopped right in front of Yerica’s magic.

The Dragon Knight tried to move somehow. His whole body was trembling and the tip of the sword was shaking, but he couldn’t push forward even 1 centimeter.

“I’ve seen it once, so there won’t be a second time.”

Yerica, who had lifted her restrictions and received perfect education under Regia, could now perfectly use the magic book in her mind left by Archmage Hecate.

In the midst of revenge.

Her magical talent had perfectly blossomed.

Although they weren’t at their best due to the fight with Ethan, the Dragon Knights were the elite of the elite.

Of course, while the Marquis Dren family’s strength was said to be inferior compared to other Twelve Families, that was within the Twelve Families; on a continental scale, their level was top-tier.

Yerica was overpowering the Dragon Knight at the pinnacle of that level, so Yerica’s current skill was incomparably higher than before.

As Yerica brought her hands together, a magic circle was drawn.

“Hellfire.”

Kwaa-ang-!

The flames of hell engulfed the Dragon Knight.

After dealing with the opponent, Yerica took a deep breath and spoke again.

“All the troops in the castle have woken up now. They’ll rush here soon, Lord Ethan.”

Speed was important in this operation.

They had dealt with the Dragon Knights and given a strong warning to the marquis family in many ways, so it wouldn’t be bad to be satisfied with this much and return.

But Ethan shook his head.

“We should finish it before we go.”

“Finish it? But I can’t break that magic circle right away. We’ve given them a proper blow and secured our justification, so we could pressure Marquis Dren later…”

“If we’re going to do it half-heartedly, we shouldn’t have started at all.”

It was quite amusing to see Yerica, who had been crouching her whole life for revenge, trying to dissuade him.

“I’ll help you. And you don’t seem to know your talent yet.”

Ethan said.

“You’re not your old self anymore, Yerica. Don’t limit yourself.”

“…”

Yerica’s eyes changed at the words that believed in her more than she believed in herself.

“Then.”

Yerica stood in front of the safe room. Numerous magic circles and artifacts were firmly rejecting external intrusion.

“Let’s give it a try, shall we?”

As Ethan said, Yerica didn’t actually know exactly how much her level had increased.

She could sense that she could use all the magic from the magic book her grandfather left in her mind, but she didn’t know how amazing that level actually was.

“Hoo.”

Yerica, who took a deep breath, opened her eyes wide. The numerous magics installed in the safe room instantly entered her mind.

Shape, pattern, flow.

Interwoven magic.

Flowing mana.

Stems.

Lines.

As Yerica raised her hand, the magic circle of the safe room reacted. The hexagram slowly started rotating to the right, and then the largest magic circle at the very front shattered.

Seeing this, Ethan clenched his fist.

‘She’s become the Yerica I knew.’

The granddaughter of Archmage Hecate. The pinnacle of magicians who can use any magic they’ve seen once.

It took quite some time, but it was a perfect investment success.

Shaa-ak-.

The magic circles connected like gears began to be dismantled one by one by Yerica’s hand.

‘My help won’t be needed.’

Yerica, absorbed in dismantling the magic, was the very image of an Archmage.

Click-.

After dismantling even the magic on the artifacts, Yerica slowly turned to look at Ethan.

“I did it.”

Her voice was calm, but her expression was not.

Yerica grinned and opened the door.

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