Chapter 128: Unstoppable Force (Part 1)

Chapter 128: Unstoppable Force (Part 1)



A member of the Wild Brotherhood, one of the heavily armed mercenaries, opened the church doors, his eyes wide as he stared at the Black Flame Adept who had been cleaved in half. His expression instantly froze in shock.

Having heard the unearthly roar from outside the church, he was sent by his boss to check on the situation.

And what he saw left him utterly speechless.

"Wh-What...?"

"Who...who are you?" he stammered, finally reacting and looking towards the center of the hall where Rain stood with his greatsword poised for a downward strike.

As the church doors opened, sunlight flooded into the hall, warming the shivering townsfolk inside. A glimmer of hope seemed to sprout within them.

The trapped residents turned towards the open doors, their eyes meeting the scene outside the church.

Despite the obstructed view caused by the heavily armed mercenary, they could vaguely make out the figures of the Night Watch and the Sheriff's men, along with a knight in battered plate armor wielding a greatsword, and a black-robed figure lying in a pool of blood.

"They're here! The Sheriff has come to save us!"

"Thank goodness! We're finally rescued!"

The crowd stirred with excitement.

Eyebrows furrowed in delight, he initially assumed the knight with the greatsword was Sheriff Hamilton.

But then he glanced at the two black-robed figures on the platform, and his joy was tinged with concern.

After all, the enemy's strength far surpassed Shangjin Town's defenses.

Sheriff Hamilton had already fought a black-robed figure, his chest plate shattered in the process, and here were two more.

Eyebrows mistakenly believed that Rain's shattered plate armor was from the recent battle.

Rain's mother, Emma, on the other hand, widened her eyes in shock.

As a mother, she instantly recognized the 'Greatsword Knight' as her son, Rain, despite the knight's helm concealing his face. The familiar set of knight's plate armor had been worn by Rain in the past few days as he frequently entered and exited the church.

Seeing Rain's battered chest plate, Emma felt both worried and delighted. Her concern stemmed from the possibility of Rain losing to the criminals, while her joy was simple—her son had come to rescue her, and how could she not be happy about that?

"May the Goddess bless us! I hope Rain can drive away these criminals!"

The two cavalrymen from the Crowley family, following Jenny's instructions, had collected the bloodied body of Sir Andrews and closely followed Rain. However, having not witnessed Rain's battle firsthand, they still had doubts about the young man's combat prowess.

But when they saw Rain dispatch the black-robed figure, clearly more powerful than a regular knight, with a single strike, they exchanged glances, both realizing the young man's exceptional strength.

They were only second-level knight attendants themselves.

As Jenny's carriage reached the edge of the church square, she witnessed Rain standing in the center, bathed in sunlight that glinted off his youthful and robust frame, accompanied by a faint golden glow and the aura of a victorious warrior, as if a divine being had descended from the statue of the Wind and Sea Goddess atop the church.

Jenny couldn't help but narrow her eyes, a look of infatuation spreading across her face, causing her legs to instinctively cross more tightly.

Naturally, Jenny compared the young and handsome Rain to her family's knight, Richards, who was nearly fifty years old and had inappropriate intentions towards her and her mother.

But she found the two to be completely incomparable.

"What are you two gawking at? Why aren't you helping Sir Rain collect his spoils of war?" Jenny asked, lifting the curtain of the carriage and addressing her family's cavalrymen with a hint of displeasure.

"Spoils of war?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The two cavalrymen, initially bewildered, quickly snapped out of their daze and jumped off their horses, making their way towards Rain.

"Sir Rain, we'll take care of your spoils of war for now," they said, each grabbing half of the black-robed figure's corpse and returning to their horses.

This unexpected move left the Night Watch, and even the Wild Brotherhood mercenary at the door, stunned.

"What kind of show is this?"

"Sir Rain even has a dedicated corpse disposal, no, spoils of war retrieval team?"

"What level of confidence is this?"

In an instant, Mateo and the Night Watch felt a surge of confidence.

However, the two cavalrymen turned to Jenny with a dilemma, "Miss Jenny, we can't fit them on our horses!"

Jenny glanced at the two cavalrymen, who looked like dazed geese, and sighed, "Can't you find a cargo cart or something?" she asked, exasperated.

Rain, meanwhile, peered through the open doors, quickly surveying the situation inside the hall.

At the same time, he realized that it was likely his roar that had alerted the enemies inside the church!

Although he had alarmed the snake in the grass, this also gave him the chance to assess the situation inside the church in advance.

The eerie ritual and the wisps of black smoke made Rain very wary!

Additionally, he noticed that the densely packed townspeople in the church hall wouldn't last much longer.

Rain could clearly see that those near the prayer stand had already fallen to the ground, their fates unknown.

As the black smoke, which seemed to have a life of its own, continued to spread, more and more townspeople began to collapse.

After carefully counting the number of enemies in the hall, Rain was suddenly taken aback.

"Two Black Flame Adepts and seven or eight Knight Cadets?"

This force is quite strong.

He hadn't expected that the Black Flame Church would send so many experts at once.

However, he suddenly recalled the peculiar sensation after his Grizzly Sword Technique had been upgraded.

It seemed that the Grizzly Sword Technique, having reached Level 6, had entered a new realm. To put it in simpler terms, it was as if he had moved from merely being familiar with sword Techniques to now being proficient, making the moves feel like second nature.

"In that case, it might not be impossible to fight."

While Rain was sizing up the enemy, the enemy was also observing the situation in the church Courtyard.

Especially the Black Robed Man leading the Ritual, who, upon seeing Otis lying in a pool of blood, couldn't help but feel a surge of agitation. His whole body trembled, and the massive black smoke, which resembled a giant octopus, also became somewhat unstable.

"What the hell is going on?" Metri roared in his heart.

"Metri, you focus on the ritual; I'll handle the situation outside!" The Black Robed Man, with his hands in his sleeves, slowly emerged from the corner, and said to the Black Flame Adept leading the Ritual.

"Yes, Your Excellency!" Metri, who was leading the ritual, respectfully replied.

Seeing the Black Robed Man called "Your Excellency" slowly walking towards the door, Metri felt a great relief!

"Hehe! No matter how you did it, meeting Your Excellency can Only Pray for Your Misfortune!"

"Soon, you'll get a taste of Your Excellency's Terror!"

The corners of Metri's Mouth couldn't help But Curl up, Revealing A Smile of Anticipation.

At this moment, Rain had already rushed to the church hall's entrance, with several Deputies following closely behind. The Night Watch had already taken up their bows, aiming at the door.

The seven fully armed Men who had been in the hall had quickly come to the rescue, forming two rows, and blocking the entrance of the church hall tightly.

Rain scanned these few with a glance, and the Perception Ability, which had been further Enhanced after Advancing to 'Apprentice Wizard', Told Him That, Apart From Two Reaching the Level of Formal Knights, The Rest Were All At The Level ofKnight Cadets!

Due to the urgency of Resuing, Rain quickly Decided on a Rapid Tactical Approach!

Just as the few Men Were Pulling Out Their Intricate Crossbows, Aiming at Rain.

Suddenly, a Roar Erupted!

Following That, a Silver Sword Light Ascended from the Church Entrance!

As The Sword Light Slashed, The Eight Men Were Instantly Taken Out, With The First Four!

But That Wasn't Over, Rain Took A Step Forward, and With a Upward Slash of His Greatsword, It Slid Through the Armpit of an Armored Man, Severing an Armored Arm in Mid-air.

Immediately After, Rain Delivered a Downward Slash, Cutting the Man Diagonally from Shoulder to Hip, in A Diagonal Line!

At This Point, The Other Three Men Finally Recovered from Rain's Roar, But The Scene Before Them Was Already Horrifying.

Within Two Seconds, Five Of Their Companions Were Already Dead!

How the Hell Do We Fight!

As The Sword Light FlFlRain Delivered a Fury Slash, Instantly Killing the Last Knight Cadet!

At This Moment, The Only Ones Still Standing Were The Two Severely Wounded Formal Knights.

Just as Rain Was About to Finish Them Off, Suddenly, a Rapid Black Wave Appeared Before His Eyes.

The Level 3 'Danger Sense' Went Off a Wild Alarm, So Rain Instinctly Raised His Greatsword in Front of Him.

"Clang!"

Instantly, He Felt A Burning Hot Black Gas Stream Carrying Colossal Force, Knocking Him Flying Backward.

Due to Having Blocked The Attack in Advance, Rain Noticed in Mid-Air That The Colossal Force Hadn't Caused Much Damage.

On the Contrary, The Burning Hot Black Gas Was Quite Strange!

Rain Could Only Feel A Burning Sensation on His Exposed Skin, and Upon Closer Inspection, He Found Thin Threads of Black Flames Wrapping Around His Body, Like A Parasitic Wound.

At This Moment, These Threads of Black Flames Were Attempting to Penet Through His Skin, Attcking His Body Internally, Even With The Extraordinary Trait 'Iron Skin Level 2', He Found It Extremely Difficult to Resist!

"Boom!"

Rain Crashed to the Ground Heavily!

At The Same Time, Rain Heard Groans of Pain Around Him!

It Turned Out That The Attack Had Also Knocked Back the Few Deputies Who Had Followed Him, Alongside Him, All The Way In. Since They Had No Time to React, They Had More Deep Wounds Than Rain, Exposed Bones in Some Places.

Moreover, These Deputies Were Merely Ordinary People, and Once The Black Flames Had Wrapped Around Them, They Could No Longer Resist, Screaming as They Turned Into Human-Shaped Black Fireballs, Quickly Burning Down to Ash.

This was a situation where even Rayen was unable to come to the rescue.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he was helpless!

Rayen narrowed his eyes, and only then did he see clearly that the attacker was the Black Flame Adept who had been standing in the corner of the church hall with his hands in his sleeves.

At this moment, he held an extremely rare two-meter-long great scythe-like weapon, with a nearly one-meter-long handle and a narrow, curved blade that was also nearly a meter long.

The attack he had just unleashed was similar to Rayen's roar, a wide-range attack.

With the opponent as the origin point, a shockwave accompanied by Black Flame erupted in all directions, and the 360-degree swing of the giant scythe added to the onslaught.

Anyone within his attack range would be struck.

Rayen had not encountered this move from the previous Black Flame Adepts.

It seemed that the opponent's level was likely higher than those Black Flame Adepts he had encountered before.

Perhaps, this person was the leader of the Black Flame Church's operation!

"Clatter!"

Rayen's Knight Helm, already damaged, shattered under the might of the Black Flame, revealing Rayen's youthful and handsome face!

Even the Giant Scythe Adept was stunned by this revelation.

He hadn't expected Rayen to be so young.

The townspeople in the church hall, seeing the Greatsword Knight being knocked back, enveloped in Black Flame, and then falling heavily to the ground, felt their hearts leap to their throats.

But when they saw the Greatsword Knight rise again, seemingly unharmed, they were thrilled.

However, when they saw the true face of the 'Greatsword Knight' after his helm shattered, many of them were left dumbfounded.

Especially George, Rayen's friend, who raised his hand in disbelief, pointing at Rayen and exclaiming, "Isn't that Rayen?"

"Did my best friend become a knight?"

Another servant looked and immediately shook his head in denial, "Rayen? You're crazy, George! It just looks like him!"

No way, Rayen had been training as a servant with them just a month ago!

Are you saying that this person, who fought bandits as if they were chickens, is Rayen?

Among those stunned was also the bushy-browed man.

When he saw this familiar face, he felt like he knew the Greatsword Knight.

His mind raced, and suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.

Bushy-browed man exclaimed, "Damn! It's Rayen!"

He tried to superimpose the image of the slender figure from his memory onto the 'Greatsword Knight' before him, but it just wouldn't match up.

He examined the knight's eyebrows carefully and muttered to himself, "No! It can't possibly be Rayen!"

"But he looks so much like Rayen."

"Could it be Rayen's older brother?"

"But I don't recall Rayen having such a formidable older brother."

"I'll have to find out more about this later. If Rayen has such an incredible brother, I should go to their house and apologize."

In an instant, Bushey-browed man had many thoughts.

Mrs. Emma, Rayen's mother, had known that the Greatsword Knight was Rayen all along, but she was afraid that her son would be distracted during the battle.

Additionally, she had just witnessed her son calmly taking down the bandits, and her heart skipped a beat.

She had never seen this cold and ruthless side of Rayen.

Moreover, seeing Rayen killing with such ease, his face expressionless, it was clear that this wasn't his first time taking a life.

This realization made Mrs. Emma feel a mix of emotions about her son.

Jenny, in the carriage, felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Rayen being knocked back by the Black-Robed man wielding the giant scythe, as if caught in a black tornado.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Rayen rise again.

However, a look of concern appeared in her eyes for the first time.

She could tell that the Black-Robed man with the giant scythe seemed incredibly powerful.

Even if Rayen won, it wouldn't be easy.

As for Rayen being defeated?

Sorry, that was not an option in Jenny's mind.

The precarious situation set Jenny's mind racing.

When she noticed the blue-helmeted pigeon in the birdcage by her feet, her eyes lit up, and she immediately took out a small piece of paper and a quill pen from the carriage to write a message.

"Mother: Shangjin Town is under attack by heretics. Please contact the County City for support! Jenny!"

"Flap! Flap! Flap!" The pigeon, with a blue helmet-like crest, flew out of the carriage window like a bolt of lightning and soared into the sky.

---

On the western side of Shangjin Town, on the road leading to the Night Song Forest, a cavalryman dressed in Night Watch attire was riding hard, cracking his whip and galloping towards the forest.

He had been sent by Night Watch Captain Mateo to request reinforcements from Sheriff Hamilton, who had left Shangjin Town an hour ago.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a sharp arrow struck the warhorse he was riding.

As the horse neighed and stumbled, the Night Watch messenger was thrown from its back.

The attackers were cunning, ensuring no mishaps by shooting the horses instead of the riders.

"Whoosh!"

Another arrow flew from the nearby thicket, aimed at the messenger who had just been thrown into the air.

"Pfft!" The arrow pierced the messenger's body, and with a cry of agony, he fell to the ground, struggling to get up.

But as he lifted his head, he saw two mercenaries emerge from the thicket, their faces filled with malicious intent.

"Trying to send a message? Haha!"

"Go back to the embrace of the Goddess!"

North of Shangjin Town.

On the road to the Habsburg Manor, a similar scene unfolded.

The night watch messenger was ambushed, preventing the delivery of the distress signal.

---

Shangjin Town.

In the Church Courtyard.

"A pretty good Extraordinary Trait, some kind of defensive enhancement?" The Black Flame Adept spoke slowly, his voice calm, exuding an indescribable elegance as if he were a noble.

However, Rayen didn't answer his question but seized the opportunity to turn to Mateo and say, "Mateo, you and your team go from both sides to rescue the people first!"

Mateo leading a dozen night watchmen to break the windows on both sides of the church, attacking the Black Flame Adept conducting the ritual from multiple angles.

Although their arrows were easily blocked by the Adept's protective Black Flame, the Adept couldn't move, making him an easy target.

This allowed for the rescue of the civilians.

Aside from those already unconscious due to the black mist, most of the people scrambled through the windows to escape.

This frustrated the Adept conducting the ritual, making him both angry and anxious.

The blood sacrifice ritual was almost complete, and although many had escaped, it would only result in a lower-quality sacrifice, which was still acceptable. But if he abandoned the ritual now, it would be a complete failure.

"Almost there!"

"Once I'm free, all of you will pay for this!"

"I'm surprised that the Apostle is being held back by the opponent!"

Through the broken church windows, Mateo immediately spotted Rayen's mother, Emma, which startled him. "This is no joke! Rayen is fighting a powerful opponent, and although we can't help much, we can't let Rayen's mother get hurt!" These were Mateo's thoughts upon seeing Emma.

The next moment, Mateo seized the opportunity to dash into the hall, shielding Emma as they quickly escaped.

At this moment, the black-robed Apostle, annoyed by Rayen's disregard, swiftly propelled himself towards Rayen with a kick.

Rayen instantly activated 'Limit Break', boosting his strength, agility, and constitution by 35%. With a leap slash, he countered the black-robed Apostle's attack.

The Apostle swiftly blocked Rayen's attack with his giant scythe.

The black-robed man swiftly blocked the attack with his gigantic scythe.

"Clang!"

A shrill sound of metal clashing filled the air.

The black-robed man's strength was extraordinary, as he firmly withstood Rayen's leap slash even with the momentum of his running start.

Rayen's brows furrowed, and he abandoned the idea of using his ultimate move directly.

After all, if he exhausted his power surge and still couldn't defeat the opponent, he would be left vulnerable, like meat on a chopping block, with no chance of survival.

Therefore, Rayen had to find the black-robed man's weakness before unleashing his ultimate move.

"Clang clang clang!"

The Level 6 Grizzly Sword Technique proved to be immensely helpful to Rayen.

Although the black-robed man's strength and agility surpassed Rayen's, the difference wasn't significant. The black-robed man's agility was slightly superior, while his strength was two levels higher.

Rayen skillfully parried, countered, and struck back, making the fight quite intense.

As the black-robed man noticed the chaotic escape of civilians and his struggle against Rayen, he raised his gigantic scythe, preparing to unleash a 360-degree black flame shockwave similar to the one he used earlier.

Previously, Rayen had been focused on defeating the knight cadets and didn't pay attention.

But this time, with his full concentration, Rayen quickly noticed a slight pause in the black-robed man's attack transitions.

"Swish!"

Rayen's sword sliced through the black-robed man's dark robe, cutting into his abdomen.

Suddenly, an incredibly strong resistance was felt in Rayen's hands, as if he were cutting through ten layers of thick, oil-soaked leather with his Radiant Greatsword.

The black-robed man's face, partially hidden under his hood, revealed a hint of a smile. He then swung his gigantic scythe towards Rayen, and a black flame whirlwind erupted in a 360-degree arc, engulfing the surroundings!

"Clang!" Rayen was knocked back several meters but quickly rolled, minimizing the impact.

However, black flames wrapped around Rayen once more, inflicting the pain of scorching heat.

If not for his 'Iron Skin Level 2', these attacks would have taken a significant toll on Rayen. Indeed, layered armor was the key to survival.

As Rayen's blade tore through the black robe, the Apostle's body, previously concealed, was revealed.

It was a bizarre sight—a pale, wrinkled mass of skin.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end