Chapter 439: Invasion [5]
Caius let out a slow, controlled breath.
He refused to let Evangel’s words get under his skin.
Remaining calm was the key to winning this fight.
The moment he allowed frustration or fear to cloud his judgment, [Foresight] would no longer be enough to save him.
At the same time, there was one thing he found strangely reassuring.
This was the opponent who had come after him.
Had Evangel chosen to target anyone else in the clan, even one of the Chosen, Caius doubted they would have survived more than a few exchanges. The sole exception, of course, was the Chief.
An enemy who could erase his presence so completely while striking from impossible angles was the perfect assassin.
Against anyone without [Foresight], he would’ve been nearly unstoppable.
Fortunately, Evangel had appeared before him. That solved the first problem. The second was figuring out how to kill him.
Across the battlefield, Evangel clicked his tongue in annoyance. Caius’ composure clearly irritated him.
He had expected panic, desperation, or at the very least some sign that the goblin understood how hopeless his situation was.
Instead, Caius stood there with the calm, focused expression of someone analyzing a sparring partner rather than facing an opponent capable of killing him at any moment.
"Hmph."
Evangel wasn’t particularly bothered.
If Caius wasn’t panicking now...
He would be soon enough.
His attention shifted away from Caius and toward the orcs lingering behind him. Many of them had remained where they were after witnessing Caius effortlessly cut down their comrades, their advance slowing to an uncertain crawl.
Evangel frowned.
"What are you fools doing?"
His voice rang across the battlefield.
"Continue the assault."
The orcs immediately snapped out of their hesitation.
With Evangel’s command echoing in their ears, they turned away from the duel and resumed their assault on the settlement, smashing through nearby buildings as they searched for fleeing goblins.
Caius clicked his tongue.
Every instinct told him to intercept them before they could inflict any more damage.
But [Foresight] warned him the instant the thought crossed his mind.
If he took even a single step toward the orcs, he would die.
The warning was absolute.
His grip tightened around his sword, but he forced himself to stay where he was.
Without another word, Evangel vanished once again.
This time, there was no pause.
The attacks came in a relentless torrent.
One slash followed another with barely enough time to breathe between them, forcing Caius to abandon any thought of counterattacking as he focused entirely on survival.
His jaw clenched.
His golden eyes blazed.
Every warning from [Foresight] was answered by the precise movement of his blade.
CLANG!
Another strike.
CLANG!
Then another.
Steel rang through the battlefield in rapid succession as sparks burst into the air with each perfectly timed parry.
To anyone watching from a distance, It would have looked as though Caius had lost his mind.
He stood alone, swinging his sword at empty air while invisible impacts erupted around him, his blade intercepting attacks from an enemy no one else could see.
But Evangel was no ghost.
A thin cut opened across Caius’ cheek.
Warm blood traced a line down his face.
He didn’t even blink.
Pain was the last thing he could afford to acknowledge right now. Every ounce of his concentration had to remain on [Foresight]. The moment his focus wavered, even for a fraction of a second, Evangel’s blades would find something far more vital than his cheek.
"You’re insane."
Evangel’s amused voice drifted through the battlefield as another flurry of attacks descended upon him.
The strikes came from every conceivable angle, forcing Caius to turn, pivot, and parry in one continuous motion. His sword seemed to move on instinct, meeting invisible blades with uncanny precision.
Rather than slowing, His movements became cleaner. Sharper.
The longer the fight continued, the more efficiently he interpreted the warnings [Foresight] fed him, reducing every movement to only what was absolutely necessary.
Evangel noticed.
His grin widened.
"So you’re adapting."
There was genuine excitement in his voice.
"But..." His tone became almost playful. "...are you strong enough to handle this?"
The instant the words left his mouth, a circular pattern of mana flared to life beneath Caius’ feet.
His pupils contracted.
He instinctively tried to move, but it was too late.
An overwhelming force crashed down on him.
It wasn’t an impact.
It felt as though gravity itself had suddenly multiplied several times over, crushing every part of his body at once.
Caius’ knees buckled.
He fought to remain standing, every muscle in his body straining against the impossible weight.
A mouthful of blood escaped his lips.
The pressure only continued to increase.
His bones groaned.
The ground beneath his feet fractured first, then collapsed inward under the tremendous force, spiderweb cracks racing through the stone as his body was slowly forced downward.
Then [Foresight] showed him another future.
It was only a fleeting glimpse.
He saw his body still trapped beneath the crushing pressure as something descended from above. He never even saw the attack itself. His body simply splintered apart under the impact, torn to pieces before he had the chance to react.
He had to get out.
Immediately.
Without hesitation, Caius activated one of the few movement skills he had chosen to keep.
Unlike most mobility skills, this one offered no freedom once it was activated. It launched his body in a perfectly straight line at tremendous speed, and until the skill ended, changing direction was impossible.
That lack of control was precisely why he rarely relied on it.
In most battles, it created as many problems as it solved.
Here...it was exactly what he needed.
His body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
The burst of speed carried him beyond the edge of the gravity field before the crushing force could pin him completely in place.
The instant he escaped...
The attack from his vision arrived.
A deafening explosion erupted where he had been standing.
The force crashed into the center of the gravity field, pulverizing the earth beneath it. Stone disintegrated into dust, and a violent shockwave tore across the battlefield, gouging a massive crater where Caius had stood only a heartbeat earlier.
Had he hesitated for even a fraction of a second, there would’ve been nothing left of him. The moment his movement skill ended, the remaining momentum sent him tumbling across the ground.
He rolled several times before driving his sword into the earth, the blade carving a deep trench as it gradually bled off his speed until he finally came to a stop.
Slowly, Caius pushed himself back onto his feet, his breathing noticeably heavier than before.
But the instant he stood upright, his body finally gave out.
Tiny streams of blood burst from dozens of places at once as the strain he’d forced it through finally caught up to him.