Chapter 89: Without Sword
They had utilized a powerful subterranean earth spell to detonate the road intending to casually slaughter the survivors of the crash.
Standing at the front of the mercenary formation was a towering hulking brute of a man wielding a massive glowing warhammer. The leader possessed a thick ragged beard and a face heavily scarred by years of brutal warfare.
He radiated a dense suffocating magical pressure indicating he was a seasoned Tier Four Master.
"Well look what crawled out of the wreckage boys," the hulking leader sneered loudly his rough voice echoing across the silent highway.
He rested his glowing warhammer over his shoulder and spat a wad of dark chewing tobacco onto the dirt.
"I was expecting to find the Silver Goddess begging for her life in the mud. Instead I get a ragged little attendant holding a rusted hunk of scrap metal. Did the Vanguard run out of real knights?"
The surrounding mercenaries burst into harsh mocking laughter raising their runic crossbows and taking careful aim at Leon’s heavily muscled chest.
Leon did not frown or display a single ounce of fear. He casually rolled his broad shoulders and utilized his Vanguard Foundation Breathing to draw vast amounts of kinetic mana directly into his limbs.
His dark magnetic eyes locked onto the arrogant leader projecting a heavy crushing Intimidation Aura that caused the laughter of the lesser grunts to rapidly die out.
The crystal bell chimed beautifully in his skull projecting a glowing pink text box right amidst the swirling dust of the explosion.
[Quest Issued: The Warlord’s Display]
[Obj: A filthy mercenary brute has insulted your status and threatened your woman. Crush his pathetic illusion of power and assert your absolute martial supremacy.]
[Reward: +20 Mana, Skill ’Kinetic Shockwave (Grandmaster)’, 400 Shameless Points.]
Leon read the quest and smiled.
He stabbed the point of his star iron greatsword directly into the dirt leaving his colossal weapon behind and cracking his bare knuckles.
"I do not need a sword to deal with common trash," Leon stated smoothly projecting his resonant voice over the wind.
The arrogant leader turned a highly unflattering shade of purple at the blatant disrespect. He roared in pure murderous fury and channeled a massive surge of fiery red aura directly into his heavy warhammer.
"Fire at will! Turn him into a pincushion!" the leader bellowed charging forward with terrifying kinetic speed.
A dozen glowing runic crossbow bolts sliced through the air aimed directly at Leon’s vital organs.
Leon activated his monstrous Agility and his Aura Step.
He folded the physical space around him blurring into motion so fast he left a localized vacuum in his wake.
He seamlessly wove through the deadly barrage of magical bolts letting the projectiles sail harmlessly into the trees behind him.
He materialized directly in the center of the mercenary formation bypassing their defensive line entirely. He unleashed a highly concentrated pulse of his Kinetic Shockwave stomping his leather boot into the earth.
The localized earthquake violently ruptured the ground launching the lesser mercenaries into the air like discarded ragdolls. They crashed heavily into the barricade their bones shattering under the immense kinetic pressure.
The hulking leader skidded to a halt his eyes widening in pure shock as his entire squad was instantly decimated by a man possessing absolutely zero readable aura.
"You filthy freak!" the leader screamed charging back toward Leon and swinging his blazing warhammer in a devastating overhead arc designed to crush a fortress gate.
Leon did not attempt to dodge. He firmly anchored his boots into the dirt and raised his right hand.
He heavily layered his Kinetic Armor over his skin pushing his massive one hundred and ninety five points of Strength to their absolute maximum limit.
He caught the heavy flat side of the glowing warhammer directly in his bare palm.
The monumental collision generated a deafening shockwave that blew the surrounding dust away in a massive circular ring.
The searing fire magic hissed violently against his invisible kinetic shield but it failed to leave a single scorch mark on his flesh. The heavy enchanted weapon stopped dead in its tracks trapped effortlessly in the iron grip of the magicless servant.
The mercenary leader stood completely paralyzed his jaw practically unhinged in profound terror. He tried to yank his warhammer away but the weapon refused to budge a single millimeter.
Leon smoothly twisted his wrist utilizing his monstrous physical power to effortlessly rip the heavy hammer out of the brute’s hands.
He tossed the glowing weapon casually aside and stepped inside the man’s guard. He reached up and firmly grabbed the mercenary by the armored throat violently forcing the hulking man down onto his knees in the dirt.
"Your magic is incredibly pathetic compared to my physical strength," Leon whispered chillingly leaning his handsome face close to the trembling killer.
He casually flicked his left hand delivering a precisely measured kinetic palm strike directly to the man’s temple instantly knocking the terrified leader completely unconscious.
[Quest Completed Successfully!]
[Your equilibrium remains flawlessly balanced and highly lethal.]
[Distributing Rewards: +20 Mana, Skill ’Kinetic Shockwave (Grandmaster)’ Acquired, 400 Shameless Points.]
A dense explosive surge of refreshing cool energy flooded his expanded core elevating his Mana to a highly respectable one hundred and fifteen points.
Seraphina slowly climbed out of the ruined carriage her violet eyes wide with sheer unadulterated awe.
She had just witnessed her rugged attendant barehandedly dismantle a heavily armed Syndicate squad and a Tier Four Master without sustaining a single scratch. Her Lie Detector aura wildly flared with an intense blinding mixture of deep romantic reverence and a fiercely aggressive possessive desire.
Before Seraphina could walk over and praise his monumental victory Leon’s newly acquired Vibration Sense screamed a frantic agonizing warning directly into his brain.
He whipped his head toward the high rocky ridge overlooking the highway. Standing near the edge of the cliff shrouded in a dense swirling mist of pure dark magical energy was a mysterious figure wrapped in tattered grey robes.
The sheer suffocating gravitational pressure radiating from the silent observer was astronomical dwarfing the aura of the previous Syndicate leader and signaling the terrifying arrival of a truely dangerous threat on their journey.