The next few seconds felt even longer for Arthur as he found himself pushed against the corner with the enemies surrounding him from every angle. He looked left and right, searching for a loophole or a way to at least create some space for himself. But there was truly no spot that felt safe enough to move to.
He didn’t even know if taking a step forward would kill him or not. What made the situation even worse was the broken ships surrounding him. Even if he could find a way out of this predicament, navigating this terrain at high speeds was an extremely hard task.
It was far too uneven and unstable for a run, let alone a full-on battle. So, Arthur found himself in front of one single choice… Fight in his exact spot.
‘Easier said than done… I have no more than a few square meters of space to-‘
Before his trail of thought even reached an end, Arthur realized that a kick was flying toward his face. He didn’t even blink; he was still staring around, and yet somehow, he couldn’t even trace one of the enemies suddenly appearing in front of him.
‘SHIT!!!’
*BANG*
“AGHH!” Putting his arms forward desperately, Arthur took the full momentum of the kick, slamming him violently against the wooden wall. He felt his bones shake and his muscles twist from that one kick.
But, the human didn’t stop there as in the next split second, he launched down a rain of attacks like a flash of light on Arthur.
The boy didn’t even have time to breathe before he felt his entire body shake under the brutal assault. Quickly, he channeled his mana into his armor at full force. The armor shone brightly as it deflected a huge number of these attacks.
But, that didn’t completely protect Arthur from all of them. In a matter of two seconds, he sustained several brutal hits to his torso that threatened to break his bones.
Arthur closed his eyes as he struggled to push the enemy back. His arms weren’t fast enough to break that momentum.
Each hit was very painful and frustrating, and it only built up from there. Arthur found himself desperately searching for a moment to escape. It didn’t take long
“E… NOUGH!!!!!”
[Ding!]
[You have activated Soul Fear!]
A sudden burst of energy exploded from Arthur’s body in the form of an aura attack. The skill ‘Soul Fear’ immediately turned the area around Arthur completely cold. The attacker felt his entire body freeze as he stopped the assault.
The sudden burst of soul fear took him by surprise. Arthur saw that and quickly moved to take advantage of the element of surprise. With his sword in his hand, he drove it forward, aiming for the man’s heart.
‘I got you!!!’
Unfortunately for him, the moment the sword made contact with the man’s skin, piercing through the skin, he suddenly moved, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
“AAAAUGH!!!” The man howled from afar as if he was crying from pain. Some of his blood was left on the tip of the Elemental Oblivion.
‘Dammit! I didn’t get him fast enough! He moves too fast!’ Arthur clicked his tongue. Looking up, he realized that the men had suddenly shifted their movement again as if they were alerted by what had happened.
‘You didn’t expect me to be able to fight back, huh, bastards? Now you’re all in shamb-‘
“…!”
“AAAAAAAAAGHHH!!!!”
The cries of pain and confusion suddenly shifted into ones of anger and rage, and the moment that happened, it was as if the entire atmosphere shifted. The aggression in the air increased several notches, and the hostile auras became even more violent and blood-seeking.
‘Did… screw up?’ Arthur paled at the sudden realization.
But he didn’t even have time to contemplate the disastrous mistake he just committed as in the next split second, all Arthur could see was… hell.
From every single angle, the men attacked him all at the same time. Not one or two, all of them. Then and there, the boy found himself under an assault he had never experienced before.
*BOOOM*
“AGH!!” Arthur’s vision twisted as he was sent flying several dozen feet away. He rolled on the ground and ended up on his back. Looking up, he immediately saw a leg about to stomp on his head. So, he quickly channeled his mana into his armor and arms and covered his head.
*BANG*
The hit buried his head into the dirt and mud. At the same time, the others rushed toward him and lunged on his body like rabid monsters.
‘Soul fear!’
Arthur immediately activated the skill again, pushing the men back several feet as he stood up and tried to make an escape. But he was instantly caught and kicked into the ground again.
Then, punches rained down on him from every angle. The boy didn’t know what to protect as the hits targeted every spot in his body.
‘I’m… gonna die!’ He clenched his teeth in frustration and pain. The feeling was turning into horrifying numbness rather quickly, and Arthur couldn’t stop it at all. He was instantly overpowered, and it didn’t require much effort.
These humans were shockingly more powerful than him. Their agility precisely was something of nightmares. He had never experienced something like this before in his life. The way they moved defied all his understanding of speed and human anatomy. It even defied the laws of physics!
Then and there, Arthur understood that his end was spelled the moment he saw those men. They were monsters in disguise.
At that moment, as Arthur was awaiting his death, something unexpected happened. Arthur suddenly started hearing a ringing sound in his head that brought him back to reality in a split second.
‘W-What….’ He mused. ‘This sound… It’s familiar…’
This was not the first time he experienced that exact feeling, and he immediately knew the answer to that question. The Divine Shard… was reacting. The boy didn’t know why that was happening, nor did he have the time or the mental strength to contemplate it. Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire
Instead, with sheer will and instinct, he quickly opened his menu and summoned the shard out. He wished for any possible glimpse of hope in this horrible situation he was in. At that point, anything would be a huge help.
The shard manifested into the world and dropped next to Arthur. It was pulsating violently and sending waves of pure energy into the air around it. The moment it touched the ground, all of the attacks suddenly stopped.
It happened abruptly, and it almost confused Arthur. ‘Huh…?’ He slowly pulled his arms away to look out.
Much to his surprise, he saw all the men standing around him, all looking at the shard as if it was the only thing that existed in the world. That was the very first time the boy could have a clear look at their appearance.
They were all haggard men, wearing old and dirty clothes that barely covered most of their bodies. They had long hair and unkept beards. But, the most striking detail was by far their eyes.
It was the first time Arthur saw them, and he was… shocked beyond words.
All these men… were blind.
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!