The knight launched forward like a cannonball as sonic boom cracked the air, his golden aura flaring violently as the enchanted runes etched into his armor glowed in sync with his mana.
His sword came down in a gleaming arc, aimed squarely at Kai's head.
CLANG!
Kai blocked it by simply raising one hand, his palm glowing with a golden flame like energy. Chi wrapped around his forearm acting like a shield.
Sparks flew from where the attack connected. The force of the blow shattered a section of stone beneath Kai's boots, but he didn't budge.
The knight's eyes widened. "What!?"
"Too slow," Kai muttered.
In the next instant, Kai pivoted, and with a fluid movement, struck the knight in the ribs with a flick of his wrist.
The knight was disoriented due to the blow and before he could regain his balance, Kai stepped in and drove a palm into his chest.
BOOM.
The knight flew backward like a ragdoll, skidding across the courtyard and smashing into the wall of the guardhouse, as dust erupted from the impact.
Groaning, he rose to his feet, and coughed. "You… you're a Grandmaster."
"You're not bad yourself," Kai said dryly, rolling his neck. "But you will need more experience if you want to take me down."
The knight's face twisted with fury. "Who are you? Why are you doing this!?"
Kai didn't answer, he just waited for the knight's move.
The knight hesitated, recognizing now that this wasn't someone he can fight on his own.
But he decided to stall for time for reinforcements to arrive. He then vanished from sight, blinking forward with his movement technique.
And the moment he reappeared behind Kai with his sword raised.
Kai spun around, with Chi flaring from his arms.
BAM!
His elbow met the side of the knight's face with a sickening crunch, cracking his helmet clean in half.
The knight flew backward again, slamming into a pillar which promptly collapsed.
The knight got up and swung blindly with his sword, only to find air.
…
A few moments ago.
The remaining guards, hearing the knight's earlier shout, had rushed toward the dungeon entrance in confusion and urgency.
"We need to secure the dungeon!"
The moment they neared the gate, one of them suddenly collapsed, his helmet spinning off his head. Another screamed as an invisible force slammed him into a wall.
"What the hell is going on!?" one of the knights shouted, slashing wildly at empty air.
The bots moved while being cloaked. They waited for just the right opening, and stuck to incapacitate the guards.
Even as the guards tried to band together, the bots moved like predators, their formations shattered as confusion overtook them and they started to fall like dominos.
From across the battlefield, the knight battling Kai gritted his teeth, hearing the sounds of his men screaming and the thuds of bodies falling.
He could not see the enemy, but he sensed them from the subtle shift of wind due to their movement and shifting of dirt under their boots. 'Invisible enemies…Maybe they are using invisibility scrolls but who the heck has this kind of resources.'
But he can't do anything for them as his musing was interrupted as a punch came towards his now exposed face from Kai.
He blocked the punch with his forearms as he turned toward Kai, desperation leaking into his voice. "Do you think you can get away with what you are doing?!"
"You've already lost," Kai said as he parried another wild swing. "It's not your fault, though. You were never meant to stop this."
He ducked under the next attack and delivered a punch straight into the knight's abdomen.
The knight gasped, blood sprayed from his mouth.
Kai grabbed his collar and hoisted him up.
"You lot think you're invincible," Kai said calmly. "But out there, beyond your little hierarchy and politics… there are people who don't play by your rules." His words were not directed towards the knight but were for the nobles and the church.
He then hurled the knight into the broken guardhouse.
Crash.
A shockwave erupted as splinters of wood flew everywhere.
The knight didn't get back up, clearly knocked out.
…
On the rooftop of a building overlooking the dungeon, Tristan crouched in silence, his dark cloak allowing him to blend in with the shadows, his gaze narrowed as he watched the fight between the knight and the unknown man unfold.
The masked attacker stood motionless in the middle of the wreckage, golden flame-like aura still flickering faintly around him. With not even a scratch on him after fighting with a knight at 9th Circle.
Around the perimeter, guards continued to drop one by one as they were attacked by some invisible enemy.
Tristan's eyes tightened behind his mask.
Whoever these people were… they weren't amateurs. This was a well planned maneuver.
And most concerning of all… he does not know which party was causing this.
He stood up quietly, then slipped backward into the alley behind the building and darted into the shadows. He needed to relay everything he saw here to his master.
As he left, what he didn't notice was that another party was also paying attention to the fight that was happening in front of the dungeon from the top of another building some distance away from him.
Perched silently on the sloped edge of a red-tiled rooftop, the woman who was in Count Bahram's study just a few hours ago gazed down with narrowed eyes. Her clothing was entirely matte black, not even the moonlight reflected off it. Her face was hidden beneath a veil, but her intense gaze betrayed growing irritation.
Her mission had been simple; assassinate Arthur the moment he was escorted out for interrogation so she was waiting for that. But that plan had failed the moment the guards were overwhelmed and the masked warrior emerged victorious.
Her sharp mind processed the situation quickly.
She reached into a pouch and pulled out a small communicator, and spoke slowly into it. "The dungeon is compromised, someone has infiltrated it. We will retreat and watch from a distance."
With that, she stepped back into the shadows and vanished from the rooftop.
…
At one of the run down buildings that Alistair was using as a temporary base, Tristan arrived and knocked on the gate with a pattern.
The old wooden door creaked open, revealing one of his fellow teammates, a tall man with a scar running from his chin to his collarbone. He stepped aside, allowing Tristan in with a nod.
Inside, Alistair stood by a table, still poring over a map of the dungeon's interior.
Tristan removed his hood. "Master. I've returned."
Alistair didn't look up. "Report."
Tristan hesitated for a second and said. "I am not sure who the other party is. There was a masked man who was fighting a knight at the 9th Circle... and he's winning."
Alistair raised a brow, finally looking up.
Tristan continued. "He's possibly a Master martial artist or…could even be a Grandmaster."
Alistair's expression darkened.
Tristan said. "There were also the invisible enemies who were attacking the guards. Whoever they were, the guards didn't even see them coming."
Hearing all this Alistair frowned and came to a conclusion that they must be creating distraction for another group to infiltrate the dungeon. But he was confused, if someone wanted to kill Arthur why would they take so much trouble, they could just wait for him to come out and assassinate him until or unless it was a rescue mission.
Alistair rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So they're not trying to kill Arthur."
Tristan nodded. "It looks more like a coordinated extraction."
Alistair turned away from the map and muttered to himself. "Whoever's behind this is resourceful, and extremely dangerous."
…
Inside Blackstone Dungeon - Level Four
The thick silence of the fourth level was broken by low sound footsteps as the bots finally reached their target, the cell where Arthur was locked.
They stood before Arthur's cell, a cluster of them forming a half-circle around the entrance. The prisoner in the opposite cell blinked rapidly in surprise and confusion.
One of the figures raised its arm, and with a soft hiss, an energy blade sprang to life as it slashed at the bars of Arthur's cell.
Zzzzt!
The blade hit the enchanted bars of his cell and bounced off with a sputter, leaving nothing but a faint scorch mark behind.
Arthur, still seated on the edge of his bed, chuckled under his breath. "So, it can withstand the improved plasma sword. That's a first."
The bot, seeing the plasma sword not working, put it aside and tapped at the console that lit up on its wrist. A spherical orb embedded in its arm detached from it and floated up to the bars.
It was an orb consisting of nanobot swarms specially coded and made to decompose tough materials.
Tiny, microscopic motes of particles latched onto the bars and began to cut through them slowly. The enchanted bars glowed faintly with resistive runes, but it was futile.
Arthur stood up and stretched, watching patiently as the process unfolded. Even with the best tech, it still took over a minute to chew through the enchanted metal. The bars were enchanted with magic to withstand blows from an Archmage or Grandmaster martial artist, that is the reason the nanobots took so much time to cut them.
Finally, with a hiss the last bar gave way and Arthur stepped out of his cell.
The bots parted ways, forming ranks on either side of him.
The prisoner opposite his cell looked at him with awe, he finally snapped out of his stupor and shouted seeing Arthur going away.
"Hey! Wait!... Take me with you!"
He gritted his teeth and said, "I'll be your subordinate for the rest of my life! I swear on my life! Just get me out of here!" the man begged, voice cracking.
But seeing when Arthur didn't turn back and kept walking away, he began cursing loudly, "You bastard! If I ever get out, I'll KILL YOU!"
Arthur turned towards a corner, his footsteps vanishing down the corridor with the bots flanking him.
The prisoner's screams echoed behind him now more desperate. "COME BACK, DAMN YOU! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!"
But Arthur never looked back.
***
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