The iron stage of the grand bazaar erupted in a blinding flash of golden luminescence.The three elite Tier 4 Holy Warriors moved with the practiced, lethal synchronization of a high-tier hunting pack.
The two outermost knights thrust their enchanted iron spears in a tight, overlapping pincer movement designed to pin Kaelen’s hips, while the scarred leader brought his massive, broad-bladed greatsword down in a vertical arc meant to split Kaelen’s skull in two.
The dense, high-frequency Holy Mana coating their weapons hissed through the air, casting sharp, brilliant shadows across the thousands of frozen, watching faces in the market.Kaelen didn’t move until the glowing tip of the central spear was less than three inches from his chest.Swif.His physical evasion did not rely on a loud explosion of magical aura.
Instead, Kaelen utilized the Sand-Strand Footwork—an ancient, legendary survival technique perfected by the elite mercenary scouts of the Aethelgard deserts.
With a microscopic shift of his weight from his heel to his bare toes, his upper torso fluidly blurred inward, slipping precisely through the narrow, one-inch gap separating the two thrusting spear shafts.The heavy, linear holy strikes cut through empty air, the sheer momentum of the knights carrying them forward into their own blind spots.
“What—?! He vanished?!” the left spearman gasped, his eyes widening beneath his silver visor as his heavy weapon struck nothing but a fading mirage of dark cloth.Before the knight could retract his arms, Kaelen’s figure re-materialized directly within his inner guard.
Kaelen’s expression remained entirely flat, filled with that terrifying, unbothered calm aligned with Sargon’s supreme authority.
His heavily bandaged right arm blurred.CLANG.The heavy, pommel-strike of his sheathed scimitar slammed brutally into the weak hinge-joint of the knight’s silver shoulder plate.
The raw, physical kinetic force bypassed the holy mana barrier completely, shattering the steel locking-pins and dislocating the man’s arm from its socket with a sickening pop.”Argh!” the spearman bellowed, his weapon clattering uselessly against the iron floorboards as he stumbled backward, clutching his ruined shoulder.”Die, slave!” the right spearman roared, twisting his body mid-stride to sweep the haft of his iron spear toward Kaelen’s neck like a iron bat.Kaelen didn’t draw his blade.
He simply slid his left foot backward, dropping his center of gravity beneath the sweeping trajectory of the shaft.
As the spear whistled harmlessly over his messy dark hair, Kaelen drove his palm upward, striking the underside of the knight’s chin guard.
The brutal force of the impact snapped the man’s head back violently, rattling his brain against the interior of his silver helmet and sending him crashing unconscious to the floorboards.
Two elite, high-tier enforcers had been systematically dismantled in less than four seconds through pure, unrefined physical mastery.”You lower-realm insect!” the scarred leader screamed in a mixture of deep humiliation and rage.Realizing his men were being out-classed without the stranger even drawing his sword, the leader unleashed the full capacity of his Tier 4 mana core.
A massive, blinding aura of golden holy energy exploded from his silver plate armor, cracking the iron stage beneath his boots.
He swung his massive greatsword in a wide, horizontal crescent sweep, intentionally targeting a twenty-foot radius to ensure Kaelen could not slip away using his footwork.SHING.For the first time since entering the lawless outpost, Kaelen drew his scimitar.The curved, dark-steel blade did not radiate a flashy, blinding energy beam.
It was completely silent, yet the moment the steel left its sheath, the ambient light of the bazaar seemed to slide across its edge.
Kaelen executed three lightning-fast physical deflections in the span of a single heartbeat.SPARK!
SPARK!
CRACK!He didn’t try to block the massive greatsword head-on.
Instead, the curved edge of his scimitar precisely tapped the flat side of the knight’s broad blade three times in rapid succession, using the enemy’s own colossal kinetic momentum to deflect the golden holy crescent upward into the sky, where it exploded harmlessly against the high iron scaffolding of the ziggurat.
The leader’s chest was left wide open, his arms dragged upward by his own deflected sword.Kaelen stepped forward, his heavy leather boot planting firmly on the stage floor right between the leader’s feet.
With a cold, fluid movement, he spun his scimitar in his palm, bringing the blunt spine of the dark-steel blade down hard across the leader’s silver chest plate.BOOM.The physical force tore through the golden mana barrier like paper.
The silver armor plate dented inward under the impact, sending the scarred leader flying backward off the iron stage.
His heavy body crashed violently through a row of wooden merchant counters, burying him beneath a mountain of shattered crates and scattered crystals.The entire grand bazaar of The Rust-Mark fell into a dead, absolute silence.Thousands of hardened independent adventurers, bounty hunters, and black-market smugglers stood completely paralyzed, their jaws dropped in a state of pure, psychological shock.
These three silver knights were the elite enforcers of the outpost council—warriors who had executed high-tier criminals across multiple sectors.
Yet now, they were lying unconscious and broken in the dirt, completely defeated by a lone, cloaked traveler who hadn’t even unleashed a single magical spell or flashy energy beam.
It was a masterclass display of pure, raw physical veteran combat skill.
Kaelen didn’t glance at the groaning men.
He calmly sheathed his scimitar with a clean, metallic click.He walked to the center of the stage, his hand sliding out from his dark cloak to pick up the crystal case containing the pitch-black flower.
The Eclipse Lotus was completely safe, its cool, soothing purple mist swirling gently behind the glass.The surrounding crowd of adventurers frantically, violently parted as Kaelen stepped off the iron stage.
They practically threw themselves into the shadows of the rusted buildings, trembling with an instinctual terror as the lone warrior passed them.
They didn’t know his name, they didn’t know his lineage, but Kaelen had just earned the absolute, unyielding respect of the entire lawless outpost.Twenty minutes later, Kaelen stepped back onto the main deck of the Al-Me’raj, the obsidian ship still floating silently in the radar shadow of the trench.He walked through the quiet, luxurious dark interior of the captain’s quarters, stopping exactly two paces away from the low stone dais where Sargon sat in deep meditation.
Kaelen dropped to one knee, holding the crystal case up with both hands in a gesture of absolute, deep reverence.
“My Lord,” Kaelen spoke, his voice carrying the calm, steady weight of a respected first mate.
“The outpost enforcers have been neutralized without drawing cosmic attention. The catalyst has been secured.”Sargon slowly opened his pitch-black void eyes, the miniature spinning galaxies within his pupils analyzing the pristine purple mist of the flower.
He reached out his pale hand, taking the crystal case from Kaelen’s grip.
For the first time, a trace of recognition drifted across Sargon’s expressionless face as he looked at his bleeding, bandaged warrior.”You have done well, Kaelen,” Sargon said softly, his quiet voice echoing through the stone pillars.
“The vessel’s shadow is safe because of your blade.”Sargon opened the case, and with a slight mental twitch of his [Ruler of Authority], he forced the cosmic herb to dissolve into a stream of pure, liquid violet essence that sank directly into his skin, rapidly clearing the remaining efficiency penalties of his unsealed gate.
The ship let out a low, content hum as its core stabilized completely, ready to sail once more into the deepest corners of the star ocean.
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