Chapter 41


    Rare items like relics were priceless treasures that one couldnte by easily.


    After it received a strike from the adamantite spear, it had been left half-broken. It was obvious to everyone present that it would fall apartpletely if it were to be attacked once more.


    Stop him! Protect the relic!


    <i>I hide myself in the night.</i>


    Yi-han disappeared into the night afterpleting the chant, leaving the assants furious and frustrated.


    This annoying priest was ratherpetent and had protected the mage from their attacks just now.


    This one knows how to fight. He must be a battle priest assigned to protect the mage! Ill take him on!


    The assants leader darted towards the relic, seemingly under some weird misunderstanding. He didnt want any more mishaps happening under his watch.


    <i>Move!</i>


    While sprinting, Yi-han threw out the iron orb that he had received from Professor Bdy and cast on it.


    It was actually a taboo for fledgling mages to cast spells that they had just learned in an emergency.


    Unless they received former training, even experienced mages would fail at times under immense stress and pressure, to speak no less of beginners.


    It would be lucky if they simply failed. If the flow of their mana somehow got reversed, they ran the risk of injuring themselves.


    However, Professor Bdy hadnt told Yi-han about this.


    Its like a rite of passage for battle mages. Hes going to have to ovee it anyway. Whats there to warn him about?


    As a result, Yi-han was casting spells without realizing that he was gambling with his life on the line.


    Fortunately for him, the gamble paid out.


    Just as Professor Bdy had predicted, Yi-han was the type that disyed their talent in the face of danger.


    <b><i>Paat!</i></b>


    Under the influence of , the iron orb floated in the air.


    Normally, would only make the orb move very slowly, but backed by Yi-hans tremendous amount of mana, the orb began moving with unbelievable momentum.


    Go!


    The orb shot forth like an arrow, influenced by Yi-hans will.


    It was dark outside, and the iron orb had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Naturally, dealing with it wasnt an easy task.


    One of the assants that came after him was hit and fell to the ground.


    Careful!! He has hidden weapons!


    Proceed with caution! The enemy is used tobat!


    The assants drew their swords and became more alert.


    Meanwhile, Yi-han, who retrieved the iron orb, felt a searing pain in his head.


    He was still running, but his mind was preupied with controlling the iron orb, cing an enormous amount of strain on his body.


    FocusI must focus!


    Though Professor Bdy was crazy, there was some truth in what he said.


    Nothing helped more in growth than real-life experience, and Yi-han was feeling this firsthand.


    The rate at which he grew was much faster in battle aspared to when he trained inside the ssroom.


    His control over the iron orb got better and better the more he shot and retrieved it.


    !


    The taste of blood suddenly entered his mouth. Upon licking his lips, he realized his nose was bleeding.


    In terms of mana, he was fine.


    However, he was putting too much pressure on his mind.


    <b><i>Shiiing!</i></b>


    With a sh from a sword, the iron orb got split in half.


    The enemy leader had swung his sword with impable timing.


    Pay attention to his footprint! You can tell where he is based on his footprints!


    Tsk. And I was almost there as well.


    He was just a few meters away from the relic.


    It was almost within reach, but there were three assants blocking him from destroying the relic.


    I smell blood! Follow the smell of blood!


    This made Yi-han realize that he shouldnt drag things out any longer.


    Although he had practised a lot with his sword,pared to his opponents, he was definitelycking in experience.


    The only way out of this was to attack first while he held the advantage.


    He swung his sword, drawing blood.


    The assants were caught unaware, and one of them immediately copsed.


    Over there!


    <b><i>Chuaaaa!</i></b>


    The assants took out some shiny powder from their sleeves and scattered it in Yi-hans direction.


    Although it wasnt clear what the powder was, he knew it was something that would probably mess up his invisibility spell.


    And so, without hesitation, he rolled on the ground and avoided it.


    Bastard!


    Seeing that the luminescent powder had failed to reveal the enemys location, the assants cussed out loud. They were dealing with a pesky one.


    Calm yourselves. He wont be able to deal with us so easily if we remain on guard, the enemy leader said in a wary voice.


    Even with an invisibility spell activated, there were bound to be some sounds when the priest attacked.


    As long as they stayed alert with their ears perked, they should have no problem catching the sounds.


    Where is he?


    However, there was only silence in the surrounding.


    Even the smell of blood from before had vanished.


    <b><i>Stab!</i></b>


    ?!


    This son of a!


    An assant that approached the body of their fallenrade copsed after being stabbed.


    It finally dawned upon their leader that Yi-han had tricked their sense of smell by hiding next to the wounded assant after pretending that he had fled somewhere.


    Despite the situation they were in, the leader was honestly impressed.


    Forget the magic, the priest knew how to fight, and he had a real knack for it as well.


    Without the right aptitude, it was impossible to reach such heights, regardless of how much one trained.


    Move!


    !


    Hearing Yi-han chant from above, an assant quickly ducked.


    Hes faking it, idiot! the leader shouted sharply.


    Unfortunately, he was a step toote. Hisst subordinate crumbled to the ground. However, instead of bing angry, he raised his sword with an ambiguous smile on his face.


    I havent fought someone like you in a long time. Im Garakse.


    Yi-han didnt reply. Expecting as much, the leader nodded.


    If Yi-han had been the type to slip up and reply, he wouldnt have been able to fight against them for so long in the first ce.


    You must think youre invisible to us because of that spell of yours.


    <b><i>ng!</i></b>


    But Im starting to see you now.


    The leader didnt seem to be bluffing. Yi-han was surprised by the rtively urate sh that was thrown at him.


    You might be able to trick our sense of smell, but you cant stop breathing, now, can you?


    !


    Was he being tracked based on the sound of his breathing?


    It was an absurd notion.


    Granted, exceptional swordsmen were said to be capable of things beyond the limits of regr humans. But even then


    Garakse shed again and again, putting pressure on Yi-han.


    His swordsmanship resembled the Scatter Style. Every sh was immediately followed by another, limiting the space that Yi-han could manoeuvre to.


    Yi-han tried to go against it using the Blue Cliff Style, but Garakse was a better swordsman than him.


    Things got worse the more he exchanged blows with Garakse. If not for the invisibility spell, he wouldve been forced into a corner by now.


    More than anything, Yi-han was hit by quite a bit of force every time they shed.


    Is this the technique of swordsmen that Arlong often brought up?


    Experienced swordsmen didnt rely on their strength alone to swing their swords. They would pour mana into them as well.


    By doing so, each of their strikes would be imbued with unbelievable power.


    That was precisely what was happening, and with each sh, a portion of the force behind Garakses strike would travel up Yi-hans sword, numbing him.


    Even if its a bit forced, I must retaliate in kind!


    Having made up his mind, Yi-han gathered his mana.


    After learning about magic, he had gotten much better at gathering his mana and moving it around.


    He channelled the mana that he gathered into his sword, much like when he was casting a spell.


    <b><i>Kwang!</i></b>


    !?


    Garakse immediately sensed that something was different about his opponents strike, which came as a great surprise to him.


    What the-?


    In all honesty, Yi-han was a decent swordsman.


    As someone that had defeated countless swordsmen in the past, Garakse wouldnt give such a high evaluation to an average joe.


    It wasnt just about Yi-hans skill with the sword. He also thought highly of the way in which the young boy conducted himself.


    Oftentimes, hede across rash individuals that took pride in their swordsmanship, charging at enemies without knowing the opponents strength and facing immediate defeat.


    Yi-han was different. He quickly noticed that Garakse was strong and went on the defensive.


    This wasnt an easy thing to do. In a battlefield where lives were being exchanged, it was difficult to hold back ones impulse and fight defensively knowing that one might lose their life without aplishing anything.


    Yet Yi-han didnt hesitate to do so, something which impressed Garakse.


    Having said that, Yi-han wascking in strength.


    Although his proficiency with the sword wasnt half-bad, he couldnt hold a candle against swordsmen like Garakse who could freely manipte and inject mana into their swords.


    The Blue Cliff Style that Yi-han trained in was originally meant for heavy swordsmen, so he shouldve been able to overpower Garakse who practised the Scatter Style.


    The fact that he couldnt meant that he had no chance of winning at all.


    However, out of nowhere, his blows suddenly became heavier, and he was even overwhelming Garakse in terms of power!


    Whats happening? Was he hiding his strength? But why would he do that? What purpose would it serve?


    Garakse, who had been fighting leisurely until now, panicked for the first time.


    He couldnt think of a valid reason for a swordsman to pretend like they couldnt wield mana.


    Garakse had been assured of his victory, but it no longer seemed as certain.


    Is this how its supposed to be done?


    Yi-han, who was pouring crazy amounts of mana into his sword, wasnt feeling all that confident.


    Swordsmanship wasnt just about swinging a sword. It was also about being prepared against counter-attacks. After all, the enemies wouldnt be standing still, waiting to be cut down.


    However, Yi-han had thrown everything else out the window, concentrating only on offensee. He couldnt do anything elseplicated while his attention was focused on pouring mana into his sword<i>.</i>


    <i>Is this really </i>how its done!?


    His question was reasonable. What he was doing right now couldnt be considered normal.


    Sword imbuement wasnt a one-way process where the swordsmen poured in a crap load of mana. It was a technique where swordsmen had mana circte between themselves and their swords.


    In other words, mana would travel from their bodies to their swords, and then from their swords to their bodies,pleting the loop.


    Even that required a lot of stamina and ced a great burden on the swordsmens bodies.


    Pouring in mana without circting it? That was suicidal. It wouldnt be weird if the swordsman copsed while coughing blood.


    If Yi-han had been visible, Garakse wouldve immediately noticed that something was off and realized the absurdity of the situation.


    However, there was an invisibility spell cast on him, so Garakse was left utterly confused as to what was happening.


    No matter how much he wracked his brain, he just couldnt figure it out!


    If Garakse had kept his cool, he wouldve still had a chance of winning, but he got pushed back by the flurry of attacks that came while his thoughts were in a muddle.


    <b><i>Crack!</i></b>


    ?


    Just as Yi-han gained the upper hand, he heard an ominous sound.


    For a second, he thought he had heard wrong, but he was soon hit by reality.


    Shit!


    The sword in his hand couldnt withstand his mana and was beginning to break.


    What kind of lousy sword is this!?


    In reality, the swords used by the assants were all regarded as high-end products within the Empire.


    Yi-han, who had no way of knowing this, shamelesslyined about the swords quality without taking into ount the absurd amount of mana that he had poured into it.


    I must end this before it breaks!


    He was barely holding on as is. If he channelled less mana into the sword, he would fall back into a disadvantage. Rather than that, it was better to risk it all and finish the fight.


    Having made up his mind, Yi-han began pouring crazy amounts of mana into his sword.


    In response, Garakse pulled out a different sword with clenched teeth. It was an amethyst sword and had the property of mana absorption.


    He was ashamed to pull it out in a swordfight, but it was still better than losing.


    Ill suppress you here and now!


    That was when he heard the sound of something shattering.


    His opponents sword, which had remained invisible until now, finally came into view. It was a sword made of mana that burned wildly like fire, scattering sparks nearby.


    It wasnt aura, and it wasnt magic either. Either way, the strange attack came hurling toward him.


    <b><i>KWAAAAAANG!!!</i></b>


    The amethyst swords mana-absorption property was renderedpletely useless as the attack struck Garakse like an endless wave.