Solordo was gleefully staring at the six people in front. He was wondering if he could spar with them by utilizing his fullest power.
'That stupid dragon lord didn't say anything to me after I finished my short seclusion.'
He was still unsure how far his strength had progressed, and relying on the information provided by the system wasn't something he could quantify.
A system prompt alerted him, forcing his attention onto his system panel.
[ You have received a message from Jinmu Lin. ]
'A message? Since when did this function appear?'
The last time he remembered, the system could only show them their relative position on the map.
He analyzed further and saw that a 'Messages' tab appeared on top with a count of '1' on the right side. Solordo quickly adjusted the system panel, aligning his sight upon the six brothers to prevent them from noticing something amiss.
He ignored the system's introduction of the Messages tab and went on to read Jinmu's message.
[ Jinmu Lin: Hey, muscle guy, let's team up and hold these people off for as long as we could. ]
[ Additional Note: You can reply by thinking your message in your head. The system will automatically do the rest. ]
The system, knowing that Jinmu ignored it, passed on a shorter note and reminded itself to be as brief as possible when interacting with him.
'Ah, there's such a convenient messaging function?', Solordo was taken aback.
This could prove a handful of times when they were put in similar situations to what they were currently on. They could secretly brew plans without the enemy ever noticing.
[ Solordo Luchador: But why should I team up with you? I feel like you're going to slow me down instead. ]
Jinmu controlled his anger after receiving Solordo's reply.
[ Jinmu Lin: Just do as what I say. I'm only going to support you in the back, you will be the one doing the hard work. ]
[ Solordo Luchador: Fine, don't go blocking my way later! ]
[ Jinmu Lin: Olivia will distract them for a bit. At that time, fling them high into the sky. I will trap them briefly and the rest will follow. ]
Solordo blinked his eyes several times in the process of closing his system panel. When Olivia and the six brothers argued, he gathered his chivalric will on his feet and propelled to the back of Scarface and the rest.
The latter reacted, but it was too late.
"Tail of the Flame Dragon!"
His halberd was covered in flames and carried incredible strength, knocking the six brothers high into the air.
They coughed out blood due to the sudden intense strike and screamed soon after realizing that their backs were being scorched by the leftover flames. Scypher and Carruva had it worse due to their fragile physique, almost breaking their backs into two.
Jinmu calculated their trajectory, invoking water sphere traps right where they were being flung out. It quickly swallowed them like a raging wave in the ocean.
Once inside, the pressurizing water that endlessly rotated around messed with their ability to move and sense things.
The water almost boiled because of the flames, emitting sizzling sounds that worsened the burn in their skins.
'What-?!', Scarface was dumbfounded.
When were these traps set up? How come he didn't see anyone conjuring magic circles or setting up paryus scrolls?
As they struggled inside the traps, Olivia and the rest entered the mansion. They thanked Jinmu and proceeded inside.
"Big brother Jinmu, please be safe!", Emi said before waving goodbye.
"Sister Haera, change of plans. Please carry on with my fellow brothers and sisters. Solordo and I shall take care of everything here!", Jinmu told her.
Haera nodded and followed.
"Solordo, punch them away!", Jinmu shouted while sliding towards the mansion's entrance. His underwhelming water sphere trap won't be able to hold them much longer.
Solordo jumped to Bulfrang who was at the rightmost side, empowering his right hand with the strength of the flame dragon before sending a punch. The air whistled, generating a small shockwave as his hand passed through.
Jinmu retracted the water sphere trap timely, lessening the water barrier's influence in reducing the impact of Solordo's hit.
Bulfrang, who was still confused about what was happening, suddenly felt a painful sensation on his right chest. The next thing he knew, all six of them were horizontally stacked on one another, smashing into the stone wall on the far side.
The impact shook the ground, shaking off the snow that laid peacefully on the tree nearby.
The six brothers scurried away from their humiliating and unpleasant situation.
"Fuck, get off of me!", Scarface was livid. How dare these brats retaliated and injured him?
Before they could recover, Solordo dashed again, heading towards Scypher who was still dizzy after taking a hit.
'Damn, that Jinmu is surely increasing my speed with his wind magic! How convenient!', he was elated.
Even though his speed was already quite high, he would have to accelerate from zero to nothing, which would take some time. Also, his skill at using both his magic and chivalric will at the same time regressed especially now that their power had been boosted.
However, with Jinmu's assistance, he was able to attain his top speed faster than ever before. If Eluard were here, he would be astounded at Jinmu's understanding of wind resistance.
Jinmu was simply pushing the air out of Solordo's way. After battling with demon beasts and running around now and then, he realized that the air could drastically affect one's speed the faster they were going.
Brickman saw Solordo's figure, blocking him from reaching Scypher by catching Solordo's fist with his own.
Solordo was surprised that this bald man could defend against him.
"Carruva, trigger it!", Scarface shouted.
Ropes burst out on the ground where Solordo stood, grabbing all of his limbs and locking him in place.
"Don't try to fight back, brat! It's futile! These ropes are made of tough frostal-enhanced fibers!"
Brickman sneered, narrowing his eyes and assimilating his body with the glacial scorpion's blood, his imprinted beast.
He extended his right hand which had now resembled that of a glacial scorpion's tail. Frostal venom oozed out of its opening, striking Solordo's unguarded abdomen.
The latter's eyes widened, causing the four brothers to grin with delight.
"Serves your right, brat! Who told you to fuck with us, the six cold-blooded brothers!", Scarface licked off the saliva that trickled down his scarred mouth.
On the other hand, Llurrello understood Solordo's intentions. Seeing that Brickman and the rest were now in control of him, he fled toward Jinmu with a crazed expression.
'An apprentice mage dares to show himself and support a knight at the higher blade? What wishful thinking!'
"Brat, surrender now and I will kill you mercifully!"
He took out his chipped swords and brandished them in the air.
"Your friend is already within our mercy. If you don't want him to suffer more, act sensibly and kneel!"
Jinmu remained calm, "Are you talking about him?"
Hmm?
Llurrello was taken aback, 'How could this brat remain calm despite how dangerous his situation has become!'
Before he could ponder for long, a figure crashed into the other wall he was facing. He heard shouts of panic coming from behind him as well.
"Impossible! How can you survive the strong numbing frostal poison of the frostal scorpion?!", Scarface's expression was ghastly.
He and the other four stepped back from Solordo, whose upper body had transformed, now covered by crimson dragon scales and surrounded by wild flames. It heated his body and burned the poison flowing inside and the ropes that were binding him.
"Well, the blood of a divine dragon flows inside me, you know.", he replied.
"Flame dragon imprint? Shit!", Scarface cursed. Going against a knight whose imprint was arguably one of the most formidable existences in Aludia was seeking death on their part.
Solordo grinned and dashed again, "Tail of the Flame Dragon!"
The searing heat stressed the four brothers.
'How come this brat can attack over and over again!'
Solordo's tail strike was devastating, and Scarface guessed it came at a high cost, but looking at the young man who continuously unleashed one assault after another, he was at a loss for what to do.
He dodged Solordo's attack, but Scypher and the rest weren't as lucky as him.
'His imprinted beast is savage! This brat's fighting style is brutal and tough! Only Brickman could spar against him!'
Solordo grabbed Scypher and pummeled his face onto the wall and completely took down that section. The bowman was so helpless that he was knocked out immediately with blood pouring out of his disheveled face.
Seeing his monstrous strength once again, Scarface reconsidered.
'No, not even Brickman can come out unscathed against him! This is a dragon imprint we are talking about!'
[ Author's Note: In the world of Aludia, the terms knights, warriors, and chivalric cultivators are interchangeable. ]
He knew that having a higher realm didn't always provide him an advantage. When determining who would win in combat between knights, additional factors such as the rarity and type of beast imprinted were considered.
"Hey, why are you running! Come and fight me, infamous cold-blooded brother!", Solordo gestured.
"You think your strength can keep up with my speed?!", Scarface decided to go all out. He was hesitating since his imprint beast was the white flash hunting fox, an extremely agile magical beast. It got its name due to people only seeing a flash of white light whenever it encountered danger or when it wanted to leave.
'My beast imprint may be weaker against yours in terms of strength, but don't you dare forget why we were infamous in the first place!'
Solordo thrust his halberd into Scarface but the latter moved to the sides. He then thrust his saber into Solordo's face.
The latter enveloped his right side with crimson dragon scales, protecting his bare skin from being scratched by Scarface's saber.
With a dark face, Scarface cursed once again.
'Tsk, what a pestering defense!'
He jumped aside, noticing Llurrello staring at him blankly.
"What the fuck are you staring at! Kill that brat!"
Llurrello was jolted awake and bolted in the direction of Jinmu. He was so astounded by the development that he almost forgot to deal with the youngster who was staring at him calmly.
"Die, brat!"
His body spiraled mid-air, holding both of his chipped swords reversed. He didn't see the smile appearing on Jinmu's calm face who was muttering something inaudible.
Llurrello passed over Jinmu. He thought it was blood when he heard the sound of fluid splashing around.
"Hahaha! The smell of blood always-!"
He looked at both his chipped swords and found no blood but water instead.
"What? How come-!"
When a small water droplet fell from his sword to the smooth wooden floor, his entire surroundings changed.
The mansion was gone, and so did Solordo and the rest of his brothers. What became of it was an endless horizon of tranquil water and clear blue sky.
Llurrello gulped, wondering what happened.
'Is this... an illusion?! But how? He's just an apprentice mage! I felt it!'
A cold voice echoed all around him.
"Welcome to my Myriad Water Mirror Formation."
Visit freewe𝑏nov(e)l.𝗰𝐨𝐦 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience