Chapter 448 449-The Feeling of Death
The first probe.
After a quick assessment, Howard initiated his action.
Mana unreservedly enhanced his physical attributes, allowing his body's capabilities to maintain at ten times that of an ordinary person's limit under unrestricted output.
This meant that, at this moment, Howard's arm strength would reach a ton, a force no ordinary person could withstand.
Moreover, Howard activated "Hyper-Sense," one of the few abilities he had mastered in this world.
This skill could slow down the surrounding time, aiding him in controlling this surging power.
With his enhanced physical and neural responses, plus the slowed perception of time from Hyper-Sense, as long as his mana did not deplete, Howard was confident he could cut through thousands of enemies.
But his opponent was no ordinary man.
In almost every aspect, Ankurei firmly held the advantage.
Knowledge reserves, combat experience, mana artifacts.
Apart from the slowed time in Howard's view, he had no fulcrum for counterattack.
Yet, he still advanced.
He did not draw his right-hand blade but instead dragged his left-hand sword, body leaning forward, legs forcefully stamping the ground to maintain a fragile balance, speed at its maximum from the start.
Like a gust of wind, Howard bridged the distance between them in a blur, then, like a striking venomous snake, he abruptly rose.
The momentum of the charge concentrated in that instant on the left-hand sword, hands clasped tightly, slashing down.
Without reservation, this strike was Howard's full force.
Mana vibrated at the tip of the blade, forming the first edge, while the physical blade, concealed behind it, was meant to penetrate the shield broken by the mana edge.
At the moment of collision, there was no exaggerated sound or light effect, only a faint noise.
Ssshh—
A silver-white light illuminated Howard's entire field of vision, followed by a weak, dull pain and a rising sense of powerlessness, as if something was rapidly draining away.
This feeling was not unfamiliar to Howard, but it was certainly not something he enjoyed.
It was the sensation of life ebbing away, an experience Howard had endured more than once, each time heralding disaster.
"Did you think I wasn't attacking just to defend?" Ankurei's voice rang beside Howard's ear.
He continued to charge forward, missing Ankurei's side, hearing Ankurei's voice diminish as the greyish wooden floor enlarged in his view.
Howard fell to the ground like a broken doll, a wound over a foot long visible on his waist, his innards clearly visible, blood gushing out as if it cost him nothing.
Ankurei turned back, looking at Howard struggling to turn over on the ground, speaking with a cold sneer and mockery, "Such naivety. You haven't grasped the gap in our strength at all. I am of the Old Nobles! This title signifies supreme glory and power. The entire Silverwind Kingdom should be ours! And you, a mere Level 3 magus, dream of killing me?"
Howard remained silent, devoid of the strength to speak.
Ankurei's blade was precise and swift, far faster than he had anticipated.
The rapid loss of blood made him dizzy; he could barely hear what Ankurei was saying, let alone see Ankurei's face.
A blurry voice echoed in his ears.
"Does it hurt?"
Howard felt his consciousness sinking into an ocean, the water warm yet tinged with a lonely flavor.
That was death.
The voice of the river monster seemed to come from a distant surface of the water, severely distorted, carrying a hollow, booming buzz.
"I hate this feeling." Howard opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
In front of him, a soft point of light shone, like a speck of starlight or a distant candle, frail and possibly extinguishing at any moment.
"Then awaken, see the world clearly, see yourself."
The voice of the river monster was losing its modulation, like those poor-quality game voiceovers, slowly becoming emotionless and turning into a synthetic sound.
"See the world clearly?" Howard used the last bit of his strength to think, the words Dorek had just said suddenly echoing in his ears.
This world is far more mysterious than you can imagine.
Why did he appear here? Was it a boring gamble, or an endless cycle of rebirth?
Howard thought of his several "resurrections." Even here, that was a change defying common sense.
So, what exactly was he?
He slowly closed his eyes, his consciousness gently sinking into death, the starlight growing fainter, even the voice of the river monster disappearing, leaving only endless darkness.
"Base material core loses consciousness." "According to the 'Cross' regulation, reverse base material activation, the second secretary takes over Level 2 privileges."
Howard opened his eyes.
A mundane action that now seemed eerily peculiar.
Ankurei stepped back half a step, coldly observing Howard in the pool of blood.
He was certain that just two minutes ago, Howard had lost all signs of life.
His heart had stopped beating, his brain had ceased functioning, and even the spirit detecting spell had no response.
Although the soul's disappearance was somewhat rapid, it didn't hinder Ankurei's conclusion that Howard was dead.
But just as he was wondering why Dorek hadn't appeared, Howard opened his eyes.
Eyes opened despite the heart and brain having ceased their functions!
Was he being controlled by someone else? A hidden wandering spirit? Or perhaps some kind of puppetry spell? Did Dorek actually want this extraterrestrial's body?
In that instant, numerous thoughts flashed through Ankurei's mind, until Howard shakily stood up, drawing the sword on his right from his back.
With swords in both hands, Howard's horrific wound healed at an astonishing rate.
Ankurei grew uneasy, facing a situation he had never encountered before.
It was not uncommon for a dead person to stand up, but a corpse beginning to self-heal was far from ordinary!
Would he attack? Should Ankurei strike first?
Ankurei tightened his grip on the long sword, increasing the mana output to his body's protective shield.
Just as Howard had assessed, Ankurei's blue luminescent shield was indeed a protective barrier, but it was more than just that; it was also an aura.
As long as it existed, the concentration of mana around Ankurei would increase.
Although this wouldn't directly affect his mana flux, it could extend the duration of Ankurei's high-intensity output, effectively strengthening the shield's force.
Without the attack power of a Level 2 magus, breaking through this shield would be impossible.
With a long sword in one hand and a compass in the other, Ankurei slowly retreated.
The current state of Howard was still uncertain; it seemed better not to provoke him rashly, for who knows what secrets this extraterrestrial harbored.
His previous statements were no fabrication; Nula truly was a regional bishop of the Dolan Church State and indeed a Level 2 magus, or else he wouldn't have so readily surrendered.
Yet, Howard had managed to catch the attention of Nula's mentor.
Furthermore, Ankurei noticed that Dorek treated Howard with a degree of caution and wariness!
A behind-the-scenes power, at least a Level 2 magus and possibly even a Level 1 magus, actually harbored fear towards a Level 3 magus.
If it wasn't for some astonishing force behind the latter, then the latter must possess some astonishing secret!
And now, the deceased Howard had stood up, and that secret seemed to be revealing itself.
"Current status being confirmed."
It wasn't Howard's original voice.
An unknown consciousness, though using Howard's vocal cords, produced a sound vastly different from Howard's.
It resembled a synthetic voice made of multiple voices combined, carrying an inorganic feel, devoid of emotional fluctuations.
Ankurei saw a flash of silver light in Howard's wide-open eyes, then his skin tingled slightly, as if swept by some unknown energy field.
In the face of that unknown energy field, Ankurei's mana perception was utterly defenseless, collapsing completely with just one collision.
What in the world was that! What exactly was Howard! Ankurei took a deep breath, the thought of taking the initiative to attack surfacing once again.
"Status confirmed. Level 2 containment space; current energy levels insufficient for forceful breach. Memory retrieval complete, the Second Plan exists. Objective, eliminate Ankurei, personnel within containment space, Level 3 energy response."
Howard's gaze settled on Ankurei, his eyes shimmering with Silverlight, reminiscent of mana puppets to Ankurei.
"Calculating the success rate of the Second Plan. With current energy reserves, success probability is seventy-three percent. Executing the Second Plan."
Swords crossed, Howard took a half step forward with his left foot.
He vanished suddenly!
Swoosh!
The sound of blades rubbing against each other, in Ankurei's field of view, left behind only a trail of sparks from the friction.
Like the sound of shattering glass, Ankurei finally caught Howard's figure, but it was right in front of him, less than a meter away, with Howard's right-hand sword slashing down towards him.
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