Chapter 503: Breaking the Formation

Garrett and his fellows led the noble coalition charging through the gates of Mist City, unfolding a bloody carnage across the wide thoroughfares of the town.

What had seemed a thoroughly triumphant prospect shifted the very instant Ronin and Carlos found themselves ensnared.

Among the knighthood of Mist City, thirty riders bore solar flares upon their brows that flickered wildly, and instantly, dense networks of crimson veins surfaced across their flesh, like magma coursing through countless ravines.

With the activation of these brands, the might of these thirty men surged violently; those silver knights rivaled gold, and the gold rivaled meteors.

This was the very cohort of Flame-Branded Knights belonging to the Envoy of the Blazing Sun.

The moment the brands ignited, it was as if an extra Sun Knight, three Silver Moon Knights, eight Meteor Knights, and eighteen Gold Knights had materialized upon the battlefield.

And this did not even account for Count Ural, his three Silver Moon retainers, and his handful of Meteor Knights.

Beyond them, twenty-four of the Celestial Clan, at least of silver rank, hovered in the sky, alongside a squad of over twenty Dragonhawk Riders from Mist City.

The noble coalition, whose momentum had been as grand as a torrent, was utterly dazed by this sudden turn, and in a heartbeat, a great multitude of them were cut down.

"Kill them all, every last one!"

"Survive this battle, and you shall be dubbed Knights of Honor!"

Count Ural roared at the top of his lungs; whether such a vow would ever be honored mattered little, for the mere words were enough to stir the blood.

Rydal had already noticed Ronin's predicament in the skies, and he leapt into the air, intending to aid Ronin and Carlos from the outside.

Yet before he could advance far, his path was barred by a towering man bathed entirely in flickering flames.

"Your opponent is me."

Bearing a status akin to Catherine's, the man before Rydal was named Viner, the leader of these Flame-Branded Knights, serving under the architect of the Sacred Storm organization, Lord Flame-Wing.

Though his prowess rested only at the late stage of the Silver Moon, once the Flame-Brand was awakened, his strength, speed, and battle aura were by no means inferior to an ordinary Sun Knight.

Rydal’s countenance remained grim, though anxiety gnawed at his heart, wondering if Ronin could break free.

Faced with a powerful foe blocking his way, however, he could only prioritize resolving the immediate crisis.

"Die!"

He channeled the Secret Codex of the Burning Sky, refining his fiery battle aura; every strike and every battle technique carried far greater devastation than normal.

Against Viner, whose strength was elevated through twisted, heterodox means, the encounter was almost an absolute suppression.

Yet the adversary seemed to have no desire to contend for victory against Rydal, choosing instead to focus solely on delaying him.

Thus, despite Viner's wounds growing progressively severe, by desperately avoiding direct clashes and relying purely on harassment, he could still endure for a time.

Meanwhile, the battle in the skies raged on.

Radiance gathered once more within Aruba's palm, the energy fluctuations this time far more violent, as though the surrounding air itself were warped by the force.

Ronin’s heart stilled; he sensed that the destructive power within this assault far surpassed the last, suggesting the enemy had abandoned any hope of capturing him alive and intended to slay him here.

"Carlos, prepare to withstand the oncoming shockwave."

Ronin sent a warning to the dragon via soul transmission, while simultaneously mobilizing every ounce of battle aura throughout his body into the Flowing Flame Sword, bracing for this head-on clash.

"Perish!"

The brilliance in Aruba's hand shot forth like an enraged dragon taking to the sea, bearing a world-ending momentum as it lunged directly for Ronin.

"A Prairie Fire of Heavenly Flame!"

Ronin unleashed the technique once more, colliding head-on with that radiance; the two forces intertwined and exploded in midair, whipping up a breathtaking storm of energy.

Entrenched within the vortex, Ronin did not pause, casting the Wall of Sighs instantaneously several times to shield himself from the impact.

Carlos, meanwhile, used the power of ice to encase its entire draconic form within a glacial block—the freezing might it commanded after advancing to an eighth-rank magical beast.

"Is he dead?"

Aruba and the others maintained the operation of the Entrapping Array, their gazes locked tight onto the soaring flames and energy storm within the light curtain, unable to discern the true scene inside.

"To think this Ronin could be so powerful."

Catherine looked with some anxiety at the dozen or so Gold Knights around them; though they continued to sustain the array, the pale tint of their faces revealed that the previous impacts had taken a heavy toll on their bodies.

After all, their light curtain could deflect and refract beams of energy, yet it could not repel shockwaves or the direct physical strikes of Ronin and Carlos.

"Aruba, if an attack of this magnitude happens twice more, our array will shatter!" Catherine warned in a low murmur.

Aruba watched the gradually dissipating energy storm and murmured, "It should be about finished, shouldn't it? Without Ronin, dealing with that dragon is merely a matter of time."

Catherine nodded slightly.

Legendary dragons like Carlos often possessed extraordinary abilities, but these traits usually only manifested fully upon reaching the legendary tier.

As it stood, the dragon's strength tier seemed to be merely the eighth rank, not even reaching the ninth; though troublesome, it was not impossible to handle.

Even as the two whispered, Carlos's massive frame suddenly leapt, its colossal talons carrying a force that tore through the air as it slashed viciously toward the area where the Gold Knights stood at the rear.

Simultaneously, Ronin unleashed a succession of instantaneous offensive spells, all of them bombarding the exact zone of Carlos's assault.

Instantly, violent ripples convulsed across the light curtain of the Entrapping Array.

Though it did not crumble, the knight stationed on the outside spat a mouthful of fresh blood!

Immediately following, blood began to seep from every single one of his pores, and the wings upon his back grew limp.

Within a breath or two, the radiance in the man’s hands dissolved completely, and his entire body plummeted straight down from the sky.

"Success!"

Joy flared in Ronin's heart; urging his Wind Shadow Technique into a rapid burst, he slipped directly through the fissure that had appeared.

The very instant he squeezed out, the rift mended itself completely, sealing Carlos within the Entrapping Array once more.

Roar!

Seeing its master depart while it remained trapped within, Carlos grew exceedingly frantic, conjuring a massive frost arrow to strike at a second Gold Knight.

Though missing one anchor point, the array did not collapse, its power still sufficient to intercept the blow.

Yet Aruba, Catherine, and the others were struck with absolute terror.

"Disaster!"

Ronin was out.

"Die!"

Ronin’s silhouette resembled a flash of lightning, materializing directly in front of a knight; before the opponent could even react, a single sword stroke severed the man's neck.

The spraying blood heralded the commencement of the war's second phase.

"Next!"

He no longer troubled himself with Aruba and Catherine, instead lunging straight toward those whose strength appeared weaker.

Faced with the pinnacle power of a Sun Knight, this group of Gold and Meteor ranks possessed not a shred of resistance; in the blink of an eye, seven or eight were cut down by Ronin.

The Entrapping Array grew fragile, collapsing utterly under a single swipe of Carlos's claw.

Howl!

Carlos let loose an excited roar, a blast of scorching flame engulfing a neighboring knight, melting him to nothingness.

Seeing this, Aruba and Catherine's expressions changed drastically; they had never anticipated that Ronin could locate and strike the array's weakness in so short a time.

But there was no time for thought now—he had to give his all to stop Ronin’s next move.

“The rest, fall back! Reform the formation!”

Katherine screamed.

The air trembled violently as Ronin appeared before her.

“Do you really think your speed can match mine?”

Flameflow Sword slashed forward. The opponent drew a blade to block, but if Aruba couldn’t withstand Ronin’s attacks, how could she—a mere Silver Moon ranker—possibly endure them?

With a sickening *thud*, immense force shattered Katherine’s sword, sending it flying. Flameflow continued its arc, severing her arm. The impact hurled her downward, plummeting through the air.

Ronin manipulated the severed limb toward himself and plucked the spatial ring from her finger. Then he dove straight down, chasing after his prey once more.

“Daniel, stay here with the others and deal with the dragon! I’ll help Katherine!”

Aruba rushed after Ronin in desperation, attempting to engage him in close combat—but Ronin ignored him completely. After the nuisance of that earlier formation, he had decided: first eliminate the weaker foes, then face Aruba.

The balance of victory had tilted entirely in his favor. (End of Chapter)