Chapter 74: Chapter 74: The Strength of the Eclipse
The battlefield had changed completely.
What had begun as a confident advance from Velmorne and Randale’s forces had turned into a desperate struggle for survival. Their formation had been broken in several places, their commanders were struggling to reorganize the soldiers, and the number of men still standing had fallen dramatically in only a matter of hours.
More importantly, fear had begun spreading through the ranks.
The soldiers who had once advanced without hesitation were now backing away from the black-robed figures, particularly from the woman carrying the enormous scythe.
"R-Run!"
"Get away from her!"
"She isn’t human!"
"P-Please don’t kill me! I’m sorry! I surrender!"
Clang!
Whoosh!
Slash!
A massive scythe swept through the air, forcing another group of soldiers to scatter in panic.
Vanessa landed lightly, her violet hair swaying behind her as she rested the enormous weapon against her shoulder.
"How lovely."
She laughed softly.
"They finally learned when to run."
The soldiers nearby trembled.
Some had dropped their weapons altogether, while others desperately tried to retreat toward their commanders.
But the situation suddenly changed again.
A strange pressure began spreading across the battlefield.
Count D’Averon immediately noticed it.
"My lord."
Captain Rodan pointed toward the enemy’s rear.
"What is that?"
Count D’Averon’s eyes narrowed.
A group of mages had gathered behind the enemy formation.
At the center of them stood a single man wearing the robes of a high-ranking mage, his staff raised toward the sky as enormous amounts of mana gathered around him.
The air itself began to distort.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
A gigantic red magic circle appeared above the battlefield.
Its enormous diameter covered a considerable portion of the battlefield, and intricate magical symbols rotated around its edges while an increasingly dense mass of fire gathered at its center.
The soldiers who noticed it immediately stopped fighting.
"M-My lord!"
Rodan’s expression changed.
"That’s..."
"They have a mage?"
Count D’Averon stared at the magic circle.
He could feel the heat even from a distance.
"That isn’t an ordinary spell."
The mage continued chanting as the magic circle grew brighter.
Rodan swallowed.
"What should we do, my lord?"
Count D’Averon’s expression hardened.
"He’s gone too far."
His eyes remained fixed on the enormous spell.
"He actually hired a High-Ranking Mage for this."
If that spell were released, hundreds of soldiers would be caught within its range, including both enemy and D’Averon forces.
The mage did not appear concerned about casualties.
He was preparing to erase everything in front of him.
Yet beside Count D’Averon, Nyxaria simply smiled.
"That is certainly a high-ranking spell."
She looked up at the enormous red circle.
"Judging from the amount of condensed mana, hundreds of soldiers would be wiped out if that thing were released."
Rodan stared at her.
"Don’t worry about it."
Nyxaria stepped forward.
Her long Eclipse robe moved gently with the wind as she raised one hand.
Black energy began gathering around her.
The surrounding soldiers instinctively stepped away.
Then, with a quiet pulse of power—
SHING!
A sword manifested in her hand.
It wasn’t an ordinary weapon.
The blade was formed entirely from condensed Eclipse Power, dark enough to appear almost black while faint traces of violet light moved along its surface.
Nyxaria lowered her body slightly.
The magic circle above them had almost finished its activation.
The mage’s chanting grew louder.
"Release—!"
"What is she doing...?" Rodan muttered.
Count D’Averon felt his expression change.
That pressure...
His instincts immediately warned him that something extraordinary was about to happen.
"This amount of power..."
He stared at Nyxaria.
"So strong."
Nyxaria tightened her grip.
For a brief moment, her thoughts returned to Ares.
My power has increased considerably since yesterday.
This strength...
A faint smile appeared beneath her covered face.
It’s all thanks to Master.
Then she swung.
VRAAAAAAAAAAM!
A gigantic arc of black Eclipse Power tore across the battlefield.
It moved so quickly that the soldiers barely had time to see it.
The enormous black arc collided directly with the red magic circle.
CRAAAAACK!
The entire magic circle split down the middle.
For a moment, everything became silent.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The magic circle exploded in the sky, sending a tremendous wave of heat and magical energy across the battlefield.
Soldiers from both sides were thrown backward.
Dust and smoke filled the air.
Count D’Averon stood completely still.
He couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed.
"She... cut it?"
Rodan’s eyes were wide.
"That was a high-ranking spell."
He looked at the remnants of the magic circle disappearing above them.
"Even I couldn’t destroy something like that with a single strike."
Another knight stared in disbelief.
"Only someone at the Swordmaster level should be capable of cutting through a spell of that scale so easily..."
Even the enemy mage was left speechless.
His face had become pale.
The backlash from the destruction had left him struggling to breathe, his hands trembling around his staff.
The enormous amount of mana he had gathered had disappeared in an instant.
"What... what kind of monster is she?"
Count D’Averon couldn’t answer.
He simply stared at Nyxaria.
The young woman calmly lowered her sword as though she had merely cut down an ordinary projectile.
Across the battlefield, Count Velmorne had witnessed everything.
His face twisted with rage.
"Impossible!"
His voice echoed through the command area.
"How could she destroy that spell?!"
The Viscount beside him was equally furious.
"My lord, our forces are collapsing."
"Then send more!"
Velmorne turned toward his captain.
"How many soldiers are still fighting?"
The captain hesitated.
"My lord..."
"What?"
"We’ve already lost more than a thousand soldiers."
Velmorne’s expression froze.
The captain continued reluctantly.
"The group that appeared earlier has been cutting through our normal soldiers and Advanced-Rank Knights with almost no resistance. From what our men have reported, every one of them appears to be a Magical Swordsman."
His voice became increasingly strained.
"Even their armor is barely slowing them down."
Velmorne clenched his fists.
"And the two women?"
The captain swallowed.
"Those two are the most dangerous."
"How many High-Ranking Knights have they killed?"
"Five."
"What?"
Velmorne’s eyes widened.
"Five High-Ranking Knights have already been killed?"
"Yes, my lord."
The answer only made his anger worse.
"This is impossible!"
He slammed his fist against the table beside him.
"Where did these monsters come from?!"
Far above the battlefield, completely unnoticed by everyone below, three figures floated in the sky.
Ares stood calmly with his arms crossed, while Draven and Cedric observed the battlefield beside him.
"I want to fight too, Master."
Draven looked down eagerly.
"No."
Ares didn’t even turn toward him.
Draven’s expression immediately fell.
"But—"
"No."
"...Yes, Master."
Cedric continued watching the battlefield.
"Impressive."
His eyes remained on Nyxaria.
"A single attack was enough to destroy a high-ranking spell. No ordinary High-Ranking Knight could accomplish something like that."
He paused.
"As expected of Master’s power."
Ares smiled faintly.
"It’s still up to them."
His eyes followed the members of the Eclipse Order below.
"They’re talented, and after receiving more of the Eclipse Power, something like that will eventually become natural to them."
He glanced toward the enemy command area.
"I can clearly see Velmorne’s anger from here."
A quiet laugh escaped him.
"He definitely wasn’t expecting this."
Draven suddenly raised his hand.
"Should I cast an Explosion too, Master?"
"No."
Draven’s shoulders dropped.
"...I see."
Ares ignored him.
The battle continued for several more hours.
But the longer it lasted, the more obvious the difference became.
The Eclipse Order showed no signs of exhaustion.
Their movements remained precise, their attacks remained powerful, and their formation never truly broke.
Meanwhile, the enemy soldiers were beginning to lose the will to fight.
Some had already thrown down their weapons.
Others simply ran.
Even the soldiers who remained on the battlefield could no longer bring themselves to approach the black-robed warriors.
The D’Averon forces, who had initially been fighting desperately just to survive, began pushing forward alongside them.
And eventually, Adrian and Hans returned to the battlefield.
The moment they saw what had happened, both brothers stopped.
Hans stared at the battlefield.
"What... happened here?"
Adrian’s expression became equally stunned.
The battlefield they had left behind was no longer recognizable.
Their father was still alive.
Their soldiers were still fighting.
And an unknown group had apparently turned the entire battle around.
Neither of them could understand how.
Meanwhile, far from the battlefield, inside the D’Averon estate, Mara sat quietly in her room.
She had already been informed that a battle was taking place, but she had no idea how close the danger had come to her.
Fortunately, Valentine and Zyra had arrived before the assassins.
Mara looked at the two young women standing before her.
"I don’t know who you people are, but thank you for protecting me."
Valentine gave her a calm smile.
"Don’t worry about it."
She glanced toward the door.
"Your safety is more important right now."
Then—
BANG!
The door was suddenly kicked open.
Seven figures entered the room.
They wore dark clothing and carried concealed weapons.
One of them laughed when he saw Valentine and Zyra.
"What is this?"
He looked them over.
"Bodyguards?"
Another assassin chuckled.
"Has Count D’Averon finally gone senile? He assigned two young women to protect the Countess?"
Valentine sighed.
"Let me handle this."
She stepped forward.
Zyra didn’t stop her.
Valentine raised both hands.
The air around her immediately changed.
FWOOSH!
Countless dark petals appeared around the room.
At first, they looked beautiful.
Then one of the assassins noticed their edges.
They were sharp.
Extremely sharp.
"What the—"
SHING! SHING! SHING!
The petals suddenly shot forward.
"Gah!"
"Urgh!"
"What’s happening?!"
The assassins attempted to defend themselves, but the petals tore through their formation before they could properly react.
Valentine smiled.
"It’s useless."
She slowly lowered her hand.
"You should have stayed in your guild. If you had, perhaps you could have lived for a few more years."
Her expression became cold.
"Unfortunately, you crossed the wrong line."
One assassin gritted his teeth.
"T-This woman..."
"She isn’t ordinary!"
"Attack her together!"
Valentine’s eyes narrowed.
"I won’t let you."
SHRIIIIK!
Dark thorns suddenly erupted from the ground.
They pierced through the assassins’ bodies and pinned them in place.
"Gahk!"
"Impossible..."
"How can... one person..."
Blood dripped from the corner of one assassin’s mouth as his body trembled helplessly.
Valentine walked toward them without hesitation.
One by one, she ended the fight.
The room fell silent.
Valentine looked at the fallen assassins for a moment.
"Seems like they’re not as strong as I expected."
She tilted her head slightly.
"To think the elites of the Assassination Guild would be this weak."
Her voice carried a hint of disappointment.
"They aren’t even comparable to the Watchers."
Mara stood completely still.
She couldn’t move.
She had spent most of her life surrounded by knights, guards, and nobles who considered the Assassination Guild something to be feared.
Yet seven assassins had entered her room with the confidence that they could kill her.
And within moments, they had been completely annihilated by a single young woman.
Just who are these people?
Mara’s hands trembled slightly.
What kind of organization has people like this?
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter