Chapter 17

Chapter 17 - LOT [unedited - We will get caught up for $5 donors tomorrow]

Jack rushed forward, running up alongside the heavily injured Branch Chief. He helped Garmen settle down to the ground. As the Branch Chief settled, his breathing haggard, Jack took Little Seven out of his arms, carefully placing her on the ground. His every movement was laced with extreme care and delicateness.

Diana’s face was pallid, her head covered in a sheen of sweat. Her eyes were shut, but seemed to be moving underneath her eyelids. However, even as Jack watched, he saw that the color in her face was slowly restoring. Whatever ailment was afflicting her appeared to be rapidly healing.

“I caught sight of her in range of the battle. I can’t fly, and figured I’d save her instead of wasting my time. My Natural Ability Heaven’s Gong wouldn’t be able to do much against that Golden Flame warrior anyway.” Garmen’s voice was wracked with pain as he spoke, his eyes unfocused.

“Unfortunately, I got caught in that last attack. I had no time to prepare, and only managed to protect her.” He shook his head, looking at his injuries. Both of his arms seemed to be broken, and he was covered in heavy burns. It was a testament to how strong his physique was that he was even alive and moving. A faint blue aura of Spirit wrapped around him as he rested for a moment, the unique energy giving him a very slow rate of regeneration. It couldn’t heal him outright, but it could stop his bleeding.

“Guards. Exit the perimeter, and evacuate any civilians back at least three hundred meters. There is no point maintaining this distance.” Garmen took the lead and began ordering about the remaining Frostplate Guards, organizing them out of the area. The elite guards followed his orders with visible relief, the ongoing battle horrifying to many of them. Veterans that had faced countless powerful beasts were as nothing in the face of these monstrous humans. Without direction from the Snowbank City Lord who was conveniently nowhere to be found, they defaulted to following the orders of the Branch Chief.

The Frostplate Guards rapidly exited the surroundings, spreading out to clear out any houses that were still standing. Jack ignored them as they left, his entire being focused on Diana. He stroked her hair as she rested, his worry palpable.

“You know her, lad?” The Branch Chief wheezed out in surprise, his face pallid.

Jack nodded. His injures were forgotten as he looked at Diana for a moment, his heart happy.

“It’s a good thing I grabbed her, then.” The Branch Chief struggled to stand up, giving Jack a nod.

“However, we need to get out of here. We are too close to the fight.” The Branch Chief pointed upwards, his eyes dark. Jack looked up with him, seeing the scene of four fighters floating in the air.

“If I’m not mistake, that is the Second and Fourth Great Elder’s of the Impact Clan. Both of them are renowned freaks of nature that stand at the peak of strength in this world. In addition, that should be the Duke of Snow over there, who isn’t too much weaker. This Golden Flame warrior, even if he has achieved the Formless Warrior stage, is doomed.” He shook his head, his eyes bitter. For some reason, he didn’t seem pleased with the situation. Jack sensed a pent up hatred when the Branch Chief mentioned the Duke of Snow.

“There’s no way he can achieve vic-WHAT?!” The Branch Chief’s voice broke off as he stared up at the sky in complete shock, where a long, white line seemed to split apart existence itself, colliding with hundreds of black cracks in the air itself.

..

..

A few moments prior.

“You will die on this day for daring to harm my granddaughter. ACCEPT YOUR FATE!” The potbellied Fourth Elder launched the first attack against Jebraim. His body moved forward through the air extremely quickly, a shockwave spreading out from his original position. As he arrived next to the Golden Flame warrior, he threw out his right palm forward. A heavy blue aura of Spirit wrapped around his palm as he attacked, giving it a deadly edge.

*CRAAAAACK*

Enormous cracks in space blasted out as the powerful palm strike blasted into Jebraim, or where Jebraim had just been a moment ago. In the split second the Fourth Elder had taken to attack, Jebraim had launched his body slightly to the side, using his Natural Ability to explode golden flames outward to dodge the attack. The cracks in space caused by the ridiculously strong attack missed Jebraim by mere inches, Jebraim’s extreme body control allowing him to narrowly avoid it.

“Forgetting me?” The Second Great Elder called out coldly from just behind Jebraim. A long, lean arm whipped into Jebraim’s chest, instantly creating a massive shockwave that blasted the Golden Flame warrior upwards into the air. The blue aura of Spirit on the arm glowed dimly as it made contact with the golden flames that were melded with Jebraim’s body. Just before the blow landed, however, a blue aura of Jebraim’s own spirit covered his chest, providing some degree of protection.

Jebraim flew up twenty meters from the Second Elder’s attack before he regained control, using his flame natural ability to stabilize himself. However, just as he regained control, a dozen massive ice lances crashed into him, forcing him to create a large explosion of golden fire to deal with them. The warrior coughed up blood as he dodged backwards, overwhelmed.

“You have nowhere to run to, foolish warrior. Surrender willingly.” The Duke of Snow glared at Jebraim, his eyes cold. Dozens more ice lances began to form in the air around him as he kept his focus on the fighter.

Jebraim shrugged off the attacks as he looked at the two Great Elders, his mind racing. The two Impact Clan fighters were simply too quick, and had the ability to actually injure him. As much as he disliked the Duke of Snow’s words, he had to agree with them. As he came to this realization, his eyes gleamed, as if he made a decision.

“Very well. I was going to remain quiet for a few more years, but you have forced me to do this.” Jebraim’s hand rested on the greatsword on his back, a weapon he had yet to use this entire fight. He continued, his voice soft but clear.

“I hereby renounce all ties with the Golden Flame Clan.”

“Hmph, that will not save you.” The potbellied Fourth Elder sent out another shockwave as he disappeared from where he was floating, rocketing towards Jebraim with another palm strike, once more causing space to crack.

Jebraim, this time, did not dodge.

In the moment before the palm was about to impact, he instead closed his eyes, the air around him suddenly reaching a soothing calm. Out of nowhere, an extremely warm sensation spread out, as if one was being bath in warm sunlight.

“Sun Souled Sword - Blot Strike.”

The strange calm lasted a brief instant longer. In that instant, Jebraim’s arm shivered, his attack speed so fast it was almost impossible to track with the human eye.

He swung his blade downward. As it moved downward, that soft, warm sunlight seemed to gather on its edge, emitting a soothing white light.

*SHHHK*

The calm ended.

White light collided with crackling space, and the world seemed to explode.

..

..

“My god. He’s reached the stage of Sword Creation. He’s… my god he’s a Swordmaster. We have witnessed the birth of a new Swordmaster!” A strange excitement could be heard in the Branch Chief’s words as he yelled out, looking at the scene of destruction far in the air above them.

A moment later, the shockwave from the collision hit. Jack, the Branch Chief, and those near them were thrown to the ground, their ears aching from the shriek of space breaking. Jack threw himself over Little Seven, protecting her with his body.

“It’s not safe here, let’s retreat back to th-URK!” The Branch Chief abruptly stopped speaking, letting out a pained gasp.

Jack looked up from covering Diana, confused. His eyes opened wide in shock, however, at the scene before him.

The Branch Chief looked down in shock at the white dagger that had pierced through his chest. Blood spattered up from his lips as he fell to the ground, his body collapsing, the weight of all of his injuries too great.

“One problem removed. Corker, she's the one with the heavy aura of fire, correct?” Jackal removed one of his white daggers from the fallen Branch Chief’s body as the warrior collapsed, a brutal smile on his face. He ignored the crackling destruction above them, taking advantage of the distraction.

“Yep, that’s the one.” The tracker gave Jack an apologetic shrug before backing away, waving his hands as if to say he was done here. A sheen of sweat covered the trackers forehead as he looked at the rippling sky above him, his fear palpable.

“Excellent.” Jackal let out a huge sigh in relief, his eyes looking at Jack and Diana with a sense of almost bliss.

“You two have caused me SO many problems, hahahaha, I will most likely be executed because of you.” As Jackal stepped forward, a berserk red aura began to emanate from his body, the veins on his arms, legs, and head swelling and expanding. His entire body to swell slightly, giving off a feeling of rabid strength. Two white daggers began to gleam in either hand, moving in a methodical, mesmerizing pattern.

“Let us end this.”

Jack rested his trembling right hand on the hilt of his blade, forcibly activating his Slowed State. Around him, the world slowed to a fifth it’s original speed.

The dagger wielding warrior leapt forward, and began his attack.

..

..

The Duke of Snow, Duke Cedric Bold, stared at the rippling destruction as he retreated through the air, riding his blade of ice. He backed up quickly, not wanting to be caught in the attack. A worried look filled his eyes. This situation had expanded far beyond any of his expectations.

“It seems this world is in for a period of change.” The Duke of Snow muttered as his eyes pierced through the destruction and torn air, focusing on the center of the fight.

“What have you done, oh new Swordmaster.”

In the midst, floating in the air surrounded by shockwaves and explosions of fire, two figures floated. Gradually, one of the figures sunk through the air, falling down to the ground.

Jebriam Gar’lon, the Searing Sword, the youngest and newest Swordmaster in the continent, stared at the body of the Fourth Great Elder, watching the lifeless body fall to the ground, dead.

The Fourth Great Elder of the Impact Clan, one of the superpowers of the world, a warrior renowned for dozens of years acclaimed for his might as a freak of nature, died just like that, cleaved by a single strike.