The killing spree continued. The miners did not know how to strike in unison or combine their forces. They were being picked off individually.
And Siderius was determined to put even more fear into their hearts.
Battles are won not by decimating your enemy. Battles are won once your enemy believes they have lost.
Siderius cut a poor man’s hand. His torch landed on the ground, fuming with oil. The ruthless hunter kicked a pile of dust on it, distinguishing the light.
The open field became darker. But that was only the beginning.
Alex clenched his teeth. He knew exactly what Siderius was trying to do. But he was powerless to stop it. The hunter’s silhouette flickered in the shadow, appearing only in moments before vanishing again. No one was able to catch him.
Another torch was put out and darkness continued to spread. There was also a scream of pain from another poor soul.
Dread filled the miners’ hearts as the darkness grew larger and larger. And larger. And larger. And larger. And larger. And larger.
Nadia and her group of miners watched everything in horror. It felt almost satisfying to see a professional at work, how he delicately disassembled the force of the many with blood, death and despair.
She silently vowed to herself to never make an enemy out of Siderius.
And then, the only thing left for Alex and his group of miners, was pain.
One after another fell to the ground, died by a precision attack from the darkness.
Siderius was terrifying. Striking from the unknown like a ghost. He killed them effortlessly. They couldn’t even find him.
The number of deaths was rising and the miners’ resolve wavered. Their legs trembled like scared cats. Their hands sweated and lost their strength. Their hearts pounded so loud it was the only thing they could hear. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel·fiɾe·net
No one wanted to be the next one to meet the reaper.
Alex sat on the ground. In his arms was a friend. A bloody hole on the man’s neck. Red painted his clothes and his eyes were losing the light of life.
It wasn’t supposed to go this way. It should be a simple grab and catch job. Alex would ensure the survival of the mining camp and keep Nadia from harm’s way.
But fate had different plans for Alex.
Fate delivered him not a harmless actor. But an experienced warrior that was not hesitated to kill.
A miner could fall and die without any notice. They couldn’t see where the strike was coming from.
Even when they tried to stick together. The cold blade could quickly reach out from the shadow and pick them off slowly.
And those symbols floating in the air. Alex could only guess that it was some type of spell.
A spell to mess with your mind.
A spell to stop their attack.
And those feet of his, moving like a dancer of the night, weaving through flesh and iron to deliver those deathly strikes.
The hunter wasn’t even held back because of the dark. While the miners were blinded. He moved like he could see everything.
Those dark eyes of his seemed to be even more scary than before. Alex could only guess if they’re responsible for his night vision.
The man in Alex’s arm reached out his bloody hand.
"I still haven’t seen the beach of Calador... I promised her that I would get her there..."
The man coughed out blood. The blood on his neck had infiltrated his windpipe, filling his lungs and drowning him from the inside.
A torturous and agonizing death.
Alex grabbed the man’s hand. His own hand was shaking profusely.
"Stay with me, Dan. Stay with me!"
But the man could hear Alex no more. His hand fell to the ground and he joined the reaper in the afterlife.
"Fuck!" Alex screamed.
He laid Dan on the ground gently then picked up his weapons.
Siderius was surrounded by three men. But he seemed to have no worries. He flipped the sword from one opponent to another, constantly spinning and repositioning.
It was a three versus one. But only the three men felt the pressure of the battle. They couldn’t find an opportunity to strike and had to stay alert to avoid getting poked by Siderius.
One successful strike and Siderius would immediately line up the next two and three attacks.
It was a death touch. A touch that frightened the miners to their cores.
The other miners circled around them, trying to find a way to help but there were no openings.
Alex got close to Siderius and tried to slam the pickaxe at Siderius’ back.
Siderius had already anticipated it and with a spin, he dodged the attack and slashed through Alex’s wrist.
His sword may not be strong enough to decapitate someone but it was more than enough to sever Alex’s hand.
His left hand fell to the ground, twitching a few times.
Alex grabbed his wrist and screamed in pain. Siderius shut him up with a roundhouse kick.
Alex fell with his back flat on the ground.
"It’s the end of the line, Alex."
Siderius’ cold blade hovered slightly above Alex. It screamed for blood and violence.
Ashe watched everything in one of the tents. She and a few older miners had relocated Carsten here for safety. They all watched everything from here.
Ashe had seen Siderius kill before. But this was different. This was a ruthless battlefield and Siderius shone in it like a firefly in the night.
When he was still in the Holy Order, he had killed a lot of men in the name of his god. Bloodshed was his second nature.
Ashe saw this side of Siderius and it frightened her... in a good way. If she could be like him, she, too, would no longer be an outcast of a High Noble clan.
The hostile miners had lost their will to fight. When Alex dropped on the ground, they too dropped their weapons.
The first threw his hammer down quickly. "I surrender! Don’t kill me, please!"
And when there was the first. There were the second, the third, and many more. Slowly, the hostile miners all surrender. Their weapons landed on the ground. Some even kneeled down and bowed, hoping their sincerity would draw out the mercy inside of Siderius.
Alex watched as his force was dismantled. His allies abandoned him and left him lying in front of the cold blade of Siderius.
Alex sighed. "It really is the end of the line for me."
He knew he had failed.
But then, a shadow blasted through the open field. Its speed was greater than any man here and it caught Siderius off guard.
Siderius didn’t have time to move away, he could only summon the Parave barrier to shield him from harm.
Even then, that wasn’t enough. The barrier shattered like glass. Siderius quickly pulled his sword up to block the charge. The blade broke in two and he was sent flying.
Siderius landed into the fabric of a tent. The flimsy structure broke down and buried Siderius in its rubbles.