Chapter 1191: Shadow

Vice Commander Michael Novrak’s eyes met the First Regent’s as Soldiers rushed past them from behind. From behind them, the other two Regents and Vice Commanders stepped forward too, their presences rising in tandem. Ryuk Silverleaf locked eyes with the Second Regent while Vanessa Thorne gazed at the Third Regent, each of them choosing their opponents.

Six Humans, three against three.

All six were at the Radiant Soulstar Life Rank, all one step away from stepping into the Crownstar Life Rank, but deep down, they all knew none of them could step into that rank in their lives, as they had reached the peak their innate talent could take them.

In a blur, the six vanished like Damian and the Grand Regent had, fighting here would also wipe out their forces. Their bodies shot into the sky like fighter jets as they tore through the sound barrier.

Asher remained standing in his place as the others rushed forward. Unlike the other Soldiers, he wasn’t riled up by Vice Commander Michael Novrak’s words, as he hadn’t been at the Frontier long enough to be riled up like that by the man.

But regardless of the speech and the need for mortal combat, it didn’t change the fact that he would be slaughtering his opponents.

Beside him, Acker and Saitama stood with calm expressions, as they both also hadn’t rushed forward. But just because the trio didn’t rush forward didn’t mean Soldiers from the Velkarin Empire didn’t surge towards them with their weapons in hand.

Asher stared at a wave of Soldiers who made their way towards him, Acker, and Saitama. As he registered that he was their target, he simply went to meet them head-on. He took a step, his form vanishing from where he stood. He left no blur behind as he closed the distance with ease.

He appeared behind his opponents, he sharply turned, drawing his blade in one smooth motion as he unleashed a basic horizontal swing. Virelass left her sheath with a hissing sound, a thin horizontal line appearing across the waist of her targets.

The armor they wore didn’t matter, the hardness of their skin didn’t matter, their Astra Energy-reinforced defense didn’t matter, as to Asher’s pure swordsmanship and immense strength, it all collapsed and gave way.

Blood splattered into the air like water, bodies bisecting as both halves of all hit the ground with sickening thuds. The smell of blood hit his nose, but he ignored it as he was already on the move.

From behind, another attack closed in with a downward slashing arc. Asher didn’t need to turn to see or dodge; he simply leaned to the side while he stared ahead. As the attack slashed through his former position, he moved, his arm blurring as he slashed and sheathed Virelass in one smooth motion.

The Soldier was split in half from the head to the waist as intestines danced into the air, the Velkarin Soldier dying before he even knew what hit him.

Despite knowing that Asher was a Wargrave, Tenth Sun, and the winner of the Inter-Empire Tournament who defeated their own monstrous genius, they didn’t care. They charged in regardless with roars of courage, as it seemed killing a Wargrave here would be a massive win for them despite failing their mission to ambush the Algorith Frontier.

Asher didn’t mind; he admired their courage to jump into the jaws of death. As he was about to take a step, he paused, then leaped into the air, his body turning upside down as he stared below.

From the shadow of a dead body, a Velkarin Soldier appeared, her daggers slicing through Asher’s previous location. The Soldier’s eyes snapped upwards, her eyes meeting Asher’s as he rotated and landed in a squatting position with his hands crossed against his chest.

No matter how strong these Soldiers were, unless they possessed some outrageous abilities or were Voidstar Life Rankers, to Asher, they were simply cannon fodder waiting to be slaughtered, and he had no problems sending them to their makers.

The woman shot forward like an arrow, her dagger arriving before Asher’s forehead in less than a second. She aimed to kill in one blow, not to test her enemy. Asher, who seemed to have reacted late on his own volition, still met up, as his right hand left his chest, his finger moving to catch the dagger by the tip.

But as he was about to touch the dagger, another attack closed in from behind. Asher’s Omni Perception locked in on the second attacker. It was a Shadow, a Shadow of the woman currently standing in front of him. Both the woman and her Shadow attacked with a precise pincer attack, both covered and enhanced by Astra Energy.

Asher moved to the left side, as he easily evaded both attacks through the easiest method since they came from behind and the front.

As he dodged, he had expected the woman’s and the Shadow’s attack to tear into each other, injuring the other, just like he had done with the Monkey and Emovira from earlier. But before that could happen, both woman and Shadow stopped, as they had anticipated Asher dodging their pincer attack. Without missing a beat, they recalibrated, as they thrust towards Asher’s new position.

The Shadow attacked from above as it aimed for Asher’s neck, while the woman closed in from below, aiming for Asher’s kneecaps.

’She is at the peak of the Wavestar Life Rank.’

Asher thought to himself as he watched the attack close in in slow motion. In his perception, the woman might as well be a snail.

He raised his right hand as he deflected the Shadow’s attack to his neck with the back of his palm and with lazy ease. As he handled the Shadow’s attack, he handled the woman at the same time as he moved his leg backwards by an inch, the woman’s attack missing entirely.

As Asher made contact with the Shadow, the Shadow twisted as it changed from its solid humanoid shape into a smoky form, as it surged through Asher’s arm, then around his shoulders, then around his body as it instantly froze him in place, rendering him immobile.

Asher was surprised for a moment at the Shadow’s change in form and ability, but he was simply surprised, not flustered.

But he was still amazed that the woman’s Shadow possessed such free will and didn’t need to be activated or controlled by her. Her ability was definitely top-tier, as even her Shadow possessed matching physical strength and Astra Energy.

The woman, seeing her Shadow hold the Tenth Sun in place, moved in for the kill. Her dagger danced in her hand as she rose upwards while changing her grip into a reverse grip. As she shot upward, she stabbed towards Asher’s chest with a glint of finality in her eyes.

But as the attack was about to connect, Asher’s hand moved as he caught her wrist, pausing the attack.

The woman froze in surprise as she stared into Asher’s eyes. This was the first time someone was able to move despite being sealed in place by her Shadow. She couldn’t even sense Asher using any form of ability or Astra Energy.