Arc 4 Chapter 35 : Raul Vs Squad Cavalier

[Valentino POV]

We began moving to attack the black-haired man.

However, he immediately started fleeing, putting distance between himself and us.

“Chase him!” I ordered everyone.

The man headed toward a mountainous area filled with tall rock formations, with narrow gaps between them.

“Where is he?”

“I don't know! He suddenly disappeared! Search every gap between these rocks!”

We began splitting up to search the narrow gaps scattered throughout the area.

The sound of the rain made it difficult for us to hear and detect his movements.

I searched between every rock, but there was still no sign of the man.

“Arrrghhh!”

Suddenly, I heard one of our members scream.

I hurried toward the source of the sound.

There, I saw the corpse of my comrade lying beside a gap between the rocks.

His body was covered in blood, with a sword wound across his neck.

“Damn it! Come out right now, you coward!” I shouted as loudly as I could in frustration. “Fight us! Where are you?!”

I looked around.

All I could see was an empty area filled with rocks.

“...”

Suddenly, I sensed killing intent coming from behind me.

I instinctively spun around and performed a Spinning Slash.

—Clang!

Our swords collided.

The man then delivered an incredibly powerful kick to my heel, causing my body to tumble forward.

But his attack didn't stop there.

He spun his body after the kick and delivered a second kick toward my face.

I raised both hands to protect my head.

—BAMM!!

My body was sent flying before rolling several times across the ground.

When my vision finally focused again, the black-haired man had already disappeared.

“Damn it, where did he go?” I cursed angrily. “Don't tell me he's targeting the others too?”

I hurried to my feet and began searching for him again.

Not long afterward, screams from my comrades echoed through the area.

Once again, I rushed toward the source of the sounds, but all I found were their corpses.

Everything had become a complete mess.

We were the ones being hunted by him now.

It would be better to find the other members and search for him together.

After searching the area for a while, I saw one of my female comrades fighting the man.

I ran as fast as I could toward the two of them.

—Clang! Clang! Clang!

Their swords clashed.

However, my comrade was clearly being overwhelmed.

Before long, the black-haired man managed to disarm her.

He swung his sword toward the neck of my female comrade, who had no means of defending herself.

“No, no, no! Cindy, run from him!”

—Slash!

But it was too late.

The head of the woman I had known for so long rolled across the ground and struck my feet.

Earlier, I had told Ezio not to act recklessly and not to let his emotions control him.

But when the people closest to you are slaughtered one after another, I don't think there is any human being who can continue thinking clearly and controlling their emotions.

After killing Cindy, the black-haired man prepared to flee again.

“I won't let you disappear again!”

I rushed after him and thrust my sword toward his back.

He shifted to the left while spinning his body, causing my thrust to strike nothing but air.

The man then swung his sword vertically, intending to cut off my extended right arm.

However, I quickly caught his wrist with my left hand, stopping his blade before it could sever my arm.

I attempted a counterattack, thrusting my sword toward his stomach.

But the man spun his body again and avoided my thrust.

—Bam!

He kicked my heel hard again, just like before, causing me to tumble to the ground and lose my grip on his right wrist.

Damn it.

I had fallen for the same trick again.

But this time, he didn't kick me in the face.

Instead, he raised his sword and prepared to stab me from above.

In this position, there was no way I could dodge.

I reached for the Revolver at my waist with my left hand and aimed it directly at his face.

—Bang!

My shot missed.

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He immediately abandoned his attack and leaped backward.

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

I continued firing until the bullets in the weapon were completely exhausted, but not a single shot hit him.

That man's movements were incredibly fast, just like Captain Siena's.

This was the advantage of possessing magic.

“Valen! Are you all right?!”

I began seeing Aldo and six of my comrades approaching.

“I'm fine! Attack that bastard!” I ordered them as I rose to my feet.

Aldo and the other six members surrounded the man from every direction.

But I knew that despite our numerical advantage, defeating him wouldn't be easy considering his incredible agility and his ability to seamlessly combine swordsmanship with martial arts.

We would have to make sacrifices and restrict his movements, which were being accelerated by magic.

Aldo and the others began attacking him simultaneously.

Meanwhile, I circled around them, waiting for the right opportunity to strike his blind spot.

The man remained incredibly calm despite being at a disadvantage.

He effortlessly blocked and evaded my comrades' attacks, using no unnecessary movements.

—Bam!

He kicked one of my comrades with tremendous force, sending him flying several meters away.

Particles of light surrounded his leg, indicating that his attack had been enhanced by magic.

I immediately dashed toward him and launched a thrust from behind.

But unexpectedly, he suddenly grabbed Aldo's arm in front of him, spun around, and threw Aldo's body directly toward me.

“...”

I automatically slowed down and canceled my attack.

—Crash!

The two of us collided.

“Ouchhh! Valen, are you all right?” Aldo asked as he got back to his feet.

“Don't worry,” I replied. “But if this continues, we'll lose to him.”

“Valen, I'm going to use it and take that bastard to hell with me,” Aldo said, his resolve already set.

His words shocked me.

What Aldo intended to do was activate the series of dynamite charges attached to his body and detonate them together with the man.

“No, Aldo. We can still—”

“Valen, if this continues, many more of our comrades will die at that man's hands before we can achieve victory!”

Aldo cut me off.

The look in his eyes told me he wasn't joking this time.

“I understand. I'll create an opening for you to get close to him, Aldo.”

Meanwhile, the black-haired man had already brought down two more of our comrades.

Only four of us remained fighting him.

I hoped the others could arrive soon and help us.

I dashed toward the man again to create an opening for Aldo's attack.

The man shifted his attention toward me.

Good.

Keep your eyes on me, bastard.

Your life will be ending soon.

—Slash!

I swung diagonally toward his neck, but he avoided it by taking a small step backward.

He then counterattacked with a thrust toward my chest.

However, I successfully blocked it with my sword.

My gaze then focused on his legs.

He was probably going to kick my heel again like before.

But this time, what I saw was an uppercut with his left hand.

—Bam!

His attack struck my chin directly, making me stagger backward and nearly lose consciousness.

As I opened my eyes again, the man was already preparing another thrust toward my neck.

I quickly shifted my head to the right.

But suddenly, the man canceled his thrust and instead delivered a left-legged kick toward my head.

—BAMM!!

My body was sent flying by his kick.

But it didn't matter.

I was merely a distraction for the attack that was coming.

“Now, Aldo!”

But before I even had to give the order, Aldo had already dashed toward the man.

His body was covered in a series of dynamite charges, their fuses already burning.

At this distance, the man wouldn't be able to escape the blast.

Aldo, your sacrifice will not be in vain.

You are the hero of this battle.

“I'll take you to hell with me, bastard!”

The distance between the two of them was only about two meters.

Yet the man remained completely calm.

But what he did next left me unable to believe my eyes.

He cut the burning fuses before they could reach the dynamite attached to Aldo's body.

The explosion had been completely neutralized.

And now Aldo stood directly in front of the man with absolutely no defense.

“No! No! No!”

—Slash!

Once again, the head of one of my friends rolled across the ground.

His eyes remained open, showing that even he had been shocked by how completely our plan had failed because of that man.

Damn!

Damn!

Damn!

I hurried to my feet, then dashed toward the man and attacked him recklessly.

“I'll never forgive you, bastard!”

[Marcela POV]

We hurried toward the location where the sounds of battle were coming from.

Unlike the Seniors, I would only observe from a distance before firing at my target.

The remaining Seniors began arriving one after another.

I could see five corpses scattered around the area.

“Isn't that Senior Cindy's and Senior Aldo's heads?”

They were Seniors who were extremely popular among the Juniors in the Squad.

On the other side, I saw Vice Captain Valen fighting a black-haired man with an enraged expression.

He appeared to be struggling against the enemy.

However, the seven remaining Seniors who had just arrived immediately joined the fight and began pressuring the black-haired man.

Now, it was ten against one.

Everyone surrounded the black-haired man so he couldn't flee and hide again like before.

I was positioned on top of a cliff 500 meters away from where they were fighting.

I took out a tripod, lay down, and began aiming at the black-haired man.

They resumed their battle.

It was extremely difficult for me to shoot a moving target.

Moreover, the Seniors were fighting the man at close range, putting me at risk of causing Friendly Fire if I didn't calculate every factor carefully.

“Don't give him any room to move!”

“Keep cornering that bastard!”

Although he was heavily outnumbered, the man could still hold his own against the Seniors.

Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be around the same age as Ezio and me.

Yet his experience and manner of fighting were already like those of a war veteran.

I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it before locking onto the target through my sights.

I had to wait until he attacked before pulling the trigger of my weapon.

Not long afterward, the opportunity appeared.

The man thrust his sword into the neck of one of the Seniors, causing his movement to stop for a brief moment.

I immediately pulled the trigger.

—Bang!

However, my shot only grazed the man's cheek.

Tch.

Did the trajectory of the bullet curve because of the strong mountain winds and the rain that was falling now?

The man then turned his head toward my position.

However, the Seniors wouldn't allow him to come after me and immediately attacked him together again.

I stood up and moved to another position.

If I remained in the same place, he would have a greater chance of avoiding my shots.

After finding a suitable position, I lay down again and aimed at the man, who had just sent one of the Seniors flying with a kick.

This time had to work.

I had to hit him.

Otherwise, many more Seniors would die at this man's hands.

I saw Vice Captain Valen fighting him now.

Unlike the other Seniors, the Vice Captain was the strongest member after Captain Siena.

He seemed to be holding out much longer against the man than the other Seniors.

I saw the man thrust his sword into Vice Captain Valen's left shoulder.

But the Vice Captain immediately grabbed the man's arm, preventing him from escaping.

Vice Captain Valen realized that I needed this opportunity to hit the man.

Without hesitation, I quickly fired my weapon.

—Bang!

The black-haired man's left hand suddenly reached for the Revolver at Vice Captain Valen's waist.

He then turned toward me and aimed it in my direction.

—Bang!

He fired the Revolver.

My shot hit his left shoulder first, but the bullet he fired struck the Scope of my Sniper and destroyed it instantly.

“How can he do something like that with just a Revolver!?” I complained angrily.

I had heard of magic that could increase the accuracy and striking power of a bow, but I had never known that it could also be applied to firearms!

Now that my Sniper was damaged, I could no longer use it properly.

[Raul POV]

After kicking away the man who had grabbed my arm, I clutched my left shoulder, which had begun bleeding after being hit by the Sniper's shot.

Using Eagle Eye and Stabiliate magic, I had been able to improve the accuracy of my shot and hoped that luck would allow me to hit the Sniper.

However, she seemed to be fine, and my shot had only damaged the weapon she was using slightly.

There were still three enemies capable of moving.

I had to finish this quickly before the rest of the enemy forces arrived.

Activating Accel, I dashed toward one of the remaining enemies.

He attempted to thrust his sword toward me, but I dodged it and instantly slashed his neck.

“You bastard!”

I turned around.

The man I had stabbed earlier was charging toward me again.

Of all the soldiers I had fought here, he was the most persistent and troublesome.

—Slash! Slash! Slash!

He attacked me recklessly.

However, his strikes were slower this time because his other arm hung limp after being stabbed earlier.

I blocked his slash with force, causing his body to spin around and turn his back toward me.

As I prepared to kill him, I noticed that the remaining enemy was silently approaching from behind.

I spun around.

A man was leaping toward me, preparing to thrust his sword into my body.

I shifted slightly to the side, avoiding his attack, then slit his throat and killed him.

Without stopping, I immediately stabbed the last remaining man from behind, directly through the heart.

His body trembled violently before beginning to go limp.

“Forgive me, Captain Siena...”

Huh?

Captain Siena?

I pulled my sword from his body.

The man collapsed to the ground.

And this time, as I looked ahead, I saw a black-haired woman walking toward me, stepping through the corpses of her comrades I had killed here.

There was no expression on her face.

But her eyes...

I could feel an intense hatred and killing intent directed at me from her gaze.

Final Boss...

She had finally arrived...