Chapter 160 The Break

As John ran back, Harris desperately continued fighting.

’’What’s wrong?’’ Barressa mocked. ’’Surely you can do better than that?’’

Harris gritted his teeth, his entire body numb.

Blood seeped from dozens of wounds, and every breath sent a sharp pain shooting through his chest.

Yet he refused to lower his sword.

’’Shut your mouth!’’ he shouted, lunging forward.

His sword rapidly began gathering aura as he brought it down.

But before he could unleash the technique, Barressa’s foot shot forward.

BANG!

His kick slammed into Harris’s hand, nearly knocking the sword out of his hand.

The gathering aura immediately dissipated, canceling the Whitemane technique.

’’HAHAHA!’’ Barressa laughed. ’’Is that all you’ve got?’’

He twisted his weapon and stepped forward.

SHHK!

His blade slashed through Harris’s armor, carving a deep wound across his chest.

’’UGH!’’

Blood sprayed through the air as he stumbled back.

’Damn it!’

Harris desperately tried to tighten his grip around his sword.

Yet he could feel his strength draining from his body.

The wound was simply too deep.

’No!’ he thought. ’I can’t stop here!’

Despite how one-sided the fight had been.

Despite how much pain he was in.

Harris could only think about one thing.

’Come on!’

He clenched his teeth, forcing his trembling arms up.

’COME ON!’

Barressa let out a scoff.

’’Do you still not understand?’’ he asked mockingly. ’’A baron’s techniques and resources could never match up to what we’ve learned.’’

Pausing for a moment, Barressa let out another chuckle.

’’I can’t believe someone like you turned down a duke’s offer for... this.’’

Harris didn’t answer.

It was something he knew all too well.

Arthur’s resources and even techniques were far from those of the people in power.

’Why did I stay? ...Why did I stay?’

For a moment, his breathing grew calm.

A small smile slowly grew on his face as memories flooded his mind.

Whitemane City, Arthur, Helena, the young knights, and so much more.

’That’s... why.’

Harris gritted his teeth as aura wrapped itself around his sword.

Determination radiated from his body as he locked eyes with Barressa.

’I can’t let them down now!’

Aura erupted around his longsword.

Without hesitation, he charged forward once more.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Their weapons collided repeatedly.

This time, Harris didn’t attempt any techniques.

Instead, he poured every ounce of his strength into his swordsmanship.

SWISH!

His longsword just barely missed Barressa’s neck.

’’What?’’ Barressa muttered, taking a step back.

Harris immediately followed up with another strike.

CLANG!

Then another.

CLANG!

For a brief moment, he actually managed to force Barressa back.

Step after step, Harris pushed him closer to the edge.

’Come on!’ he screamed internally. ’Just a little more!’

But... the advantage didn’t last.

Barressa suddenly burst out laughing in front of him.

’’Courting death, are we?’’ he said, shaking his head. ’’I’ll have to show you the difference in techniques now!’’

Harris’s expression darkened slightly.

As former allies, Barressa was no stranger to him.

He knew all too well that before joining the Viscount, the man had trained under a Marquis.

’I need to... block this!’ he thought, clenching his jaw.

Barressa raised his greatsword high above him.

A maniacal grin spread across his face as aura began gathering inside it.

’’This one’s called Mountain Splitter!’’ he shouted. ’’Go ahead! Try blocking it!’’

Harris’s eyes widened.

’Come on!’ he shouted. ’Block! I need to block this!’

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion.

Harris followed Barressa’s greatsword unblinkingly.

But as it got closer, his hope slowly began to fade away.

’Dear Goddess of Light,’ he thought, gritting his teeth. ’May you accept my spirit in the Evergarden and protect those I leave behind.’

Without hesitation, Harris lunged forward.

A large amount of aura began gathering around his longsword as he swung it.

But just as their blades were about to collide, Barressa’s expression suddenly changed.

’Huh?’

An overwhelming sense of danger surged through his body.

His instincts screamed at him to move.

’FUCK!’

Without hesitation, he abandoned his technique and desperately kicked back.

But it was already too late.

SWOOOSH!

PUCHI!

A massive metallic bolt tore through his right arm, taking a large portion of his shoulder with it.

’’AAAARGHHH!’’

Barressa’s cry rang out across the wall, attracting attention everywhere.

As he stumbled back, his gaze fell on the place his arm had just been.

But now, all that remained was a mist of blood.

’My... arm?’

For a moment, he couldn’t even comprehend what had happened.

Then the immense pain finally struck.

’’AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!’’

Harris stood frozen, his longsword still raised.

His eyes slowly widened while his mouth fell open.

’What...?’

But he quickly pushed those thoughts away.

’NOW!’

Harris’s eyes sharpened.

This was his chance!

Desperately, he gathered all his remaining aura.

But as he took a step forward...

His knees buckled, and everything went dark.

’’BARRESSA!’’

Baldwin’s furious roar echoed across the battlefield.

CLANG!

He knocked Arthur’s sword aside with all his might and glanced back at the scene.

Barressa still stood there, staring down at his own wound while letting out strange, painful cries.

Many thoughts raced through Baldwin’s mind.

’What the hell happened? Was it the same thing that killed our mage? But how?! I specifically chose the castle walls as our battlefield for that reason!’

Judging by the blood pouring from his shoulder, he wouldn’t last much longer without treatment either.

WHOOSH!

Baldwin quickly ducked, Arthur’s sword passing right in front of his eyes.

’’Do you really have the time to be distracted right now?’’ Arthur said, pushing forward. ’’I didn’t know you thought that little of me.’’

Gritting his teeth, Baldwin turned back toward Arthur.

His eyes instantly went wide.

Arthur was charging straight toward him, his entire body surrounded by aura.

’Fuck!’ he thought. ’It’s that damn charge again!’

Only now, there was no time for him to dodge.

All he could do was raise his greatsword in front of him like a shield.

Arthur closed the distance in only a few steps and collided head-on with him.

BOOOM!

Baldwin’s body flew through the air, his greatsword dented inward.

BANG!

His body slammed into a stone wall several meters away, sending cracks spreading across its surface.

’’FUCK!’’

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to regain his footing.

’’GODDAMN IT!’’

He had underestimated Arthur.

Even after everything that had happened, the man still had enough strength to launch the second Whitemane technique.

But Baldwin had no time to dwell on it.

His gaze immediately shifted back to Barressa.

’I can’t lose another asset,’ he thought. ’Not to a mere baron like this!’

’Who knows what they’ll do to me if I bring those results back!’

Baldwin gritted his teeth, cursing several times under his breath.

Then he sucked in a deep breath.

’’RETREAT!’’ he roared, amplifying his voice with aura. ’’ALL FORCES, WITHDRAW FROM THE CITY!’’