Chapter 205 - The Floating Weapons

The ground rumbled.

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

Metal clashed beneath the ground—an intense rhythm coming from inside the earth itself. This time it was not accidental; it was planned. Patient. Prepared.

Jennie stood in the middle of the ruined battlefield with Excalibur glowing in her hands. Gold sparks were flickering from the blade as it cast dancing shadows on broken stones and destroyed earth. The white hair of the sorceress moved in the cold wind while her gaze focused on the darkness before her.

Around her, the royal knights prepared for the fight—they pulled their weapons from the sheathes.

Roxy stood next to Jennie, her hair shimmering with moonlight. Her ears pressed flat to her head as she charged magic in her fingers.

Snow's nine tails were standing up—the white fur of the fox gleamed brightly as he scanned the darkness with intelligent eyes.

Lucas was staring at the enormous crack in the ground. From its depths, dark red light was pulsating in a sinister rhythm.

"Everyone stay alert."

A knight gulped loudly. He tried to talk but failed to keep control over his voice.

"Commander..."

Lucas turned to look at him. "Yes?"

The knight pointed to the ground behind them. His hand was shaking.

"Look."

Lucas turned his gaze.

His expression changed.

The battlefield was moving.

Not the earth. Not the ground. The weapons.

Thousands of abandoned weapons covered the ancient battlefield—swords, spears, axes, daggers, arrows, shields—the remnants of the long-ago war. Broken weapons that have been buried for hundreds of years—their blades rusty, handles rotted.

One by one...

They started lifting into the air.

A sword flew up into the air, its blade reflecting the light of the moon. Then another. Ten, hundred, thousands. They flew up into the sky, turning towards the living beings.

Roxy looked up to the sky. Her voice was barely a whisper.

"That's..."

A spear flew above Roxy, its tip shining with malevolence.

"...a lot of weapons."

Snow was looking at the sky with his tails standing up. They were twitching slightly.

"Yes."

Another sword passed near his ear.

Snow's ears lay back against his head.

"Very sharp weapons."

Roxy quickly stepped behind Jennie. Her voice was filled with fear.

"Jennie."

"Yes?"

"I've changed my mind."

"About what?"

"I don't like this battlefield."

Jennie looked at her with a calm expression—as if she were mildly amused.

"You liked it before?"

"No."

"Then nothing changed."

Roxy frowned. "That's not the point!"

Suddenly...

All the weapons stopped.

The battlefield went absolutely silent. The wind stopped. The fires went quiet. Even the sounds of the night held their breath.

Thousands of weapons hovered in the sky. Pointed at the royal knights. Waited.

Lucas' eyes widened and his voice sounded with command.

"Formation!"

The soldiers immediately obeyed their commander; their training took place.

"Shields up!"

The knights formed a shield wall—a wall of metal and flesh.

Lucas held up his sword. "Do not break formation!"

Jennie was looking at the floating weapons. She had a rather bored expression on her face.

Then she sighed.

"Here we go."

The weapons attacked.

WHOOSH!

Thousands of weapons rushed into the air. Their blades produced deadly sounds.

"Brace!"

The knights lifted their shields.

CLANG!

The first attack was over. Several shields were forced backward. Soldiers grunted as they tried to resist the pressure.

"Hold!"

The second attack started. Thousands of swords flew into the air from every possible side, spinning and flashing. Spears twirled like deadly dancers, and axes ripped the darkness.

It was difficult for the knights to maintain their ranks and formation.

"Left!"

"Incoming!"

"Cover our rear!"

Lucas blocked three swords one after another. His sword swished around with incredible speed and accuracy.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Yet another spear attacked him; he blocked it. Another one. Yet another.

"Keep them together!"

However, the flood of attacks refused to stop. They came endlessly. Weaponry after weaponry swirled in the battlefield.

Roxy raised her hands.

"Barrier!"

An incredibly large blue barrier appeared in front of them. Thousands of weapons rained upon it.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The barrier started shuddering under the attacks. Spider-like cracks started forming on its surface.

Roxy's face became pale. Sweat rolled down her forehead.

"There are too many!"

Jennie calmly walked out of the barrier.

Roxy stared at her. "Jennie!"

Jennie didn't reply. With slow steps, she moved to the center of the battlefield.

One sword attacked her. She tilted her head; the blade missed her face.

Then another sword came from behind. She turned...

CLANG!

Excalibur blocked it.

Then a spear flew from above. Jennie raised one hand, and the spear hovered in the air for a few inches; then she flicked her wrist, and the weapon flew back and collided with three other hanging weapons.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Jennie stepped forward.

One more sword. She ducked. One more spear. She spun. One more axe. She grabbed the handle and flung it back.

One weapon after another attacked her; she hardly moved, flowing between the attacks like water between stones. Her movements were incredibly accurate and precise; she easily deflected the attacks and threw weapons back, making them collide with each other.

Roxy watched the scene from behind the barrier. Her mouth hung open.

"She's not even trying."

Snow looked at her and nodded. He said proudly:

"That's Jennie."

One sword flew at him. He opened his mouth.

CHOMP!

The sword vanished between his teeth.

Roxy stared at him. "Snow!"

Snow chewed the blade. Crunch. Crunch.

He swallowed.

"Metal."

Roxy stared at him with open mouth. "Did you just eat a sword?"

Snow looked at her with innocence. "I was hungry."

Another sword attacked him. Snow opened his mouth.

CHOMP!

Roxy screamed. "Stop eating the weapons!"

Snow grabbed another blade. CHOMP!

"Stop!"

Jennie glanced at him. "Snow."

Snow stopped. The wolf seemed slightly disappointed.

Jennie sighed. "Those are ancient weapons."

Snow tilted his head. "So?"

"They might be historically significant."

Snow looked at the blade in his mouth, then at Jennie.

"Can I keep this one?"

"No."

Snow reluctantly let the blade drop on the ground with a clatter.

Roxy covered her face. "I can't believe this is happening."

Meanwhile, Lucas continued fighting.

He blocked another sword. Then another one. His arms ached and his muscles burned; but he kept moving and fighting.

However, all of a sudden...

He stopped.

His gaze followed Jennie.

She was moving across the battlefield like a phantom. A sword attacked her; she sidestepped. A spear came from her blind spot; without looking at it, she blocked it. A dagger attacked her from above; she caught it between two fingers and flicked away.

Lucas's breath grew slower.

That movement.

That stance.

That way of turning the wrist.

That way of analyzing the battlefield.

He knew this movement. Not from Jennie. From somewhere else.

Long time ago.

Lucas's gaze became sharper.

"That girl..."

Jennie heard him. Her movements paused for half a second.

Lucas stared at her. "That girl..."

A memory flashed in his mind.

The little girl with silvery white hair. Small hand in his. The sound of the voice calling him.

Lucas.

Then the memory faded.

Lucas shook his head. "No..."

Jennie looked at him. Their eyes met for a brief moment. None of them said anything.

Jennie turned away. She couldn't tell him yet.

Not yet.

The battlefield suddenly changed.

The floating weapons stopped attacking. Every sword, spear, and axe started pointing to the sky.

Roxy looked up. Her expression changed.

"Jennie..."

Dark clouds gathered fast above the battlefield. Ancient power was swirling inside those clouds. The air became heavy; static electricity filled the atmosphere.

The knights looked up. "What is happening?"

Lightning flashed above their heads. But it wasn't a regular lightning. Each bolt was filled with fragments of ancient magical energy; inside the storm there were flashes of soldiers, spells, explosions, warcries.

Thousands of memories.

Roxy's face turned paler. "That's not a natural storm."

Another bolt hit the battlefield.

BOOM!

The earth shook. The knights staggered.

Roxy quickly enlarged the barrier. "Everyone, go inside!"

The knights hurried to her; another bolt hit the field.

BOOM!

One knight went down on one knee. "I can't move!"

"It's the mana!"

Roxy looked at Lucas. "Explain!"

Roxy pointed to the battlefield. "Thousands of warriors died here!"

Lightning flashed again.

"Every spell they cast."

Another one.

"Every technique they used."

Another one.

"Every trace of mana they left behind..."

Roxy's voice trembled.

"...Has been trapped in this land for a thousand years."

Lucas looked up. "And now?"

Roxy swallowed. "This battlefield has awakened."

The storm howled.

"And all that ancient mana is released at once."

The knights struggled to remain on their feet; their bodies became heavy, some of them fell to their knees.

Lucas planted his sword in the ground. "Everyone hold your positions!"

A lightning bolt descended.

Roxy screamed. "Brace!"

The bolt hit the barrier.

BOOM!

Cracks appeared on it. Roxy's hands trembled.

"I can't contain this anymore!"

Jennie looked at the storm above them. Then at the swords in her hands. Excalibur. Leviathan. Tempest. Eclipse remained underneath her cloak.

Jennie slowly reached for Tempest.

The moment her fingers touched the hilt...

The storm reacted.

Lightning exploded above their heads. Tempest was in her hand. The Divine Sword of Storms.

Blue-white energy started erupting from its blade. The air crackled with energy.

Roxy stared at her. "Tempest..."

Jennie raised the sword. "Let's calm this down."

The storm roared. Lightning descended.

Jennie swung Tempest.

The blade didn't cut the lightning; it directed it. One gigantic bolt of lightning curved sideways. Then another. Then another.

Tempest directed the storm into one giant circular flow. The clouds began rotating around her.

Lucas stared in shock. "She's controlling the storm."

"No," Roxy replied.

Tempest.

"She controls the battlefield's mana flow."

Jennie explained further. But the energy was unstable; thousands of years of stored magic were colliding and reacting. Tempest alone could not contain all of this energy.

Jennie called on Leviathan.

The Sword of Oceans appeared in her hands.

Right after that...

A massive wave of blue magic washed over the battlefield. The unstable energy slowed down as Leviathan absorbed it. Magic streams swirled around Jennie like water.

Roxy gasped. "Leviathan stabilizes it!"

Jennie crossed both Swords. Tempest controlled the storm while Leviathan stabilized the mana flow.

Yet darkness still remained under the storm. Underneath all this chaos there was a black energy. Demonically corrupted.

Eclipse spoke up from under Jennie's cloak.

Jennie.

Jennie looked down. "I know."

Jennie reached for Eclipse.

The Blade of Shadows materialized.

The instant Eclipse manifested...

Silence filled the battlefield.

The darkness rushed towards the Blade. Eclipse absorbed it. One stream. Then another. The black energy disappeared into the blade.

The storm dissipated. Ancient magical fragments dissolved. Weapons started falling down.

One by one. Two by two. Thousands by thousands.

CLANG.

CLANG.

CLANG.

The battlefield fell silent.

Jennie was standing at the middle of it.

Three Divine Swords encircled her.

Tempest.

Leviathan.

Eclipse.

Just for a moment...

All three Swords synced together.

A massive aura appeared. Storm on top of the battlefield was splitting in half. The clouds were being scattered by that energy as moonlight bathed the battlefield and the ruined lands around it.

Every royal knight was motionless. Nobody dared to say a word.

Roxy just stared at Jennie. Snow lowered his tails. Not even Lucas moved.

Three Divine Swords hummed in sync. Tempest's storm. Leviathan's ocean. Eclipse's darkness.

Three opposites. And yet somehow... they were moving in unison.

Jennie slowly lowered the Swords. The aura vanished. The battlefield became quiet again.

Tempest, Leviathan , Eclipse returned under Jennie's cloak.

Jennie looked around. "Are all right?"

Nobody answered.

Finally, Roxy raised her hand. "Jennie."

"Yes?"

"Don't do things like that casually."

"Why?"

"Because I almost had a heart attack."

Snow nodded. "She's exaggerating."

Roxy shot Snow a glare. "I am not!"

Snow pointed at the battlefield. "You were screaming."

"The battlefield was exploding!"

"You scream when you see spiders."

"Spiders are dangerous!"

Jennie sighed.

Royal knights slowly calmed down. But Lucas did not laugh. He was still staring at Jennie. Something in his eyes had changed. Not suspicion. Not fear.

Recognition.

Lucas had seen plenty of elite knights fight. He had seen powerful mages. Legendary warriors. But movement of Jennie was different. Control was different. Instincts were different.

It was not about power. She knew how to fight. As if she had been through many wars.

Lucas whispered, "That girl..."

Jennie heard him again. She turned her head slightly.

Lucas looked straight into her eyes. Just for a second... he almost asked.

Who are you?

But the words would not come out.

Then another memory flashed.

Battlefield. A little girl. Silvery-white hair. His hand holding hers. His voice.

"Don't worry. Big brother will protect you."

Lucas felt his heart tightening. He looked at silvery-white hair of Jennie. Then at her face.

Some instinct told him that he knew her. That he had known her for much longer than he remembered. But the memory remained buried.

Lucas looked away. "Raven..."

She looked back at him. "Yes?"

Lucas paused. Then smiled. "You are stronger than I thought."

Jennie smiled. "You have never seen me fight seriously."

Lucas stared at her. "That's exactly why I'm worried about it."

Jennie laughed.

Roxy immediately pointed at her. "See? Even Lucas agrees with me!"

Snow sat next to them. "Roxy worries too much."

Roxy folded her arms. "You ate a sword."

"That was not related," Snow said, looking away.

For the first time that night knights laughed. Tension was broken. Fear disappeared.

But underneath that laughter...

The earth shuddered again.

Something deep beneath the battlefield woke up.

A voice sounded from beneath the earth. It was ancient, cold and filled with a thousand-year-old hatred.

"Four..."

The ground cracked. Red light started dripping from the cracks as if from the wounds refusing to heal.

"Four Divine Swords..."

Red light appeared beneath the ground. It was pulsing as if beating heart. It was getting brighter and brighter with each passing moment.

"She has gathered four."

A dark presence awakened. It rose from the depths as if made of nightmares, its shadow spreading across the battlefield.

And one more word echoed from below. Name. Threat. Promise.

"Leonis."