Chapter 1284: Spellsword

Liang Shen stepped forward, his expression was now serious as he looked at the knights surrounding them.

"Leader, I think we can make our move already," he said quietly.

Ruth glanced at him before looking toward the battlefield.

The disguised knights were stronger than they had initially expected. Even Ruth’s Runes had failed to completely disrupt their formation.

There was no reason to continue hiding their strength.

"Don’t hold back! Target the strongest ones." Ruth shouted as she felt that it was time.

Liang’s eyes immediately brightened.

Beside him, Ayaka Hoshino also smiled.

They had been waiting for this moment. Since joining the Dawnblades, the two Platinum-Rank adventurers had deliberately kept a low profile.

Aside from Jericho’s request, they also had no interest in attracting unnecessary attention, especially when they had only recently become part of the group. They had simply followed the others and allowed the Dawnblades to complete their missions without revealing the extent of their abilities.

Of course, they were also digesting the Philosopher’s Elixir that they had consumed!

Indeed! The two of them could now be considered Arcanists!

Liang Shen slowly raised his sword.

The change was almost imperceptible at first.

Then, the atmosphere around him began to shift.

The knights closest to him immediately noticed something was wrong.

The pressure surrounding Liang was no longer that of an ordinary adventurer. His body remained perfectly still, yet there was a strange sense of weight in the air, as though an invisible force had suddenly descended upon the battlefield.

One of the disguised knights narrowed his eyes.

"What is this...?"

Liang had awakened his Will many years ago, on the night when the four-horned chimera destroyed his mercenary company. At that time, he had simply relied on it to survive, and for years afterward, he had struggled to understand it on his own.

That changed when he met Jericho.

The young Arcanist had shown him that Will was not simply another form of power. It was the manifestation of one’s Soul Energy, something that could become stronger through the path of Arcane!

Under Jericho’s guidance, Liang had finally begun to understand the force he had awakened all those years ago.

He had never forgotten that lesson.

Now, as his Will slowly gathered around him, Liang’s eyes became calm.

"You’re not the only ones who have been holding back."

The moment he finished speaking, his figure disappeared.

The nearest knight barely had time to react.

Clang!

Liang’s sword struck his opponent’s weapon with such force that the knight was immediately pushed backward. His boots dug deep into the earth as he struggled to withstand the attack, and before he could regain his balance, Liang was already advancing.

Another slash followed.

The knight blocked again, but his arms trembled from the impact.

"What kind of strength is this?!"

He had expected Liang to be another ordinary member of the Dawnblades. Yet the moment the man began fighting seriously, the entire situation changed.

Liang did not simply possess overwhelming strength.

His attacks were targeting their vital points!

His Will flowed naturally through his body, reinforcing each strike and allowing him to maintain his composure even while fighting several opponents at once!

The knight suddenly realized that the man standing before him was not someone he could defeat.

He was someone who had reached an entirely different level.

Liang’s sword swept across the battlefield, forcing another knight to retreat.

"You’re too slow."

A voice suddenly came from behind the man. The knight’s eyes widened.

"W-what—"

He turned around just in time to see a silver flash.

Ayaka Hoshino’s twin sabers struck simultaneously.

Clang! Clang!

The knight hurriedly raised his weapon, but Ayaka’s blades were already moving again.

She had always been known for her speed.

From the moment she had been trained in the Hoshino clan, she had learned to fight with two sabers, using one blade to control the enemy while the other sought the opening. Over the years, her movements had become so fast that even experienced warriors struggled to predict her attacks.

Yet what made her truly dangerous was not simply her speed.

She understood exactly when to accelerate.

Her opponent tried to follow her movements, but Ayaka suddenly changed direction, stepping around his defense before attacking from the side.

The knight barely managed to block.

Then another strike came... and another.

His expression changed as he realized that he could no longer keep up.

"She’s too fast!"

Ayaka’s twin sabers crossed in front of her body before separating in opposite directions.

The knight’s weapon was knocked away.

Before he could recover, the hilt of one saber struck his chest before being kicked away!

Bam!

Ayaka landed lightly on the ground and calmly looked toward Liang.

"You took too long."

Liang frowned.

"I was fighting three of them."

"Excuses." Ayaka said with a chuckle.

"I don’t think that’s an excuse."

Their casual conversation left several of the Dawnblades staring at them.

Enkrid could hardly believe his eyes.

He had always known that Liang and Ayaka were strong. After all, the two were already Platinum-Rank adventurers when they joined the Dawnblades.

But Enkrid had never actually seen them fight seriously.

Now he finally understood the difference between simply knowing someone’s rank and actually witnessing what that rank represented.

These two were monsters.

Still, Enkrid was excited... After all, according to Jericho and the others, his potential as an Arcanist was higher than these two!

They mentioned that it was related to his Spirit Strands. Though he couldn’t really understand, he knew that someday, he would be able to surpass them!

***

Still, Cecilia’s expression had become serious as she watched Ayaka move through the battlefield.

"Their movement has become more terrifying after becoming Arcanists..."

Darlene’s black snake raised its head, its eyes following Ayaka’s movements.

Cielo, meanwhile, couldn’t help but smile...

"Looks like we really did recruit some impressive people. Still, it’s unfortunate that they didn’t have that much talent in Knight Arts. They’re more suitable to Dark Arts."

Jericho wryly smiled and shook his head. "They’ll become the first Spellsword here, I guess."