Chapter 143: One Rule of Life.

Chapter 143: Chapter 143: One Rule of Life.

Chapter 143: One Rule of Life.

Osborne felt disappointed since he hadn’t even needed to use any aura during those few exchanges, and despite the trafficker’s strength being far greater than that of an ordinary opponent, the man had spent most of their fight underestimating him because he believed a mage couldn’t possibly match him in close combat.

"Why don’t you see for yourself?" Rather than showing any sign of nervousness, Osborne answered with a confident smile, his Burning Blade still glowing brightly in his hand.

"What?" The trafficker was momentarily confused, unable to understand what the young knight was talking about.

Crack... Crack... Crack...

His eyes suddenly widened when he heard a strange sound coming from the broadsword resting on his shoulder, and his head quickly turned towards the weapon, only for him to discover that several cracks had begun spreading across its surface.

’How can this be?’

Before he could even process what was happening, the cracks continued spreading until they covered almost the entire blade, leaving him staring at the weapon in disbelief as he struggled to understand how something like this could have happened without him noticing.

PA!

His sword shattered on his shoulder, sending countless fragments falling towards the ground while he stood frozen in place, unable to believe that the weapon he had relied on for so long had been destroyed in such a short amount of time.

He had spent the entire fight mocking his opponent, convinced that Osborne was nothing more than an arrogant mage who had foolishly decided to challenge someone far more experienced in swordsmanship, and because he was so preoccupied with proving his superiority, he had failed to notice what his opponent had actually been doing.

From the very beginning, Osborne hadn’t been trying to kill him with his sword, but had instead focused on damaging the man’s weapon little by little, using his Burning Blade to weaken the metal while making every exchange look like an ordinary clash between two swordsmen.

The trafficker’s confidence had worked against him, since he had never bothered to coat his blade with aura despite knowing that his opponent was using a strange sword that could produce intense heat, and that mistake had allowed Osborne’s plan to succeed without any unexpected complications.

’You idiot. You were so busy trying to prove yourself that you didn’t even notice what was happening to your own weapon.’

Osborne had no intention of fighting a prolonged battle against someone who possessed several stars of aura while he himself had barely even awakened his first star, especially when the other man’s physical abilities and swordsmanship were both superior to his own, so destroying the weapon had been the safest way to deal with him.

"One rule of life..."

The trafficker stiffened when he heard a voice coming from in front of him, and his head instinctively lifted as he finally noticed Osborne standing only inches away, his crimson eyes staring at him through the opening of his helmet.

"Never take your eyes off your opponent..."

Osborne’s cold voice was the last thing he heard before a flash of red light passed across his vision, leaving him unable to understand what had happened until his entire world suddenly began turning upside down.

The next moment, his point of view began spinning as though the world itself had been thrown out of orbit, and the sight of the ground approaching his face was the last thing his eyes managed to register.

THUD.

Only when his decapitated head dropped to the floor with a pitiful thud did the spinning finally come to an end.

---

Osborne sat atop one of the wooden walls, continuing to watch the scenery below as the remaining demonic beasts tore through the traffickers who had been unfortunate enough to find themselves caught in the middle of the chaos.

After the death of their leader, the morale of the traffickers completely collapsed, and the men who had previously fought desperately to keep the beasts under control suddenly found themselves struggling to survive against the creatures they had been trafficking.

Some attempted to flee while others tried to gather around their remaining companions, but without someone capable of organising them, their efforts were nothing more than a desperate attempt to delay their inevitable defeat, especially since the beasts had already tasted blood and showed no intention of stopping.

With no will to continue fighting and their formation completely destroyed, the traffickers were quickly taken care of by the remaining beasts, leaving the encampment filled with the sounds of growling, snarling, and the occasional cry of a dying man.

Osborne watched the scene unfold without showing any particular reaction, since he had already made his decision before beginning the fight.

Thud!

Osborne jumped down from the wooden wall the moment the last trafficker was dead, landing on the ground without making much noise as he surveyed the encampment and the numerous demonic beasts that had survived the battle.

With no one left to fight, the creatures gradually turned their attention towards the strange armoured man standing among the corpses, their eyes narrowing as they bared their fangs and hooves in his direction.

Some of them had already witnessed his magic during the battle, while others had only seen him from a distance, but regardless of what they knew about him, to them, he was still another human that needed to be dealt with.

Snap~

Osborne didn’t seem fazed by their hostile reactions, instead snapping his fingers as though he had been waiting for this very moment.

The moment he did so, the lightning wolf pack, along with Hana and Vanessa, appeared behind him in an instant, their sudden arrival causing several of the wild beasts to shift their attention towards the newcomers.

"My lord, what are your orders?" Both Vanessa and Hana asked as they dropped to their knees the moment they appeared, their heads bowed respectfully even as the surrounding beasts bared their fangs and hooves in their direction.

Neither of them showed any sign of fear or hesitation, since they had already become accustomed to Osborne’s sudden summons, and the sight of numerous hostile demonic beasts surrounding them wasn’t enough to make either woman forget the position they held in front of their master.