Episode 658
Zeke stared at the fortress wall, disbelief etched across his face.
The Rom Empire’s magic cannons fired shells at the wall.
Boom!
Just like before, the wall crumbled under the assault.
“How could this be happening again?”
He had once traveled back twenty years into the past thanks to an Elder Dragon relic, but this kind of time loop was a first.
Overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events, Zeke shook his head to clear his thoughts. After all, this was a new opportunity.
“It must be the work of the Twisted Constellation. Everything’s so distorted.”
With renewed determination, Zeke gripped his sword and ascended the wall.
As expected, the three imperial knights who had attacked him earlier appeared once more.
One of them charged at him in the same manner as before.
Swish!
Having already fought them once, Zeke anticipated the knight’s moves and quickly closed the distance, dodging the aura blade and driving his sword into the knight’s heart with all his might.
“Argh!”
With a final cry, the knight fell.
The two remaining knights, witnessing their comrade’s fall, rushed at Zeke just as before.
Zeke deftly evaded their attacks, using his illusions to dodge their blades, and struck their vital points with his dagger and sword.
Thud!
In an instant, the knights were down.
“Phew…”
Thanks to his previous experience, Zeke managed to conserve more energy this time.
But the real challenge lay ahead—Cain.
“I can’t defeat him with my current skills.”
Zeke was certain that to escape this twisted past, he had to prevent Alicia’s death.
The problem was that to save Alicia, he had to stop Cain, who had been blessed by the shadows.
Cain’s skills were formidable, but even more troublesome was the armor he wore—Hersion, the armor of the goddess Theia.
“When I wore it, I didn’t realize how annoying it could be when used by an enemy.”
Made of orichalcum, it provided both physical and magical defense and could even cast large-scale spells, making it an almost invincible artifact.
“The Zeke Murray of my past life couldn’t defeat him. I need to use the new techniques I’ve learned.”
As Zeke pondered which skills he could use in his current state, he noticed more imperial knights approaching.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
These knights seemed to be from the imperial heavy cavalry, not the draker knights.
Clad in thick armor, the heavy cavalry wielded hefty maces instead of swords.
Even a glancing blow from a mace imbued with aura could shatter bones, making them deadly in chaotic battles.
Zeke raised his sword as the heavy cavalry approached.
He steadied his breath and reinforced his body with mana.
“My body may be as it was in my past life, but my soul has grown strong enough to attain divinity.”
Though his power was limited in this past, the essence of his soul remained unchanged.
As the heavy cavalry charged, swinging their maces, Zeke used his illusions to dodge.
“Success.”
By channeling mana into his body, he could replace the power of aura and create a perfect illusion.
Zeke danced around the heavy cavalry, striking at the gaps in their armor with his empowered sword.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
While using a double spell was difficult, he could manage a single spell without issue.
The heavy cavalry, caught off guard by Zeke’s swift attacks, began swinging their maces wildly.
Whoosh!
The threat of being struck was palpable, but Zeke remained calm.
“Phew!”
He gathered his breath and infused his sword, Gram, with mana.
But instead of converting mana into aura as usual, he employed a martial technique—Resonant Wave.
Vroom!
As he used the technique, Gram vibrated, sending out waves.
The waves spread from Zeke, causing the heavy cavalry to freeze, unable to move properly.
The Resonant Wave had disrupted the aura within the heavy cavalry’s bodies.
Seizing the moment, Zeke closed in and drove Gram, imbued with all his strength, into the gaps in their armor.
Thud!
The heavy cavalry fell, lifeless, to the ground.
Zeke felt more exhausted than before.
“Healing can mend wounds, but it can’t restore stamina.”
If only he could access his inventory, he could recover with potions, but that too was blocked.
As Zeke caught his breath, keeping an eye on the other knights, something flew at him from behind.
Instinctively, he used his illusions to retreat.
A crimson aura whip struck where he had stood, slicing the fallen heavy cavalry’s body in half.
Swish!
It was Cain, the Empire’s secret weapon, wearing Hersion, capable of freely manipulating aura.
Cain, his face hidden by a helmet, spoke to Zeke.
“I came to hunt the Northern Wolf, but it seems I’ve found an interesting prey. I’ll deal with you first before starting the wolf hunt.”
Zeke steadied his breath, facing Cain.
“If things go as I plan… I can defeat him.”
He maintained a safe distance, gripping his sword.
Cain, observing Zeke, manipulated his aura whip.
In an instant, the aura, like a serpent, lunged at Zeke.
Swoosh!
The aura blade could slice through even the toughest armor like butter.
Zeke dodged Cain’s aura blade with his illusions, closing in as much as possible.
As he swiftly closed the gap, Cain reached out, seemingly amused.
Vroom!
At that moment, ancient runes glowed on his armor, and a white lightning bolt struck Zeke.
Boom!
Instead of a plasma field, a lightning chain activated, attacking Zeke.
Zeke quickly drew a dagger from his belt and hurled it at the center of the lightning chain.
Crackle!
The lightning chain reacted to the metal dagger, dispersing its current.
In that brief moment, Zeke drove Gram into the ground and unleashed Resonant Wave.
Vroom!
The waves spread outwards.
Remarkably, the waves disrupted Hersion’s functions.
Recalling how he had been immobilized by Arataso’s barrier while wearing Hersion, Zeke had used the Resonant Wave to his advantage.
Sizzle—
With Hersion’s functions halted, the magic it had activated was forcibly canceled, and Cain, momentarily flustered, tried to retreat.
Seizing the opportunity, Zeke left Gram embedded in the ground, drew a shortsword from his waist, and charged at Cain.
Vroom!
He intended to shatter Hersion and sever Cain’s neck with the full force of his will.
Just as Zeke’s sword was about to strike Hersion—
Vroom!
Cain’s eyes glowed red beneath his helmet, and something pierced through Zeke’s back.
“Argh!”
Seeing what had emerged from his chest, Zeke was stunned.
“Shadow… Armor.”
The shadow that had emerged from Cain crushed Zeke’s body.
“Kill them all!”
The sound of fierce battle cries and clashing weapons filled the air.
When Zeke opened his eyes again, the same scene unfolded before him.
He sank to the ground, pounding the earth in frustration.
“Damn it.”
He had confirmed that dying would only reset everything.
Realizing that Cain possessed not only Hersion but also the Shadow Armor, Zeke felt a headache coming on.
“If he can wield the Shadow Armor, defeating him with my current power is impossible.”
The Shadow Armor, capable of both attack and defense, was the ultimate shield, armor, and weapon.
Zeke knew its power well, having survived many deadly encounters with it.
A hunting dog approached from behind.
Thud!
Without looking, Zeke threw a dagger, dispatching the beast.
He rose, frowning, and gazed at the fortress wall.
“If things continue like this, there’s no way.”
Perhaps leaving this place to find a way to counter Cain before returning was the most rational plan.
Unlike before, Zeke moved away from the wall.
He swiftly dealt with the hunting dogs that charged at him and descended the wall.
Finding an abandoned horse, he mounted it and rode away from the battlefield.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
After reaching a secluded spot far from the fortress, Zeke finally halted the horse.
Dismounting, he quenched his thirst at a nearby stream and searched for a place to rest.
Fortunately, he found a cave nearby.
As he entered to rest and contemplate his next move, his heart began to race.
“What is this?”
Suddenly, he felt dizzy, as if the world was spinning around him.
His vision blurred, and soon, everything went dark.
“Kill them all!”
The familiar roar of battle and the clash of weapons echoed in Zeke’s ears.
He found himself back at the same place once more.
”…This is driving me insane.”
He couldn’t comprehend why he had returned to this moment without even dying.
“If I were to form a hypothesis, there are two possibilities. One, I’ve moved a certain distance away from Himonas Castle, causing time to rewind. The other…”
Zeke turned his gaze toward the tower.
“…is that something has happened to Alicia, triggering the time reversal.”
To test his theories, Zeke sheathed his sword, pulled up his hood, and moved stealthily, recalling his days as a hitman.
He crept along the inner wall, inching toward where Alicia was, almost crawling.
But as he hugged the wall, arrows suddenly flew at him from behind.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The soldiers of Himonas, mistaking him for an imperial assassin, had fired at him.
“Damn it.”
Zeke deflected the arrows with his dagger, swiftly scaling the wall.
Himonas Castle was a complex structure of walls, towers, and watchtowers interwoven together.
With physical abilities far surpassing those of an ordinary person, Zeke leaped between walls, climbing like a flying squirrel.
He was nearly at the tower when he heard a thunderous sound from above.
Rumble!
Zeke knew exactly what that sound was.
“Alicia.”
Whenever Alicia, blessed with the power of a grand warrior, swung her sword, it sounded like thunder.
As Zeke stealthily climbed the wall, Alicia was wielding her naginata against the imperial knights surrounding her.
Crash!
One knight, struck by the naginata, was crushed into the wall, armor and all.
Her strength, likened to the incarnation of the Wolf King Fenrir, was formidable enough to challenge even the black knights.
The imperial knights, intimidated by Alicia’s overwhelming presence, hesitated to advance.
Moments later, a man clad in resion armor appeared among the knights.
“The Northern Wolf. Just as the rumors say.”
He drew his sword, pointing it at Alicia.
Alicia glared at him silently, raising her naginata.
“Haah!”
With a battle cry that echoed throughout the tower, Alicia charged at him.
Her naginata, imbued with the power of a grand warrior, came crashing down on him, as if to crush him in one blow.
At that moment, a blinding light flared from Cain’s hersion.
The intense light obscured Alicia’s vision, creating a small opening.
In that instant, shadows rose from beneath Cain’s feet.
Sharp shadow blades shot up, piercing through Alicia’s body.
“No!”
Zeke, who had just entered the tower and witnessed the scene, sprang into action as Alicia was impaled by the shadow blades.
But then, the same phenomenon occurred again.
Zeke’s vision turned black once more.