Episode 121: Nemesis (3)
Even in his frenzied state, Damian moved with precision.
The moment he grabbed the wrist, he used a pressure point technique to paralyze the muscles and seal the energy flow.
Once his opponent was completely incapacitated, he seized the head and slammed it into the ground.
With a resounding crash, Tarbula’s head was buried deep into the earth.
Only after completing these actions did Damian regain his senses.
“I’ve really done it now.”
He had let his anger get the better of him and struck a holy knight. Yet, he felt no regret.
His emotions were still too raw, too volatile. If he let his guard down, he feared he might lose control again.
“What on earth do you think you’re doing?!”
A voice, seething with rage, cut through the air.
Turning his gaze, Damian saw Nadine glaring at him with murderous intent.
“How dare an outsider lay a hand on a disciple of our order?”
Nadine drew his sword, the sharp aura crashing over Damian like a tidal wave.
“I won’t let this go unpunished!”
Nadine charged at Damian, but Paramon stepped in to block his path.
“Paramon!”
Nadine roared, bringing his sword down. Paramon intercepted the descending blade with his forearm.
A clash of titans—first-class holy knights, their power rivaling the high class, collided.
The sheer force of their divine energy clashed in the air, leaving some of the nearby holy knights pale with shock.
“Stand aside!”
“I can’t do that. Sir Damian is a guest of our order.”
“That man laid hands on my disciple!”
“It was your side that drew weapons first.”
Nadine glared at Paramon with deadly intent, but Paramon held his ground, unflinching.
The tension between them escalated, their killing intent growing ever stronger.
Just as it seemed the situation would explode, someone intervened.
“Both of you, calm down.”
It was Servo, a first-class holy knight known for his radiant pain.
Being of the same rank, Servo was able to approach through the storm of divine energy.
“Servo, are you out of your mind? You want us to calm down after seeing this?”
Nadine gestured towards the ground where Tarbula lay buried.
“The one who acted rashly was your disciple.”
“Are you siding with that man now?”
“Sir Damian has been granted permission to accompany us by Elder Cheongyeom. Even our Sovereign of Light has tacitly approved.”
Servo’s eyes sharpened.
“Your disciple’s actions could be seen as an insult to our Sovereign. Do you truly wish to turn us into enemies?”
With Servo also defending Damian, Nadine found himself unable to press further.
“Damn it.”
In the end, Nadine sheathed his sword first. Paramon lowered his arm as well.
“What are you all standing around for? Go and tend to Tarbula!”
At Nadine’s command, two knights from the “Bound Wind” rushed to pull Tarbula from the ground.
Tarbula lay unconscious, his face smeared with dirt.
Nadine looked at him with disdain before turning to shout at Paramon.
“Paramon, our ‘Bound Wind’ will never forget this day.”
“That’s my line. Our ‘Scorching Flame’ won’t forget either.”
Nadine’s eyes were filled with malice, but Paramon remained unfazed.
“Our ‘Bound Wind’ will act independently from now on!”
With that, Nadine and his knights disappeared.
Left behind were the knights of the “Scorching Flame” and “Radiant Pain.”
“Those bastards. This is why I can’t stand dealing with the ‘Bound Wind.’ So rigid and narrow-minded.”
Paramon spat on the ground in the direction Nadine had gone, then turned to Damian with a grin.
“Don’t worry about it. The real fault lies with them. No matter how much they dislike it, they can’t just overturn a decision made by the main order.”
Damian’s inclusion had been sanctioned not only by Cheongyeom but also by the Holy Sovereign.
No single faction could unilaterally overturn such a decision.
“Senior is right. If they had complaints, they should have formally lodged them with the order, not acted so recklessly.”
Agnes chimed in.
“I never expected ‘Radiant Pain’ to side with us.”
Paramon remarked to Servo, who replied nonchalantly.
“No need to concern yourself. I’m merely following the will of Master Gwangmyeong.”
“Did Gwangmyeong order you to support us?”
“He didn’t say to support you, but he didn’t say to oppose you either.”
It was an inscrutable stance, typical of Gwangmyeong.
“Now we’re left to chase the fiends on our own.”
With no clear idea of the fiends’ strength, they had already stumbled at the first step.
Paramon scratched his head, looking troubled.
In a forest a short distance from the central branch of the Mandarin Kingdom.
Two figures stood atop a tree, observing the central branch.
“Why are they fighting among themselves?”
“Wouldn’t it be nice if they got along like us?”
“Exactly. I don’t understand why they’re at each other’s throats.”
“Honey, not everyone can be as harmonious as we are.”
A man and a woman’s voices spoke in unison.
Both were cloaked in thick robes, making it impossible to discern their genders.
“Anyway, they’ve come just as we planned.”
“Didn’t I tell you? Stir up the central branch, and they’d come running.”
“Waiting was such a pain.”
“Indeed, it was.”
Though only two people were present, their conversation was unusually lively.
“The best part is they’re divided, fighting amongst themselves.”
“Whether they split or not doesn’t matter. With the blessing of our benefactor, we have nothing to fear.”
“Right. Unless they’re a white-class knight, there’s nothing for us to be afraid of!”
“They should be the ones fearing us.”
As their conversation continued, the pair grew more excited.
“If we pull this off, our benefactor might make us covenant bearers.”
“Just the thought gives me chills. If that happens, even that annoying Gasdal won’t dare mess with us.”
“Don’t even mention him! Thinking about how he treated us like servants just because he was favored by our benefactor… it still makes my blood boil!”
“He was truly insufferable. If I could, I’d tear him apart with my own hands.”
As they spoke, night fell, and darkness enveloped the forest.
“It’s dark enough now… let’s move.”
The two figures headed towards where the holy knights were gathered.
The “Bound Wind” chose a nearby building and entered.
“Paramon! That muscle-brained fool!”
As soon as they were inside, Nadine erupted in anger.
“Bringing an outsider into a mission of the main order, what arrogance!”
“Exactly. And that outsider even dared to lay hands on Sir Tarbula!”
“How could an outsider strike a holy knight… such blasphemy!”
The knights of the “Bound Wind” spoke harshly. Their pride had been deeply wounded by the incident.
“What about Tarbula? Has he regained consciousness?”
“He’s still out cold.”
“Pathetic. Once this mission is over, I won’t let him off. A holy knight losing to a mere common knight!”
Nadine struggled to contain his fury.
Suddenly, Nadine’s expression changed. He grabbed his sword.
“Nadine, sir? What’s going on…?”
At that moment, a dark aura sliced through the building. Nadine raised his sword to block it.
“Argh!”
“Ahh!”
The sudden commotion caused the knights to scream. Nadine stared intently at the gap created by the aura.
Someone was outside.
The figure was cloaked, making it impossible to determine their gender.
But the sword they held was unmistakable.
The blade was shrouded in a dark aura, a clear sign of a dark knight.
“Arrogant fool. A mere prey daring to bite back.”
Nadine’s lips twisted into a sneer.
“A fiend has appeared! Arm yourselves immediately!”
Nadine swung his sword at the wall. A flurry of sword winds tore the wall apart, reducing it to rubble.
Through the gaping hole, Nadine and the knights stepped outside.
“You’re the dark knight who attacked the central branch, aren’t you?”
Nadine addressed the cloaked figure.
When the central branch was attacked, the first-class holy knight guarding it was killed by a dark knight.
Survivors testified that they were toyed with before being killed, indicating a vast difference in power.
The dark energy emanating from the man before them was formidable. Nadine had rarely encountered such a powerful foe.
This man was undoubtedly the dark knight who had attacked the headquarters.
“I heard there’s another dark sorcerer. Where are they hiding?”
The dark knight remained silent. Nadine smirked at the silence.
“There’s no point in saying anything. I can already guess. They’re probably hiding somewhere, waiting to strike.”
Traditionally, a dark mage would support a knight from the rear. That’s when they were most effective. It was likely their enemies would employ the same strategy.
“I’ll handle that one. The rest of you, search the area and find the dark mage!”
“Yes, sir!”
The paladins shouted in unison and scattered. Even if they couldn’t capture the dark mage, they would at least keep them at bay.
Nadine focused solely on the dark knight before him. “I’ll avenge the blood of the paladins and believers slain here.”
He drew his sword, and a fierce wind began to swirl around the blade. Nadine belonged to a sect that could transform divine power into wind. This allowed him to move with greater agility and deceive his enemies’ eyes. But its greatest advantage lay elsewhere.
“Let’s see what you’ve got!”
Nadine swung his sword, unleashing a storm of blades that rushed toward the dark knight. The ground split open in their wake, and stones were cleaved in two. The razor-sharp winds seemed impossible to block or dodge.
But the dark knight was no ordinary foe. As he swung his sword, a black aura lingered like an afterimage, enveloping him. The blade winds dissipated against the aura’s barrier.
“Impressive skills!”
Unfazed, Nadine concentrated divine power into his sword once more and released it in a single, powerful strike. A massive blade of wind flew toward the dark knight, who raised his sword to block it. The impact was too much to withstand entirely, and his stance faltered as his blade was knocked back.
Nadine seized the opportunity, closing the distance with a gust of wind. This time, he aimed to decapitate the dark knight with his sword.
“Farewell!”
In that instant, the world turned upside down. Sky and earth swapped places, and a dizzying vertigo overwhelmed him. His senses scrambled, Nadine’s sword sliced through empty air.
The dark knight seized the moment, slashing diagonally. Nadine instinctively leapt back, but couldn’t avoid the attack completely. A diagonal gash opened from his chest to his abdomen, blood gushing forth.
Clutching his wound, Nadine retreated, trying to heal with divine power. But the cut was too deep to mend easily.
“Cough, cough.”
He spat blood, staring incredulously at the dark knight. He had fought countless dark mages before, so he quickly realized what had happened. He had fallen victim to a “confusion curse,” which scrambled his senses.
But it made no sense. The curse’s effectiveness diminished with distance, and casting it on a first-class paladin like Nadine required a high-level spell. Yet, there was no dark mage in sight—only the dark knight.
“I heard Nadine the paladin was quite strong. Seems the rumors were true.”
“Indeed. I didn’t expect him to dodge even while cursed.”
Two voices emerged from the dark knight, leaving Nadine bewildered.
“Look at his face, dear. Doesn’t he look utterly dumbfounded?”
“Even the esteemed paladin can make such a face.”
The dark knight threw off his robe, and Nadine’s eyes widened in shock at the sight beneath.