Chapter Nineteen: Rogue Slayer of the Fivefold
Walter stood up weakly and lumbered towards the door, his eyes filled with pain and sorrow. He was so down right now that all he thought of was killing Castor. But where was the Castor he would kill? How was he gonna find Castor now that the Arcane Guards and sorcerers were at his neck?
"He killed my family," he kept on muttering as he walked slowly, his weak feet carrying him in a floundering manner. He was so depressed right now that he wanted to just end his life at that moment.
He was almost at the door when he had an immediate ominous feeling. Danger was already near!
Pa!
He trusted his instincts and leapt backwards, his hands spread apart as the tip of a sword flew towards him, leaving afterimages. Then the sword stopped midway and vanished out of sight, Walter landing afterwards.
This...his lips quivered upon seeing the sword vanish without trace. This sword, it had no wielder! What a strange swordsmanship!
"You're mesmerized by the swordsmanship," a voice said from nowhere. It was filled with calmness and purity. Walter didn't even know when someone had appeared behind him.
This...he quickly turn only to see a man standing three metres away from him, his hands behind him.
The man was donned in a white suit and tie with a pair of white shoes to match. His hair and eyebrows were also white, his eyes as blue and deep as the sea. To his left side was a long sword, its hilt as white as snow. His aura was filled with heavenly exuberance, spreading through the whole room and giving it calmness, freeing it from all forms of corruption.
With this pure feeling he was getting, Walter could tell that the man was not from the Black Form Combat. But then, if he was not from the Black Form Combat, how come he was allying with the evil Castor and Vile Knyghts?
Seeing that the man had not taken the initiative to attack, he asked, "Who are you?"
"I am the one sent to finally end you," the man said with a calm expression, painted with innocence and purity.
"Castor sent you?" Walter said. "I can tell you're not a Knyght of the Black Form Combat."
Walter could make his bold assumption because sorcerers from Black Form magic were always so corruptive and evil, likewise the Knyghts he just met now. The man possessed none of the attributes and was filled with piousness and calmness.
"I am but a rogue cultivator," the man said with a smile. In essence, he was telling Walter that he wasn't a member of any School of Combat and became a Knyght by his painstaking effort. Because of this, he was bound to turn evil as well despite dispelling a righteous aura!
This is what we call a wolf in sheep's clothing, even in a dire situation Walter still had the energy to scoff. Hearing what the man had said, he didn't have any other question. He kept a fighting stance, his muscles bulging out. He had overused his Fist of Dragon and Dragon Scale art that his body had begun showing signs of fatigue.
The man seeing Walter in this state couldn't help but curl his lips upward in a smile. Then he said, "Brother, I can see you're tired."
Brother? Walter's facial muscles twitched. Why was the man calling him brother? Did the martial art he studied require him to behave like that despite his intentions?
The man took a bottle from his chest pocket and threw it at Walter who caught it. After that he said, "That's a potion to recover your energy instantly."
Walter didn't know why the man was being so kind as he stared at the bottle with a luminous liquid in it. He didn't have any ominous feeling and felt that the man had genuinely given him the potion without any ill intention.
"I don't capitalize on my opponents and their weaknesses," the man said. "We must be equally matched or you should be above me. That's the essence of my cultivation."
Walter still wondered what martial arts the man learnt as he opened the bottle and gulped down the liquid. After drinking it, he wiped his mouth and threw the bottle away. Instantly, a calmness ran through his whole body—through his veins and vessels, feeling them with life. At that moment, he was healed and restored to the peak of his power. Even his mental state had been healed, cleared of the depression he had been feeling just right now.
"People call me Rogue Slayer of the Fivefold," the man as he drew his sword, dispelling its radiance.
Walter could see that all the candlelight seemed to dim as the man drew his sword slowly. He could feel that each movement was filled with divine calmness and serenity. He had zero idea about the martial art and could only clench his fist, taking the Fist of Dragon stance.
"You first, Brother," Rogue Slayer said to Walter who felt as if they were just sparring and not fighting. The latter didn't stand on any ceremony as this was a death battle and rushed towards the man, each of his movement accompanied by bluntness and heaviness.
"Ah!" he yelled as he punched at Rogue Slayer's face, his fist tearing through the air like a knife tearing through flanks of meat.
Clang!
Rogue Slayer calmly blocked the fist with the side of his sword. Although his movement was calm, it carried with it heaviness. Heaviness met heaviness and Walter was sent staggering backwards.
Powerful swordsmanship, Walter said inwardly. He then attacked again, throwing several powerful punches at the same time. But each punch he threw was met with a sword stroke, the man smiling calmly. It was as if he was a mere student who was taking martial arts sessions with his teacher.
This powerful swordsmanship! Walter couldn't help but exclaim inwardly. But then, he didn't lose hope. He exerted force to his waist and punched at the man's torso with a great momentum. The man calmly raised his sword to block when the punch was an inch from his torso.
Seeing this, Walter changed the direction of his punch instantly and sent it upwards at the man's chin! At the last moment, he changed the direction of his punch! This was a trap he had laid for Rogue Slayer.
Rogue Slayer remained calm as he also changed the direction of his sword, intercepting Walter's fist halfway. Heaviness met heaviness and Walter was sent skidding backwards. Not wanting to waste anymore time intimidating Walter, he unleashed his attack! He unleashed one of the most deadly attack!
Five Folds of Heaven!
His right hand slashed downwards with a great momentum which defied Logos, leaving afterimages. Gusts of light burst out of the sword, engulfing the whole building and spreading far. Just as he unleashed the attack, he sheathed his sword and placed both hands on the hilt.
Walter was blinded by the light and had to close his eyes to shield them from the light intensity as he prepared himself for defense. Now that he couldn't see, he had to trust his other senses or he would end up being killed by the deadly attack which he didn't even know!
Heaven was split into five Folds, each stacked upon each other. Each Fold had different colour and carried different meaning.
Yellow signified radiance and perfection, without any flaw or weakness. Orange signified fiery judgment, not sparing anything or anybody. Grey signified vengeance, not showing mercy. Lemon signified justice and equality, bringing evil to surceasance. White signified authority and power, transcending all possible defense and attack.
These Five Folds descended down on Walter, swallowing him in the depths of radiance and perfection, fiery judgment, vengeance, justice and equality, authority and power!
The attack was so perfect that he was found wanting with so many flaws that he could not even defend against it! His Fist of Dragon was nullified, his Dragon Scale Art eradicated. Even his magic was cleansed, making him an empty vessel without any single ability. Such a terrifying swordsmanship! To think that he was even made weaker than weak humans made him shiver with fear!
Rogue Slayer smiled as he watched the light shroud Walter. There was no way he could defend against the attack. He was an inchoate Tier two, Vedette of the White Form Combat and an inchoate Tier two Knyght was equal to a Array three sorcerer—that was city level! Seeing that Walter was just a street level Array two, Rogue Slayer was all the more pleased with himself.
Walter who was gradually fading from existence, losing all form of life in him immediately felt power surging into him. This power was filled with mystery upon mystery, making Walter a mysterious being. Walter who was already becoming incorporeal became corporeal, coming back to existence.
Rogue Slayer's smile was stuck on his face as he watched the twist of events with shock and horror. At that very moment, he felt Walter was no longer a Array two but a Array five! And that was continental level!
Walter rushed towards him, his movements causing the whole surrounding to quake with immensity. His movements were filled with the strength of thousands of people, blending with nature!
Fist of Illusory Dragon!
This was a higher technique of the Fist of Dragon. It was a technique which could only be mastered by Tier three Knyghts!
His fist tore through the air towards Rogue Slayer, causing the whole surrounding to contract. It was filled with so much power that it struck Rogue Slayer's Will Body instantly.
Rogue Slayer stared with horror without knowing how to react. All he could see were phantasms of Walter's fist filling the whole surrounding. It was as if the punch was coming from different directions at the same time!
Pa!
The fist crashed into Rogue Slayer's torso, tearing through it like a pair of scissors tearing through paper.
Walter retrieved his fist which was embedded in Rogue Slayer's torso and walked away, leaving him still standing at that spot, his eyes filled with horror.
Plop! Plop! Plop!
His intestines dropped from his stomach, followed by his lungs, then liver and heart. All his internal organs continued dropping till there was none left in him. Blood gushed out like spring, dying the whole floor with crimsoned colour.
How did he defeat a Tier two, Vedette? Rogue Slayer collapsed to the floor with a thud, his limbs instantly breaking off like dry sticks. He had died without knowing how.
Walter's right was filled with blood which trickled down to the floor, dotting it. He was almost at the door when he had another ominous feeling. But then, he found the danger he felt familiar. He didn't panic but walked backwards, staring at the entrance of the building. He had just killed a Tier 2 and would kill anyone who stood in his way, no matter who they were and what level they were! He had been bestowed with a power and that power was topping his opponent by far! No matter what threat level his opponent was, he would always top them and grow more powerful!
"Hehe," a voice sounded from the entrance as someone walked into the building. This person was enshrouded in corruptive and evil auras, making him reek of corruption. This was none other than Castor!
"You!" Walter's eyes were filled with fury as he glared at the man who had killed his whole family. "You!"
"To think that you are the one I've been searching for all these years—to think that you're the one I've always wanted to kill," Castor said. "To think that you're the Destined One!"
Walter's facial muscles twitched. Even though he was very angry at that moment, he couldn't help but show his shock. Destined One? I am the Destined One?
Every single Arcane Guards knew who a Destined One was. He or she was human being who had been chosen by the Goddess to represent Her. He or she would be the right hand of the Goddess with which She would mete out judgment and the mouth of the Goddess through which She would speak. Unlike Priests who were only spokespersons of Goddess, the Destined One would carry the power of the Goddess in the whole infinite cosmos, transcending every single being! For thousands of years now, there have been no Destined One and the last one had disappeared without trace. To think that he was the Destined One made him gape with shock.
"As the Fated One of Evil Eye," Castor's lips curled up into an evil grin. "My fate is to kill you."
Walter who was still recovering from his shock heard Castor say, "The mission Hall Of Corruption tasked me to was to find the Destined One, corrupt him and turn him to an evil person or kill him. Telling you to get the Book Of Mysteries was all a ploy to get the Destined One out to the limelight. I had thought he would be among the Arcane Guards and sorcerers who were at your neck, but sadly he wasn't among them. And the reason he wasn't among them was because he was bringing the Book Of Mysteries to me! Who knew the ordinary Walter Anderson was the Destined One! No wonder you could steal the Book Of Mysteries and break away from the sorcerers who had got you. No wonder you could defeat Dan Richards and the other Knyghts. No wonder you could even kill Rogue Slayer who was a Tier 2 Knyght! No wonder you could survive Blessing of Hellenes and Five Folds of Heaven!"
"All this was the get the Destined One?" Walter asked in pain. "All this was just to get me?"
At that moment Castor frowned and said, "Yes. The bait had always been laid out for the Destined One and now I got him."