Chapter 128: Four S-Rankers
Chapter 128: Four S-Rankers
Like a veil of smoke, the steam created a soft barrier between the two, making it difficult to see each other clearly.
Lady Yu watched with a bashful expression as the young man picked up his clothes and began his walk to the exit. He didn't utter a single word.
She had questions. She wanted to open her mouth and ask him who he was, but the words caught in her throat.
She then remembered her meeting with Little God.
The Curse of Men-or Curse of Love-had been placed upon her, a curse that would stop her from falling in love with anyone but the "soulmate", which the Little God mentioned.
It was a thought that lingered in her mind constantly, causing her both fear and excitement. However, only one person was destined to be her soulmate.
She never expected to meet that person.
Now, she met someone she didn't feel absolutely disgusted with. The thought of him being her soulmate crossed her mind more often than she cared to admit.
"W..."
She wanted to speak, but it was like trying to find the right words in a language she didn't fully understand.
The young man didn't seem to hear her. He was already by the exit, pushing the vines out of the way with his left hand.
"Wait..." she said, but it was barely a whisper.
It was already too late.
The young man had left the cave, the vines falling back into place in front of the entrance.
She looked disappointed, and her mouth closed in a defeated sigh. She didn't understand what was wrong with her.
This was the first time she was too nervous to speak.
When she met the Little God for the first time, she was less nervous than now.
It was like her heart was trying to escape from her chest.
Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump.
She still remembered his face so vividly-round, navy eyes widened in surprise, flesh flushed in a light pink, and lips slightly parted in awe-when she saw her black hair, she thought it needed a little trim, but she still thought that he was strangely attractive.
She had met all sorts of princes, kings, and holy men in her lifetime-most of them trying to become her suitor-and they were all good-looking, but there was something about him that stood out from the rest.
'Soulmate...'
...
Adam fast-walked down the forest path, his heart pounding against his chest like a drum.
'Why is she here? She never came to the Gathering before.'
It was impossible to forget the sight of her in the bath. It was almost like the sight was burned into his memory.
'Cursed... I was not ready to meet her.'
Adam clicked his tongue in frustration and leaped over some of the fallen trees.
He then heard clashing weapons, rustling leaves, cracking twigs, and loud shouting.
There were a lot of fights ongoing in almost every direction.
That's why Adam was hurrying back to the town of Kuroshima. He was too weak to encounter Blackheart. It would be instant death.
He started running, the wind whipping against his lengthy black hair.
After a short while, he arrived back at the town-its streets emptied and the bonfire fires extinguished—but there was still some trash, bottles of alcohol, and pieces of broken glass scattered around.
"Oh, you're back."
Kory said from the porch of a house that was missing a few roof tiles and had boarded up windows.
It wasn't used by any of the mercenary groups, as there had been rumors of this house being haunted. A few years ago, during the Gathering, a whole guild went missing without a trace after spending the night inside.
There were a few who knew some of those members back in the real world. After asking them about what had happened, they didn't get a single response back.
They had all gone mute, blind, and deaf-they were in a complete vegetative state.
Kory, however, didn't seem to be scared of the rumors.
"What happened to you?" Kory asked with a frown. "You seem... stronger."
"This happened," Adam said, tossing the pouch to his feet. "I have something to tell you."
Kory picked up the pouch, untied the string, and looked inside to find fragments of crystals. They had lost their luster and looked like small pieces of dull glass.
He examined one of them, and it didn't take long for him to understand what it was.
He inhaled deeply, recognizing the faint smell of sulfur.
"You... found it?" Kory asked in awe. "How..."
"The bottom of the hot spring." Adam said, leaning against the railing of the porch. "A portal opened up as soon as the Black Sun swallowed the real sun."
"I see..." Kory chuckled, realizing it was silly. "It was right in front of our nose all this time. That place had been searched fully hundreds of times, as it seemed the most ideal place for the respawn crystal."
"It was never searched during the Black Sun?" Adam asked.
"No," Kory said. "The King is usually busy during that time, as are members of the Imperial Order. Who would've thought that the Black Sun opens up a hidden room there..."
"How's the raid going?" Adam asked. "I heard a lot of fighting."
"It's been intense," Kory replied. "I heard there is a massive fight happening on the southern beach, near the harbor. It is an important place to defend, and we cannot allow them to take any ships."
...
The south beach.
An army of armor-clad mercenaries battled against naked-bodied Blackhearts.
The blood shed, the screams echoed, and the clash of swords filled the air, creating a chaotic
scene of war.
There were three mercenary guilds present-Dying Star, Queen's Blades, and Crimson Hounds and they were standing united against the might of Blackhearts.
The Blackhearts, since their god's soul was destroyed, had only one goal left-leave this
island and never return.
At the frontlines, Arkham's axe shredded through the bodies of the creatures, his axe glowing
with a radiant glow of red.
The people awed at the strength of the S-ranker.
"What a monster, haha." Zahn laughed while fighting side-by-side with Digby. "You think Adam will become as much of a monster as Arkham one day?"
"Who knows? Focus on the present." Digby said while clashing swords with the Blackhearts.
After wiping out a tier 2 guild before the beach war, the Blackhearts took hold of their weapons. They were clumsy with them at first, but slowly, they began to show promise as
skilled fighters.
At that moment, they saw a white-haired woman leaping over them. She looked like a flying goddess; her movements were graceful and deadly.
Sapphira pulled the string on her bow and released a flurry of arrows.
Those arrows were clad with purple Kraft; therefore, as soon as they hit their target, the bodies of the Blackhearts exploded with holes. It was almost like they were hit by bullets! Sapphira, as soon as she landed in the midst of the Blackhearts, pulled out her silver sword from its sheath and cut through them with ease.
With that, the mercenaries pushed onward, and the Blackhearts struggled to hold their
ground.
At that moment, a sound of a horn and the marching of men came from the beach forest. From there, a group of black-clad mercenaries emerged, blood on their faces. "Men, kill these wretched creatures!" Mauricio shouted and swung his sword down.
The members of the Death Mercenaries flanked the Blackhearts, encircling them with the
other three guilds.
Calamity, with a grin on his face, sliced through the Blackhearts with his razor-sharp blade.
Soon, he came across a beautiful white-haired woman who was almost dancing around the battlefield, the blood dripping off her blades like a macabre waltz.
"Ah, what a pleasant surprise~" Calamity said to her with a flirtatious tone. "The Dancing
Blade, Sapphira, was it?"
"..." Sapphira remained silent, feeling his gaze undressing her in more ways than one.
Smash!
At that moment, an axe burst through a skull of Blackheart, which fell right beside Calamity's
feet.
Calamity's words got stuck in his throat as he saw the axe-wielding man arrive at the scene.
Arkham looked at Calamity with a cold gaze-a usual look for him-but Calamity didn't know
that, as he had never seen such a cold gaze before.
Those who were fighting alongside them realized something awe-inspiring.
There are currently four S-rankers in the same battlefield, fighting against same foe!
Most of them had never met S-rankers before. Now they met four at the same time!