Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 166: Onwards to the Empire

A dim red glow hung over the barren piece of wasteland, at first glance, no one would have given this piece of land any importance whatsoever, but it was the beginning of the border region with the Empire.

Kothar's sword slammed into the back of the soldier's skull, the spear clutched in his hands falling to the ground as he lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

"He truly is a demon, with me, lads!" A burly soldier, covered in thick black hair, only his eyes peeking out from his bushy beard that obscured most of his face, yelled out.

The burly soldier was joined by two others, who fell into a formation, the pair of them guarding his sides, as they slowly stalked toward Kothar.

Kothar sighed, did they really think that this was all it took to stand up to him, but then again, they hadn't been there to watch his battle with the Colonel.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Three Bolt spells spat out from the tip of Kothar's sword in quick succession, each of them slamming into the approaching soldiers' chests, and they fell to the ground, spasming and twitching from the residual electricity.

While their remaining comrades watched in horror, Kothar quickly slammed the pommel of his sword into each of their heads, making sure they were truly unconscious.

"He doesn't even let dead men lie, for our fallen comrades!" Another soldier had taken it upon himself to rally the remaining soldiers, some of whom were already slowly backing away. They didn't want anything more to do with this demon.

The yell allowed them to gather their wits about them again, what were they doing, backing away from a lone soldier? There were still more than ten of them, they could easily take him. 

Kothar watched with a grin, as they all formed a loose circle around him, weapons pointing toward him in the center, and they gradually began to advance. Kothar began to charge up a ball of lightning in his empty left hand, and the gathered soldiers watched nervously.

His Mana Sensing Lens allowed him to see as they charged up their mana and sent it toward their weapons, readying to strike him.

However, none of them had Elemental Mana, which would restrict their style of attack.

The charged Storm Field slammed into the ground, and radiated outward along the ground. Shocked into motion, the soldiers around Kothar all struck out, all using Force emission to strike out at Kothar, sending slashes and stabs flying at him from all directions.

But the combination of Lightning Aura and Storm Field meant that even the flying slashes and stabs moved like snails for Kothar, as he elegantly danced around them. 

His sword darted out, again and again, as he moved around the encircling soldiers, a dull thud sounding out as they all fell to the ground, one after the other.

[Show off. Nobody's watching, you know.] Silane piped up as Kothar finished off the last soldier, who had enough time to notice his comrades were all falling around him and had a terrified look on his face as his eyes met Kothar, right before the flat of Kothar's blade slammed into his helmeted head.

[I don't  know about that, you were watching, and I even got a comment out of you.] Kothar still had a smile on his face. He was glad that there was enough of a gap in power between him and the soldiers that he was able to take them all out without actually harming any of them.

[Shouldn't admire your handiwork too long, there'll be reinforcements coming soon enough.] Silane said, as Kothar sheathed his blade and took a moment to get back his breath.

[Alright] Kothar replied, dispelling his Lightning Aura and the Storm field spell, and immediately the pain that had been stabbing through his body subsided, and he almost fell to the ground in relief. But he had to keep going, and so, he sped away, taking great leaping strides, heading to the southwest.

Only about ten minutes after Kothar had left, the sound of hoofbeats and the yells of soldiers filled the air. The cavalry unit from the Colonel's army had arrived, but they were too late.

The lifeless bodies of their comrades lay strewn all around, a few lay off to one side, while the remains were in a loose circle, it seemed they had tried to surround their target.

"Looks like Colonel Jeffard's killer got away, and it looks like the killer took out an entire squad all by itself. It must be some sort of demon! Let's track the ****** down!" A proud looking man with a fine suit of black and gold armor called out from atop his enormous black stallion.

"Will, don't be in such a hurry, it seems that our men are still alive, just unconscious!" Another soldier responded, this man's armor was the same black and gold but had faded, evidently from years of use. 

"Captain, we should pursue him, we must get revenge for the Colonel!" Will yelled back at his superior, his noble upbringing meant he often spoke out of line with his superiors, and his status meant they often had to ignore his poor attitude.

"Will! Dismount and help these men immediately! That's an order!" The captain yelled at Will, who begrudgingly hopped off his horse, and began softly tapping at the shoulder of one of the unconscious men, raising his water flask to the man's lips.

"Be at ease, Will! The demon's initial tracks lead south, so soon enough he'll be in Imperial territory, and the things they do to intruders, well, that'll be justice enough for the Colonel for me!" The captain yelled out from the south, as he stared down at the ground, his eye's half shut as he felt for the mana residue around them.

As the unconscious men's comrades roused them, Kothar was walking within a stream, it would do much to hide his tracks and the cool water also soothed his cramped and painful muscles.

Finally, he was getting closer and to the Empire.