Chapter 99

Chapter 98: Determining Strength (Subscription Request! Monthly Vote Request!)

"Mr. Rigel, you—"

Ian, who was closest to Rigel, had already stopped in his tracks, looking at Rigel holding a bright silver short sword, his face full of surprise.

The others were no different. Seeing Rigel actually use his sword to deflect the arrow, they all showed a momentary delay in their reactions.

Rigel, who was originally considered almost useless and without combat ability in everyone's eyes, suddenly became the focus of the entire scene.

Then, the unexpected happened.

"Clang!"

The first to react was the muscular man, who took advantage of the opportunity to strike with all his might, sending the unprepared Ian flying with a powerful slash of his greatsword, ignoring the sparks that flew between them, and then turned to burst forward with a speed that didn't match his physique, rushing to Rigel.

"Stop!"

"Mr. Rigel!"

The cries of Ian and Ian rang out one after another, but it was already too late.

The muscular man didn't utter a single word, his eyes bursting with killing intent as he looked at Rigel. His broadsword, like a bolt of lightning, aimed for Rigel's head, slashing down with all his strength.

This slash split the air, carrying magic, and the howling wind it generated even turned into a shockwave, making Rigel's hair fly wildly and causing his forehead to sting.

An ordinary person's body, under such a powerful slash, might not even offer the slightest resistance, being split in two.

Even a regular swordsman, if hit by such a fierce blow, would surely die.

Of course, that was assuming the blow landed.

"Bang!"

When the explosion-like dull sound echoed, the muscular man's powerful slash ultimately landed on the ground, just like when Ian had used his greatsword to strike the floor, shattering it.

Cracks spread from the ground in all directions, and the impact wave scattered debris and sand.

"What?"

The muscular man's pupils contracted as he looked at his missed strike.

The next moment—

"Thud!"

A flash of silver light swept past the muscular man's side, slicing open his side.

Rigel had silently darted to the side of the muscular man, his face cold, and the short sword in his hand swiftly drew a spray of blood from the muscular man's side.

"Ugh!"

The muscular man grunted, but paid no attention to his wound, and without hesitation, swung his heavy broadsword, sending dust flying and slashing toward his side.

Unfortunately, this strike also missed, only stirring up a chaotic gust of wind.

Then, Rigel appeared on the other side of the muscular man.

"Thud!"

The silver light flashed again, mercilessly slicing open the other side of the muscular man's body, creating a symmetrical wound that caused blood to spurt.

"Ughhhhhh!"

Severely injured, the muscular man's figure wavered, but he stubbornly refused to fall, instead roaring in anger and attacking Rigel like a madman.

Blood was spurting, wounds were splitting, but the muscular man paid no attention, only swinging his broadsword like a meat grinder, the heavy blade whistling through the air, the sword light and wind pressure like a storm, attacking Rigel from all directions, determined to kill him.

"Remarkable willpower."

Rigel finally spoke.

His tone and eyes were equally calm, and his figure moved like a leaf in the wind, dodging the sword light and wind pressure.

His movements were not large, his steps were not disordered, and Rigel relied on minimal dodging, moving lightly between retreating, sidestepping, spinning, and stepping, avoiding all of the muscular man's fierce attacks.

Then, Rigel counterattacked.

The bright silver short sword, like a cold light, appeared silently, moving so fast it blurred, instantly piercing through the storm of sword blades the muscular man had created, landing on his body.

"Thud—Thud—Thud—"

Whether it was the tip or the edge, Rigel's short sword sliced through the muscular man's body in the blink of an eye, cutting him open.

The muscular man's body swayed like a branch in a storm, blood spurting from every part of his body.

Before long, the muscular man was covered in wounds, bloodied and battered.

"Ughhhhhh!"

Under such severe injuries, the muscular man finally couldn't hold on, letting out a pained cry, his broadsword falling to the ground, and he knelt down, becoming a blood-soaked figure.

This killer, who could match a regular swordsman, was completely powerless against Rigel.

This was to be expected.

From the battle between the muscular man and Ian, and Ian's personal performance, Rigel had roughly estimated the strength of these regular swordsmen.

In Rigel's view, the strength of a regular swordsman was roughly on par with the weakest potential of a 5.

In the world of the Earth's Mist, as long as an adventurer had one ability trained to the D stage, they could meet the minimum requirement for leveling up. At this point, as long as they obtained enough achievements, they could level up smoothly.

So, the weakest potential was when each level was achieved with the minimum requirement of "only one ability trained to the D stage."

Such a potential accumulated was undoubtedly quite poor, and among peers, without considering the power of magic and skills, they were at the bottom.

Such an existence, Rigel could easily beat several of them even at level 4, without using magic.

Now, Rigel was already a first-level adventurer at level 5, and upon reaching level 5, he could comprehensively surpass the top-tier regular swordsmen at the same level, even without using magic, he was not far from level 6.

Thus, a regular swordsman with the weakest potential at level 5, how could they have any chance against Rigel?

If Rigel used magic, he could instantly obliterate such a level of opponent.

After all, among the magic Rigel had learned, there were several large-scale destructive spells.

A spell like "Salvo of Fire Spears," in the hands of Rigel, who had developed the "Magic Conductor" ability and whose "Magic Power" potential was extremely high, could destroy a village or an army in one strike.

A spell that could destroy a village or an army was already considered a tactical-level spell in this world.

In other words, Rigel, who had returned from the dimensional travel, was not yet on par with the top-tier strong individuals in this world, unable to match the invincible sword saints or the strategic-level mages who could destroy cities, but he was an upper-level existence among the middle ranks.

As a swordsman, he was stronger than the regular swordsmen in this world who could fight a thousand enemies alone.

As a mage, he was on par with the tactical-level mages in this world.

At the very least, Ian, Ian, and this blood-soaked muscular man were no match for Rigel, even if he didn't use his full strength.

However, this scene was quite shocking to those who didn't know Rigel's strength.

"Intelligence is incorrect, retreat."

A killer whispered, took a step back, and prepared to escape.

The other killers also retreated without hesitation, preparing to leave.

"No way!"

Ian and Ian were finally awakened, quickly focusing their attention on the killers and rushing forward with their swords to block them.

The battle continued, but the confrontation between Rigel and the muscular man was almost over.

"Tell me, who are you?"

Rigel held his short sword, standing in front of the muscular man without any guard, looking down at the blood-soaked figure kneeling on the ground, his face expressionless.

"Hah"

The muscular man only let out a cold laugh, then fell silent.

Rigel's eyebrows furrowed, and the next second, he realized something, kicking the muscular man down.

The muscular man fell to the ground and remained still.

He was dead.

Purple-black blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, clearly from poisoning himself.

Rigel stared at the lifeless muscular man, silent.

Before long, the entire dark alley was quiet, with no more sounds of battle.

Ian and Ian returned.

They had won a decisive victory, defeating all the killers.

The strength of the two regular swordsmen, even with the weakest potential at level 5, was not something ordinary killers could handle.

"Are you okay? Mr. Rigel?"

Ian asked urgently.

Ian didn't speak, just looking at Rigel with a strange expression.

"I'm fine." Rigel withdrew his gaze from the muscular man and asked, "This guy committed suicide. What about your side?"

Hearing this, Ian and Ian fell silent.

Clearly, the fate of the other killers was the same.

At least, both Ian and Ian had wanted to capture them alive.

With the identity of the enemy unknown, they naturally wanted to find out who they were and who was behind them.

Unfortunately, like Rigel, they didn't get what they wanted.

"Where do these killers come from?" Ian looked at the muscular man on the ground and said softly, "They can even abandon a regular swordsman-level expert without hesitation, and once defeated, they immediately commit suicide. Even most of the nobles can't do that, can they?"

Regular swordsmen were each a mighty warrior capable of fighting a thousand enemies, and in a large country like the Ginass Kingdom, they were considered important middle-tier forces. Which faction would be willing to abandon them so easily?

But this had happened.

"Heretical assassins?"

Rigel narrowed his eyes.

This underground organization, which was said to have the support of a national power, was becoming increasingly mysterious to Rigel.

"Let's go back." Rigel sheathed his sword and said, "Have the Franzel family send some people to clean up the bodies here and investigate. Perhaps we can find something."

"Yes." Ian and Ian nodded in response, their attitude no different from when they were facing their master.

Rigel's sudden display of overwhelming strength had stunned the two regular swordsmen, making them unconsciously follow his instructions.

This was different from before, when they followed Rigel's orders because of Yulie's command. This time, Ian and Ian didn't consider Yulie before obeying.

So, Ian took the lead, returning to the Franzel family to bring a group of people back to clean up.

Rigel and the others then got back into the carriage, driven by a new driver, and returned to the Franzel family.

(End of Chapter)