Voidslayer, having the ability to converse with Val, asked him, “Where is this?”
Val shrugged, “I don’t know.”
Voidslayer paused, “You don’t know? What kind of response is this?”
Val sighed, “Uh, well, let’s just say I got sent here with a promise. A promise to become stronger if I survive and overcome the difficulties that I am to face here. The trials won’t be easy, but the rewards promised are worth the risk.”
“So, it’s like a dungeon where you get rewarded for completing it,” Voidslayer summarized, trying to make sense of Val’s words.
At its words, Val nodded, “You can think of it like that. But instead of getting a random reward, I would advance my wizardry if I manage to complete the dungeon.”
Voidslayer was silent for a moment before asking, “How did you get here?”
“That’s a secret,” Val responded with a smirk.
“There are secrets between us now?” Voidslayer asked, its tone filled with playful reproach.
Val’s smirk widened at Voidslayer’s response, “Well, some things are better kept to oneself. Not to mention, even if I told you the truth, you would find it hard to believe.”
“It’s so shocking?”
“It is.”
Voidslayer went silent for a moment before saying, “Anyways, since overcoming this dungeon is beneficial to you, I’ll help you conquer it.”
GRRRRAAAAAHHHH!
A huge, bestial roar echoed throughout the cave, sounding much like the cry of a dragon. The sound was thunderous, shaking the tunnel and hitting Val like a wall of physical pain. For a moment, he felt disoriented, but he quickly recovered from it.
“This roar,” Val thought, “could only belong to the chieftain of the variants of the shadow drakes.”
To make sure he wouldn’t be caught off guard by the chieftain’s roar again, he let a few tendrils of blood escape from his palm. These tendrils condensed into earplugs, which he promptly inserted into his ears, blocking all sound outside.
Following the roar, countless invisible Swordwielders of Eclipse charged into the tunnel where Val was.
They were here for him!
He wouldn’t have noticed them due to their invisibility If his Heavenly Eye skill wasn’t active. However, since it was still in effect, he saw them clearly. They were approaching him rapidly.
“There are too many of them. I don’t think we can handle this amount alone, especially since the Crimson Slash skill isn’t useable. How about you bring out your undead, Master?” Voidslayer mentally communicated to him. Telepathic communication couldn’t be blocked by the earplugs, so Val heard its words clearly.
Val looked at the sword in surprise, “You can see invisible enemies?”
“You’re realizing it only now?” Voidslayer said.
“Yeah. Actually, I think your ability to see invisible enemies is a valuable asset. With you by my side, even if a time arrived when I can’t use the Heavenly Eye skill because of running low on soul power, I still wouldn’t be caught off guard by invisible enemies. But how does it work?” he asked the spirit sword.
“I don’t think we got the time to chit-chat.” Voidslayer replied to him, “The enemies are getting closer by the second.”
“I can see that. But, your worries are unfound. I can win this fight easily,” Val said calmly. “There’s no need to drag my undead into this fight. I am not a big fan of revealing my trump cards when it’s not necessary.”
“There are around 30 of them. Where does your confidence to win this unfair battle come from?” Voidslayer asked.
“The terrain is to our advantage. This tunnel may seem large but its width restricts the number of enemies who can attack simultaneously to two or three at best. Even if they somehow get behind me, we would only need to worry about being attacked by a handful of them at a time. And that’s where the difference in our power level comes into play. I am more powerful than ten of them combine. They are rushing towards their death.”
After hearing Val’s explanation, Voidslayer realized that the scenario, while seeming dire, was more advantageous than it had initially perceived.
“Intruder, die!”
In the blink of an eye, two Swordwielders launched themselves at Val, swinging their bladed hands with deadly intent. However, their attacks halted abruptly as though meeting an unseen barrier before they even get to make contact with his body, causing them to be shocked.
“You’ll need more force behind your attacks to penetrate my defenses,” Val watched them with a nonchalant gaze as he remarked with a voice dripping with condescension. “Unfortunately for you, you won’t be given another chance to try as you’ve already signed your own death warrants.”
The very next moment, Val casually swung Voidslayer in a wide horizontal arc. The spirit sword sliced cleanly through the Swordwielders, dividing their bodies in half with seemingly effortless ease. The upper halves of their bodies slid off their lower halves, and they collapsed onto the ground, their lives extinguished in an instant.
Upon witnessing the swift and brutal end of their comrades, a sense of dread washed over the remaining Swordwielders and Archers. Their steady advance towards Val came to a sudden halt.
“The intruder is too strong. Can we even win this fight?” One of the Swordwielders voiced their collective fear.
However, another one among them refused to yield to the fear.
“Do not falter or their sacrifices will be in vain! The intruder may be strong, but we can overpower him with our numbers. He is only a mortal. Sooner or later, he will exhaust himself while fighting us, and then he will be at our mercy!”
Its impassioned speech ignited the flame of vengeance in many Sword Wielders of Eclipse.
The entire group resumed their march towards Val with renewed vigor.
“A bunch of mantises dreaming to stop a chariot. How absurd,” Val mocked them.
“Don’t listen to him and remain steadfast.”
“I will just show you what I mean.” 𝑜𝑽𝑳xt.𝕔𝑜𝐌
Val’s free hand, which had been resting idly at his side, swiftly rose.
Though invisible to their eyes, his soul power was surging, pooling at his palm like an unseen maelstrom ready to wreak havoc.
In one swift motion, he pushed his hand towards them, releasing the concentrated torrent of his soul power.
The vanguards at the front of the large group of Swordwielders of Eclipse, oblivious to the invisible danger, continued their charge towards Val only to be met with a force that abruptly crashed on them. As a result, they were violently swept off their feet and hurled back into their companions.
Like dominos, the Swordwielders toppled over one after the other in a chaotic tumble of bodies.
Their previously formidable formation was instantly shattered, reduced to a disarray of scattered bodies.
Val didn’t stop to savor the moment of chaos he created among his enemies. Instead, he jumped ahead and brought his sword down on the bewildered Swordwielders with ruthless precision, striking the enemy when they were down literally.
With each swing of his sword, he killed one to three of them.
In a matter of seconds, the large group of Swordwielders of Eclipse was reduced to half by him
Panic erupted amongst the surviving ones as he turned to them with a murderous smile on his face!
“H-He’s a monster!” one of them shrieked. “Our defenses… they’re useless against him!”
“Our defenses, our strongest attribute, and what allows us to survive the dangers of the Forest of Dread… They mean nothing to him,” another Swordwielder agreed, his voice shaking with terror.
The leader of the group stepped forward and spoke in a clear and resolute voice, “All of you… Heed my command at once and retreat to the chamber. Alert the chieftain. The intruder is stronger than we anticipated. We need to gather all of our manpower if we want to deal with him.”
“And you?” One of the Swordwielders asked.
“I will stay behind and stall him,” he declared.
In the blink of an eye, the surviving Swordwielders retreated in a hurry, leaving only Val and the leader of their group behind in the tunnel.
“I commend your bravery,” Val said, his voice calm and steady. “You’re willing to lay down your life for your comrades… It’s admirable.”
“Keep your admiration to yourself. It isn’t certain who will die,” the Swordwielder leader retorted.
“Oh?” Val chuckled lightly, “Do you still think so?”
Val was buying time with idle chatter. He was waiting for his wizardry to take effect. Countless threads of soul power had stretched from his fingers and wounded around his foe. The leader of the Swordwielder group was suddenly unable to move, his body stiff and immobile as if he was buried six feet under the ground.
“What did you do to me?” he roared in panic.
“Isn’t it obvious? I immobilized you.” Val replied matter-of-factly.
The leader of the Swordwielder group felt as if he was taunting him. Val didn’t care if his enemy felt butthurt because of his words. Taking long and quick stride, he closed the distance between them. Then he rose Voidslayer high, its blade glinting ominously under the soft light of the luminous stone in the tunnel.
“Any last words?”
“You’ll not get out of this place alive!”
A moment later, Val brought his sword down, slicing the leader into two.
His body parts fell to the ground with a dull thud.