Sword of Salvation-Chapter 46: - Unexpected Failure

Shin was not a stalker.

He had never aspired to be one. Even in a thousand lifetimes, he would never stalk. What he did was not an act of stalking. He merely observed how Lasyana would eliminate Zagabob and his army. Beyond that, he intended to evaluate the fugitive from Camelot.

Through his binoculars, Shin could clearly see the battle more than 9 km away from where he was monitoring. He could have shortened the distance for a better view, but the risk of being detected was high. Shin couldn’t underestimate Delphia’s analytical skill. That woman was troublesome; she would notice his presence if he tried to get closer.

Therefore, Shin observed from a distance.

And Shin was not disappointed with what he saw.

Lasyana had mastered Zesteria well, though not perfectly. Girhamvell was as aggressive as ever—the man always wanted to end battles quickly. Girhamvell’s subordinates were decent, too. Delphia’s performance met his expectations. On the other hand, the masked female ninja demonstrated unique abilities. As for the Camelot fugitive...he was impressive.

One of Shin’s eyebrows raised when M spared the last demon he fought.

That was odd. The strangeness became more apparent as the demon circled toward the battlefield where Lasyana and Zagabob fought. M had indeed saved Lukhiel from Arthur IV’s hands, but Shin didn’t think he would side with Zagabob and betray Lasyana.

So, why had he let the demon go there?

Sensing something amiss, Shin decided to leave the tree trunk he stood on and sped toward Lasyana and Zagabob’s battle area. Like the demon that took a detour, Shin did the same. But the path he took was opposite the demon’s. He also kept a greater distance to ensure Delphia wouldn’t notice.

Shin moved at full speed, so it didn’t take long for him to reach Lasyana and Zagabob’s location. He even arrived before the demon, who moved cautiously and a bit slower. Shin stood on a large tree trunk, hiding at a safe distance from their sight. He observed the demon through his binoculars.

When the demon managed to steal the sacred scythe, Shin’s lips curled. Everything became clear now. He immediately pursued the demon just as Zagabob’s laughter echoed.

The demon was fast. He was also clever. Two-meter-tall ice spears lined up behind him as if forming a barrier wall. Then he split his ice spears in two directions while he ran in another. The demon’s goal was to confuse his pursuers, but unfortunately, Shin had seen through it from the start.

Glancing behind him, Shin sensed another individual chasing the demon as well

It was undoubtedly M. Shin didn’t know if the boy wanted the sacred scythe for himself or simply wanted to make Lasyana indebted to him. What was clear was that he hadn’t killed the demon so the demon could steal the scythe for M to seize. Only then would M kill the demon.

Had the boy anticipated an intervention?

It would be interesting if he had, but it wouldn’t be disappointing if he hadn’t. After all, Shin himself hadn’t planned this move. He had just happened to see Lasyana leaving the palace with a mask on. Curiosity had led him to observe the empress from afar. And that "coincidence" ended with him chasing an ice-using demon. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Feeling he was far enough from Lasyana’s battlefield, Shin decided to end the demon’s escape attempt. There was no reason to let him run any farther.

Lightning enveloped Shin’s body, and in an instant, he was several meters ahead of the demon.

"Whaa!"

The demon was startled and tried to stop, but Shin’s right foot struck the left side of his head first. The demon was sent flying with a shattered cheekbone. Shin quickly followed. Before the demon’s body could hit anything, Shin elbowed him right in the left side of his stomach.

The demon crashed hard into the rough ground, causing significant cracks. The sacred scythe he held slipped from his grasp, thrown off by the shift in momentum his body had endured.

Shin didn’t let Zesteria fall. He grabbed the sacred scythe and swung it a few times before pointing its three sharp blades at the demon struggling to get up.

Shin showed no mercy. To him, the demon no longer had any reason to be left alive. So, without hesitation, he obliterated the demon’s entire body with high-intensity lightning.

The demon vanished without a chance to defend himself.

At that moment, a faint thud was heard.

Shin instinctively turned around, smirking slightly at the individual he had been eager to test.

"I’ve been waiting for you, Camelot Fugitive. My name is Shin. If you want this sacred scythe, you have no choice but to take it by force. But can you do it?"

Mariel was both surprised and unsurprised to see the young man who had intervened in his plan.

From the beginning, the possibility of another party appearing had crossed Mariel’s mind. However, he had not expected that other party to be the number one member of Ultores: Shin, the owner of the Wrathful King Satan spirit. Even without entering spirit fusion mode, Mariel could sense his strength.

"I can’t believe you anticipated all my moves," Mariel said. "I didn’t tell anyone about my plan, and I was careful enough. Tell me, is this a coincidence?"

"Hahaha. Let’s say it is. I was curious why Lasyana left the palace wearing a mask, so I observed her from a distance. But I didn’t expect you to target her sacred scythe. Is this really your goal?"

Shin twirled the scythe skillfully; he might have been able to wield it even better than Lasyana.

"It seems I have no choice but to take it by force." Along with his words, Mariel unleashed a powerful gust of wind at Shin. "You need to learn not to interfere in other people’s business," he added, intensifying the wind’s speed.

Shin was blown back, but only a few meters. The black-haired young man immediately wrapped his body in lightning, resisting the impact of the wind. However, it became increasingly difficult as Mariel sped up his wind attacks. Shin had no choice but to accelerate, and that’s exactly what he did.

He pierced through the wind with his super speed, appearing before Mariel in an instant, swinging the sacred scythe.

Mariel, who had already surrounded himself with wind armor, wasn’t surprised by Shin’s speed. He had already bent the space around him as a shield, and Shin’s scythe swing failed to strike her. Moreover, with two wind swords in his hands, Mariel countered his attack instantly.

Instead of being surprised, Shin grinned. He seemed to be enjoying every second of their battle. He blocked Mariel’s twin wind sword slashes with the scythe’s shaft. Mariel was fast, but Shin was not slower. His reflexes and instincts were also superior. He didn’t believe anyone could strike him without him noticing.

Mariel didn’t stop at just one attack. As soon as his twin wind sword slashes were blocked, he quickly pulled back his arms and launched another slash. He swung his wind swords repeatedly, showing his high-level dual-wielding swordsmanship. Mariel’s attacks were fast and aggressive, but his movements were precise and well-planned.

Shin had far more experience than Mariel. He had faced all kinds of fighters, from kunai users to those who wielded four swords. Mariel’s attacks weren’t enough to make him panic. Shin admitted that Mariel’s sword skills were impressive, but compared to Ryomaru, the Four-Swords Swordsman from the Eastern Continent, Mariel’s ability was average.

Shin perfectly blocked every one of Mariel’s attacks. Although he was pushed back with each parry, it was merely a matter of momentum. Mariel wasn’t stronger or faster than him. However, if he let his guard down even slightly, he would get hurt. His opponent couldn’t be underestimated like most of the enemies he had faced on his missions.

"Not bad," Shin praised as he conjured a lightning spear in his left hand. "But that’s enough. Now it’s my turn to attack."

Shin launched his counterattack immediately after saying those words – his movements turned aggressive and wild.

Mariel, who had been attacking, was now forced onto the defensive.

His twin wind swords moved nimbly to block Shin’s sacred scythe and lightning spear.

However, unlike Shin, who had previously been able to handle Mariel’s attacks perfectly, Mariel was overwhelmed. His mask was even scratched before being shattered when Shin’s lightning spear narrowly grazed it.

Mariel clicked his tongue and blasted Shin back with a gust of wind, while Shin merely chuckled and used the scythe to steady himself from being flung too far.

"You’re not using your spirit’s unique power."

Mariel took a deep breath, ignoring Shin’s comment. Then he released a wind blast in the form of a long dragon, reminiscent of Eastern Continent legends. The wind dragon shot forward at high speed, fully targeting Shin with its gaping jaws.

Shin didn’t try to dodge. He didn’t even consider it. Like Mariel, he opened his mouth wide. Lightning erupted from his mouth, coiling and crackling. However, unlike Mariel’s dragon-shaped attack, Shin’s lightning took the form of an expanding laser.

The sheer intensity of the lightning caused the two opposing elements to collide violently, producing a thunderous sound and sending gusts of wind flying to both sides.

If this had been a forest, the impact of the two elements would have likely caused the surrounding trees to tilt severely, if not be uprooted entirely. However, they were fighting on a spacious green field, still within the forest area but sparsely populated with trees.

The two attacks ended in a stalemate, with an explosion occurring right at the point of impact.

Mariel used the explosion’s aftermath to launch dozens of wind bullets.

Unfortunately, Shin had already propelled himself into the air. Mariel’s wind bullets struck nothing but empty space before vanishing as their momentum dissipated.

At the same time, Shin had prepared a massive lightning spear in his hand. However, this time, the spear was shrouded in dark purple energy. Its aura was menacing. He hurled the massive lightning spear from above, sending it hurtling downward at supersonic speed.

The short distance between Shin and Mariel meant the spear reached its target faster than a blink of an eye.

Unfortunately for Shin, his attack backfired. Just before the lightning spear, enveloped in destructive energy, struck Mariel, that young man switched places with him. Whether it was poetic justice or karma, Shin became the victim of his own spear.

However, Shin was no novice fighter. Nor was he ignorant of Mariel’s unique power. When he launched his massive lightning spear, he had anticipated Mariel would use his ability. Therefore, when they switched places and Shin found himself at the tip of his own spear, he remained unharmed.

Instead, the lightning spear disintegrated and dissipated rapidly. Not just the spear— the grass surrounding Shin wilted and turned to ash. Even the ground beneath him had transformed into sand. The dark purple energy that had enveloped Shin drained all life from his surroundings.