Swordsman's Regression: Reawakened as a Necromancer-Chapter 162: A Forest Chase

For a moment, time simply stopped.

Duke Ithalan stumbled backward, his hands clamped over his mouth to hold back a scream.

Aethelstan glared with rage, his pupils darting uncontrollably. Corisande stood frozen, her eyes trembled as she stared at the gore. Vadrian was wide-eyed like he’d seen a ghost. Corvell’s jaw was unhinged in sheer disbelief.

Only Master Omares was devoid of emoting.

And Percival of course. However, the Necromancer soon came to realize what he had done.

As he stood there, his blade dripping crimson, the uncontrollable rage that had hijacked his mind suddenly vanished; all that was left was a chilling clarity.

He blinked, looking at the mutilated body of his former teammate.

⸢You have killed an Awakener, Liraeth Windwhisper (Lvl 17)⸥

⸢+200 EXP⸥

Percival ignored the notification and looked up, his cold blue eyes sweeping over the nineteen remaining Heroes.

Fuck.

’I let the past take the wheel,’ Percival thought, his grip tightening on his hilt. ’Foolish. But it’s done now.’

"YOUUUUU!"

Aethelstan’s roar tore through the silence. He was the first to attack, burning the grass around his feet as he launched himself forward, moving faster than the eye could track.

Percival brought the Basilisk Blade up just in time.

CLANG!

A tremor spread, causing the others to cover their faces. Percival’s boots dug trenches into the dirt as he was pushed back a few feet by the kinetic force.

"I’ll tear your heart out!" Aethelstan screamed, his face twisted in a feral snarl as he raised his blade for a devastating downward cleave.

Percival saw that the others were getting ready to join in.

He had just registered how powerful he was a moment ago. But fighting nineteen of the most promising Awakeners in the world? He couldn’t risk it.

Now with Master Omares here as well.

Percival quickly escaped Aethelstan’s attack by ⸢Grave Stepping⸥. Then, appearing behind all nineteen of them, he extended his hand.

"Awake."

Blue flames suddenly erupted in between him and the Awakeners, unveiling 20 Awakeners clad in special armors.

"Undead?!" Stenya Alvorian shrieked. The Arcanist frantically waved her staff, firing volleys of volatile yellow energy that struck the advancing Skeletons. "So it’s true?! He summons the undead!!"

The Awakeners crashed into the army of Skeletons. Using the distraction, Percival turned and sprinted straight into the dense, bone-white trees of Hollowcreek.

"Don’t let him escape!" Aethelstan commanded, parrying a Skeleton’s sword and shattering its Skull with a blast of solar mana. "Hunt him down!"

As the party scrambled to break the undead line, Steppard, the human Barbarian, turned back and saw Corisande and Nessa standing still.

Nessa’s Wraith-Thread Tunic made her look like a ghost observing a play, while Corisande was still paralyzed by the sight of Liraeth’s blood.

"Princess Corisande! Nessa! What the hell are you doing?!" Steppard bellowed, his axe buried in a Skeleton’s chest. "Attack! Cast something! Don’t just stand there!"

Nessa merely glanced at the Barbarian, but she was still hesitant to move. She shared a glance with the Elf Princess, and the both glanced towards the trees where everyone chased after Percival Nightstar.

Strangely, Master Omares wasn’t doing anything either. He watched the girls with a conceited expression, before turning his eyes toward the forest.

Deep in the woods, Percival vaulted over the massive, dragon-rib roots of the giant trees, with his A-Grade armor, his Agility thankfully wasn’t affected.

He was using his memory to track the road towards the illegal portal that he had used to arrive here two days ago.

The trees blurred past him, the spectral white leaves falling like glowing snow.

Suddenly, the roots beneath his feet violently tore themselves from the ground, lashing out like massive wooden pythons to wrap around his ankles.

"You’re not going anywhere, murderer!"

Dagna. The Level 20 Dwarf Druid stepped out from behind a massive trunk, her hands glowing with green earthen mana as she manipulated the forest itself.

Percival didn’t even stop to give her a second look. He activated ⸢Bladewave⸥ and sheared through the magically-hardened roots like wet paper.

Dagna’s eyes widened in shock. Before she could cast a second spell, a massive shadow blotted out the canopy light above Percival.

"YOU KILLED PRETTY PRINCESS LIRAETH!"

Bromm Axebringer, the Level 25 Dwarf Barbarian, plummeted from a high bough. He almost looked like a meteor, falling from so high above with his heavy axe tight in his grasp.

—And aimed directly at Percival’s skull.

Percival sidestepped at the absolute last microsecond. Instead of blocking, he used Bromm’s own terrifying momentum against him.

As the Dwarf crashed into the dirt, cratering the ground, Percival slammed his palm into Bromm’s armored back and shot a blast of ⸢Soulscorch⸥.

"AOOOOEEEEWWWW!" the Barbarian cried before he struck a tree face-first.

Percival turned around to run when his Perception rang bells of danger in his mind.

A sword flashed in front of him, and Percival backpedaled just in time. Deron, the Level 24 Knight appeared.

He looked at Percival with curious eyes, his white hair matching the leaves around them. "I saw you use Bladewave," he said. "But you’re not a Swordsman or a Knight."

His eyes narrowed. "So how can you use that Skill?"

Percival stood still, offering no answers.

"Arghh!" Deron cried as he thrust his blade forward—a perfect, textbook Spearhead strike aimed at the gap in Percival’s breastplate.

Impressive discipline, Percival noted internally.

He parried the strike with his sword, forcing Deron to lose his balance.

Then, Percival stepped into his guard, grabbed the boy by his breastplate, and hurled him effortlessly over his shoulder into the damp mulch.

"Amateur," Percival muttered, leaving the stunned Knight behind.

Up ahead, the air began to taste of ozone and static. The trees and leaves were looking more and more familiar. Percival was close to the portal.

He saw his Skeletons die one by one on his status screen, but that wasn’t important now. He had to get out of this province.

Percival burst through a thicket of moss and found it: The portal.

It was hidden behind a fake tree with giant leaves covering the purple glow. Percival pushed the leaves away, and just as he was about to step inside, a cry thundered through the forest.

"OUTWORLDER!"

Birds flew out from trees in fear, a tremor spread through the ground.

"I will find you!" Aethelstan roared. "I swear it! I will find you!!"

Percival looked back into the forest, staring blankly with those dead, cold blue eyes.

"I’m looking forward to it," he muttered and stepped into the portal,leaving the Kingdom of Elves with one foot and returning to the Kingdom of Humans with the other.