The moment the ring on the middle-aged man’s finger emitted that green light, alarm bells rang wildly in Nolan’s mind. He immediately dove to the side, but he was still too late. He had only managed to shout his warning before the rocky ground beneath his feet turned into a flowing mass of eerie green light. The instant the cage locked on, everything before his eyes began to distort and tear apart. Hank’s anxious roar, the magma dripping from the cavern ceiling, the massive corpse of the earth dragon in the distance… everything spun at high speed, dissolving into a chaotic blur of colors. Then he was dragged into a silent, lightless void—the abandoned interdimensional rift.
A spell cast without incantation, the greatest enemy of warriors. He recognized it at once: a fourth-circle spatial spell, Dimensional Banishment.
Its effect was simple and brutal—kick the target out of the current plane and throw them into the chaotic dimensional gap. It caused no damage, but it could imprison someone for up to ten minutes.
Ten minutes. Enough time for anything to happen outside.
He had seen this trick once before with the great corpse-lich. That ring was a rare spell-storing magic ring. This man’s background was no small matter.
Yet at the very moment he was completely exiled, the Mountain’s Resonance in his hand suddenly grew heavy. Ancient runes along the blade lit up one after another. A crushing sense of “weight” burst forth from the sword, like a massive anchor driven into space itself, forcibly dragging him back out of the torrent of exile. Fragments of the shattered green cage swirled around him, reflecting the middle-aged man’s stunned expression.
Nolan’s figure reappeared where he had stood, holding the dark gray greatsword in one hand. The blade had already returned to normal, as if that brief journey through the void had been nothing more than an illusion.
“This… how is this possible?!”
Dimensional Banishment had successfully exiled the stronger old soldier, yet this young man had broken free on his own?
The composed, aristocratic expression on the middle-aged man’s face finally cracked, his eye twitching uncontrollably. “…A will barrier? Are you an ascetic monk?!”
When Nolan did not respond, the man took a deep breath, calming himself and regaining his poised demeanor.
“Fine. Whatever strange creature you are.” He adjusted his collar, his tone carrying a lofty condescension. “Since tricks like magic don’t work on you, then I’ll have to erase you on a physical level. Don’t blame me, young man. I was in a good mood and didn’t intend to shed blood. If you must blame someone, blame your bad luck for seeing what you shouldn’t have.”
He tilted his chin slightly and spoke to the bald brute behind him.
“Kill him.”
The mountain of flesh finally shifted his gaze from the silver-haired girl in the corner and locked onto Nolan.
Nolan met his eyes. In that instant, he noticed something wrong—the brute’s eyes were not human. They were yellow, slit pupils. Exactly the same as those lizards from before.
The brute gave no roar, no threat. In silence, he drew a massive, rust-covered iron club from behind his back. That was his weapon. With no technique or form, he stepped forward and charged. Each step made the ground tremble faintly. The massive iron club tore through the air with a shrill howl, carrying terrifying force. He was a strength-based fighter.
Nolan’s expression grew serious as he gripped the hilt of Mountain’s Resonance with both hands. At the moment the iron club was about to smash down, he shifted his footing slightly, turning his body aside. At the same time, he guided the incoming force outward with his heavy blade.
A harsh metallic clash rang out. Nolan’s swordsmanship deflected most of the force, but the remaining brute strength still numbed his arms.
As expected—what monstrous power!
This guy was practically a beast wearing human skin. After several exchanges, Nolan had already made his judgment. Fortunately, although the bald brute possessed overwhelming strength, he had almost no combat intelligence. All his attacks relied purely on beast-like physical power and killing instinct—wild swings and brutal smashes. His fighting style was pitifully simple. Dealing with him was no different from subduing a magical beast.
He could win. He would win.
When the iron club came crashing down again with overwhelming force, Nolan did not dodge. Facing the oncoming gale, Mountain’s Resonance traced two nearly invisible dark arcs through the air.
Clang! Clang! Twice in rapid succession, the blade struck the exact same point on the iron club with perfect precision. The heavy weapon, struck twice with layered force at high speed, caused even the brute to stagger slightly, his massive frame tilting off balance.
Boom! The iron club crashed into the ground, sending shards of stone flying.
Nolan, however, had already twisted his body and slipped in close, pressing himself against the brute, who had nearly lost his balance when his weapon almost flew out of his grasp.
In Nolan’s hands, the heavy blade of Mountain’s Resonance traced an upward crescent arc.
Slash! The brute’s entire right arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder. Scalding blood sprayed outward.
Nolan did not pause. He drove a brutal kick into the man’s knee joint.
Crack! The sound of bone breaking rang out. Completely thrown off balance, the brute dropped heavily to one knee.
Nolan gave him no chance to recover. As he passed by, the dark gray blade slid silently across the man’s throat.
The massive body swayed once, then collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. Dark red blood spread slowly beneath him.
Having finished, Nolan calmly flicked the blood from his blade and raised the heavy gray greatsword, pointing it at the middle-aged man still standing in place. “You attacked me. I assume you were prepared for retaliation.” Though slightly short of breath, his voice remained as steady as ever, echoing through the cavern. “Now, I’ll give you thirty seconds. State your identity, your purpose, and your last words. Of course, you can choose to give only your last words. I don’t mind.”
Faced with the sword pointed at him, the middle-aged man did not panic or beg for mercy like some useless noble. He remained standing there, a faint smile still hanging on his lips, completely at ease.
He still had something up his sleeve?
Nolan grew wary.
The man glanced at the “bodyguard” lying in a pool of blood. There was no anger, no fear in his eyes. He even lightly clapped his hands. “Beautiful. Your swordsmanship is quite something. Very seasoned in combat. To dispatch a Silver-rank berserker so cleanly—and even Dimensional Banishment couldn’t deal with you. How about this… we each take what we want and go our separate ways? You see, I only want the ‘girl’ behind you. You don’t even know her, do you? Step aside, and I guarantee no one will come looking for trouble with you.”
Nolan cast a glance behind him, but the sword in his hand did not waver. “Is that your last word?”
The man sighed. “I really can’t stand hotheaded fools like you, so full of knightly ideals.” His tone shifted, carrying an inexplicable sense of superiority. “There is far too much in this world that lies beyond the imagination of a frog in a well like you. For a moment, I even considered inviting you to join our great cause. But since you insist on obstructing me, I suppose I’ll have to ask you… to exit the stage of life a little early.”
The instant his words fell, Nolan sharply caught a faint sound from his rear right. Incredibly fast, and utterly silent. The instinct of a top-tier warrior screamed at him—it was a lethal threat.
Nolan immediately swung Mountain’s Resonance across his side, the broad blade shielding his vital points. At the same time, he pressed his left palm firmly against the blade, bracing it with the full strength of his body.
In a flash of thought, he poured the experience points he had been saving into his mercenary level.
【Mercenary level increased to 13!】
【Max HP +50. HP restored by 50%!】
A warm current surged through his body, instantly restoring much of the strength he had lost from blood loss and battle. But before he could even enjoy that brief recovery, an irresistible force slammed into him from the side.
Boom!
Nolan was sent flying sideways by the terrifying impact. He staggered back, carving a trail over ten meters long before finally stabilizing himself by driving Mountain’s Resonance deep into the rocky ground. A metallic taste rose in his throat—another mouthful of blood—but he forced it back down. He looked up, finally seeing what had attacked him.
The middle-aged man was still standing far away, leisurely watching his disheveled state. It hadn’t been his doing.
Instead, it was a long, thick tail, covered in dense, dark green scales.
The scattered clues in Nolan’s mind snapped together at lightning speed. The answer made his heart jolt. What shocked him was not the sudden attack, but the fact that he recognized who they were.
What rotten luck.
Of all enemies, it had to be those bastards.
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