Baron Leo frowned as he looked at the situation. He never expected that the 'bandits' that he sent first weren't able to eliminate this group in front of them.
Nevertheless, he thought that with the top knights he brought with him, he thought that it would be an easy matter to finish this since even if the 'bandits' failed, they should've at least weakened them.
However, he failed to account that the Primal Sword Sect was indeed able to establish itself in just a few decades because they aren't pushovers as well.
They may not have a deep foundation like the six large sects protecting the borders of the kingdom, but they still possess a mysterious Sword Technique that allowed them to be recognized as a rising power around the southern region of the kingdom.
"Shit… All my knights are dead… How should I explain this…" Baron Leo was disgruntled at the result of their plan.
Even if Baron Eldo finishes the task with his brute force, the knights were already dead. Unlike Eldo, he doesn't have the influence to recruit those new graduates from the Knights Academy since they were still considered elites.
The ones he could recruit at most were those trained by his father's personal knights. The quality will be different but he has no other choice.
Baron Leo hatefully glanced at Vincent and the others.
He really wanted to kill them as well but since Baron Eldo made his decision, he can only accept their arms to alleviate his anger.
"What are you waiting for?! Leave an arm now or I'll kill you myself!"
Baron Leo shouted as he brought out his only offensive magic tool. It is a simple orb made of black crystal. However, it contains powerful elemental energy inside.
He was previously flustered by the sudden attack of the two Sect Disciples and wasn't able to pull it out in time.
However, now that Baron Eldo controlled the situation, he can finally show off.
He looked at the young disciple of the Sword Sect and the injured mercenary that is remaining in the group. They seem to be the weakest in their group but they managed to survive because they remained the furthest near the Divine Doctor.
He's ready to start with these two!
Vincent took a deep breath and signaled Mathias and Alfred to act in his signal. Unfortunately, Baron Eldo noticed their small actions and he immediately acted!
Instead of waiting, Baron Eldo acted without telling Baron Leo!
Haa!
With a burst, Baron Eldo used a unique foot technique to dash forward as he immediately arrived in front of Mathias!
Luckily, Mathias remained cautious all this time as he swiftly summoned a wall of water to protect himself…
Splash!
"We'll show you why we're Master Magicians!" Mathias shouted as he jumped back to get some distance from the Baron.
Baron Eldo was pushed back by the water wall but it wasn't enough to hurt him even a little. His armor and physical strength are more than enough to deflect the surge of water.
Suddenly, he noticed that something extremely hot was getting close to him…
He looked to his right and realized that a ball of fire was about to hit him!
"Hmph! Do you think this will hurt me?!" Baron Eldo ignored the ball of fire with the size of his fist.
He has confidence with his shield of mana and his magic armor.
With that in mind, he pounced at Mathias again since he knows that Master Magicians with mastery of Water Element conversion would normally learn a skill called Water Prison.
He's unsure whether he already learned the skill but he can't depend on luck. If he's really captured by the Water Prison, it would be difficult for him to get out of it!
Luckily, he knows that summoning Water Prison takes some time so he only has to chase him and make him incapable of triggering the skill!
Bam!
The fireball his body but as expected he was able to endure it by expending a little bit of mana in his defense.
"You're dead!"
Baron Eldo shouted as he was already thinking of targeting the fire magician after killing Mathias. He wasn't too concerned with Vincent since he's too young and his weapon was just a stick…
Why would he even bother dodging that?
Unfortunately, his arrogance cost him dearly.
Vincent positioned himself behind that fireball. As soon as it was deflected, he was able to get close to the Baron with his Shrouded Steps!
'You might have a strong defense but a three of four strikes should still be enough!' Vincent was confident as he threw his Silver Ruin Dagger again to break the man's defense!
This is his only weapon with Pierce attribute after all.
During his stay in the Auction House, he realized that Pierce Attribute was actually quite difficult to obtain.
Other daggers, throwing knives, or even swords don't have Pierce Attributes that can truly help penetrate the defenses of his enemies. This is why he truly values this weapon.
More than that, he learned how to utilize this effectively thanks to his recent battle.
Clank!
Vincent's dagger disrupted Baron Leo as he missed his attack against Mathias.
The Silver Ruin Dagger destroyed his Mana Shield and was pushed back after his armor was hit by the dagger. Though the dagger failed to pierce his armor, it still managed to do its purpose!
Bang!
Vincent was able to hit Baron Eldo!
Bang! Bang!
Seeing that the man was shaken by his strike, Vincent coldly continued with his attack!
"Aagghh!"
Baron Eldo spat a mouthful of blood as his internal organs were damaged because of the cane's Crush Attribute.
Baron Leo realized that something bad happened to his companion so he did not hesitate to use the black orb to attack!
"You pests!"
The Black Orb suddenly radiated with a black light followed by the spread of a miasma!
Baron Leo controlled this miasma to cover the two Master Magicians and Vincent!
As for Dennise, she has already retreated and was watching the battle worriedly… She looked at the sword sect disciple and the remaining mercenary but they seem quite exhausted as well.
Currently, they seem to be recovering their strength and they couldn't help Vincent!
"Vincent…" Dennise muttered with her coarse voice. Thanks to Vincent, she had gotten a lot better though her disease hasn't been completely cured yet.
She can't just let her savior die.
She wanted to help with the battle but she knows that she'll only be a burden.
"Baron Eldo! Are you alright?!" Leo asked. He immediately approached Eldo bringing a recovery pill to him.
"Ugh… That guy's attack is weird! Cough! Cough!" Baron Eldo complained as he looked at Vincent fearfully.
Currently, Vincent and the two Master Magicians were already covered by the black miasma so they should be dead by now. Eldo heaved a sigh of relief seeing this.
He had really underestimated these three and he almost died because of that.
It seems that he really can't judge people by their appearance. He didn't expect that it was the young man who was actually the real threat from the group.
"Baron Leo… That black miasma will kill them, right?" Eldo asked to make sure.
"Of course! This miasma will corrupt their brain until it became rotten. No one can survive this… unless you have prepared a Magic Tool to counter it or you're an Aura Knight."
Baron Leo spoke confidently. His black orb had never failed him before so he can boast about it. He's unsure of this Black Orb's origin since his father just gave it to him but it might even be a Magic Artifact and not just Magic Tool.
As he was gloating at the death of the three people who refused to cooperate with them, he suddenly felt something off!
Then, the Black Orb in his hands suddenly cracked!
"N-no!"
Baron Leo shouted in horror as he knows what this means. He immediately looked at the miasma he created only to be greeted by a cane hitting his face!
Bang!
Baron Leo's head was crushed! He wasn't a strong Mana Practitioner and he didn't even put up a Mana Shield in the first place.
Baron Eldo was surprised by this! He wanted to immediately flee as he still hasn't recovered. Unfortunately, Vincent didn't give him another chance as he ended with the same fate as he died after being crushed by the cane…
"Haa… Not good…" Vincent wasn't happy even after winning.
He just realized that a crack suddenly formed on his cane.
He immediately checked the durability by using his appraisal and confirmed that it has really gotten bad.
[ Damaged Soul-Forged Ironbark Cane +9 ]
[ Durability: 25 / 350 ]
"I can no longer use this, it will be broken at this rate." Vincent sighed as he kept the cane on his back before retrieving his dagger.
He then returned to Aldred's side and confirmed that he was just unconscious.
Unfortunately, Mathias was unable to defend himself against the black miasma and died with his eyes open.
It was a terrible result in this battle but he can't do anything about it.
'Can we still reach the Arm's City at this rate?' Vincent looked around at the surroundings as his gaze stopped in the direction where Tara and Rem left.