Chapter 36 – Brant

Ed knew Akalan was planning something. Arien warned him about them too. However, he didn’t think they would attack with confidence. When he saw them approaching on the speedboat, he thought they looked so funny, so he took out his bow and prepared an arrow. At that time, Arin stepped in front of Ed. She stood at the front and shouted at the approaching speedboat.

“This is Arin, a holy knight of Astron. Who are you?”

Despite Arin’s shout, the speedboat did not slow down. Akalan is an independent group within the kingdom of Travia. However, no matter how strong they were, they could not kill the holy knight of the Astron Church. But they were not slowing down at all. They have entered Ed’s intersection, but the gap narrows over time. Ed wasn’t worried even if they had a battle, but it would be difficult if they come too close. If they make a hole in the boat, it would be a bigger problem, so Ed couldn’t postpone it any longer. Arin made a slight impression when she saw those approaching, ignoring her words. For her, a holy knight, Astron’s name must be kept. Arin warned them when she saw their indifferent faces narrowing the distance.

“Stop your boat and tell me who you are!”

The speedboat speeded up and an Akalan agent who was wearing a mask shouted.

“This is Akalan’s job, so it’s not for the Astron Church to intervene. We only have to catch Ed, so step back. So that we don’t hurt each other.”

Arin’s eyebrows wriggled.

“He is working with the Astron Church. Go away.” “He’s a felon who killed all of Akalan’s team. Step back.”

The Akalan agent was seen pulling out a crossbow. When Ed saw him, he told Arin.

“This is my job. I’ll take care of it.”

Arin looked at Ed as if she was disappointed and turned toward the speedboat.

“No, this is our job.”

With her answer, Arin threw a hammer out. It was a proof of trust. Proof of trust beyond all political understanding. Ed finally realized that he had met someone who really cared for him. Arin’s hammer flew over the Ain River and toward the man on the speedboat. The man punched the flying hammer. There were chains wrapped around both of the man’s arms. When he blocked the hammer, it fell under the river, and he was looking at Arin with indifferent eyes. Ed did not hesitate to shoot an arrow when he saw that the fight had begun.

Shhhhhhhhhh!

Four arrows flew toward the speedboat. There was quite a distance, but the speed at which the arrow flew was different due to his increase in archery skills. However, when the man standing in the front of the speedboat reached out his hand, the chain was released, and all the arrows were blocked. Ed’s eyebrows wriggled. Ed wondered what he was when he saw him blocking the arrows. Thane admired his appearance.

“I think that’s the chain of Eslan, but I didn’t know it had that function.”

There were numerous runes inscribed in the chain. It could be seen that it was not an ordinary object just by the fact that there was a rune text was in it. Just in case, Ed fired five arrows again, but all the arrows were blocked as if the chain were alive. He tried to block the last arrow, but he couldn’t hit it perfectly and it passed by the man’s cheek. Indeed, no matter how long-distance an attack can be prevented, it cannot be perfect. Akalan has been looking for the best card to face Ed. They must have thought that anyone wearing absurd artifacts that automatically defend against long-distance attacks could be able to catch him. He knows that Ed killed a general-level knight, so the individual’s power seems to be formidable. In addition, seven Akalan agents to assist him are with him, so they were not easy opponents. Since he killed Prince Cliff, Ed was also not an easy opponent. When Arin reached out her hand, a hammer flew under the water and was caught in her hand. She slowly stepped back looking at the man. She measured the distance.

“Thane. Get inside the carriage!”

There was no way to protect Thane out in the open where Akalan agents were firing their crossbows. If they recognize Thane, they won’t dare to kill him, but he might get hit by a blind arrow. Thane entered the carriage and Doug protected it. They don’t know much about Doug’s ability, but he had to protect Thane until they stopped the Akalan agents. Then an Akalan agent shot a crossbow. Arin saw it and blocked all the arrows with her shield. She showed a novelty in blocking all seven arrows with a shield, but as soon as she blocked them, smoke erupted. But they chose the wrong opponent. Ed just felt a little dizzy for a while because of his high stamina, and Arin thought the shield was shining slightly and stood casually. The speedboat came closer, blocking their view. Ed felt the approaching people and fired arrows at the Akalan agents. The enemies did not expect what was going to happen next. All seven agents collapsed with an arrow in their head. As expected, Eslan’s chain only protects that one man. He couldn’t respond to the arrows Ed fired at the other people. The man was measuring the distance without paying attention to the death of those who followed him behind him. Then he jumped when he thought the distance was close enough. Arin’s hammer flew toward the man. The man swung his fist at the hammer flying through the air, but because of the impact, he bounced off the boat. Six arrows were fired towards the man, who returned to the speedboat and collected his breath. His chain moved to block five arrows. While the man escaped, this time Arin ran off the deck and jumped toward the speedboat. Ed fired five arrows to cover Arin. The chain surrounding the man’s arm couldn’t stop Arin from crossing the ship because she was covering the arrows. The man raised his fist to block Arin’s hammer, which crossed the boat.

Boom!

The man took two steps back, and Arin was able to get close to him. She rushed toward him with a shield. In Arin’s rush, the man punched her shield, then flew away. Ed injected mana into the ice bow and fired an arrow into the river in front of the speedboat.

Crack.

The river in front of the left side of the speedboat froze. Ed also crossed over to the deck of the speedboat when he saw the speedboat hit a large block of ice and passed by the side of the merchant ship. Arin and the man were already fiercely fighting. The man, who wraps his chains around his fists, did not have a muscular body like a savage warrior. He was a man who seemed to value agility because of his long limbs and slender body. Whenever such a man’s fist hit Arin’s shield or hit her hammer, her sacredness was blurred. She wondered what the hell is the chain of Eslan. He is so versatile. He had a monster-like performance, and he carried an item closest to a holy relic she has ever seen. And she could see that a man with such relics was a man who was really determined and praised by the Akalan. She couldn’t let him get away. Arin thought his individual skills were certainly outstanding. Since Ed committed a felony, a normal holy knight wouldn’t have interfered in this battle. She didn’t have to protect Ed with a political burden. So honestly, Ed was just grateful that Arin stepped up for him. Without Arin, it would have been hard to kill all of them, but thanks to Arin, things became easier. Ed was not the type to wait and see if it was a fair match. Ed moved to Arin’s left and fired an arrow at the man without hesitation. Arin also didn’t miss the opportunity while the chain wrapped around Ed’s right arm was released and bounced it off to prevent the arrow. The man, who raised his fist with a shield and swung a hammer toward the gap, he looked back at the two and slowly opened his mouth after stepping back at Arin’s attack.

“Holy knight. If you step down now, I won’t kill you.”

At the man’s words, Arin threw a hammer instead of answering. The man swung his fist roughly to hit the hammer and looked at Ed. Ed was already shooting seven arrows in a row the moment he looked at him.

Kakakakakakakang!

He blocked five arrows, but the last one was stuck in his left thigh. The last arrow was from the barrel of ice, so his thigh side froze and turned black. Ed was firing an arrow again, and the chain around the man’s arm was released. The man said, pulling out the arrow stuck in his thigh.

“You brought this upon yourself.”

The man’s voice sounded like a beast growling in a deep cave. And the body of the man began to change. They saw one of his eyes turned red, and his muscles swelled to the point where his clothes were torn off.

“What’s that?”

A tall man with long arms and legs swelled up as if his muscles were bursting. They wondered what he was, and Ed fired arrows one after another.

Kakakakang

The man’s forearm was already wound around the chain, and he blocked Ed’s arrow. The man bounced the arrow and rushed in. Arin covered her front with a shield and rushed into the front.

Boom!

A roar rang as if a bomb were exploding, and Arin bounced out of the speedboat and flew away. Ed fired an arrow with mana toward where Arin would fall.

Booom!

The ground where Ed was standing was smashed. Ed looked into the eyes of the man while the pieces of wood on the deck scattered. The appearance of only one eye shining red was a situation that was never seen even in the Demon’s Age1. A different situation from a demon’s subordinates or followers. But somehow he is related to a demon. He was even more agile than any other opponent Ed had ever met. Ed opened his mouth as he gathered his breath.

“What’s your name?” “Brant.”

Seeing that he could answer his name, he was still in his right mind. Is he some sort of Hulk that could still think like a normal human? He was going to be one of Ed’s worst opponents.