"STOP!!!"
Above the City Hall, where explosions boomed without pause, this furious shout struck like thunder out of nowhere. It burst forth suddenly, drowning out the blasts in an instant and suppressing all noise.
*BOOM!*
A figure descended from the sky, landing heavily on the ground—the floor shattered beneath him, and the shockwave scattered the raging flames in every direction.
An overwhelming aura surged from his body, tearing through the dark clouds overhead. From his eyes, a freezing gaze shot forth, and wherever it swept past, the air itself seemed punctured, the temperature plummeting sharply.
As soon as he appeared, whether it was the Oasis Knights who had been barely holding on amidst the explosions, dodging in a wretched state, or the ordinary knights and magicians who had been blown to the ground and covered in wounds, every one of them revealed joy on their faces.
"City Lord!"
Sigmund Bayard had finally arrived.
"..."
Heaven and earth suddenly fell silent—the explosions, the screams, the furious roars—every sound was snuffed out at once.
A young man surrounded by rotating mirrors, radiant beams of light shining at his back, finally stopped moving.
He lifted his gaze, locking eyes with Sigmund.
Sigmund returned the look with an icy glare, and the sharpness within it sent chills down the spines of any Oasis Knights who were caught by accident—their eyes stung, and none dared meet his gaze.
"City Lord!"
Many knights quickly gathered by Sigmund's side, with several high-ranking ones opening their mouths as if to speak.
Sigmund, however, raised a hand to silence them, then cast a glance around, his eyes growing colder.
At this moment, the City Hall—Sinielle's most important place—had become a ruin.
Buildings were aflame, burning fiercely.
Greenery and flowerbeds lay in ruin, the fountain smashed and spraying water in chaos.
Knights and magicians were scattered across the ground, some groaning, others unconscious, their lives uncertain.
Blood stained the floor, lending the once solemn City Hall a grim air of slaughter and a stench of iron, telling Sigmund plainly that his domain had been violated.
At last, Sigmund spoke.
"I'll give you one chance to name yourself." Sigmund's voice was terrifyingly cold. "Who are you?"
As these words fell, everyone present felt the fury and murderous aura lacing Sigmund's tone.
Clearly, Sigmund was truly enraged, and the reason he had not struck immediately was only because he wanted to confirm the identity of this reckless intruder.
At Sigmund's question, the young man responded calmly.
"Didn't you just send people to my place? You even said it didn't matter if I was dead or alive."
At this, Sigmund narrowed his eyes.
"…You're the outsider who dared to touch the forbidden the moment you arrived in Sinielle?"
Sigmund's murderous aura grew even thicker as he spoke.
"Yeah, that's me."
Wearing a calm expression, the young man, Riezel, admitted it openly.
In the next moment, with a wave of his hand, Riezel cast Gate beside him, creating a circular portal of darkness.
Soon, from the portal, one knight after another was tossed out.
"Captain Bordo!"
Seeing them crash to the ground, several Oasis Knights called out the name of their captain.
"I'm here to return them." Riezel pointed at Bordo and the others lying beside him, smiling faintly at Sigmund. "And while I'm at it, I wanna ask—how do you intend to decide whether I live or die?"
Riezel's tone and demeanor made it seem as if he were talking about something trivial.
Sigmund, understanding Riezel's meaning, stayed silent as murderous intent burst from him, mingling with a surge of magical energy.
*BANG!*
Suddenly, Sigmund crushed the ground beneath his feet, launching himself like a cannonball.
*BOOM!*
A sonic boom split the air, violent currents surging as Sigmund's body tore through the sky like a raging storm before he appeared before Riezel in a blink.
Sigmund did not draw his sword, did not use any weapon, but simply punched, driving his fist straight toward Riezel's face with immense force that detonated the air.
As the gale struck Riezel's face, it whipped his hair wildly.
Such a powerful strike—if it landed on someone's head, even if it were made of steel, it would be smashed to pieces instantly.
Clearly, Sigmund, in his fury, had no intention of granting Riezel a dignified death—he wanted to shatter his skull, to crush him and leave him in a miserable end.
"Body of Effulgent Beryl."
A transparent glow flickered in Riezel's eyes as he calmly invoked defensive magic, emerald light coating his body without moving a step.
*BOOM!*
Sigmund's brutal punch crashed squarely into Riezel's head—the blast roared, wind surging outward and hurling dust into the air.
Only then did the onlookers grasp what had happened.
When they saw Sigmund's fist slam into Riezel's face, laughter erupted, for in their eyes, their lord's punch was enough to kill even a Sword Master outright.
Even though they had no time to speak, a single thought rose in their hearts—serves him right.
To them, such a bold and arrogant intruder deserved nothing less.
Yet...
*BOOM!*
Another explosive sound rang out.
Riezel, who had taken Sigmund's punch, suddenly kicked out, sending him flying.
Riezel's kick was no weaker than Sigmund's punch—if anything, it was stronger.
In an instant, the mighty City Lord was hurled backward, crashing through the half-ruined fountain and shattering it completely as water sprayed everywhere.
"City Lord!"
"City Lord!"
Every onlooker turned pale, their eyes filled with shock.
Seeing their lord kicked away, utter disbelief overwhelmed everyone present—none could believe what they had just witnessed, a sight no one had ever imagined.
Sigmund, as the sole Sword Saint in Sinielle, was revered as invincible, and to those serving the City Hall, he was like a god.
Never had they seen him struck down—let alone defeated.
In their hearts, Sigmund had always been absolute, unbeatable—but now, that absolute figure had been sent flying with a single kick, shattering the fear and reverence they held for him.
*BOOM!*
Moments later, rubble burst apart as Sigmund emerged once more.
*Cough!* *Cough!*
Clutching his chest, Sigmund staggered upright, glaring at Riezel with eyes full of fury and disbelief.
"You bastard! You're a Sword Saint!"
Sigmund's voice was heavy with humiliation, each word forced out.
Upon hearing their lord's words, the onlookers' first reaction was almost to laugh.
A Sword Saint?
Did their lord just say the intruder, who looked no older than twenty, was a Sword Saint?
Even though it was Sigmund, their lord himself, who said it, they could not help but doubt his claim.
If the intruder were a Sword Saint, then what about his magic?
What about those revolving mirrors around him?
What about those lights gathered behind him?
They were unmistakably magic.
Clearly, the intruder was, without question, a magician.
Yet their lord claimed the intruder was a Sword Saint?
Didn't that mean the intruder had mastered both swordsmanship and magic at an exceptional level?
Was such a thing even possible?
Confusion swirled through their minds, leaving them dizzy.
"Looks like the honorable and great City Lord is starting to wake up a little."
Riezel ignored the shock around him, patting his forehead as though brushing off dust, his face untouched even after taking a full-strength punch from a Sword Saint—without a single bruise marking him.
"Now you can tell me, right? How are you going to make me live or die without a care?"
Riezel's half-smiling words made Sigmund's face sink, growing uglier by the second.
"You're Jinas's new Sword Saint? The one everyone's been talking about—Riezel Brynhart?"
Sigmund finally recognized Riezel.
Honestly, it was not hard to guess.
First, Riezel was far too young—not even twenty.
Never before had a Sword Saint appeared at such an age, until recently, when one emerged and shook the entire Akasha Continent.
Second, he was not only a Sword Saint but also a magician, with remarkable mastery in magic, just as the rumors described about the seventeen-year-old prodigy.
Moreover, this new Sword Saint was not just any magician but a Tactical-Class Magician, one who fused swordsmanship and magic—a genius considered without precedent, perhaps one who would never be matched.
With signs like these, unless someone lived in a backwater village with no connection to the world, it was impossible not to recognize him.
And though Sinielle was outside Jinas's borders, it lay right beside it.
As the City Lord of Sinielle, Sigmund could not possibly be ignorant of the prodigy who had shaken the entire continent, so when Riezel displayed immense magic power and strength great enough to kick him away, he no longer had any doubt about Riezel's identity.
"No wonder you dared storm my City Hall... It was you, after all..."
Sigmund's emotions boiled—his eyes no longer held coldness but rejection.
"Why have you come to Sinielle?"
"What's your goal?"
"Why did you touch the forbidden here?"
"Your Jinas had agreed with Sinielle long ago—you would never interfere here."
"Are you breaking that agreement now?"
Sigmund's voice grew louder and louder.
Seeing Sigmund's behavior, Riezel raised a brow, feeling that something was off.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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