Chapter 283: The Holy Sword Wielder Who Can Clone Himself
All the soldiers and mages here were elites with absolute loyalty to the Empire. How could they stop just because of a few persuasive words from the enemy?
Let alone Serie's apprentice, even if the God-slayer himself were here, it would be impossible!
Moreover, Rhodes's words were tantamount to tearing away all pretense, placing the hostility between the two sides on the table.
But what could the Commander say?
Argue? Attack?
He could do nothing!
He could only glare fiercely at Rhodes and Serie, squeezing a single word through his gritted teeth:
"...Fine!"
With that, he turned sharply and left with his sorry subordinates without looking back.
And so, in an extremely bizarre atmosphere, the Empire's vanguard army stopped its advance completely. The massive encampment sprawled across the wilderness, confronting the tiny tent at the very edge from a distance.
Rhodes and Serie were happy to have some peace and quiet.
Although the surveillance soldiers were still present, they no longer hovered around them under the guise of guards. instead, they watched from a distance, merely confirming the two were still in place.
Time passed quietly, and night fell again.
Inside the tent, Rhodes, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, and Serie, who was flipping through a magic book, opened their eyes almost simultaneously.
"The surrounding soldiers are retreating rapidly. They seem to be forming a perimeter," Rhodes spoke first.
"Mn." Serie closed her book, a glint of excitement flashing in her eyes. Her perception reached further. "More than that. Some very special existences are approaching fast."
"Their aura concealment is excellent—highest-tier concealment magic—but still lacking a bit."
"However, the energy fluctuations on them are peculiar. They carry an identical signature."
It is here.
The true killer move prepared by the Emperor.
Rhodes didn't hesitate. Powerful detection magic spread out instantly with him as the center, meticulously scanning the area for several kilometers around.
"Something is wrong," Rhodes said suddenly. "This time is different."
"Yes. More numerous than before, but why are their auras almost completely identical? Interesting."
Serie couldn't quite understand this special situation, but Rhodes thought of a possibility. Or rather, a certain incredibly cautious fellow and the magic he used.
In their perception, over twenty existences with completely identical energy fluctuations were closing in on the tent from all directions.
Their coordination was tighter than the previous two waves of assassins, as if they were a single person. And in each of their hands, they held a white-gold longsword radiating a palpitating aura.
"Not only can he create clones, but that sword in their hands... why does it feel stronger than ordinary magical weapons?" Rhodes raised an eyebrow slightly.
Before his voice faded, the twenty-plus figures launched their attack simultaneously.
They pounced from all directions, movements synchronized. The white-gold longswords in their hands unleashed brilliant sword beams, weaving a destructive net of energy that instantly engulfed the tent and the surrounding area!
BOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion swept through the entire camp.
Even the earth trembled violently. The blinding light turned night into day, and the terrifying shockwave instantly shredded the surrounding tents and fences that hadn't been evacuated in time!
The Legion Commander turned pale with shock, hurriedly ordering the troops to retreat further.
"Didn't His Majesty say he was sending a powerful assassin? But this commotion and method... is this really an assassination?" he muttered to himself.
But with such power... those two must be dead, right?!
However, when the light and dust settled slightly, a suffocating scene appeared.
Rhodes and Serie stood in place, unharmed.
The Holy Sword Athos in Serie's hand emitted a soft golden halo, deploying a barrier that perfectly protected the two.
But on the barrier wall, which should have been indestructible, dozens of clear cracks had appeared.
Although these cracks were repairing rapidly, this was undoubtedly unprecedented!
"It actually broke Athos's defense?" Serie looked at the cracks on the barrier, genuine surprise appearing on her face for the first time.
In a thousand years, Serie had never seen an existence capable of breaching Athos's defense.
A thousand years ago, only two things could break it.
One was the residual corrosive divine power of the Godfall Land. The other was the Goddess of Procreation.
Now, although Athos's defense hadn't been completely shattered, there was no doubt the opponent's attacks possessed a specialized anti-magic effect.
But how was this possible?
Athos's barrier magic was a demigod-level defense spell. Did these assassins' attacks possess demigod-level power?
If that were true, other nations wouldn't need to fight; they should surrender immediately.
"Pay attention to the longswords in their hands. If I am not mistaken, that should be a Holy Sword."
Rhodes's gaze grew graver.
He hadn't expected Legate to actually create a Holy Sword in this era—and one specifically designed to counter mages.
In the attack just now, he clearly sensed a power nearing the level of laws within the sword beams released by the opponent.
It didn't break through with brute force. It was more like an effect of negation and disintegration, acting directly on the magic itself to invalidate it.
Nothing magical remains unbroken!
"It is not a simple energy attack. It carries the property of anti-magic laws," Rhodes judged quickly. "Be careful. Our conventional defensive magic might not work."
In the instant they spoke, the twenty-plus clones raised their Holy Swords again. A second terrifying combined strike was already brewing.
"Annoying pests!" Serie snorted coldly, clearly angered by the sneak attack and the fact that her defense had been breached.
She stopped purely defending. Layers of magic circles unfolded in her hands.
With Serie's strength, her magic was completed before the mages could launch their combined strike.
In an instant, countless beams of pure energy rained down from the sky like a storm, precisely covering the position of every attacker.
Each beam contained Serie's powerful mana, enough to vaporize steel instantly.
The attackers immediately swung their Holy Swords to block. Amidst flashing sword light, they actually managed to slash apart or deflect most of the light rain.
Although they looked somewhat bedraggled, they had indeed blocked Serie's angry strike!
"Impressive. Even copies of the Holy Sword can utilize that anti-magic property to a certain extent."
Rhodes observed the battle situation, his fingers quietly tracing in the air before him, beginning to probe which of these attackers was the original body.
From the moment he saw these attackers and they made their move, Rhodes realized they were clones.
Even the Holy Swords in their hands were copies.
But the ability of the Holy Sword to be copied should be an inherent property of the sword itself, not a magical effect of the attacker. Furthermore, the power of the split Holy Swords was significantly reduced.
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