Chương 98

"Force Palm!" Regas shouted. Pepepepeng! The 30 against 1 fight was in full swing. Regas was basically a blonde blur, bouncing between the Yatan followers and delivering lightning-fast kicks and punches. He looked like he was having the time of his life. Grid, hiding safely behind a thick pine tree, just stared in disbelief. The longer he spent with Regas, the harder it was to adjust to him.

'He is crazy!' Grid muttered internally. Grid didn't want to fight thirty cultists. He looked toward the dark mouth of the cave. All the Yatan followers were completely distracted by the martial artist. It was the perfect opening. Grid quietly slipped away from the tree and moved toward the cave, hoping the old man who stole his shield was hiding inside. A few yards away, Rudra pulled a piece of dried river-kelp from his inventory and popped it into his mouth.

He leaned back against the tree, watching Grid sneak away.

"The kid in the beginner clothes is making a run for it," Rudra noted casually. Piaro crossed his arms, his sharp eyes tracking Grid.

"He lacks martial discipline, but his movements are cautious. Let us see what he finds." The moment Grid stepped into the cave, the ambient mana on the mountain shifted violently.

"I don't like uninvited guests," a bizarre voice echoed from the dark. It sounded like two voices speaking at the exact same time. A flurry of system windows popped up in Grid's vision. [God Yatan's Sixth Servant, Malacus, has appeared.] [The mighty dark power has applied a fear, weakness, and immobilizing effect.] Normally, a player would be instantly paralyzed by the terrifying debuff. But Grid wasn't a normal player. [A legend doesn't feel fear easily.] [You have resisted all the abnormal conditions.] [Malacus has unleashed a surprise magic attack.] Kwa kwa kwa kwang! Grid noticed the sharp black blades flying from the dark cave and immediately scrambled backward, sprinting out of the entrance as fast as his legs could carry him. He barely made it out. But Regas wasn't so lucky. Despite being outside the cave, Regas was suddenly overwhelmed by Malacus' raw magic power leaking from the entrance. The martial artist froze, standing perfectly still.

He couldn't escape the flying magic and took a heavy, painful blast of dark energy directly to the chest.

"Kuk... I didn't think someone like this would be here," Regas groaned. Regas quickly pulled a potion from his belt to restore his health. He realized instantly that he was completely outmatched. He immediately opened his system settings.

"Whisper unblock. Guild chat unblock," Regas muttered. Instantly, his interface exploded. {Hey you! You will die if you don't find Regas today!} Jishuka's angry message flashed. {T-Take it easy, Master.} {Yes, excitement isn't good for your skin. Isn't Master a woman as well?} {Shut up... all of you, shut up! If you have time to chat, look for that bastard, Regas!} Regas hesitated for a second, feeling a little guilty for ignoring them all day, before typing on the holographic keyboard.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. {The slope of Rolf Mountain. Please send support.} The chaotic chat window became even more frenzied. {Regas!} {Hey, Regas! What have you been doing all day? Why did you block the chat? Answer me!} {Rolf Mountain...? I will visit you soon. ^^} Kwa kwang! Kwang! Regas ducked, avoiding the black magic that the followers were shooting from all directions.

He elbowed the face of the closest believer and quickly typed in the chat again. {Come prepared for battle. Malacus has appeared.} The chat window went completely crazy. {Malacus? The Sixth Servant?} {Isn't he a monster that is level 310?} Rudra chewed his kelp, watching the blonde martial artist frantically typing on a glowing keyboard while dodging dark fireballs.

"Looks like he called his friends," Rudra smiled.

"Level 310, huh? That's a solid bounty."

"Do not underestimate a Servant of Yatan," Piaro warned, his eyes fixed on the cave entrance.

"Their dark magic is absolute. They are the core pillars of the Evil God's church." Malacus stepped out of the cave. He didn't look like a terrible monster. He was just an ordinary man in his 30s, wearing a black mask and a long cloak covering his body. Malacus looked directly at Grid. He was genuinely impressed that the young man could endure the heavy pressure of his magic power.

"Then you... are you like Yura? An extraordinary person among travelers?" Malacus asked. Grid held his hands up, trying to solve it with dialogue.

"Not really... well, I didn't come here to meet you. So can I go my own way?"

"I can't allow that," Malacus replied coldly.

"Please have mercy just once. Hehe," Grid offered an awkward laugh.

"One of the most insignificant words in the world is mercy," Malacus sneered. Grid frowned.

"Che, whatever." Grid completely dropped the beginner act. He opened his inventory. Right in front of Malacus, Grid equipped his heavy armor and pulled out a massive, intimidating greatsword that was more than 3 meters long. It was the +5 Dainsleif. Rudra raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, so the kid was hiding a giant sword in his pocket. Good to know."

"A great sword, but can it reach my body?" Malacus taunted.

"You will see soon!" Grid yelled.

"Blacksmith's Rage! Quick Movements! Pagma's Sword Dance, Link!" Grid gripped the massive sword with both hands. Buuuong. Buuuong. Dainsleif moved with a speed that was totally disproportionate to its huge size. The heavy blade slashed right at Malacus' body. But just before the steel connected, a black shield materialized out of thin air, completely blocking the sword in its path. Kaaang!

"Ugh!" Grid grunted, the recoil pushing him back. Grid didn't give up. He hurriedly shoved the greatsword back into his inventory and pulled out a glowing +8 Ideal Dagger.

"Wind Blast!" Grid shouted. Pepepepeng! The burst of wind magic exploded against Malacus' body. But once again, just before the winds touched him, the instant-cast black shield emerged at the point of collision and blocked everything. Grid quickly drank a mana potion.

"Wind of Justice!" A much more powerful storm of wind magic erupted, but it collapsed uselessly against the black shield. Grid trembled. What is this fraudulent defense skill? How much damage can it prevent? Grid thought, starting to panic.

"That shield is highly efficient," Piaro analyzed from the tree line.

"It deploys instantly, only covering the exact point of impact to conserve magic power. A weak, predictable strike will never break through it."

"Yeah, but it's just a wall," Rudra grinned, leaning heavily on his Staff of the Fire Lord.

"If you hit a wall hard enough, it breaks." Malacus pulled a hand out from under his cloak, aiming directly at Grid.

"Your weakness won't be able to break this. Die. Divine Punishme...?" Malacus paused right in the middle of his chant. Grid had activated a skill called Restraint. It completely overwhelmed Malacus, freezing the high-level dark priest in place. Grid didn't waste the opening. He turned around and sprinted as far from Malacus as possible.

"Regas! Let's go!" Grid shouted frantically. However, Regas was still punching the Yatan followers, showing absolutely zero intention of escaping.

"Regas!" Grid yelled again. Regas looked at the desperately rushing Grid and declared with a bright, martial artist smile, "I don't run away. I will fight. When can I ever meet such a strong opponent again? I want to fight!" Grid stared at the blonde man in utter disbelief.

"... You are really crazy. Aren't you afraid of dropping items and losing experience upon death?" Rudra sighed, pushing himself off the pine tree. He cracked his knuckles inside his black leather gloves.

"The martial artist has the right attitude, but he doesn't have the stats to back it up," Rudra said, tossing the rest of his dried kelp to Kratos.

"I'll tag in. Keep an eye on the kid, Piaro."

"As you command," Piaro nodded calmly. Rudra stepped out of the shadows of the tree line, his heavy black trench coat blowing lightly in the mountain wind. It was time to show the 6th Servant what a real wall looked like.