Chương 47: Clash of Powerhouses

Alric looked at the dwarf with a solemn expression. He was less than 150 centimeters tall, but the pressure he exuded surpassed that of anyone else on this battlefield.

"This isn't your business, Dwarf," Alric said coldly, warily watching the dwarf while furtively glancing at his horse not far away.

"Hahaha! Are you an idiot? I can't just let you kill my employers like that, young man." The dwarf laughed loudly before moving forward, placing himself between Alric and his horse. Looking at the dwarf standing before him, with his brown hair, thick beard, and toothy grin, Alric found it difficult to associate the man with the pressure he exuded. Visually, he didn't seem much of a threat compared to the more than two meters tall Harren.

However, the difference in Alric's attitude toward the two was like night and day. Though he could condescendingly talk to Harren, playing with him throughout the entire fight, he couldn't afford to do the same with the dwarf.

"I'm Alric Argent. What about you?" Alric tightened his grip on his sword and got into a stance. A trace of surprise flashed across the dwarf's face, then the grin on his face grew even wider.

"I'm Bram, Bram Stoneshear, a blacksmith from the Stoneshear clan. Although I don't know why a fella like you would fall so low as to become a bandit, I can't just watch you commit such crimes without doing anything." Bram extended his right hammer forward while defending his face with the other one.

"I see, then, Bram, I won't hold back." Alric slowly said, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Bring it on!" Bram laughed loudly before charging towards him. Alric channeled mana through his body and sprang towards Bram. The two crossed the distance between them in a fraction of a second, sword and hammer colliding.

"Boom!" The ground peeled beneath them as a crater several meters wide and one meter deep caved in beneath them. Alric and Bram's gazes met across their locked weapons. They each tried to overpower the other, but they found that their strength was relatively equal. They separated for a second before swinging their weapons at each other, colliding again and again. Each one of their collisions left a deep crater on the ground.

They moved across the battlefield at breakneck speed, crossing distances of over 100 meters in less than a second, leaving many phantom images behind. In the eyes of most adventurers, guards, and bandits, they could only see two moving blurs colliding at every corner of the battlefield, each collision shaking the ground. Quite a few unlucky people were caught by the shockwaves and flung across the battlefield, their bones breaking and eardrums rupturing.

"Quickly distance yourselves from the boss's battlefield!" A bald bandit at the corner of the battlefield shouted. Harren, the captain of the guards, struggled to his feet and shouted, "Guards! Scatter away from that place! You'll die if you get close!" The guards, adventurers, and bandits hurriedly fled from that location, afraid that they would be killed by the shockwaves if they were slow by just a few seconds. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Alric's sword collided again with Bram's hammers, creating a massive shockwave.

"Not bad! Young man!" Bram heartily shouted, a toothy grin plastered across his face. Yet his actions were sharp. He slightly relaxed one of his arms, dropping one of the hammers down and using just one arm holding the other hammer to push against Alric's sword. Alric's gaze naturally followed the hammer falling to the ground. To this, Bram grinned before snatching the hammer's handle just as it was about to drop to the ground, then swinging it at Alric's legs using centrifugal force.

All of this happened in less than a second. Seeing Bram's hammer heading toward his leg at supersonic speed, moving with enough force to cripple his legs, Alric didn't panic. His mana quickly flowed from his heart to his arms and legs, forcibly pushing Bram away before taking a step back, just enough for the hammer to pass by his legs without touching it. Alric's eyes sharpened. Following the hammer's trajectory, he kicked it from below and sent it flying away.

"You!" Bram's eyes widened. Alric didn't waste this opportunity; he quickly attached mana to his arms.

"[Quick Slash!]" His sword left afterimages as it repeatedly struck Bram's remaining hammer. The dwarf struggled to defend, getting pushed back step by step. Just as he was getting overwhelmed, the toothy grin slowly crept back on Bram's face.

"Whoosh!"

'Something is off.' Alric thought as he heightened his vigilance. Feeling a whooshing wind on the back of his neck, Alric's eyes widened as he quickly placed his sword on his back. The next second…

"Boom!" He felt something heavy collide with his sword.

"Ugh!" Alric groaned as he stumbled forward; his arm shook as the impact rattled him. Bram didn't waste this opportunity, not hesitating to swing his hammer at Alric's open chest. Alric barely had the time to place his arm in front of him before he was sent skidding off the ground.

"Boom!" His body went through several carriages, causing them to explode, before crashing into the energy barrier, leaving several cracks on it.

"Ugh!" Alric struggled to stand up; his arm's armor was dented, and blood was spilling from the corner of his mouth.

'The bone must have cracked,' Alric thought as he looked at his left arm.

"Hahaha, young lad, you must have been surprised!" Bram laughed loudly as he snatched his second hammer from the air. He proudly displayed his two hammers and said,"[Magnetic Flying Hammers]. As long as I hold one, the other will always return to my arm. Amazing, right? It's my proudest creation!" Bram boasted as he displayed his two hammers. Alric's face was solemn as he stood up. He cracked his neck and wiped the blood seeping from a wound on his cheek before expressionlessly walking toward Bram.

He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

On the other side of the battlefield, Kyle watched this battle from the corner of his eye while dodging a bandit's attack and beheading him.

'These guys are on a whole other level… They're even stronger than the abomination from last time.' Kyle thought as he dodged another bandit's sneak attack and kicked him away.

'No… The goblin warrior abomination would probably be killed after just three strikes. Aside from strength, their speed, reaction, judgment, and experience are levels above it.' Kyle was amazed.

"So this is the power of a peak rank 1." He muttered under his breath.

"No, they should be stronger than the typical peak rank 1." Kyle shook his head and said, his gaze moving across the battlefield. The feeling that something was wrong still rang in his heart. He carefully scanned the battlefield.

'74 bandits have appeared so far; only 12 attacked the front section of the caravan. The central section is the main battlefield between the bandit leader and the caravan's main force, with around 30 bandits. The rear section of the caravan has the largest number of bandits, though.' The more he thought about it, the more bizarre it felt. Kyle keenly noticed that most bandits didn't care about the goods being transported on the carriages.

They fiercely attacked the guards and adventurers protecting them, without regard for the cargo's safety.

'What is their main purpose?' Kyle avoided another sneak attack, punching his attacker away before carefully examining the bandits.

'Most of them are apprentices, but there are more than a dozen rank 1 professionals.' Kyle counted the bandits fighting against the powerful guards and copper-class adventurers. As his gaze swept across the faces of each bandit, he noticed a faintly familiar figure. His gaze immediately locked onto a brown-haired figure slowly approaching Aaron. Seeing that brown hair and those familiar snake-like eyes, Kyle's pupils shrank.

"Aaron! Be careful!" Kyle shouted as he sprang towards him.