I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 303 A Fateful Encounter, A Clash of Powers

Terrifying magical power surged and coalesced into a silver-white slash in an instant, accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, swiftly attacking the unknown short man in black from behind, about to strike him.

However, what surprised Anna was...

Before her sneak attack from behind, a strike that was powerful enough to instantly injure a mid-level mage and render them powerless to retaliate.

After a slight pause, the man in black in front of him did not make any move to dodge, but instead stomped his foot on the ground, forcibly stopping his charge.

Immediately, he drew his longsword and delivered a casual upward flick towards the attack from behind.

It didn't even reveal the state of any magic runes condensing.

Under Anna's stunned gaze, the other party controlled her with almost astonishing magic.

The trajectory of her strike, which contained the power to strip away all things, was forcibly changed, causing it to fly directly into the sky instead of its original horizontal slash.

"What!?"

"Stab!"

Amid Anna's incredulous expression, the silvery crescent-shaped sword energy slashed across the deep night sky, and with the explosion of magic, it transformed into a billowing smoke, forming a terrifying storm that shattered the dark clouds in the sky.

This strike, which should have killed the mid-level mage on the spot, was completely erased by that person in an almost impossible way, without even soiling the hem of the mage's clothes!
"?"

After deflecting the attack from behind, the man in black seemed to notice something unexpected. He paused slightly and then abandoned his plan to continue attacking his original target.

Instead, he slowly turned around and looked at the figure behind him, who was also dressed in night clothes, who had appeared at some unknown time.

At that moment, a complex emotion flashed in her green eyes beneath the black veil.

There was murderous intent towards the attacker, surprise at when the other party had hidden in the abandoned building, and doubt about why the other party had ambushed him.

But more than anything, there was astonishment.

Because, the moment she sensed the aura contained in that magical strike, she made that judgment.

The technique used by the person who suddenly attacked her from behind was not unfamiliar to her; it was the all-knowing technique of stripping away all things!
But didn't Father say that he was the only bloodline of the Binot family?

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be anyone else in the world besides myself who can use this power.

So, is it a unique technique or something similar?

No, if it were a unique technique, then the moment I separated everything and made a slash in a non-visible state, the opponent's slash would have been completely torn apart by me.

Instead of soaring into the sky.

Based on this, we can confirm that the power used by the opponent is definitely of the same origin as our own Separation of All Things technique!
But what if the other party also possesses the technique of stripping away all things?

Doesn't that mean the other party is a member of the Binot tribe?
In other words, is the other party a relative?

"!"

The word that flashed into her mind made Leia's breath catch in her throat. The murderous intent in her heart began to dissipate, replaced by a complex emotion that she couldn't quite explain.

The influx of information and the sudden unexpected events left her unusually at a loss, even forgetting about her original goal of assassinating Zeke.

She stared blankly at the 'clan member' in front of her who possessed the same power as her, but for some unknown reason attacked her.

For a moment, the battlefield fell into an eerie silence.

Although it's unclear what exactly is going on.

However, right now it seems like a golden opportunity for our side?
Seeing the two terrifying men in black suddenly appear and start fighting amongst themselves for some unknown reason, Elliott and the flustered Count Zeke exchanged a glance and immediately understood each other's thoughts.

Count Jike then subtly winked at his secretary and gestured to the front of the carriage, indicating that he was about to untie the reins.

Upon seeing this, Elliott immediately understood, then suppressed his nervousness and prepared to open the carriage door and get off.

Taking advantage of the inexplicable standoff between the two terrifying assassins ahead, he seized the opportunity to untie the reins, grab the idiot count, and ride away on horseback, thus completing the greatest act of survival.

However, to his utter surprise, before he could complete this secret and grand plan, the moment he opened the door, the goal was completely ruined by an accident.

"Clang!"

The clear sound of bells suddenly rang out in the room, breaking the silence.

Even Leia, who was confused, and Anna, who was shocked, were drawn by the sudden sound and looked in the direction from which it came.

Elliott, who was being stared at by the two assassins, had a livid face and was cursing Zeke's ancestors in his heart.

He never imagined that a small detail they would never pay attention to in their daily lives would turn into a deadly threat at this moment!
That is, in order to show off his status, Jik, that idiot, had a bell hung on the carriage when he ordered it!
Furthermore, it incorporates amplification magic, making its loudness virtually impossible to ignore.

Normally, the sound of this bell would highlight Zeke's nobility as a count.

But at this moment, Elliott felt an unprecedented sense of stupidity and idiocy!

Fuck you, Zeke! You're going to kill me now, you idiot count!

"It's over!"

Hearing the bells ringing incessantly in his ears, Elite, who was cursing the bullshit in his heart, revealed a deathly smile.

"..."

As if interrupted by the sound of the bell, Anna gradually came back to her senses from the shock.

Seeing Elite with half her body sticking out of the carriage and looking at her with a green expression, she instantly realized that the other party intended to escape.

We can't let Zeke escape!

Although the framing plan failed due to the sudden appearance of another assassin, the target must die!

Anna's intelligence allowed her to instantly assess the current situation.

However, her impetuous nature led her to choose the most direct and riskiest option:
Kill Zeke first, then try to capture the man in black alive!
A murderous glint flashed in Anna's eyes, and then she unhesitatingly manipulated the magic within her body, intending to launch a slash at her target.

However, to her disbelief, the man in black who had originally tried to kill her target first not only did not join her in attacking Zeke, but instead turned against her and stood in her way.

"Where does your power come from?"

A voice, deliberately lowered and sounding cold and flat, slowly rose from the air.

Leia appeared as if by magic, blocking the other's path.

Beneath the black veil, green eyes were fixed intently on Anna.

That was the first time that a feeling similar to "curiosity" had appeared.

For her, the power this woman used, which was almost identical to the power she inherited from the Binot family, was more important than assassinating Zeke.

"Get out of the way!" Anna was frantic as she watched as Zeke and his companion seized the opportunity to untie the reins, shakily mounted their horses, and quickly fled back the way they had come. Realizing that the mission was about to fail, Anna was immediately filled with anxiety.

Without a second thought, he unleashed his prized Equality of All Things slash at the opponent, intending to force him back.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

In an instant, dozens of silver lights flew and splashed, each containing deadly killing intent.

However, facing this pervasive sword energy, Leia simply raised her hand, and a silvery-white light emerged from the longsword in her hand, crushing all the sword energy containing the power to strip away everything with an almost crushing force!
"Bang bang bang!"

Explosions rang out continuously from the field, but Leia paid no attention to them. Instead, she appeared like a ghost and blocked Anna's charge once again, using her longsword to deflect the blade that Anna was swinging.

"Ding!"

"answer me."

Amidst the bursts of firelight, Leia stared intently at the figure before her who appeared to be a member of her tribe and spoke in a deep voice.

"I don't have time to play with you, get out of my way!"

Anna was completely enraged. The other party's entanglement and the power of the same origin made her feel inexplicably irritated and threatened.

After forcing her opponent back with her sword, she quickly distanced herself from the strange assassin. Then, without hesitation, she mobilized the magic power within her body. Instantly, dozens of overlapping ancient magic runes gathered in her hands, and a large amount of silvery-white magic power transformed into countless ribbons that drifted and flowed from her arms.

In an instant, together with the blade in her hand, they converged into a giant, spiral-shaped, silver-white weapon, much to Leia's astonishment.

Its shape resembles a spear, yet it also bears some resemblance to a blade, making it look rather strange.

But ignoring its bizarre appearance, its unique patterns and structure, along with its overwhelming aura, made Leia certain of one thing the moment she saw it.

Without a doubt, the weapon used by the opponent was the 'Spear of All Things' that she was most familiar with.

Although the lack of relevant training in techniques resulted in an imperfect and flawed physical form.

But the person in front of me, who had somehow stolen the bloodline of Binot, seemed to have a talent for combat. He had actually figured out the strongest use of the All Things Stripping Technique by developing it on his own.

"Accident……"

Leia murmured, watching the figure gathering power and awkwardly manipulating the power of stripping away all things, attempting to pierce through Zeke along with herself.

Instead of taking advantage of the moment when she was gathering power, she silently channeled her magic into her hands.

In a completely opposite state to the opponent, he imprinted the technique of stripping away all things onto the ordinary longsword in his hand, which was much larger and more powerful than the opponent's giant spear or giant longsword.

Throughout the entire process, her actions of inscribing the spell and condensing the spear of separation showed no abnormality whatsoever, and even the shape of the longsword did not change significantly.

Aside from the sword becoming thinner under some unknown force, transforming from an ordinary longsword into a rapier, and the sword also developing numerous fine magical runes that are difficult to discern with the naked eye.

It didn't even leak out any aura of the gathered magic power.

Clearly, compared to when Bahamut used the Spear of All Things to defeat Servia on the spot, now, after experiencing the continuous battles and baptisms of Faoken, and repeatedly using the power of the Spear of All Things on the battlefield, the situation has changed dramatically.

L'Oréal has now undergone a transformation!

This applies not only to the mind but also to physical strength.

"Damn..."

However, seeing Leia standing unmoved in front of her mission target, Anna interpreted her behavior as disrespect, and a long-lost anger welled up in her heart.

He then increased his output of power, pouring all of his power of equality into the specially made weapon in his hand without reservation.

She planned to use all her strength to crush the monster instantly.

By unleashing this attack that gathered all her power, she forced her opponent to dodge, then bypassed him to kill Zeke and achieve her goal!

"Penetrate!"

Anna roared as she slashed at the road ahead with her strangely shaped giant weapon.

"Crack!"

Countless ancient inscriptions burst forth with astonishingly dazzling light as she waved them, and in their disintegration, they transformed into the purest destructive force in the world.

Enveloping the shattered earth, it transformed into a storm of silvery-white blades, which, in the fleeting aurora, roared and crushed the figures ahead like a galloping dragon.

It seemed to want to devour and erase everything. Faced with this terrifying power, it was unimaginable what kind of creature could survive such a blow!

Just when Anna thought her opponent would sense the danger and dodge her slash, the next second, upon seeing her opponent's movement, her expression instantly turned to astonishment.

"Buzz!"

Facing the terrifying slash that was rapidly approaching from the front, Leia neither dodged nor avoided it. Instead, just like Anna had done before, she raised the longsword in her hand, which had somehow turned into a pure silver-white color, with one hand.

At the same time, streaks of silvery-white light, invisible to the naked eye, surged and swept from the blade of the longsword in her hand like spirals, stirring up the space around her and making her appear increasingly illusory, with numerous double images appearing.

It was as if even spacetime was being uncontrollably overlapped and superimposed under the control of the other party's power, which transcended class.

However, only Anna, who has mastered the same technique, or a Grand Rank expert who can barely glimpse the origin of power, can perceive the unimaginable power hidden behind this seemingly ordinary sword-raising action.

That is, the power to strip away all things has been compressed to the limit. Even the smoke formed by the almost uncontrollable magic power that would otherwise be annihilated has been forcibly compressed to a state that is invisible to the naked eye. It can be described as absolute mastery of power!

Leia effortlessly accumulates power, elevating it to a level fundamentally different from Anna's slashes.

Looking ahead, a silvery-white storm, seemingly capable of destroying the heavens and the earth, was rushing towards him.

Beneath the black veil, her face remained unchanged throughout.

Instead, it remained calm and unchanged.

Immediately, he gently swung the longsword he had raised high down towards the oncoming storm.

"Buzz!"

As she moved, the blade drew a silvery-white streak in the air.

But in just a moment, this seemingly thin stream of light began to expand exponentially at an unbelievable speed.

In less than 0.5 seconds, it transformed into a giant, silver-white crescent-shaped sword aura, a hundred meters high and thirty meters wide.

Before Anna's incredulous eyes, in an instant, the sword energy tornado that was capable of destroying everything was completely torn apart and crushed, thus transforming into a terrifying storm!

"Boom!"

……

(End of this chapter)