PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

“I understand. Since you won’t hand over the girl, then fight Desmond Astryd. As the commander of the royal knights, I, Camila Stonesoul, will stop you with all my might.”

As Camila’s words fell, an invisible pressure fell on Desmond, almost crushing his composure. This was Camila’s intent colliding with Desmond’s intent, fighting for dominance over the surrounding mana.

Camila’s conviction was solid and heavy as steel, putting tremendous pressure on Desmond. Still, after a brief clash, Desmond managed to hold on to his resonance state.

Both William and Frederick felt the clash of both wills and were amazed to see a battle of this level. It had to be known that resonance and clash of intent were techniques used only by the most potent mana users with the highest affinities and talents.

Using these techniques, a mana user could gain a significant advantage over his opponent by putting constant psychological pressure on him while limiting the mana he had access to.

Not many mana users used these kinds of techniques because they had too high a requirement for intent and affinity for mana; Worse yet, if you were the one to initiate this kind of confrontation, you ran the risk of ending up being overwhelmed by your adversary. After all, there was no way to know for sure how strong your opponent’s intent and affinity were, so starting this kind of matchup was, to some extent, a gamble that few were willing to take.

Although Desmond maintained his control over the mana around him, his expression only worsened as he felt how strong Camila was. This woman was like an impossibly colossal mountain pressing down on him.

Since Camila was the first to make a move, both William and Frederick took it as a signal to go into battle. William exploded with terrifying speed, leaving behind him a burst of chaotic wind, arriving behind Desmond in an instant. As William reached out his hands in an attempt to grab Cecilia, Frederick also made a move on him by firing two giant fire serpents from his sword at Desmond.

.....

Frederick aimed to block Desmond in his place while William took Cecilia. Their mission had always been to take Cecilia, so neither of them thought it was entirely necessary to hit Desmond head-on.

They had both underestimated Desmond too much; moreover, they had all underestimated Cecilia too much. Contrary to what those who saw her as a helpless lamb waiting for the butcher’s knife believed, Cecilia was much more than she seemed at first glance.

William’s outstretched hand collided harshly with a shield of golden light in the shape of a four-pointed star that floated in front of Cecilia. Because William did not expect resistance from Cecilia, bumping into a shield was a surprise that prevented him from reacting quickly.

Desmond, for his part, had to face Frederick’s intense fire attack while he was still trying to pull William away from Cecilia.

Threads of intense blue mana tangled and weaved together at a speed Desmond had never experienced before, soon forming a gauntlet decorated with oceanic patterns.

The pure steel quartz acted as a catalyst, significantly increasing the intensity and density of the mana concentrated in the gauntlet. A terrifying bestial roar reverberated throughout the plaza as Desmond’s left fist slammed into Frederick’s fire serpents.

Desmond did not fully unleash the power contained in the gauntlet and instead chose to keep the ability in a less ferocious form as a backup for prolonged combat. Despite taking a conservative approach to using his ability, Desmond’s strike still managed to destroy and scatter the two massive fire serpents.

The combination of metal and water created an energy that strongly suppresses fire. Frederick’s attack quickly vanished, leaving behind an intense cloud of steam that was soon blown away by the wind of Desmond’s next move.

Trailing a vapor trail behind it, Desmond’s leg spiraled before crashing hard into William’s side. He was still recovering from his earlier clash with Cecilia’s barrier.

All of this took a long time to narrate. Still, it happened instantly, where Desmond blocked Frederick’s attack before lashing out with an attack on William, sending the latter to bite the ground again.

Desmond didn’t even have time to feel pleased with himself as a terrifying pressure descended on him, accompanied by a sense of danger that ran down his spine.

Trusting his instincts, Desmond moved to the side, just in time to see a gigantic silver sword tear through the air where he had been standing a second ago.

Desmond almost felt his soul leave his body. Desmond didn’t even need to look behind him to know that sword was coming from Camila’s hand. What Desmond didn’t understand was how that huge armored woman pulled off a murderous move like that without alerting his senses until just a moment before the attack.

Showing superhuman physical prowess, Camila changed the direction of her blow just a moment before her sword hit the ground. In a ricocheting motion, her sword painted a slanted V in the air, threatening to cut Desmond’s waist in two.

Camila’s move wasn’t fast to the point of being impossible to dodge. Still, she was very well calculated, and her technique was obviously above average, causing Desmond’s countenance to darken. It was bad enough that this woman was mighty; the fact that she was also so skilled in combat was just one more nail in Desmond’s coffin.

Due to Camila’s sword being almost eight feet long, trying to get out of range of her in such a short amount of time was not an option. Desmond lowered his center of gravity into a boxing stance and went under the sword strike.

Entering Camila’s immediate area, Desmond hoped to gain some advantage and be able to hurt this monstrous woman. Then continue to fight the trio, or else things might get too dangerous.

In a move utterly unexpected to Desmond, Camila let go of her sword decisively. She slammed her arms down in an attempt to crush Desmond with two hammer blows. As two gigantic guillotines, her arms fell on Desmond, who had no choice but to try to use her own arms to resist the attack.

That was a big mistake. Desmond felt the bones in his arms tremble, nearly breaking on impact. Like being run over by a truck, Desmond was pushed down by Camila’s unstoppable force. Desmond’s right knee hurt the stone tiles below as Camila forced him to his knees.

Desmond gritted his teeth and resisted the pain; he had already expected the difference in strength to be this big. Still, it seemed like Camila was barely making an effort, putting more pressure on him.

Using Camila’s strength and weight against him, Desmond fell back as he used a swift motion to grab the woman’s wrists and pull her with him. Landing on his back, Desmond used both legs to kick Camila’s abdomen, which had lost her balance. Thus launching the woman several tens of meters away.

Still, Desmond had to roll to the ground just in time to dodge a pillar of flame that grew from where he stood. Frederick was not left out after being repelled once.

William was the same. After being repelled by Cecilia and kicked to the ground by Desmond, the light blue-haired knight was not very happy with his constant failure to catch Cecilia.

Using his faster speed, William tried to get around Cecilia’s shield, but how could it be so easy. Cecilia had an affinity for light mana that no human could dream of having. She had long ago developed a light-based sense of perception, and William was far from being faster than light.

Although the concept of speed was not Cecilia’s specialty, her reaction speed proved to be enough to operate her shield to keep William at bay.

William was upset; he never thought that this woman would be able to resist in this way. It’s not that William had anything against Cecilia or that he despised women; he wouldn’t dare when he met a monster like Camila. However, from the information in the royal family’s hands, Cecilia shouldn’t have any combat power.

Since Desmond was too busy dodging Frederick’s relentless barrage of fiery arrows, William was less cautious in his attempts to capture Cecilia.

“You shouldn’t be so careless.”

Kyuru appeared right behind Cecilia, carrying a small sphere of compressed air in her small outstretched hands. Although the globe seemed tiny, as a wind user, William could feel how terrifyingly compressed the wind mana was in that sphere.

William did not expect this at all. Although William had already seen the fairy and was quite surprised by her presence. He never took the tiny creature seriously as she did not seem powerful. It is worth mentioning that even now, William believed that the ability to fly and fight him in the sky came from Desmond.

Even Desmond couldn’t put up a fight against him when they were in his domain. William never thought Cecilia or this adorable little creature could stand against him, even if they were no longer fighting in the sky.