Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 46 (Part 2):

‘What’s this?’

Paul’s eyes widened in surprise. He had intended to lightly slash at the legs and knock him down for questioning.

His sword, loaded with force, should have easily sliced through a leg.

However, at the moment his blade should have hit its target, the figure in front of him blurred.

A movement too fast for the eyes to follow. A chill ran down his spine.

Paul swung his arm to the left. Clang! A pain like his grip would be torn away surged through him. He had blocked it with pure reflex.

The attack came from the opposite side to where he had just been standing.

“Not bad.”

The boy pressed down hard with his sword, his eyes unnervingly calm.

It was an impossible situation. Logically, a young boy like this shouldn’t be able to stand against a second-rank mercenary like him and resist.

But Paul was sweating cold sweat. An enormous pressure was bearing down on him. Any rash move to shake it off would lose him his balance.

“This brat!”

As Max momentarily lost his target and charged at the boy, Paul’s swordplay was precise, while Max’s was overwhelmingly powerful. The thrust aimed at his flank seemed unavoidable.

But the boy didn’t panic. His sword began to glow faintly.

Paul saw it. The grayish force blooming from his sword. He finally realized.

‘It was this kid!’

The reason the Pace Mercenary Corps survived. It was clearly revealed before him now.

“Max!”

As he called out, Paul freed himself from the pressure. Swish! The sound of the sword cutting through air followed.

“This, this…”

Max’s eyes widened. The gray force covering the sword. Even as a second-rank mercenary, he couldn’t manifest such a force.

This young boy! Could this really be happening?

Feeling odd, Max halted his attack and narrowly avoided Helmut’s strike.

“Second-rank mercenaries, not just in name, it seems.”

Helmut muttered, frowning. Their quick decision-making and movements.

Now, they were lined up side by side, their eyes filled with tension. It didn’t seem like it would end easily.

Helmut held his breath. Then, as he exhaled, his body explosively shot forward.

Several exchanges followed.

Although Helmut held the advantage in power, their complementing movements, dodging and striking, were exceptional. This was the result of their long-term coordination.

Minor scratches adorned his limbs. His newly acquired clothes were torn.

Second-rank mercenaries who abandoned their clients to flee. The accumulated skill and experience from their long careers were not to be underestimated.

‘Vis is powerful but doesn’t know how to seize victory.’

‘He has little experience dealing with multiple opponents.’

Paul and Max quickly identified Helmut’s weaknesses.

‘Inflict small wounds gradually to drain his strength.’

‘Wait for an opportunity to strike a decisive blow.’

Helmut took a moment to breathe.

‘Annoying.’

This was his first time dealing with weaker opponents attacking him in an organized manner. Helmut had only faced demonic beasts that relied on their inherent strength, or opponents who were significantly stronger or weaker than him.

Dodging and returning strikes while the other side intensified their offensive.

Focusing on one would expose his back. The continuous crossing attacks were cautious yet sharp.

‘Indeed, I’m not so far ahead of these two in skill.’

Helmut admitted. But he hadn’t yet used his full strength.

Knowing how to win means finding a way to the answer.

Haphazard attacks and defenses will only get one overwhelmed; the end comes from the extreme.

‘Pierce through at one point.’

Helmut leaped backward from his position. As soon as he gained some distance, he kicked off the ground. He shot forward like an arrow.

When they split, he would cut down one. His sword, filled with the powerful gray Vis, was formidable.

Seeing himself as the target, Max saw an opportunity for a counterattack. If he could just withstand the full-force attack for a moment, Paul, who had turned around, would stab him in the back.

If he could hold on, the impact would momentarily paralyze the boy. Then, the chance for a decisive strike would come.

But the surging gray sword in front of him sent shivers down his spine. Max raised his sword. He concentrated all his Vis into the sword.

Paul would surely accomplish what he needed to do. If he could just withstand…

Max’s eyes widened.

The two blades clashed.

Crash!

A sharp noise sounded. Max couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked at his sword. That was his last memory.

Slash!

As the sword split into two, Helmut’s blade cleaved Max’s body in half.

It was an inevitable outcome.

Time could be dragged out, but if a single clash couldn’t be endured, victory was impossible.

As Paul’s sword, aimed at Helmut’s back, sliced through empty air belatedly, he was now alone. Paul’s face trembled.

‘How could this be, Max to fall like this…’

Would this be the feeling of facing a first-rank, platinum-medal mercenary?

In the face of an absolute enemy, he became like a rabbit chased by a hunting dog.

Standing with his back turned, holding a gray sword, Helmut’s presence was like a terrible nightmare. There was no courage to rush in.

Paul made a quick decision. Flee. Even before he fully resolved to run, his legs kicked off the ground. He frantically ran through the bushes, desperate to escape the beast.

But then, thud! Something pierced his leg. As sensation returned in an instant, Paul screamed,

“Aaaagh!”

He rolled on the ground. Blood streamed from his leg, pierced by a tree trunk.

Death was approaching. Helmut stood before him like the Grim Reaper.

His clothes were a mess, and his body was covered in wounds. He was in a bad mood. To die in one strike like Max was perhaps fortunate.

“Now, who should be begging?”

Helmut, with a bored expression, lightly kicked the trembling body with his foot.

“A cunning one who led the Pace Mercenary Corps to death. I don’t particularly hold a grudge, but now that it’s come to this, taking revenge doesn’t seem too bad.”

After all, Helmut had found a reason to reveal his true power.

Paul opened his mouth.

“Pl-please… spare me.”

There was no time to feel humiliation or misery. He desperately wanted to live.

Paul, tears streaming down his face, crawled on the ground like a dog. Nothing was more important to him than his own life.

Whatever it took, he had to survive. That’s why he didn’t hesitate to abandon his client and flee.

Helmut stared down at him, gripping his foot.

With an inscrutable look, Helmut watched Paul plead for a while before murmuring,

‘It seems I feel nothing at all.’

And the next moment, a red line was drawn across Paul’s neck.

Paul and Max, like the five attackers before them, followed the same path. They would sleep eternally in the ground.

A nauseous feeling surged through him. As Helmut walked away towards the next village, he suddenly clutched his chest.

A feeling as if a seed of darkness was growing inside his heart, swelling to press down on his heart with an alien feeling.

It was repulsive enough to be considered a role.

Leaning against a tree, Helmut retched. It took a while before he regained his senses.

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