Realm of Myths and Legends (WN)

As the bright aura being emitted by Aurelius calmed down, one would see that it was not a pale blue hand that gripped onto Izroth's sword but rather a hand with skin that was deep blue.

Zeeeut!

Without hesitation, Izroth used a charge of his Primed Instantaneous Movement to create a distance of several meters between himself and the new arrival.

The person who intercepted his attack just now was not Vincent, but Izroth managed to get a good look at their system information before he withdrew.

Izroth maintained a calm mind as he observed the individual that blocked his attack. This person had long white hair, deep blue skin, and a pair of crimson eyes.

The average player would have mistaken this person for a typical skounae; however, Izroth had seen them before firsthand. Without a doubt, this person was a Vretis.

Salokin, one of the skounae earls Izroth followed into Vostracane, referred to his kind as an "abomination of the day". That's because the Vretis, unlike the typical skounae, was unaffected by changes between day and night. Rather, their power was still increased when nighttime came around, but during the day, they were not weakened like normal skounae.

Due to this trait, the average strength of a Vretis was actually higher than that of a typical skounae. That being said, one would be foolish to think that the Vretis stood at the top of the skounae race, and this had to do with one thing—numbers.

When it came to the population of Vretis, they accounted for less than 5% of the skounae race. Because of this large gap in numbers, unlike what would occur with a High-Born or Nature Lord of the trephasia race, the Vretis were treated as lesser beings.

In the eyes of other skounae, the Vretis were merely a group of abominations.

'This guy... I couldn't sense him.'

Izroth never let his guard down; however, he was still unable to sense the Vretis skounae's approach. But, if it were just that much, Izroth would not have paid it much mind. After all, with the countless mysterious skills and items that existed in RML, it would not be uncommon for someone to have a method that could escape his sense of perception.

What surprised Izroth more than anything was the fact that this person was able to block his First Baneful Sword: Destruction barehanded! Not to mention, despite having the Strength of the Ancient Colossus active, he could not pull his sword free from their grasp.

As a result, Izroth was forced to use a charge of his Primed Instantaneous Movement in order not to relinquish control of his sword.

But, after seeing that person's system information, Izroth understood why his attack was intercepted so easily. Yet, it also led to even more questions.

"Making such a loud a fuss in my territory, hmph, the arrogance and lack of manners you humans display never ceases to amaze me." The Vretis skounae spoke as he swept his gaze across those present.

Meanwhile, Ranazera's eyes widened in shock when she saw Vretis skounae. Even though this was only their second time meeting, she remembered them clearly. This person was the lord of the territory that bordered the Netherly Shadow Fields!

"Duke Sorkoza...!" Vincent said as he halted his steps with a gloomy facial expression.

NPC Name: Overseer of the Eclipse, Duke Sorkoza(???)

NPC Level: ???

Vincent had never met Duke Sorkoza; however, he had seen pictures of him on an information scroll passed out to every member of the Order of the Eternal Aegis.

Since Tempest and Malentansium entered into an alliance, naturally, it was essential to know who you could not afford to offend, as well as who you could absolutely not afford to offend.

As for where Duke Sorkoza was placed, he was on the could absolutely not afford to offend section of the information scroll. This meant that offending him could very well put the alliance between the two kingdoms in jeopardy of going up in flames!

"This is bad. We can't afford to risk offending Duke Sorkoza. But, the young lord is..." Vincent said to himself with furrowed brows.

Shrieeeeek!

Suddenly, the ancient roc unleashed a shrill cry as the energy within it continued to rise to a dangerous degree.

Aurelius completely lost control over his own sword technique and was no longer able to command the ancient roc as it attempted to forcibly absorb every last drop of sword intent, Law of Wind and Law of Lightning.

Sorkoza looked up at the ancient roc as it readied itself to flap its mighty wings, caring not for ally or foe.

"A brat who doesn't even know how to control his own strength should not roam the world so freely," Sorkoza said as he casually waved his hand.

As the Duke made this motion, the power surge within both the ancient roc and Aurelius himself ceased altogether.

...BOOOOOOM!

In the blink of an eye, the ancient roc imploded. Simultaneously, Aurelius loosened his grip on the sword in his hands before it fell to the ground. Not long after he lost the grip on his hand, Aurelius soon followed in its steps as he fell to the earth unconscious.

Bang!

"Young lord!" Vincent called out as he rushed over to Aurelius.

However, the second he arrived within a couple of meters of Sorkoza, an overwhelming pressure descended upon him that caused Vincent to halt his steps.

The pressure caused the hairs on the back of Vincent's neck to stand as he swallowed nervously.

The Duke had not done anything out of the ordinary. It was just that the aura he gave off awakened an almost instinctual feeling of confronting a natural predator in those who got too close to him.

"Honorable Duke, please forgive this lowly one for speaking out of turn. That young man is the son of the Tempest kingdom's Windstorm family, as well as the Prime Eques of our Order of the Eternal Aegis. I ask that the honorable Duke spare him for the sake of our two kingdoms." Vincent stated respectfully with a bow.

"Windstorm... I see. So, this is that old man's offspring. That old man was right. This brat has a bit of talent, but he really is too full of himself." Sorkoza scoffed.

He then continued, "Take him and go. I am willing to overlook your transgression this time. However, from this day forth, you are never allowed to set foot into my territory again. Are my words clear?"

The look in Sorkoza's eyes shifted as Vincent felt briefly suffocated by the Duke's gaze.

"Y-yes...! We thank the Duke for his mercy...!" Vincent responded as he moved over to Aurelius' side.

Vincent bent down and placed one of Aurelius' arms over his shoulder. Just as he did so, Vincent noticed the sword left on the ground. In his state of uneasiness, he nearly forgot to grab Aurelius' sword.

"The young lord's sword, I should-" Vincent reached out to grab the sword.

Swoosh!

Vincent quickly pulled his hand back as a sharp fragment of earth shot up in between his hand and the sword.

"You can go, but that sword stays here with me," Izroth said in a carefree manner.

"You-!"

Before Vincent could reply, the earth around the sword trembled. The following moment, the sword sunk into the earth as though it were being pulled in by quicksand.

"Don't!" Vincent roared as he tried to stop the sword from sinking; however, it was too late.

He glared over at Izroth and said coldly, "That sword is the property of our young lord—of the Windstorm family! Return it at once!"

"I refuse," Izroth replied without delay as the ground next to him opened up, revealing Aurelius' sword.

Izroth used Molding Earth to form a small pillar of earth and lifted the sword before him as he grabbed its hilt.

When he took the sword into his hand, Izroth felt a strong surge of energy rush into his body. It was soon followed by a gentle breeze as he sensed the Law of Wind circulating through the weapon's blade.

'What a refreshing feeling.'

The moment Izroth took possession of the sword, his Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence once again before agitated and restless. It wanted to devour the sword without delay!

'It seems like a bit of a waste.'

Izroth was somewhat reluctant to let such a sword get eaten by his armor; however, he was curious as to why the Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence desired the sword so badly when it never showed any interest in weapons up until now.