Chapter 216 - The Enemy Equipper

"The hell are they doing?"

Rynold knew that he needed to stay silent, but seeing these idiots standing around and talking made him verbally curse. The soldiers didn't hear Rynold, of course. But he was one step away from giving them a piece of his mind.

As Rynold observed the situation, though, one thing became abundantly clear to him: he was wrong.

Well, it wasn't anything critical that would've put lives at risk. No, Rynold was wrong in thinking that these soldiers were here because of some ridiculous mission. Rynold even thought the military higher-ups were ambitious enough to reclaim the forest surrounding Ark City.

But, from what Rynold could gather, the real reason wasn't anything like that. So much so that it was even more stupid than Rynold had initially thought.

Like forming a puzzle using the pieces from the conversation the soldiers were having, it turns out that they were here for clean-up. Clean up what exactly? The soldiers were here to clean up the government's mess — the Nightstalkers.

At first, Rynold thought the idea was ridiculous.

But, as he thought more about it, the story checked out. The military was responsible for creating animatronics meant to protect the city from unknown magical creatures. However, in the process, something went terribly wrong, which made the Nightstalkers go berserk.

The soldiers sent here had a mission to eliminate that project and to cover the military's tracks. It was no different from cleaning up after themselves. And, somehow, Rynold got caught up in the middle of it all.

'Are you kidding me?!'

Rynold's eyes widened as he stared at the soldiers discussing what to do next. He didn't share the same sentiment, though, as Rynold became pissed thinking about how he got played into saving their asses from themselves. Rynold basically wiped away their shit for them.

It was then that Rynold thought of reevaluating his life choices. He didn't care for being used like that, especially if he didn't know it. He would've understood if it were for a good cause. But this — this just felt wrong.

As Rynold spent quietly lamenting his decisions, Axiom's scanners suddenly picked up something.

Noticing this, after an embarrassing amount of time later, Rynold stood up and revealed himself to the soldiers. Whatever was coming here, it was coming here fast. Rynold wouldn't have time to explain what this threat was to soldiers who wouldn't listen. But, he could at least say one word to them.

"Run!"

Jumping to the spot between the soldiers and their would-be assailant, Rynold activated Protecting Light and crossed his Mana Gauntlets. It might've been overkill, but Rynold didn't want to take on any chances — not especially since its Mana was on par or even far more powerful than his own.

While Rynold prepared for the worst, the soldiers didn't even budge. Rynold came out from nowhere and told them to run. The soldiers didn't understand what had happened until a second later.

Crash!

Rynold got pushed back a few feet as he intercepted the crystal spear aimed directly at his heart. The force even managed to numb his arms slightly as his Mana Gauntlets caught the spear's tip.

"Impressive," the guy holding the spear acknowledged Rynold's abilities, "You're an Augmenter, I presume?"

"What about it?"

Eyebrows furrowed, Rynold disengaged the spear from his Mana Gauntlets and threw a punch at his opponent. But it was too slow, and the attack missed the guy completely.

"No need to be so impatient," the guy said as he took a step back, away from Rynold's attack range. "I came here to investigate what all of this commotion was. Who would've thought I'd find such a good opponent here?"

"And who says I'd want to fight you?"

"Now, now. There's no need to be so dismissive. How about this? Let's fight, right here and now, and I'll give you something in exchange!"

"You're kidding, right?" Rynold responded as he looked at the guy with disgust. "What is up with people trying to get a fight out of me these days? It's just childish, really."

That said, Rynold wasn't actually trying to insult the guy. Instead, Rynold wanted to avoid a fight as best he could. He had to find a way for the guy to lose interest. Because one look at this guy and Rynold was sure that he'd lose. So much so that their first exchange made Rynold wary of the dangers if they were to fight.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that!"

"From where I'm standing, your incentive isn't worth it for me to fight you. You want to give me something in exchange for a fight? Let me guess. You plan to kill me, so you don't have to live up to the promise, right?"

Rynold became even more aggressive in his attempts to disengage the guy's intention to fight him. Whether it'd work or not, Rynold had no clue.

"Well," the guy threw his ice-like spear to the side and let the weapon disappear into nothing. From there, he formed two swords out of thin air, each one on either hand. "Let's change the stakes then."

The opponent suddenly lunged forward, but he didn't go for Rynold. Instead, he went around him and straight to the soldiers behind Rynold. It didn't take the guy very long to draw blood with his newly formed blades, instantly killing one of the idle soldiers.

'These idiots haven't moved? What the hell are they doing?'

Turning around to face his opponent, Rynold exhaled a cold breath of air. It was at that moment Rynold knew he was no match for this guy. He was too fast, and Rynold could only keep up with him using his eyes. Anything more than that would've been impossible for the current Rynold.

"You know," the guy pointed the blood-soaked sword at Rynold. "I'd probably be willing to fight these guys. I mean, look at them! They're bulky and look like they'd put up a good fight. It's a shame that they're not any good at using Mana. You, on the other hand, are a different story."

"I'm impressed by your use of Equip magic and all. But, leave them out of this."

"Impressed enough to fight me then?"

Rynold hesitated to give a response. He just stood there, eyeing his opponent.

"No answer?" the guy mocked, "Then, don't mind me. I'll start slaughtering the lamb."

Even though Rynold kept quiet, he was alert to the situation he was facing. He had to find a way for the guy to lose interest in him and the soldiers. That said, though, there didn't seem to be any good solution aside from tackling the problem himself. By that, Rynold would have to fight.

"Wait!" Rynold called out against his better judgment, "You want a fight, then I'll give you one. I gotta warn you, though, I don't plan on holding back."

"Me neither," the guy dropped another corpse on the ground, casually like nothing happened. It caused Rynold's heart to well up in anger, but it was ultimately his fault for hesitating.

Regardless, his opponent moved forward and stood a few feet before Rynold, each one focused on what the other would do. Their breathing, posture, stance, and every detail didn't go unmissed. Rynold was wary of his opponent's strength, while his opponent was wary of Rynold's ingenuity.

Letting out a cold breath, Rynold watched as the icy blades of his opponent drip with the soldiers' blood. His eyes slightly narrowed on them, analyzing the capabilities of his opponent's Equip Ice-Attributed magic.

Then, he struck.

Dealing the first move, Rynold shot his grapple out, hoping to tie up his opponent. The guy was fast, after all, and Rynold's best opening would be if the guy didn't move.

However, the grapple missed the guy because of its slow nature. Rynold, having half-expected something like this, didn't falter. Instead, he continued with his plan and activated Unyielding Twine at the path where his opponent was heading.

"Clever, clever," the guy's cocky voice mocked Rynold's attempts as he went over the plants that Rynold summoned. All it took for him to do so was a light jump, much to Rynold's frustrations.

Having been the receiver of Rynold's attempts, the guy managed to find an opening in Rynold's attacks and moved in to attack him. The ice blades glistened in the sunlight as they moved in to strike both of Rynold's shoulders in a downward slash.

"Gah."

Rynold gritted his teeth as the two blades each landed on his shoulders. It didn't draw blood, which was good, but the attack certainly stung. Rynold felt the force of the slash even with Protecting Light. The result caused him to let out a grunt of pain.

"You're tough," the guy observed as he forced the blades down on Rynold's shoulders.

"And you're strong."

He didn't want to admit it, but it was true. Rynold held his own against the attacks, but he knew just as well that he wouldn't last very long in the fight. Rynold's Augment magic only made him more resilient to attacks. But it didn't give him much of an edge in fighting.

"Heh," the guy kicked Rynold forward, disengaging contact, "This'll be a lot more fun than I expected."

Subtly breathing a sigh of relief, Rynold felt the numbness on his shoulders dissipate. He was slowly getting used to receiving the guy's attacks; the only problem was whether his Mana could keep up or not. Rynold knew this was now a battle of who would last the longest.

"Yeah," Rynold agreed, retracting his Mana Gauntlets to Speed-form. "Although, do you mind answering something first. You know, before we get on with me beating the shit out of you?"

"Baseless confidence? I like it," the guy chuckled as he threw his swords away and equipped a spear instead. "Alright, I'll amuse this one question of yours."

"What are you really here for?" Rynold asked as he commenced Mana Infusion on his Mana Gauntlets. "You said that you're here to investigate what happened, right? I don't think that's entirely true. What are you really here for, and don't give me some bullshit answers."

"Pfft," the guy broke out in an arrogant laugh before answering Rynold's question. "It's a stupid question, coming from a guy like you. But, if you insist..., I did come here to investigate why the Goliath died and assess its threat to our future plans. I'm on orders to eliminate when necessary."

"By Goliath, you mean?"

"The giant ghoul thing," the guy answered and shook his head, "Honestly, I don't know why we'd even bother with dealing with that stupid waste of space. It'll be easier if I just went ahead and slaughtered everyone on my own. Ah, well. Orders are orders. What can you do?"

Rynold subtly clicked his tongue as he realized that the guy his opponent was after was himself. Whether the guy realized it or not, Rynold couldn't tell. But, he didn't want to waste any time and find out.

Taking a stance, Rynold signaled the fight's resumption. His opponent took notice of this and confidently smiled, then proceeded to throw himself directly at Rynold.

He was fast, even faster than when he was wielding the two swords. Rynold expected something like this to happen, which was why Rynold didn't want to attempt anything flashy. He had to anticipate the attack and fight defensively. It was the only way Rynold could win.

The guy first executed a stab to which Rynold managed to evade at the last minute. It had even nicked him, causing his Protecting Light to slightly lose its durability. Luckily, Rynold managed to evade in time. Otherwise, this would've been a lot worse.

That said, Rynold didn't have time to appreciate his luck as the attacks didn't stop there. His opponent continued his relentless and swift stabs and sweeps, using his masterful control of the spear against Rynold.

In response, Rynold could only do his best in evading and analyzing the patterns of his opponent's attacks. Only then would he have the chance of winning.