Fierce Battle

The Wind Serpent bit into empty air.

It would've succeeded if Rhode had not suddenly shown up from behind.

"Mr. Rhode?"

Lize, who had barely escaped the Wind Serpent attack, lifted her head in surprise. She was shocked to find Rhode standing behind her. Currently, she was leaning on his arms. Perhaps, it was because she was frightened that her entire body felt weak and powerless. She wanted to stand up, but her legs felt powerless, so she sat down instead.

"Lize!"

Seeing that Lize had escaped from death, Carter was relieved. But soon, his heart tensed up again. Because at this moment, the Wind Serpent from before had turned around. It was flapping its wings, intending to attack again.

Damn!

He gripped his sword and ran to Lize, hoping that he would make it. But no matter how hard he ran, he was unable to catch up.

Looking at the Wind Serpent, the girl could not help but hold her the breath. She wanted to do something, but she did not know what to do. As a Cleric, she couldn't use a weapon. So what should she do then?

"Leave it to me."

Just when Lize fell into panic, she could hear Rhode's voice from behind. Then, she saw Rhode taking half-a-step forward, blocking her from harm.

Does he intend to go against the Wind Serpent?

Lize was confused, yet she still noticed Rhode extend his right hand. Suddenly, Lize noticed the mark on his right hand. It was a complex, beautiful magic circle. Magic lines were spreading out, running to each of his fingers. Then a translucent, card-like thing emerged from the center of his palm.

Then, Rhode clenched his hand tightly.

A dazzling, white light suddenly emerged.

An invisible magic had lifted the seal, turning into a visible air and spreading to the surrounding. The first Wind Serpent that had attacked was screaming and flapping its wings. It was trying to keep up the balance from the turbulence. But before it could take further action, a dazzling light suddenly burst through the air. It slashed the Wind Serpents body and sent it flying.

"Sigh…"

Rhode let out a sigh. At that moment, the dazzling light had already dissipated— replaced by a very beautiful, transparent, pure white sword that appeared in his right hand. He waved the Star Mark Sword in his hand, scattering the remaining specks of light. It was a really fascinating scene.

He did not notice that, at the moment, all the other people had been completely astonished. Lize sat on the ground blankly, looking at the man standing in front of her unbelievably. Carter also slowed down his pace, looking at Rhode's eyes with shock in his eyes. Although he suspected that Rhode was not an ordinary person, he had never thought that he would be so 'extraordinary'.

Although she was still sitting on the ground, Lize still could not help enjoying the sight of that pure sword in front of her. It was a thin sword engraved with simple patterns, emitting a faint light around it. It could be seen with the naked eye that the little light particles were beautiful like magic. Moreover, the folded wings on it made it look exquisite, even the pieces of its feathers were clearly visible. Although girls usually would not be so interested in weaponry, this sword was far beyond the usual weapons. Calling it a work of art was also not excessive.

Lize was purely appreciating it, but Carter was different. As an experienced adventurer, Carter swore that he had never seen such a strange thing. In fact, when Rhode called out his weapon, Carter was stunned. Although he had seen some mages' summons, they usually used a crystal as a medium. They also need to cast a spell beforehand and after that, a few ugly monsters would be summoned. But being able to summon weapons? He really never did see such a scene.

Although Carter was not sure what the thing in Rhode's hand was, he could be sure that this kind of magic weapon could not be used by normal people. Someone who was eligible to use this kind of weapon must be a noble or an extraordinary person. Seeing the beautiful wings on the sword, Carter could not help but frown. He was certainly sure that in this continent, the angels were a very noble race. Most of them were prominent, or they were backing up some important groups. Just like the ruler of the Munn Kingdom, Lydia Paphield Mila Frederica that ascended the throne three years ago was also an angel. Even though the young man in front of him had yet not revealed his true identity, but Carter could be sure that based on that weapon, Rhode and those nobles must have some kind of connection.

As these thoughts flashed in Carter's mind, he had already arrived beside the two.

"Are you okay?"

"I- I'm fine."

Lize's little face was somewhat pale. It was not because she was a coward. After all, it was just because of the situation. If Rhode did not pull her back in time, she would be already dead. The fear of barely escaping from death was definitely not something an ordinary person could understand.

After determining that Lize was not hurt, Carter immediately turned to look at Rhode who stood beside him.

"Mr. Rhode, are you alright?"

Rhode nodded his head, indicating that he was okay. Although the left side of his body still felt some pain, it did not affect his fighting. On the contrary, more than himself, he was more concerned about another thing.

"What are you guys going to do?"

The Wind Serpents around them kept increasing. Although the floating ship had accelerated to its top speed, they still could not get rid of most of the Wind Serpent attacks. Their situation had not improved; on the contrary, it was getting worse.

"We intend to fight until we get out of their territory. Before that, we can only keep going."

If it was on land, Carter might have some other ways. The problem now was that he was in the air. Besides this idea, he did not have any good solution to solve the current problem.

After speaking, the young man in front of him frowned.

"Too late, Mr. Carter."

"Oh?"

"The Wind Serpents are absolutely superior in this area. Even if you speed up, we still have no way to leave in time before the floating ship collapses."

"Really?"

Carter was not stupid. The reason he had made that decision was because he was unfamiliar with this area. After Rhode stopped talking, he immediately understood the seriousness of the matter.

"So what should we do?"

"Land immediately."

Rhode almost did not hesitate to give the answer. Then he reached out his hand and pointed to the side.

"Then we rush to that side."

Carter looked at the direction Rhode had pointed towards. His eyes flew open wide as if he'd been completely shocked.

"Did you mean that we should rush to the Twilight Forest?"

"If you want to get rid of the Wind Serpents, this is our only way, and…"

Saying until here, Rhode looked around.

"Our time is running out."

The situation was indeed worsening.

The Wind Serpents' didn't only have sharp teeth, but their corrosive venom was highly dangerous as well. Moreover, Wind Serpents were sly. Once their head-on attacks failed, they would immediately change their goals. Now, there were a lot of Wind Serpents shattering the glass and going into the cabin. Facing that kind of situation, everyone simply could not resist. Although the narrow space on the cabin limited their flexibility, their threat had not been reduced. It was precisely because of this that the cabin's current situation was a total mess. Smoke even started billowing out of the ship.

The situation is really bad!

Carter turned around immediately. Meanwhile, Rhode held his sword and blocked the front of the gap.

"Hiss!!"

A Wind Serpent flew from the right, opening its jaws wide to attack Rhode. But when it rushed over, Rhode just stepped to the left. He held his sword and smashed it into the Wind Serpent's chin. The impact sent the Wind Serpent flying away and at the same time, also blocked the other Wind Serpents from spraying out the venom. Then Rhode quickly turned around; his silvery hand was emitting a light which accurately blocked another Wind Serpent's attack attempt from his back. While it lost its balance, he thrust his sword forward, completely ended that poor Wind Serpent's life.

But the Wind Serpent attacks did not stop there. The smell of blood had stimulated them. When Rhode was trying to remove the dead Wind Serpent's body from his sword, numerous Wind Serpents rushed to him. They came wave after wave. It looked like a green cloud from a distance, but also looked like an unknown monster that could devour him at any moment.

"Mr. Rhode!"

After dispersing a venom from a mercenary, Lize turned around and saw Rhode as she subconsciously called out to him.

An acidic stream of liquid sprayed out like rain, targeting towards Rhode. If he got hit, it would mean death.

But at this time, Rhode suddenly moved back.

The acid missed him, dripping on the deck. It created a little bit of smoke, and the corrosion sizzled out a small hole. Almost at the same time, a group of Wind Serpents was rushing to him. Taking any chances they had to destroy this dangerous man in front of them.

If it were any other ordinary person, perhaps they would've frozen in fear. However, Rhode was calm. He held his sword in his right hand and thrust forward.

Blade of Destruction, Activate.

A white light suddenly rushed towards the group of the Wind Serpent. One became two, two became four—the slashes were like a razor, moving fast and piercing every one of the Wind Serpents. A powerful air swept through the deck through as if there was a giant, invisible hand pulling them apart, ruthlessly tearing their body apart. In a few seconds, the green cloud was completely shredded by the dazzling light, leaving only pieces of flesh and blood.

At that moment, everyone held their breath.