Return of the Mythic Bloodline

"It's just a mere seven hundred thousand knights," Brandon shouted in response to Barbatos's mocking words, one hand covering his bleeding ear. "They are not enough to defeat an army of over three million brave warriors of the empire."

With a command of his hand, he sent dozens of his True Sage knights toward Barbatos while unleashing Aura-laced arrows from afar.

The bizarre assaults of knights and arrows that seemed enough to destroy a small village could not even move a single strand of hair on Barbatos's head. The moment they reached within one meter of his body, the attacks bent sideways and the arrows shattered into pieces.

It was similar to what had happened when Tommy tried to stab Taranis in the Jungle of Pines.

"Tch, again with that strange barrier," Brandon muttered, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

Since the battle between the two forces had begun at Ironvale Duchy, Brandon and the mighty knights of Thornwall Duchy had been engaging Barbatos, yet they could not land a single attack within one meter of his body.

Barbatos had surrounded himself with an invisible barrier, which he maintained by manipulating the air and compressing it.

"I can't hold back anymore," Brandon decided inwardly, pulling back the string of his bow once again.

A thick grey Aura spread around the arrow, doubling its size while his knights continued their assault to keep Barbatos distracted.

The arrow shot through the air, leaving rings of compressed air in its wake due to its sheer speed.

Barbatos's emerald eyes shifted toward the arrow that had already reached him.

The arrow pierced the invisible barrier and struck his shoulder.

Blood trickled from the wound, staining his green silken robe darker and damp.

"This is for the injury to my ear," Brandon shouted, a smile forming on his lips. "With the next arrow, I will finish you off, Barbatos!"

He pulled back the string again, the arrow glowing like a bright star, its Aura even more terrifying than before.

Barbatos, outnumbered and injured, still wore the same playful smile he had maintained since the beginning of the battle.

It was that very smile that irritated Brandon. It was a smile of arrogance, as if declaring that everyone was beneath him and that he alone controlled the flow of battle.

"I will wipe that smirk off your face."

His words stopped mid-sentence as he noticed Barbatos's strange behavior.

Barbatos pulled the arrow from his wound, pointed its tip toward his face, and began licking the blood while keeping his gaze fixed on Brandon.

"I can't even remember the last time I was injured," Barbatos said as he continued licking. "I had almost forgotten this sensation of physical pain."

With a sudden snap, he broke the arrow and continued, "Show me what else you have in your arsenal, Brandon Thornwall!"

Veins bulged across Brandon's forehead in both anger and irritation as he barked,

"This is not a game. I will make sure you lose that smile once this battle ends!"

With that, he released another arrow. At the same time, the knights, now emboldened after seeing Barbatos injured, unleashed their Soulforce-laced attacks at maximum output.

Until now, both sides had been holding back. The Dukes were uncertain of the hidden techniques the legendary Sect Masters of each Bane might possess, while the Sect Masters aimed to conserve their strength for a prolonged battle.

But now, neither side had any reason to hold back. They knew this was the final clash, and it was time to unleash everything they had, or they might never get another chance.

As the arrow covered half the distance to Barbatos, he drew a green bow from his space ring. The bow was intricately designed, its glossy surface resembling polished jade.

Barbatos pulled back the empty string. A green arrow made purely of energy materialized upon it.

"Arrow of the Windbane: Chapter Five

Rain of Calamity!"

The moment the arrow was released, it split into hundreds of arrows and rained down upon the knights of Thornwall.

The knights instantly drew shields from their space rings and positioned themselves beneath them.

These were the same shields they had used to protect themselves from the relentless strikes of Madam Doom.

However, they made two mistakes. First, they did not interlock their shields as they had done to withstand cannon explosions. Second, they forgot the man to whom those arrows belonged.

Across the Western Continent, Barbatos El Windbane was also known by another name,

the Master of Winds.

"It's useless. My arrows never miss their target," Barbatos murmured, a smile of satisfaction etched across his face.

As the energy arrows struck the shields, they bent like serpents, slipping past the defenses and piercing directly through the vital points of the knights.

All of this happened in the brief moment before Brandon's arrow could even reach Barbatos.

The screams of the dying Thornwall knights and the impact of Brandon's arrow against the invisible barrier occurred simultaneously.

Before the arrow could pierce the barrier again, Barbatos's hair fluttered violently, and a powerful storm erupted from his body, altering the trajectory of the incoming arrow.

"Im-impossible," Brandon muttered, his eyes wide with shock and confusion as he witnessed the horror on his dying knights' faces and saw his Aura-laced attack deflected so effortlessly.

Even though both Brandon and Barbatos were in the Eternal Sage realm, the former was only at the fourth level while the latter stood at the ninth level, the final stage before stepping into the domain of gods.

Brandon was aware of the gap between them, which was why he had chosen to fight Barbatos alongside the elite knights of Thornwall Duchy.

Still, he could see it. Behind Barbatos's calm and composed demeanor, there was a slight increase in his breathing and beads of sweat forming on his temple.

The storm he had just summoned must have consumed a vast amount of Soulforce to alter the trajectory of an Aura-laced arrow.

It led Brandon to two conclusions. Barbatos was growing exhausted from fighting multiple opponents, and he had been forced to deflect Brandon's attack because he truly believed the arrow could critically injure him.

Brandon's lips curled with hope for victory. He needed to unleash a decisive strike.

"Barbatos is exhausted! Push forward and attack him!" Brandon roared, commanding the remaining knights.

The knights gritted their teeth and charged forward, blindly trusting their commander.

At the same time, Brandon transformed all his remaining Soulforce into Aura and drew his final arrow, its length extending to dozens of feet.

Barbatos could no longer rely solely on his barrier under the relentless full-strength assault of multiple True Sages.

While he was occupied fighting them, Brandon shouted as he released the arrow,

"Try deflecting this, Barbatos!"