Chapter 117: Six Fingers
Six Fingers of the Devil.
The most dangerous person one could encounter here, alongside Three Faces.
’I really do have bad luck.’
Edward felt the urge to shake his head, but all he did was keep his gaze fixed on this new man.
"Mr. Henry is truly a cautious man. Even though he brought a good portion of his forces, he still doubted my own strength, so he brought his most powerful warrior. The cautious live longer; I understand that," Edward replied, looking at Henry.
"I haven’t doubted your strength, boy. Three Faces can beat you without a problem. However, it’s no secret to anyone that you’re all over that little Ashford girl all day long... Why didn’t you bring her? I never thought you had that much nerve. Is she hiding, waiting to attack us?" Mr. Henry laughed mockingly. "I wonder if she’ll be able to fight our great Six Fingers."
"Aurora fighting that guy? Pfft." Edward scoffed. "I’d give your Six-Fingered One five minutes before he drops dead at her feet. But don’t worry, she didn’t come. I’m alone."
"Heh. You’re less intelligent than I imagined. I think I overestimated you." Mr. Henry sneered and nodded to his men to step forward and grab him.
"Since you’re here alone, then it’s time to begin. You’ll have a painful death, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure to find your father later."
Suddenly, a man struck him from the side. It was one of Mr. Henry’s ordinary subordinates, someone unworthy of his attention.
The punch that came his way was nothing more than a clumsy swing to him. Without looking, he leaned his torso just enough to feel the rush of air brush against his cheek. In one fluid motion, the sword appeared in his hand, still sheathed, and he used the pommel to strike the attacker’s windpipe, sending him crashing to the ground.
The other subordinates—nine in total—emboldened by their numerical superiority and their lord’s command, lunged at him.
’At least I’ll be able to practice my technique in a confined space,’ Edward thought with a faint smile on his face.
He moved like a specter among the building’s columns. His sword, finally out of its sheath, traced a silver arc that reflected the dim light of the place. In three steps, Edward managed to turn that silver arc into a circle of blood.
The first strike targeted the tendons. It sent arc after arc of blood flying.
The second strike consisted of precise thrusts to his enemies’ shoulders, immobilizing them in seconds.
The third attack was a 360-degree spin in a 1-meter lunar arc, which managed to decapitate most of them.
His sword was stained with blood, and the blood stained his uniform. But he smiled and looked at Joel and John with murderous intent.
"I came here with only one idea in mind. I will carry out that idea without fail."
Suddenly, the air grew thick and warm. The smell of sulfur flooded the enormous plaza, causing Edward to frown and look down.
He could feel the heat rising from the ground and the ground turning to liquid.
"You talk too much, you dying little student." Three Faces hissed suddenly. A salamander appeared on him and coiled around his body, glowing with a sickly orange hue.
The floor beneath them seemed to turn into lava, and the walls threatened to collapse onto him.
’Hm? So this is the kind of illusion he can cast...’ Edward’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. The walls falling on him didn’t affect him in the slightest, since their sole purpose was to frighten the victim.
And he could see spiritual energy writhing like a snake between those walls. It hadn’t been there before, and the walls hadn’t looked like they were about to collapse. Which meant this was an illusion—that writhing energy was nothing other than the power of the Three-Faced One.
’The point of an illusion is to deceive the target so you can attack them from a blind spot.’ Edward swung his sword and closed his eyes.
In an instant, he managed to relax, and at that very moment, he sensed movement behind him. Immediately, without a moment’s hesitation, he swung his sword backward in a vertical downward thrust.
The sword struck with precision a leg that materialized next to Three-Faces’ body. Even so, the body disintegrated in that instant. The sword stopped when it struck something hard behind it.
"Heh, you’ve been tricked."
The mocking sound didn’t affect him. Edward twisted his body to the side, and instead of aiming for another of the areas he’d noticed, he struck toward the ground. Even though he wasn’t looking, the sword struck with terrifying precision against a rock that had been left there from his previous sword movements.
The rock flew like a ball hit by a bat in a baseball game and covered the distance in an instant.
"AGHH!" A cry of pain echoed through the air, and the illusory figure that had materialized in front of Edward to strike him vanished.
Immediately, the illusion itself crumbled.
Edward laughed. "Looks like the one who talks a lot and does nothing is someone else."
Three Faces watched in shock. What had just happened?
It wasn’t him who understood... it was Mr. Henry, who watched from afar.
"He memorized where that rock fell in case he fell into an illusion, because he already knew he was going to fall into one. He struck backward solely to orient himself and know where the room’s pillar was, and that way, he knew immediately where the rock was on the floor..." he muttered in shock. For the first time, Mr. Henry trembled.
This guy... was just too good.
When the sword struck the Three-Faced One’s illusion, it came to a halt—not because of Edward’s strength, but because, even though it was within an illusion, the laws of reality still held sway over it. It wasn’t his strength that stopped it; it was that he had struck the pillar behind him with precision.
That was a risky move. But Edward was certain it would work.
The fading illusion caused Three Faces’ lie to strike himself with terrifying force. Immediately, Three Faces fell to the ground, vomiting blood. Deathly pale, he passed out in an instant.
Even so, Edward had no time to breathe. He took a step back the moment he felt the air vibrating.
BOOM!
A powerful impact struck the ground right where he had been, sending debris flying.
"My turn," said Six Fingers.
"Aren’t you going to draw your weapons? I heard Six Fingers could wield a huge mace."
"Heh. I don’t need it." Six Fingers struck straight ahead.
The first blow was aimed directly at the chest, but Edward blocked it with the flat of his sword. The impact was so brutal that it pushed Edward several inches backward, leaving grooves in the dust on the ground.
’Even without building up momentum, he’s already this strong.’ Edward was genuinely surprised, but he smiled slightly.
That was good.
It had been a long time since he’d fought head-on against someone who could match his skill level.
Six Fingers didn’t summon his beast either. He didn’t need it; his fists were enough. His flurries of punches grew increasingly powerful.
Although Edward managed to avoid most of the damage, Six Fingers’ punches were so powerful they shattered the nearby concrete pillars.
Edward responded with quick, sharp strikes, aiming for vital points. But Six-Finger’s skin was as tough as tanned leather. Almost impossible to penetrate.
’Sigh. It seems it’s still too soon for me.’ Edward let himself be carried away by the force of a punch in order to create some distance.
Immediately, he pulled his sword back to deliver an upward slash. However, Six Fingers managed to catch the blade with his fingers.
"I’ve got you," he roared.
But Edward smiled. "You think so?"
Edward let go of the sword’s hilt and leaped forward to deliver a front kick to the solar plexus, gaining distance. In midair, he took the opportunity to retrieve his weapon with an acrobatic backward movement.
Edward wasted no time. As soon as he touched the ground, his gaze was already fixed on his targets.
Joel and John, who had been watching arrogantly from a distance, protected by Lord Henry.
In the final seconds, both had stopped smiling smugly. Instead, they felt fear and turned pale when they saw that Edward was looking at them. He wasn’t just looking at them—Edward was running toward them.
"Stop him! Kill him now!" Joel shouted, taking several steps back.
Two subordinates who were still alive stepped in, trying to stop him. But Edward wasn’t here to waste time.
The first of them was decapitated with a perfect horizontal slash.
The second—Edward moved behind him and swung him violently forward. His body was soon struck by a powerful punch.
"Heh, so you know how to use human shields." Six Fingers, who had already recovered, shattered the ribs and much of the body of his master’s subordinate, killing him instantly.
The force of the impact brought Edward a little closer to his targets.
Although he knew Six Fingers could still cause him trouble, he fixed his gaze on John and Joel.
"I promised my father that one day I would get rid of you..." Edward smiled slightly. "Thanks for coming here on your own."