Chapter 423 - Silver Knight

The long silver sword pierced the ground, causing the rising carnage to pause for a second, and in that brief moment, Bucker made his decision."Enemy assault!"

Without a trace of hesitation, Bucker’s own Alchemy Matrix roared to life, intricate patterns lighting up one by one, surging with high-pitched Ether.

His eyes were filled with the glow of Ether, a cold chill swept down Bucker’s spine.

One must know that Bucker is a Negative Power User, the most elite force in conventional warfare, yet now Lebius managed to silently creep behind him.

If not for the Silver Knight’s intervention, Bucker might already have been assassinated by Lebius.

Assassination... I’m a Negative Power User; how could I die so easily?

This suspicion flashed through Bucker’s mind, but instinctual fear told him he had just brushed past death.

Bucker immediately judged that Lebius was also a Negative Power User, one who could conceal his presence.

An assassin at the tier of a Negative Power User is indeed cause for serious concern.

Lebius leapt back, with many enemies surrounding him, he had no intention to confront them head-on, especially with that mysterious Silver Knight present.

The figure was completely hidden beneath the armor, vaguely visible was the swirling glow of Ether. As for his tier, Lebius couldn’t make a precise judgment, but he estimated that at least he was at the strength level of a Negative Power User.

After all, not just anyone can perceive his assassination.

Both sides exchanged a quick round of blows, and as the next phase of combat was about to erupt, crimson blood spattered; in the corner of Bucker’s vision, a Condenser fell down.

The Condenser looked incredulously at his teammate, who suddenly turned against him as though rebelling, swiftly and lethally striking, the blade pierced through his heart.

He looked reluctantly at his teammate, just a day ago they were drinking and having fun together, but now that face was completely unfamiliar.

His face was a pallid white, with a slender wound at his throat, with no blood seeping out, but rather a rolling cerulean glow. Moreover, this kind of radiance was swirling within his unfocused eyes.

Bucker’s years of experience immediately made him realize what was happening; he had just sensed an Ether reaction vanish—the deceased Condenser had been possessed by the Spirit Wolf, becoming a member of the pack.

"Stop him!"

Bucker tried to save another Condenser, and at his command, a Prayer Believer moved into action.

Things happened quickly, simultaneously.

Lebius leaped back, the Spirit Wolf slaughtered yet another Condenser, the Prayer Believer charged forward to save, an Ethereal Shock faced them, the possessed Condenser crashed into a rocky wall like a kite with a severed string.

In the rolling dust, the deceased body shakily rose again, with twisted limbs resetting under Ether’s reinforcement, like a living dead dug up from their grave, the abdomen torn open with a ghastly wound, crimson intestines spilling out in a bloody scene.

Lebius forcefully commanded the body’s limbs, bringing them out of a twisted state, but such physical damage was beyond Ether’s ability to heal.

Lebius muttered, "Mortal flesh is still too fragile."

Lebius rarely commands these corpses in combat unless absolutely necessary, one because he finds manipulating corpses disgusting, and secondly, the corpses’ Ether fluidity and resilience are far inferior to his custom-built Domination Object, the Blade-Biting Wolf.

The Blade-Biting Wolf is constructed entirely from Alchemy Metal, maintaining extreme hardness while also possessing excellent Ether conductivity, minimizing Ether consumption during battle.

"Too late..."

The Prayer Believer cradled the injured Condenser, dark blood gushed from the chest wound, quickly soaking the clothes with crimson.

Bucker stared intently at Lebius, the unbidden guest, feeling a sense of familiarity, as if he’d seen him somewhere before, but no matter how he searched his memory, he couldn’t recall who the person in front of him was.

"Lebius of the Wolves."

A cold voice sounded beneath the Silver Knight’s visor; he recognized Lebius.

Bucker was stunned for a moment, memories surging back; he trusted that the Silver Knight wouldn’t mistake someone, hence...

"Stay away from the body!"

Bucker shouted at the Prayer Believer, but he was still a step too late.

The corpse in his arms suddenly opened its eyes, a rolling cerulean glow within.

At the moment of death, the Condenser’s life rapidly dissipated, fleeing from the hull, but as they vanished, another force gradually occupied the deceased shell.

The Spirit Wolf had possessed this dead body, breaking free from the embrace, instinctively grabbing the gun at his waist, aiming at the Prayer Believer’s head and pulling the trigger.

But this time, before the gunshot rang out, a flash of the silver sword cut through, severing the corpse at the waist; bloody viscera fell like petals at midair.

The Silver Knight appeared like a ghost beside the Prayer Believer, one hand on his shoulder, the other gripping the Silver Sword.

His speed was incredibly fast, not a trace of blood splattered on him, his armor shining like a mirror.

Lebius watched this Silver Knight warily, and unlike the others, the Silver Knight showed no ether reaction; ethereal concealment also shrouded him.

"I’ve met an opponent."

Lebius murmured, though there was a hint of excitement in his eyes.

This made it interesting; if all opponents were like Hood, it would be disappointing to the extreme.

Ethereal concealment is an extremely difficult ethereal skill to refine. Like Bologue, who can cloak himself in ethereal concealment while maintaining silence, but once he moves, this absolutely sealed concealment would crack, causing ethereal fluctuations to leak out.

For many years, Lebius had been training his ethereal skills, allowing him to release secret energy silently under ethereal concealment, fighting like an ordinary person.

Now, another person had achieved this level; the Silver Knight’s speed and power were terrifying to the extreme, completing an attack in almost an instant, thwarting his assault.

Yet during this time, Lebius could not detect any ether reaction from him; if not for visually confirming the Silver Knight’s presence, it would be impossible to observe him from the ether’s fluctuations.

"Lebius Lovisa..."

Underneath the silvery armor, a neutral, icy voice sounded, like a mechanical hum.

The King’s Shield Guards immediately abandoned their assault on the Alchemy Workshop, turning to encircle Lebius instead. The King’s Shield Guards splintered from the King’s Secret Sword, and in the secret war seven years ago, Lebius left a profound impression on the King’s Secret Sword.

It can be said that all the Secret Swords who survived the secret war had heard of Lebius’s name.

Back then, Lebius teamed up with Geoffrey and almost killed the Sixth Seat.

Lebius had grown accustomed to others calling out his identity; blame it on not killing the Sixth Seat back then. Once that guy returned alive, his information got exposed.

Before the Sixth Seat, all enemies who crossed swords with Lebius died; he perfectly concealed his information by such ruthless means.

"An old foe?"

Lebius’s tone was relaxed, and the fallen corpses stood up again, protecting him like soldiers.

Bucker’s gaze was profound, without any warning, he struck directly at Lebius, the battle was about to erupt.

Fiery flames roared like the breath of a Red Dragon, and Lebius leaped high. As he was airborne, another Prayer Believer launched an ethereal shock at him.

Pure ether constructed an energy shockwave, and a hint of joy flashed in the Prayer Believer’s eyes. With no space to evade in mid-air, this strike was enough to seriously injure Lebius.

As the rumored Negative Power User, Lebius was said to be nothing special.

This thought flashed across the Prayer Believer’s mind, but in the next second, Lebius’s figure shifted mid-air, abruptly evading the attack.

The Spirit Wolf also resided within Lebius, commanding his own body, making some moves beyond common sense by consuming vast amounts of ether.

"Be careful!"

A warning voice came from afar, and before the Prayer Believer could react, two charred figures broke out of the sea of flames, swinging their blades at him.

Even wrapped in fiery flames, before they were utterly destroyed, the corpses were still under Lebius’s command.

The Prayer Believer unleashed an ethereal shock at the corpses; as a Condenser from the Origin School, he could mobilize abundant ether to battle.

The two corpses seemed to be struck by an invisible heavy punch; their scarred bodies were instantly crushed, bones shattered, entrails ground into foul blood.

They faltered for a few seconds, then raised their mangled faces again, opening their bloody mouths to pounce at the Prayer Believer.

"Get away!"

A roar accompanied by another ethereal shock crushed the two corpses completely, forcing them to kneel to the ground, shattering into a pool of blood and gore.

But just when the Prayer Believer was smug about solving his trouble, a hook nailed into the ground before him.

Lebius pulled the hook, descending from the sky like a hunting falcon.

Roaring ethereal shocks came forward, trying to intercept Lebius, but as the staff sword descended, everything was brutally cleaved by Lebius.

The Prayer Believer’s heart turned cold; it was as if he were targeted by a predator, wanting to escape but finding his body disobedient, like it was petrified.

Why is it? Clearly only one tier apart, why is the gap so vast?

Just as the Death God was about to claim his soul, another strong ether reaction burst forth. Without a chance to dodge, Lebius was struck by some force, getting pushed away along with the hook embedded in the ground snapping.

Rotating several times in mid-air, Lebius landed steadily. From afar, Bucker made a palm thrusting motion at Lebius, ether surging like a torrent, gradually dispersing into the air.