Soul of Searing Steel

Ying listened to Joshua’s words and sat on a chair right beside him.

Looking at the warrior who had begun recalling the past, the silver-haired girl sighed lightly. She felt vexed because her master suddenly drifted off.

Because her master always behaved in such a way.

Perhaps as a newly born Divine Armament, Ying did not yet understand the attitude and habits of her master. However, from observing him ever since she followed him, she knew that Joshua would sometimes space out. She knew that Joshua would suddenly let his mind drift off for unknown reasons while he spoke.

Meanwhile, the warrior remained as calm and quiet as a statue. No one could have known how crazy he could turn out to be when he was engaged in a battle, blazing like scorching lava.

The immovable statue and boiling lava. Sometimes, there was no telling that how could these two different images that contrast so much would exist in the same person…

The female Divine Armament did not know the reason, and she did not intend to know as well. Anyway, she had no reason to think so much as long as she just followed her master.

“I really want to have a battle with him.” Suddenly, Joshua spoke and sighed.

Ying understood instantly. The ‘him’ that her Master spoke of must be that Gold-tier swordsman they met earlier on.

Even though she had vague reasons that made her dislike the swordsman, she had to admit that he was not weak at all. Especially when Brandon was searching in the sky for the hidden Gold-tier daemons with his red and black eyes… Even though Ying did not look him in his eyes, she could still feel like she was seen through as if she could be killed anytime.

That was the weakness of the eyes that were blessed by the power of Order to see through everything.

Meanwhile, Joshua continued on muttering to himself.

“The future Sacred Sword should already be as powerful as he should be in the future even now. After the Dark Tide, if he has time, I would want to have a battle with him. I want to experience the legendary ‘Instant Death’…

However, before he could finish his words, he could hear light footsteps approaching from outside the guest room.

After the door was opened, a lady in a white servant uniform appeared right before the door of the room. She was holding hunter clothes that noble hunters would wear while looking into the room anxiously.

“S-s-sir, your… your c-clothes are… here…”

The servant was looking at the black-haired warrior on the chair who seemed like he was deep in thought at the moment. Instantly, she could feel that there were all sorts of illusions appeared right before her eyes. She knew better, that this man was the man who led an entire platoon to provide aid to the fortress. She knew that should pay her highest respect to the man sitting before her. However, in her eyes, that man was the most dreadful person, a combination of monstrosities, who was emitting intimidating waves around his surroundings.

With her hands trembling a little, the servant could not help but gulp before speaking in a trembling voice, “This is Mister Brandon’s clothes that he prepared to go on a hunt during the winter with his wife. They haven’t been worn before…”

“Thank you. You can just place them on the chair over there.”

Interrupting the girl’s trembling voice, the warrior was asking the girl to place the clothes on a chair not far from him.

Looking at the girl who was intimidated by his eyes to the point that she was about to pass out, Joshua could not help but sigh quietly in his heart.

Could it be that I’ve obtained a new ability that increases my intimidation aura from the previous battle? Judging from her reaction for seeing me for the first time, it was obvious that this is something as powerful as an Aura of Fear.

Upon leaving the clothes on the chair, the female servant quickly bowed and left the room on her running feet.

Speaking of which, that female servant called Yue is not an ordinary person. The others had not seen blood. They should react this way when they first see me. Meanwhile, Yue looked at me like she was treating others as well. She was calm and steady all the while. Judging from the way she treated Brandon, she seems to be more than just an ordinary servant in this place.

Having those thoughts in his mind, Joshua walked towards the chair and picked up the clothes. The muscles in his body contracted a little. Then he shook his body vaguely and created a vacuum of shockwave across his entire body, clearing off the remaining dust and dried blood on his body. The broken steel armor pieces were swept off his body as well. After that, he put the new clothes on.

… they were a little tighter than expected. Brandon’s clothes seemed to be one size smaller than Joshua’s. The warrior made an assumption that he ever attempted to bulge his muscles, the clothes he was wearing would be torn apart.

There was no news coming from Brandon and the Countess of the Scarlet family yet. However, Joshua was not bothered at all to wait for them for a little while more. After all, he felt quite comfortable right now. So it was not so bad just to take a seat and relax a little.

After staying and enjoying the calmness of the atmosphere in the room for a little while more, a series of footsteps that sounded not consistent was heard echoing across the hallway of the spiral stairwell. Then the door of the guest room was opened.

The golden-haired swordsman was helping a woman that looked very vulnerable on her feet with great care.

She had a long violet hair. Although her face was that of a young girl, the expression in her eyes showed that she was mature. She had a tired expression which she was trying hard to conceal.

She looked at Joshua who just stood up from the chair he was sitting on. The two of them greeted each another and spoke politely, “Joshua van Radcliffe, the Count of Moldavia, you have my sincerest thanks for coming to our aid to fend off the Dark Tide… your courage and virtue shine like the stars. Please accept the utmost gratitude from me, Vale Dani of the Scarlet family.”

“I came here not just for you. I’m here for other matters.”

Upon shaking his head, Joshua did not speak courteously but instead went straight to the point. “If the Dark Tide is breached, our territory would have been affected as well. I would not have rushed here so quickly in the first place.”

“At least you’re willing to come. No matter you’re here late or early, you’ve proven your sincerity much more than anyone else.”

While the violet-haired mage was speaking, the warrior did a quick scan on her and the golden-haired swordsman. His overwhelming battle instinct instantly started analyzing the status of this Gold-tier mage right before his eyes, and he easily saw through her countless vulnerabilities.

— having a distance of 8.71 meters between him and the lady mage, she has no defenses on her. Her spell radiance is dim. She is also not equipped with protective items. Both Brandon and Vale Dani are extremely tired. The delay in their responses and reflexes are 0.31 and 0.91 seconds respectively. Both of them have not taken any precautions against me at all.

If Joshua decided to ambush them right now, he might stand a chance at surprising them. Perhaps he could take the both of them out for good directly by paying a certain price.

Brandon was focusing his full attention on Vale Dani. However, because of that, his reflexes would decrease tremendously if he faced a sudden attack. The attacker could attempt to gain an advantage by being the first to attack.

Although that was merely the analysis of Joshua’s instinct, however, Brandon and Vale Dani could still felt a chill surging through their spines. Even though they were currently in a warm room, they suddenly felt like that they were like standing right in the middle of a snowy area with a temperature of negative 30 degree Celsius. It felt just like they were being stalked by a ferocious beast.

They naturally noticed that the threat came straight from the warrior right before them. Both of them frowned and looked at Joshua with suspicious eyes.

“I must apologize.”

All of his thoughts flashed across his mind in one split second. Joshua reacted to the situation immediately. He shook his head and apologized. “Because the status for both of you are not that decent for now. So I’ve consciously had…”

The impulse to attack? The desire to attack? Or was he getting ready to battle?

Pondering with his wordings in his head, Joshua still felt that he was being inappropriate after thinking about it for a brief moment. So the warrior decided not to say another word about it. He just shook his head.

“It is alright. Or perhaps it’s a good thing for a warrior like yourself that you have such a strong desire to attack.”

The violet-haired countess coughed after looking at the Gold-tier swordsman. After that, Brandon continued to speak as he shrugged, “Sometimes, I would also feel the urge and desire to battle when I ever meet a worthy opponent. So this is perfectly normal.”

Currently, the fortress was being attacked by the Dark Tide. It would naturally be better if they could have a stronger and much more aggressive person on their side. The strength of this black-haired warrior was extraordinary. Although his appearance was not of a decent person, he did not seem like not a bad person that would simply attack them.

“Perhaps. But that doesn’t mean I’m allowed to behave in such a way.”

Upon replying, Joshua frowned. He felt like he had been judged.

Seeing the two of them cuddling each another intimately, Joshua sighed and said, “Regardless of anything, Vale Dani, the fact that you’re well is the greatest news of all. I have to admit. A mage that can unleash a power far beyond the power of me and Brandon, two Gold-tier combatants is really something to admire. However, I’m not a person of many words…”

Instantly, the warrior decided to get straight to the point. “So let’s get straight to the point to make things easier. I’m going over to the premises around the wall to understand the situation about the damage on the wall. I need to know about the morale of the soldiers as well. If there’s nothing else here, I shall leave you two to rest.”

“No, I’ve come here to provide you special information on the Dark Tide… You’re right. There’s no need for small talk in our current situation.”

Roughly understanding Joshua’s meaning, Brandon nodded. As a swordsman, he felt much more comfortable for being treated with straightforward attitude. “However, before that, I think there’s one more thing we need to be clear among ourselves. That will not be just some pointless small talk.”

The warrior who stood aside remained silent. He was expressing that he was listening.

“Your armor was destroyed by the dragon’s breath attack when you were supporting us…”

Looking at the hunter outfit that was worn tightly on the warrior, the golden-haired swordsman could naturally tell that that set of clothes belonged to him. Then, he remembered when his palm was hurt by the molten steel that dripped across Joshua’s body. He could not help but sigh before speaking, “If you don’t mind, we are willing to provide you a new set of armor. Although it might not fit you perfectly, at least it could provide you with decent defense. It’s definitely not that bad.”

Although normal armor had no use at all when compared to the toughness of his body, having told him that they would compensate the loss Joshua suffered during the battle, was a matter of good manners.

“Furthermore, if you’re still not equipped with a weapon in hand, I can bestow you a weapon more than just extraordinary, Count Joshua.”

The violet-haired mage spoke right after her husband, suggesting that she would compensate Joshua with something else. With a prideful smile, she added, “The main city of the Scarlet family is right above the Unfrozen River. Our trades might even exceed Wilson family’s in the market. We even have some of the finest legendary weapons in storage. However, there is none in the warehouse of our fortress. Or else, it would not be any problem to provide you one right here right now.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a soft voice was heard coming from the back of Joshua.

Brandon and Vale Dani only noticed the presence of a small silver-haired girl with green eyes standing right behind Joshua.

Meanwhile, Ying was staring at the two of them cautiously like they were both evil people. Then she spoke in a soft voice, “New weapon?”