Chapter 44: The Fierce Battle

That terrifying black sword aura was less than half a centimeter from Cole.

Ding—

Fortunately, Magnum shielded him in time.

A crisp booming sound, and then a Light Shield unfolded around them in time.

The black sword aura scraped against the elemental shield, setting off a cascade of sparks that fully lit up the cramped space before slowly fading away.

In the brief light, Cole saw where that sword aura came from—

A solitary figure stood quietly at the edge of the shadows by the entrance.

He wore a deep black hood that covered his brow and eyes, hiding his entire face perfectly in the heavy gloom of the mine—not even a glimpse of his features could be seen.

A large dark cloak draped around him, covered in strange patterns, its edges faintly glowing with an eerie purple light that fluttered ominously in the cave breeze.

The most striking thing was at his left hip—a pitch-black sword hung there, its scabbard engraved with twisted and eerie patterns that glowed purple in the dim environment.

Cole reacted quickly, immediately drawing the hunting rifle from his back and aiming it at the figure at the entrance.

As the foreman of Chris Mine, Cole had seen countless people.

He knew how heavy this man’s killing intent was—it was as if the murderous aura about to burst from him.

This was something he had never seen in any desperate outlaw.

Yet he still tried “talk therapy” to fish for some information.

“Who are you?”

Cole’s right index finger pressed firmly against the trigger.

“Are you from the Enforcement Bureau?”

Though he barely maintained calm in his words, Cole could feel distinctly the sweat beading on his forehead and the pounding heart in his left chest.

This eerie standoff didn’t last long.

The Mysterious Man gave him no chance to react.

Suddenly lunging, he made a horizontal slash, swinging the sword in his right hand with bold abandon, turning it into a sword aura even larger and more powerful than before.

“Damn it…”

Cole cursed, and at the same time pulled the trigger.

Green Wind Element instantly gathered at the muzzle, then turned into a sharp arrow shooting forward.

The two forces collided, giving off an eerie red light.

In the end, the Mysterious Man’s sinister power was superior, bearing straight down on Cole and Magnum.

Ugh—

This time Magnum was a few beats slow in deploying its defenses.

Before they could defend, they were sent flying by the domineering sword aura.

Cole staggered backward, but he steadied himself by using the rifle butt as a crutch, finally barely keeping his footing.

Magnum, on the other hand, was flung away ungracefully, making a clang-clang sound as it hit the ground—fortunately, it had a mechanical body, and it barely managed to stand up.

“Hey… Magnum…”

Cole glanced at the mechanical dog behind him.

“If you don’t want to be dismantled into a pile of parts and scrap…”

“Then it’s time to show me your real skills—”

He readjusted his aiming stance.

“Roger.”

The brass-colored creation quickly responded.

“Annihilation Mode activated.”

With that, a fierce red light flared between Magnum’s eyes.

Its originally small body suddenly extended two wings, from which two dark cannon muzzles emerged.

Humm—

The sound of elemental focusing.

Intense light also emitted from the cannon muzzles.

Then, two laser beams poured out toward the distant enemy.

The black-robed man who had been standing there with ease finally stopped being still and began dodging at high speed.

But Magnum’s laser beams didn’t stop.

Its muzzle could intelligently adjust, tracking the man who now couldn’t dodge in time.

Cole wasn’t idle either. He observed the man’s movement trajectory and tried to aim at his landing spot.

Bang—

Another bullet shot out, heading straight for the Mysterious Man’s forehead.

Cole couldn’t see the expression on his face under the black robe, but he could clearly sense that the figure paused for a second.

Was it a hint of surprise?

Or panic?

But the man clearly had a backup plan.

He muttered something under his breath.

A flash of purple light, and then his figure teleported to a safe distance.

“Fuck…”

This was Cole cursing again.

But he wasn’t discouraged.

Their change of pace had clearly disrupted the Mysterious Man’s offensive.

“Magnum, keep up the attack!”

Saying that, Cole drew the dagger from his waist with his left hand while holding the hunting rifle in his right.

Suppressing with gunfire, he dashed toward the Mysterious Man.

The hooded man was clearly angered.

He never expected Cole would dare come to his face and provoke him.

He drew his sword and slashed at the figure charging at him.

“Hmph—”

Cole let out a cold laugh and rolled to the side with a tumble.

?

The Mysterious Man hesitated for a second, then saw Magnum’s crimson eyes and the dark cannon muzzles aimed at him.

Boom—

The preheat sound had clearly changed—this was obviously a powerful shot.

No time to react, the Mysterious Man could only summon a purple magic shield to defend.

Then, that powerful laser beam, in less than a second, completely devoured the Mysterious Man’s figure.

A cloud of thick smoke rose from the spot.

“Dead… is he dead?”

Cole climbed up from the ground and aimed his rifle at the spot where the Mysterious Man had stood.

After the smoke cleared, only a charred patch of ground remained.

“No! Magnum—”

Cole immediately turned and dashed toward Magnum.

But he was still a step too late.

The Mysterious Man emerged from the shadows, baring his fangs and claws.

With a single sword strike, he sent Magnum, still on its gun mount, flying.

This time, the mechanical dog wasn’t so lucky.

It took a solid, vicious hit—Magnum was slammed into the rock wall behind, the force so great that cracks appeared in the stone.

But Cole didn’t hesitate because of his companion’s loss—in attacking Magnum, the Mysterious Man had exposed his own back.

His former warrior instincts allowed Cole to quickly seize on this.

He immediately rushed to the man’s back.

Tap—

The sound of the gun barrel pressing against his back.

“God dammit…”

“This one—”

Cole roared, and the bullet burst forth with his fury.

“Take this!”

The gun barrel spat out a flame called hatred.

Finally, the Mysterious Man was blasted away by him.

Taking that shot at this range… even the most evil Demon Cultist wouldn’t have an easy time…

But that conviction was quickly replaced by fear.

The man quickly got up from the ground, like an undead ghoul.

Cole didn’t see a bleeding hole in his chest. Instead, the bullet had only torn his outer garment, revealing the skin on the man’s chest.

In the dim light, Cole was sure he wasn’t mistaken—those were scales! Black, solid scales, belonging to a reptile!

This guy… isn’t human!

“You son of a bitch…”

“What… what kind of monster are you?”

Giving Cole no time to react, the black-robed man used a Flash Step and appeared right in front of him.

Urgh—

He hurriedly raised his left hand to throw a punch forward in a defensive stance, but it was too late.

The Mysterious Man caught his fist steadily with his right hand.

He seemed to possess boundless strength.

Then with one kick, he sent Cole flying.

Thud—

Cole fell flat on his back, his hunting rifle falling to the side.

Tock tock—

Cole knew it was the sound of the Mysterious Man approaching him.

He walked very slowly, arrogantly twitching the sword in his right hand—as if playing with his prey, as if mocking Cole’s helplessness.

Then, a sword aura lashed out—

‘I… am I going to die here…’

Cole twitched the corner of his mouth in unwillingness.

‘I still haven’t uncovered the truth… haven’t found my brother…’

‘I won’t give up…’

However, the anticipated pain never came.

Clang—

The sound of the sword aura being neutralized.

Before Cole’s eyes, a violent light burst forth.