City of Witches Chapter 261

Siwoo charged without hesitation toward the nearest White Knight.

Even if their bodies were encased in sturdy armor, even if their hearts were protected by thick shields, fear did not vanish.

The enemy was strong and numerous.

No matter that Eloa was watching, even a moment of carelessness could lead to a painful lesson.

Charging in without fear was not mere recklessness.

Siwoo had learned.

The Military Principle that Eloa always emphasized during their past sparring sessions.

Initiative, Simultaneity, and Follow-up.

In combat, one must always hold the initiative.

Do not cede the flow to the opponent; do not be swayed by the opponent's movements.

Only by controlling the situation can one seize the advantage.

This was Initiative.

It is not always possible to maintain overwhelming initiative throughout a fight.

The enemy is not a scarecrow; they too will launch counterattacks to seize the initiative.

If one retreats at this point, they will ultimately lose the initiative completely.

Not handing over the flow by attacking before it tilts toward the opponent.

This was Simultaneity.

When forced to block a fierce offensive from the opponent.

Not merely blocking, but deflecting and preparing a counterattack.

This was Follow-up.

As one can tell from hearing them, these three Military Principles share a common point.

Combat absolutely requires seizing the initiative, and for that, even the slightest hesitation or fear is not permitted.

Therefore, Siwoo charged at the most protruding enemy unit before being surrounded and confronted by a difficult situation with five of them.

Contrary to appearances, the charge of armor weighing over 200 kg by simple mass alone crushed the ground with just a leap.

-Whoosh!

A spear thrust out to meet the charging Siwoo.

The spear extending toward Siwoo curved strangely in an instant.

Clearly aimed at the mid-to-lower section, it surged like a water-skimming swallow, now targeting the heart.

-Bang!

However, Siwoo blocked that attack without much difficulty.

He angled his sword forward to press down on the spear shaft, preventing any fancy maneuvers, then deflected it with the shield in his left hand.

The motion, as smooth as flowing water to the point of being bewildering even to himself performing it, was incomparable to before.

Siwoo was surprised for two reasons.

One was that its speed was much faster and more menacing than in his memory.

The other was that, despite that, he could easily deflect it with his sword.

But just because he deflected an attack didn't mean he could stand there dazed.

Siwoo relaxed the strength in his entire body.

He released the tension from his overly tense muscles and firmly planted his feet on the ground.

Swinging the sword comes from the legs and waist, not the arms.

The arms merely hold the sword.

One could even forget they were holding it.

"Huuup...!"

With a handful of breath, strength flowed into his relaxed body.

He drew out all the potential slumbering in each muscle fiber at the body's extremities.

If one could pour the full strength of their entire body into a single sword strike, that blade could even cleave a mountain range.

The White Knight belatedly retracted its attack and swung its spear to strike down at Siwoo's head.

He had experienced this before.

The strike using the spear shaft that had pushed Siwoo back again just when he had painstakingly closed the distance.

Just before the spinning spear tip, like a windmill, struck down on the helmet.

Siwoo's sword swung first.

-Kwaang!

From the right shoulder blade to the left waist.

The Longsword, swung in a clean arc, bisected the White Knight's body as if embracing it.

The Longsword flexed smoothly, tracing a trajectory as if melting into it.

That sensation remained in his fingertips.

Finishing the sword strike, Siwoo quickly tilted his head back.

At a dangerously close timing, the spear shaft grazed the helmet, but then, perhaps slipping from the now-limp hand, it spun through the air and smashed into a parked car.

Success.

He seized the initiative in what could have been a 5 vs. 1 fight, took out one opponent early, and turned it into a 4 vs. 1 fight.

To think he could cut down a White Knight, which he hadn't even known how to approach, so easily.

It was enough to leave one dumbfounded.

"It's not over yet. Focus."

"Whoop!"

Along with Eloa's sharp warning.

Siwoo's body spun through the air.

-Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Simultaneously, four spears pierced sharply into the ground where Siwoo had just been standing.

Force is proportional to mass and velocity.

Just as Siwoo had applied earth Elemental Magic to add mass to his Shadow Armament to increase his force.

The spears wielded by the White Knights were also unnaturally heavy, far beyond what one would expect from ordinary Cold Weapons.

The four White Knights, having pulled their spears from where they had shattered the asphalt and embedded deep into the ground, formed a line and leveled their spears at Siwoo.

Certainly, facing one and facing four felt different from the very moment of confrontation; the pressure was not the same.

Feeling sweat trickle down his spine, Siwoo observed the enemies.

Can I win?

Can I do it?

Doubt about himself surged.

It wasn't that he had no experience fighting multiple opponents.

He already had experience, up to about 50 vs. 1, against the black dogs that charged at him in the department store.

But if enemies with combat intelligence pressed him systematically...

Could he really withstand it?

Siwoo drew out four Ribbons.

Through training with Eloa and personal Magic Research, he had increased the number of Ribbons he could use.

With these, he shouldn't be completely overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

The White Knights in their disturbingly bright white armor.

Two of them instantly closed the distance, charging forward.

The remaining two split to the sides, apparently intending to simultaneously occupy Siwoo's flanks.

Siwoo divided the Ribbons into two to prevent being completely surrounded.

Meanwhile, he faced the frontal enemies with his sword and shield.

-Thud! Hwoong! Hwoong!

The White Knights' thrusts carried a sense of weight.

Had Siwoo's discernment also improved through repeated training with Eloa?

Before, he had simply thought of them as 'curving, winding attacks.'

But now, having encountered and learned various techniques, he perceived them differently.

The spear techniques of the White Knights, unit by unit, were excellent.

Steps that became one with the upper body's movements, the timing of thrusting and withdrawing, the wrist snap and rotation used to create confusing feints.

Systematic and tactical.

They were ideally executing the optimal moves to pierce the enemy's heart.

-Bang! Bang!

The two White Knights harassed Siwoo in turn.

When it was one, deflecting an attack and exploiting an opening was enough, but with two, those openings almost disappeared.

If one attack missed, the other covered the gap.If Siwoo hesitated even slightly, attacks would come from tricky angles that were difficult to block.

It felt like facing a well-trained soldier with combat experience.

A feeling where 1+1 equals 3, not 2.

Moreover, he wasn't just dealing with the two in front; he was simultaneously handling the White Knight trying to flank him with the Ribbon, leaving him with no mental space to spare.

Unable to hold his ground any longer, he began to slowly backpedal.

"……"

Eloa watched the scene with restless anxiety.

Her hand gripping the Contract Sword kept tensing.

She was desperately suppressing the urge to intervene immediately and slaughter those wretched things.

The Enemy Knight, as widely known, is a Homunculus possessing vast combat experience and exceptional skill.

Therefore, its Minor Copy, the White Knight, also possessed the combat techniques of a Veteran of a Hundred Battles.

This was no longer the combat power of a mere Homunculus.

Though only four eyes were visibly manifested, that was merely an output of magic power; its threat level far surpassed that of something with five or six eyes.

The Combination Technique skillfully pressuring Siwoo was also executed with perfect synchronization, as if they were one body.

Although he had gained the upper hand by defeating one with a First Strike, if things continued like this, he would gradually be pushed back.

Was it still too early?

Had the expectations placed on him due to his rapid growth been too high?

-Kwaaang!

A loud roar echoed.

It was the sound of Siwoo's Ribbon, which had been restraining the two White Knights until now, powerlessly plunging into the ground.

With no more hindrance, the two White Knights charged at Siwoo from both flanks.

He had already been struggling and being pushed back in a 2-on-1; now two more were added.

Indeed, the time was still not right.

Just as Eloa was about to leap from her spot to help Siwoo.

"Huh…?"

Siwoo's back came into Eloa's view.

He tossed away the shield hanging on his arm as if it were cumbersome.

He firmly gripped the sword he had been holding in one hand with both hands.

-Chang! Chang!

Siwoo's sword, tracing a single trajectory, smoothly deflected two thrusts.

There was no sound of the previous violent roar, as if crushing with force or clashing power against power.

Only the clear sound, like tapping a wine glass with a fork, accompanied the perfect deflection of the spear's path.

"Hoo…"

The battle wasn't over yet, but the world seemed immersed in silence.

Amidst it, only the sound of Siwoo drawing a breath resonated clearly. Siwoo, having held his breath once, began to move. His sword traced a spiral as if dancing.

A beautiful Sword Dance where unnecessary force had no place.

A pure and beautiful Sword Path, the kind sword-wielding warriors and those pursuing strength had only imagined and died dreaming of, now shattered the moonlight.

His movements, weaving effortlessly between the spearheads thrusting from all directions.

The footwork tapping the ground in succession like a waltz, and the sword flowing as if part of the dance.

His figure, immersed in the Sword Dance as if in a State of No-Self, was far too composed to be in the midst of a brutal battle.

Eloa unconsciously narrowed her eyes.

A familiar figure overlapped with his back.

"Raphi…"

The Child Beloved by the Sword.

The Child Who Could Hear the Sword's Voice.

A genius among geniuses who would have far surpassed Eloa had she become a Witch.

Her faint illusion overlapped with Siwoo's.

A stalemate with no end in sight.

Within it, the balance, which had been slowly tilting in favor of the White Knights, suddenly shifted.

The two spears, freely navigating the air like acrobatics, were swept up in the upright Sword Path and scattered like leaves.

Eloa, who had been blankly watching, suddenly felt a surge of urgency.

Because the two White Knights, having finally completely shaken off the Ribbons, had joined the battle as reinforcements.

One thrust its spear from the 7 o'clock direction, the rear-side flank, while the other aimed for a perfect blind spot.

The spears wielded by the White Knights shared a similar effect with their origin, the 'Red Branch'.

While forming the Red Branch's unique Distortion Field seemed impossible, they severed the composition and flow of magic power.

No matter how thickly clad in shadow armor, a direct hit would tear through it like paper.

At the critical moment, Siwoo's foot stamped the ground as if it had been waiting.

This was different from a simple leap.

It was a preparatory motion to manifest the essence of Foot Technique and rotate his body with all his might.

The asphalt ruptured, letting out a death cry.

A Shockwave bursting from the sword tip, breaking the Sound Barrier.

The sword swung at waist height forcefully repelled the tenacious pursuit from the front while simultaneously slicing through the White Knight who had launched a surprise attack from the rear and side.

Those who launch surprise attacks are conversely vulnerable to counters.

Siwoo had intentionally allowed the ambush, gauging the timing to deliver a Counter.

The upper bodies of the White Knights, who had boldly thrust their spears, rose side by side into the air, but Siwoo did not lose the momentum of his rotation.

-Pung!

What supported his body, disrupted during the rotation, were two strands of Ribbon.

The Black Ribbons dug into the asphalt, transformed into a gravel pit by the fierce battle.

With a grating sound, the Ribbons gripped the ground, supporting his body and allowing Siwoo to execute another rotating Slash.

The second rotation.

It should have been a mere graze of the sword's trajectory against the White Knight's helmet.

-Pung!

That alone caused the helmet to burst apart like an aluminum can struck by a mace.

One enemy remained.

White Knights have no emotions.

Even after losing three comrades in an instant, no fear or hesitation was felt.

The White Knight aimed an Uppercut at Siwoo's now fully exposed side.

In this state, evasion, defense, and counterattack should all be impossible.

-Kwajik!

However, two strands of Ribbon surging from the ground pierced through the White Knight's body like a rag doll.

Not stopping at merely piercing it, the White Knight, impaled through its vitals, dangled limply in mid-air.

He had planted the Ribbons into the ground while rotating, setting them like a trap.

As Eloa watched Siwoo dispatch the last White Knight, the upper body of the White Knight that had floated into the air earlier fell with a thud at her feet.

He had dealt with four White Knights in the blink of an eye.

Simultaneously, the time that had seemed to flow gently regained its original speed.

There was no room for doubt.

It was Siwoo's perfect victory.

Author's Note (Author's Afterword)

I will take a break from midnight serialization tomorrow.

See you the day after tomorrow!

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Ah... I made a reservation mistake ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ

Please read it in advance...