The Extra Wants To Live

Chapter 171: Critical Situation [1]

Jaren was like a tiger in a pack of rabbits. His physical prowess was overwhelming even without using mana.

But now, Jaren was using his mana with all his might, and more than anything, he was unleashing the Master's symbolic mana blade.

Woohoo...!

A sound like the fluttering wings of a swarm of bees echoed from Jaren's halberd, and a bright halo of light appeared even in the broad daylight.

The light on the halberd's hilt was faint, but the light from the blade and spikes that struck the enemy was clearly shining.

Jaren pulled his halberd to the left, then dove in with a powerful swing of his arm.

Woof!

A flash of light ran.

The Mana Blade swung vigorously from left to right, leaving behind an afterimage and bringing destruction in its wake.

Any spear or wooden stake that touched the Mana Blade was turned to dust and scattered.

As if the claws of a giant beast had clawed at him, a gap was left where the mana blade had passed, and only after Jaren had passed through did it fly into the sky in shock.

Not only the spearhead, but also the swept blade and even steel could not escape destruction.

Although it could not be completely turned into powder, its original form could not be found.

"Ahhhhh!"

Of course, if the fragile human body was swept away by the Mana Blade, not even a trace would be left.

Even the blood evaporated, so it was impossible to tell that it ever existed in this world.

Rebel soldiers fell, blood gushing from missing arms and empty chests.

Those who screamed were better off because more people died instantly from the blow.

Adding to the reach of his arms and his long halberd, the space within a three-meter radius around Jaren was emptied.

Their command, on the other hand, seemed to know by their cool orders that this was what would happen.

"Aim for the Grand Duke!"

The rebel command chose to focus their attacks on Carl and kill him while Jaren slaughtered the soldiers.

Even if you were a knight who handled mana, when you fought Jaren, you could only block three or four attacks at best.

So, without wasting a knight, they aimed to kill Carl, the heart of the Laurel Unit.

Jaren also heard those words and immediately changed direction, jumping at the knights targeting Carl.

Jaren's eyes moved rapidly inside his visored helmet.

For a brief moment, he confirmed that he could not stop all the knights.

If Jaren were to rush in, the knights should have joined forces to at least pretend to block him, but it seemed like they'd all gone crazy, so they just threw one away and aimed for Carl.

Only one knight, targeted by Jaren, rushed towards Jaren to buy time.

'These guys, they're really unusual.'

It hadn't even been 20 days since the rebellion broke out, and they were fighting as if for some noble cause.

Until then, they would have enjoyed the glory and rights of a knight.

But in such a short period, they gave up everything and fought for a different value called a 'new world.'

There was a faith in their eyes that burned so fiercely it seemed as if it would never go out.

What on earth had happened to them? Had they had a spiritual experience that left them feeling so certain?

Woof!

Ting!

Regardless, Jaren cut off the sword of the insolent knight who blocked his path with a single blow.

Immediately afterward, the knight took out a short mace from his waist and assumed a defensive stance. In a one-on-one fight, defense without the will to attack was a worthless act.

All actions must be combined with attack and defense.

Because if you just blocked without attacking, you would just keep getting hit and die.

In that sense, Jaren felt a sense of mission from this knight, which was to buy time to kill Carl.

But the knight underestimated Jaren too much.

Jaren wasn't letting his guard down at all now, and he had no intention of wasting any time unnecessarily.

Jaren appeared to be swinging his sword but then suddenly changed his grip and swung the handle.

Kyaang!

Swish—!

Swish—!

The halberd handle, swung at a speed that even a mana user would have difficulty reacting to, dodged the mace and leisurely struck the helmet.

The dented helmet was eaten away by the mana blade. By the time the knight's mace touched the halberd's hilt, the mana blade had already crushed his brain.

Jaren, who killed the mana user in just two hits, targeted another knight. But there were too many enemies.

Jaren couldn't handle them all.

"Hold your ground!"

Yet, when he heard Carl's unwavering, booming voice, Jaren was able to concentrate on his mission without worry.

Thanks to Jaren's stirring, Carl's front was empty, behind him were the imperial soldiers, and on both sides were Catherine and Billford.

The next person to cross swords with Jaren was Catherine.

She was on the left, which was understandable considering that was where the most aggressive attacks were usually concentrated.

Two knights rushed toward Catherine, but instead of retreating despite the unfavorable situation, Catherine charged at them instead.

Chae-Ang!

"Ugh!"

The rebel knight who crossed swords with Catherine was startled.

The rhythm of the attack was suddenly broken by Catherine's amazingly precise timing. And for a moment, he was alone.

He was exactly half a step ahead of the knight who was running alongside him, and Catherine was supposed to dig in diagonally to protect him because the knight who was supposed to be there was behind him instead of beside him.

Over the past year, Catherine had mastered the gist of everything written in Gilbert's book.

Although she was unable to fully grasp the mind-bogglingly detailed combat logic, she had already reached a new level just by doing so.

With just one exquisite move, Catherine overcame the disadvantage of numbers, cut off her opponent's breathing, and leisurely pushed away his sword, which was unable to exert force in time, and seized the right to attack unilaterally.

The longsword's sharp blade, dug deep into the mugwort, was aimed precisely at the opponent's face.

On the other hand, the opponent's sword was pushed away and aimed at empty space.

If he had reacted quickly, he could have aimed for Catherine's side or leg, but it was a little too late.

And Catherine wasn't so clumsy that she'd tolerate it.