Chapter 692: 538 Your era has long passed.
"Clang— Clang clang—"
That was the grating sound of the black blade’s edge fiercely scraping against sharp claws.
Above the skies of Norwich, Reiger hovered there, raising the black blade in his hand, blocking a terrifying attack that generated a piercing sonic boom.
The claws swung by Woodworth, wolf-like, landed on the blade of the black sword, creating an intense friction with it.
Sparks burst continuously between the two, as Reiger and Woodworth, separated by the sparks, the black blade, and the claws, looked at each other—one with icy indifference, the other filled with murderous intent.
"Boom!"
In the next second, an impact wave forced both contenders back, one retreating rapidly backward, while the other fell from the sky, crashing heavily onto the roof of a building, crushing it to pieces.
"Gaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh—!"
Woodworth immediately let out an intimidating howl towards Reiger in mid-air, the sound seemed to pierce through from the inner core of the planet, not only steaming off heat from the body of the Tusk Clan’s chieftain but also shaking the atmosphere and generating wave after wave of sonorous tremors.
A terrible Magic Power rose from Woodworth, assaulting every direction like a storm.
The scene made not only the white, eight-legged horse galloping along the ruins of the road feel intimidated, stopping involuntarily and trembling in place, but also made the people emerging from the carriage shiver inwardly, sweat beading on their foreheads.
"That, that’s the chieftain of the Tusk Clan, the Hero of Britain who once fought against the King of Moors a thousand years ago?"
Da Vinci’s face showed utter shock.
"So, so strong...!"
Matthew’s hand, holding the shield, unconsciously tightened until it turned white.
"This is very bad, extremely bad."
Tristan’s eyes widened, and his handsome face took on a ghastly pallor.
"Why is he here...!?"
Even Altoria, who had already witnessed the horrors of Woodworth, felt her breath hitch and her heart falter.
"Damn it, the situation is already bad enough; does that bastard Woodworth really need to interfere?"
Alberon cursed aloud.
"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!" "Swoosh!"...
Just then, with the sound of piercing the air, elite fairy soldiers of the Tusk Clan started to appear, landing around the carriage, enclosing Altoria and the others within their ranks.
They were muscular and emitted a powerful aura; though not even close to Woodworth, the Lancelotian, they were considerably stronger than the fairy guards of the Tusk Clan trained by Spurgen.
Those mercenaries hired by Spurgen were expensive, but the Tusk Clan’s stronghold was in Oxford, and Woodworth was their chieftain. The quality of the elite fairies under his command naturally surpassed that of ordinary Tusk Clan fairies and was not to be compared with regular fairy soldiers.
This time Woodworth was clearly serious, bringing not only a large number of Tusk Clan fairies, but also each one of them could match up to at least Lv.6.
In such a situation, it was natural for Altoria and the rest to grow tense, forcing them to turn their attention and brace themselves against the encircling Tusk Clan fairies.
Upon seeing this, Reiger subconsciously wanted to rush down to help.
But before he could act, Woodworth made his move.
"Your opponent is me!"
With a low growl, Woodworth smashed the building under his feet, and his whole being, transformed into a bullet that pierced through space, shot violently towards Reiger.
"Clang!!!"
Again, a ringing sound like that of a bell resonated as Woodworth’s claws struck the black blade, which was raised to block, sending Reiger flying backward at high speed due to the collision.
"You really are like a bad penny," Reiger said coolly, speaking through the scattering sparks at Woodworth in front of him.
"Shut up!" Woodworth roared, "Having become the husband of the queen and yet running away with that country bumpkin fairy, you’re nothing but filth that has tarnished the queen’s name! Even if you flee to the depths of the earth, I’ll dig you out, pull out your heart, chop off your head, and cleanse the shame you brought to Britain!"
"Shame?" Reiger immediately retorted with sarcasm, "Does Britain even care about such things anymore?"
"Which fairy in this country hasn’t done something wrong? Who isn’t despicable to someone? Even Morgan herself is seen as a witch threatening Britain, isn’t she?"
"Do you really think you’re clean, Woodworth, that you’re genuinely upholding Britain’s legitimacy?"
"Give it up, your time is long gone. Now you’re just an old man being gradually replaced by the Elf Knights; you actually think you’re still a Hero?"
"All that stuff, it’s been a thousand years. You should realize it’s a thing of the past by now, right?"
Each of Reiger’s cutting words stabbed at the very sore spots in Woodworth’s heart.
"Shut up!"
At this, Woodworth’s face twisted into a ferocious snarl as he bellowed.
"You and those detestable Elf Knights, both are eyesores to the point of revulsion!"
"I will kill you! And sooner or later, Gawain and Lancelot, too!"
"What Chosen One? What Elf Knights? I, Woodworth, am the true necessity of Britain!"
"You low-born fairies of dubious origin, don’t get too cocky!"
With such an outburst, the heat emanating from Woodworth became even more terrifying, distorting the air around him and making his attacks even more ferocious.
"Boom!"
The storm formed by razor-sharp claws exploded in midair, striking towards Reiger while enveloping the surroundings, shredding the buildings to pieces.
"Clang clang clang clang clang clang—!"
Reiger’s eyes shimmered with a transparent sheen, his figure turning into a streak of firelight. Retreating rapidly, he simultaneously wielded the black blade in his hands, deflecting the incoming claws again and again with minimal movements and the least amount of force.
The sound of metal clashing incessantly filled the skies above Norwich, attracting the attention of many Moors, who started to move towards the commotion.
Reiger and Woodworth transformed into two streaks of light, relentlessly chasing and colliding above Norwich, raising countless shockwaves and trails of blade and claw shadows, destroying everything they touched.
Countless buildings suffered, whether shattered by the shockwaves or destroyed by the aftershocks, collapsing on the spot and filling various directions of Norwich with roaring sounds and billowing dust.
"Reiger!"
Altoria instinctively wanted to give chase but was unsuccessful.
"Swoosh!"
An Elf of the Tusk Clan suddenly lunged, pouncing towards Altoria, its claws swiping at her head.
"Danger!"
At the critical moment, Matthew promptly stepped forward, shielding Altoria from harm.
"Clang!"
The claws struck the shield heavily and were deflected away.
"Thump!"
Simultaneously, a mechanical hand struck, catapulting the Elf Knight of the Tusk Clan away.
"Swoosh!"
"Swoosh!"
"Swoosh!"
The rest of the Elf Knights of the Tusk Clan, as if provoked, emerged silently and attacked in the direction of Altoria and Matthew.
"Ding dong—"
Tristan’s harp was finally plucked, unleashing a barrage of invisible shots that rained down upon the Elf Knights of the Tusk Clan.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Thump!"
The Elf Knights of the Tusk Clan immediately demonstrated their extraordinary strength by reacting to Tristan’s attacks. Some used their claws, some used their fists, and some even used their fangs to block the invisible strikes.
"Altoria!" Alberon called out, shouting to Altoria, "Focus on our own safety first!"
In Alberon’s view, Reiger didn’t really have a problem; the problem was with themselves.
Woodworth was formidable, Resounding Ringer was akin to a creature born directly from the Inner Sea of the Star, and as the Grand Duke of Radiating, Woodworth had a trait akin to the lungs of a planet, capable of dispersing heat for the planet.
But since Reiger could defeat Gawain and repel the Beast of Humanity that indulged in evil, it was unlikely he would fall behind in a clash with Woodworth.
On the other hand, for their group, Alberon was essentially an accessory, and he had to look after Fujimaru Ritsuka, the Master. Among the remaining four, Altoria’s strength was not outstanding, Da Vinci was a technician, and the real fighters were only Matthew and Tristan. Facing off against such a large number of elite Elf Knights of the Tusk Clan, they were in extreme danger.
"Don’t rush out at all costs!" Tristan said gravely, "I can handle at most four at the same time. More than five, and it might get dangerous. If anyone breaks away from the group, they will surely face concentrated attacks from more than ten Elf Knights of the Tusk Clan!"
It meant he couldn’t block so many attacks from the Elf Knights of the Tusk Clan, so they absolutely must not act recklessly.
"I can also handle only about two or three at most, any more than that is too much," Da Vinci added with a grave expression.
"..."
Matthew remained silent, merely gripping her shield tightly, her gaze resolute.
Among those present, she was probably the only one capable of blocking the offensive of multiple elite Elf Knights of the Tusk Clan at the same time.
Therefore, she had to carry the heavy responsibility of protecting everyone.
"Reiger..."
Altoria, realizing the direness of the situation, cast a worried glance in the direction from which the roaring noises came, then took a deep breath and raised her Staff of Selection.
"Right, Reiger will definitely be fine on his own; we cannot be in trouble either!"
Altoria declared loudly.
"I will cast enchantments on everyone. Let’s all break through together!"
Hearing this, everyone nodded firmly, Magic Power starting to rise from their bodies.
"Swoosh!"
The Elf Knights of the Tusk Clan didn’t care about such things and once again charged in a flurry of whooshing sounds.
"Boom!"
Meanwhile, the battle between Reiger and Woodworth had entered an intense phase in the distance, throwing the air above Norwich into chaos.