Cindy's body was hanging in midair, his thick neck being tightly strangled, like a powerless wild rabbit caught by a hunter.
His face showed a purple color that came from extreme redness, and even his gaze had become a little unfocused.
Suddenly, Viktor's hand abruptly loosened.
Losing the restraint, Cindy weakly knelt onto the ground, panting heavily.
Letting air continuously fill his somewhat tense lungs.
Only after a long while did he recover, lifting his somewhat blurry eyes, looking in terror at the figure before him that he couldn't clearly see.
"You… who are you?"
Viktor's face was expressionless, looking down from above at the man kneeling on the ground.
It was as if a disdainful sneer lightly sounded beside Cindy's ear.
"Why do all of you have to ask who I am?"
Cindy blinked rapidly, and only when his eyes could finally see the person in front of him clearly, his mind went blank, as if he were seeing something extremely terrifying, and his eyes instantly widened.
Fear, like a vast ocean, gradually filled both his eyes.
"Vi… Viktor!"
Cindy violently shook his head, his mouth trembling as he muttered, "Impossible, impossible…"
He still couldn't believe it.
Viktor was a mage, how could his strength possibly be greater than that of himself, a fourth-rank warrior?
That was absolutely impossible.
He quickly started groping around on the dark ground, trying to find his weapon.
But Cindy didn't even see the shadow of his greatsword.
A sense of impending doom came from above his head. He suddenly looked up.
His luxurious greatsword was being held in a massive molten-lava giant hand that gave off a fiery glow, dazzling and eye-catching.
"Wha… what is that?"
His eyes went dull for a moment. Sitting on the ground, he unconsciously retreated backward.
An extreme sense of fear filled his mind.
The terror in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest, in fact, he felt even more pressure surging toward him.
At this moment, the thought of escaping rose in his head.
'Right now, run, run immediately!'
But at that very moment, a cold voice slowly sounded beside his ear.
"Oh? You want this?"
It was like suddenly seeing a ray of light in the darkness, as if hope had descended once again.
That massive molten-lava giant hand tossed the greatsword and threw it at Cindy's feet.
The greatsword landed on the ground with such weight that it smashed a deep pit into the earth.
The moment Cindy saw the greatsword hit the ground, he hurriedly grabbed it, finally feeling deeply reassured.
For a warrior, losing one's weapon was no different from losing both arms.
With his weapon back in his hand, the figure of Viktor before him suddenly didn't seem quite so terrifying.
Even the fear flowing in his eyes faded a little.
He shakily stood up, his face red, the blood in his body surging toward his head, his aura rising once again.
Just now, Viktor had merely succeeded in catching him off guard.
He was a powerful fourth-rank warrior.
In close combat, how could he possibly lose to a mage?
It was utterly ridiculous.
What had happened earlier seemed to have been treated by Cindy as nothing but an illusion.
Cindy clenched his fists tightly, his teeth grinding together with clicking sounds.
He wanted Viktor to understand that a mage who let a fourth-rank warrior get close was nothing but meat on a chopping block.
Absolutely without any chance of victory.
A confident and arrogant smile spread across his face as he raised his head proudly, looking at Viktor with disdain.
"I'll show you, giving me the sword, you will regre..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Viktor's figure had already vanished.
Cindy's pupils shrank sharply. When he focused, a knee was already at his chest, filling his entire field of vision.
"So fast…"
Before the words fell, a powerful gust smashed into his chest.
Cindy cried out in pain, his body bending from the force. Drool flew uncontrollably from his mouth.
His already flushed face became even redder, his eyeballs bulging, as if they would pop out at any second.
"You talk too much."
A cold voice sounded beside his ear. In Cindy's stunned vision, he could only see Viktor raising one leg.
A lightning-fast and violent kick smashed down on the top of Cindy's head.
The massive force slammed into Cindy's skull.
His vision turned white, a wave of intense dizziness and confusion filling his brain, fear instantly taking complete control again.
The greatsword slipped slowly from his hand.
Under the overwhelming impact, Cindy's body was like a sheet of thin paper, flung helplessly as he was slammed hard against the ground.
From beginning to end, Viktor hadn't even raised his hands.
The molten-lava giant hand behind him reached out again, pinching Cindy's greatsword once more.
Viktor looked coldly at the Cindy lying on the ground, his voice full of disdain.
"Heh, is that it?"
That tone, dripping with mockery, made Cindy completely break down at this moment.
If earlier things could be explained away as him being ambushed, then now, how could he explain this?
He lay on the ground, feeling the pain covering his whole body, barely lifting his head.
But before he could even see Viktor, the greatsword was once again thrown in front of him, lying quietly on the ground.
As if waiting for Cindy to pick it up again.
The cold voice sounded once more.
"Stand up."
"We continue."
Cindy strained to extend his hand, gripping the sword hilt.
He pushed himself up and slowly stood.
As a fourth-rank warrior, Cindy's body was naturally extremely tough.
Although he had been continuously attacked, he hadn't suffered serious physical injuries.
The pain covering his body was nothing more than superficial wounds.
But the blow to his spirit was far worse than any physical damage.
This time, Cindy became serious.
He held the greatsword horizontally before him, knees bending slightly, a powerful aura swirling beneath his feet as if ready to explode at any second.
His eyes were blood-red, and the ground beneath him was being crushed.
Just as he was about to launch forward at Viktor... Viktor suddenly appeared in front of him again, unleashing another lightning-fast kick.
The speed was so great it left afterimages, giving Cindy no time to react.
The whip kick swept across and slammed heavily into his neck.
The powerful impact felt like it shattered the warm blood inside his veins.
Cindy's strong body was hooked like a sharp scythe striking down, his face smashing brutally into the ground.
The already cracked earth shattered further.
A burst of air escaped from Cindy's throat, and his hands once again let go.
The greatsword was once again taken by Viktor.
"Is this all?"
"Continue."
In his dazed state, Cindy could only hear Viktor's calm voice echo again.
The weapon was once again thrown beside him.
Cindy stood up again…
Once, twice, three times…
But the result was always the same.
No matter how fast, no matter how violent Cindy acted, in front of Viktor he was nothing but a toy.
Viktor defeated him with a single strike every time.
Though his body was unharmed, Cindy's spirit was on the verge of collapse.
The remaining warriors, still alive, watched from afar as their leader was being crushed mercilessly by a mage. Sweat poured down their foreheads.
"Wh… what kind of monster is that?!"
Shock swept through them. Their bodies were frozen.
Whether from fear or disbelief, they began to doubt the world they believed in.
They didn't even notice the hooded figures silently appearing behind them.
Cold air spread across the warriors.
Their vision went dark, and they lost consciousness completely.
The shadows wiped the blood from their cold blades and sheathed their daggers.
Leon returned to Liya's side.
"Miss Liya, all the small fry have been handled."
Liya only gave a soft "mm," her eyes still fixed on Viktor, not moving at all.
Suddenly, she remembered.
Last time, Viktor had done the same thing.
Facing a kingdom warrior, yet defeating him using close combat.
He seemed to enjoy fighting warriors in melee.
Finally, Cindy stood up once again.
His eyes lowered, his expression gloomy, his gaze somewhat empty.
He stood silently in place, letting the sea wind blow across his sturdy frame.
The greatsword was thrown at his feet once more. Viktor stood where he was, watching him indifferently.
As the howling sea wind passed by, Cindy let out a helpless laugh, "Ha… hahaha."
"What humiliation…"
As the famous adventurer of the South, a fourth-rank warrior, he had been beaten into the ground by a mage.
If word spread, it would be utter shame.
His mentality seemed to have collapsed; even his spirit had become a bit unstable.
This time, Cindy did not pick up his sword again.
He simply placed his hand slowly at his waist.
Then, as if sensing something dangerous, Liya's eyes widened, and her voice burst out instinctively.
"Sto...!"
But no matter how fast her voice was, it couldn't outrun the sound that tore through the night sky.
Bang!
A clear and dull gunshot echoed across the night.
In Cindy's right hand was a revolver.
On the barrel were strange red patterns, like a bloodthirsty hound.
From the dark muzzle, smoke was still slowly curling out.
At this moment, everyone froze.
The surroundings seemed to fall into silence.
A bowl-sized bloody hole appeared on Viktor's chest.
As if something had dug into his chest and carved out a chunk of flesh.
Thick, boiling blood dripped constantly, staining the ground beneath him.
Liya's mind buzzed, completely shutting down.
"Haha… hahahahahahahaha!"
Cindy screamed with laughter, his head thrown back.
His limbs shook like they weren't connected, insanely ecstatic, "Didn't expect that, did you! You didn't expect that!"
Madness swirled in his eyes.
Under everyone's disbelieving stares, he slowly raised the gun in his hand as though it were a precious treasure.
Under the moonlight, the silver gun decorated with red engravings shone brilliantly.
"Warriors? Mages?"
"They're nothing compared to this new kind of weapon! Hahahahahahaha!"
Suddenly, Cindy's voice abruptly cut off.
Because Viktor, who was still standing, moved.
Without even blinking, he reached a hand into his chest.
From the wound, he pulled out a smooth, pitch-black bullet.
He held it in front of his eyes, examining it without even caring about the wound in his chest.
"A southern custom-made firearm, using special magic crystals as its energy source."
A green light flashed, and the wound on his chest began to heal.
Even the tear in his clothes was restored to perfect condition under the magic.
Within just a few seconds, the previous injury vanished like an illusion.
And Viktor's calm voice continued, "Not very strong. One shot couldn't even kill a normal second-rank knight."
"A first-generation product?"
As fear overwhelmed him, Cindy's eyes widened in madness.
He jerked up the gun again, aiming at Viktor, and pulled the trigger wildly.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
When the bullets were empty, Cindy still kept pulling the trigger, ignoring the clicking of the empty gun.
He was panicking desperately, trying to reload.
But…
The few black bullets he fired were suddenly stopped as if blocked by some force, floating in front of Viktor.
Their kinetic energy completely dissolved, falling gently to the ground.
"Why… why…"
Cindy was utterly panicked, his hands shaking so much that several bullets fell.
He finally inserted the bullets, but the gun floated out of his grasp on its own.
Cindy's eyes widened. He tried to grab it but could only watch helplessly as his precious weapon fell into Viktor's hand.
Viktor played with it for a moment.
Then... he extended his arm and aimed the gun at Cindy.
As if swallowed by darkness, Cindy felt a chill spread from his spine across his whole body.
As his mind blanked, he heard Viktor's voice beside his ear, as if giving him a reminder, "Watch closely."
"This is how you use this thing."
After speaking, Viktor shifted his arm.
The muzzle pointed toward the surging sea.
Waves of magic began swirling around the gun barrel.
Bzz! Bzz! Bzz!
Rings of magical arrays spun around the barrel, as if charging up.
The red engravings on the gun seemed to come alive, emitting a low growl.
Viktor slowly pulled the trigger.
BOOM!
Along with a thunderous roar, a massive pitch-black cannonball burst out of the muzzle, as if exploding it open, tearing through the spell arrays as it shot forward.
The explosive force blew Viktor's coat wildly, ripping apart even the surrounding wind.
The speed was nearly impossible to see, only the distorted air over the sea could be noticed.
The cannonball crashed into the ocean with terrifying force.
Dozens of meters of waves erupted.
Storm winds tore across the sea, heaven and earth losing color.
It lasted for a long, long time. Even the dock was drenched completely.
Only when the tide slowly receded and the sea became calm again, Cindy stared blankly at Viktor.
His strength drained, he collapsed onto the ground.