"You..."
At that moment, the group members could only stare in shock. Delia was either dead or dying. Wuma stood there, staring at his sword and trying to wipe away the bloodstains on it. He stood before them calmly cleaning his sword while they could only stare in shock. It was as if he hadn't just killed a young genius from the capital right before their eyes.
Maria couldn't believe he was the same old drunk who had stood guard over the city for years. The indifferent old man was now spreading his power in the Sage Realm and putting on a show for them.
Then he began to walk.
"Wuma, you—"
"Shh, one second."
He gently cut Malehit off and walked to stand between them and the door with three stripes on it.
"We're ready now."
When his sword suddenly began to emit a blinding light, Malehit was the only one who reacted quickly enough.
"Stand back."
Malehit's sword exploded with powerful force, but the momentum was extinguished when the opposite sword flew towards him at high speed.
DINGGG...!!!
When the swords clashed, Malehit felt his heart tremble. The power of the sword he was clashing with was equal to his own.
Maybe even stronger!
'Wasn't Wuma only at the 2nd stage?'
Malehit was already at the fifth stage of the Sage Realm. Although Malehit's main weapons are revolvers, still...
'He must have used a technique.'
Malehit hadn't used a technique. He knew the old man had lived a long time. He must have mastered many techniques. It wasn't surprising that he had increased his power by three levels.
At that moment, Malehit gritted his teeth. He thought he knew the old man well.
"Why?"
The man who had just thrown a sword suddenly appeared in front of Malehit, holding the sword. He easily swung it, pushing Malehit back. Malehit could see that no technique had been used this time. He wanted to lower his sword and grab his weapons, but Wuma was too fast. There was no time.
The old man, Wuma, laughed. With a relaxed expression, he took a sip from the liquor bottle at his waist as he extended his sword horizontally and diagonally downward.
"You should know that a man who has lived this long could have countless reasons."
Wuma suddenly lunged forward. Frightened by his movement, the young men took a step back, but Malehit had to advance. His technique remained unbroken, and this time, he unleashed a quick attack technique from the minor success stage of the Sage realm.
However, when Wuma swung his sword, Malehit was thrown back with an even greater force. This happened even though he had increased his attack power to the sixth stage.
At that moment, Malehit's face twisted.
"Is that a high-level Sage weapon in your hand?"
There weren't many of those, even in the capital. Origin Heart Experts often used high-level Sage weapons when they couldn't obtain Origin Heart Weapons. It wasn't something a youngster like him could touch.
There was a man in front of him who he would have difficulty using his weapons against.
After all, Wuma had already taught him all the tricks of the gun.
Yet, this old man was touching it. His attack power rose by three stages just from that.
However, it was still fifth-stage Sage realm power. Malehit's attack power was sixth-stage. How could he suppress it?
Malehit retreated. Suddenly, his feet froze, and a wind blew from behind him. His steps quickened, and he clashed with Wuma once more. Much faster and more violently.
Malehit had seen the trace of the Wind Tao. Seeing the trace of a Tao alone was useless, but in the Sage realm, Malehit could use a technique to summon the power of the Tao and fight as if he had a stronger grasp of it.
The technique Malehit was using now was an intermediate Sage technique. Along with it came the speed of a seventh-level sage.
However, Wuma took another sip of liquor from the flask at his waist, bent his legs, and pulled away from Malehit's path. This caused Malehit to fall into the gap. The ease in his eyes remained.
So far, he didn't seem to have used any techniques.
One of Malehit's greatest weaknesses was his sword. It wasn't even a peak core weapon. It was only a high-level core weapon. It was one level lower than Wuma's weapon.
Malehit stood up. He wiped the mud from around his mouth. Like everyone else, he could see it: The immense difference in experience between them...
Wuma turned his head and looked at the two girls beside him. Apparently, the big guy had already run away.
"How sad that I have to kill them."
Both Lima and Maria's faces turned pale at that moment. Maria reached for her belt pouch. Lima took a step back. She was a healer. Even if she had been a warrior, Wuma was a sage!
"Do you think you can stop me, little one?"
Maria's bold behavior would be her downfall. At that moment, the black lines on Malehit's cheeks, which looked as if they had been drawn with chalk, suddenly intensified and began to grow longer.
Those ordinary-looking lines were stretching. Malehit's aura was rising. It was as if he had moved beyond the 5th stage.
Wuma glanced at him. He showed no expression. Then, he smiled.
"So this is the famous Stone Heart that allows you to defeat other geniuses."
The coal-like marks stretched and entered Malehit's clothes. Suddenly, Wuma's sword turned toward the young man.
"Is it also true that you are defenseless during the transformation?"
The Stone Heart was a mid-level Sage transformation technique. These techniques prepared the body for specific abilities. However, Stone Heart did more than just increase speed or power. It slightly increased all abilities. Of course, it consumed energy from the cores at an immense rate.
Malehit's Stone Heart was a defense transformation. Since it was an intermediate-level technique, his defense increased by two levels, and all his other stats increased by one level. He was now pseudo-rank 6 Sage.
Such a powerful technique had two major problems. First, it was difficult to master. Very few talents could truly succeed with it. It was ridiculous to waste time on it, yet Malehit had succeeded.
And the other flaw...
was duration.
At that moment, Wuma calmly watched the young man slowly complete his form.
"It seems it will be easier than I expected."
DANG...
Suddenly, Wuma turned and grabbed Maria by the neck. She had jumped on him. Maria suddenly turned pale with fear. Without Wuma noticing, she put the item she had taken out of her waist bag back in. Wuma noticed this, but he didn't see exactly what she had taken out. He wore a curious expression.
"A weapon? I wonder what could make you attack me."
First of all, it would be much easier if he killed her. Wuma knew this. As his fingers tightened around her, the young girl's legs dangled wildly in the air, creating powerful gusts of wind around them.
Suddenly, a bright light blinded them both, and Wuma's smile widened. His expression now carried a slight spark of excitement.
His hand moved with unexpected speed. As the sword came toward his arm, he reacted as if it weren't fast enough and parried it with his left hand.
"Sword of Morality. You really showed up to save the girl."
Nomier's white hair fluttered and an angry look appeared on his face. Although he was also a fifth-stage sage, he seemed to be easily fended off by this man. It didn't even look like he was using a technique.
He flung Maria back to Lima's side. At that moment, the thin sword in his hand twisted like a snake. It was directed at Nomier.
TIRIRIM!!!
"How...?"
Nomier looked at the sword wound running the length of his chest in shock. He was still holding his sword in the air, waiting to fight Wuma, who had already cut him.
Nomier suddenly wondered if he was holding a wooden sword.
No, it was a basic Sage weapon.
Still, Wuma had wounded him. He trembled for a moment. Wuma was now looking at him much more seriously. But his eyes were still hazy.
"What makes you think I won't kill you here? Especially after what I did to your friends?"
Suddenly, a gray figure grabbed Nomier in front of Wuma, saving him from the old man's threat. Lima, who had been healing Maria's neck, turned to Nomier. Their only hope for survival now lay with these two warriors.
But apparently, Nomier wasn't feeling well. Wuma's words had affected him badly; he frowned in pain. His friends... were they dead? He hadn't heard from them in a long time. Was it possible that Wuma had killed them?
Wuma, however, continued to look at him indifferently. Even though Malehit had saved Nomier, Wuma was confident. This level of speed wouldn't be enough to defeat him. He could still fight them.
"I should have expected you to do this, Wuma."
Wuma shifted his gaze slightly, looking out of the corner of his eye at the white-haired man who emerged from the forest with blood dripping from his clothes. His formerly gentlemanly appearance was now shattered, revealing the savagery of a true swordsman. But the blood was dry. So were the clumps of earth he carried. Apparently, he had barely escaped the effects of Erosion. Wuma's cheeks twitched slightly and a small smile appeared.
"John."
At the same moment, a voice that made everyone's eardrums vibrate rose in the sky.
"The fifth gate has been activated."