The Evernon Saga - The Journey Of Ascension, A Struggle For Godhood.

The 20 remaining bandits spread out into two groups, attacking the Warriors who were split up, guarding the left and right sides of the caravan. This made for two fronts of 5 versus 10, with each of the Warriors fighting two bandits at any given time.

With the exception of Reginald, of course.

31 bandits stood in front of him, and he approached them menacingly, and without hesitation.

***

At this point, William had already poked his head out of the carriage's flaps in an attempt to find out what was going on around him. He then crawled out the back of the carriage, crouching behind one of the wheels.

The sight that greeted him made him feel a feeling that he hadn't felt before in his entire life.

The Warriors that were seemingly noble, dignified and righteous before, were now gleefully partaking in life-or-death combat with 2 bandits at a time. They were outnumbered, but the Warriors welcomed the challenge. They had long since dismounted, and were fighting on the snow.

The bandits were being suppressed! They had trouble landing any attacks on the Warriors, and even if they did, they were mere scratches and grazes. Additionally, they were sliding backwards with every hit they blocked or took.

Meanwhile, the Warriors were firmly rooted to their spots and their feet only moved to dodge or to deliver a blow. They did not even attempt any fatal blows, and after some observation, it could be deduced that they were playing around with the bandits.

Wait...

William realized that that was what he had been doing all this time!

Ever since he had begun playing and fighting with friends, he had always enjoyed the thrill of fighting multiple opponents. Most of the others were not in favor of being on the receiving end of this idea, since it seemed too difficult or was unnecessarily taxing on the defender.

The Warriors however, did so with ease. In fact, they even seemed to welcome it. They yelled, jeered, taunted, challenged, and dominated entirely.

In a matter of seconds, his ideal, noble and vague image of how Warriors should be, crumbled into nothingness.

Only to be replaced with something much more substantial and realistic.

Good! Wonderful! Excellent!

Words like those bounced around William's mind at high speeds.

If the Warriors were any less fierce, ruthless, or frightening, then how were they to instil fear into those who wish to harm their people?!

It takes a certain type of person to protect the innocent with both warm passion, and burning fury!

William's blood began to boil, which he was able to perceive, and embraced it. With these feelings, he was sure that he was at least one tiny step further on the path to being a true Warrior!

William was sure of it. Somewhere deep down, he knew for a fact that if his blood was simmering right now, the Warriors' blood must surely be a roaring, rolling boil!

In the midst of the chaos, William heard Magnar's voice. He ran to the source, seeing Magnar trying to fight a bandit. There was another boy slumped up against the carriage, and a girl who was being held hostage.

Contrary to the norm, she was bursting with defiance, showing only minimal fear. William noticed her tender and worried, yet longing gaze towards the slumped boy, who was currently cursing at the bandit.

Using his innately high intelligence to connect the dots in a few seconds, William had somewhat grasped the gist of the situation.

However, there was something that William had not factored into his calculations. Magnar seemed to be breathing fast and shallow, whilst also being somewhat hunched forward. William's eyes widened when he noticed a pool of blood on the ground beneath where Magnar was standing, and a steady stream of blood dripping from his torso.

William's blood began to boil even further, as the hair on his arms began to rise. He felt chills going up and down his back, as he burned with an anger capable of shaking the very earth itself!

"Magnar! I'm coming!" shouted William as he charged towards Magnar and the bandit, a battle cry erupting from his throat.

***

The Warriors were all currently locked in combat with 2 or more bandits at a time, but when they heard a young, but fiery voice sounding out, and an agile figure charging fearlessly across the battlefield, grins broke out on all of their faces.

A few of the Warriors nearer to the back of the caravan, and therefore closer to William and Magnar, made eye contact and nodded in mutual agreement.

"Keep an eye on those two! Defend them if anything goes wrong, but otherwise, this is their fight!"

"YEAH!"

***

A minute earlier, just as William poked his head out of the carriage...

Reginald's blades had already been unsheathed, as the bandits rushed towards him en masse. The bandit leader, however, stayed far behind them, wary of Reginald's power. He had sent his men in to test the waters.

He was the only Tier 2 individual in his ragtag bandit group, the rest were a roughly even mix of early to middle stage Tier 1s and peak Tier 0 mortals. The men with him were all the middle Tier 1s and some early Tier 1s, with the rest of the Tier 1s and 0s divided amongst the sides and rear of the caravan.

His best men were with him, yet, his anxiety when facing Reginald was in no way quelled.

***

Reginald viewed the foes in front of him as cowardly trash, who would even stoop so low as to harm children to achieve their goals.

He would show them no mercy.

First rule of combat, break their charge.

Reginald's Aura flared, and washed out to a range of 25 meters in front of him, enveloping the approaching bandits.

Almost immediately, their movements slowed down considerably. Some of those with weaker mental strength even stopped moving completely and began to clutch at their throats in panic.

Due to Reginald's water-aspected Aura, they were undergoing a mental attack and suppression simultaneously, unique to the element of Water.

They couldn't move their bodies as fast as before. More precisely, they couldn't will their bodies to move at their normal speeds, as their minds perceived that they were submerged in water!

Additionally, they would even experience a sensation akin to suffocation. Despite being little more than an illusion, it was more than sufficient to temporarily break down the bandits' formation and charge.

This gave Reginald a few seconds of time before their entire group could arrive and surround him, which would put him at a distinct disadvantage.

But these few seconds were all that he needed.

Second rule of combat, strike first, plant fear into their hearts to make them hesitate.

Reginald made his move, dashing towards the two bandits at the very front of the group.

When he was more than 10 meters away, his footsteps and style of running changed abruptly, as his feet seemed to glide and spin over the ground smoothly like a pond skater on water.

Original Movement Technique: Whirling Waters!

Absolutely brimming with speed and power from the immense momentum that he had built up, Reginald slashed down, severing the sword arm of one of the bandits cleanly and with zero resistance. This reduced the bandit's HP by a sizeable chunk, but Reginald didn't activate any skills to check the damage he had done.

He simply didn't care, and didn't feel the need to, for none of them were going to survive after incurring his wrath.

The one-armed bandit's mental state fluctuated and weakened after his arm was dismembered. This made him completely fall under the effects of Reginald's Aura. He tried to scream, but all that came out were strange gargling noises due to the water-aspected Aura's suppression making him perceive himself drowning.

Thus, he gargled in immense pain.

The bandit leader gulped nervously, for he had long guessed that those beautifully forged blades would be as deadly as their beauty.

However, Reginald's slash was wide and made his body hunch over, exposing many openings. It was a slash that was similar to an all-out haymaker.

This made him look like an amateurish fool with no form or technique, who had landed his first strike due to luck. The other bandit at the very front observed this, grinning nefariously, and was about to launch an attack before he witnessed a sight that froze him completely.

Reginald's muscles tensed up as his face was one full of concentration.

Original Combat Technique: Flowing River!

Using the still-present momentum from his first overly wide and powerful swing, Reginald twisted his body, and flowed into a second slash with his other sword, dismembering the bandit's remaining arm.

He kept flowing and flowing, cutting off both legs and then the head of the bandit. In mere moments, he was nothing more than a headless and limbless torso, all gargles ceased, as the snow turned a deep red from the flood of blood.

This was all executed in less than 2 seconds.

As the river flows fast and furiously, the rocks wail in terror!

Flowing River is a combat technique invented by Reginald himself, which he uses to increase the power of every slash to the very maximum his body could produce. This was combined with another self-made technique, Whirling Waters, to add momentum and rotation to his strikes, and therefore additional speed.

With these two techniques combined and seamlessly executed, Reginald could fight many foes equal in power to him at once. He was even capable of holding his own for a while against foes who weren't overwhelmingly stronger or faster than him.

The other bandit at the very front was paralyzed with fear, as couldn't help but shiver as he saw the wondrous blue l.u.s.ter of those two beautiful blades, now covered in the blood of his very own brother.

They were the fastest in their group, and now one would breathe, let alone move, no more.

He roared with grief and rage as he lunged at Reginald with his sword, only to briefly see multiple blue flashes of light and feel multiple pangs of excruciating pain. His vision went dark as his headless and limbless body fell to the ground, staining the crimson snow even further with the rich shade of fresh blood.

2 down, 29 left.

Upon seeing two of their comrades swiftly and ruthlessly chopped up by Reginald, the rest of the bandits ceased their charge. Cold sweat broke out on their backs as their knees began to shake.

None of them wanted to be the first to step up to that fearsome figure in front of them.

Reginald's expression was one of thunderous rage. Killing those two did not satisfy him in any way. His anger issues were nowhere near settling down.

It's been a while since I've fought like this, I can't wait to kill them all...

An evil smile broke out on Reginald's face, which was in stark contrast with his incredibly furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, forming a scowl on the upper half of his face.

Internally, he was faced with a dilemma, but he gave in after minimal moments.

I've got to use it if I want to end this quickly and go save the kids!

Reginald's Aura began to turn unstable, as the effects of it receded from the bandits and went back into him. However, his eyes became bloodshot as his body seemed to distort the air around him. A rich, dense, and terrifying bloodl.u.s.t suffused the air around them. It was not visible, and neither was it tangible, but it was definitely felt by the bandits.

Reginald struggled to keep his gaze focused, as many veins and blood vessels began to protrude unnaturally from every visible centimeter of his skin. His gaze seemed to wander between being spaced out, and being focused, before he managed to lock them into being the latter.

Alteration of Natural Passive: Chained Berserker Form!

Reginald's Strength, Agility, and Intellect stats all increased by 50%, making him vastly stronger and faster than before, as well as granting him more mental power, boosting his reaction speed and perception.

He sprinted at full-tilt towards the still-frozen bandits, roaring ferociously.

"DIIIEEEE!!!"

When he was 5 meters away, Reginald horizontally swung one of his swords, hitting nothing but air. The bandits were briefly bewildered, until the air was suddenly coloured crimson by the spurting of blood from 5 headless bodies, and the space above them was filled with the sight of 5 tumbling heads.

7 down, 24 to go.

Cutting Intent: Formless Blade Arts, Range Extend!

Using his rich, powerful Cutting Intent, Reginald extended his reach by forming extremely long, invisible blades that protruded far past the length of his swords. They were intangible and would cut through anything weaker than it with absolute force.

It had one weakness, however.

Regardless if the enemy possessed Cutting or any other physical Intent, as long as their attainments and understanding in their chosen Intent far surpassed his, then this utilisation of Cutting Intent would be instantly destroyed upon contact with the enemy's Cutting Intent and therefore nullified.

Fortunately, against an untrained, uncouth, ragtag bunch of bandits, they could do nothing but wait for death to claim them.

Reginald's attack range was originally just above 1.5 meters, but had now been extended to 7 meters!

Using Whirling Waters, Reginald skirted around the 5 corpses, building up momentum and diving right into the heart of the group. After building up a frightening amount of momentum and speed, he used Flowing River consecutively, chopping up all bandits in his range. This time, he did so wantonly, leaving them in corpses or body parts of various sizes.

Using the momentum and speed of his movements, Reginald was moving while slashing instead of standing still, essentially becoming a whirlwind of blood and death!

He was a blender, while the bandits were the ingredients!

The boost to Reginald's stats gave him enough speed to execute this reckless slaughter. He cleaved furiously, his countenance one of pure rage, yet it simultaneously possessed a devilish grin.

The upper and lower half of his face was as different as night and day.

With blood flowing more freely than tears at a funeral, the slaughter that was underway frightened the remaining bandits horribly. Every cleave of each of Reginald's swords reaped multiple lives, all of their HPs plummeting to 0 faster than Reginald's slashes.

In just a mere few seconds, he had claimed another 16 lives!

23 down, 8 to go.

The bandit leader felt nauseous and almost threw up upon confirming his suspicions.

This man...it's him! We're all going to die here!

The bandit gulped and couldn't stop himself from sweating and unconsciously, slowly moved backwards.

The bandit leader had had his suspicions, but with this madman having mentioned earlier that his name was Reginald, it's now confirmed!

The most notorious bandit hunter alive, and known throughout Evernon to be one of, if not the most powerful and experienced Tier 1 existence there is.

His strength lies not in the advantage of brute strength or raw speed like hooligans of higher Tiers, but instead focuses on techniques. He specializes in methods of applying the strength and speed that one possesses to its maximum potential. He fights elegantly, yet savagely. Messily, yet beautifully.

Reginald was known to be a genius when it came to perception and innovation of skills. His ability to create seamless and efficient techniques and skills entirely from his mind and theory, as well as being capable of mastering them within short spans of time, he was fearsome!

However, Reginald also had a reputation of being a tragic genius, with every other quality present other than the talent to ascend.

What is talent? No one knows!

However, everyone has a certain level of it, and that is the final determining factor of whether one can ascend, and how far one will go.

Vice versa, a lack of talent is an unbreakable and disheartening shackle binding those who possess exceptional qualities in other areas.

Reginald is the best example of this.

This man in front of them, a tragic genius, is a bona fida berserker, who possesses the fluidity and adaptability of water. He is also known to be more intelligent than most scholars and learned men. Made famous by his trash talk and facial expression during battle, it can only be him!

The 'Raging River', Reginald Riverborn!

The bandit leader was attempting to plan his escape, but the likelihood of success was depressing. He gulped down saliva with much difficulty, but it was nowhere nearly as difficult as moving, for he was already frozen with fear.

They had to gamble on a surprise attack! It was their only chance!

"Hey, you with the bow, what are you waiting for? Fire at him!", whispered the bandit leader furiously.

"Y-yes!"

Nocking his long bow shakily and drawing it nervously, the bandit readied himself, and released. The arrow flew out with the 'peng' of the bow string, towards the back of Reginald's unguarded head.

Reginald is a trained Warrior, who possesses an ocean of experience and is a survivor of countless life or death battles. Thanks to this, he has developed an extremely keen perception over the years, which rivalled that of Tier 2 Lords.

Sensing the arrow coming, he completed his current slash, ending another life after cutting its vessel into two halves.

24 down, 7 to go.

Reginald stabbed his right sword into the ground, and mentally deactivated his Chained Berserker Form. It boosted his stats greatly, at the sake of sacrificing focus and the fluidity of his movements.

He winced as his muscles g.r.o.a.n.e.d in pain, and slight fatigue assaulted him simultaneously. However, his concentration was back in full force, and he stretched his hand out towards the arrow.

The bandit leader managed to crack a gloating smile.

You fool! You wish to sacrifice that hand to stop the arrow? No matter, we might have a slight chance of killing you afterwards...

As the bandit leader eagerly awaited the sight of the arrow piercing Reginald's hand, something unbelievable happened within just over one second.

Reginald grabbed the arrow by its shaft swiftly and masterfully, neither receiving nor dispersing any of the force that drove it. Instead, he twisted his body and used his hand to redirect the flight path of the arrow, essentially, curving his body with it.

Original Combat Technique: Shifting Current!

The arrow was redirected in a semi circle, as Reginald spun his body explosively, at the same speed as the arrow, before throwing it powerfully yet seemingly delicately. If the arrow was replaced with a dart instead, it would have been a flawless throw!

The rotational movement preserved the force behind the arrow, whereas the throw added additional speed and power to it.

It shot out like a blur from Reginald's hand, piercing cleanly through the bow-wielding bandit's forehead, and being lodged in the throat of another bandit standing behind him. They both crumpled to the ground without restraint, with the second bandit twitching and choking on the ground for a short while before being still forevermore.

Everyone who witnessed it had frozen entirely. Those who hadn't seen it stopped fighting anyway, to look at the reason why everyone had frozen, only for them to freeze too.

All of those who were present and locked in combat, had frozen for one of two reasons. They had either witnessed the mind-blowing feat of catching the arrow and returning it, or the hill of dismembered body parts from the battle on Reginald's end.

A lone man, wielding two blades of a deep, mesmerizing blue l.u.s.ter, were partially dyed crimson from the blood of bandits that it was soaked in. The snow underfoot that used to be a pure, flawless white, was now suffused with so much blood, that one gulped unconsciously simply upon seeing it.

Regardless of his Tier, his past, or his character, Reginald is both a genius and a fearsome expert, in every sense of the words!