Chapter 212: Breakthrough

Looking at Hori before him, Rod had a premonition that every move he made was under the other’s surveillance. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of powerful organization could possess such strength. From their earlier confrontation, he could tell that Hori was no ordinary person—he was an imperial-level warrior! Clearly, his status within that organization wasn’t very high. So who were the others? Could they be sacred or even divine-level? But there was no time for Rod to think further—the dangerous situation prevented him from delving deeper, and Hori’s words also interrupted his thoughts.
“Get ready. They’ve started attacking. Remember what I said: no matter what happens after we break through, don’t worry about it. Just run in the direction of Collins Forest. We’ll cover your retreat!”
With a serious expression, Hori repeated his instructions. Meanwhile, a large sword about four feet long appeared in his hand, emitting a glaring chill that was almost blinding. His entire body radiated crimson combat energy, demonstrating his imperial-level strength. Judging from the color of the energy, he was at least at the mid-imperial level or higher!
Nodding firmly, without time to ponder further, Rod quickly drew out his Dark Dragon and fought alongside Hori. About three meters away from the door, they focused intently on it, waiting for the right moment.
Tense to the extreme, sensing footsteps approaching outside, the two exchanged a glance. “Six people!” they said in unison. Yes, six people. They reached the same conclusion from the footsteps and could even tell that two of them were extremely strong—their steps were light yet steady, with perfect rhythm, something only extraordinary individuals could achieve.
As the footsteps grew louder, Rod and Hori’s faces turned pale. Their hearts leaped into their throats as they instinctively gripped their weapons tighter. They took a slight step forward, taking a deep breath to calm their nerves while preparing to strike and break through.
“Tap tap tap…” The footsteps had reached the door. Each step felt like stepping on someone’s heart, causing unbearable discomfort.

Rod even felt cold sweat seep onto his forehead and flow down his cheeks, yet his eyes remained fixed on the door without blinking.
“Get ready!” Taking a deep breath, Hori whispered to Rod, gripping his large sword tighter as it trembled slightly. Rising slightly off the ground, a faint buzzing sound could be heard from his sword.
“Boom…” A loud noise erupted. At the exact moment Hori spoke, the door was violently kicked in and flew inward with a tremendous crash, followed by several figures rushing in swiftly.
“Kill them!” The moment the door was broken, Hori shouted loudly. As those figures rushed in, Rod and Hori dodged behind the flying door and charged forward immediately.
Red and yellow lights flashed as they rushed into the crowd. With a loud roar, the Shadowless Sword was unleashed. Without bothering to engage in a fight, Rod, under Hori’s cover, charged boldly outward.
The opponents clearly hadn’t expected Rod to be fully prepared for their attack, let alone that there would be another person in his room—a skilled one at that. Caught off guard, they were repelled by Rod and Hori’s powerful moves. With a fierce slash, they were forced back, and the two quickly passed through the group, kicked in through the opposite door, and rushed in before jumping out through the window and disappearing from sight.
“Hurry! Chase after them! Don’t give them a chance to escape!” The middle-aged man at the head shouted after realizing what had happened.
Rod and his companions’ reactions caught him off guard. This mission absolutely couldn’t fail—success was non-negotiable. If it failed, not to mention dealing with the blame from above, Rod might not get another chance like this for a long time.
At the middle-aged man’s shout, the group rushed toward the opposite room and, without hesitation, jumped out through the window! Meanwhile, on the streets, the main force had already begun fighting against Rod and the suddenly appeared man.
Blades flashed, shouts rang out, and screams filled the air.

“Hurry up and break through! We can’t get trapped here!” Horri shouted anxiously. More and more people rushed over, along with the pursuers behind them. Three imperial-level warriors and six gold warriors—quite a formidable force. With these soldiers, silver warriors, and bronze warriors as well, it should be no problem even to slay a saint-level warrior. If the two of them continued to be surrounded, they could only resist bravely but uselessly.

As soon as he spoke, Horri swung his great sword downward. The powerful wind generated by the sword carried a fierce momentum, creating a gust of wind and leaving behind a several-meter-long silver-white light curtain that was dazzlingly bright.

Boom… A loud noise erupted. The soldiers in front didn’t even have time to dodge before being cut in half and flying everywhere, sparking a bloodstorm. After the sword struck the ground, the immense force caused the ground to tremble, with visible cracks spreading from the point of impact. The power was so extraordinary that everyone was stunned. Rod knew that if he were faced with such a strike, he would have no chance of resisting and would likely end up cut in half like the others.

“Go!” Horri grabbed Rod’s hand and shouted, then rushed straight outside.

“Don’t think about escaping! Come down!” Seeing Rod and the other person about to break through the encirclement, the middle-aged man grew anxious. With a loud cry, he leaped up, leaving a trail of white light, and his long sword whistled as it approached from behind them.

“Leave it to us. You go first!” With another cry, two dazzling red lights appeared ahead, rushing rapidly toward them. It was two imperial-level warriors. Rod hadn’t expected there to be two such powerful fighters lurking ahead. At this sight, his heart sank, and despair set in. But before he could prepare to fight back, he heard a voice. Turning to look at Horri, he saw his face relaxed, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.

Even if he was stupid, Rod realized that these people were the reinforcements Horri had mentioned—clearly part of their group. The two of them quickly flew past and stood in front of Rod, blocking the middle-aged man from advancing further.

The arrival of two imperial-level powerhouses instantly turned the situation around. With their combined strength, they blocked the path of the ambushers, especially that middle-aged man and the group of gold-rank warriors behind him. The two of them showed no signs of retreating despite facing three imperial-level powerhouses and several gold-rank warriors, proving that their strength had reached the pinnacle of the imperial level.

“Go quickly! Remember what I said—I’ll cover your retreat. Hurry up!” Horri urged anxiously, pushing the dazed Rod.

The opportunity had arisen; those people were blocked ahead. As for the remaining soldiers, not to mention with his own help, Rod believed he could handle them even alone.

“Thank you. See you later!” Without hesitation, Rod, who had high regard for their strength, bowed in gratitude and ran headlong forward without looking back—not in the direction of Collins Forest!

Rod wasn’t stupid enough to let the enemies easily figure out his escape route and create more trouble for himself. The direction he was heading was merely to confuse them.

Running at full speed, feeling the wind howling by his ears, Rod secretly breathed a sigh of relief as he broke free from the encirclement. The danger was temporarily over! The sounds of fighting behind him grew fainter, and the screams grew muffled. Rod didn’t dare look back, fearing someone might follow.

After running for a long time until he was far away from that place, Rod finally stopped and stood there, bent over, gasping for breath.

“Damn it!” he sighed inwardly. If he hadn’t been too cautious today, he wouldn’t have encountered so much trouble. If he had made a decisive decision in the canyon back then, such danger wouldn’t have arisen. Thinking of this, Rod sighed again. One mistake had nearly cost him his life. If not for Horri… He didn’t continue thinking. It was a lesson—he would act decisively next time something like this happened.

“Since you all see me as a demon, utterly evil, hunting me relentlessly and issuing a warrant for my arrest without giving me any chance, don’t blame me if I become ruthless. If you’re unkind, I’ll be unjust. From today onward, I, Knight Rod, will no longer belong to this continent!”

Staring coldly at the sky, Rod growled through gritted teeth. The constant pursuit, warrants, and bounty hunters had pushed him to the limit. When his anger built to a certain point, it erupted—just like now!

“Hmph, as expected, a demon abomination, stubborn to the core. Don’t worry, you won’t get that chance! You’re doomed to die today!” Yet, before Rod could move forward, a cold voice came from behind, causing his face to change drastically as his body froze in place. It was obvious—someone had caught up to them, and not just one person; there were three distinct breathing sounds, indicating the presence of three people.