The armed crowd, which had been advancing, halted, staring at the headless corpse on the ground. They looked at each other, but no one dared to take another step forward.
Scott frowned at the scene before him. He shouted again, "What are you afraid of!"
"Do you not want to receive the baptism of the blood cup anymore?"
"It turns out that compared to death, you'd rather remain the trash and refuse in the eyes of the nobles and royals, live out your days in a daze, and then pass on the status of 'low-born' that you inherited for a lifetime to your children, letting them continue to be… trash in the eyes of those people!"
"I don't want that!"
His words reawakened the villagers' scattered will, allowing them to overcome their fear of death in a short time. A young man swung a wooden club towards Bai En's head, his eyes bloodshot and red, his expression ferocious as he roared, "Why are you stopping us!"
"Wouldn't it be better if we just beat him to death honestly?!"
The burning wooden club brought out sparks as it swung.
The Slash of Beauty in Bai En's hand was faster. A shimmering white arc flashed by, and the swinging wooden club was shortened by a large section. Only a whoosh of air missing its target echoed. As the young man stood stunned, the back of the Slash of Beauty struck his face. The immense force from the blade sent him flying backward, and he fell heavily to the ground.
"Pfft—"
"Do you really think there's a pie falling from the sky for you?" Bai En removed the hood of his blood-patterned black robe, revealing his delicate face as he looked coldly at everyone. "Baptism?"
"It's merely a forbidden spell activated by ancient grimoire tools."
"...Putting aside whether there will be side effects afterward, just thinking of crossing classes with this is a joke. A bunch of guys blinded by greed."
"Do you... do you even know what you're doing right now? ...Murder, and then using the power gained from murder to rebel. The nature of this is no longer that of thieves, but traitors!"
"I don't object to your revolution for survival or for some so-called great cause, but if it's merely for selfish desires, then please, while you're prepared to kill, also be prepared to be killed by others."
"You brat! What do you know?!" Scott, to stabilize the "morale," once again preached the doctrine among the crowd: "We are saving this deformed country."
"The land is divided into three classes, people are divided into three classes. Take a good look, why are they born nobler than us, and we must be inferior to them?"
"I've already said it, there are many unfair things in this world."
"But it is a great mistake to inflict your own unfairness on others. Just as you, for the sake of so-called 'fairness' and 'equality,' kill many innocent people, this is wrong."
Scott clutched the blood cup. 'If he didn't have to kill people to draw blood for the baptism ritual, he might be able to stand on the moral high ground and condemn these Magic Knights, but right now...'
"Whoever strikes first and injures him, I will let them be the first to receive the baptism ritual!" He used the same trick to incite the villagers, while signaling the remaining thieves around him to prepare for action.
Scott's words did not instantly cause the crowd to riot again, but they were still restless. On one side was the ambition to gain powerful strength, and on the other was the submission to Bai En's ferocity and intimidation.
Bai En was naturally very aware of this.
He lightly swung the Slash of Beauty in his hand, and the still-wet blood splattered onto the faces of the people in front. The crowd retreated a step as the few people in front of them backed away.
The surrounding thieves no longer waited. Following Scott's instructions, they launched an attack on Bai En and his three companions. As they moved, Bai En also began his own actions. Capturing the leader is the unchanging first principle of the battlefield, so he went straight for Scott.
Fragil, Luck, and Magna behind him, meanwhile, faced the attacks of several thieves.
"Who are these two guys?" The hooligan youth Magna still hadn't figured out the situation until now. He looked at the thieves who suddenly appeared to block the villagers, then said a bunch of inexplicable things, and then more thieves surrounded them.
Did the internal dispute break down?
"What the heck? I don't understand at all!"
"Idiot Magna, they are members of the Aqua Deer. They're probably on a mission, and we suddenly barged in!"
Luck was a little excited facing the many thieves, thinking he could finally have a big fight. He turned his head and saw Magna still scratching his head in place, and kindly reminded him so he wouldn't die easily.
"Eh? Is that so? And... why do you, a battle maniac, know all this?"
"I met him once when Asta and I were on a mission in the Magic Palace."
"I see, then what should we do now...?"
Before Magna could finish his sentence, Luck slapped him away. As Magna got up from the ground, ready to curse Luck, he saw Luck kick away a blood-red, wickedly angled, sharp chain that emitted extremely weak magic, using his armored lightning boots.
"Don't die, Magna!"
With that, Luck charged out wildly, his speeding figure like a blue electric current.
Magna got up from the ground, the baseball bat he constructed from flames radiating extremely high heat and temperature. He pouted, "You worry about yourself, battle maniac!"
Fragil created an environment that weakened perception with her snow magic, while using frost and snow for attack and defense. As a Third-Class Intermediate Magic Knight granted by the Wizard King, she was not weak.
The Slash of Beauty, like a silver arrow, flew over the heads of the crowd on its own, sharply thrusting towards Scott.
Looking at that swift strike, the grimoire, emitting a scarlet glow, floated beside him and began flipping pages rapidly.
"Blood Scale Magic, Beast Scale Soul Armor!"
Magic constructed a blood-colored scaled giant beast figure that enveloped Scott. The Slash of Beauty stabbed straight through, its sharp sword tip colliding with the sturdy beast armor, pausing for a few breaths, and then the blood-scaled giant beast's figure began to crack like glass!
"Bang!"
The figure of the Blood Scale Beast dissipated. Scott looked at the scene before him in disbelief. 'How could this be? This was a defensive magic that even three Magic Knights working together couldn't break before... and now it shattered so easily?'
'What the heck is this guy?'
Before he could think more, the shimmering white long blade came closer and closer, aiming straight for his chest. Scott instinctively raised both hands to block. Blood-red scales suddenly emerged from his arms and extended to his cheeks, making him look somewhat demonic.
The 'Beast Scale Soul Armor' he constructed with Blood Scale Magic was originally a two-layered creation magic, but very few people had ever been able to break through the outer layer of the Blood Scale Beast, so the internal body scales rarely appeared.
The blood scales attached to his body were several times sturdier than before. Scott was confident he could stop this sharp long blade. For a brief moment, he even began to think about the offensive creation magic he would use next.
The Slash of Beauty collided with the blood scales on his arms. Scott was pushed back by the impact, sliding backward. Countless scattered sparks flew at the point where the blade and scales met.
The impact force on his arms grew smaller and smaller.
Scott grinned. 'I stopped it, next... I'll break this weapon!'
As he prepared to reach out and touch it, Bai En had somehow crossed the crowded people, flashing to appear in front of the Slash of Beauty, his slender fingers gripping the hilt.
"! So fast!"
"「Eight」!"
An invisible slash bloomed from the tip of the Slash of Beauty...
💎 Power Stone Bonus: Every 100 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter
🌟 5-Star Review Bonus: Every 5 (5-Star) Reviews = +2 Extra Chapters
💬 Comment Speed-Up: If any chapter reaches +10 Comments = The Next Chapter Will Be Released Faster!
🔥 Want to Read Ahead? If you want to read advanced chapters, check out my buymeacoffee(.)com/Oyunbozan