Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

"Jack" Manuel called out, after rolling on the ground a few times from the force of the push, he was finally able to stop himself only to see his comrade for years dying in the hands of his enemy.

"Dammit," Manuel cursed and immediately got up from the ground. He put the Horn of Voranius back inside his space ring and faced Donte.

"I should have guessed that you wouldn't go down so easily Donte. It was my failure that caused Jack's death. If I hadn't lowered my guard at that time, this wouldn't have happened. But all is fine… they all were prepared to put their life in the line for this plan. With that said, Donte you made a huge mistake by not killing me. You will not get a second chance like this again".

Manuel spat in frustration and took out his [B] tier long sword. Mana poured out of his body and quickly covered him in a layer of mana armour. Not only that, the sword in his hand was also covered in a layer of mana that raised its lethalness even higher.

Multiple defensive skills of the rare class [Armoured Gladiator] were also activated and only then did Manuel feel relieved. His caution was warranted since the man he was facing was one of the top five assassins in their entire kingdom.

Donte Goodman, the man who was called the one strike assassin. His legends and valour were widespread across the entire southern region of the kingdom as the assassin who never failed his mission.

Along with his powerful rare class [Eclipse Night Assassin] he was one of the few people who could take the spot of the top five assassins. So if he didn't take it seriously, Manuel knew that his head would surely fly today.

He gestured something with his hands to his subordinates in the distance and turned towards Donte to face him with his full power.

"What's with the gloomy face, Donte? You have just killed my second in command, you should be a little delighted" Manuel kept his eyes glued on his opponent. In a battle between powerhouses like them who stood at the peak of power in this kingdom, even a single mistake might cause them their life.

Thus even though to a third party it looked like they didn't move from their position, in reality, they had exchanged several metal moves that gauged for the weakness and opportunity in the other party's guard.

"Manuel you bastard… you will pay for what you have done. You have used the Horn of Voranius, the other guild must have also heard it and are surely on their way here. Don't think that you can continue acting like this for long".

Donte's angry words just fell when his figure disappeared and appeared beside Manuel like a ghost. The daggers on his hand danced as if they were alive and attacked his opponent unceasingly. They came from all sides and angles trying to break away the other party's guard.

CLANG... CLANG… CLANG….

However, it was either deflected by Manuel's sword, mana armour, armour or his defensive skills. The guy might not be the top warrior in their kingdom, but he was like a tank that could take thousands of attacks without budging.

Realising that it was useless chipping at the guard of his opponent like this, Donte stepped his attacks a notch up.

[Turbulent Blade Mastery]… the speed of his attacks became so fast that it became illusory. To a third person eye, it might even look like he had grown multiple more hands.

"Ahhh!!… so annoying. Just because your class is more rarer than mine, do you think you can look down on me? My Baskerville guild isn't an opponent that anybody can just step on. [Gladiator's Revolt]".

Manuel grit his teeth, activated [Gladiator's revolt] skill that pushed everything around him dozens of meters back and drastically increases his speed in exchange for a portion of his health.

With his boosted speed, it was Manuel's turn to go on the offensive. The advantage of a sword over the daggers could be seen in their exchange, every attack from Manuel needed two of Donte's daggers to deflect.

When it came to wide swings, slashing ability and reach, a sword was absolutely superior to a dagger. However, a sword needed some space and room to display its power which cannot be done if your speed is slower than your opponent's.

Skilled dagger users like Donte, knew this very well and hence never allowed the sword user to have that room. That is why, Manuel used the [Gladitaor's revolt] to mount the pressure. He couldn't just sit on the defensive and allow his opponent to chip away at his defence.

But Donte was no pushover either… he immediately understood the intention of his opponent and closed that room.

"Ability conferment- [Greater Force], [Power Strike]"..

"What?! Dammit… [Mana Armament: Shield] [Gladiator's Halo]"…

"[One Stab Kill]"….

Manuel's eyes opened wide when he saw Donte actually closing the distance instead of retreating and using his ability conferment once again. Immediately, he used his mana to create a shield and activated his defensive skills.

The daggers in Donte's hands moved like two poisonous snakes before intertwining together and pouncing upon his opponent's neck.

CLANG… a loud clashing noise reverberated causing ripples to form in the air. These invisible ripples were filled with destructive energy and anything that it touched would either burst apart from within or get slashed in half like the trees around them.

Those guild members from the Baskerville guild who thought that they could help their guild master were forced to retreat after seeing that clash. If they jumped in between that fight, they would only be a dead weight.

The clash of two guild masters was in a realm of its own.

Puff… Donte spewed out a mouthful of blood. The damage from the Song of demise was greater than he thought. His internal organs was in a mess and his muscles were starting to tear, using his powerful skills at this moment only seemed to worsen his condition.

"Hehe… what's wrong Donte? That was weaker than your previous attack. Are you perhaps unable to gather your strength?" Manuel remarked with a wide smile on his face. Although he acted all unperturbed, internally he knew how close to death he was.

That attack earlier from Donte, managed to pierce through the Mana shield that he had created using mana armament, his [mana armour] and his defences. If not for the fact that he had sacrificed his left hand to deflect the attack away from his neck, he would have been done for.

Blood flowed down from his pierced hand and shoulder kicking his natural recovery skills; however, it was unable to stop the blood from flowing out and wounds from closing.

"This?!!… [A] tier twin daggers Proliferate. I see, no wonder my weapon wasn't able to break past your daggers. The rank of my sword was inferior compared to yours" the rank of Manuel's sword was only [B] tier, even though it was refined till refinement level [5] in terms of pure ability, it was still inferior.

"Haha, I thought we were equal in terms of power but I guess you were always hiding your powers huh? Nevertheless, it is my victory… do you know why?" Manuel raised his hand and stopped his subordinates from getting any closer.

He kept his gaze on Donte and spoke in a deranged manner "You all, don't bother with me. I will stop the guild leader of the phantom light guild, you all use this chance to deliver their guild the final blow".

With the exception of Donte, almost all of the guild members of the phantom light guild were knocked unconscious by the Horn of Voranius. If the Baskerville guild wanted to deliver them the last blow, this was the perfect opportunity.

The members of the Baskerville guild abided by their order and turned their attention to the people that were lying on the ground in the distance. The unconscious members of the phantom light guild weren't even able to perceive how they were knocked unconscious and killed.

One by one, they died, fallen at the weapons of the people who had journeyed together with them all this while.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" seeing his guild member's chest being pierced by his opponent's weapons and magic, Donte's eyes crimson with fury. He was so enraged that all of his reasoning that kept him sane, left his side at this moment and he flew into a frenzy.

He no longer bothered with the condition of his body and activated all of his augmenting skills. [Ultra Enhanced Agility], [Ultra Enhanced Endurance], [Steadfast], [Unleash], [Eclipse Engulf]…

Donte's power had rocketed up and reached newer heights. The power of a level 617 [Eclipse Night Assassin] and the guild leader of the phantom light guild were in full display.

Facing Donte at full power, even Manuel couldn't take it easy. A shadow of concern flashed over his face and the moment he blinked his eyelids, Donte was gone.

Manuel scanned his surroundings in a hurry, his senses were at full alert prepared for any attacks from any direction yet no matter how long he stood guard, Donte never appeared. Flustered, Manuel sank into deep thought and only realised what was going on when he heard loud scream coming over from the direction where his guild members was.

"It can't be…".

Manuel turned only to see Donte massacring his guild members who were trying to kill the unconscious members of the phantom light guild. Every slash and every hack of those daggers contained 100 % of Donte's strength and fury.𝒇𝒓eewe𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃𝒆𝚕.co𝘮