34 The death of Captain Moara

The spear hurtled towards Henry with tremendous speed and carrying the power of a Fifth Stage Warrior, causing the air pressure to slice a thin line through the snow. It was like a bullet in motion. Desperation set in as Henry realized he lacked the strength to fend off the attack and couldn't risk dodging it and putting Luther in harm's way. The old General was a valuable asset that he couldn't afford to lose this easily.

Henry rapidly activated the Imperial Sun God Technique as his heart pumped the Mana through his circuits at an incredible rate. It was like a river being filled by a huge rainstorm and then inundating the surroundings. At that moment, Henry rapidly raised both hands to his chest, ordering all that Mana to go towards his hands.

"Second Form – Fire Guardian!" – Henry murmured as his grey eyes shone in a bright red color. He activated again the Second Form, not minding the side effects, because he had to stop this attack.

Second Form – Fire Guardian was one of the first chapters in the Imperial Sun God Technique, which allowed the user to coat their bodies in an elemental Mana and create a shield over their skins. This shield could be easily manipulated to defend a precise area.

It was a basic skill, but essential to raise the overall chances of survivability. Henry had tried experience this technique during the last three months, getting quite used to it. However, the consequences were still there.

Soon, the Mana that flooded Henry's circuits was all directed to his arms as a red aura enveloped his hands, like tailored gloves. Luckily, Henry and Luther had already got down from their Snowfire Horse before the walls were breached, or else, the horses might have been startled by the fire, throwing him to the ground and worsening the situation by a lot.

Seeing the approaching spear, Henry only had the time to instinctively put himself in a half ready stance, with one foot slightly in front of the other, with the front foot facing forwards and the back foot turned at a 90-degree angle, evenly distributing his weight between both legs.

Henry stood straight, with his right arm tucked close to his body and the other one quite relaxed, with the fingers slightly curved. It was like a modified version of Karate's stance, that provided protection to his centerline and guaranteed a reaction to any attack.

Henry breathed deeply as the Moon State came into play, calming his mind and body. At that moment, Henry could feel every inch of his body, feeling the blood crazily circulating through his body and the Mana rampaging against his Mana Circuits, threatening to torn them down.

However, in that moment, the world around Henry seemed to slow down, as if everything was moving in slow motion. This lasted only for a brief instant, shorter than the time it takes to blink, but it was enough for Henry to analyze the incoming spear with precision.

Furthermore, in that state, Henry could even distinguish the mana flowing and enhancing the weapon. Regrettably, this feeling didn't last long and Henry was thrown back to the real time, with the spear coming rapidly towards him.

"I just need to slightly change the trajectory and hit in the right juncture." – Henry thought as he channeled even more mana to his left hand while reinforced his footing, planting his feet through the snow.

In that slow motion world, Henry was able to spot the exact spot where the mana injected in the spear left a vulnerable point. This point was where he needed to strike, which made him confident to turn the tides.

In a swift and firm motion, Henry spun his hips and brought his left hand to the side with lightning-fast precision. With a resounding strike, he targeted the very spot where the flow of mana in the spear was the weakest, making contact beside the spear's head with the back of his hand.

Henry met no hindrance in the moment of the contact, but soon a powerful force surged, wanting to push him away. However, Henry channeled even more Mana to his hand and pressured even further the weakest point of the spear.

Henry felt his bones cracking, but the adrenaline and Moon State prevented the pain from getting to his head. But soon, he felt the loss of the contact as the spear was successfully averted and sent towards the wall, piercing through it easily.

"I did it" – Henry sighed in relief, wanting to clench and raise his hands up. He had saved both him and Luther. Everything happened in a single second.

However, the situation didn't allow such commemorations. He could already see a man wearing full plate armor and holding a spear while running crazily towards him. He didn't recognize the man, but he knew that he wouldn't be an easy opponent.

"How much time do you need to recover?" – Henry hurriedly asked Luther, who was still breathing difficultly.

"My liege, I need two minutes!" – Luther said, raising two fingers to demonstrate the time needed to recover. In two minutes, he would have the strength necessary to kill a Fifth Warrior Stage. Luther hated to put his liege in danger, but there was nothing to be used.

Henry quickly regained his focus and turned his attention back to the opponent. Despite having consumed a significant amount of mana to use the Second Form while still in the Fourth Stage, his body did not break down like it did last time, and he was still able to continue fighting. Although weakened, he was determined to hold his ground and buy time.

With a swift movement, Henry unsheathed the sword by his waist and held it firmly in both hands, not wanting to risk dropping it as his left hand was temporarily useless.

He breathed deeply and chanted those known words. - "First Form – Fire Sword"

The king's sword glowed in bright red as he immediately dashed towards the enemy, who was armed with a simple wooden spear. Unknowingly, the world around him began to move slowly again, allowing Henry to see clearly the captain's chest going up and down as the hot air puffed out from his nostrils.

It was the same feeling as before.

"Only two minutes!" – Henry screamed inside his head as the Imperial Technique burned his body, fueling him to the maximum capacity. At that moment, he felt inhumane.

Suddenly and unnoticed, the captain charged forward, the spearhead aimed directly at Henry's heart. Henry sidestepped the attack and quickly countered with a horizontal swipe of his sword. The captain effortlessly parried the attack and countered with a swift thrust of the spear. Henry barely managed to dodge the attack, but the captain pressed forward, raining a barrage of swift and precise thrusts.

Henry was in a tight spot.

Even though the world around him had slowed down, the captain's attacks were getting faster and faster. On the other hand, Henry's body was getting weaker with each movement that overpassed the limits of his physical existence.

Henry was on the defensive, his sword flashing back and forth as he tried to parry the captain's relentless attack, forcing his body to overload. The captain's had deep experience in battles as he varied his attacks, feinting with a thrust only to follow it up with a sweeping attack that forced Henry to retreat.

"I just need an opening!" – Henry desperately screamed as he parried another attack coming at him. He wanted to inflict a major injure in this man, turning it easier to endure those two minutes.

As the fight continued, Henry felt his body weighing down as his movements became sluggish and his parries even less precise. At that moment, the captain saw an opening and lunged forward with the spearhead aimed directly at Henry's chest, ready to kill him.

Henry closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact. But as the spearhead closed in, the Imperial Sun God Technique reacted fiercely and, like a living being fighting for survival, it exploded past Henry's limitations, pumping more Mana through his circuits at a faster rate as blood oozed off from his nose and eyes, but the world slowed down even further, and his muscles grew bigger.

Henry felt like a God of Time.

Feeling that new sense of power and being able to clearly perceive the attacks, Henry suddenly sprang into action. With a quick and powerful twist of his body, he dodged the attack and swung his sword with all his might as the snow around them vaporized into thin air due to the burning aura covering the blade.

The captain, caught off guard, was unable to defend against the attack and the sword struck him, opening a ghastly wound on his chest as the smell of burning flesh permeated the environment.

The captain staggered back, his face a mask of shock and pain. He was one of the twelve captains of the City's Command and had been in that position for years, able to monitor the king in his daily life. However, he had no idea that this idiotic and arrogant being had this kind of power. When they betrayed the Royal Family, he was only a puny Third Warrior Stage and now, he displayed a similar strength of someone who entered the Fifth Stage.

"This motherfucker! You've done it now." – The captain gritted his teeth together, the veins on his forehead bulging as he boiled in rage. He placed his hand over the injury, trying to stop the blood and looked at the king, with hate evident in his eyes.

"I am gonna kill you!" – He spat blood on the clear ground and held his spear tightly with his free hand.

Not caring for the future, the captain began exploded his mana and burned his life force. He was ready to end this fight. Life force was the foundation for every warrior and if damaged, the individual had no way to breakthrough to the next realm and could even die at the spot.

A cold and heavy pressure weighted upon Henry as the might of the Fifth Stage was finally exuded from the man. Henry wanted to dash towards the injured man, seizing the opportunity to press forwards and rain a flurry of blows upon him.

However, just as he was about to take his first step, a sudden wave of dizziness hit him, causing him to fall powerless to his knees. The world around him finally returned to its normal state, making him lose that slow view of the surroundings, and the Imperial Sun God Technique stopped revolving, leaving him without strength or any remnants of Mana.

Seeing this scene, the captain's grinned even fiercely. – "DIE!"

The captain raised his spear and was about to pierce through Henry's shoulder. He wanted to make him suffer. However, just as the captain was about to strike, a figure appeared from the shadows, intercepting the blow with ease, and holding the spear with bare hands.

"I've come, my liege!" – Luther's enraged and haggard voice sounded like a guardian angel in Henry's ears, causing him to flash a tired grin - "Captain Moara, the traitor. I have warned you countless times to not abandon the Kingdom…you even dared to aim for my liege's life…such an imprudent animal."

The captain wanted to speak, but Luther didn't want to hear any excuses from a traitor. The old man used the spear to violently pull Moara towards him as his hand flashed at lighting speed towards his neck.

"*Ugh*" – A desperate and muffled sound sounded as the captain's throat was being slowly crushed in Luther's hands.

"You have betrayed your king and his people." - Luther spoke sternly, his eyes narrowed with anger as he tightened his grip on the captain's neck - "Your punishment is death."

The captain struggled, trying to burn more of his life force to break free from his hands, but Luther's grip made him feel powerless.

*Crack*

Luther squeezed the man's neck, making the life fade away from Moara's eyes as Luther dropped his lifeless body to the ground, like an unworthy trash being discarded. The death of the captain was accompanied by the complete fall of the city into Henry's hands.

Now, he just had to take the head of the main culprit, Icemit's Lord, one of the barons that betrayed him.