CHAPTER 260

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CHAPTER 260

296 AC

POV THIRD PERSON

Aermir had proposed the hunting party with an entirely different intention. While his initial idea involved different plans, the opportunity presented itself, and this was far better. The insults about his parents had ignited a burning rage. Though he wanted to kill them, it would ruin his plans. Aermir understood the strategic importance of his plans and couldn't let personal feelings jeopardize them.

Instead, he decided on a different course of action. Beating them within an inch of their lives would serve as a grim precursor to the events that would unfold. The forest now held an undercurrent of tension as Aermir walked towards them.

While walking towards them with slow steps, he cast his buffs with whispering voices and cast Transformatio (transmorfation). In the eyes of Lord Grafton and Belmore, Aermir looked like he was growing with every step since they had heard of his martial prowess, and in fact, he was growing a little with the effect of his transformation spell. 

Aermir grinned while unbuckling his belt, then dropped his sword to the ground. He cracked his neck and knuckles, then, with a sinister smile, said, "20 to 1, it is unfair to you. Since this is not a bout, but a punishment. It is fitting."

Thanks to Aermir's Transformatio (transmorfation) spell, he was almost as powerful as a bear. To Grafton and Belmore, it looked like this young lord was too arrogant to the point of disarming himself against 20 knights. Of course, they couldn't kill him, but he was the one demanding a beating, so it would be rude of them if they didn't provide a good beating for him and put him in his place. 

Lord Grafton could never dream of facing him by himself, but he was sure their man could take him when he was disarmed; he grinned and said,

"in this kind of situation, it is always possible for someone to break a bone or two. Lord Drasil, I hope you won't hold us responsible."

With a head gesture, he signaled his knights to fight him. Four of the knights dropped their bows and walked towards Aermir with menacing eyes.

They all know he was a great swordsman and a big man, but in a fistfight, they believed 20 would always beat one. Ser Roland, the lead knight, initiated the confrontation, launching himself at Aermir with a powerful lunge; he was attempting a Superman punch. Aermir, however, moved with a deceptive swiftness not expected of a man of his size, sidestepping the attack and countering with a precise elbow strike to Roland's ribs. 

Since this was a hunting party, no one was wearing full plate armor; they only had gambeson and chainmail. So he felt the full force of this strike, and you could hear the gruesome sounds of breaking bones.

The other three knights were not waiting for their turns and had already encircled Aermir and struck him with kicks and punches. Aermir flowed seamlessly between those strikes while dodging and deflecting them, then countered them with a blur of fierce strikes.

With every strike, you could hear a bone breaking; with a lightning-quick jab, he broke one of their jaws. Targeted the second knight's nose, eliciting a spray of blood. The last knight attempted a kick, but Aermir tackled him in the air and sent the knight tumbling to the forest floor.

He put the last knight into a heel hook and, while looking into Lord Grafton's eyes, broke the knight's ankle without mercy like he was twisting a twig.

When Lord Grafton and Belmore saw this and heard the knight's agonizing screams, they flinched, and in his terror, Lord Belmore made a mistake; he ordered them to attack him with their weapons. Two of the knights fired arrows toward Aermir's shoulder and leg. 

Yet, what followed defied common sense and expectation; with a swiftness that seemed almost unnatural, Aermir caught the arrows mid-flight, his movements so precise.

For a moment, they couldn't comprehend what was happening. In a swift countermove, Aermir, utilizing his unparalleled strength, hurled the intercepted arrows back at the knights with lethal accuracy. The arrows found their marks, piercing the shoulders of the knights, rendering them incapacitated in a chorus of agonized cries.

The remaining 12 knights charged at him simultaneously while pulling their swords, their blades gleaming in the dappled sunlight. Aermir, relying on his superhuman reflexes, evaded the initial onslaught with a fluidity that seemed to defy the laws of physics, it almost looked like he didn't have any bones. His movements were a dance, a choreography of martial finesse heightened by his extraordinary strength.

Aermir parried the blow effortlessly with the metal bracers encasing his forearms. In a single, swift motion, Aermir retaliated with a punch fueled by his superhuman strength. The impact was bone-shattering, and the knight crumpled to the forest floor, his arm twisted at an unnatural angle.

A knight swung a sword towards Aermir's head, but he ducked with great speed, delivering an uppercut that left the assailant with a broken jaw. With every strike, Aermir's martial proficiency and superhuman strength proved overwhelming. Knights fell like autumn leaves, each falling incapacitated with a devastating punch, elbow, or kick.

Lord Grafton and Belmore were terrified as the last knight fell to the ground. All they could think about was this couldn't be real. He beat armed knights in less than a minute. As Aermir slowly walked towards them, Lord Grafton started running, but Lord Belmore was terrified and froze where he stood. 

He couldn't move; all he could do was apologize and beg for mercy. Aermir grabbed a tree branch and broke it; then he threw it towards Lord Grafton's leg; as the lord was running, the branch tripped him to the ground.

Aermir could run and reach him in seconds, but he wanted to terrify him more. He kicked Belmore to the ground and said,

"Lord Grafton and Belmore, I hope you will learn to hold your tongue as you live the rest of your life as cripples."

He broke Belmore's two legs in two places. He bellowed in agonizing pain; seeing this, Grafton tried to get up and run but tripped on top of a rock. As he tried to run away while crawling. He was shouting in a shrill voice,

"You... you cannot do this. Lord Arryn will punish you for this."

"I don't think so... I am unarmed, and you attacked me with weapons. Even if I kill you, he couldn't do anything, and before you say, I couldn't care less about the peace. I am going to turn you into a cripple; you are just trying to delay the inevitable."

As he said this, he grabbed both of his legs and squeezed them with all his might. Lord Grafton started to scream in agony, and as Aermir continued to squeeze harder, Lord Grafton's pain intensified. His legs broke with a sickening cracking sound. He bellowed in pain and passed out.