Chapter 219: A space warp attack 1
The moment the mercenaries moved, chaos erupted.
It wasn’t loud at first, not in the usual sense of clashing steel or shouts. Instead, the forest seemed to shift beneath them, almost imperceptibly, as if the ground itself were conspiring with their movement.
Several of the attackers didn’t strike immediately. Instead, strange sigils flared beneath their boots, faint lines of glowing runes burning against the damp earth. Jae felt the tug before the shift, the subtle pull of displacement magic, and then the ground folded in on itself, warping space just enough to make the first few steps unpredictable.
"Elise! Byun! Tirel!"
He shouted, but his words barely carried. In a blink, the familiar forms of his squadmates were gone. Swallowed by distance. Pulled away by the folds in space, the warp that the mercenaries had created.
Jae’s eyes scanned the new layout. Only the attackers remained, moving in, surrounding him like a circle of wolves, closing in slowly but deliberately.
Jae’s jaw tightened. "So that’s your game," he muttered under his breath.
They weren’t here to test him. They weren’t here to scare him, or to see if he could handle one or two soldiers. They wanted him alone. Isolated. Whoever had sent them knew his friends would only slow them down, knew that without them, he would have to carry every threat himself.
The thought made the scar along his palm itch. He flexed his fingers. The fire in his veins responded.
A man with a long, jagged scar down his chin stepped forward, twin daggers gleaming. His grin was cruel, certain, and full of arrogance. "Orders say bring him back alive," he said, voice rough like gravel. "Doesn’t mean we can’t rough him up first."
Another mercenary, broad and towering, cracked his knuckles loudly. "If he lives long enough to complain," he added with a chuckle, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Jae’s hand brushed the hilt at his side. Warmth surged at his call. The Dragonfire Blade awakened instantly, molten fire coalescing into a solid, deadly edge.
Sparks hissed across the dirt, curling upward as smoke rose in thin threads. Heat pulsed in the air around him, and the heartbeat in his hand matched his own.
"Try," Jae said simply, calm and controlled, letting the words linger like a warning.
The mercenaries lunged.
The first dagger thrust came quick and precise, aimed straight for his throat. Jae slid aside, Ember Step carrying him in a blur of smoke and heat, leaving a faint trail of fire behind.
His counterstroke came faster than the eye could follow, Dragonfire Blade arcing through the air. Leather armor yielded instantly, and flames bit deep into the man’s chest. His scream was short, swallowed by the sizzle of fire. The body collapsed into the dirt, smoke curling off the blackened flesh.
Two more attackers struck simultaneously from either side. Jae pivoted smoothly, the heat in his arm flaring as he swung the blade in a horizontal arc. Fire erupted outward, stretching unnaturally long, catching both men mid-stride.
Their momentum carried them a few steps before they fell, stunned and smoking, their boots leaving smoldering imprints on the soil.
The remaining mercenaries paused. Only for a breath, but it was enough.
Jae pressed forward. Ember Step carried him again, in short, sharp bursts that left him nearly invisible. Smoke and embers trailed behind, curling lazily into the humid forest air. He closed in on the largest man, the one who had cracked his knuckles seconds ago.
Gravity Punch ignited in his fist, a concentrated burst of force that detonated as his arm connected with the mercenary’s chest. The man folded in half instantly, hurled backward into a tree with a bone-crunching impact that left him still
Panic rippled through the remaining mercenaries. They fought in chaotic bursts, swinging steel wildly, firing crossbows, and hurling small talismans that crackled with unstable energy.
None of it mattered.
Jae’s skin shimmered faintly, molten and hardening like iron but burning to the touch. Blades snapped uselessly against his arm. Arrows shattered on contact.
Dark chains shot out from talismans, attempting to bind him, but flames licked over them and dissolved the magic instantly. Every attack fizzled before it could reach him.
He moved deliberately, each step measured. Each swing of the Dragonfire Blade scorched earth and flesh alike, leaving a trail of smoke and blackened dirt. His breathing stayed steady, slow, controlled.
He didn’t rush. He didn’t waste a movement. Every mercenary who thought sheer numbers could overwhelm him learned the truth with each corpse that fell around him.
One man tried to flee, turning into the trees for cover. Jae appeared in front of him almost instantly, Ember Step allowing him to cross the distance in a heartbeat.
Dragonfire Blade’s edge seared through the man’s defenses before he could even scream. He hit the ground, smoking, and didn’t move again.
Minutes passed. The forest became a graveyard. Blackened leaves, scorched dirt, and smoldering bodies littered the ground. Smoke curled up from dozens of points, carrying the stench of burned flesh and iron-rich blood.
Jae’s movements were precise throughout. His muscles tensed only to release in controlled bursts, no wasted energy, no flailing.
His red eyes glowed faintly, reflecting the dying embers around him. Each breath he took was calm, methodical. Each step measured, ready in case another threat emerged.
And then, silence.
The forest seemed to exhale with him. No movement, no shuffle of feet, no sound beyond the faint crackle of cooling embers. Smoke drifted lazily upward, twisting in the slight breeze. The scent of burned forest floor and iron hung thick.
Jae lowered the Dragonfire Blade slowly, letting it fade back into memory. The heat lingered faintly in his veins. He flexed his fingers, feeling the dragon fire retreating, coiling back into his control. His chest rose and fell in steady, controlled breaths.
The clearing had become a graveyard. Smoke rose in thin ribbons, embers glimmered faintly in scattered patches, and the acrid scent of burned flesh lingered like a shadow.