The Chronicles Of New Havens

Winstin pushed his concentration and senses to the absolute limit. Although he was regarded as the strongest knight, were his opponents so simple? Four on one was already bad enough. Factoring in their tremendous skill and coordination, they were nearly unstoppable. If not for him being rescued two years ago during their last fight, he would have died facing against the Four Cardinals. Their might was no exaggeration! But… Surviving the fight, while his king was captured and executed… Was that not a disgrace? As a knight, that was the greatest failure possible!

He used that to motivate himself, to propel himself to new heights! He trained every chance he could, honing and perfecting his techniques. Despite being a fair distance away from reaching the next Realm, he trained until he was thoroughly at the peak of Perception Realm! His battle spirit and killing intent soared to unprecedented heights. Gone was the illusion of a middle-aged inconspicuous man. A surge of pressure poured out of him, shaking his enemies. The Xingyuu Imperial Sentinels guarding the perimeter stepped back, as if they were facing a mighty beast. Only the Four Cardinals remained unfazed.

All of this took less than a breath to happen as Hui's arrows flew towards Winstin. Using his famed glaive, the knight twirled it in a vicious manner, completely defending himself from all attacks. The arrows could not pierce his defense! However, it provided ample time for the other three Cardinals to join in the fight. Cardinal Loujin, the man with the large shield, pounced on Sir Winstin as the other two flanked. Their coordination was truly admirable as they fell into place with Loujin in the front, Hui in the rear, and the two on each side.

Sir Winstin grimaced as he leaped back when Loujin slammed into the ground with ground-shattering force. The Cardinal was nearly twice the size of Winstin but moved shockingly fast! If he was a second slower, the Cardinal would have reduced him to paste. Dirt and dust scattered everywhere as a small hole was formed underneath Loujin. But Winstin's attention was elsewhere, sensing the other three combatants on the field. His Perception Realm mastery was fully shown! Naturally, when his flankers and Hui moved, he knew. Shaolong and Yongyu moved like snakes along the battlefield, slithering to Winstin's openings. Hui nocked his bow, ready to attack whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Shaolong swept with his sabre and Yongyu slashed out with her swords. Flurries of blows flew out. Their target was the still airborne Winstin! With speed, power, and coordination capable of cutting down any Perception Realm, it was enough to instill fear into anyone! However, their opponent was Sir Winstin! Even though he was midair with a full set of plate armor, he moved as if unhindered. He swung his glaive around him, while simultaneously keeping track of every single blow headed toward him. The difficulty of this could not be underestimated! After a fierce exchange, where he sustained minimal injuries, he fended off the two!

Sure enough, he's gotten more powerful. Just how far has he reached? Hui thought.

He even wondered if the man surpassed Perception Realm, but… that was a passing thought. If Sir Winstin had truly reached the next Realm, then his combat power would transform to another level entirely. The Four Cardinals would not be his match. If that was not the case, then victory was still in their grasp! If Sir Winstin could grow, could the Four Cardinals not grow as well? Cardinal Hui gave his fellow Cardinals a slight nod, signalling them of his intentions. They understood the meaning and prepared themselves.

This time, Loujin charged at Winstin shield first. His momentum was virtually unstoppable, like a mountain bearing down on the knight. Winstin dared not fight the man head-on. His strength was not something that could contest Loujin, especially with that special shield. Even if he could, his glaive might explode from the sheer impact! There was no way he would take such a risk and he began moving back. However, Yongyu rushed behind him, cutting off his path of retreat, and slashed out. Winstin was placed into a tough position. To repel Yongyu, he would have to defend in an awkward way. Without any better alternative, he decided to leap through the air again over Yongyu. This way, he could avoid the two simultaneously.

Seeing this, Loujin grinned and continued forward with Yongyu on a head-on collision. Just as the two were about to collide, the woman hopped on the man's shield. Unleashing all his strength, Loujin propelled her across the battlefield at three times her normal speed. She was like a blur as she shot back towards Winstin. Sir Winstin was appropriately surprised and focused his attention on the woman. But just as he was preparing to retaliate, he saw Cardinal Hui jump up into the air. If Sir Winstin could move unhindered with plate armor and Cardinal Loujin could launch a human with ease, there was no reason that Cardinal Hui could not do the same.

In that brief time mid-air, Hui fired another volley of arrows! With eagle-like precision and speed, they were easily several times faster than Yongyu, even with Loujin assisting. Winstin's expression was grim. He could tell the attack was not so simple, despite his senses telling him otherwise. It was an innate instinct to danger. He swung his glaive out to deflect the first arrow, yet the instant it struck his glaive, he was shocked. The resistance was far beyond what a single arrow could do! Shockingly, Hui compounded three arrows into a single attack, merging them mid-flight to the point where they struck at the same point at the same time. Compared to Hui's earlier feats, where the arrows merely appeared to be the same, Winstin could tell no difference now! This technique was practically legendary! Not even Sir Winstin grasped such a profound technique, yet Cardinal Hui not only mastered it, but applied it to his archery!

The next two sets of arrows closed in with Sir Winstin shattering one. Unfortunately, the last drilled through his defenses and pierced into his plate armor! Hui had aimed his attacks to land between the joints on the plate armor, even in this high-paced battle! Sir Winstin's left shoulder was bloody as Yongyu followed up. Her blades crisscrossed as she crashed into Sir Winstin. Taking another heavy hit, he was thrown back uncontrollably like a kite with its strings cut. Blood dripped out of his mouth which he spat out. Despite that, he was not completely suppressed. Yongyu glanced at her sword, shock filling her eyes, as the blade cracked and exploded. Furthermore, five bloody and deep grievous injuries appeared on her left arm. He could attack and defend against her onslaught!

Sir Winstin grunted and feigned weakness, taking this opportunity to return to Lord Korogin's side and break through the encirclement. After all, this was not a personal brawl. He was not going to be swept up in personal grievances. First and foremost, he was Lord Korogin's Protector and a Royal Guard! Thankfully, Lord Korogin was unharmed. The encirclement was to prevent outside interference. As a result, the Imperial Sentinels had their hands full, fending off the Alzar soldiers. They left the most important job to the Four Cardinals. Of course, Lord Korogin tried to push his way through the sentinels as well, but… He was a general, not a fighter. The rapier in his hands was more for show and emergencies. Against Perception Realm opponents, his attempts were fruitless.