Chapter 324: White Cloaked Stranger

Reiji stood at the edge of the fortress wall and just stared at the three dead bodies on the stone floor right beside him.

He was the one who had been standing in the middle. The man who was currently missing a chunk of his chest directly next to him was none other than the commanding general of the Avarice Kingdom.

This man was a literal A-Rank Knight.

Of course, he wasn’t the strongest knight in the kingdom. Avarice had another powerhouse who was much stronger but this man was someone that everyone in the Avarice military revered as a strategic mastermind. He was the head of this invasion force.

And now he was lying there dead.

Reiji slowly glanced around at all the surviving soldiers nearby. He could clearly see the sheer terror in their eyes.

But out of everyone standing on this wall, Reiji was the one who was the most afraid. His hands were shaking like crazy, and he couldn’t stop them.

The reason he was so scared wasn’t because the general just died. Honestly, Reiji didn’t give a single damn about the old man. The reason he was currently terrified was because of the armor that had just been effortlessly penetrated.

The regular soldiers who had been forcefully evolved into knights thanks to Reiji’s summoning ability all wore a pretty decent set of standard armor. It was heavily enchanted and could block most high velocity projectiles. Reiji had specifically gotten it designed to block standard Earth rifle bullets just in case. He didn’t stop at pistol bullets.

But the armor that he and the general wore were entirely different beasts.

Their armor was the absolute pinnacle of Avarice’s magical craftsmen. Reiji just really didn’t want to die, so he had begged the King to help him produce a suit of armor that could withstand a direct shot from an Earth sniper rifle. The royal craftsmen had risen to the task and produced an incredibly thick, magically reinforced breastplate that could theoretically tank a high velocity penetrating sniper round.

But right now, as he stared at the corpse and the perfectly clean hole that ran straight through the general’s armor, Reiji couldn’t help but shiver.

The custom armor he had demanded the King make to counter snipers was of no use here. The enemy had someone who could just casually bypass the pinnacle of Avarice mana engineering from a distance.

Reiji quickly turned his head and looked out into the dark night. He stared at the exact spot where that blinding flash of light had come from a few moments ago.

He knew that was exactly where the attacker was standing. But he also knew that it was probably way too late to launch a counterattack. Sending his men out into the dark forest to pursue a monster that could shoot through an enchanted armor made for countering sniper bullets sounded like suicide.

Reiji was honestly just considering retreating from this place entirely. He didn’t want to lose his life over a stupid war.

But just as he was wondering what to do next, he noticed a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye.

There was someone standing on the wall who did not fit in with his army at all

Reiji immediately jumped backward, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword. All of the surrounding Avarice soldiers raised their spears in unison, pointing their sharp tips directly at the sudden intruder.

Reiji stared at him. He wondered if this man was the one who had just shot the laser. Every single survival instinct inside his body just screamed at him to turn around and run.

But before anyone could attack, the intruder slowly raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"I am not here to fight," the man said smoothly. "And I am not the person who just attacked you. It was a complete coincidence. I just came here to offer a hand."

Reiji didn’t lower his guard.

"I’m here to help," the man continued. "And I am here to negotiate an alliance."

Reiji frowned. He immediately glanced back toward the dark forest where the flash had come from.

"That attacker is already retreating," the man spoke up, noticing Reiji’s gaze. "It’s pointless trying to follow him right now."

Hearing this, Reiji turned back to look at the intruder.

This time he properly took in the man’s appearance. The person standing in front of him was wearing a pristine white hooded cloak. The shadow of the hood completely covered the top half of his face. The only thing Reiji could clearly see was his mouth and his jawline.

The hooded man slowly turned his head to look at the ring of soldiers who were still gripping their spears, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

Then he looked back at Reiji.

"Well, just give me a moment," the hooded man said.

He ignored the spears and casually walked over to the spot where the beam had passed through. He raised his hand and hovered his palm over the place where it pass through in a straight line.

"Hmm," the man hummed quietly.

He closed his eyes.

"I sense... Draconic mana," the man murmured. "And along with that... it is really hard to figure out. I can sense fire-attributed mana along with..."

The man frowned deeply.

"Everything else is completely muted," he said, sounding genuinely unsure about it.

He pulled his hand back and muttered to himself. "This spell is incredibly complicated. I’ve never seen this structural formula anywhere before. Probably his own personal creation. This man really is an otherworldly anomaly."

The hooded man finally stood back up and looked directly at Reiji.

"Okay, let’s get down to business," he said briskly. "I am here to represent the Ironhold Kingdom, and I would like to form a partnership with you to fight against the Crestwall Empire."

Reiji just stared at him for a few seconds.

"And why would you do that?" Reiji asked suspiciously.