The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

In this confrontation, words were secondary to the clash of weapons. The three elders seated centrally, and the remaining five men simply watched the unfolding situation in silence. With the threatening man now subdued by Davey, what remained was a hostile relationship and inevitable conflict. The seven protectors, no, the remaining six protectors of the headquarters seemed baffled, not fully grasping how Davey had managed to evade their restraint and knock one of them down.

Davey had initially tried to resolve things through dialogue. After all, they were a secret order of knights protecting the continent, and their noble intentions deserved respect. However, unlike the lower ranks, this place was more stagnant than he had anticipated.

"You bastard!" one of the men shouted, shocked as the man was flung away, coughing up blood and collapsing. “How dare you!”

“…”

Then, two of the men quickly grasped the situation and moved into action. The first to attack was a blonde man wielding a curved sword. Although he appeared to be in his thirties, appearances could be deceiving, especially for a Swordmaster. Unless he was a special case like the Emperor of the Lyndis Empire, slowly aging, his real age was uncertain.

Clang! Clang!

The man attacked without hesitation, his curved sword slashing sharply as if to behead Davey. However, Davey had already extracted a small dagger from the belt of the man he had previously incapacitated. It was simple in design but made from quality steel.

Clang!

As the blonde man pressed his curved sword down with a look of intense determination, Davey met the blade with the dagger held in a reverse grip. Seeing a crooked smile form on the man's lips, Davey quickly moved.

With incredible speed, the man twisted his sword, aiming for Davey's neck. Davey dodged by tilting his head slightly, but the man seemed satisfied with his attack and withdrew his sword cleanly. He clearly had substantial real combat experience, especially in battles against other humans.

"How many have you killed?" Davey asked.

"What? Cough!" the man started to retort annoyedly, but his posture suddenly faltered.

When the man twisted his curved sword to attack, Davey had taken a simple action, regardless of the sword's trajectory: he shattered the man's shin. It was a [Devil Ylgr’s Crowd Suppression] targeting the shin. After decades of research into how to cause the most pain and critical damage, the effectiveness of this technique was undeniable.

"What's the use of asking? It's clear as day," Davey taunted.

Slash!

The man, angered by Davey's remark, lunged again with his curved sword. The sharp edge of the sword, dramatically curved, aimed directly at Davey. Feeling a sense of self-disgust at the absurdity of the situation, Davey stepped back to avoid it.

Clang!

But his movement was unexpectedly hindered. Chains, appearing from nowhere, blocked his retreat. The sound of chains rattling was followed by a giant scythe wrapping around his body, parrying his sword.

Woosh! Clang!

"Die!" the blonde man shouted, his curved sword precisely targeting Davey's neck.

"Davey!" Illyna, shocked and alarmed, screamed.

Even the toughest defense could not ignore the force of Aura Blade. Davey, seemingly caught in their coordinated attack, shifted his gaze to a black-haired woman holding the chains. She was one of the guardians. The chains restricting his movement and the parrying of his attacks were all her doing.

Davey, met with cold, uninterested stares, felt a chill settle over him. Just as the blonde guardian's curved sword was about to pierce his neck, Davey casually flicked away a portion of the chains that seemed to restrain his movements.

Chang!

With a clash of metal, the tightly bound prison of chains shattered instantaneously.

“…”

Davey threw a mocking look at the black-haired woman who was surprised by his escape and used the severed chain to deflect the tip of the curved sword, twisting its direction.

"Alright, I'll admit you work well together," Davey commented, noting their coordination.

The startled blonde man quickly tried to retreat, but Davey swiftly jabbed his fingers several times into the man's abdomen, floating in mid-air.

[Touch of Death]

[Sealing Points]

The man's body froze as if petrified and was involuntarily pulled toward the black-haired woman. She hurriedly flicked the remaining chains to catch him.

Ting!

However, she could not complete her intended action.

“Ugh!”

Something invisible had halted her movement entirely.

Thud!

The blonde man spat blood as he crashed into the wall, then rolled pathetically on the floor. The black-haired woman, suspended in the air, struggled to move.

Ting!

"Don't resist, or you'll be severed," Davey warned coldly, flicking his finger in the air.

Swish…

A faint blue mana began to illuminate around the black-haired woman, revealing very thin silver threads binding her entire body.

"Chains or silver threads, they are similar in usage, aren't they?" Davey sneered, flicking his finger lightly.

The black-haired woman's eyes widened in shock as blood spurted from her thighs, abdomen, arms, and wrists.

"These are made of mithril, so they're quite durable." Davey recalled that the greatest expert he knew in handling silver threads was the Assassination King, Hermesia.

Boom!

The remaining protectors, now down to four, were not just standing idly. Seeing Davey's taunting as an opening, a giant man lunged at him, aiming to crush his head into the ground with brute force. Davey blocked the attack, but the other three protectors began to move.

"Move aside! Big Boss!" A red-haired man, wielding a sword without a blade, created a superheated flame sword.

"Stop this madness!" the elders exclaimed, but the red-haired man ignored them with a cold expression.

"For defiling this sacred place, you will be sentenced to death."

As Davey gazed at the approaching flame sword, he slowly straightened his bent legs.

“Ugh!”

The giant man pressing down on Davey looked surprised.

[Dispel]

[Light Saber]

In an instant dual-casting, the red-haired man's flame sword dissipated before it could even reach Davey. Then, a sword of light, imbued with brilliance, appeared in Davey's hand and swiftly struck toward the red-haired man. A mage among the guardians tried to erect a shield...

[Dispel]

But Dispel could be used more than once.

Boom!

“Ahh!!”

With a sizzling noise, the young red-haired man screamed in agony as he was slammed against the wall.

Boom!

Then, the giant man, Big Boss, was flung by Davey's strike, crashing onto the red-haired man. The sword of light had impaled both men.

"Sing here! Burn me and resonate my soul! Flame Strike!!"

From seven, only two protectors remained in an instant.

Amidst the chaos, only a magician and a swordsman remained. The magician, appearing flustered, hastily tried to manifest magic at Davey. However, the swordsman, dressed in a pristine white uniform, remained nonchalantly observant, showing no sign of movement.

As a red magical circle formed beneath Davey's feet, he quickly ground it underfoot and coldly uttered,

[Dispel]

"Incredible..." the astonished magician whispered, collapsing to the ground.

Then, golden chains poured out from all directions, binding her. A gigantic sword made of light, directed downward, slowly descended toward her. It was not sophisticated magic, just a brute display of power, but it was sufficient. Having dispelled her magic twice, Davey had forced a mana backlash, rendering her unable to cast spells.

"Tch." Davey clicked his tongue as the sword of light disintegrated before it could hit the magician. It was the cold and handsome man in the white uniform who had intervened to save her.

With a penetrating gaze, unlike the others who had rushed at him, the swordsman just watched Davey.

"Stop! Stop this madness! Cease immediately!"

* * *

The chief guardian swordsman, Basara, bore various nicknames, but he was commonly known as "The Stone" or "The Ice Captain" due to his stoic demeanor. Among the seven guardians, he possessed the most formidable strength and was considered Last Wisp's greatest asset, having sustained his existence in a human body for an extended period.

From the outset, Basara found Davey, the young man with black hair and red eyes, puzzling. He sensed no mana emanating from Davey, a rare but not impossible occurrence. This usually indicated an absolute lack of talent, a cursed constitution incapable of surpassing the level of a novice in either swordsmanship or magic.

Initially, Basara presumed Davey to be such an individual, yet he wondered how such a youth had managed to reach their headquarters, especially accompanied by Knight Commander Klomen. In the silence, Basara realized the youth might be the continent's saint mentioned in several reports, though this seemed incongruous.

It was perplexing why such a seemingly ordinary young man garnered high regard. Basara simply accepted the assessments from the higher-ups without questioning. What mattered was Davey's capability. Each of the seven guardians was a master in their own right, surpassing others at the same level in both individual combat experience and skill. They were considered exceptional talents, poised to break through to new heights.

Yet, this mana-less young man, Davey, had interestingly subdued several of them. For Basara, restraining them would not have been difficult; in fact, he was confident he could have done it more efficiently than Davey, whose movements he found flawed.

That was why Basara lacked interest. It would be a simple task to cut down anyone if commanded. However, no such orders came from the elders, and Basara merely observed the situation. But in the end, he had to intervene, as his younger sibling, though foolish and inexperienced, could not be left to die by Davey's hand.

Without direct orders, he refrained from attacking Davey. Even with a significant difference in skill, he could not allow a fellow guardian to die. So, he cut down the sword of light created by Davey, which he perceived as nothing more than a superficial display of strength or arrogance. It was effortless for him to break the magic with a precise strike.

Bluntly put, Basara could not hide his disappointment in Davey, who was rumored to be the next guardian or even the leader. The boy was approximately 17 years old, appearing in his early 20s but with the mind of a child, not having lived even 50 years. This intensified his disappointment.

Though he refrained from cutting down Davey due to the lack of orders, Basara felt it might have been the right thing to do, considering Davey's underwhelming performance for someone touted to be the next guardian leader.

It seemed right to Basara to take action. Even if Davey survived by some stroke of luck, it would serve as a significant lesson. Basara's hand slowly reached for the grip of his sword, and a chilling coldness began to envelop the area around him.

"Stop! Stop this madness! Cease immediately!"

One of the elders suddenly shouted, prompting Basara to relax his grip on the sword he was about to draw. Orders were absolute. In this process, truth or conscience, or any minor emotions, were unnecessary. He was, after all, a loyal sword of the knight order and one of its last bastions.

"You're lucky," Basara said coolly. "If the elders had not intervened, your head would be floating in the sky by now."

“Hey.”

At that moment, Basara flinched. ‘What just...?’

The overwhelming presence that momentarily crushed the atmosphere differed from the bravado Davey had displayed upon entering. It was a primal instinct screaming danger, a feeling that a moment's delay could indeed have led to his beheading.

"What are you looking at?" Davey asked coldly, and Basara fluidly drew his sword as he turned back.

Those who did not know their place needed a harsh lesson. Although he did not fancy himself a teacher, the killing intent Davey had just shown was enough to excite him momentarily.

‘Come on, then. Show me what you've got. Let me show you that there are skies above skies.’ Determination filled Basara's eyes as he prepared to cut Davey down to a non-lethal extent.

But then, to his astonishment, Davey, who had approached him soundlessly, cut him with an emotionless expression. The movement was not what one would expect from the previously seen clumsy actions.

"Uh..." Basara let out an involuntary groan as his hand flashed.

A slender straight sword drawn from its sheath glittered as if to light up the world, striking precisely toward Davey's neck.

However, Davey's approach was different from the way he had fought the other guardians earlier.

"You're extremely poor at assessing your opponent's strength. Talented ones often don't lose, so they're really bad at it. Illyna, remember this," Davey said teasingly.

Basara realized Davey had already passed him by. He had seen the approach but not the actual closing in. It was as if time had accelerated and then slowed down. Davey's current movements were inexplicable compared to his earlier fights with the other guardians. It was as if he adapted to his opponent or was playing along at their level.

Davey, having passed Basara, approached the elders with an expressionless face, twirling his red sword and sheathing it neatly.

Slash!

And Basara's thoughts were abruptly cut off.