They were foreigners. Not corrupt knights, but spies for another nation. Mash couldn’t remember the last time this kingdom had been attacked by another. It was so long ago that he only ever heard of it in legends. The presence of these people was unexpected. He had an idea of where the knights were from. The narrow eyes and pale skin were obvious signs of someone from the east. Mash shook his head. He was jumping to conclusions. Just because one knight looked like that didn’t mean anything. Maybe the knight’s parents had moved here or something. It wasn’t a very common thing, but it happened.

“Can you really not handle a single person who can’t even use their skills?”

The knight who had been acting as the lookout was entering the fray. They sounded like a man, and his voice didn’t sound obfuscated. It seemed like he didn’t care much about disguising himself. The man had an interesting accent where each word seemed to end abruptly. The sentence still flowed normally, but it felt like he emphasized the end of every word. The knight with short sword and shield slowly backed away from the approaching man. The hierarchy was obvious, and Mash realized that this man was the leader.

“I’m sorry sir.”

When the knight he had just been fighting apologized, Mash realized that they weren’t speaking in the common language. This knight had used a different language, but Mash’s translation item was still working, and he could understand what was said. The accent matched the leader’s own accent, and Mash was growing more suspicious of the group. If only one of the knights was foreign, then he could still hope that it was just a matter of corruption. The exchange told him that probably wasn’t the case. The leader responded to the knight with a sharp glare before turning to Mash. His words were directed at him.

“Well, you are quite the fighter. It’s a shame, if you hadn’t seen our faces, we could’ve let you go.”

That was the confirmation that Mash didn’t want to hear. A foreign power was looking to encroach on this kingdom. It had been decades since the last major war. This kingdom had too many high-leveled individuals in it. Wars would always boil down to fights between the strongest, and the king was famous for his fighting prowess. The gods wouldn’t get involved but wars were still risky endeavors for both kingdoms.

[Run, he is strong. You will win with skills.]

Priscilla’s message was heard, but Mash didn’t say anything. Escaping was probably the right decision, but he wanted to test the leader’s strength. Test his own strength when he didn’t have access to his skills. He didn’t really know how to respond to them and decided to take the first swing. This man was probably the highest leveled of the group, but Mash doubted that they could match his raw stats. He stretched his leg out partially lunging as he swung his staff in a wide circle. Big swings were best for his enchantments. The staff gained weight proportional to the speed of the swing. Even without his domain, Mash could tell that this man was dangerous. He decided a few broken bones, or a concussion would be acceptable in this situation. Honestly, Mash was mostly moving on instinct. His senses told him to try and kill the man, and he wasn’t going to distrust his instincts.

The man raised a gauntleted hand to catch the staff. At the last second, he seemed to change his mind, and instead pushed up on the staff. It skidded of the gauntlet and clipped a small corner on the man’s helm. The metal crumpled a little and the staff kept going tearing of a small section of the helm. That seemed to make the man grow far more alert. The knight had been somewhat casual thus far, but he recognized what had almost happened. If the knight had maintained his arrogance.

The knight with the shield had relaxed when their boss had stepped forward. Mash took advantage of that. His swing had been sent high with the leader’s nudge, but it was still heading toward the other knight. Mash brought the staff downward aiming for the man’s left shoulder. It was the sword wielding hand. The knight was fast enough to react and raised his sword to parry the blow. The whole swing had taken less than a second, but the leader still tried to warn his companion.

“No, dodge!”

It was too late to change. The knight might have a skill to help him parry the blow, but his leaders shout had clearly confused him. It delayed his already slow reaction. Enough so that Mash’s staff was able to break the short sword and rip through the man’s arm. His whole arm crumpled from the force. Blood gushed out from where the armor broke and dented. The knight’s arm almost came clean off, but Mash’s staff was stopped by stone that had risen from the ground. It crawled up the knight’s body turning to armor. It stopped his staff, but the damage was done. That man’s left arm would be worthless without some serious healing.

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Mash was good at fighting. That much was obvious. Regardless of what his class was, he had always been somewhat good at fighting. The knight who he had struck kind of just slumped in place. They were held up by the stone, but they would not be rejoining the fight. Mash didn’t have the time to relax and pushed off the stone armor. He tried to make some space with the leader. He needed to reopen his storage space and grab another weapon. His staff was stuck in the person and Mash didn’t want to risk trying to hold onto it.

His jump was too slow, or maybe the leader was just angry now. The man leaped at Mash. He had no weapons in hand but began to swing like he was holding something. Both of his hand’s seemed to be gripping a handle, and he twisted his body. Mash didn’t see anything, but he felt when something collided with his side. Thankfully, it wasn’t a sword. If it was a sword, Mash might’ve died. This was only a little better as he felt something large and flat hit his side. It was a hammer, and its head was easily as big as Mash was. His whole body squished a little against the phantom weapon. When it made contact, it flashed into existence for a second. He didn’t miss the bright red color of the hammer, nor did he miss the fact that the handle was made of bone.

It was a legendary weapon, and one that Mash recognized. The Throne breaker was a famous weapon, and Mash had liked as a kid. It had been a personal favorite of his. The weapon was said to have been forged with bones of giants. According to the legend a single swing of the hammer had been enough to break castles. To shatter thrones and destroy kingdoms. A single swing from the hammer can break more than just the body. And Mash got the pleasure of experiencing that strike.

The strike was strong, and Mash crashed to the ground. His whole body was screaming in pain now. The hammer strike’s felt like it somehow hit him in a dozen different places. He felt blood running down his cheek, and his right arm was broken. The sharp pain there was something he could recognize. However, that wasn’t all the weapon had done. His vision had broken. It was like he was staring through shattered glass. He saw ten slightly warped versions of the knight, and Mash knew that the situation was getting rather prickly. It was time to get out. No one was watching the entrance anymore.

Even with his broken vision, Mash was able to follow the man’s next swing. He had an idea for how big the hammer was. The weapon was hidden from his sight, but he had a feel for it. Mash used the swing to his advantage and pushed off of it with his wings. He let them break while he pushed away from the hammer. The metal of the hammer was hot, and he could’ve sworn that he smelled smoke. The wings broke and pain spread from his back. His aim wasn’t perfect, but he managed to stumble into the alleyway. His head ached, and his broken vision made it hard to figure out what was happening.

The fight had been going well, but he couldn’t have expected them to have a weapon like that. Mash knew that Priscilla was communicating with his brother, but he wouldn’t make it fast enough. The problem with fights at this level were that they happened quickly. Everything that had happened had been less than a minute. Jill could get here, but she wouldn’t know until she got back. He was really only able to tell his siblings at the moment. Mash took a step, but then fell forward and crashed into the ground. His chin stuck the stone floor and slammed his teeth together. It hurt. Even with all of his stats, that still hurt.

Mash tried to get to his feet, but his hand slipped forward, and he face struck the concrete. He heard the sound of metal against stone and knew that the knights were coming. What was happening?

“Unlucky. You sense of balance was broken second huh? What was the first?”

The man was not hiding his abilities. He was probably certain of his victory at this point. Mash couldn’t really argue. While the vision was an impairment, it wasn’t that bad. If the man was being honest, his sense of balance was far more important. Especially, for his fighting style. Most of his attacks relied on rotation, and he doubted that he could manage that. He couldn’t even stand correctly. If only he had skills. He could use magic to adjust and use his domain to maneuver. That was a dumb notion. If he had his skills and magic, this fight would’ve ended in an instant.

Mash was angrier at himself then these men. He still thought he could’ve won. He had taken a few hits that he hadn’t needed to. At least one injury had been completely avoidable. Priscilla sent a message and confirmed his thoughts.

[Yes, you were stronger and faster than them. Even without skills you could’ve won. Although you should’ have just escaped. Fighting was a mistake.]

Shadow covered the ground, and Mash knew that the knight was standing behind him. Despite his situation, Mash didn’t think that they would kill him. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t feel any of that cold intent. No, they had other plans for Mash. He struggled a little but managed to turn onto his back. He stared up at the knight who was looked down at him. His eyes were only barely visible through the visor, and he saw purple eyes peeking through.

[Brace yourself. Your brother will be able to find you.]

Priscilla seemed to believe that they wouldn’t kill him either. Mash wondered what they had planned that they were leaving him alive. Nothing was said, but the gaze told Mash that he had lost. He decided he hated sealing skills. They were rare and powerful. The leader raised his invisible hammer overhead. Mash could tell what was coming and tried to brace himself. He raised both arms to shield his face, his broken arm stinging as he moved it. He shut his eyes tightly. He heard the wind shift from the swing and felt the hot metal touch his arms. Everything went black a second later.

Crack!