"Hahahaha!" Garuda laughed wildly, mocking the words of the uncle. There was no panic at all because the uncle had broken free from the frost. The gap between races was undeniable— there were ways to completely erase the racial gap in this world. But the little Iron Kind in front of them did not possess any.
The frost spread across the ground at a visible speed. Brey, who was standing nearby, quickly retreated as the frost crawled toward his feet. He ran back to the prison and finally hid at the edge of the frost's reach. Cold sweat dripped down from Brey's forehead, falling to the ground from his chin. Brey had some understanding of the fights between powerful adventurers, which seemed to be earth-shattering. But none of them were as exaggerated as the battle in front of him.
Even the most powerful mage couldn't release such terrifying spells without chanting. And even the well-known S-Class adventurers couldn't match the agility of this uncle. "You've not only made me laugh, but you've also infuriated me," Garuda said in a low voice. All spells were useless against this man, and his slow movements were being toyed with.
"What an honor," the uncle said sarcastically. His blade sliced into the demon's body for the first time. From its neck to its waist, a large wound appeared on the demon. Garuda roared with anger as the pain made it even more furious. How could a mere Iron Kind hurt a great demon like itself?
"Damn this blade!" The problem lay in the weapon; ordinary Iron Kind weapons couldn't even break through its defenses. "I told you, we have countless ways to deal with higher races."
"Roar!" Angrily, Garuda started moving restlessly. The ground became unbearably hot instantly, while the air was strangely cold. The huge temperature difference left the uncle struggling for a moment. Fortunately, Brey had already run far away, so this sudden change didn't affect him.
"Not magic?" The uncle's expression turned serious, gripping his long knife tighter. "That's right. It's not magic, it's my own unique ability," Garuda sneered, grabbing the uncle who was lost in thought. "Just a little trick." "Iron Kind is just ants. You probably won't understand what I did in your lifetime." Garuda's giant hand squeezed the uncle's body, causing a "crackling" sound.
"Really? Just ants?" The uncle smiled, making Garuda feel something was wrong. "Please, I've heard that so many times." The uncle laughed disdainfully, releasing his knife. The long knife that fell to the ground emitted a green mist.
"Do you really think you caught me yourself?" The landing spot was right on the edge of the magic circle. "Time to go home; hope there's no accident on the way back."
"Banish," a spell to counter summoning, but with much greater difficulty and cost. So, how heavy would the price be? The chains on Garuda's body bound it tightly, slowly being dragged into the endless abyss by the earth. "Roar!" Garuda, holding the edge tightly, at last, was unable to prevent itself from falling into the endless abyss.
---
Brey covered his bleeding left eye. Even when tightly bound, the bleeding wouldn't stop. His makeshift dressing couldn't absorb any more blood, so the blood in his eye socket simply overflowed from the sides. Brey sat on the ground, watching the ongoing battle in the distance. "Blood loss can be fatal…"
He remained calm, so calm that even Brey himself couldn't believe it. Soon, Brey noticed something was amiss. The constant sound in the distance had suddenly quieted. After hesitating for a moment, Brey finally decided to drag himself to that spot. "Really courting death…"
The battle should be over, but if the winner was that demon… then going there would be just like committing suicide.Yet, despite all this... Brey still wanted to know the outcome. What is Iron Kind, and what is Bronze Kind... To be honest, Brey really wanted to know everything. "Hey," Uncle's hearty voice suddenly sounded. "You're not dead yet." Brey looked at the uncle, who was unceremoniously sitting on the ground, in astonishment. "Aren't you not dead either?" Brey fell silent; it was indeed a miracle that he was still alive. "It seems I'm not that unlucky," Brey muttered. Brey looked at the uncle in front of him. This ordinary looking man was now sitting on the ground with a weary face. The fortress around them, now in ruins, was proof of the recent battle. A gust of wind blew, raising countless dust particles. "Cough cough..." Brey fanned his hand as the dust choked his nose. "Oh, hey, cellmate..." Brey was speechless, seemingly not wanting to engage. "Can you help me with something?" "..." "No? That's a shame..." "I'll help..." Brey sighed. "Hahaha, I knew you'd help me, as we've been through prison together," Uncle laughed. However, Brey found it strange, Uncle now had functioning limbs and his complexion was not too bad... It seemed there was nothing he couldn't do for himself, right? "Come on, let me show you a treasure..." With that, Uncle took something out of his pocket. "..." Brey took a small step back. Brey looked wordlessly at the parchment paper Uncle had pulled out. There was nothing on it. "You're messing with me." Brey stared at the uncle with a dead fish eye. "No, no!" Uncle hurriedly waved his hands. "Just help me deliver it to a gravedigger in a cemetery on the outskirts of Clinton." "A cemetery..." Brey looked at Uncle oddly, not quite understanding. "What are you going to do?" "I'm a bit tired, I'll rest," Uncle raised his eyebrows, saying confidently. "You... this guy..." Brey had a million complaints he wanted to let out, but he held back. It seemed this guy could hang him up and beat him. "By the way, your name..." Brey started to speak, but stopped. Uncle's body turned into blocks, falling one by one onto the ground. This was the price of 'Counter Summoning'— To counter a summoning, one must pay a price equal to the summoning. And Garuda was summoned at the price of countless people being cursed with mutilated limbs... "Clang—" The long sword fell to the ground, turning to dust. "How tragic." "..." "Well, my name is Barossa." Uncle, or rather, Barossa seemed completely unfazed by his body's bizarre state. "Ah, I remember now..." Uncle suddenly recalled something, but as he went to strike his palms, he realized both his hands were gone, leaving only his upper arms. After a moment, even his upper arms fell to the ground in pieces. "Hey, what a cruel curse," Uncle complained. Brey tightened his grip on the parchment. "Do you need me to help you with anything else?" "There's nothing else to help with," Uncle tried to shrug but found he no longer had shoulders. "But there is something I want to tell you..." Pieces of Barossa's face began to fall away. "You have a light in you—" Barossa's body suddenly collapsed. "But, absolutely, definitely do not touch..." After that, Barossa's entire body shattered on the ground, and turned into dust that was blown away by the wind. Although Iron Kind could defeat higher species, some price must be paid. Like this price.
