Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 139: Whip

The room past the door was lit by the dim starlight filtering through the window shutters, casting a dappled light across the spacious room. There was an additional door that probably led to a bathroom, as well as many exotic plants in pots scattered all around the room. 

But Kothar was far more interested in the large bed that dominated one side of the room, more accurately, he was more focused on the slumbering figure beneath the sheets, his target. 

Kothar crept forward, keeping low to the ground, taking caution never hurt, he couldn't be sure if the sleeping soldier would awake and look around before he reached him.

When he was only a few meters away, Kothar channeled a surge of Lightning Element Mana to his sword, it would be far easier to take the sleeping soldier out with a single burst from his Plasma Blade, but that was one weapon he wasn't ready to reveal openly, at least not until he had some confidence in keeping himself safe.

Kothar raised his sword, grasping it tightly in the two handed stance that Tam had taught him, gathering his strength to end the soldier with one powerful stab. 

He leapt forward, with all his strength, and stabbed straight toward the figure under the sheets, but as his blade stabbed through the air toward the bed, humming as it did so, there was the faintest high pitched tinkling noise.

Kothar immediately launched himself backwards, and not a moment too soon, a thin line of water sliced through the air where he had been standing moments before. 

Kothar spotted a flash of metal before it withdrew back into a narrow gap in the sheets. Next, the soldier in the bed leapt high in the air, throwing the sheets at Kothar, who launched himself backward once more, casting Lightning Aura on himself as he did so. This opponent was fast, perhaps even faster than himself.

As the sheets billowed through the air, slowly fluttering down toward the ground, a small hand sized blade repeatedly stabbed out through the sheets, the attacker hidden from view, at least the attacker would have been hidden to any normal opponent, but Kothar easily dodged the blow, which might as well have been told to him in advance by his enemy.

After all, he could clearly see his opponent's distinct mana signature, shining brightly behind the sheets which were supposed to obscure Kothar vision.

The soldier yelled out wordlessly, at the top of his lungs, in an attempt to rouse his comrades, but they were dealing with their own opponents. The dull booms that rung out from the room that Pony had slipped into were evidence of that. 

Kothar retreated back towards the door to assess the situation, foolishly, he had been taken in by a trick he had used quite often himself, there had been extremely fine thread wounds all around the bed frame, attached to tiny bells that had alerted his target. 

The lack of magical defenses had lulled Kothar into a false sense of security, and now he was paying the price. 

As the sheets settled to the ground, Kothar got his first good look at the soldier, he was a tall man, clean shaven with a dark ponytail. He had delicate almost feminine features, and wore a set of white silk trousers and loose silk shirts. 

In the soldier's hands was a chain whip, which twisting and writhed in his hands like an unruly serpent, looking closely, Kothar could see the faint film of water that covered the whip, and the Water Element Mana that was constantly being sent through the whip.

Unlike his own sword, the mana didn't channel through the weapon, rather it was the water itself that wrapped around the links of the chain, and allowed the wielder to use it so fluidly.

With a flick of his wrist, the soldier sent the blade at the end of the whip stabbing forward at Kothar's throat, but he dodged it easily, the speed of his strikes then grew faster and faster, and before long Kothar was being forced to block his blows with his sword. 

[Kothar, stop testing yourself and end this, you don't want him to feel desperate and do something reckless!] Silane could tell Kothar was holding himself back, not only was he not using his Spatial Magic, but he wasn't using any offensive magic at all.

[I just want to get a grasp on these Empire fighters, see what we're up against.] Kothar explained, but he could not deny the thrill that he felt while testing his swordsmanship against the strange twisting strikes of the soldier facing him.

Suddenly, the Water Element soldier grabbed the blade on the whip and slashed diagonally downwards. Initially, Kothar was confused, but then he spotted the thin line of Water Element Mana that was rapidly slicing through the air toward him, once again, this attack would have been invisible to anyone other than Kothar, but he simply sidestepped the thin slash. 

The soldier's eyes widened as he realized what Kothar had just done, and he sent out a flurry of slashes, most of which Kothar dodged easily, without much trouble. 

A few stray slashes sliced right down through the armor he wore over his Multi Planar Equipment, but the investment he had made paid off, and those slashes too were stopped by it.

Having fought against Freemen in such hostile environments, Kothar was simply in a different realm to this Empire soldier, who hadn't the slightest chance of victory against him. 

The Imperial Soldier realized this, and spun the chain in an odd spiraling motion, sending a thick mist swirling all around him, quickly filling the room. 

Kothar looked around in confusion, what purpose could this possibly serve, there wasn't a window big enough for any real chance of escape, and it was already clear that stealth wasn't going to be a reasonable tool to damage Kothar. 

But the soldier's target wasn't Kothar. Kothar watched, alarmed, as the soldier made for a desk set up on one side of the room.

[He's trying to alert the Empire!] Silane yelled, a hint of panic in her voice.