Chaos Carrier With A Broken Talent-Chapter 36: Hail of Swords

Many Carriers were ready to stop at the very beginning without even trying to reach the First Ring. They believed that their strength and Patterns were enough to live a good life and not worry about anything.

They were not wrong. Any Carrier could simply take a few orders a year to destroy First Rank Monsters and earn much more than an ordinary person. Not to mention the safety, which was much higher for someone with a Construct than for a commoner.

But... For many, that was not enough.

Ethan was one of them.

He couldn’t imagine how he could stop when his path full of possibilities had only just begun.

Danger — that was what the other Carriers who decided to stop at the very beginning feared. Even to create the First Ring, it was necessary to obtain the Element Spark, which could lead to a deadly battle.

When a Carrier took an order to hunt a monster or protect someone from bandits, a merchant, or a simple bakery, they knew what to expect and what the danger was. Obviously, such Carriers chose only missions where the risks were minimal.

In the end, it all boiled down to a simple conclusion:

Safety or power?

Step. Step. Step.

Ethan stepped forward as cold gusts of wind rushed at him, as if trying to force him to leave the Desolate Meadow, the silent guardians of these lands.

The fragments brought him here. However, he didn’t know what was supposed to happen next. He didn’t have a clear plan of action like he did with the Essence of the Rotten Forest.

"Well, I don’t know where the monster is hiding, but I think I’ll figure it out eventually." Ethan looked around. "At least I’m alone here. I have plenty of time."

Suddenly, a flash caught Ethan’s eye, causing him to turn his head.

His pupils narrowed as he jerked his head back at the last moment, dodging the blade. The sharp edge swept across his neck in a wide arc.

Instead of attacking, Ethan made the only right decision — he stepped back and pulled the dagger from his belt.

Soon, a figure appeared from one of the few trees. It was a young man in a dark cape, with brown hair and bright blue eyes. His sword was clenched tightly in his hands, ready to attack at any moment.

The tension in the air was palpable until...

"Damn it! I knew I should get closer!"

Ethan raised an eyebrow, baffled.

Strangely, the young man sounded upset and not dangerous, as if he was disappointed that he failed a test, which in his case was not far from the truth.

"Who are you?" Ethan narrowed his eyes as the gears inside his Construct whirred, causing his aura to manifest.

"Wait!" The young man swung his arm, trying to stop him. "I don’t want to fight you! My name is... Klaus! I just wanted to hurt you to get rid of the rival!

From the attack to Klaus’s words, Ethan didn’t understand anything, and it was all becoming more confusing.

He nodded slightly. "Ethan, nice to meet you, it would be, if you weren’t trying to kill me a couple of seconds ago!"

"No! I told you I just wanted to wound you!" Klaus clenched his fist tightly, such accusations were offensive to him.

"Hah? You almost cut my neck! I would have drowned in a pool of my own blood if I didn’t dodge in time!"

In response, Klaus shook his head, showing that Ethan was talking complete nonsense.

"Nah, if that had happened, I would have bandaged your wound. I wanted to weaken another participant, not kill one." Klaus tilted his head. "You know, I don’t kill those who don’t want to kill me!"

Ethan frowned.

’Is this guy an idiot or trying to trick me? And... participant? What the hell is he talking about? Shouldn’t it be empty here like a graveyard?’

Whistle.

Cutting through the wind, the sharp tip of the great arrow flew across the field.

Before Ethan could do anything, Klaus’s frame shook as he lunged forward in one swift motion.

A cold, almost frosty wind accompanied him as he found himself behind Ethan, his sword moving upward in a smooth crescent.

The blade cut the arrow in two, along with the nearest strands of grass.

Then, Klaus pointed his sword forward, watching as several shadows disappeared behind the rocks at the other end of the Desolate Meadow.

"Tsk. They attacked and didn’t even show themselves. If you decide to fight someone, you have to go all the way or at least admit defeat!" Klaus exclaimed, waving his fist.

With a jerky movement, Ethan slowly turned around.

This idiot might have just saved his life, but that wasn’t what worried Ethan the most.

He realized one thing:

’Hah, so he wasn’t lying all this time? If he’d used that move against me, my head would be on the ground right now. But... If he wasn’t lying about his intentions, then everything else is true as well.’

Not wanting to remain under fire from unknown enemies, Ethan grabbed Klaus by the sleeve and hid behind one of the trees. He didn’t know when the next arrow might fly into his head.

"Agh? What are you doing?"

Ethan covered his mouth. "Shut up. Tell me what’s going on here and who you are, and I’ll forget you tried to kill me."

"Mhm! Rgh!"

Ethan rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine. You were trying to injure me, not kill me, satisfied?"

Klaus nodded, and Ethan removed his hand.

"My name is Klaus, although you already know that. I am from the Hail of Swords."

"The Hail of Swords?" Ethan muttered. "That’s pretty far away..."

Ethan’s old man told him about the Hail of Swords. Like the Exalted Claws, it was a coalition between two cities located much further south than Orsire City of the Desolate Meadow.

As the name suggests, many people, both Carriers and commoners, followed the way of the sword and became swordsmen. Sure, not everyone in the Hail of Swords wielded a sword, but it was the primary weapon — Klaus was one of thousands of examples.

His sword was an Artifact that he’d been preparing to receive for a long time, studying fencing since childhood, like many in the Hail of Swords.

"Yes." Klaus nodded. "But I decided to come here to the Desolate Meadow because I couldn’t miss the Thunder of Four Howls!"

Ethan blinked several times, puzzled.

"Thunder of Four Howls?"

Klaus was about to say something, but didn’t have time. A bright flash from a lightning strike swept across the field as a deafening sound drowned out everything else for a moment.

The thunderbolt struck one of the stone pillars, causing the runes to glow.

Then, electrical discharges ran through the ground, causing the entire field to tremble as dozens of stone coffins rose from the surface at once.

This was exactly what Klaus had been waiting for, along with dozens of other people who came here on this day, which happened too rarely to miss.

Ethan didn’t know this, nor did he know that the Thunder of Four Howls was the reason why the fragments led him here.