Hitman with a Badass System

When the sun disappeared on the horizon, stars peaked their heads out in the dark sky. They glimmered in the black canva-like sky. There was a coldness mixed with beauty in the night sky. Under the black sky, the two armies waited for each other to charge forward. Commander Xavier's words caused a commotion in both armies. They all waited for Duke Avon to appear but he was nowhere to be seen. Even Duke Avon's commanders didn't see Duke Avon for a few days. They only received a parchment containing Duke Avon's order and crest. Looking at warriors such as Ethan and Xavier leading their men, Duke Avon's commanders felt a bit down. Their morale was down, especially after seeing the iron weapon the soldiers assembled.

"If you don't come out, we will blow your army into bits and pieces," Xavier continued to roar.

"Come out and face me like a man. A duel. We will finish this without bloodshed,"

On the front lines stood the three commanders of Duke Avon's army. They were all covered in iron plate armor from head to toe. Even their horses were armed to the teeth. They looked at the enemy soldiers, threatening to charge toward them any moment.

"That damn old bastard," one of the commanders gnashed his teeth.

"The thing they are pointing at us," the commander dragged his words,

"The beast, yes," another one who was familiar with the weapon nodded.

"Commander Xavier's pet. The same thing the Beleforts used to siege many castles,"

The soldiers amplified their gazes using arch energy and stared at the weapon, particularly at its long hollow tube. It resembled a cannon but the base was that of a ballista. They could hardly see the weapon but some of them could see the glowing runes engraved on its black metal surface. Silence fell over the battlefield after Xavier's stopped roaring.

As a veteran who went through countless wars, Xavier possessed the skill to study his enemies. At the moment, Duke Avon's army looked to be in low morale. The Duke, their leader, wasn't there with them while all the leaders, including Duke Alverin, blessed their enemies with their presence. Many soldiers in Duke Avon's army felt hesitant to fight the demon. Xavier's presence made them tremble. Almost everyone in the army heard about Xavier's tales and how dangerous the man was on the battlefield.

"Duke Marvin," Duke Alverin leaned slightly to his side,

"Isn't Alicia a guardian? How could she participate in the war?"

The Guardian Guild had a rule stating its members cannot participate in any wars. Instead, the guild preferred to stay neutral and only advocated stopping wars. So when Duke Alverin saw Alicia in her battle armor, he was surprised.

"She quit the guild. I thought you'd know that by now, Duke Alverin," answered Duke Marvin. After the guild began an investigation on Peter, Tanulia asked Alicia to take a long holiday. By that time, the cold war between Ice Fair and Flamefair escalated to the point Duke Avon waged a full-on war against Ice Fair. Being in the guild without any power to help her brother caused great pain to Alicia. She was both mentally and physically exhausted. After a long discussion with Noah, Ethan, and her family members, Alicia decided to quit the Guardian Guild.

She desperately wanted to help her family out of the trouble caused by Peter. That was the reason Alicia joined the army raised by the Belefort family under her grandfather. Now that she had quit the guild, she was free to side with any kingdoms or families in a war. Furthermore, she was free to find whatever was necessary to free her brother.

"Make sense," Duke Alverin recalled everything that had transpired in the tournament related to Peter. As a matter of fact, he received several complaints from the nobles in secret about a vigilante beating the hell out of their kin in the night. He even designated a special unit of soldiers to hunt down this vigilante. But never in a million years, he thought Peter would be this vigilante. The Belefort family was one of the very few families that didn't oppose his ascension to the duke title. They respected his father's wishes and supported him wholeheartedly. To be honest, Duke Alverin was glad that Ghost exposed Peter instead of his own unit. It could have caused a rift between him and the Belefort family if his soldiers had caught Peter.

Although it was hardly discernible to a normal person's eyes, Ethan could see the soldiers of Duke Avon trembling. Realizing this was the perfect time to strike at the enemy, Commander Xavior raised his hand, threatening to issue an order anytime.

"Soldiers, we don't need big morale-boosting speeches. We boost our morale by hunting down our enemies. We boost our morale by feasting on their blood. You have followed me into countless battles and emerged victorious. Today won't be any different. Let us strike our foes and decimate the Flame fair once and for all!" Xavier's words sent shivers running down the opposing soldiers' spines. His words were filled with murderous intent.

Some cowardly soldiers even took a step back and the soldiers standing at the last line pondered if they should sneak away. Their morale was at its lowest when a bolt of lightning cracked the sky, almost splitting the sky into halves. The bolt of lightning was too bright to the point many closed their eyes for a moment. When Xavier and his men were about to march forward, they saw Duke Avon standing in front of the soldiers. The orbs of light hovered above the Flame fair army illuminating his face. As soon as the Flamefair soldiers saw the Duke, they felt relieved. Soon the relief turned into courage and courage boosted their morale.

A small smirk rose on Xavier's face. Once they marched for a few seconds, Duke Avoin would be in the beast's firing range. At that time, they could kill Duke Avon with a single shot and end this war before it even begins.

"FIRE!"  Xavier shouted. On queue, the beast roared. Crimson iron lava-like cannon ball shot toward the Duke and his army. The temperature around them rose several degrees as the projectile whizzed by. The cannonball soared through the air. Luckily, the cannonball hit the duke with deadly accuracy. On contact with the duke, a powerful shock wave shot around Duke Avon's army with a loud explosion. The ground rumbled as the cannonball exploded into numerous small orbs of lava. Although the front-line soldiers erupted their shields in front of them, the shock wave knocked them down from their horses. Following the explosion,  a dust cloud formed around the duke, preventing Xavier and his soldiers from seeing what was the result of the hit. When the dust storm died down, they all saw Duke Avon standing there without a single scratch on his body. The soldiers of Duke Avon's opposing army including Xavier and Ethan bewilderedly stared at Duke Avon. Hints of confusion were evident on their faces. Even the commanders of Duke Avon's army were stunned at the outcome. Those who were near the Duke looked at him with quizzical eyes. There was a huge explosion, the ground rumbled and the temperature rose but that was all. Even the numerous smaller fireballs spat out by the hit dispersed after several seconds, as though an invisible hand swept them away into nonexistence.

"So that was the so-called beast huh? Not impressed," Duke Avon smirked. His words were loud enough for everyone on the battlefield to hear.

"YEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" It took Duke Avon's soldiers several seconds  to realize their leader had dispersed the enemy's most powerful weapon without breaking a sweat. When their brains finished processing what had just transpired, they were shocked but soon the shock turned into tenacity. Their morale shot through the roof as they roared. The soldiers raised their weapons toward the sky. Their battle cry rumbled as loud as a thunderclap.

Xavier never thought Duke Avon was strong enough to withstand the beast's direct hit. Any normal man would have exploded into bits and pieces. Unless Duke Aavon had reached the peak Soul Refining stage or cast a legendary defense spell, it was impossible for him to survive such a direct hit. After dispersing the cannonball, Duke Avon just smirked. He adjusted his red robes before turning his back on the charging enemies.

"Don't take prisoners," Duke Avon simply said before walking through the army to the back. To everyone's astonishment, Duke Avon did not charge onto the enemies. After startling everyone by stopping the cannonball, he just decided to stay at the back instead of fighting on the front lines. However, the show Avon put on boosted morale and gave the soldiers the courage to face their enemies.

Despite what Avon did, Xavier did not slow down. He was a veteran who went through countless battles. A simple variant wasn't enough to discourage the demon. Instead, Xavier let out a roar and marched faster than before. Behind Xavier, Alicia was running as fast as Xavier's horse. She almost surpassed him. At that moment, Ethan, Xavier, and Alicia led the entire army by the front.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Although the beast failed to kill Duke Avon, the knights continued to fire cannonballs from the beast. Every time the beast roared, the ground trembled as the temperature rose by several degrees around them. Seeing the cannonballs soaring towards them, the mages from Avon's army flew forward, preparing to cast defense shields around the army on the ground. They doubted the army could withstand the cannonballs like Duke Avon. While the two armies were about to clash, a couple of level 10 Soul Refiners from the Guardian guild appeared in the sky to cast a barrier around the arkar grass field. Instead of trying to stop the war, they ensured the war happens in a controlled environment.