Re: In My Bloody Hit Novel - Chapter 712

Chapter 712: Reputation Is Reputation
The first knight reached Chiron with terrifying speed, his gauntleted fists glowing with blistering orange flames. As he launched forward, the heat rippled around his arms like a furnace—this was no ordinary flame.

“Burning Virtue: Wrath of Saint Bel!” he roared, swinging both arms down like molten hammers.

But Chiron didn’t move. Not yet.

He smiled.

His fingers twitched, and from the air around his body, something slithered—red silver and alive, like a metallic serpent given life. His blade, Devil’s Touch, unraveled in a swirl of liquid steel, curling around him before solidifying into a gleaming, midnight-colored sword.

His feet shifted slightly, weight balanced, blade angled—a stance both elegant and dangerous. It wasn’t the form taught in most martial arts. Even his dead clan did not use this stance.

No, this was his bastardized style, forged in blood and perfected in chains. A hybrid of brute instinct, deep observation, and relentless practice.

After all, with the memories of Manu he now had, his battle style had changed. And all his practice had seen that he merged them well in his head and body.

This Chiron right now for the best part, was inventing his own martial arts.

The flaming fists came crashing down.

CLANG!

Chiron’s blade met them mid-air, redirecting the force with fluid grace. Sparks flew. The knight staggered as Chiron stepped to the side and delivered a sharp elbow into his ribs, disrupting his center of gravity.

Before the knight could recover, another charged in—this one wielding twin blades of glowing blue crystal, slicing with inhuman speed.

“Celestial Edge: Judgment Dance!”

Chiron ducked low, sliding across the marble floor as the swords passed inches above his head, then spun, flicking his wrist. Devil’s Touch lengthened unnaturally and sliced across the second knight’s leg. Blood splattered the ground.

Almost immediately, the third knight arrived—a tower of a man with a shield as large as a door, covered in glowing runes. He charged like a bull.

Chiron frowned for a brief moment.

“They really sent in a tank,” he muttered, raising a hand.

His palm ignited with black-red flame.

“Ashbrand!”

He slammed the fire forward. The blast didn’t just burn—it devoured. The shield cracked at the center, and Chiron rolled to the side, ducking under a second swing from the twin-blade knight.

He slashed upward—steel met flesh—and blood sprayed.

This surprised lady Selene who was watching. That shield used by the knight that acted as a tank should not be so easily damaged.

Of course it was not a high rank treasure, being mostly bronze rank at best. But still one attack from Chiron had actually damaged the shield was preposterous.

What she did not know was that although it looked like just red bleeding flames, Chiron had integrated his attack with his magic, and death aura, all held together by low tune spoken runes for balance.

Meaning that attack had magic to curse the shield, spiritual energy to destroy it, and death aura to decay it.

In fact, I the knight made it from this battle and continuity that shield, his life was going to be in grave danger.

Yes, right now, Chiron was a walking breathing calamity.

But there was more.

As Chiron danced between them, parrying, dodging, bleeding them one by one, Chiron’s mind processed every move, every breath.

“These aren’t true Gold-Rankers,” he muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing. “Their energy’s are borrowed… forcefully elevated through a sacrificial rite.”

He could see it now—the instability in their spiritual energy, the flickering inconsistency of power. A technique commonly found among the Holy Church’s Virtue Families. It was effective… but fake.

And Chiron hated fakes. It was most likely done to make more powerful soldiers in this time of war against the Zodiac families.

The technique involved transferring the solidified spiritual achievements from lower ranked warriors into the bests of them.

It was a brutal process and the others would lose their cultivation forever. But the Holy Church did not care at all.

Only results were needed and the best admired.

Chiron’s snicker broke the tension.

“You’re nothing but butchered meat dressed in gold.”

The first knight roared in frustration, flames bursting from his fists as he launched himself at Chiron again, wild and reckless. That was a mistake.

Chiron stepped in.

One clean pivot, a sidestep.

He slid under the knight’s punch, placed his hand on the man’s stomach, and whispered: “Blood Bloom.”

A spike of hardened blood shot from Chiron’s palm, piercing through the knight’s abdomen from the inside—splorch—the sound wet, sickening.

The knight gasped, but Chiron wasn’t done.

With a violent twist, Chiron brought Devil’s Touch up through the knight’s ribs and out the back, severing spine, nerves, and faith in one clean motion.

Blood erupted in a crimson fountain.

Chiron spun, painting the floor in red as the knight collapsed to his knees, trying to scream—but only coughing blood.

“First drop of the night,” Chiron whispered coldly.

The other two knights paused. Their breathing was heavier. Their aura flickering. Fury in their eyes. But beneath it…

…fear.

And Chiron, standing tall in the blood mist, was only just getting warmed up.

Looking at them, Chiron enjoyed that look.

This was what one got from soldiers that had mot been riped but the battlefield but instead were ripped by force.

There was no way for them to make up for the lack of battle experience.

While it was true that their gold ranked energy gave them speed and force advantage, many times, even their techniques would still be lacking behind.

And now, it was clear that even their hearts were lacking behind.

Then again, could he really blame them? Right now, Chiron had an incredible reputation in the world.

He was one that managed to fight against a finger of Solitude and survive.

He was one that manage to fight the Seer and survive.

Even though it’s said that he lost, it was no problem.

It did not dim his achievements even a little bit.

Reputation, even bad reputation was still reputation.