[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-villain-s-pov":3,"chapter-the-villain-s-pov-the-villain-s-pov-chapter-492":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","THE VILLAIN'S POV",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},336579,598,"Chapter 492: The Witch and the Wounded Star (2)","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-492",492,"\u003Cp>Zenith was not weak. In fact, she had been a fierce presence during the first battle in the Demon Sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey would most definitely benefit from having her at his side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew she wouldn’t hesitate to throw away her life for the right cause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That didn’t seem right .. taking advantage of a broken woman like her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Frey didn’t see it that way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then let’s give death a story worth writing in its records, Zenith.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t try to stop her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t try to convince her to keep living.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn’t his role.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only thing he could offer was a path to fight fiercely .. until the day life left her and she finally attained the death she longed for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least, her tale would be one worth remembering... if she followed him. That much was certain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zenith accepted his words with silent satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had given her exactly what she wanted to hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I look forward to fighting by your side, Lord Frey.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then we’re looking forward to the same thing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reaching their unspoken agreement, the two of them laughed quietly, sharing a moment of conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire exchange seemed unnatural, considering the vast difference in age between them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, they understood one another perfectly .. more than either expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without even realizing it, Zenith found herself talking far more than usual, sharing stories from her long life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey listened patiently and intently, learning more and more about the witch who had decided to serve under his command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zenith would no doubt become his personal spellcaster .. his weapon against those who stood in his way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why he gave her such attention, deepening his understanding of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It raised his affection score in her system significantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, just as Zenith was about to launch into another story from her distant past, they were interrupted..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A group of knights approached without warning, cutting through the silence of the camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t hard to guess who they were here for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every one of them had their eyes locked squarely on Frey ... and he, Lord Starlight, understood it instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gentlemen, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit for... to bring such threatening auras with you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey asked with a calm voice, as the knight at the front stepped forward to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked like a seasoned warrior, framed by a broad figure and a chiseled physique that radiated strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Frey Starlight, we’ve heard many strange rumors about you ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rumors of miracles... unbelievable miracles.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forgive our insolence, but we wish to see those miracles for ourselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is why I, on behalf of my men, challenge you to a friendly duel.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Studying them with a single sharp glance, Frey quickly assessed their power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were six warriors in total...most of them likely duelists or spearmen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their leader was the strongest among them. He seemed to have only recently broken into S-rank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That probably explained his overconfidence .. the reason he dared to request a duel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old woman, Zenith, was about to rise from her seat and burn them alive...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Frey stopped her at the last second, his smile widening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very well. Let’s do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come at me ..all of you. At once.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strange silence fell over the camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The six knights exchanged glances, struggling to believe what they had just heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One against six?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had to be either pure arrogance... or terrifying confidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a single look into Frey Starlight’s eyes was enough to silence any doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t joking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come on. I’d like to finish this before my fire grows cold.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rose from the tree stump slowly, like a man waking from a nap ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>not someone about to face six of the Empire’s finest warriors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His steps were calm, deliberate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With each pace forward, the pressure around him thickened ..an invisible weight choking the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like an unseen blade was slicing through the space around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the knights instinctively took a step back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But their leader raised a hand and gave the order:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Full assault. Don’t give him a chance to control the field!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At his command, the six surged forward at once ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>their bodies flickering with speed, their auras flaring like compressed flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A spear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dual blades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A heavy axe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A coiling whip...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each weapon launched with one shared goal:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To shatter the myth of Frey Starlight before it could begin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what happened next flipped that notion on its head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the blink of an eye, Frey vanished from sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A burst of compressed air echoed through the field ...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the first knight found himself hurled into the sky before even realizing he’d been struck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey’s voice was calm as he appeared behind the second opponent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sharp roundhouse kick crushed the man’s ribs, sending him crashing into the axe-wielder ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>both of them falling in a tangled heap of steel and limbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Three.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time itself seemed to slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey moved through their attacks like he was reading a script ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>his eyes tracking every shift, every intent, countering them a heartbeat before they even happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stopped the twin-sword wielder’s strike with a palm thrust,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>releasing a compressed aura burst that knocked the man back as if a tempest had erupted point-blank in his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Four.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only two remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The whip-wielder and the commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first hesitated, while the other lunged in with a sweeping strike of his whip—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>its dark brown aura twisting like a venomous serpent aiming for Frey’s neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it found nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Behind you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey’s voice came from directly behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man turned ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>only to catch a glimpse of Frey’s face before collapsing, unconscious, to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Five.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now only the commander remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t moved once from the beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His grip tightened on the shaft of his spear, his eyes narrowing,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the aura around his body began to thicken with intensity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I knew you weren’t just a rumor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke softly,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>then planted the spear into the ground and activated his combat stance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His aura turned crimson ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and with each breath, his body radiated waves of searing heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Flame Sky Style... First Phase.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey didn’t flinch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when the commander split the ground open with a molten slash—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey simply twisted his torso slightly, letting the attack pass within inches without touching him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a flash no one could track,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he appeared right in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Six.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Frey’s fist sank into the commander’s stomach with incomprehensible force,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>driving the air from his lungs and lifting his body at an awkward angle...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man crashed down, barely conscious, gasping to stay awake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frey didn’t pursue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood still, calmly adjusted his coat, and began walking back to his seat beside Zenith, who had been watching the entire fight with a subtle gleam of amusement in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Apologies for the delay. Where were we?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat back down ..\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>as the broken bodies of six elite knights lay scattered around him.\u003C\u002Fp>",1185,"2026-05-30T03:41:22.347Z","2026-06-01T04:30:12.387Z",1,"novelbin.me","82377ec5f883c24079ebe6c1114f15a0fb8b333960a73e8610afb732cd93a493","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-493","the-villain-s-pov-chapter-491",866,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-villain-s-pov-cover.jpg"]