Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Kneel!
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"Kneel!"
"N-No, we are from the Corvein Merchant Company..."
Thwack!
"Urk!"
The Neruman knights and soldiers had surrounded the mercenaries and merchants.
Before the merchant blocking their path could even finish speaking, a soldier mercilessly struck his abdomen with a spear butt.
"You stand before the lord who rules Neruman. All of you, kneel!"
The knight's resounding shout, infused with mana.
The mercenaries, weapons drawn, glanced toward Vice Captain Teske.
To these mercenaries capable of wielding blades, the knights and soldiers before them were nothing.
But the biggest problem was...
Kieeeoooooo!
Flutterflutterflutterflutter.
Wyverns circling vigorously overhead, and skynights aiming their blessed spears at any who dared resist.
And the most terrifying presence of all: the young lord of Neruman, Kaiyer, with his black hair and arrogant smile.
The mercenary wyverns that had been protecting the merchants had already fled with tails between their legs.
There was no one left to face the skynight who had single-handedly scattered the mage tower's wyvern and wizard.
Of the total twenty-three wyverns, only ten had escaped alive.
The rest had been shot down or suffered fatal wounds and plummeted.
"Th-Throw down... all your weapons."
Even when the mage tower's wizards unleashed their all-out assault and still lost, the battle's outcome had been sealed.
Vice Captain Teske's feeble voice rang in the ears of the merchants and mercenaries like a lie.
Clang, clang, clatter.
The mercenaries knew it too.
Resisting here might let them fend off the soldiers and knights for a while, but in this land swarming with monsters on all sides, they would soon become nothing but target practice for the skynights or monster fodder.
As one man dropped his weapon, the mercenaries followed suit, tossing theirs aside as if on cue.
It was the moment they were freed from their employer's command and the obligations of their contract.
"Kneel!!!!"
A lion-like roar from the knight directed at the mercenaries who had abandoned resistance.
Thud thud.
Following the coachmen who had already knelt, the merchants and mercenaries dropped to their knees.
Yet amid it all, three remained standing.
Vice Captain Teske, Captain Sedrian who had led this mercenary band, and the mage tower's skynight wizard who had survived thanks only to Harkline's death in his place.
These three alone refused to kneel with brave defiance.
No, the pride of their respective organizations held them back.
"Let go! I'll walk on my own!"
At that moment, a skynight was being dragged forward by soldiers.
It was Andraik, the mage tower's sub-tower master, who had survived by casting Fly within the Gigra Lightnin magic.
But survival was no salvation.
Gone was the dignified appearance of a 6th-circle wizard; he was dragged along like a charred rat, his air plate scorched black.
"Now all our guests have arrived."
The voice of Neruman's master, Kaiyer, seated leisurely atop his golden-striped black wyvern that had landed on the ground.
All eyes turned to him.
Swoosh.
Kaiyer lightly dismounted from Bebeto's back.
Heh.
A cold, refreshing smile crept across his lips.
"Time to settle accounts..."
And with those words about "settling accounts," everyone knew that the fateful moment, where lives hung in the balance, had arrived.
The moment when Neruman's master would swing the judge's blade.
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'You lot are all dead today!'
Heavy criminals who had failed to grasp their place and stirred up chaos in my territory.
Most were trembling, but a few eyed me with curiosity.
Step step.
Savoring those gazes, I strode toward where the big shots of this place were gathered.
Clatter clank.
In the meantime, quick-witted soldiers had collected the mercenaries' discarded weapons, and I came to a stop before Teske.
"Haha! We meet again, Vice Captain Teske."
Casual speech, no honorifics.
"Impressive skills, as expected."
Teske's calm tone and expression of genuine surprise.
A normal man would rage or show resignation, but he remained utterly composed, as always.
"What, it's nothing much. Weren't you surprised?"
I oozed the leisure of a victor.
"You insolent cur!"
Even with spears aimed at his throat, a dwarf-like brute bellowed, his face flushed red with fury.
"Who might you be...?"
"How dare a mere lord harm the wizards and wyverns of the great Gauss Mage Tower—you must be utterly mad!"
'He's pissed. With a head that big, no wonder his blood pressure's through the roof, and such a nasty temper to boot.'
A wizard slightly taller than a dwarf, with a head about twice the size of mine.
He seemed to be the 6th-circle wizard I had dueled in magic earlier.
"You bastard!"
Clang clang! Scraaaape!
"Gah!"
The soldiers weren't about to stand idly by.
They ruthlessly bashed his air plate with spear butts.
No matter that it was an air plate, it couldn't withstand the shockwave from the soldiers' full-force thrusts.
With a gagging sound, the balding wizard dropped to his knees.
The aftermath of the magical barrage must have shaken his mana hall.
"Ah, Lord Andraik!"
A 5th-circle wizard startled into rushing toward the fallen balding wizard.
"You bastard!"
Thwack thwack thwack!
The soldiers struck like they had been waiting.
"Argh!"
'That must hurt.'
A 5th-circle wizard would be treated like nobility anywhere, but my loyal soldiers seemed to have built a wall against such worldly nonsense.
In an instant, he took half a dozen hits and rolled on the ground.
No time or mental leeway to cast a spell.
"Don't handle them too roughly. They're precious guests."
"Yes, sir!"
At my feigned scolding, the soldiers bellowed their salute with vigor.
"Such confidence. To treat those even the Bazran palace can't touch like dogs."
They say extreme anger brings calm.
Vice Captain Teske spoke in his usual tone, as if commenting on another's affair.
"I'm not the Bazran imperial family."
A cold smile lingered on my lips.
"I see... I momentarily forgot that Neruman is a wasteland of useless trash discarded even by the Bazran Empire."
He spoke like a man mad to die, lacing his words with barbs.
"Huhu, to be treated like dogs by that useless trash makes you worse than monsters that at least leave hides behind. Just like you lot."
Getting angry would mean losing.
Even if I could kill them all right here, that would make me the loser.
To never lose the victor's poise until the end.
That made him the champion of life.
"Arrogant, aren't you."
One crumpled figure off to the side spat the word "arrogant."
"And who are you?"
"I am Sedrian, the one leading this mercenary band."
'To lead a mercenary band this size...'
Not all the wyverns were confirmed as his band's, but mercenaries traveling with the Corvein Merchant Company in these numbers were undoubtedly elite without needing to be told.
Moreover, the faint hostility he directed at me.
A true expert who could contain his mana inward.
"What do you think arrogance is?"
A mercenary captain would have weathered the world's storms.
He opened his mouth straightaway to my question.
"Those who yap with their mouths despite lacking the skill to back it up."
Sedrian boldly stated his view.
He shone.
He radiated the aura of a gambler toward me.
"Just like you, then?"
"Puhahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Sedrian burst into raucous laughter at my mockery.
"..."
But the laughter wasn't long.
It cut off abruptly.
"If you beat me, I'll lick your feet. But if you lose... send everyone here back alive."
A quiet yet forceful proposal.
"Feet, huh... If you're alive, sure."
Shing!
Sedrian drew his sword the instant his words ended.
It was thicker and larger than a longsword with its blue edge.
'Unlike regular mercenaries using longswords, a true swordsman who relies not on brute force.'
"M-Milord."
The knights and soldiers startled, stepping forward.
"Stand back. This is a duel between men."
Rustle.
At my command, the knights and soldiers retreated, clearing space.
Their eyes gleamed too.
The true masters of Neruman, who had survived thus far through their prowess.
It was only natural they worshipped strength.
'Desirable fellow.'
Neruman sorely lacked capable workers.
A captain who could lead elite mercenaries like this had verified command and combat skills.
And I took a liking to his manly courage even in this crisis.
'But if I really win, he won't make me lick his soles, right... Haven't washed today.'
A worry out of place in the heavy atmosphere.
"I'll go first!"
"As you wish!"
Shing!
The sword drawn smoothly.
I could have used a dwarf-forged masterwork, but I couldn't let go of the sword from Viscount Piyor's knight—the first that fit my hand on this continent.
No matter what anyone said, this sword was my first love.
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Boom boom boom!
Boom! Boom!
Instead of the clash of steel, enormous explosions rocked the earth.
The sudden duel between blade masters.
All on the ground and the skynights in the sky held their breath at this rare spectacle.
"Hyaah!"
"Hup!"
Clear shouts rang out in the silence.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Followed by massive blasts.
Over ten minutes had passed already, yet the duel only intensified.
'Unbelievable! How can a human...'
Sedrian, captain of the Hers Mercenary Corps, had proposed the duel after careful calculation.
His opponent was an astonishingly skilled high-circle wizard, impossibly young.
That was why he challenged with swords.
Even though the foe exuded a magic swordsman's aura, history knew no high-circle wizard who was also a master.
But from the very first clash of blades, Sedrian realized something was wrong.
Incredibly, the vigorous young Kaiyer before him wielded mana in his sword at master level.
'Not all masters are created equal!'
Using the rebound, Sedrian leaped back and gritted his teeth.
To revive his fallen house, he had thrown himself into the mercenary world twenty years ago.
Through his family's secret mana breathing technique, he had attained blade master.
And he had raised a mercenary band second to none on the continent.
The Hers Mercenary Corps, where every member could demand knightly treatment without complaint.
Though limited by lacking their own skynights, they alone shook the mercenary world.
For years, they had partnered with the continent's top Corvein Merchant Company.
This trade run's end would let them buy five wyverns with their savings.
But then this sudden interloper.
Sedrian, planning to challenge his uncle—who had seized the wyverns and his territory—to a territory war, felt his plans disrupted by the unexpected obstacle Kaiyer.
"Huuu..."
Sedrian drew a long breath.
With it, a blue blade wave rippled along his sword.
'I have crossed the line between life and death dozens of times. You're nothing compared to me.'
Being a master meant not just the mana one could infuse into the sword, but crucially, swordsmanship.
Sedrian had clearly seen a master slain by a mid-tier blade mercenary.
Calming his mind, he gazed at this Kaiyer.
Smirk.
Not even winded after over ten minutes of combat.
He wore a smile that could charm any man, brimming with arrogance as if saying, "Show me all you've got."
'I'll make you kneel!'
Born the son of an earl's family in Tobe Kingdom, Sedrian felt his long-suppressed noble pride surge.
Swoooosh.
He slowly moved the sword gripped tightly in his right hand to dead center.
Defeating him here would earn a hefty reward from Corvein, and preserve his band's honor.
But if he lost to this punk...
"Hyaah!"
Sedrian closed the gap in an instant.
Swoooooosh.
His sword bared its fangs first, lunging ahead of his hand.
It glowed with deep blue venom.
"Hah!"
A clear shout rose in response.
Swooooooooosh!
The foe charged.
'Have at you! Spiral Rain!'
Whirrrrr.
His family's secret sword art, a master's ultimate technique.
The blade sword detached from his advancing sword.
It whirled like a raging lion, sweeping forward in a vortex.
'You're dead!'
Sedrian was certain.
A victor's smile flashed across his lips.
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'Hup!'
I had anticipated his retreat.
I could have struck before he caught his breath and ended it, but I wanted to witness a master-level ultimate technique.
And there it came, the blade sword unfurling as if on cue.
'Ghost Meteor!'
I had my own methods too.
Moreover, my unified mana hall, expanded since breaking the circle wall.
I poured full power, embedding nine shadows into my sword.
Shababababababababat.
Nine streams of blade swords launched in an instant.
".....!!"
In that moment, I saw Sedrian's face—faintly smiling at me—stiffen.
A split-second, and my technique was already away.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom.
The blade swords collided in midair before my sword arrived.
Swoooosh.
My sword ignored the clash and pressed on.
Stab!
"Gah!"
The sword plunged deep into soft flesh, followed by a scream.
'That’s gotta sting like hell.'
Fortunately, I had drained the mana mid-thrust, making it a normal sword, so no fatal wound—but the bite of steel into flesh is no joke.
Probably felt like downing a shot of fiery liquor packed with chili powder.
"Waaaaaaaah!"
"The lord has won!"
The tense soldiers erupted in cheers, confirming my victory.
"Escort all who plotted rebellion in the territory! Put mana bracelets on the wizards' wrists and gags in their mouths. Confiscate and escort all items related to the rebellion. Seize the dead wyvern corpses and everything else!"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers responded with vigor.
'Hot damn! Jackpot!'
Not just dwarf masterpieces, but items I had marked up tenfold were back in my hands.
This feeling of effortless profit.
Today was a total win.
'Hehe, you have acquired wyverns~! Ding ding!'
And the pleasant loot chime in my head.
Ten wyverns had escaped alive.
The short, fierce battle left few survivors, but that was plenty.
Top-tier dwarf after-service with masterwork quality.
Just the wyvern mithril armor was worth over a territory's annual taxes—a jackpot among jackpots.