Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Mike Hoare (3)
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“Haa… haa…”
Mike Hoare gasped for breath. Just because his wounds were healed didn’t mean his stamina had returned.
He was just glad he could catch his breath, however briefly, while the priest with the greatsword was treating him.
How long had it been since he’d fought like this, pushing himself to his absolute limit without rest?
The higher his rank, the higher his mastery, the rarer such occasions became.
Of course, it could also be because the long period of peace had offered no real battles.
Or perhaps he had unknowingly grown complacent in the peace that had lasted for years.
“Heh… what a strange one. Where did a guy like him pop out from?”
Seeing Kratos at the forefront, slaughtering their enemies, instinctively invigorated him. The sudden appearance of Lord Prometheus’s disciple.
It was true he’d been suspicious. No, he was still suspicious.
Even when Peri Batoni radioed in to report the mission’s success and explained how they’d done it, a sliver of doubt had remained.
When you climb this high, you learn not to trust anyone easily.
Especially when Lord Prometheus had died so senselessly, and the unseen tensions with the Empire were constantly escalating.
But there Kratos was, standing at the front without a word.
When the comms went dead and they were isolated in these southern mountains, he never thought someone would come to their rescue, let alone that it would be Kratos.
Moreover, unless he had misheard, Kratos had been called the captain of Squad 3.
Peri Batoni must have appointed him, but to be given the captaincy in such a short time… He must have achieved something remarkable in the few months Mike had been in these mountains.
There must have been crises of equal measure, and Ren, the former captain of Squad 3…
As his thoughts reached that point, he viciously tore out an enemy’s throat.
The most likely possibility was that Ren had died during a mission. If not that, he must have been crippled.
A mercenary captain’s position rarely changed, unless it was for something that serious. Especially after their involvement with the resistance.
While he was away, Peri Batoni had surely led the mercenaries well, but he was curious about what on earth had happened.
He wondered if something major had occurred during the months he was out of contact.
It seemed there would be much to hear on the way back, once this battle was over.
*Clang—*
Unable to withstand the fierce clash with a test subject, his sword snapped in two.
“Dammit.”
But Mike Hoare continued to cut down the soldiers before him with the broken blade. It was a little inconvenient, not enough to stop him from fighting.
“Hey, is that any way for a swordsman to treat his sword?”
Kratos suddenly pulled a sword from his inventory and tossed it over.
“Use this, at least. It looks like the best one I have. Let me know if you need another.”
“Khahaha. Are these fancy decorations meant to reflect the light and blind the bastards?”
“Well, that would be a funny sight in its own right.”
The sword was so ornate it looked like a decorative piece.
*Ting—*
But when he tapped the flat of the blade, it produced a clear, pleasant ring. A damn fine sword.
Though the edge was a bit dull, as if it had never seen a single battle.
He wondered who would carry such a fancy sword as a spare in a subspace pocket.
“What, did you rob some noble’s vault?”
“Heh heh… I’ll tell you the details later.”
Well, whatever. It’s not like he actually robbed someone.
Catching his breath, he glanced around.
“Hraaat-cha! You enjoyed hunting us down in packs, didn’t you, you sons of bitches!”
“Kill them! Just kill them all! Who are you to beg for your lives! Did you spare us when we begged you to!”
The mercenaries he fought alongside, their spirits revived, were now aggressively pushing back the enemy, as if to avenge their fallen comrades for all they had suffered.
Among them, the most conspicuous were Seamus and Reinhardt.
Their skills had improved by leaps and bounds since he’d last seen them.
What in the world had happened to them to improve so much in such a short time?
Suddenly, his heart pounded. He felt good.
He was suddenly reminded of the old days. The times when he, along with Lord Prometheus, led the mercenary corps across the continent, carrying out missions.
“Ah, how long has it been since I’ve fought like this.”
Even as he swung his sword, squeezing out every last bit of his strength to survive, a smile never left Mike Hoare’s face.
Slowly, forgetting that he was in the heart of enemy territory, Mike Hoare fell into a perfect state of no-mind and swung his sword.
To reach for something higher than where he stood now.
***
“You have got to be kidding me! Who enters a state of no-mind here of all places!”
They were pushing back thousands of enemies with fewer than a hundred men.
I shouted in alarm at the sight of Mike Hoare, who had suddenly entered a trance in the middle of this perilous enemy stronghold.
“Protect the commander! Top priority! Defensive formation!”
At my words, all the mercenaries took up positions around Mike Hoare, forming a perimeter to his sides and rear.
They moved to protect him as he, seeing nothing, instinctively cut down the enemies before him and advanced toward the entrance where more foes awaited.
“…It’s beautiful.”
Watching Mike Hoare swing his sword like a madman, cutting down his foes, Niceta suddenly uttered the word “beautiful” and began swinging her greatsword with renewed vigor, as if not to be outdone.
“Haaah… Why am I surrounded by lunatics?”
For now, a force of less than a hundred mercenaries was overwhelming an enemy that numbered well over a thousand.
The test subjects were exploding from a distance due to my spiritual power before they could even attempt their suicide attacks, which was actually helping us.
“The entrance!”
Before we knew it, we had fought our way from the deepest part of the ruin to the entrance. As soon as everyone was out…
*Gr-gr-gr-grumble—*
As always, the ruin burrowed into the ground and vanished.
And until the ruin disappeared, Mike Hoare remained in his trance, panting heavily, his sword still pointed toward the enemy.
The state of no-mind didn’t simply mean fighting without thought. Within that state, Mike Hoare was finding his own path.
If he could safely emerge from this trance, he would likely take another step forward.
He might even achieve an unbelievable level of mastery that surpassed the peak of a Sword Master.
“Go on, run wild. I’ll watch your back.”
I muttered in a voice too low for anyone to hear. It was only natural to help a comrade who had fought alongside me and still remembered the name Prometheus as he reached for a higher plane.
“That would be truly insane.”
I wasn’t sure if the term “Grand Sword Master” could describe that level, but if he broke through that wall, he might possess a level of martial prowess that would rank him among the top few in the continent’s entire history.
“I can’t fall behind either.”
Since I didn’t use ordinary mana or aura, it was hard to define my own level of mastery.
But I was confident I wouldn’t lose in a one-on-one fight with a Sword Master, so I figured I was somewhere around that level.
Of course, my pure strength stat of 102 was a special ability, much like a swordsman’s secret techniques.
What was more surprising was that this stat of 102 wasn’t the end.
My mind was filled with the desire to fight better.
I hurled a test subject far into the distance, then smashed the skull of the one behind it with the claw of my crowbar.
It was as if everyone was competing to cut down the enemy. When our numbers were small, when we were tired and weak, the thought of death had loomed. But after Kratos joined, that atmosphere vanished.
Everyone had the same thought.
Let’s kill these bastards quickly, get out of these mountains, and go home.
Home. To our sanctuary with its flat beer.
***
“Damn it! What in the world is happening!”
Ruben Weittle frantically assessed the situation, which had unraveled while he was contacting the Empire.
“Where did the ruin go! It’s gone again! Again!”
The ruin had vanished, just like the others. The enemies had escaped and were now systematically killing the Imperial soldiers swarming them on the mountainside.
Effortlessly, making a mockery of their three-thousand-strong force.
“Damn it all.”
It was hard to believe that three thousand soldiers were being pushed back by a mere handful of enemies, but what could he do? It was the truth.
“Surround them. Attack from all directions. What are the mages doing? Just rain down magic on them! Don’t worry about our own men!”
The soldiers here were replaceable, but mission failure was not. That was why he had to succeed, even if it meant throwing everything he had at them.
His orders from above were clear. Stall for time. Until they arrived. The secrets of the ruins had to be uncovered at all costs.
But even as magic rained down, the enemies held firm. They blocked with shields and repeatedly picked off the mages from a distance with thrown daggers.
“Grrr…! Why can’t we take down less than a hundred of them!”
He finally played the last card he had been saving to finish them off when they were exhausted.
“The Sword Masters will advance to the front. Capture them at all costs! If you can’t capture them, then kill them!”
No matter how numerous the enemy was, and even if Mike Hoare was a Sword Master, he couldn’t possibly defeat ten Sword Masters.
There was only one Sword Master in that group.
But even after wiping his sweaty palms with a handkerchief, the sweat kept coming.
“Hoo. We have to, we absolutely have to get them.”
And when the Sword Masters stepped forward, he expected them to slaughter the enemy and for the victory drums to sound.
Ten Sword Masters. Ten. A force capable of easily overthrowing a small nation.
It was a force that could not possibly lose against that small group.
“As long as there are no variables. No variables.”
Mike Hoare, who had been fighting with such gusto, suddenly stopped, his sword hanging loosely at his side.
*Kwoong—!*
An intense aura erupted from him, so bright it was blinding.
Merely touching the aura was enough to inflict cuts on the soldiers as if from sharp blades, and the sheer pressure made it difficult for them to advance.
“What is that—! Why is that bastard still so full of energy!”
Considering the thousands of soldiers and the amount of time they had poured into catching that one man, this shouldn’t be happening.
And after a few dozen seconds…
The aura receded as if it had expended everything.
Like the eye of a storm.
Though the tempestuous aura had subsided, the ten Sword Masters standing before Mike Hoare couldn’t bring themselves to take a single step forward.
Their instincts were screaming at them. Do not advance. Do not try to fight that man.
Though his eyes were closed and he swayed slightly with his sword hanging low, as if he were asleep, he felt more threatening than anyone else present.
“Crazy, did he really become a Grand Sword Master?”
The panicked voice of a mercenary came from the side.
Grand Sword Master. A level spoken of only in legends.
Mike Hoare opened his eyes.
He swung his sword horizontally.
In that instant, space itself split in two.