Chapter 262
Chapter 262
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The South's Greatest Swordsman (2)
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“You look tired.”
“No, not at all. Why don’t you use your Grand Aura already?”
I smirked at his indifferent provocation.
Then, with our swords still locked, I shoved them upward into the air.
――――――!!
I twisted Arthur’s blade as we spun.
“Urk…!!”
His sword hilt warped in an instant.
Yet Arthur didn’t even furrow his brow in that moment.
Instead, his battle-hardened white eyes flashed as he spun in the same direction to keep from losing his grip.
Like an alligator twisting in the same arc as the arm biting its own limb.
“Not yet…!!”
The South’s Greatest Swordsman landed while putting distance between us once more.
He immediately snapped his ankle forward and charged at me again.
This time, it was a battle of speed rather than strength.
He thrust his one-handed sword with full force, aiming for my side.
Kaaang!!
I blocked low to counter it.
Then the South’s hero caught his rebounding blade with both hands and targeted my crown.
“Try blocking this.”
A brilliant golden aura reminiscent of the sun enveloped his blade’s tip.
The moment that sturdy edge came crashing down toward me.
“…!!”
Kwaaaang――――――!!
An enormous explosion split the rock sprawled across the lake surface.
As if a giant monster had stomped it flat.
“As expected of Captain Arthur…?”
“He shattered that massive boulder!!”
Amid the crumbling rock fragments.
The crowd began cheering again at that majestic sight.
“Eek!”
Mago hurriedly boarded his staff.
As it floated up, he lifted the two fainted dark swordsmen along with it.
The Guard Captain, relieved at the sight, retreated to the edge of the arena to avoid the falling rock chunks.
“You’re not even worried about your subordinates?”
“To face a Grand Master, sacrifices are inevitable.”
I stared into his lifeless white eyes through the cascade of falling boulders.
And I realized what Captain Archimond had meant about Arthur’s flaw.
The reason a Sword Saint like the South’s Greatest Swordsman didn’t suit leading a group.
“Foolish.”
――――――!!
I leaped upward, stepping on the falling rocks like stairs.
And landed atop a massive boulder split in half and tilting.
Arthur landed there too, charging straight at me.
Thus, our duel began atop the sinking ship.
Kugugugu――――――.
We clashed swords while moving toward the collapsing side.
Whoever yielded here would fall from the rock and be crushed below.
Even in that disastrous situation, Duke Luke’s jaw dropped at our steadfast sword exchange.
For the Imperial Guard to match the South’s Greatest Swordsman blow for blow.
Even accounting for hidden strength, the overwhelming caliber of the Empire’s knights sent chills down his spine.
Leah felt the same.
She had unleashed her Grand Aura against Black Knight Captain Lynn to end it in one go.
Yet here I was, using only Swordmaster prowess to duel this man, and she swallowed deeply.
She marveled at my stamina, unfazed after dozens of minutes of fighting.
“To think he can manage this without Aura….”
Kaaang――――!!
In the end, even the halved rock fully sank, shattering into pieces.
Leaving us with barely five steps of footing.
So we circled its edge, continuing our duel atop it.
If he aimed for my left neck, I’d parry and slice at his waist.
If he targeted my waist, I’d overpower him, sending both swords tumbling to the ground.
When the final boulder shattered too.
We leaped back simultaneously, landing on a broad fragment split and collapsed in half.
“Haa….”
Arthur wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead with the back of his hand.
He glared at me, breathing raggedly.
“It’s been a while since I’ve worked up a proper sweat.”
I grinned back with sly eyes.
I nodded instinctively, acknowledging his strength.
But.
“Shut up.”
As the fight dragged on, the South’s Greatest Swordsman said coldly.
His pride wounded, he bellowed at me.
“You really intend to fight to the end without using Grand Aura…!!”
“I told you, you’re enough without it.”
Arthur, whose pride matched his relentless effort.
That pride wasn’t born of arrogance.
It stemmed from the conviction that his hard work made him the best.
“No need to use Grand Aura on someone even your captain can’t surpass.”
But that conviction distanced him from the captain’s seat.
His soaring confidence led him to disregard his subordinates.
“You still haven’t surpassed your father, Captain Archimond.”
I glanced down at the dark swordsmen who had barely evacuated amid the rubble.
Rescued by Mago, they still gazed desperately up at Arthur.
“What…?”
But Arthur didn’t spare them a thought.
His white eyes fixed solely on my face, dismissing his own efforts.
“Who are you to judge me….”
“What else?”
I too had once led a guard of fifty.
And I too…
Had failed to protect them.
Perhaps this man truly resembled me in many ways.
That was why I wanted to teach him all the more.
How to achieve true growth.
“Since we’re allies now, I’ll tell you, Arthur.”
I infused my sword with golden aura.
But this wasn’t the half-hearted strike I’d used before.
I recalled that time long ago, guarding Irina to the end with my fifty escorts.
Holding my sword aloft, I condensed a strike into my arms with veins bulging like they’d burst.
Sensing its overwhelming power, Arthur’s lips parted in shock.
But by the time he realized it.
――――――.
My heartfelt strike slammed into the rock fragment where he stood in an instant.
“Hngh…!!”
The fragment collapsed so rapidly it twisted his body.
Exhausted, he couldn’t escape and began plummeting with the debris.
“…”
No matter how hard he tensed his legs, his body wouldn’t move properly from the accumulated shock.
Unfamiliar with such helplessness after a lifetime of bearing everything alone, even the South’s Greatest Swordsman’s pallid eyes wavered.
“Is this… the end….”
In the end, he seemed to accept defeat, half-closing his eyes.
And fell powerlessly into the water with the fragments.
Even if he didn’t die crushed by the rocks, he’d be gravely injured.
Yet he didn’t care about the pain.
He simply felt the reality of crumbling like these boulders.
Kwaaang――――――.
He plunged into the water.
Nearby rocks crashed down, stirring a whirlpool.
In that cold abyss, Arthur fully closed his eyes.
The South’s Greatest Swordsman wondered.
“…”
Why the Empire’s man before him said he lacked the qualifications for captain.
Why he hadn’t surpassed his father.
But he soon realized the answer himself.
“Lord Arthur…!!”
“Arthur…!! Are you alright?!”
Muffled voices, as he was submerged.
Yet familiar faces faintly visible above the surface came into view.
“Ivan, Guard Captain…?”
The moment he muttered underwater.
A middle-aged man dove in through the falling rocks.
He cast a barrier spell with one hand to block the debris.
His recovered juniors followed, supporting him.
“Are you alright?”
“Thank goodness you’re unharmed!!”
Knights who had nearly been gravely hurt because of him.
Yet they had rushed to save him instead, leaving Arthur stunned.
“We’ll evacuate right away—grab my hand!”
Arthur had looked at these defeated men like insects, utterly indifferent.
Yet they dove in for him regardless.
Arthur’s white eyes began to glisten as he started grasping the meaning of my words.
“Ah…. Understood.”
The South’s Greatest Swordsman tightly gripped the Guard Captain’s hand.
Together, they escaped the collapsing rocks and reached the arena’s edge.
Afterward, the rocks fully filled the lake, turning it into a gravel bed.
“…”
From atop a fragment on the opposite side, I watched impassively.
Sheathing my sword, I muttered.
“Since we’re allies, better to help him out once in a while.”
Arthur’s skill was truly remarkable.
A man worthy of the title strongest in the South, rivaling my pre-regression self.
I had completed his final puzzle piece.
Then I glanced back toward the royal stands.
And flashed a grin at the princess who had approached the railing, staring intently at me.
“Eek….”
When our eyes met, Leah regretted widening her eyes like a startled big cat.
Composing herself to maintain dignity, she cleared her throat.
“Duke. It seems the duel has a result.”
“…”
Luke squeezed his eyes shut at the unbelievable reality.
Reluctantly rising, he activated the amplification spell again.
“I shall announce the duel’s result….”
The duke cried out to the solemn crowd.
In a deeply conflicted voice.
“The victor of this friendly duel between our nations is the Leon Empire…!!”
At first, his shout drew no cheers.
This was the southern kingdom of Hawson, after all.
But soon, they began applauding in respect.
The South’s Greatest Swordsman, Arthur, had risen unsteadily and approached me.
“Now I understand.”
Bathed in sunlight, his white eyes gleamed.
He slowly extended his hand to me.
“The qualifications for captain you spoke of.”
As expected of that father’s son.
Arthur had inferred the meaning of my final action.
I nodded slowly and clasped his hand.
Then, as if representatives of our nations, we shook firmly.
As the South’s Greatest Swordsman and the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman.