Chapter 145
Chapter 145
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: 45. The Day the Sky Path Opens (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[How long do you plan to play god like that?]
In a world filled only with ringing in my ears, that voice pierced through sharper than any other.
There were plenty of foul-mouthed people in the world, but among those I knew, only one whispered curses into my ear with such refined elegance.
"Ann?"
[It's been a while since you've used that damned nickname.]
Her curt reply left me stunned.
She was a hero of the Great War that had ended centuries ago—a knight who had slain the Giant King "Eda," one of the Five Elector Princes.
The Iron-Blooded Sword Marquis, Agnes Bayern.
Hearing Agnes's voice again, which I'd thought I'd never hear, brought a lump to my throat.
"Is that really you, Agnes?"
My voice trembled more than ever before.
[Agnes, my ass. For now, ditch those godforsaken dual swords. What kind of mongrel bullshit is that? It's making my eyes rot.]
But she couldn't care less about my agitation.
"How are you..."
[Talk after you've dealt with those mongrel knights and mages who aren't even proper ones.]
Her words snapped me back to reality.
Before I knew it, the paladins had surrounded me.
As she said, this wasn't the time to savor a reunion.
"Don't go anywhere."
[I've been in that spot for centuries.]
Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.
I gripped my swords tightly.
"...!"
"...!"
The paladins charged at me.
Sword lights flashed wildly.
Each strike could split boulders or shatter city gates in one blow.
I couldn't afford to underestimate them. I raised my swords to block the onslaught.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening roars pierced through the ringing in my ears.
I blocked like a madman—over and over and over.
Counterattacking wasn't even on my mind.
I just desperately parried and dodged.
But you can't block ten hands with one, and two swords can't fend off seven.
My back was sliced. My leg was stabbed. Flesh tore from my waist.
My charred armor peeled away with chunks of my flesh.
In that horrific agony of being carved up, I gritted my teeth and thrust my sword.
"...!"
The paladin I'd stabbed in the chest grabbed my blade.
I swung my main sword to sever his hand.
The paladin screamed.
Squish.
Bloodied sword barely recovered, another blade came flying.
Thud.
My shoulder was pierced. Then the back of my knee was slashed.
My legs buckled.
"Urk."
I dropped to one knee, slamming Dusk into the ground to steady myself.
From that position, I swept Dragon Slayer around me.
Golden flashes shot out in all directions.
The paladins hurriedly fell back.
"Hoo, hoo."
[See? Told you those damned dual swords wouldn't cut it.]
Agnes sneered.
Instead of answering, I forced down the breath rising to my chin.
Leaning on Dusk, I glared at my surroundings.
The paladins eyed me hungrily, waiting for an opening.
My vision was poor.
Whether from all the lightning strikes or blood loss, everything blurred.
I gritted my teeth and forced my eyes wide.
[Do you remember?]
With Dusk stabbed into the ground, I staggered to my feet.
[When I was surrounded by the Giant Legion soldiers.]
I angled Dusk obliquely and pulled my main sword back as if to stab.
[I truly thought it was the end then.]
"Huuuuh."
I exhaled long, glaring at the paladins.
[Without you, I would've died nine times out of ten, my corpse not even left behind.]
The paladins exchanged glances.
[So now it's my turn to help you.]
And they began creeping toward me.
[Just as you led me...]
I puffed my chest and drew a deep breath.
Almost simultaneously, the paladins kicked off the ground.
[I'll lead you.]
At that moment, time itself slowed.
[My one and only companion, old partner.]
Agnes spoke to me.
[You and I are not separate; though two, we are one.]
[What I did is what you did, what I achieved is what you achieved.]
[This is the fruit born from the seed you sowed.]
[The glory you attained through me.]
As soon as that eerie whisper ended, something grand and majestic enveloped me.
Strength surged back into my limp arms.
My faltering mana pulsed fiercely again.
[Rampage as you please.]
My blurred vision cleared in an instant.
[I'll handle the aftermath.]
Facing the six swords charging at me, I mouthed softly.
Fwaaah!
At that instant, radiant golden runes erupted from my sword tip.
Rumble!
In a roar that seemed to shatter the world, the cold war maniac grinned with delight.
Hearing that laugh, I swung my sword down with all my might.
The massive pillar of light that had pierced the heavens crashed straight to the ground.
**
A pillar of light erupted from the center of the battlefield.
It was a colossal sword dozens of meters long.
In that surreal horror, the empire's knights and mages gave up even resisting.
They watched as the blade of light tilted.
"Ahh..."
Dazed knights reached out as if caressing the light.
The auspicious glow devoured their hands.
Not even a scream.
They stared blankly at their vanished hands.
The massive light sword fell upon the imperial forces.
Boom.
An earth-shaking roar. Dust clouds swallowed the area.
Swoosh.
A wind from somewhere dispersed the dust.
And the aftermath was revealed.
Everywhere lay flattened iron scraps. Blood, flesh, and hair clung in patches.
They were the corpses of knights crushed armor and all.
Among them were the empire's proud paladins.
Closest to the sword's center, their bodies were the most gruesome of all.
Thud.
Two lucky paladins who avoided a direct hit collapsed on their asses.
No trace of a completed knight's pride remained.
"Ugh..."
They groaned like frightened beasts, scraping backward with their feet.
It was unsightly, shameful behavior.
But no one pointed fingers calling them ugly.
The dead were gone, and the living were no longer truly alive.
The imperial knights, swords dropped, stared at the man who wrought this horrific calamity.
Blood-soaked, one knee on the ground, he panted.
He looked on the verge of collapse, yet his presence overwhelmed everyone there.
The imperial forces didn't dare charge, retreating hesitantly.
The man staggered to his feet.
Then gripped his swords with both hands, aiming at the imperials.
Half dead or pulped, their remaining forces were still formidable.
Hundreds of knights and dozens of mages lived.
Yet at his slight motion, the imperials panicked and backpedaled.
Staring at them, the man spat with a hack. He picked up his ground-stuck sword and trudged forward.
Clank, clank.
Crushed armored corpses crunched grotesquely underfoot.
Screeech.
His two trailing swords scraped the ground, sending chills up spines.
Thud.
A few weak-willed mages fainted at the horrific sound.
Drip.
Blood trickled from his forehead. He stopped, wiping it away.
Sway.
Stumbling, he stepped forward again.
His gait kept veering toward the surviving knights.
No one moved.
A man who seemed one swing from vomiting blood passed right by, his bloody back exposed—yet none drew a sword.
They just held their breath, watching him pass.
He moved past the knights' ranks.
A tidal wave of corpses lay before him.
He turned back.
Perhaps admiring his handiwork, or memorizing the survivors for next time.
The imperial knights snapped to belatedly.
We can't let him live. If we kill him, now's the only chance.
The two surviving paladins moved first.
Terror made them desperate.
Trembling hands gripped swords as they staggered into a run.
"K-Kill him!"
At their scream-like shout, knights drew swords one by one, advancing on him.
The man didn't move. He just stood facing the corpse sea.
His shadowed face gleamed with eerie eyes.
Approaching knights hesitated.
"He can't even twitch a finger now!"
"Don't fall for his bluff!"
The paladins urged. Knights advanced again.
Finally up close, they awkwardly thrust their swords.
Then they realized.
His gaze wasn't on them.
He looked to the sky.
Rumble.
Black thunderclouds blanketed the heavens before they knew it.
The knights froze.
They'd witnessed lightning all night—but not aimed at them, just awe.
Now that same horrific magic that swept the enemy loomed over their heads.
"Stop! Friendlies will get caught!"
Terrified imperials yelled. But the caster remained hidden.
They shouted in all directions to halt the magic.
Futile.
Even as they screamed, the spell neared completion.
Flash.
Lightning flickered through the clouds.
Dozens of bolts slithered like snakes.
Frightened knights scattered.
But they all knew.
Human legs were too slow to escape the spell's vast area.
Amid the chaos, the unmoving man raised his sword to the sky.
As if to cleave the falling lightning.
Groooar.
The thunderclouds roared.
Dozens of blue serpents flicked tongues beyond.
Then a sharp cry rang out.
Kyaaaaah!
Not one, but dozens of roars.
Over a hundred wyverns appeared from the horizon.
Kyaaaaak!
Wyverns screamed, diving in.
Toward the heart of the thunderclouds ready to unleash hell.
Leading was an especially massive wyvern.
"Raise banners!"
A majestic roar echoed.
Wyvern riders thrust grotesquely long spears forward.
"Pierce the heavens!"
At the shout, dozens of wyverns became gleaming spears, piercing the black sky.
The heavens split.
Black clouds scattered. Dozens of holes punctured the dark sky.
Beams of light streamed through.
Where the wyverns passed became the path,
Like the knights of ancient skies, only resonant dawn light remained in their wake.