Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: 48. The Seventh and the Eighth (1)
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The fierce battle ground to a halt in just a single instant.
But the tension doubled.
It was a standoff like the calm before the storm.
Krrr.
The silver-furred beastman gnashed its jaws.
The beastmen, who had lowered themselves fully while glaring at the Gerwein trio and that Ilai bastard, let out stifled groans and fell back.
The knights gathered around me.
Adelia remained firmly blocking my front, not moving an inch. Naturally, she had taken the lead of the group.
The silver-furred beastman stared intently at Adelia, who stood at the forefront.
Its yellow eyes brimmed with clear murderous intent—the greed of a predator eyeing its meal.
Krrrr.
Even the Gerwein trio and the Ilai bastard visibly stiffened with tension.
The beastman's aura was that ferocious and overwhelming.
But the timid woman didn't shrink back in the slightest.
Instead, she flared her radiant aura even brighter, standing firm against that savage pressure.
Watching her, a hot surge welled up inside me.
She was admirable.
Adelia, standing tall before such a mighty foe without relying on any traits—she was utterly magnificent.
I wanted to rush over right then and shower her with praise.
Well done. I'm so proud of you.
But I swallowed the words of praise that had risen to the tip of my tongue.
Her resolve and determination were far too weighty to be captured in a few simple words.
They were too profound for hasty comfort.
A woman who hated both taking wounds and inflicting them had taken up the sword of her own will.
A fearful, timid woman had faced down the killing intent of this half-human monstrosity.
Praise would be an insult, comfort a deception.
All the burdens she bore stemmed from me.
If Adelia had never met me, she wouldn't be facing this situation.
[You're probably thinking that if that girl had never met you, she wouldn't have to endure such suffering.]
Agnes spoke as if peering into my heart.
[Fate isn't led by anyone. You must recognize that she stood there of her own accord.]
It was less a rebuke and more a sigh.
[How long do you intend to shoulder others' karma in their place?]
I answered in my mind.
This isn't shouldering karma in their place. This is the responsibility I ought to bear.
[You haven't changed a bit, from past to present.]
Agnes lamented.
[Poor Gruhon, the soul that willingly donned the curse of the demonic sword. I pity you so much.]
She spoke as if she couldn't bear my misfortune, just like the sorcerer of the white night had once done.
It was pity I couldn't comprehend, sympathy I didn't want.
I shut my ears to it.
Now wasn't the time to indulge the Sword Marquis's noble chatter.
The silver beastman gnashed its jaws and lowered its body. I could feel Adelia's shoulders tense.
The next moment,
Bam!
The silver beastman kicked off the ground. At the exact same instant, Adelia, enveloped in her radiant aura, charged forward.
Silver trails lingered where the beastman swung its extended claws.
Adelia's slashes left countless afterimages in the air.
In the dark forest, shrouded by dense trees that barely let in any light, brilliant golden glows and pale silver flashes danced wildly.
Swaaaa.
Mighty ancient trees trembled, leaves scattering in the wind.
Bam!
The unresolved shockwaves swept through everything around them.
The ground exploded in places, trees toppled over.
To evade the aftermath, the knights and I had to retreat quite a distance.
"Crazy..."
The Ilai bastard muttered in a daze.
"If the captain had woken up just a little later, we really would've all died."
"Tell me about it."
Gerwein and his crew exchanged words in hoarse voices, as if they understood something I didn't.
But their conversation didn't last long.
They quickly focused back on Adelia and the silver beastman locked in combat.
Adelia was fighting astonishingly well.
Each step was as heavy as a mountain. The ground cratered with every footfall.
And her slashes that seemed ready to cleave the beastman's massive body in two—what about them?
The Giant-Slaying Sword derived from the Sword Marquis was perfect for facing a beastman as huge as a giant legion soldier.
With every swing of her blade, chunks of the beastman's flesh tore away.
But the silver beastman was no pushover either.
It attacked Adelia ferociously even as its flesh ripped open.
Its wounds regenerated in moments.
The beast was a seasoned warrior.
It knew its weapons well and had the courage and experience to wield them.
It exploited its near-immortal body to press Adelia aggressively.
It closed the distance to prevent her mountain-like steps, thrusting out its forearms and legs to interrupt her slashes before they could gain full power.
As time dragged on, Adelia's breathing grew ragged.
Her blade tip wavered. Her steps grew lighter.
I could almost grasp her flustered panic at this unexpected resistance.
Finally, unable to withstand the pressure any longer, she unleashed a full-force slash and fell back.
She looked at me with eyes on the verge of tears.
"No!"
That's when the Ilai bastard screamed.
Beyond her shoulder, as she gazed at me, I saw the beastman lowering its stance for a charge.
Bam bam bam.
Before that furious assault, she looked ready to be trampled at any second.
Realizing the danger too late, she whipped her head forward.
But as if all her prior valor had been a lie, she couldn't muster any response.
She just stared blankly at the beastman's charge.
Vmmm.
The Ilai bastard's sword hummed as he stepped forward. The Gerwein trio simultaneously lowered their stances, ready to rush in.
It was camaraderie worthy of praise, a swift reaction beyond reproach.
But it was utterly meaningless.
"That's far enough."
I stepped forward before they could.
The charging beastman scraped the ground with both arms and halted.
Looking at it, I said quietly,
"She's off-limits."
The beastman growled low.
A ferocious aura, as if it would resume its charge at any moment.
"She's mine. My knight. Not some insignificant thing for the likes of you to trample."
With those words, I unleashed the presence I'd been suppressing with all my might.
Whoooosh.
The karma I'd accumulated, the realm I'd attained, spread outward.
My hero's aura crushed the beastmen mercilessly.
The two that had appeared first groaned and hunched low. Tails tucked, drool spilling—they looked exactly like frightened dogs.
The silver-furred beastman snarled viciously. But it didn't dare charge, merely barking loudly.
"H-how? Your Highness has no mana..."
"I said I have no mana, not that I can't fight."
"What does that..."
"Swordmasters don't fight with mana alone."
If Quad Chain knights fought solely with swordsmanship,
Swordmasters staked everything they had.
Swords tore flesh, auras crushed souls.
Until the enemy's body and mind broke.
That was a swordmaster's battle.
And my aura was more than enough to shatter the silver beastman's will to fight.
I glanced at the still-bewildered Ilai, then turned to Adelia.
The silver-furred beastman hesitated and stepped back.
Just recently, imperial knights and mages hadn't been able to block me when my mana was depleted and my body was in tatters.
Likewise, the beastman kept retreating.
I looked steadily at it, then at Adelia.
"Good work, Adelia."
At my words, she burst into the tears she'd been holding back.
The grievances and fear of being pushed into facing that mighty monster all poured out at once.
The handful of courage that had sustained her crumbled like a lie. Her body followed.
Thud.
I reached out and caught her waist.
She buried herself in my arms.
"Adelia."
She looked up at me.
"You started it, so you finish it."
Adelia's face went blank.
"Don't worry. I'll have your back."
She wiped her tears at my words. Then she mustered what little courage she had left.
Adelia pulled away from me, gripping her sword and turning her back. A radiant aura quickly bloomed at her blade's tip.
I stood still, watching her back.
Adelia kicked off the ground.
Up until then, the silver-furred beastman had been cowering under my aura, hesitating.
Her slash descended upon its head.
Kraaak!
It roared belatedly and leaped aside, dodging the blow.
Adelia, who had slammed into the ground, took another step.
Her first step was as light as her slender frame.
The second was heavier, but still insufficient.
On the third, the ground dented.
On the fourth, the earth screamed.
By the fifth step, her footfalls finally became like mountains.
"One swing unleashes it all."
Adelia softly chanted, raising her sword overhead.
It was a verse from the Bayern family war poem, Poem of Genesis.
Whoooosh.
A brilliant glow gathered at her blade.
Adelia swung.
The golden radiant aura plummeted toward the beastman.
It bellowed fiercely, thrusting its claws in response—then froze.
It looked at me.
I had my sword aimed at it.
Blood flows to form rivers, flesh enriches the soil.
With the blood and flesh of giants, we renew this land.
I quietly recited the verse Adelia hadn't finished, under my breath.
Crack.
At that moment, Adelia's slash struck it dead-on.
Kraaaaa!
The beastman screamed.
Blood dripped in globs.
Its right shoulder was completely gone.
It had barely twisted at the last second to avoid having its head split open.
"Tch."
I clicked my tongue in disappointment, but it roared savagely.
Its yellow eyes glared at me, filled with rage.
Coward.
As if protesting to me.
"I didn't do anything."
I'd only watched. Though I'd raised my aura to its limit.
Kraaaaa!
Ferocity ignited, it howled.
Seeing blood seemed to revive its crushed battle spirit.
From now on, it probably wouldn't care about me at all, focusing solely on the fight.
With the full ferocity of a full-moon warrior intent on ripping out its enemy's throat.
But it was too late.
"Ahhh..."
A sigh of ecstasy escaped me.
The beastman turned its head.
There stood a woman drenched in the hot blood pouring from its body.
Her eyes streamed with gleams of different colors,
Her lips split in a wide grin.
The timid madwoman, her Slaughterer and War Maniac traits fully awakened, was there.
The madwoman raised her sword.
A blade brimming with an auspicious glow, at odds with her eerie madness.
The beastman groaned.
The madwoman laughed.
**
The battle was over.
All that remained was blood and flesh scattered everywhere, and a woman soaked head to toe in gore.
Adelia didn't move a muscle.
Normally, she'd be weeping at the tragedy she'd wrought.
But she just stood there, stock-still.
As if lost in deep thought.
Gulp.
Someone swallowed dryly.
Ilai bastard, or maybe the Gerwein trio—who knew.
I didn't care.
I stared piercingly only at Adelia.
She, who had been dazed, turned to look at me.
Her face neither crying nor smiling, she parted her lips.
That seems a bit...
Before she could finish,
Flash.
A brilliant light erupted.
Seeing that radiant glow, I murmured softly,
"Rumble."
It was the moment the wall blocking her front crumbled away.