Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Melee (5)
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A cleanly severed arm tumbled across the ground like trash, spraying blood everywhere.
Scorching pain. But clenching my teeth with the arm I had left, I swung my sword.
However, with my body's balance shattered, it was nothing more than a futile struggle.
Even the remaining arm was sliced off. Maybe because I'd lost too much blood.
I couldn't fight off the dizziness and dropped to my knees. Valentis clicked his tongue in admiration.
"Your tenacity in refusing to give up against an overwhelming foe is commendable. A knight of your caliber deserves to live..."
"Shut up and kill me."
"I see. You'd rather die honorably than survive in humiliation. A noble spirit."
What bullshit. I'm putting up with all this crap just to survive.
Valentis's sword sent my head rolling to the ground. Every time it happened, the same thought crossed my mind.
I wish I could just die for good right here.
An overwhelming difference in forces. Outmatched in both quality and quantity, with an insurmountable gap in personal skill to boot.
And yet.
Why won't I let go of my sword?
A wall I could never climb.
The helplessness of facing it weighed down my limbs like shackles.
Even the hatred I had left slowly wore away against that overwhelming power.
Despair began to fill the void it left behind.
The death toll had already surpassed a hundred.
That was just counting from when Valentis unleashed his Aura.
The fight never stood a chance from the start. The unimaginable gap broke my spirit.
Could I even do this?
Can I win?
What if this death means nothing at all?
It felt like an endless run with no purpose, no goal—just a fool stupidly charging ahead.
But even in situations where I should've given up long ago, the reason I kept pushing forward was simple.
I had nothing left to lose.
In the end, right up to my last breath, I picked up my sword again.
The sound of metal shattering. A deafening explosion pierced my eardrums unpleasantly.
For the first time, Valentis visibly faltered after taking my second solid hit.
Disruption breeds openings.
No matter how invincible Aura seemed, if the user wavered, so did the Aura.
I didn't miss that gap.
I clung to him like a rabid dog. It was the only way to win.
But the confusion lasted only a moment.
Regaining his composure effortlessly, Valentis's sword cleaved my body in two in an instant.
My neatly bisected corpse spilled entrails as it fell apart left and right.
No.
Not enough yet.
Back to the beginning.
Deaths where I lost my life in a single strike started to dwindle bit by bit.
I was gradually adapting to his speed. Sword trajectories I couldn't see at all before now became faintly visible.
But the wounds still hurt like hell.
Every stab or slash felt like being branded with a hot iron.
No matter how many deaths I went through, I never got used to that.
I just...
Learned to endure it.
At least I no longer burst into tears and snot, scrambling to flee like at first.
I knew it was pointless anyway.
Fleeing just meant admitting defeat.
And even if I got lucky and escaped, I'd be dragged back to this hell.
"Kuh?!"
A flash of a swift sword strike took my right arm in an instant.
Just a split-second lapse in focus, and he wouldn't even allow that.
"A fine duel, Cain Blackguard. You've earned the right to live."
"Shut up and kill me."
"...You choose honorable death over a humiliating life. Admirable resolve."
Still the same honor-obsessed prick.
But he was undeniably strong.
Definitely a cut above the knights from those webnovels I'd read.
Or maybe even those knights were all like this.
No more distractions.
Gripping my sword again with a worn-down mind.
In this hell where I couldn't flee or even die.
The only thing I could trust was one thing.
My sword.
Aura can only be countered with Aura? Who decided that?
Until I tried it myself, how would I know? With that thought, I swung my sword.
Otherwise, I couldn't hold out.
I ignored everything else. Focused on just one thing and charged.
Sword clashed against sword.
My body was badly slashed along with my sword, like slicing through tofu. As always, I spilled blood and organs, meeting my end.
But I repeated the same the next time.
It wasn't about whether I could or couldn't. To overcome this despair...
I had no choice but to make it happen somehow.
Corpse Mountain Blood Sea
Mountains of corpses piled up, rivers of blood flowing from them like oceans.
But every single one of those corpses was mine, without exception.
And the mountain of bodies was still growing taller. But it wasn't just corpses piling up.
I tempered myself endlessly. Hammering my flesh relentlessly in the forge of agony.
Like iron that doesn't break no matter how many times it's struck, eventually becoming steel.
Bent and broken over and over, yet always picking up the sword in the end.
That will was worthy of being called steel.
And finally.
After stacking countless deaths...
I finally took one step forward.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Aura.
It was the hallmark of a knight's realm and the source of their confidence.
It had to be. Even by the Empire's standards, those who awakened Aura were a rare few.
Ordinary soldiers? A hundred or more charging at once could be swept away effortlessly the moment Aura was used.
Of course, overwhelming numbers would eventually wear down stamina and push back. Still, the gap was overwhelming.
And that became the foundation of Valentis's fanatical faith.
The embodiment of loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor. If loyalty was eternal, no sword could stand against his.
A true frog in a well, but no one here could deny it.
Except one.
Cain Blackguard.
From Valentis's perspective, Cain Blackguard was just a backwater noble he could kill anytime.
No need to go far—even a word to the mages would incinerate the bug easily.
Yet he accepted the duel because even bugs had honor.
Never disregard an opponent's honor; meet them willingly. That was Valentis's chivalry.
The absolute basis for such inefficient nonsense was his own awakened Aura.
Aura Users recognized each other. And to Valentis...
Cain Blackguard was just a greenhorn who hadn't even awakened Aura. Easy prey.
That's what he thought. Until his Aura-infused sword was blocked.
His shocked eyes stared at the opponent's sword. It looked utterly ordinary no matter how he looked.
A legendary blade from myths might block Aura, but no such thing would be here.
He'd pegged him as a low-tier Sword Expert at first, but using Aura revealed even that was generous.
At best, a Sword User. Even that was too much for his crude swordsmanship.
Yet that crude backwater noble's sword blocked the Emperor's blade infused with Aura.
That fact was enough to crack Valentis's fanaticism. And so, he made a mistake he never would have.
"A moldy village lord like you dares to block His Majesty the Emperor's sword...!!!"
Panic and rage. Perfect emotions to create an opening.
It was so blatant even Cain noticed. A brief moment, but clearly visible.
Death.
The unfair agony you'd inflicted on me alone, you who were always the strong one.
Aiming for the gap, I swung instinctively. I felt my muscles tear.
Did you never imagine a sneak attack in this situation?
Cain's sword pierced straight through Valentis's throat. The metallic tang, blood pouring from the hole in his neck.
That was the last sensation Valentis ever felt.
Finally.
The massive wall blocking my path was cleared. Honestly, it was more luck than skill.
If Valentis had stayed calm and assessed, Cain would've died again.
But an unexpected variable shattered his cool, and excessive excitement created the gap.
And seizing that gap wasn't luck—it was Cain's own skill.
"Sir Valentis has fallen!!!"
"Entire army, prepare for battle!! The enemy is at least a mid-tier Sword Expert!!"
"Ah...?"
But sadly, clearing one wall didn't end the hell.
Didn't I say it at the beginning?
Hell had only just begun.