Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Territorial War (1)
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The sword form of the Falling Moon Sword was exceedingly beautiful.
True to its name, it shone softly like the moon, and the power that naturally overwhelmed the opponent was worthy of being called the sword of a sword god.
But Gransesia referred to this very Falling Moon Sword as follows.
“It feels half-finished somehow.”
“Half-finished?”
“It’s well-made... but it feels like it’s holding itself back.”
When I was receiving instruction from her in dreams for a month in Aintban, Gransesia had said that.
It felt like something was being suppressed. Like an incomplete swordsmanship.
Honestly, those words didn’t resonate with me much.
‘Even at a glance, it’s far superior to the Silver Star Sword?’
The Silver Star Sword alone was a renowned swordsmanship on the continent.
Yet compared to the Falling Moon Sword, it seemed utterly shabby.
Of course, in terms of first impressions, the Silver Star Sword would be more threatening and advantageous for creating variables, but overall, comparing it to the Falling Moon Sword was laughable.
In truth, it was ridiculous for me—a recent Sword Expert—to be evaluating swordsmanship.
With such thoughts in mind, I headed toward where Damian was.
Passing the mine that was in the midst of full-scale excavation, I entered the now-familiar cavern, and there stood a single Death Knight.
“Your skills have improved dramatically since Aintban.”
Damian, whom I was reuniting with after several months, said that the moment he saw me.
“My skills have improved?”
“Improved, indeed. Honestly, to a startling degree.”
Damian seemed genuinely shocked.
“With your talent, it’s a level I can’t comprehend at all. What on earth happened in Aintban?”
“Well...”
I had no choice but to hesitate over what to say.
The reason my skills had surged was undoubtedly the instruction I received from Gransesia in my dreams.
‘Gransesia asked me not to talk about her if possible.’
She seemed to care about Damian in many ways, making it hard to bring her up casually.
“I just had a few strokes of luck.”
“Strokes of luck... Well, that must be it, otherwise this rate of progress is inexplicable.”
Damian didn’t pry further and drew his sword.
The rest would be settled through our bodies directly.
“Draw your sword, Clay. I’ll check if you’ve truly made the Falling Moon Sword your own, to the extent of your increased realm.”
“Understood.”
I drew my sword and faced Damian.
It had been months since our last spar, but it felt familiar.
‘Is it because I kept sparring with Gransesia?’
She was someone who could take down even a top-grade demon in one strike.
After exchanging blows with her, the instinctive trembling I used to feel against Damian had lessened.
I moved my eyes more calmly, observing Damian’s stance and searching for openings.
“...Good.”
Damian let out a brief exclamation.
And the moment he raised his sword, I lunged at him a step faster.
‘Definitely, I can see more than before.’
Through spars with Gransesia and the battle with the Illusion Calamity, I had felt a step forward.
But it hadn’t really sunk in until now, sparring with Damian again, when I could sense my own growth.
Unlike before, Damian’s strength was now vividly clear to me.
“That’s enough.”
After several exchanges, Damian slowly sheathed his sword.
“At this rate, reaching high Sword Expert won’t be far off.”
“Pardon? Not mid... but high?”
“Your swordsmanship has long surpassed your original realm. It was just that your handling of mana and combat judgment lagged behind.”
The red light visible within Damian’s helmet flickered and swayed.
“But in these few months, those have advanced by leaps and bounds. It’s more than just surprising.”
My mouth fell open at Damian’s successive praises. I had never received such high commendation from him before.
[Of course! Who did you learn from? This is the least you should manage.]
At that moment, Gransesia, who had been quiet until then, spoke up arrogantly.
‘I misjudged you. You truly are an outstanding teacher.’
[I told you, joy comes after pain. From now on, engrave my teachings well!]
‘Of course, I shall serve faithfully.’
If my skills kept improving like this, what wouldn’t I endure?
Right now, I felt I could accept even Gransesia’s most unreasonable demands.
“Then now, I can properly pass on the Falling Moon Sword.”
Damian, who had been pondering something, spoke in a serious tone.
Properly pass on the Falling Moon Sword?
Normally, I’d be thrilled, but somehow it felt ominous.
“Pardon?”
“It means I can raise the intensity of our spars to something closer to real combat.”
“...Wouldn’t that be too much?”
“It won’t be.”
Damian spoke firmly and drew his sword once more.
His aura was at least twice as ferocious as before.
“To master the ultimate technique of the Falling Moon Sword, this is a necessary step. Draw your sword, Clay.”
“...”
I had a gut feeling.
From now on, I was going to get absolutely pummeled.
* * *
While Clay was learning the Falling Moon Sword from Damian.
In the Timons Merchant Guild building, four women had gathered for a small meeting.
Of course, calling it small was relative; anyone knowing one of them was the empire’s princess would be stunned.
“You’re here. Your Highness. As promised, we’ll proceed with sex education... no, love education.”
Lutia, wearing sleek red glasses from who-knows-where, spoke in what she thought was an intellectual tone.
In front of her sat three students: Riya, Maria, and Mone, behaving obediently.
“It will be proper, won’t it?”
“Of course, of course.”
Lutia responded confidently to Riya’s suspicious gaze, as if to say trust me.
“...Mother, why do I have to be here?”
“Because I’ve done nothing for our Maria all this time, and I feel sorry, so I want to help with something like this...”
Maria closed her mouth helplessly at Lutia’s tearful display with a handkerchief.
It was a bit annoying, but since she had free time anyway, going along wasn’t hard.
“Young Master told me to look after Her Highness, so I plan to stay by her side.”
In contrast, Mone seemed somewhat interested.
But Lutia instinctively realized this maid was no pushover.
“First, this meeting is purely to support Her Highness’s love, with no personal ulterior motives.”
“...And these two?”
Riya glanced at the two beside her.
Maria and Mone shook their heads.
“I respect the Count, but... whether it’s romantic affection, I’m not sure.”
“Young Master is Young Master.”
Textbook answers.
But Riya narrowed her eyes.
Her woman’s intuition told her not to take those answers at face value.
‘If I could...’
Various dark thoughts flashed through her mind.
In the past, she might have ruthlessly eliminated them without hesitation.
But Riya didn’t want to do anything Clay would dislike.
That’s why she was here to hear Lutia’s advice.
“...Fine. Unlike these two, I want to make Clay mine.”
“Wait, Your Highness. Possessiveness is good, but you mustn’t show it too much!”
Lutia quickly interjected as Riya declared it to the other two like a proclamation.
Riya’s eyes furrowed at the sudden criticism.
“Not show it too much?”
“As I warned before, excessive jealousy tires men out. To truly capture the Count’s heart, you need a bit of push and pull.”
“Push and pull?”
She knew so little.
Raised as the princess of the mighty Asktalin Empire, she always got what she wanted.
Hiding her true feelings didn’t resonate with her.
“For example... I heard Your Highness has been helping with Banheart Count Family matters lately.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You wanted to feel like the lady of the house?”
“...”
She couldn’t deny it.
She planned to gradually build her presence in the mansion bit by bit, until Clay couldn’t live without her.
To such a Riya, Lutia crossed her hands in an X.
“I get the intent, but the direction is completely wrong.”
“Wrong?”
Riya’s lips curled up at Lutia’s words.
Of course, her eyes weren’t smiling at all.
Mone and Maria beside her flinched, wondering if they should intervene.
Lutia flinched too but quickly composed herself and continued sharply.
“Overdoing it burdens and annoys the other person. More importantly, showing too much affection makes you feel like a caught fish. That kills the charm!”
“...”
Riya listened with a smile that dared her to continue, but her lips slowly turned down.
She glanced at the women beside her, as if asking if it was true.
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Young Master dislikes others meddling too much in his affairs.”
Maria shook her head, and Mone agreed with Lutia, implicitly scolding Riya’s behavior.
“Hmph...”
Riya’s face puffed up in pouty dissatisfaction now that she grasped the situation.
Her outwardly sulky, prim expression betrayed deep dejection.
The others might not notice, but Lutia could tell.
“Just do better from now on. Teacher will guide you well.”
“...I’ll trust you once.”
Riya nodded, her trust in Lutia subtly increased.
Mone, who had been silently watching them, asked the expressionless Maria.
“Ms. Lutia seems really good at romance.”
“I can’t trust her much.”
“Why?”
“If she were that good at romance, she wouldn’t have married someone like my father.”
Mone was speechless at Maria’s absurd reply.
* * *
“...!”
A tremendous roar enveloped the vast forest entirely.
Something massive exploded, scattering in all directions, and the vegetation it touched melted like water.
“It still won’t die.”
The remnants that had blanketed the forest gathered at one spot, gradually regaining their form.
The numerous demons present clicked their tongues at the sight.
“As expected of a calamity.”
What lay scattered as debris before their eyes was none other than the “Corrosion Disaster.”
Currently just a massive slime that hadn’t fully awakened its calamity powers, its transcendent regenerative ability was anything but ordinary.
Had time passed and it awakened as a calamity, it surely would have become a being worthy of the name.
“And... it seems true that where there’s a calamity, the odds of a Heavenly Sword being nearby are high.”
The top-grade demon leading the horde raised the thin-bladed narrow sword in his hand.
“This is the fifth sword, Sealpin.”
It was the second Heavenly Sword the demons had found.