Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Whereabouts of the Disaster (1)
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“This is…….”
Logan Deolic widened his eyes as he gazed at the menacing sword inside the wooden box.
It was clearly no ordinary blade at first glance.
“I believe Count Deolic can handle it, but please be careful. It exudes such a ferocious aura.”
“Indeed, as you say.”
Logan’s eyes grew serious.
‘Is it something akin to a cursed sword?’
In the underground mine located in Kitten Forest.
Logan had been inwardly shocked after witnessing Clay’s swordsmanship there.
The man, who had possessed utterly mediocre talent, had displayed skill on par with his own—or perhaps even surpassing it.
It was utterly unbelievable.
He wondered how someone who had been nothing more than a dullard could elevate his realm so dramatically in such a short time.
Logan could draw only one conclusion.
‘With this, I can finally become a Sword Master…….’
The Seven Heavenly Swords.
These legendary blades were said to grant special powers to their wielders.
And if even a dullard could grow this strong with one, then for him, becoming the continent’s greatest was no longer a dream.
There was just one thing that nagged at him.
The ferocious aura emanating from the sword before him was utterly different from the blade Clay had wielded previously.
‘Well, not all Seven Heavenly Swords are the same, I suppose.’
But Logan soon accepted it and examined the sword once more.
Strange patterns were etched into the blade, absorbing nearby mana and glowing faintly.
‘This is a magic circle meant to seal the sword’s power!’
As someone on the verge of becoming a Sword Master, reading the flow of mana was as simple as breathing for Logan.
The mana flowing along the blade gave a strong impression of suppressing something.
“Take…… me……”
A strange voice echoed in his mind.
Logan hurriedly glanced aside, but Viscount Gwyn showed no reaction.
‘It’s speaking only to me?’
A faint smile crept onto Logan’s lips.
It truly was no ordinary sword.
Even if it wasn’t one of the Seven Heavenly Swords, it was undoubtedly a blade of immense power.
Grip!
“C-Count Deolic!”
“No need to be startled.”
Logan gripped the sword and slowly lifted it.
In that instant, tremendous power flowed through the blade into him, instantly filling his body with vitality and mana.
The astonishing part was that it didn’t end there.
“Break…… the seal…… break the seal…….”
The voice from the sword rang even more intensely in his head.
It promised power unmatched in the world if he shattered the seal.
‘This is the power while sealed……?’
Even sealed, it granted this much strength.
Then what unimaginable power would it bestow once the seal was broken?
Clank!
“The money will be delivered by my servants.”
“Th-thank you.”
Viscount Gwyn’s expression soured, but he dared not defy Logan’s words.
‘With my skill and this sword’s power…….’
Logan thought of the upcoming birthday festival banquet in a few days.
Clay was sure to attend.
But Clay was not Logan’s target right now.
‘I’ll defeat Count Ribina in public and claim a seat among the Seven Heroes.’
Succeeding in that would restore—no, surpass—his former prestige.
What were the Seven Heroes?
The seven strongest on the continent, revered as heroes.
A position Logan, who hadn’t yet reached Sword Master, could never have dreamed of.
But with this demonic sword, it felt entirely possible.
‘……Clay Banheart.’
Dealing with him would come after.
Once he became one of the Seven Heroes and restored the Deolic family’s authority.
He would thoroughly crush the one who had humiliated him.
* * *
Jerbisia protested that it was a frame-up, but she was ultimately dragged away by the soldiers and imprisoned.
King Serbin had probably suspected as much.
The slave traders couldn’t have moved so elusively without an inside accomplice.
Moreover, searching Jerbisia’s palace turned up massive treasures of unknown origin and evidence of collusion.
Jerbisia would likely spend the rest of her long elven life locked away.
That was as far as my thoughts on her went.
Immediately after, I had to rush around searching for the Corrosion Disaster.
“Report! No signs of the Corrosion Disaster near the southwestern ridge.”
“Report!”
Desperate for time, I led the palace soldiers straight into the search.
We even conscripted villagers from each settlement to comb the mountains thoroughly.
With elves, beastkin, and dwarves joining the effort, I figured we could find it even if time was tight.
But anxiety was inevitable.
‘Please be somewhere in the mountains.’
The reason I hurried to find it was simple.
There was a chance the Corrosion Disaster might cross Kezman Mountains and head elsewhere.
Considering the slime’s sluggish speed, it probably hadn’t escaped yet, but if it did……
‘It would truly descend as a full disaster then.’
Finding it after it slipped away into somewhere else would be impossible.
Riya looked at my frantic face and asked with evident worry.
“Clay, are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”
“Others would just get in the way.”
In truth, I was the only one here who could face a disaster head-on.
She knew that, yet her concern seemed overwhelming.
‘Where the hell is it?’
I anxiously reviewed search reports while scouring the mountains.
After a full day and eight more hours, as the morning sun rose, word came.
“We found it!”
It was a beastkin soldier who spotted the disaster.
He had run without rest, panting heavily and drenched in sweat like pouring rain.
“Where is it now?”
“It’s heading toward Tenbr River!”
I immediately recalled Tenbr River’s location.
It flowed midway through Kezman Mountains, stretching long toward the valley stream.
‘It plans to ride the rapids and escape in one go!’
Smart for a slime.
As a liquid-based slime, getting swept by the current would let it flee the mountains in an instant.
“Everyone, to Tenbr River!”
I led Lavanteira’s soldiers toward Tenbr River, tightening the encirclement to catch it before it flowed downstream.
“There it is!”
An elf soldier pointed and shouted.
I nodded and sprinted full speed in that direction.
‘Why do I always end up running through mountains?’
Even the battlefield had been in the mountains, wearing out my soles, and now this.
‘There!’
I spotted the disaster moving toward the riverbank.
It wasn’t too fast, so at this pace, we could easily catch up.
Ssssh!
Slimes sense surroundings through mana.
It detected my approach and began wriggling.
Probably planning to explode its neck like before.
But I had no intention of falling for the same trick.
“Riya!”
“Yes! Be trapped in the wall of flow!”
Wooong!
The transparent barrier that had contained the Plague Disaster, Edward Williams, enveloped the slime on all sides.
An explosion erupted simultaneously, scattering green bodily fluids everywhere.
The Acid Slime, Plague Disaster, began melting the barrier from inside, but its divided, weakened state rendered it futile.
‘Good!’
Fortunately, Riya’s ability had successfully sealed its division as planned.
But like with Edward, we couldn’t hold it forever.
So, end it in one go.
“Everyone, fall back!”
Realizing it couldn’t escape in its weakened divided form, the Acid Slime hurriedly began merging back into one.
Shing!
Meanwhile, I swiftly drew Genova and charged.
“Merge!”
Reaching the transparent barrier, I shouted and swung Genova.
Swish!
Passing beyond the barrier with Solaris’s power, I flashed a grin.
“Forget escaping.”
Slimes lacked hearing, so it shouldn’t understand words.
Yet it reacted violently as if it did, its entire body squirming wildly.
Grip!
I tightened my hold on Genova, bracing for its attack.
But what followed was unexpected.
“……?”
Suddenly, its body melted rapidly into a thin liquid.
As I faltered at the incomprehensible sight—
Whoosh!
Its sprawled body transformed into a massive wave, surging toward me.
‘In an enclosed space, that attack would leave no escape.’
Dangerous.
But……
Now, it was worth trying.
“Extreme Sword Deltoid.”
Genova’s blade hummed as a new power unlocked.
Deltoid granted its wielder superhuman physical abilities beyond limits and infinite stamina.
When I learned of this sword’s power, anticipation swelled within me. It offered the possibility of transcending limits.
‘Ilryun Jicheon Sword.’
The ultimate swordsmanship completed by blade master Damian Viet.
I had learned mana control through Gransesia, but never properly executed it.
Mastering Ilryun Jicheon Sword’s mana flow required at least a Sword Master-level physique.
‘But with Deltoid’s power…….’
Sizzle!
Genova’s blade glowed white-hot, radiating intense heat.
It paled compared to what Damian showed, but……
This was unmistakably Ilryun Jicheon Sword.
“I’ll evaporate you all.”
Splash!
The white-glowing sword strike incinerated everything it touched.
The Acid Slime, crashing as a wave, writhed in agony.
I gave it no respite, swinging relentlessly.
Slash, slash, slash again.
‘I can feel it.’
The more I swung, the more I sensed and saw it.
My vision expanded wider than ever.
My fully activated body illuminated the path I must take.
It showed the wall I needed to surpass.
“Huuuuu.”
I slowly sheathed my sword.
My expanded vision normalized, my head throbbing.
‘Did I do that?’
In the heat-filled space, only smoke scattered by the wind remained.
No trace of the desperately thrashing Corrosion Disaster lingered.
‘A shame.’
Despite successfully eliminating the disaster, a strange regret lingered. A bit more, and I might have grasped the key to breaking through the wall.
But slaying the disaster came before that clue.
‘Tch.’
Regrettable, but unavoidable.
Even if we’d continued, I likely wouldn’t have found a proper way.
That was probably the wall to Sword Master.
[You just became a Sword Expert not long ago—what greed.]
Gransesia chided me, as if reading my thoughts.
‘Yeah, fair enough?’
[Well, but using that sword…… you might advance your realm faster than completing your body.]
‘……Really?’
I asked hopefully, and Gransesia chuckled softly.
[Yes. It feels that way somehow. But don’t rush too much.]
I nodded unconsciously at her words.
If even she said so, there was hope.
“Clay.”
Then, Riya’s voice called from behind.
Turning slowly, I found her inexplicably close—right in my face.
“Riya?”
When I asked puzzled, her gaze dropped.
To my right hand exactly.
It should have had a gauntlet, but fighting the Corrosion Disaster had melted it away, leaving nothing.
Except for the Eye of Simosa.
‘No way…….’
Only then did I realize.
Riya was peering piercingly at the Eye of Simosa with her Dragon Eye.