The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated into a Count's Family
I stepped outside and immediately activated Heavenly Eye.
From every corner of the camp, I found streams of pitch-black energy seeping out. It wasn't mana. Those currents rose into the sky and gathered toward a single point.
"Heh heh heh."
There, a three-head-tall demon clutched its belly and cackled. A pair of red horns jutted from its forehead, a long arrow-shaped black tail trailed behind it, and its skin was black as well — unmistakably demonic. Overall, it looked rather like a goblin.
I never thought it'd be operating this brazenly out in the open.
The nature of the black energy the Dream Demon was absorbing hit me all at once. Impure mana. Thinner than the impure mana I knew, but impure mana all the same.
Nobody else seems to notice it at all… so it has a stealth ability too?
I weighed my options. The Dream Demon was completely off guard, convinced its presence hadn't been discovered. How could I land a perfect ambush?
If I alone drop into a combat stance while everyone else is busy… it'll notice me instantly.
After thinking it through, only one method remained.
Drop lightning on it.
I focused my mind. My mana responded and rose into the sky. Fortunately, the Dream Demon sensed nothing amiss.
Just before the lightning fell, the Dream Demon — still snickering down at the soldiers — seemed to feel something and cocked its head toward the heavens. Luckily, because it wasn't magic, it failed to recognize the attack for what it was.
Taste some thunder!
From the pitch-black night sky, a single bolt of blue lightning crashed down onto the Dream Demon.
Struck by the bolt, the Dream Demon plummeted. Only then did the peal of thunder roll belatedly after it.
Time to finish this.
I gripped Hwaryeonbido and started walking — then stopped short. The Dream Demon that had hit the ground shot back up into the sky. Its red eyes locked onto me with perfect accuracy. It had felt my killing intent and realized I was the culprit.
Is it going to run?
Judging by appearance alone, the Dream Demon looked weak. Contrary to my expectations, however, it did not flee. It bared its sharp fangs and settled into a fighting stance.
I wrapped Aura Blade around Hwaryeonbido and charged. The Dream Demon thrust both hands toward me. Black smoke burst from its palms in a sudden rush.
Acceleration. Charna.
Acceleration
Duration: 10 minutes | Remaining stacks: 6
Charna
Remaining stacks: 5
Using the skills, I slipped past the black smoke. Several soldiers nearby took the hit full-on. They collapsed to the ground like puppets with their strings cut and fell asleep.
"Gyaaaaaaah!"
Then they screamed and thrashed. I had no idea what principle the attack worked on.
As long as I don't get hit, it doesn't matter.
I leapt into the air toward the floating Dream Demon and swung my blade. It rose higher and dodged the strike.
Crackle.
Lightning qi shaped into footholds across empty air.
I planted my feet on the platforms and jumped again. The Dream Demon's face twisted in shock.
My blade connected. I'd aimed for its torso, but all I managed was to shear through its shoulder.
Aura Blade could slice steel like soft tofu — yet a demon's hide proved tougher than steel.
Fine. I'll just hit it again.
Crackle.
Stepping on the lightning platforms, I charged the Dream Demon once more.
"Kieeeeeeek!"
It shrieked. The high-frequency voice made my brow furrow on its own. Whether it was a scream or a sonic attack, I couldn't tell — but the look of agony on its face suggested the former.
"Shut up and die quietly! That's the price for interrupting my fun!"
The instant I swung, the Dream Demon's body swelled — and burst. Pitch-black smoke clung to me from every direction.
…I'm screwed.
It wasn't carelessness. I'd simply been caught off guard by the self-destruction.
Wrapped head to toe in black smoke, I plummeted toward the ground. Aside from the restricted vision, I felt nothing wrong. No pain. Arms and legs still worked fine.
Crash!
I hit the dirt. The impact slammed up through my back. I'd managed a rough breakfall, so the damage wasn't serious.
What is this? The black smoke won't come off.
The black smoke — something fundamentally different from impure mana — writhed as if it were alive. When I remained unharmed, it almost seemed to panic, like a living creature that didn't know what to do.
I focused Heavenly Eye and stared hard into the smoke. I saw the Dream Demon's presence. Or rather — felt it. That was the better word.
So this black smoke was its true form all along.
The Dream Demon was a demon of dreams. That meant this black smoke had something to do with dreams as well.
Thunderbolt.
I unleashed Thunderbolt. Blue lightning erupted from my body in every direction, electrocuting the black smoke. The smoke heaved violently, then condensed into a single mass and took the Dream Demon's shape once more. Missing one arm, it staggered and collapsed to the ground.
I looked down at it and considered for a moment.
Kill it here? Or keep it alive and squeeze it for information?
Demon bastards are stubborn. Even under torture, it'd take days to get them talking. And this one looks pathetic — it probably barely knows anything worth hearing.
I didn't need scrap information. I could crush the enemy without it.
I raised Hwaryeonbido and took the Dream Demon's head. Black blood sprayed as its neck hit the dirt.
"Waaaaaaaah!"
Cheers erupted all around me.
The unexpected roar startled me into looking around. I'd been so focused on the Dream Demon that I hadn't noticed — soldiers had crowded in thick around me.
"The Commander has taken the demon's head!!"
"The Commander has slain the demon and restored justice!!!"
"Eugene Frucus!! Eugene Frucus!!!"
The soldiers' cheers weren't half bad.
I grinned, grabbed the Dream Demon's head, and hoisted it high. The roar swelled louder. Hearing my name spread through the ranks put me in an excellent mood.
"You there. Soldier."
"Yes, Commander!"
"Mount the demon's head on a pole where everyone can see it! Even these damned demons can't stop us! We are the army of Goddess Serion, come to save the continent from their kind!"
"The Commander's words are true! We are the army of Goddess Serion!"
Satisfied, I gave the soldier a light clap on the shoulder and headed for the carriage. I now had a war story to tell Yuria.
Dawn broke.
I woke around noon in Yuria's arms. I'd meant to get up in the morning… but somehow, I just hadn't felt like it. I was the kind of man who did as he pleased.
I stepped out of the carriage.
A strange tension hung in the air. The army had already finished its preparations for battle.
Floy and Starlight approached.
I looked at Starlight and asked,
"How many soldiers did the Dream Demon get last night?"
"Three hundred twenty-two dead, and fifteen still in a coma. According to the mages, they'll wake by this evening at the latest."
"Negligible losses."
The force I'd brought numbered over a hundred and twenty thousand. Counting the slave soldiers taken as prisoners, three hundred dead barely registered.
"Siege preparations are complete, I take it?"
"They are. My lord need only give the order."
"Sharnell and the mages?"
"Deployed to the rear. The Flune Knights are escorting them."
The Flune Knights were the knight order belonging to House Frucus. When I became Count Frucus, the Flune Knights had naturally become mine as well.
I summoned Stormbreaker and donned the armor. Floy brought my horse, and Starlight fastened a crimson cloak to my shoulders.
"Floy. It's a mare, I assume?"
"Of course, my lord."
Only after confirming the horse's sex did I mount. I did not ride stallions.
I pointed my sword tip at the enemy walls and roared,
"Charge!!!"
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Slave soldiers with swords and shields surged toward the walls. Archers atop the battlements loosed arrows in unison. The clear blue sky turned black under the storm of shafts.
Our mages cast wind magic. The mass of arrows arcing down toward the ground slammed into a powerful gale and shattered midair, raining broken shafts to the earth.
The slave soldiers hooked ladders onto the walls and began to climb. Of course, nothing went as planned. The defenders poured boiling water, loosed arrows, and resisted fiercely. Then, at some point, the mages on the walls began casting against the climbing slave soldiers.
The ground shook. Pillars of fire erupted.
"Finally the mages have stepped in. Our turn."
I spoke, and Starlight beside me relayed the order to our mages through a magic tool.
Moments later, Sharnell's Hellfire and hundreds of Fireballs streaked over our heads and bombarded the walls. The enemy mages scrambled to raise barriers of water or answer with defensive spells. Had they prepared from the start, it might have been different — but exhausted from dealing with the climbing slave soldiers, they failed to stop the magical barrage.
KRA-KRA-KRA-BOOM!
A colossal explosion tore the gates and walls apart. Not every section of wall fell, but that alone decided the war.
"Floy! Let's go!"
"Yes, my lord! All of you, follow the lord!!"
I seized the reins and rode. The Golden Rose Knights thundered after me, elite soldiers hard on their heels.
Cassiod! Your head is mine!
I spurred the horse through the shattered gates. Inside, the fighting was already in full swing. Fires burned everywhere, and the screams never stopped.
I raced for the heart of the city. A lord was almost always in the largest building at the center — or, failing that, somewhere behind it.
"Count Frucus!!"
"You shall not pass!!"
Two knights barred my path.
Floy didn't even need to step in. I cut both of them down through their armor with a blade wreathed in Aura Blade and pressed forward.
Before the inner keep's main gate, I saw Cassiod and several dozen knights.
"Cassiod! I've come!!"