Chapter 798
Chapter 798
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 798
Chapter Title: Reborn as the Plum Blossom Swordmaster in a Count's Family
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Yuria scoured Lurut Mountain without a wink of sleep for two straight days.
She tracked down every cave and unusual spot on the mountain, venturing inside each one personally to check them thoroughly. Yet the relic Sung Yu-jin had mentioned was nowhere to be found.
By this point, even Yuria started to harbor some doubts.
Of course, it wasn't that she doubted Sung Yu-jin's word. It was just possible he'd gotten it wrong somehow.
"......"
Yuria mulled it over. She might have overlooked the relic herself. After all, she had no idea what it even looked like.
'I did pick up a few odd-looking items, though.'
But none of them felt like relics at all. Probing them with mana or magic yielded zero reaction.
'Can't drag this out too long or it'll mess up the plan. Better stick to the original mission for now...'
Yuria froze. About 500 meters away stood an odd monster—a bear with white fur striped in black, ambling along casually with a dagger buried in its forehead.
Blade to hilt, the dagger was entirely blue, lodged dead center in the bear's head.
Her eyes drifted to the bear's tail. It was a dead ringer for a raccoon's.
'...Raccoon Bear?'
A bear with a raccoon's tail. The Raccoon Bear monster. Not a powerhouse by any means, so it had no business being this deep in Lurut Mountain. The other beasts wouldn't have let it roam free.
'A variant.'
Yuria sized it up in an instant. No other explanation fit that mutated look or its presence here.
And the dagger stuck in the Raccoon Bear's forehead? High chance it was the relic. The thing was strolling around oblivious despite a blade in its vital spot.
'Grim Scythe.'
She unleashed her shadow magic.
A massive scythe erupted from the Raccoon Bear's shadow. Utterly silent and undetectable, the bear never saw it coming. The scythe swept down, sending the beast's head tumbling across the dirt.
Grim Scythe was shadow magic honed for ambushes and assassinations.
Yuria shadow-stepped to the corpse in a blink and yanked the blue dagger from its forehead.
Three small golden gems studded the grip. The grooves carved into the hilt suggested it was meant for seven originally.
"......"
Yuria frowned quietly at the dagger. Magic confirmed it brimmed with mystical power.
But the problem? No clue how to use it.
She knew better than most how bizarre this world's relics could be. Handing this sketchy one over to Sung Yu-jin didn't sit right. What if it ended up harming him? She'd never forgive herself.
'Better figure out how it works and what it does.'
She had a hunch: stab the target with it. Daggers were made for hurting people, after all.
Yuria sprang into action. Lurut Mountain had no shortage of monsters to play test dummy.
Finding one was a breeze.
A bipedal, muscle-bound bull.
Minotaur.
Yuria lobbed the dagger casually. The impact? Anything but. It slammed into the Minotaur's chest at near-subsonic speed.
The Minotaur staggered back, spotted her, bellowed a charge—and froze solid.
"......"
Obvious anomaly. Yuria crossed her arms and observed.
An hour ticked by in that state. No change. The Minotaur might as well have been stone.
Three more hours passed. Then the transformation kicked in. Brown fur shifted to red, bulk swelling. A variant Minotaur.
'...A relic that turns monsters into variants?'
Yuria moved. She triggered Grim Scythe again—the one that one-shotted the Raccoon Bear. A huge shadow scythe surged behind the Minotaur.
The Minotaur reacted. It whipped around, snatched the scythe, and shattered it.
"Kraaaaaargh!"
The Minotaur roared. It scooped up a boulder over a meter wide in one hand and flung it at Yuria.
She sidestepped the rock and charged. The Minotaur met her head-on. Its black claws flashed in the sunlight.
Shadow Heaven Style: Dark Turn.
Total darkness swallowed her and the Minotaur. The caster, Yuria, pierced the gloom effortlessly. The Minotaur panicked, flailing blindly. She didn't miss the opening.
Yuria swung the dagger. An aura blade streaked out, cleaving the Minotaur in two. Magic retrieved the blue dagger from its chest.
The darkness lifted.
'One of the three gems just shattered.'
Her guess: the hilt gems tracked uses. Two left on this relic dagger. Time to be cautious.
Yuria felt a twinge of regret. Testing it on a human instead would've yielded cleaner data.
But regrets were fleeting. She fished a radio from her pocket.
"Personal mission complete. Proceed with the monster lure as planned."
???
Late night under a full moon.
I was dead to the world in bed, buried under three lady knights.
"My lord!"
Fleur burst into the command tent calling for me. I cracked an eye. Armored Fleur closed the distance to the bed in two strides. She smacked each sleeping knight awake with her cold gauntlet.
"My lord, up! Word from the head maid! Time to kick off the war!"
"Gah! For real?!"
"R-Right away, prepping now!"
"Why'd it have to be our shift...!"
The three lady knights bolted from bed. They scrambled into scattered clothes and armor. Hit me again—they were knights and soldiers first.
I watched their dressing frenzy with lazy curiosity until Fleur grabbed my shoulder and hauled me up.
"No time to space out. Get dressed, my lord. The troops are finishing combat prep. Only you can give the advance order. Don't forget it."
"Yeah, yeah, got it."
I sat up. All-day sex from dawn to dusk had worn even me out. Slipping on underwear made everything feel like a chore.
"Fleur. Dress me."
"......What?"
"Too lazy. You do it."
Fleur's eyebrow twitched. She let out a deep sigh.
"You're killing me. Do I have to dress you too?"
"Yeah. It's not hard, right? Yuria did it every day."
"I'm a knight, not a maid... Just how much did that head maid spoil you...?"
I dawdled through changing. Fleur finally lost patience and dressed me herself—clothes to full armor.
"Armor chafes."
"Wear it. Gotta project authority in war."
After all the hassle, fully geared, I stepped out of the tent. Knights and soldiers stood in perfect ranks.
I glanced at the walls first. They'd finished prepping too. They'd been watching us nonstop—of course.
"Fleur. What're those?"
I nodded toward a group of about fifty men bound hand and foot with rope.
"Deserters."
"Slave soldiers by the ragged look. Why keep 'em breathing?"
"Too many to scatter. Decree their fate, my lord."
"Death sentence. Execute them."
Sword-wielding soldiers moved in. Executions began.
"Mercy! We were wrong, mercy, my lord!"
"Aaaargh!"
"N-No more, I swear! My lord!"
I tuned out the begging.
Desertion meant death in this world. Not just me—every noble, every commander enforced it. Go soft, and you'd get more deserters.
"Their names and origins recorded?"
"Yes, my lord."
"When we return to the territory, execute their families."
"Yes, my lord."
I climbed the podium. Sat in the prepared chair, scanned the troops, eyed the fortress ahead. Gates sealed tight—the one my army had to breach.
An arrow whistled from the walls, dead aim for my head. Fleur stepped in front and batted it away with her sword.
"Blatantly gunning for my head."
"Enemy taunt."
"Childish."
I pulled a crystal orb from my pocket. Held it in my palm and waited. After about fifteen minutes, it hummed and sparkled—Yuria's signal.
I stood and smashed the orb on the ground, bellowing,
"Charge! Slaughter the enemy and seize the keep! One hundred million Ner to the man who brings me Viscount Mirphobos's head!"
"Waaaaah!"
The troops roared.
The siege was on.
Not some reckless brawl, of course.
Slave soldiers up front, elites behind. The front-liners were meat shields, pure and simple. Their odds of surviving? Under five percent.
Arrows and spells rained from the walls. Shields blocked the arrows. Our mages handled the magic—dispels or counter-spells with opposing elements. Casualties mounted anyway.
Less than five minutes in, over five hundred slaves down. I didn't bat an eye. They were expendables. Once they hit the walls, death rates would drop.
"Enemies are starting to panic."
I noted, watching the walls.
"Yes. Looks like the head maid's lured monsters are hitting their rear. Diversion's a success."
Enemy screams seemed to ride the wind to us.
Boom! Crash!
Slaves hammered the gates with siege rams. Others hooked ladders to the walls and started climbing.
Thud! Thud! Boom!
The gates shuddered, on the verge of giving.
"Fleur. Ready up."
"Yes, my lord."
Fleur and the Golden Rose Knights mounted. In heavy plate, they'd storm in the instant the gates cracked and carve through the enemy.
Kaboom! Crash!
Gates flew open. Troops peeled back, clearing a path. Horses thundered forward. With Fleur inside, the battle was as good as won.
"Master. Mission complete. Returning."
Yuria and the AM unit maids materialized beside me. All in dark gear.
"Good work. Everyone okay?"
"No injuries. Found the relic too."
Yuria explained the relic. I turned the blue dagger she'd offered this way and that. Flashy, but nothing stood out.
'Stabbed monster turns variant? The original villain just got stronger—no details like that...'
I pocketed the blue dagger for now. Later, I'd enhance it with Radiant Ascension Blade and give it to Yuria.
I stood and mounted my personal black mare. Only ride females.
"Master, no need for you to join. Knight Captain Fleur will bring Viscount Mirphobos's head as tribute."
"I know. But showing up personally builds more renown."
Occasional heroics made for good tales. Plus, cooped up in the tent forever—time to loosen up.
"...I'll follow you, Master."
"Nah. Rest—you must be beat."
"This much fatigue is nothing. I'll follow."
"Fine. But the others rest."
The AM unit saluted and withdrew. They weren't worried about me at all. Fair enough—Yuria was glued to my side.
Yuria donned armor to pass as a knight and trailed me.
"Clear the way! I'm here for Viscount Mirphobos's head!"
No one's stealing my thrilling finisher.
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