Chapter 266
Chapter 266
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 266
Chapter Title: Weaponmaster (1)
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“Cough…… Ack…….”
The Weaponmaster couldn’t get up. He just clutched his chest, his body trembling.
It was inevitable. Just moments ago, the attack had caved in his chest and burst his heart.
He was only holding on thanks to the tremendous vitality of the Master Class. Death was just a matter of time.
“I…… I, like this…… This is…… impossible…….”
The Weaponmaster was a powerhouse who had broken through countless walls as a Master Class. He was probably aiming for Grandmaster.
He possessed a sturdy body and vast black mana.
Yet such a figure had his heart shattered by a single kick.
It was proof that Demian’s physical abilities overwhelmed the Weaponmaster.
“Urgh…… Ngh…….”
The Weaponmaster barely managed to draw the dagger from his waist. Black mana poured out from the dagger.
His sunken chest returned to normal. The Weaponmaster’s complexion also recovered.
‘Immortal Sword Daltanyan.’
Demian immediately recalled the name of the demonic sword. It was one of the demonic swords symbolizing the Weaponmaster.
A demonic sword that healed its owner’s wounds using absorbed souls as material.
Rumor had it that even if only the head remained, it could regenerate the body in an instant.
“Huuu…….”
The Weaponmaster slowly rose to his feet. His face was drenched in cold sweat.
-Kehhehehek, you look exhausted.
-Why not use us instead? We’ll kill that brat right now!
The demonic swords flying through the air spoke to the Weaponmaster. He ground his teeth.
“Shut your mouths, you lot. I’ll cut that bastard to pieces with my own hands.”
-Kyahahaha, he’s mad! He’s pissed!
-Got it. We’ll cheer you on from the back!
The demonic swords soared high into the sky. Their eerie laughter trailed off before cutting short.
“Demian Haksen…… you milk-scented brat…… how dare you…… how dare you humiliate me like this……!”
Veins bulged on the Weaponmaster’s forehead. His body was responding to his extreme rage.
“Come forth! Barbaria!”
Gray armor burst from thin air and enveloped the Weaponmaster’s entire body.
Demonic Armor Barbaria.
A magic armor that assisted the wearer’s movements, enabling explosive speed.
Like the Immortal Sword Daltanyan, it was one of the signature weapons representing the Weaponmaster.
As soon as he donned the armor, the Weaponmaster’s aura intensified.
“Isn’t a great Weaponmaster like you taking this milk-scented brat a bit too seriously?”
“Shut your mouth!”
The Weaponmaster charged. The moment he kicked off the ground, he was already in front of Demian’s nose.
Demian’s eyes widened slightly. Thanks to his recent shedding of his mortal form, his five senses were far sharper than before.
Even so, he couldn’t track the Weaponmaster’s movements. The armor was assisting them.
“Brat! I’ll kill you right now!”
The Weaponmaster gripped his greatsword with both hands and swung down. Demian blocked it with Dawn.
‘Heavy.’
The moment their weapons clashed, he realized. This wasn’t an attack to block head-on.
With that thought, Demian deflected the greatsword’s strike. The blade, glancing off him, slammed into the ground with a massive roar.
In that instant, the entire city split in two.
“You must have learned properly from that coward, the Sword Saint!”
The Weaponmaster immediately drew another weapon. This time, he held two weapons at once, one in each hand.
‘Formidable. With that armor, it’ll be hard for me to just clash head-on.’
Having judged the situation, Demian murmured softly.
“Second Ring.”
A resonant hum erupted from Demian’s body. At the same time, the Weaponmaster’s assault began.
The Weaponmaster could wield dozens of weapons, move both arms freely, and had mastered diverse weapon techniques.
It was a combat style no one else could easily imitate. He truly deserved the title of Weaponmaster.
Moreover, he now had the armor’s support. Every swing tore the air and shattered the earth.
‘Impressive, but…….’
But it was merely variable, lacking depth. Besides, Demian was now operating the Convergence Harmony Ultimate Technique.
In an instant, he grasped every form of the techniques. He swung Dawn, blocking all the Weaponmaster’s attacks.
At that sight, the Weaponmaster’s eyes nearly popped out.
“This brat!”
The Weaponmaster bellowed and pressed Demian even harder. His strikes came like a storm.
But despite the overwhelming spectacle, not a single attack landed on Demian.
Demian had blocked or deflected them all.
“…….”
Akilo stared at the scene in a daze.
He had only ever handled an axe and a pickaxe. Even so, he could tell how incredible Demian was.
He was nonchalantly parrying attacks powerful enough to churn the ground.
It was like a small, sharp stone standing firm against raging waters.
“……Weaponmaster!”
Then, Akilo’s voice rang out.
“What the hell are you doing! How can someone called Weaponmaster fail to deal with a single brat like that!”
Akilo shouted, his face twisted in irritation and fury.
“Have you forgotten what we’re building here? You think we can tolerate that brat’s existence at this crucial moment? Kill him now!”
At Akilo’s yell, the Weaponmaster ground his teeth.
“That damn dwarf……!”
For just a split second.
The Weaponmaster’s focus wavered.
Demian didn’t miss it. He took a deep breath and said.
“Third Ring.”
The resonance amplified. At the same time, Demian’s movements accelerated further.
His strikes gained speed. The two weapons in the Weaponmaster’s hands were severed in one breath.
Demonic power burst from the destroyed demonic sword. Through it, Demian saw the Weaponmaster’s panicked face.
“H-How can you move like that…….”
Demian thrust Dawn without hesitation.
A flash like starlight erupted. The extended Dawn pierced the Weaponmaster’s shoulder. It easily penetrated even the armor.
“Argh!”
The exploding pain drew a scream from the Weaponmaster. He recoiled, pulling the blade from his shoulder.
“Don’t get cocky!”
The Weaponmaster tried to press Demian again. But the momentum had already shifted to Demian.
Demian swung Dawn. Strikes poured in at bizarre angles.
“Urk! Ngh!”
The Weaponmaster couldn’t respond properly. Strikes he failed to block began wounding him all over.
As the wounds multiplied, horror piled up on the Weaponmaster’s face.
“This can’t…… This can’t be……! This is impossible……!”
How many knights had fallen under the name Weaponmaster?
Among them were knights representing the Empire. There were even heirs painstakingly raised by the Empire’s great nobles.
All had challenged him arrogantly but failed to even scratch him before losing their lives.
And now, he—the Weaponmaster—was being pushed back by a fresh-faced brat.
By pure skill, no less.
“What are you so surprised about?”
Demian said with a sneer.
“Didn’t I tell you? You’re mediocre.”
At those words, veins popped on the Weaponmaster’s forehead. From extreme rage.
“What are you waiting for! Help me now!”
The Weaponmaster roared. In that moment, ten lights flashed from the sky.
Ten weapons plummeted vertically, aiming to impale Demian.
Demian abandoned his pressure on the Weaponmaster and retreated. The moment he dodged, the weapons stabbed into the ground.
-Kehhehet, you finally called us.
-See? I told you to borrow our power.
-Don’t be too harsh, kids. What if he gets mad?
The demonic swords spoke.
They possessed intelligence and the ability to fly freely.
They were the pinnacle among the demonic swords the Weaponmaster owned.
The real ones had arrived.
“Shut up, you bastards.”
The Weaponmaster snapped irritably. The demonic swords buzzed excitedly.
-Just kill that guy, right?
-Me! Leave it to me!
-We should all team up.
The demonic swords chattered nonstop. The Weaponmaster grabbed one.
Strangely, its blade curved inward. It was like a scythe fused with a longsword.
“He’s no pushover. Kill him together.”
-Wow, he said together.
-He must be really scared.
-Well, he’s no ordinary guy.
The Weaponmaster infused black mana into the demonic sword. The next moment, his body vanished into darkness.
Instantly, killing intent flared from behind. Demian spun around immediately.
The Weaponmaster was swinging at him. Demian raised Dawn to block.
“Good instincts. To sense that.”
The Weaponmaster smirked.
In truth, Demian already knew the identity of that weapon.
Dark Sword ‘Palchethia.’
A weapon that teleported to the enemy’s blind spot in an extremely brief instant.
Short activation time, no cooldown. It could be used consecutively.
“I’ll praise you for blocking my attack, but…… your back’s exposed!”
No sooner had the Weaponmaster spoken than demonic swords flew from behind.
-Kehhehet! It’s open! Back’s wide open!
-Heart’s mine! Heart’s mine!
Just before the demonic swords reached him, the Weaponmaster’s body vanished again.
Demian twisted his waist instantly. He parried all the incoming demonic swords.
-As expected! Blocking our combined assault!
-Strong! The stronger, the better the thrill of killing!
-Heart! Give me the heart!
The demonic swords attacked wildly. Demian calmly deflected them.
Then, killing intent came from the side. Demian turned his head.
The Weaponmaster emerged from the darkness, swinging. Demian reflexively blocked.
But the weapon in the Weaponmaster’s hand was slightly different.
Not the dark sword, but some battered wooden sword.
“This is…….”
“You know it? Then you know it’s already too late!”
Suddenly, wooden vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around Demian’s legs.
They were so tough it felt like iron bands.
Binding Sword Kitan.
A demonic sword with the power to bind anything it touched.
“Kill him!”
The Weaponmaster immediately ordered the demonic swords. They flew at Demian at once.
With both legs bound, blocking demonic swords from all directions was impossible.
The Weaponmaster was certain of victory.
“Confuse with the dark sword, bind the legs with the binding sword…… What was that? Such a simplistic tactic.”
Demian clicked his tongue. Only then did the Weaponmaster realize.
For someone in crisis, Demian’s face was far too emotionless.
“Mediocre. Way too mediocre.”
Demian pointed his index finger downward. Something fell from the sky.
Aurablades formed swords intercepted the demonic swords. The demonic swords cried out in panic.
-W-What the hell is this!
-Get out of the way! We have to kill him!
The Weaponmaster was just as shocked.
“Flying swords……?”
He murmured in disbelief.
“How……? Didn’t you master the Sword Saint’s realm?”
There was only one realm a Master Class could attain.
It went without saying. A realm was the crystallization of a knight’s lifelong honing of techniques.
Yet Demian mocked that common sense, wielding two realms.
“You…… what the hell…….”
Demian didn’t answer the Weaponmaster’s question. Instead, he sheathed Dawn.
-Dawn has grown incomparably stronger than before!
Molta’s words echoed in his mind.
-The sharpness goes without saying! No weapon in this world can stand against Dawn! Anything that dares will be sliced like firewood!
Before leaving the church, Molta had ranted about Dawn’s changes.
-The most amazing part is the new power! Dawn can store any kind of power almost infinitely! And it can hold it for nearly forever!
At first glance, it seemed unremarkable. But Molta had spoken with utmost confidence.
-And release it all at once! Unleashing infinitely gathered mana in one go! Can you imagine how powerful that would be?
While guarding the forge, Demian had periodically purified his excess mana into Dawn. About three days’ worth had accumulated.
Dawn was now in its sheath. Demian gripped both hilt and scabbard.
He released the mana stored in Dawn. The mana trapped in the sheath surged out.
The mana, with nowhere to go, pushed Dawn. Dawn was drawn from the scabbard.
Demian swung with that force. The moment Dawn cleared the sheath, dazzling light burst forth.
The sudden immense power made the Weaponmaster’s eyes go wide.
“Brat…….”
The instant Dawn fully emerged, the light exploded.
The erupting light swallowed the Weaponmaster.
* * *
The moment the slash of light flew at him, the Weaponmaster instinctively knew he would die if he didn’t block it.
To survive, he had to pour everything into defense.
First, he drew the shield from his back. He concentrated all his black mana into it.
A thick Aurablade enveloped the shield. The Weaponmaster braced for the attack.
Light and shield collided. The Weaponmaster gritted his teeth and endured.
But his efforts were in vain—the shield shattered in an instant.
With no time to dodge, the light engulfed him.
The armor he wore was shredded in real time. Once the armor vanished, it was his turn.
The light incinerated his entire body. Swept up in it, the Weaponmaster flew far away.
“Cough…… Urgh…… Ack…….”
He groaned, collapsed on the ground.
“What the…… hell…….”
The Weaponmaster painfully opened his eyes. Only then did he see his body’s state.
His skin was completely burned off, and all his limbs were gone.
“U-Uwaaaak! Aaaak!”
He screamed in agony. But nothing changed.
“Immortal Sword! I need the Immortal Sword! Isn’t anyone hearing me! Stab the Immortal Sword into me now! Now!”
The Immortal Sword lacked intelligence. To use it, one had to hold it and command it directly.
But now the Weaponmaster had lost all limbs.
“Immortal Sword! Give me the Immortal Sword!”
He could only writhe helplessly, unable to grasp it—even though it was right at his waist.
“……Weaponmaster.”
Then, a familiar voice sounded. Turning his head, he saw Akilo’s face.
He must have been blown all the way to Akilo by the light.
“What’s this mess? You think I cooperated with you to see this?”
Akilo sighed deeply, berating the Weaponmaster.
“A…… Akilo…… help…… me…… There are still…… demonic swords left…… A chance…… to counter…….”
“Yeah, I’ll help. You’re the only one who can beat that monster.”
Akilo picked up the Weaponmaster’s body. Without limbs, it was incredibly light.
“Yes…… hurry…… stab the Immortal Sword…… into my heart…….”
But Akilo didn’t do as told. Instead, he approached the furnace.
“You…… what are you…… doing…….”
“Weaponmaster. Do you remember me saying we needed one final material?”
Only then did the Weaponmaster realize. The vicious glint in Akilo’s eyes.
“I didn’t say because there was no way to obtain it…… but that material was you.”
“You…… what are you…… trying to…….”
“Don’t fear. You’re about to become a demonic sword itself.”
Akilo tossed the Weaponmaster into the furnace.