Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: 75. Swordmaster (2)
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One swing.
That was more than enough to drive the Black Knight from the ramparts.
Fiore swung his sword, and the Black Knight who blocked it was flung back like he'd been struck by a cannonball, crashing down below the walls.
Dust billowed up amid the Imperial troops.
Fiore leaped onto the railing and pursued the Black Knight without hesitation.
"Y-Your Majesty!"
"That's too far!"
"It's dangerous!"
He had leaped alone into the heart of the Imperial camp.
Everyone cried out in alarm, but Fiore didn't waver. The moment he landed in front of the Black Knight, the surrounding Imperial soldiers fell back, clearing a circular space between the two.
Everyone sensed it instinctively.
The outcome of this siege would be decided by their duel.
As all eyes on the battlefield focused on them, Yuri didn't let his guard down.
"What are you all doing? Just gonna stand there and watch the show?"
"N-No, sir!"
"Clear the ones on the walls!"
Brioll's knights snapped out of their daze and sprang into action.
The halted battle roared back to life.
The Imperial knights, whose morale had plummeted with Fiore's arrival, put up little resistance and were cut down one after another.
Those with higher skill hastily jumped down from the walls to save their skins.
Yuri, holding the ramparts, turned his gaze.
Fiore and the Black Knight were advancing toward each other.
He opened his eyes wide, staring intently at the two.
Entering the realm of the heart-soul, he strained to catch even the slightest flows of mana rising from their bodies.
"Ah..."
Yuri had never seen Fiore fight properly before.
Fiore preferred solitary training in the underground dojo, so while Yuri knew he was strong, he could scarcely imagine how he wielded his blade.
And the swordplay he witnessed today...
was beautiful.
It was something anyone would want to grab someone and shout about.
Did you see that?
"Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Rolang and Jared had approached him at some point.
Instead of answering, Yuri pointed toward Fiore Brioll.
"Yes. His Majesty is winning."
"No, that's not it."
"Pardon?"
"Can you see it?"
"What..."
Watching the fight from the realm of the heart-soul, Yuri could see the shape of mana blooming from Fiore's body, the path of his sword leaving traces on the world.
There was more unseen than seen.
Yuri realized.
His father, Fiore Brioll, wasn't hiding his sword.
He simply didn't need an opponent.
"Flowers are blooming..."
Yuri chuckled under Jared's baffled stare.
Wherever Fiore and the Black Knight's swords clashed, flowers of mana bloomed.
Sometimes they unfurled in layers like roses, other times budding downward like hydrangeas. The afterimages of the petals scattered along their movements before fading.
Suddenly, red spray burst forth.
Blood gushed from the Black Knight's chest.
Following the fabric of the space Fiore dominated, it formed a floral pattern of blood.
Blood blossoms.
Like a butterfly alighting on petals fluttering in the air, Fiore's sword began a languid descent toward the Black Knight's chest.
It wasn't particularly fast or brimming with overwhelming power.
But it was unavoidable.
Like a bead in a funnel spiraling toward the exit, no matter what the Black Knight did, Fiore's sword would inevitably pierce his heart.
Yuri thought the fight was over.
That was the moment.
In the realm of the heart-soul he perceived, a black stain erupted.
It wormed into the domain cloaking Fiore, ruining the picture he had drawn.
Boom.
An explosion rang out.
Someone stood between the Black Knight and Fiore.
A knight in black armor.
Fiore gazed down at him impassively, then slowly withdrew his sword.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
The black-armored knight replied to the Black Knight's words.
"I couldn't handle that monster alone."
"Hm..."
"I'll help."
With that, another black-armored knight appeared.
Three in total stood before Fiore, with the Black Knight at the center.
Ainzer, who had approached Yuri's side unnoticed, spoke up.
"Those are the knight order captains."
"Yeah?"
"Guys who could be Ten Strong candidates without surprise. And there are three of them..."
But Fiore showed no sign of retreat. Instead, he took a step toward the trio.
"Not just those three..."
The mass of Imperial troops surrounding Fiore had thickened.
He was truly facing the Imperial army alone.
"Shall we sortie from the castle?"
Jared asked.
He was offering to lead Brioll's knights out to fight alongside Fiore.
Yuri shook his head.
"No."
"But..."
"Don't misunderstand Father. He's not the type to test himself like that. That's my desperate style."
"Pardon?"
"The reason Father is still standing there."
Yuri placed one foot on the railing as he spoke.
"is because he judges it's safe enough."
The three men looking at Yuri turned their eyes back to the battlefield.
At that instant, Fiore took a step.
Yuri plunged into the realm of the heart-soul, desperately tracking his movements.
Fiore's sword had now entered a far more ferocious domain.
No longer flowers—flames of mana erupted like fountains.
Something was about to happen.
Gazing at those flames, Yuri felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
Just before the Black Knight would have died, when the two captains intervened, Fiore's domain had been smeared for a moment.
At that time, those two had looked like black stains.
Dark magic.
Yuri realized, like the knights he'd slain atop the walls, that those two were already corrupted by that dark power.
Fiore's realm was extraordinary, but dark magic sometimes transcended human expectations.
"Your Highness. You say that, but you're worried deep down, aren't you?"
"A little."
"Hahaha..."
Ainzer laughed as he spoke.
"No need to worry."
Yuri glanced at him. Ainzer leaned on the railing and continued.
"When I was young, I saw His Majesty fight once. When was it again? Anyway, enemies everywhere..."
His eyes grew distant, as if reminiscing on his youth.
"A true one-man army."
"Really?"
"And it was against a massive force. But to my eyes, this scene looks different."
Ainzer grinned.
"His Majesty's side looks bigger."
The moment his words ended, an anomaly erupted from where Fiore stood.
Mana surged upward from his sword in a wedge shape.
It reached the high sky, then cascaded outward in all directions.
All of it was sword aura.
A colossal sword built by layering sword aura.
Even that overflowed, with sword aura spilling down.
Those who grasped the meaning of the sight were horrified.
"My God..."
Then Fiore moved.
Stepping forward, he swept his sword horizontally.
An ordinary motion.
But its aftermath transcended perception.
"Ah..."
Yuri's mouth fell open.
Fiore's sword aura spread endlessly along his sword path, forming a massive fan-shaped domain.
Everything within it was sliced apart.
The sight of countless men collapsing at once was surreal.
At first, it looked like they were simply slumping powerlessly.
But an instant later, blood spurted from the severed surfaces, staining the earth red.
Of the three facing Fiore, the Black Knight and one captain survived, but the other perished along with the surrounding Imperials.
A massive semicircle of blood bloomed directly in front of Fiore.
Within it, torsos writhed apart from their lower halves.
A gruesome scene.
The Imperial troops arrayed behind Fiore fled in terror. They trampled each other, crushing some underfoot.
It was the terror of utterly overwhelming power, not even entertaining resistance.
Only the Black Knight and one captain remained before Fiore. They weren't dead, but they'd taken severe blows.
As Fiore advanced, the two turned and fled.
The sight of one of the Ten Strong abandoning resistance to run was unreal.
Fiore pursued immediately.
"Impressive..."
Yuri nodded.
"Battle-ready."
Fiore didn't sheathe his sword while watching the fleeing enemy's back, composing himself dramatically.
You could feel his resolve to finish them off here.
His frantic running posture looked a bit undignified, but his mindset was perfect.
"Hm..."
"Ahem..."
"What, does he look silly?"
"No, sir. It's just... His Majesty doesn't run often."
"Even fresh recruits dash like that..."
"Why swing his arms sideways?"
In any case, Fiore's speed was tremendous.
He caught up to the Black Knight and swung at his back.
The Black Knight spun around for a counter, reigniting their clash.
Sword strikes were exchanged amid the chase.
But the Imperials didn't just watch. Dozens of black-armored knights swarmed to pin Fiore down.
Swords intertwined among them.
Blood sprayed.
Fiore seemed to tire somewhat, halting his pursuit.
A few knights who glanced back were slain by his hand.
And then.
The Imperial army retreated.
Jared muttered.
"To witness this with my own eyes. Glad I lived this long."
Ainzer eyed him.
"What nonsense from a young pup..."
"Just a figure of speech."
"Anyway, what a spectacle. Driving off an army single-handedly."
Fiore gazed at the retreating Imperials, then turned and headed back.
Yuri signaled at once. A horn blared across the field.
The sound of victory.
Yuri climbed the railing and shouted.
"Everyone, cheer!"
The Brioll forces roared toward Fiore.
All atop the walls raised both hands, waving weapons in his direction.
Fiore, returning with a calm expression, paused briefly, glanced upward sidelong, then continued walking.
Yuri yelled.
"Fiore! Fiore! Fiore!"
Everyone joined in.
His name echoed from all sides.
"Your Highness."
"What?"
"Ease up."
"Why?"
"His Majesty looks embarrassed."
"I know."
Fiore's face had a faint flush.
With the entire Brioll army chanting his name in praise, he seemed a touch shy.
Yuri ignored it and egged them on further.
"Not just Fiore! Invincible under heaven! Fiore!"
"Invincible under heaven!"
"Fiore!"
"Invincible under heaven!"
"Fiore!"
Fiore was still far off, walking calmly from afar, so it would take time to reach Bezos Castle. Yet the Brioll cheers showed no sign of stopping.
"..."
In the end, Fiore quickened his pace. He seemed about to jog, but apparently too embarrassed, he resumed walking.
"Invincible under heaven! Fiore! Invincible under heaven! Fiore!"
Fiore's eyes suddenly lifted toward Yuri.
Yuri promptly ducked behind the wall and slumped down, leaning back.
He'd played a prank, but the scene he'd just witnessed lingered in his mind.
Fiore's techniques differed greatly from his own, yet inspired him profoundly.
This was the swordsman hailed as the strongest of the era.
He looked down at his hand.
It trembled faintly.
He'd thought himself much stronger after acquiring Chaos. But he was still far off. Without fully mastering Chaos, he couldn't surpass monsters like the Black Knight or Fiore.
To fully dominate Chaos...
'Beware the heart devil.'
Suddenly, Muyongchan's voice echoed in his mind.
Yuri closed his eyes, then opened them.
A brief moment.
But the time that passed within him was long. In the instant his eyelids parted, Yuri had endured a grueling heart devil trial and returned.
He bowed his head, exhaling sharply. His breathing came ragged.
"Your Highness?"
Jared called to him.
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
Yuri lifted his head.
Jared flinched, his face paling in surprise.
"You don't look well."
"What?"
"Well..."
"Just overdid it."
Whether from overusing Chaos in this battle, the heart devil this time had been unusually prolonged.
But it was nothing serious.
Yuri shook his head to dispel the aftereffects.
Then he stood, flashing a grin.
"We won."