Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Sword Master's Onslaught
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Deng deng deng deng deng deng deng deng—!
The sudden, frantic tolling of the bell jolted Rian to his feet.
Isaac, who had been sitting cross-legged beside him practicing the mana circulation technique, slowly opened his eyes.
“What’s going on?”
“Keep focusing.”
“……Yes, sir.”
He had taught Isaac the basic Child Mana Circulation Technique and had him running mana through a full cycle.
It was impossible to move properly until the cycle was completed normally and the mana settled.
Rian rushed outside to check the situation.
Chaotic atmosphere, frantic movements.
Enemies.
Rian hurried back inside and said to Isaac,
“Isaac, finish your cycle as safely as possible, then join the unit. But don’t push the speed no matter what. Twisting your mana channels could put your life in danger.”
Nod.
Isaac closed his eyes and focused on the mana circulation technique Rian had taught him.
It was already more than halfway done, so it wouldn’t take long if he concentrated.
Confirming Isaac was stably running the technique, Rian dashed outside.
Tadak!
Rian raced toward the command tents. Second Lieutenant Homel was there.
“Second Lieutenant Homel!”
“Lieutenant Rian! Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
“What’s happening? Enemies?”
Homel nodded at Rian’s question.
“The barbarians have attacked. Those bold bastards—didn’t they learn their lesson after the beating we gave them just recently?”
“The barbarians?”
A furrow formed between Rian’s brows.
During the supply operation, their overall commander had clearly sustained a major injury.
‘That’s not the kind of wound you recover from easily……’
Was this a retaliatory strike for their commander’s defeat?
Various thoughts tangled in his mind. Seeing Rian’s serious expression, Homel explained why he had come.
“Don’t even think about joining the fight, Lieutenant Rian.”
“……Pardon?”
“No, not just you—all the wounded from the Arrowhead Unit are sitting this battle out.”
“No, we can fight.”
“No, we’re planning to hold the walls anyway. They can’t do much without some special method. We’ve got this covered.”
“Still, just in case, we should stand by……”
Before Rian could finish, Homel cut in.
“It’s Captain Varus’s orders. Do not engage. It would be a greater loss to us if your condition worsened.”
“…….”
“Lieutenant Rian.”
Homel called out to him.
He needed a firm answer.
Rian let out a small sigh.
“Understood.”
“Thank you. I’ll be off, then.”
Homel gave a light nod and sprinted toward the gates.
Rian let out another small sigh.
‘I just said I wouldn’t participate in the battle……’
He hadn’t agreed to stand by idly.
Rian grabbed his bow and arrows and headed straight for the walls.
He quickly climbed up and peered into the distance.
The thick darkness made it hard to see clearly.
Rian activated his senses with Ricall’s ring, enhancing his vision.
Gradually, their shapes came into view.
“……Hm?”
Something felt off.
No, their appearances were somewhat alien.
And those eyes.
Eyes so pitch-black it was hard to find any whites— just looking at them sent chills down the spine.
They were clearly abnormal at a glance.
He wondered if these were even the same people he’d seen during the supply operation days ago.
“What the hell are those……?”
An inexplicable sense of dread hung over Rian’s face as he watched them.
* * *
“Kehehehehehe!”
As Bieltuna Castle slowly came into view, Altomers, leading the charge, burst into laughter.
“Eagle Company…… forest monster…… Eagle Company…… forest monster……”
Altomers repeated the words like some pre-recorded phrase.
Then he drew his sword.
At that moment, a dark crimson energy rippled from the blade he held.
The energy, which had started as a faint ripple around the blade, soon surged up like roaring flames.
A perfect sword aura.
“……?”
Rian, watching the barbarians from atop the wall, frowned at the sudden alien energy he sensed.
“What the hell is that……?”
Was it his enhanced senses?
Rian immediately recognized what it was.
“Archers! F-fire, loose arrows! Hurry—!”
That guy had to be stopped.
Rian shouted loudly, and Homel, who had been commanding the archers, turned his head.
“L-Lieutenant Rian?”
Didn’t you say you weren’t coming? Why are you here?
At Homel’s gaze, Rian yelled desperately.
“Hurry—!”
“Kehehehe, too late.”
Altomers, charging toward the castle, let out a great laugh.
Boom!
Kicking off the ground, he closed the distance to the castle at tremendous speed.
Arrows rained down on him belatedly, but
“Hraaaaaah—!”
Altomers swung his sword with a roar. And in that instant, shwoooooom!
The sword aura cloaking his blade shot out in a crescent shape, slamming into the wall.
Kwaaaaaang—!
Rumble rumble!
With a single strike, the gates shattered, and the surrounding walls began crumbling down.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“Aaaaaah!”
Soldiers on the collapsing wall sections plummeted with screams.
In an instant, a nearly 10-meter-wide section of the wall was obliterated.
“H-Homel!”
Unbelievable destructive power.
The screams of soldiers buried under the rubble pierced his eardrums amid the chaos.
And with the confusion, barbarian warriors began leaping through the breached wall.
The plan to block and defend the gates was shattered before it even began.
Altomers strolled leisurely amid the barbarian warriors pouring into Bieltuna, smirking widely.
“Kill them all. Leave no one alive.”
* * *
“……Hoo.”
Exhaling slowly one final time, Isaac felt strangely like he had changed somehow.
Of course, one session of mana circulation wouldn’t change much, but that was the feeling.
“And my arm…… feels a bit more recovered.”
Even with the splint, the throbbing pain when moving had mostly faded.
At this rate, he could probably wield a sword and fight.
But for now, he pushed those thoughts aside.
“Gotta hurry.”
It had been quite a while since the emergency bell rang.
Left alone due to the mana circulation, Isaac grabbed his sword and started running.
A strange unease gnawed at him.
‘Nothing should’ve happened while I was alone.’
Isaac’s face was more grimly serious than ever as he ran.
* * *
Pababat—!
How could this be happening?
Rian’s mind was more chaotic than ever as he leaped down from the wall.
That thing Altomers had unleashed at the wall.
‘Definitely……’
If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, it was clearly a sword beam.
Sword aura manifested through aura, an advanced form of Aura Blade.
A sword beam was the release of compressed sword aura. But using a sword beam meant……
‘A master……!’
He had reached the master realm.
Masters were so rare across the entire continent that you could count them on one hand.
And hadn’t Rian fought Altomers just days ago?
From mid-level aura user to master in a matter of days?
Impossible.
So had he been hiding his power?
That didn’t make sense either.
If he’d been a master warrior from the start, there’d have been no need to defend Forhen Gorge.
No, Bieltuna would have fallen long ago, and his name would be known across the continent.
Slash!
Soldiers charging at Altomers were cleaved like tofu.
They tried blocking his sword with spears and shields, but it was utterly meaningless.
Thud.
In an instant, over a dozen soldier corpses littered the ground around Altomers.
Seeing this, Rian immediately nocked an arrow.
Creak—!
The bow bent sharply as the string was drawn.
His trembling arm and the crushing pain in his left side made his body feel like it was breaking apart.
Grit!
Still, Rian focused solely on Altomers.
Twang!
Shiiiiing—!
Enduring the pain, he released the string, and the arrow flew at tremendous speed.
Thud!
But the arrow, which seemed headed straight for the bastard’s forehead, was snapped by a single swing of his blade and fell to the ground.
Altomers’s gaze turned to Rian.
Smirk.
“Found you, forest monster.”
Muttering lowly, Altomers smirked widely.
Rian flinched upon seeing him.
Something was wrong with the guy’s state.
Setting aside the ashen, cloudy eyes, the mana flow emanating from his body was abnormal.
‘How is that even……?’
Aura so excessively powerful.
Could intangible aura ripple visibly around the body like that?
He wondered how the guy was even enduring that level of mana output.
‘Like he’s about to explode any second.’
But there was no time for prolonged thought.
The bastard was already moving.
Boom—!
The ground he kicked off cratered and shattered.
He had always moved with spring-like elasticity using aura, but now it felt even more evolved.
Altomers leaped above Rian’s head in an instant and raised his sword.
The dark crimson sword aura gleamed savagely once more.
Kwa kwakwa kwang—!
As he swung, the area around Rian’s position turned to utter ruin.
A deep sword scar etched the ground in a thick line, the surrounding earth cracked wide.
The aftermath of the sword aura even shattered the walls of nearby houses.
Unbelievable destructive power.
How could a single swing cause this?
“Kraaaaaah—!”
The bastard roared at Rian’s sudden disappearance without a trace.
Rian reappeared about fifteen meters away.
Drip.
A thick bead of sweat trailed down Rian’s cheek.
He had dodged with Ricall’s bracelet, but it had been by a hair’s breadth.
‘A little later and……’
Just how wide was that sword aura’s attack range?
Pabat—!
Rian quickly nocked three arrows.
Fighting that guy head-on was impossible.
He had to keep him at bay, buy distance while harassing him.
‘I need to stall for time!’
One small hope: the guy’s unstable condition.
Continuously using aura like that would surely strain his body immensely.
He had to evade until an opportunity arose.
“Lieutenant Rian!”
“Lieutenant Rian! You bastard—!”
Bieltuna’s officers rushing up behind saw Rian, then turned their gazes to Altomers.
“N-No, stay back! Run!”
Rian shouted urgently.
Altomers glanced at the knights behind, then burst into great laughter.
“Kehehehehe, kahahahaha!”
He swung his sword at them.
Slash.
Five armored knights were bisected in a single stroke.
Upper and lower bodies separated, they died with stunned expressions, unaware even of how they perished.
Leaving the knights’ corpses scattered on the ground, Altomers turned to Rian.
“This time, you’re next.”