Chapter 110: At the Edge of the Cliff (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 110: At the Edge of the Cliff (4)
Atop the ramparts.
The soldiers of the Hector Kingdom erupted into passionate cheers the moment they saw Butler push Roman back.
"Waaaaah!"
"Butler! Butler!"
"Avenge our fallen comrades!"
Roman Dmitry.
It was a name that cut to the bone. Seeing Roman revealed under the sunlight brought back memories of their comrades' deaths. The Hector soldiers pressed close to the ramparts, their eyes gleaming with madness. They did not doubt Butler's victory for a single moment. To them, Butler was a symbol of absolute certainty. No matter how strong the opponent was, they believed no one could surpass him.
However, at some point, the atmosphere began to shift.
As Roman Dmitry turned the tide and seized the momentum, a cold silence fell over the ramparts like a bucket of freezing water.
"...Does this make any sense? I thought Roman Dmitry was a 3-Star Swordsman. How on earth is he fighting on equal footing with Lord Butler, a 5-Star Swordsman? Someone explain this. Please, someone tell me what's happening."
Shock rippled through the crowd.
Edwin Hector was no exception. In truth, from the very moment Roman Dmitry withstood the 5-Star Aura, Edwin had lost his composure.
Is he really fighting him head-on with pure skill?
A tremor shook Edwin's gaze.
Logically, this duel was overwhelmingly disadvantageous for Roman Dmitry. The gap between their publicly known realms was vast. Having faced Roman himself, Edwin knew the youth shouldn't be a match for Butler. That was exactly why he had been so certain this was a trap. There was absolutely no way to defeat Butler through normal means. The moment Roman blocked that first strike, Edwin suspected he was using a sword with a Magic Enchant.
But no matter how closely he looked, that wasn't the case.
As a mage himself, Edwin Hector could confirm that his opponent wasn't using any underhanded tricks.
That was when his heart began to race.
Just like the moment he first met Roman. Just like when Roman had emerged from the darkness and shocked them all. Edwin Hector's mouth went dry, and a cold sweat broke out across his skin.
If Butler loses to Roman Dmitry... there is no worse scenario. Not only will we lose our strongest asset, but we will also have to retreat from the Rear Base due to the conditions of this duel. Yet, regardless of the outcome, we cannot abide by those results. Admitting defeat in this war after pouring in such massive manpower and resources would mean the downfall of Hector. And the international reputation of the Hector Kingdom, having betrayed its honor, would hit rock bottom.
He shook his head.
He believed in Butler. At least for now. Butler had not yet exerted his full strength. Though an ominous feeling kept creeping up on him, Edwin forced himself to believe that Butler would emerge victorious.
As if responding to that faith...
Boom!
Crash! Crash!
The tide of battle shifted once more. Butler pushed Roman back. And the moment he drove Roman into a corner, the aura swirling around Butler's sword soared high into the sky.
Butler's secret technique.
It's over.
Edwin was certain. There was no way to block this. Hadn't even the powerhouses of the continent lost their lives to Butler's secret technique?
But at that moment...
Rumble!
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
"...!"
Edwin Hector could only widen his eyes at the scene unfolding before him.
* * *
Baek Joong-hyuk's father.
Before sending his sons into the jaws of death, he sat all twelve of them down and spoke:
"The existence of the Heavenly Demon is a symbol of blind faith. You must never show weakness. It is better to throw away your life than to take a single step back. Rather than securing a pathetic victory with some trivial defensive form, you must overwhelmingly take the enemy's life, even if it costs you an arm. Keep this in mind. The title of Heavenly Demon is permitted only to the Absolute. If you truly wish to succeed me and rise to the peak of the Demonic Cult, there must not be a single shred of shame in the path you walk."
In those days, the Heavenly Demon's words left a profound impact.
Naturally, the twelve sons followed their father's teachings. Rather than learning defensive forms, they pressured their opponents with relentless offense, engraving the maxim that 'the best defense is a good offense' into their very bones. In the process, many met unavoidable deaths. Just as their father had commanded, they pushed forward aggressively instead of defending, only to have their heads severed. Talents of the Demonic Cult who could have grown into true monsters saw their lives extinguished in vain.
Only one was different.
Baek Joong-hyuk.
While displaying the most aggressive movements of them all, he never neglected his defensive forms.
The 'trivial defensive forms' Father spoke of refer to an attitude of focusing solely on defense. To become a true powerhouse, one must be perfect in both offense and defense. Overwhelmingly pressuring the enemy, yet always ready to defend against their attacks—only by growing into such an existence can one become the Heavenly Demon.
Before his eyes, a sun was falling.
As the blazing aura filled his vision, Roman knew he stood no chance in a head-on clash of raw power.
So this is his trump card.
If only he had been granted just half a year more to unlock the mid-stage forms of the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique. He would have met this clash of power against power without a moment's hesitation. But not now. If he foolishly acted like he was still in his past life, when his current strength barely reached his former self's ankles, his head would be the one rolling on the ground today.
Therefore, he changed his stance.
He completely cast aside all offensive elements. Focusing solely on the single objective of 'defense', he manifested his aura.
If the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique was his strongest weapon...
Then the Iron Block was the sturdiest shield possessed by the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk.
Iron Block.
Rumble!
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The aura exploded.
Faced with a force so powerful it threatened to swallow his very existence, Roman condensed his aura to the absolute limit and targeted the opponent's weakest point. His arms trembled violently from the immense recoil. Blood welled up from deep inside and trickled from his mouth, but the formidable power of the Iron Block did not allow him to take even a single step back.
At that moment, his eyes met Butler's.
Butler's eyes, previously filled with the absolute certainty of victory, were now stained with shock. He couldn't accept the reality before him.
That single defense completely shattered Butler's mental state.
* * *
Swordsmanship values harmony.
When defending, one should not merely defend; it is proper to distribute one's muscles and Qi in preparation for a counterattack immediately following the block.
The Iron Block completely excluded any offensive elements.
Even the tiniest shred of strength was dedicated entirely to defense. Had Butler continued to press his attack right then, Roman would have been hard-pressed just to keep defending. The transition from defense to offense—in a duel between masters, even a split-second delay was fatal. Yet, Butler foolishly made the mistake of wasting that precious moment.
"...How!"
He was astounded. It made no sense. His attack—an attack that even a fellow 5-Star Swordsman could not block. He could not comprehend how Roman Dmitry had stopped it.
In the brief moment Butler spent venting his shock, Roman rapidly stabilized his internal state. He suppressed his boiling mana by utilizing the Iron Block. As he shifted his stance, he redistributed his muscles and the mana that had been concentrated solely on defense. It was a situation where he could have completely lost the initiative for the sake of a single block. Those watching the duel didn't even realize what had happened. In truth, it was a mere split second, and Roman did not miss the shift in momentum.
Tap.
Kicking off the ground, Roman immediately went on the offensive.
As if his purely defensive display had never happened, his mana exploded aggressively, driving Butler back relentlessly without giving him a single moment to catch his breath.
Boom!
Crash! Crash!
The resistance was weak.
The difference between Roman and Butler was stark. While the Iron Block minimized risk through countless trials and errors, Butler had exhausted a massive amount of his strength in that single strike. Because of this, his aura had weakened noticeably. While he had displayed explosive power when his mana was full, he now wore a strained expression as his reserves ran dry.
On the other hand, Roman was different.
Martial arts. It was a discipline that unleashed extreme power even with a mere fraction of strength.
The initiative had shifted.
As Roman pressed his attack like a madman to end it once and for all, Butler gritted his teeth and attempted to counter.
Whoosh!
Right before his eyes, Butler's sword grazed past.
Roman's gaze did not waver in the slightest. Instead of taking a step back in response to his opponent's counterattack, he stepped forward to parry the strike, refusing to let his offensive momentum slow down.
Butler's heart sank. He didn't know. To ascend to the position of the Heavenly Demon, one had to be more aggressive than anyone else in the world. From this moment on, it was the domain of the Heavenly Demon, Baek Joong-hyuk.
A man accustomed to dominating.
He pressed forward like a demon. As the aura exploded and pushed him back, Butler's face grew increasingly pale.
No matter the defense. No matter the counterattack. Roman kept lunging forward. As if he had no fear of losing his life, even while dancing on the edge of a blade, he didn't grant Butler a single moment of breathing room.
Butler was suffocating. Dizziness washed over him. The rhythm of his breathing, lost when he unleashed his trump card, could not be recovered. There was simply no time.
The moment the pale-faced Butler barely managed to parry an attack, Roman's cold gaze locked onto his eyes.
It's over.
At that moment—
"Aaaaargh!"
Butler chose the path of Mutual Destruction.
* * *
It was over.
Butler knew this fact better than anyone. Roman Dmitry was like a beast of prey; once he seized an opportunity, he would never let it go.
How did it come to this?
Looking back at the duel, he clearly had the advantage. Roman had shown signs of being overwhelmed in terms of raw power. Yet, when Butler snapped out of his daze, he found himself being pushed back helplessly. It was a difference in experience. A seasoned swordsman in his fifties, who had weathered all kinds of hardships on the battlefield, was being outmatched in experience by a hot-blooded youth in his twenties who had barely seen the world.
It was terrifying.
Roman Dmitry was a monster.
If Butler were to die here, he couldn't think of any way the Hector Kingdom could handle this youth.
Even if I die, the Hector Kingdom cannot retreat. We are already pushed to the edge of the cliff, and the only way to survive is to fight to the bitter end. And this monster... he is someone who will inevitably appear before the Prince and take his life. That is why, even if I die, I must take him down with me.
His mind was made up.
As the Knight Commander of the Hector Royal Knights, even as Butler saw the sword descending toward his head, he gritted his teeth and lunged forward.
Roman's sword would sever his head. But before that happened, Butler intended to take at least one of Roman's arms with him.
However...
"Butler. I will remember your resolve."
Chills ran down Butler's spine.
Roman had anticipated his opponent's move. The moment their eyes met, Roman had baited the enemy's desperate decision with a feint. As Butler lunged, Roman took a half-step back.
Whoosh!
Butler's attack sliced through empty air.
It was the end. As the sword plunged down like lightning, blood sprayed from Butler's chest.
Spurt!
"Argh!"
A death cry. It was the moment that signaled the end of the fierce duel.
Butler fell to his knees, his eyes losing focus. As he collapsed, Roman's sword descended toward his head once more.
It was then.
"Stop! Rune Flare!"
Boom!
Whoosh!
From atop the ramparts, a massive burst of flames erupted.
As Roman stepped back to avoid the magic, the gates of the Rear Base swung open, and a detachment of soldiers rushed out.
"Save Knight Commander Butler!"
"You son of a bitch! Don't you dare touch our Commander!"
The soldiers screamed in fury.
Hector had abandoned its honor. Giving up on their reputation in the international community, they chose the path of saving Butler.
And Roman Dmitry had been waiting for Edwin Hector to show this touch of humanity from the very beginning.