Chapter 32
Chapter 32
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 32
From atop his horse, Go Jin-cheon watched the spectacle with keen interest. Gerard's swordsmanship far exceeded that of the subjugation-force commander he had faced before.
What's more, among the three opponents he was fighting, one was not an ordinary Dark Armored Ghost Soldier but a deputy commander, yet Gerard's swordplay showed not the slightest sign of faltering.
A faint chuckle escaped Jin-cheon's lips. He tossed a remark toward Uru beside him, as if seeking agreement.
"He's useful."
"That he is. His swordsmanship is well balanced."
"Not his swordsmanship. His guts."
"Ah...."
Jin-cheon had negated Uru's answer. What had piqued his interest was Gerard's abundant nerve. Though the knight surely sensed that escape was nearly impossible, not a trace of hesitation could be found at the tip of his blade.
"This will take a while."
Jin-cheon spoke quietly. Elite as they were, the Dark Armored Ghost Soldiers could never fully display their true strength on open ground. As if sensing Jin-cheon's thoughts, Uru carefully spoke up beside him.
"Shall we send in a capable swordsman?"
"Who's available?"
Jin-cheon gave a slight nod in return. Uru answered with an expression that said the answer was obvious.
"Gurajaengi's the best we got."
"......Are you bullshitting me right now?"
"......."
It was the moment the strength drained from Gye Ung-sam's legs—he had been poised off to the side, ready to bolt forward with his sword drawn.
Meanwhile, Gerard drove aside the doubts that had crowded his mind about these people's identities as he continued to exchange blades. Perhaps as a result, his sword grew faster with every passing moment, its arcs becoming increasingly threatening. Even so, the three figures before him alternated between meticulous defense and attack.
"Hup!"
Clang! Clatter!
The corner of Gerard's left lip twitched, and a voice that said, "Try me if you dare," burst forth.
"Fine! Block this too, if you can!"
Fwoooosh!
"Urgh!"
As Gerard shouted, his sword sang in answer, wreathed in a white haze. At the sight, the deputy commander who had been parrying called out a warning.
"Stay alert!"
"Let's see how well your caution blocks this—take it!"
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!
But Gerard lunged in with absolute confidence, ignoring the deputy commander's warning. In that instant, his blade's trajectory scattered, leaving only a white afterimage as it flew toward the deputy commander who had sounded the alert.
CLAAANG!
"Ghk-kh!"
"Heh-heh, damn it all...."
A thunderous report rang out, and the shockwave rippled in every direction.
It had been blocked. A wheezing laugh, like an old man's, escaped Gerard's lips.
His opponent's blade had clearly not been sheathed in Aura. And yet, the fact that it had been blocked so cleanly left Gerard feeling utterly dumbfounded. Sensing that conserving his strength was no longer the issue, his eyes blazed.
"Yaaahhh!"
WHOOSH! CRACKLE!
As Gerard's roar thundered out, the white haze around his sword erupted violently. Sparks worthy of his epithet—Gerard of Lightning—flashed and arced across the blade's surface.
In response, the Dark Armored Ghost Soldiers who had been holding their ground began to give way before Gerard's surging power. The moment cracks appeared in their encirclement, Gerard's blade shot through like a hawk diving for prey, seizing the narrow gap and striking like lightning.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!
"Farewell!"
Fwhap!
"Look out!"
The deputy commander's warning echoed. Gerard's sword was plunging toward the exposed neck of one Dark Armored Ghost Soldier whose stance had broken.
Pshoo.
CLANG!
"Curse it all! Now what?!"
Gerard's long sword was deflected harmlessly into the air, its purpose thwarted. In the very instant the long sword fell toward the soldier's neck, a beam of light had lanced in from the side with barely a whisper of wind, striking his blade and sending it flying.
Whoooosh.
"Kgh!"
The wind that had trailed the beam swept over Gerard a beat later. A low groan leaked from his lips, and the jolt still lingered in his hands, a stinging numbness.
The cold sweat running down Gerard's back chilled in an instant. Before him, a long blade aimed squarely at him radiated a murderous edge sharp enough to slice flesh.
It was a sword utterly unlike the blades of the Dark Armored Ghost Soldiers he had dueled until now. Though its patterned steel—rippling like waves—held a certain beauty, it appeared far too slender to have deflected Gerard's own sword. Yet his long sword, still spinning in the air, attested that this blade was anything but fragile.
"I am called Gye Ung-sam."
Shff.
The one who had blocked the lethal blow was Gye Ung-sam. Shuffling closer with his long blade raised, Ung-sam exuded an edge so keen that his very presence was like a masterwork sword itself.
"All of you, fall back. I will handle him."
"......."
At Ung-sam's words, the soldiers who had been fighting Gerard withdrew without a word. Yet Gerard could say nothing at all.
Only a single word churned inside his head!
'Strong!'
Staring at the tip of the blade now fixed on him, Gerard steadied his wavering heart and began to stoke his Aura higher. The hazy Aura sharpened into a distinct sword-shape, surging upward above his blade. Unlike the ferocious roar of his Aura moments before, the Aura Blade now rising above his long sword resonated with a deep, resonant hum.
HUMMMMM!
"Sword Qi."
"What?"
Ung-sam's low voice brushed Gerard's ears, utterly calm even as he gazed upon the Aura Blade.
'Sword Qi?'
Gerard could not know the meaning of the term, but the man standing before him remained utterly unshaken even at the sight of that blazing white Aura Blade. It was Gerard who struck first.
A searing white beam tore through the air!
"Hyaap!"
SWISH!
An ear-splitting shriek accompanied the streak of light as it slashed horizontally, as if to bisect Ung-sam at the waist. But Ung-sam's body had already circled to Gerard's left, his chilling blade slicing downward.
WHIZZ!
"Hwoot!"
Clang!
"Kh."
Their battle cries crossed.
Gerard twisted his body and barely evaded Ung-sam's descending strike. But the vertical beam of light, chasing Gerard's direction, swept upward from below toward his nape. Gerard managed to raise his sword and parry, but the impact still threw him backward—he staggered, clutching at his chest.
"Kurgh."
Zzzzzt.
Stumbling to a halt, Gerard swallowed the blood that had surged back up his throat. Even so, a thin trail of crimson trickled down from the corner of his lips. Then an odd sight entered Gerard's vision. Ung-sam had returned his blade to its scabbard and was now twisted into a deeply contorted stance—his shoulder facing forward toward Gerard, the scabbard thrust far to the rear and wrenched sharply sideways.
"What the—?!"
"......."
Ung-sam was not the sort to answer questions. All Gerard could see was his twisted back. And that was not all.
'The mana around him—!'
Fwoooosh!
The mana in the vicinity churned madly, as if spiraling around Ung-sam at its center. And a wave of mana he had never felt before now radiated from him. Unease seized Gerard, and he summoned his Aura Blade with everything he had left.
Fwah!
In one fleeting moment, Gerard felt the atmosphere freeze as if a vacuum had formed, and he fell into the illusion that Gye Ung-sam's body was moving with excruciating slowness.
WHOOSH!
"Ghk!"
Whoooosh!
An illusion is only ever an illusion.
Gye Ung-sam had clearly been facing away, moving slowly. But just as something rippled through his senses, Gerard—already raising his long sword—felt a formless force lance toward him.
What Gerard's eyes registered next was not the right shoulder turned away, but a left shoulder now facing him, and a drawn long blade aligned straight with Ung-sam's right arm, extended to the side. Only a moment later did he feel the wind sweep past, wrapping around his body.
Whoooosh.
Ting.
"......!"
Grrr-grrrk. Thud.
The upper portion of Gerard's blade—still wreathed in Aura Blade—dropped away powerlessly. And nearly at the same instant, several trees standing behind him toppled over. A deflated laugh trickled from Gerard's lips.
"Ha... hahaha... ahahahahaha!"
Chak.
"......."
"Ahahahahah...."
When the hollow laughter began to fade, Gerard placed his fist over his heart and bowed his head to Ung-sam, who was sheathing his long blade as though a completed task lay behind him.
"My respects to your sword."
"And to yours."
Ung-sam also drew his heels together and inclined his waist slightly to accept the salute. Though the two men had performed opposing gestures, anyone watching could recognize that their meaning was the same.
"Tch. Well then, shall we get moving?"
His earlier expression fully restored, Gerard ambled casually over to the wagon laden with the scrap metal that had been his Full Plate Mail. He lifted his now-lightened long sword and examined it. The blade had been cut through cleanly, as if it had always been that short. Short enough that anyone would have believed it was a dagger.
"Damn. That was expensive."
Clang.
The broken blade left Gerard's hand with a harsh metallic clatter and joined its fate with the rest of the scrap. He strode back to the wagon he had ridden, flopped down onto his back, clasped his hands behind his head with perfect nonchalance, and yelled.
"Let's get going already, shall we!"
For a man who had just tried to carve people up with his sword—no—for a prisoner, it was an act of staggering shamelessness and brazen pride. Yet as if Gerard were fully entitled to it, Ung-sam let a faint smirk slip and returned to his position.
"......."
But not everyone saw it the same way. It was Ung-sam who had deemed him entitled; Jin-cheon did not share the thought. Watching the display in silence, Jin-cheon issued a short command.
"Tell that bastard to run alongside."
He liked the man's guts, but apparently not his attitude.
Jin-cheon simply could not bear the lost time. When the column began to move again, Gerard stared at the iron shackles binding his wrists and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Take these off! Right now!"
"Move out!"
"I said take them off! Hey—hey!"
"Hyah!"
Neeeigh!
Gerard's empty shouts shattered on the air, and his legs, quite against his will, moved at the same speed as the horses.
"Curse it aaaaaaall!"
It was Gerard's wretched howl, the sound of a man sorely regretting useless bravado when escape was never possible in the first place.
Clopp-clopp-cloppity-clop.
"Hyah!"
At the head of the column, two sharp lines had etched themselves between Go Jin-cheon's brows as he galloped onward. Behind him, Uru's face brimmed with a blossoming grin. The reason lay in the conspicuously empty seat behind Jin-cheon.
Every time they had halted, Haidia had been seated behind Jin-cheon. But after Gerard had kicked up his storm, she had somehow relocated to sit behind Uru. When Risel had remarked that this was the way of elves, it only deepened Jin-cheon's regret.
She had said that when an elf is rescued by another race, if the rescuer happens to be of the opposite sex, the elf has a habit of hovering nearby, observing them. That was why Haidia was now riding behind Uru.
"Hmph."
Jin-cheon's mood soured further. Glancing back over his shoulder as he galloped, he cast a look toward the rear of the column.
"Agya-gya-gya-gya-gya! Go sloooowerrrrr!"
"......."
From the source of all that noise, the cause of this whole situation was running along behind them for all he was worth. Without a word, Jin-cheon raised his left arm into the air.
"Increase speed!"
"Hi-yah!"
"Kkyah!"
Neigh!
Clopp-clopp-cloppity-clop!
The deputy commander, understanding the hand signal, roared the order across the column, while from the rear, an even louder voice thundered.
"Curse iiiit aaaaaall~!"