Chapter 222
Chapter 222
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 222
Chapter Title: Infiltration Point
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Clashing bodies up close?
Isn't that obvious?
The purpose of a duel or training is to strike your opponent with a sword or a fist.
So, it's safe to say that closing, maintaining, and creating distance with an opponent is the very essence of a duel.
But asking if it was okay to get close, to clash, was just strange.
Sienna took it as Loan's way of asking if he could go all out and nodded.
“Alright. Let's treat this like a real battle. Show me what you've got.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Sienna drew her twin swords, raising her mana and taking a stance.
Loan also loosened up, his view unobstructed as he carefully observed Sienna.
She was calmly drawing in and storing mana.
Her breathing was quite impressive.
The mana settled in her lower body was also more potent than before.
It seemed she had become quite accustomed to cultivating mana while moving.
However, she was currently spreading her mana gently throughout her body, so he couldn't feel the special path of circulation he'd seen in Grint.
Loan reassembled the twelve pieces of Sheville into the shape of a sword and gripped it, enveloping it in Convection.
Sienna smiled faintly.
“So, you're planning to be a swordsman? It's been almost a year since we've done this properly.”
“Yes. Since you taught me about 'Domain'.”
“Ah, that. The one that makes the surrounding air heavy.”
Sienna nodded as if searching her memory, then suddenly closed the distance to Loan and swung her sword.
She was fast, indeed.
Not just in terms of objective speed, but her somewhat ethereal footwork made her difficult to predict.
It felt like he wouldn't be able to dodge easily, even if he knew it was coming.
Fwoosh!
Loan forcefully activated his Domain, creating a backlash against Sienna's movement.
But his opponent was someone who already knew he would do that.
Moreover, she had awakened her mana circulation and could use a faint form of Convection, allowing her to understand the subtleties of Domain.
The moment she entered the spiral flow of the Domain, Sienna subtly twisted her footing and shifted her center of gravity.
It was as if she used the Domain as a source for another kind of power.
Flowing like water, she spun naturally, and her heavy sword surged toward Loan's chest.
It was cloaked in a thick, blue sword light.
Clang!
After striking Sheville, Sienna didn't stop her momentum, continuing her spin to clash her other heavy sword against his.
Clang— Clang-clang-clang!
Amidst the high-speed rotation, the position from which her sword struck changed every time.
A speed and direction that surpassed Loan's precognition.
It was sharp and overflowing with power.
He could feel Sienna's resolve in her sword strikes.
There was no killing intent, but her fighting spirit was just as palpable.
A determination to win at all costs.
A resolve not to clash swords half-heartedly.
The instant Loan felt a subtle change in the Convection, he moved Sheville almost reflexively to block her attacks.
As he used his body, he realized that his synesthesia enhanced not only his precognition and perception but also his physical reactivity.
Moreover.
He felt a sense of gratitude toward Sienna for actively closing the distance, for always trying to give him something, and he greedily observed the way she manipulated her mana.
A moment later.
As Sienna continued to spin without her central axis wavering, Loan discovered another difference between her and Grint.
‘She also has a path of mana flowing along her spine, but...’
The mana extending from the wellspring stored in her lower abdomen, traveling up her back, past her neck, to the back of her head, was the same.
However, the path was empty from the crown of her head, past her forehead and nose, down to the area above her upper lip.
In other words, it wasn't connected to the most fundamental pillar that passed through the body's centerline.
It was as if a hazy fog had settled around the crown of her head, blocking the path and preventing it from connecting.
As a result, the circulation wasn't functioning properly.
If he could just connect that empty part at the crown of her head, she would be able to achieve a very stable mana circulation at all times.
Of course.
The pillar in the rear of the body, with the spine as its centerline. Paving that fifth path of circulation was the priority.
To do that, it would be best to observe her more clearly from behind.
Thump!
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he stomped hard on the ground, adding a ripple to his Domain.
Sienna's clothes fluttered in the wind pressure, and in the instant a momentary gap opened between her swords,
Loan moved as if joining her flow, meeting her extended heavy sword with Sheville and slipping behind her.
It was so smooth that it felt neither threatening nor out of place.
Having given up her back in an instant, Sienna reflexively bent her knees, dropping low, then pivoted on one foot to swing her other leg around.
In that moment, as the Domain scattered and even the Convection distorted,
Loan lightly lifted himself off the ground to avoid Sienna's kick, then examined the starting point of the severed channel near the crown of her head.
He focused on the path from her occipital bone, flowing down to her cervical vertebrae, which curved gently forward.
He carefully observed the channel descending from her cervical vertebrae down her spine.
All the way to the steep path that curled forward near her sacrum, passed her perineum, and settled in her lower abdomen.
The moment Loan confirmed that the reference points in Sienna's channel matched those in Grint's,
“You said you wanted to clash, didn't you?”
Now.
Realizing the distance between them had become too close, Sienna changed the nature of her attack, sheathed her swords, and began to pressure Loan using her fists, feet, elbows, knees, and shoulders.
Wham!
Sienna's powerful punch crushed the Convection and struck Loan in the chest.
Barely managing to dodge aside, Loan pulled back his extended fist and rammed his body straight into her torso.
He wanted to confirm the condensation and dispersion of mana centered around the channel.
Indeed, it seemed to serve as a major pillar for maintaining her body's center, as he caught a glimpse of the channel glowing with bright mana.
Screeech!
Sienna's feet slid back, shattering the flagstones and leaving two long furrows in the ground.
It was the first time distance had opened up between them since the duel began.
Exchanging grins, the two of them rushed at each other simultaneously.
The close-quarters exchange of striking, blocking, pushing, and pulling continued.
As he exerted strength and struggled to maintain his balance, Loan etched the points of the channel into his mind as if plotting dots.
It went on like that for a long time.
Unaware that dawn was breaking.
They didn't even notice Bertlue, who had woken up and stepped out of the carriage.
“What in the world...”
Bertlue's eyes widened.
Sienna and Loan didn't look like they were on the same side at all. Their attacks were that committed.
And yet, somehow, it looked like they were performing a fierce dance.
“Heh, heheh...”
Bertlue let out a dry laugh.
* * *
The carriage traveled for another day, pausing intermittently, until it arrived near the capital city of Versa.
“We'll have to walk from here.”
Bertlue said, pointing to a forest path. It was too narrow for the carriage to proceed.
After setting the horses free, they climbed the mountain for several hours.
The path was truly treacherous, even more so than the one to Albre.
After crossing ridges and navigating narrow cliffside paths, they arrived at Choissel, the village where they were supposed to rendezvous with the other Union members.
It was like a hideout nestled deep in the mountains.
There were no villagers in sight; instead, Union members who had arrived earlier greeted Loan's party.
“Sienna. Welcome.”
Among them, the rather small man who greeted Sienna was also familiar to Loan.
Seeker Yorgos of the Practical Division.
He was the one who had been promoted to Seeker when Loan was promoted to Runner.
Yorgos recognized Loan as well. He brushed back his hair, which was half-covering his eyes.
“First time since the promotion ceremony, isn't it?”
“Hello, senior.”
Loan greeted him, placing a fist over his chest.
Yorgos tapped Loan's arm lightly, telling him to relax.
“I didn't expect to see you here. Were you on a training assignment in Versa?”
Sienna asked in a flat tone.
Even though she didn't use honorifics with a higher-ranking member, Yorgos didn't mind and simply smiled.
“I was in the border region between Grafton and Versa. I spent this year here and was scheduled to be assigned inside Versa Castle next year. Coming here just moved things up a bit.”
Yorgos shrugged as if to say it couldn't be helped.
“I thought you wanted to go to Rhodes.”
“That's right. It's my hometown. I'm thinking of applying the year after next. Not sure if I'll be able to go, since it's my training period.”
Bertlue, who had been standing awkwardly beside Loan and listening to the conversation, leaned toward him and asked quietly,
“Do Union members really stay in a duchy for a whole year like that?”
It wasn't common for the Union to have official, public branches or offices within the duchies.
As an administrator, Bertlue knew that the Union operated covertly in various regions, but he hadn't known they stayed for such long periods, on the order of a year.
“A Union Seeker is equivalent to a vice-commander of a unit. They can assign themselves missions and have the authority to officially use force in other duchies. But since they can't use that right recklessly, they're required to spend time in other nations to understand them and reflect on the Union's principles. They do that three times, for a year each time.”
“So it's a time for a 'Seeker' to seek their own purpose.”
As Bertlue nodded, Yorgos, who had apparently overheard, turned and bowed his head slightly in greeting.
“That's right. However, the Practical Division is supposed to live undercover, disguised as citizens of the duchy. Now that Administrator Bertlue has found me out, I suppose I'll have to request a transfer elsewhere. Hahaha.”
After a laugh, Yorgos shook hands lightly with Bertlue and led the three of them to a hut-like structure.
Loan followed, greeting each of the fifteen senior Union members one by one.
Inside the hut, a map centered on Versa was spread out on a table.
There was no other furniture or equipment.
Yorgos spoke.
“When we arrived, the residents of Choissel were evacuating toward Grafton. If they feel threatened even deep in these mountains, it means Versa is in a very serious state.”
Bertlue's face hardened.
“What's the situation so far? The duke's safety...”
“Unfortunately, we have almost no information. All contact was lost with Commander Vangelis and the other members who had infiltrated, so our sources of intel have dried up.”
Yorgos pointed to the map and continued.
“The last thing we were able to confirm in the area before coming here is that Versa's fortress is now completely under Grave's control.”
Versa is a fortress city, with a massive wall encircling the central castle. It's said to surpass even Grafton in size.
He'd heard it was twice the size of the Vascini family's estate, which he had infiltrated before, but looking at the map, Loan still couldn't quite grasp its scale.
For a place like that to be completely taken over was no small matter.
Furthermore, Versa Castle, located in the center, was surrounded by a wide, deep moat, guard towers, and high walls, making it no different from a fortress.
A frontal assault would not be easy.
Yorgos said.
“We can't launch a full-scale assault tantamount to war right now. Not with the Union's manpower, and Grafton can't raise an army either. Therefore, this mission has three main objectives.”
First, infiltrate Versa Castle and secure the safety of the duke and his son.
Second, assassinate Grave's command structure, which has seized control of the castle.
“And finally, confirm the status of Commander Vangelis and the other Union members, and rescue them if possible.”
None of them would be easy.
Bertlue pointed at the map and said,
“It's fortunate that you chose Choissel as your rendezvous point. This side is almost a sheer cliff, so the enemy can't approach. Conversely, if we just go down, we can enter Versa directly.”
“Are you planning to go yourself? Administrator Bertlue, you are an important figure in Versa. Assuming the worst, perhaps it would be better for you to remain here.”
Yorgos asked, his tone laced with concern.
But Bertlue's mind could not be changed. Besides,
“Getting down from here and reaching the vicinity of the castle by crossing Versa's walls won't be difficult for you all. But getting inside the castle is another story. I know a secret passage. I will guide you.”
It was difficult to refuse Bertlue's offer.