Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: The Battle at Noon
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After a moment of silence, cheers and shouts erupted from one side.
The voices were particularly loud from those who didn't know Loan well, as those who did had been overly optimistic about the situation.
"I heard he was a mage, was I wrong? His movements are so flashy."
"Even so, that's beyond the level of telekinesis. Didn't he look just like a swordsman trained to the absolute peak?"
"They say each member of the Union is a match for a hundred men. Is even Oz at that level?"
There were also those who, despite the distance, sensed the aura imbued in the small sword fragments.
They held their tongues.
What they saw and what they knew to be true simply did not align.
It was the same for Oscar and Sienna.
Their eyes met, and they let out an inexplicable sigh in unison, a sound that reached no one.
The cheers were still overwhelming.
"Haha! Is that not enough? Go on, show off your spirit as much as you like."
"What are you saying! We'd be ashamed to keep letting him handle this!"
"My hands are itching for a fight. It's been a while since I've felt this way."
Their soaring morale turned into a yearning to get on that stage themselves.
But Loan had no intention of yielding his spot.
It was time for just one more.
He hoped that one would be a worthy opponent.
"Is there no one?"
He threw the question out again and waited.
The answer was due from the other side.
Finally, a voice came from their command.
"He's a strange one, enough to make you greedy."
"At least his arrogant personality fits right in with us. Not that there's any hope for redemption, coming from the Union."
"Then death it is."
"Not yet. Intervening now would only crush their morale. The spark is there."
Though most let out bitter sighs, many others gripped their swords or steadied their breathing.
This provocation felt different from the first.
When he had first appeared on the plains to challenge the Libertha camp, it had been an assault on their pride.
This time, their hearts were strangely pounding.
A duel in the purest sense—a desire to test one's skills against an opponent and learn something in the process.
The mindset they had when they first held a sword was faintly budding within the dark mana of these ruffians.
"He's an enemy, but I have to admit, his desire to learn from a bout is respectable. Perhaps I shall oblige."
"He's young, but not to be underestimated. His attitude isn't bad. I will take him on."
Many were eager to step forward.
This was especially true for those with poor judgment. The depth of their thoughts was as shallow as their insight.
*CRASH-!*
Among them, one moved first without a word.
She kicked off the ground, launching herself far from the crowd, and approached Loan with remarkably fluid movements.
Even at a glance, she was more skilled than Marttin, but that was about it.
Loan felt a tinge of disappointment.
Unaware of his thoughts, the woman abruptly opened her mouth.
"Your movements have too much excess flair."
"Mine?"
Loan tilted his head and retorted.
Despite the clear age difference, Loan's tone was dismissive.
The woman offered a light smile, displaying her composure.
"I have stepped forward to request a bout. Let us set aside our ranks and positions for a moment."
"I'm not so sure you have the rank for that."
Loan genuinely cocked his head.
If her eye for skill was lacking, her ability would be as well.
Her opponent did not lose her smile.
"Such spirit. I instruct the new recruits of Libertha in swordsmanship. If my disciples were like you, teaching would be a delight."
"Ah, so even beasts less than human are offered something like teachings..."
Was it the needless impatience from not finding a worthy opponent?
He trailed off, unintentionally provoking her.
The woman shook her head slightly.
"There's a difference between spirit and recklessness. For such a pretty face, you have a foul mouth. Is it because you still don't know your way around a woman? Shall I teach you?"
As she spoke, she slightly raised the corners of her crimson lips and shot him a sidelong glance.
Her coquettish display was rather pathetic. Perhaps she was used to treating her disciples as objects to satisfy her own lust.
And yet, in that moment, the disappointment filling Loan's heart was unexpectedly shaken.
He realized, watching her, that this wasn't a stage for him to satisfy his own desires.
His mind cleared in an instant.
"If you insist."
Loan nodded, showing his opponent a sign of respect.
No matter how low-leveled the opponent, it was ultimately up to him to find the subtlety within and grow from it.
"Carla of Varcino. I will show you that the sword of Libertha is anything but light."
"Do that. I'll try to cut down on the flair."
The moment their conversation ended, Carla lunged.
They extended their swords simultaneously, their speed perfectly calculated for the distance between them.
She just didn't know how far Sheville could reach.
It was still far from a sword's reach, but—
"What?"
Her voice was drowned out by the *clang* of clashing steel.
She had already widened her sword's guard and adjusted her stance.
Her instantaneous reaction wasn't bad.
A brief standoff after the initial impact.
"Hoo..."
Just as he was thinking the sun felt quite hot and that he was using his time well.
Carla raised her sword high, taking an extreme high stance. Was she betting everything on a single, full-force downward strike?
It was a stance with many openings, but if one couldn't gauge the speed of the strike, it was awkward to attack.
Of course, that would be the case in a fight between ordinary swordsmen.
Loan, with his wide range of attacks and techniques, waited with pure curiosity for his opponent's move.
"I was the one who was cluttered. I will show you my finest strike."
Soon after, a powerful surge of mana sprouted from her entire body.
Like a dark flame igniting in an instant. A black haze shot up along her sword.
He had looked down on her, but she wasn't without a secret art. And it was one that had been honed to a considerable degree.
Something Loan had realized in his previous duel.
Carla had long since understood and mastered the common concept of treating the sword as one's own body.
'Even from a trifle, there is something to be learned.'
With that thought, the remaining pieces of Sheville rose and linked into a single line.
Loan placed the freely bending sword, like a chain of blades, within the Convection he had extended straight before him.
Held even more firmly than in his hand, this too was like his body.
*Wooooo—*
Aura began to rise from Loan's Sheville as well.
A haze of pure, clear light.
Just as a peculiar glint appeared in Carla's eyes.
*Swish—*
Sliding across the ground to close the distance, she brought her sword down.
*CLAAAAANG!*
The tremendous roar of the sword clashing against the blade forged from fragments.
Dust scattered in an instant, proving the magnitude of the shockwave.
Carla didn't stop, unleashing a second and third strike in quick succession.
*CLANG! CLANG-CLANG!*
Loan stood perfectly still, parrying her sword with the Sheville he had floated a step in front of him.
While Carla and her sword's movements were dazzling, Loan hadn't moved an inch.
He was faithfully keeping his word to reduce his wasted movements, while also inwardly mulling over Carla's words.
The meaning of a heavy sword.
He hadn't taken the blows with his own body, but being one with the Convection, he could feel it well enough.
'Her high stance is similar to Sophie's swordsmanship. It might share the same origin as the Pobel family's.'
Suddenly, he recalled the words of an old Union aspirant who had preached that one's sword must be like one's body.
'He wasn't wrong. They're all saying the same thing.'
A smile formed on its own, and he thought he should discuss this with Sophie again.
Suddenly, Carla's enraged voice cut through the sound of the impacts.
"You're smiling?"
Loan gave a slight shrug of his shoulders in reply.
"Isn't it fascinating? We're burning each other away."
"What are you..."
Carla's bewildered expression was visible for a moment as she swung her sword.
He had spoken without thinking, but it was the truth.
The darkness flowing along her sword and the light on his were colliding.
The dazzlingly complex blaze created by their intertwined sword paths led to the annihilation of their respective mana.
A purification achieved by burning each other away.
The mindset for wielding a sword should be as constant as how one treats their own body, and staking one's life in a fight was, in fact, this simple.
Magic should be the same.
"Your life and mine are clashing. You'd do well to cast aside your extraneous thoughts. Even for a single strike."
Loan admonished her gently.
"..."
Carla suddenly withdrew her hand, her expression sinking deeply.
Until a moment ago, she had been glancing at Loan's face even while swinging her sword, making him wonder if she was truly focused, but the atmosphere had completely changed.
It seemed so.
Her gaze, her step, the twist of her hips, the flex of her muscles, the turbid mana that circulated through her body before exploding outward with ferocious momentum, seeming to be concentrated more in her sword.
*CRASH-!*
She shattered Sheville into pieces and charged at Loan without warning.
In that instant, the hair on Loan's head stood on end. A killing intent that felt truly achievable, something he hadn't felt in a very long time.
He immediately activated his Domain.
The Domain, reinforced by a clump of mana, was incredibly solid.
With a *thud*, Carla's body was thrown sideways. Having lost her balance, her sword cut through empty air.
"Ugh!"
After a single cry, Carla, having struck the wrong place, quickly twisted her body and swung her sword horizontally.
It seemed reflexive, with no wasted motion, but to Loan, the moment felt incredibly long.
Long enough for his gaze to remain fixed on her exposed flank.
Retrieving Sheville would be a hassle. And there was no need to show mercy like he had with the crown prince.
In his own subjective moment of leisure, he glanced at the position of the sun.
'I can probably end this now.'
Loan gathered Convection into his fist.
Would the fist of the Faith Division, imbued with divine power, have been like this? Even if not, the brilliant halo of light would be enough to drive away the darkness.
He twisted at the waist and slammed his left fist into her ribs.
*BOOOOOM—!*
Unable to complete her swing, Carla was sent flying a great distance, tumbling across the ground.
Her body was twisted at an unnatural angle.
'This isn't purification...'
It was instant death.
She had no time to recall her original passion, feel elation, or gain enlightenment through a pure duel.
Compared to the price of her sins, even that would have been too great a mercy.
All she had managed just before dying was to satisfy her personal desire to face an opponent's fully committed strike.
'This should be enough.'
The remaining clumps of mana in the air were enough to let out a few more shouts.
Loan straightened his posture and sent his voice across the utterly silent plains. A vibration that struck at the heart spread to every corner.
"They say you're mad for strength. Your willingness to give your all, even if it ends in death, is at least worthy of acknowledgment."
The Libertha camp remained silent.
They didn't feel offended, even as a young boy taunted them so calmly after slaughtering two of their own.
On the contrary, their blood boiled.
Loan gave voice to their feelings.
"Now. All of you who wish to pour out everything you have honed by staking your lives upon this land. Step forward. Let's see this to the end."
It was a strange proposal, one that seemed to raise the morale of not only his allies but the enemy as well.
A corresponding answer came from the Libertha command.
A middle-aged man with snow-white hair.
The man, who had been watching the situation in silence amidst the priests of Le Tell and the powerful warriors of Libertha, spoke in a solemn voice.
"The brothers of Libertha will lay their bones here. Not a single one of you will look back."
As if proving his terrifying magical power, the sound waves passed over Loan and reached every corner of the Union and Varcino camps.
Soon after, clouds of dust rose from both sides.
Loan quietly called for Aul and put a hand in its mouth.
The clump of mana he had been saving all this time.
A crimson energy, like lava, surged over his hand.
The all-out battle at noon had begun.