Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Cleanup Time (3)
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Martin’s declaration made Jürgen von Braithner tremble with rage.
In contrast, the Shadow King was still smiling.
As if he were genuinely enjoying it.
“I’ve made plenty of people eat dirt, but I never imagined the day would come when I’d be the one tasting it. You can take pride in that, Young Master. You’re the first to push me this far.”
“Pride my ass. What good is praise from a coward who hides in the shadows and slits throats?”
“Ruthless. But my admiration is sincere. I’ve got a lot of questions now, too. How are you wielding martial arts while suffering from the Dragon’s Curse? And how do you manipulate the wind so skillfully with space domination?”
Martin smirked and shot back.
“You think I’ll just spill my trade secrets that easily?”
“Guess I’ll have to find out the hard way, then.”
“That’s the plan, but I’m not sure you’re up to it. Honestly, I was disappointed last time we clashed. Even when I limited myself to just martial arts and wind techniques, you couldn’t win. How pathetic is that?”
“I promise you, I won’t disappoint this time.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. By the way, why’s a powerhouse like you interested in drugs? Clodel just heightens the senses—that’s it. It’s worthless to a 7th Circle mage like you.”
“You’ve got some nerve, Young Master. Keeping your secrets while prying into mine.”
“Nobles are supposed to be shameless.”
Even as he parried the Shadow King’s words, Martin clicked his tongue inwardly.
He’d been provoking him nonstop during their exchange, but the man wasn’t shaken in the slightest.
If anything, the smile on his lips only deepened.
‘As expected of the Shadow King. He’s a master at controlling his emotions.’
His ploy had failed, but Martin didn’t mind too much.
He had another target, after all.
Martin promptly turned his head to stare at Jürgen.
“You’ve got it rough, don’t you? Cleaning up after the Gustin family while running a drug plantation on top of it. At least it’s rewarding, right? Lord Mateus is famous for looking after his own.”
“……Shut your mouth, Young Master.”
“Deny it all you want—it won’t help. I’ve got intel on the cozy relationship between the Braithner and Gustin families. Strictly speaking, though, you’re the one who bowed his head.”
Thud!
Jürgen slammed his staff into the ground without a word.
A fierce aura erupted from his entire body, and the gem at the staff’s tip flashed orange incessantly.
It flowed into the ground, and soon a massive magic circle rose up.
But Martin just snorted.
“What’s the point of putting on a show now? You, who bowed to the head of a mere branch family.”
“Shut up!”
“Your sharp reaction tells me you’re well aware of it yourself.”
Jürgen’s face flushed red.
“You’ve got a real talent for getting under people’s skin, Young Master.”
“Stating the truth always cuts the deepest.”
“So truth is the greatest weapon, is it? I’ve learned something new.”
Ssssh.
Not only the Shadow King’s shadow, but the shadows of everyone else split into hundreds of tendrils and burst outward.
Writhing like living snakes, the sight was truly menacing.
And they weren’t the only ones stepping up.
“Everyone, battle stations!”
The Braithner knights who had accompanied Jürgen coated their weapons in aura.
There were a full thirty of them—three times the number of the White Dragon Knights.
On top of that, over two hundred guards raised their mana rifles in unison.
By the numbers, it was a perfect mismatch.
Yet Martin showed no fear whatsoever.
“Anyone scared? If you are, you can back out—no hard feelings.”
“No one in the White Dragon Knights would flinch at that bunch. We don’t recruit cowards in the first place.”
Fritz Kahn replied with a straight face.
The knights chimed in one after another, as if they’d been waiting.
“The training after joining is way scarier. We’d rather fight those guys nonstop than go through that again.”
“Especially the courage drills…… Ugh. Just thinking about it is nightmare fuel.”
Even with the enemy right in front of them, everyone stayed relaxed.
The sight was more than enough to irk Jürgen.
“Kill them all!”
“What’s a criminal got to say? Wipe ’em out.”
Both leaders issued their orders, and the battle finally began.
Sara quickly shouted.
“Everyone, fall back!”
“Follow us!”
Guided by the Cry of Freedom members, the protesters withdrew in perfect order.
So they wouldn’t get in the way of the fight.
‘She’s got real instincts.’
Martin praised Sara from the heart.
* * *
Flash!
The first to move was the Shadow King.
Both daggers gripped in his hands, along with the hundreds of shadow tendrils swirling around him, were all coated in aura blades.
His skill was undeniably impressive.
‘But it’s a technique I’ve seen before.’
Martin could clearly see not just the Shadow King, but every movement of the shadows.
Which was why he calmly swung down his holy sword, Kaizen.
Slash!
The sword, empowered by a golden aura blade, cleaved through space.
The shadow tendrils caught in its path were shredded in an instant, but that wasn’t the end.
A powerful suction force emerged from the rift in space, dragging all the shadows in.
The Shadow King hurriedly tightened his control over them, but more were sucked into the void.
‘Damn.’
The Shadow King clicked his tongue.
In that brief moment of focus on the shadows, Martin had closed the distance right to his face.
Kaizen came slashing in at ferocious speed, and the Shadow King reflexively crossed his two daggers.
Boom!
An explosion erupted, sending aura blade fragments scattering everywhere.
“Urk.”
A short groan escaped the Shadow King’s lips, along with a spray of blood.
He’d thought he’d blocked Martin’s attack perfectly, yet he’d taken damage.
‘They say those afflicted with the Dragon’s Curse boast infinite mana.’
He’d never been outmatched in mana capacity by anyone else, but today that confidence had been shattered for the first time.
Undeterred, the Shadow King retreated.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dozens of ice spears rained down on Martin almost simultaneously.
It was the Braithner family’s signature ability, ‘Freezing,’ combined with 6th Circle magic.
Every ice spear was aimed precisely at Martin.
‘Predictable.’
Jürgen was someone he’d fought before his regression, and Martin had personally taken his head.
He knew the patterns inside out, so reading the attack was child’s play.
Kaizen swung once more.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
A single golden aura blade shattered every ice spear.
The shockwave from the impact swept through the surroundings.
“Gah!”
The backlash from his shattered spell made Jürgen vomit a bowlful of blood.
But he had no time to catch his breath.
“I’ve got you!”
“A mere knight scum!”
Fritz Kahn seized the opening and charged at Jürgen.
Of course, Jürgen didn’t just stand there.
He focused on firing spells to keep his distance.
Which meant he couldn’t afford to pay attention to Martin anymore.
‘No matter.’
Thanks to Jürgen, the Shadow King managed to steady his breathing.
He charged at Martin, surrounded now by even thicker shadow tendrils writhing about.
But Martin sliced through the shadows without a care, then parried the Shadow King’s lightning-fast dagger strike.
The two daggers clashed against Kaizen once more.
This time, Martin was pushed back, but his face showed no sign of panic.
‘What the……?’
The moment the Shadow King felt puzzled,
Shing!
An inexplicable dread washed over him.
He instinctively ducked his head to the right.
Slash!
A crescent-shaped golden aura blade grazed his cheek.
‘Space Cleave.’
It was a technique he’d never seen before, but its fame made it instantly recognizable.
It didn’t amount to much, though.
Vmmm.
No sooner had the golden slash flown out than Martin teleported right in front of the Shadow King.
Martin swung Kaizen wildly, forcing the Shadow King to focus solely on defense.
Each clash of blades sent shockwaves and aura fragments crumbling parts of the plaza.
At a glance, it looked like an even match.
But the Shadow King knew better.
The proof was in the wounds accumulating on his body as time passed.
‘So the Adalbert family’s swordsmanship really is the empire’s finest.’
He’d thought the martial arts were impressive.
But that had been a mistake.
Compared to the swordsmanship on display now, martial arts were nothing.
It was sharper, faster.
More powerful, with extreme variability.
Even for a veteran like the Shadow King, it was overwhelming—Martin’s swordplay was razor-sharp and flawless.
Three minutes? No, one minute.
That’s how long until it ended.
And he would be the loser.
‘In that case.’
He’d requested a deal because Jürgen had what he wanted.
But no matter how important it was, it couldn’t compare to his own life.
The Shadow King decided in an instant and acted on it.
“Hah!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Countless shadow tendrils collided with each other.
Infused with aura blades, they triggered massive explosions.
The intense heat and devastating shockwaves turned the garden into a wasteland in seconds.
They even tried to engulf Martin.
Vmmm.
He simply waved his left hand.
Space warped, sucking in every bit of the explosion’s aftermath.
He blocked the attack with ease.
Even so, Martin frowned.
“You call yourself the Shadow King, and you run?”
He’d spotted it the moment the explosion went off.
The Shadow King slipping into the shadows.
If he knew where he was fleeing, he could pursue with spatial jump.
But that was the limit.
With his current mastery of Distortion of All Things, interfering with the shadow realm was impossible.
-No assassin in the world fights a knight head-on. Our domain is the darkness, Young Master.-
“Planning to assassinate me?”
-I’d take the job if it came. That’s an assassin’s worth. But I’ve no intention of volunteering. Crossing the Adalbert family scares even me. Plus, considering your talent, Young Master, you’ll only get stronger.-
“Honest—I like that. While you’re at it, why not tell me why you’re here?”
-Can’t do that. Trust is the most vital thing in a deal. Take care, Young Master.-
With that, the Shadow King’s voice faded away.
Martin snorted.
“Trust, my foot.”
The Shadow King himself had gone silent.
But what did that matter?
There was someone who knew the truth—someone who knew even more.
Martin turned.
He could see Fritz Kahn locked in fierce combat with Jürgen von Braithner.
“Guess I’ll keep him alive for a while.”
Until he confirmed every last truth.
Flash!
The golden aura blade’s glow spread wide, melting into space.
A perfect cube formed next, large enough to encompass the ruined garden.
“What the hell?!”
Shock appeared on the faces of Jürgen and the Braithner retainers.
They tried to respond somehow, but Martin gave them no chance.
Kaizen, now heavy with space sword, came slashing down from above.
Slash!
“Arrrgh!”
“Aaaagh!”
The slashes formed within the space sword rampaged like a storm.
The Braithner guards lost their lives in an instant.
The knights resisted as best they could, but they fell one by one as time dragged on.
In the end, they were all annihilated.
The only one still breathing was Jürgen.
“Uwaaagh!”
But he was in bad shape.
His right arm had been severed, blood pouring from the stump like a waterfall.
“You only need your mouth anyway, so consider this my last mercy. Tell me the truth, and I’ll kill you painlessly. Refuse, and it won’t end well for you.”
Martin smiled as he pulled a potion from his subspace.