Chapter 95
Chapter 95
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: The End of the Grudge (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“His Lordship has issued a direct order to our Black Night Knights. He said to tear you limb from limb if we encounter you, Martin Adalbert.”
The vice-captain of the Black Night Knights, Rudolf Würst, stepped forward and spoke.
Only then did Martin tear his gaze away from Kallain and shift it to his opponent.
He then let out a blatant scoff.
“You?”
“...Looks like beating a few small-time fools has gone to your head.”
“It’s truly amazing. No matter where I go, there’s always trash like you. You bunch up in a herd just to capture elves or dwarves, and you’re proud of that? Deluded enough to think your group is something special?”
“I’ll teach you there’s pain worse than death!”
“Sorry, what can I do? That’s my specialty.”
“Kill him now!”
At Martin’s mockery, Rudolf bellowed in rage.
Pa-ba-bat!
At his command, twenty Black Night Knights charged in unison.
Their pride was wounded just the same, and their fury was plain to see.
“Ugh. What terrible personalities.”
“The Young Lord’s guys are really pitiful. Not only did they lose, but they got utterly humiliated on top of it.”
Sien and Adel gave bitter smiles.
They could already see what fate awaited them.
The two women then unleashed their auras and kicked off the ground.
In contrast, Martin didn’t budge from his spot.
He merely watched the four knights closing in on him.
Ka-dak.
The moment Martin’s left index finger twitched, a blade of wind shot forward at terrifying speed.
“Dodge!”
The Black Night Knights had faced all sorts of experiences battling other races.
Proving it, they evaded the wind blades with impressive reflexes.
‘Their judgment’s sharp, at least.’
Showing that response in mere seconds deserved praise.
But it didn’t change their fate.
Martin grinned as he extended his left hand, activating Distortion of All Things.
In that instant, the distance between him and one knight shrank dramatically.
“What?!”
The knight cried out in shock at the unexpected turn.
Those were his last words.
Kwa-deuk!
Martin seized the opponent’s throat with his left hand and twisted it with Distortion of All Things.
He then hurled the corpse at a knight lunging from his right.
The body flew like a cannonball, but the target spun like a top and dodged.
He closed in on Martin and thrust his sword.
That wasn’t all.
Two more struck from the left and rear, as if they’d been waiting.
The staggered timing made defense or evasion difficult.
‘Victory breeds the greatest peril.’
Yet Martin casually twitched his left index finger again.
Kwaaaaang!
“Gaaah!”
“Aaaah!”
“Uwaaah!”
Immense pressure crushed all three knights at once.
Slammed into the ground, their bodies were pulverized in an instant, reduced to gruesome husks.
Martin glanced nonchalantly at his comrades.
Sien and Adel were battling not just the squad leaders, but the other knights as well.
“No need to worry about them, as expected.”
A satisfied smile curved Martin’s lips.
Sien shrugged off most attacks with her superior physique.
Adel nullified all physical blows through her unique ability, Phantasmalization.
They boasted exceptional defense in their own ways and held their own against multiple foes without faltering.
Thus reassured, he turned his attention to Rudolf.
“Hey, you gonna keep posing there?”
“I was just gathering intel.”
“Doesn’t change a thing even if you do.”
“Your tongue’s truly at the 10th Circle.”
Kuo-ooo!
Intense aura erupted from Rudolf’s body, and a gray aura blade formed along his sword.
Martin’s eyes gleamed.
‘Swordsmanship at 4th Circle, unique ability at 2nd...’
Lower than his own level.
But that didn’t mean he could let his guard down.
He hadn’t grasped the opponent’s unique ability yet.
Pa-bat!
At last, Rudolf launched himself forward.
The distance closed in a flash, followed by something astonishing.
The air rippled briefly, and his body vanished completely.
Martin furrowed his brow.
‘Not spatial movement.’
No spatial distortion was felt, so he was certain.
In that split second, Martin’s mind raced.
A new hypothesis emerged.
‘Then it’s invisibility...’
But not ordinary invisibility.
One could still be detected even if unseen—the target undeniably existed.
Movement should produce sound, yet none came.
Enhancing his sense of smell with mana yielded nothing, his superhuman senses at 7th Circle failed to detect it, and even his spiderweb of mana couldn’t sense a thing.
However.
Kwaaang!
Martin calmly swung Holy Sword Kaizen upward to his left.
Golden aura blade clashed with gray, exploding with a boom.
“Wh-what did you do?!”
Locked blade-to-blade, Rudolf raised his voice.
His confident expression had twisted into horror.
It was inevitable.
His unique ability wasn’t mere invisibility, but Perfect Concealment.
An advanced form that evaded not just the five senses, but even superhuman intuition.
How many other races had he captured with it?
He’d never been detected once.
That flawless power had been breached for the first time today.
The shock created an opening, and Martin wasn’t fool enough to miss it.
Kwa-deuk!
“Kuhk!”
Rudolf spat blood.
In disbelief, he stared down at his chest.
Martin’s fist had pierced straight through his heart.
But something even more shocking awaited.
“I don’t know what ability it is, but I’ll admit it’s impressive. Too bad the matchup was just awful for you. I almost feel sorry for you this time.”
“...H-how did you find me?”
“Everything else failed, but spatial detection worked. Nothing you could do about it. Any living, moving being has to occupy space.”
“Damn...”
With those words, Rudolf slumped forward.
True to a 6th Circle powerhouse, his vitality let him linger, but a shattered heart couldn’t sustain life.
It was then.
Martin pivoted on his left foot, spinning rightward.
Holy Sword Kaizen arced from low to high, slicing something.
“Aaaak!”
Clang!
A sword hit the ground as a scream echoed.
Kallain Gustin clutched his severed left arm, collapsing to the dirt.
Martin smiled down at him.
Kallain trembled violently.
While all eyes were on Rudolf, he’d used spatial movement.
The timing felt perfect, beyond reproach.
Yet he hadn’t stopped there, enveloping himself in triple-layered spatial barriers at full power.
All that effort crumbled to nothing.
“What possessed you to charge in, Kallain? Did you think that childish sneak attack would work again? Or that your spatial barriers could block or reflect my strikes? Either way, zero points.”
“P-please, spare my life...”
“Wow. Your father staked his life for the family’s long-cherished wish. And here you are, the heir, begging for your life? Don’t you think that’s too pathetic, even for you?”
“Ugh.”
Martin’s barbs left Kallain speechless.
Genuinely satisfied by the man’s wretched state.
‘What a funny coincidence.’
He hadn’t suffered directly at this man’s hands, but before his regression, he’d lost his left arm.
Now, he’d severed the left arm of Kallain, the one who’d given the order.
Quite the curiosity.
“Well, no need to worry too much. I’m not killing you yet. Not yet.”
A hostage in hand deserved proper use.
Swiik.
Martin reached into Kallain’s bosom.
He pulled out a communication orb and contacted one person.
The recipient: Mateus von Gustin.
* * *
“Martin Adalbert!”
Kwaaang!
Mateus smashed the command center desk in a burst of fury.
But that did little to quench his rage. He destroyed or hurled every object in reach.
Andreas Schneider and Karsten Frings, captains of the Red Dragon Knights, couldn’t stop their lord.
Even Elders Aren and Marius stayed silent.
They’d all witnessed it clearly.
Martin crushing Kallain and demanding surrender.
The threat to kill him if they didn’t yield by the deadline was icing on the cake.
It’d be weirder if he hadn’t lost his mind.
“I’ll return to the estate right now and lop off that bastard’s head!”
“We understand your rage, Mateus. But if you leave now, who will stop Vincent?”
“Marius Elder is right. The enemy outnumbers us, yet hesitates to charge partly because of our defenses—but mostly because you can hold Vincent back.”
“Damn it all!”
Mateus unleashed every curse he knew.
He desperately wanted to rush save his son.
But reason forbade it.
He warned that if he left, Vincent would exploit the gap, dooming the castle.
‘Can’t send anyone else either.’
He acknowledged the prowess of the three 7th Circle experts here.
But none could guarantee victory over Martin.
The foe might not even stay put in the estate.
“...For now, I’ll focus on defending the castle. But if my son dies, I’ll burn the Adalbert house to the ground, leaving nothing.”
Mateus intoned grimly.
No one dared stop him.
He looked ready to kill anyone who tried.
“Thank you for your resolve, Mateus.”
Elder Aren spoke, then rose.
Andreas Schneider asked curiously.
“Where are you going, Elder Aren?”
“Dawn has broken—battle will start soon. I need to inspect the gate and wall spells properly. The knights have checked, of course, but better if I double-check.”
“We appreciate your diligence.”
All admired Elder Aren’s thoroughness; no one suspected a thing.
They’d seen his valor in yesterday’s fight.
Thus, he left the command center without issue.
Thud, thud.
Elder Aren descended the stairs leisurely toward the gate.
Spotting him, knights and mages hurried over.
“What’s the matter, Elder?”
“Battle’s about to begin, isn’t it? Just came to check.”
“Ah, understood.”
At his words, they withdrew.
That instant.
Chwaaak!
Elder Aren drew and swung his sword from its sheath.
Light flashed; the knight’s head hit the ground.
“Wh-what are you—!”
“Just following the Young Lord’s orders.”
Elder Aren replied, swinging again. A deep gash marred the mage’s body.
“No need to drag this war out.”
Wooong.
An aura blade coated Elder Aren’s sword.
Moments later, the gate mechanisms and central magic arrays controlling the walls lay in ruins.
Ku-ku-kung!
The sealed gates swung wide open.