Chapter 44
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Gap in Power
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I extended my arm to the crow perched on the watchtower.
The crow flew over and landed heavily on my wrist.
While stroking the crow's head, I recited the letter's contents to Requiya.
"To Suhes and Fred. Lead your troops out to meet us at the Hellite outpost. About a hundred villagers captured by the bandits will be heading there."
Requiya pulled a piece of dried leather from his pocket and wrote out the missive.
I handed it to the crow, and it gripped it tightly in its talons.
"In the center of the western border city, there's a tall, narrow building. Give it to the half-bald old man. Or to the guy in the black cloak at the training grounds."
I offered a kernel of corn, and the crow snapped it up in its beak before soaring off powerfully.
I stayed one more day to steady my body and mind.
Not just me—the villagers were regaining their vitality too, laughter echoing from all around.
"Requiya."
"Yes, Boss."
"No matter what happens, protect these people here."
I grabbed the crowbar, picked up the sword the vice-captain I'd killed had used, and left the mountain stronghold.
My heart felt strangely calm and unburdened.
Until now, I'd only been running, never knowing when they'd catch up from behind.
But now, I was waiting for the enemy.
To settle things once and for all.
There was no heroic resolve for a fight to protect something. No grand cause.
No matter what the villagers thought, I convinced myself I was just fighting to live a little more comfortably.
I climbed the steep mountain path and stopped at the hilltop.
Rhythmic footsteps thudded against the trees, bounced off leaves, and reached my ears.
The birds sent warnings too.
【More than toes!】
【Fewer than my feathers!】
I couldn't get an exact count, but it seemed like a moderate number, anyway.
I tied a strap to the crowbar and slung it over my back, setting the sword down for a moment.
I retied my shoelaces and cinched my pant cuffs.
"That must be the holy knight. Just as the reports said. A guy with no mana at all, waiting for us? He's truly mad."
The middle-aged man leading the group spotted me and smirked faintly.
He was clearly the commander.
I unclasped my precious cloak and laid it down one step ahead, at the narrow pass.
This was my line in the sand.
"You've come to kill me, right?"
"Of course."
The commander nodded with a confident expression.
"We'll kill everything breathing in that bandit den beyond you."
"Good. That's a relief."
"Ha! A relief?"
"Since you so kindly stated your goal outright. You've eased my dilemma."
I pointed my sheathed sword at the commander.
"You won't advance another step. Drauven's dog."
I never thought I'd use a line Aspheran taught me here.
"And the ones dying won't be me—it's you bastards."
While the commander furrowed his brow, I sized up the enemy.
About fifty men.
I thought fast.
No sign of the prince.
They must have left him behind because it was too dangerous. Or his noble status kept him from such filthy places.
That meant twenty or thirty were likely back there guarding him.
"I'll give you a chance. Turn back now, and you might keep your lives."
"The Fiore army's honor is already stained. What meaning is there in retreating like this?"
"What a selfish prick of a commander. Hey, asshole. Don't you think about your men dying because of your damn pride?"
"Defeat for a soldier is death anyway. Kill or be killed. Isn't that right, sir?"
The commander turned back with a leisurely smile.
There stood a man in a black mask and blood-red cloak.
'Who the hell? His presence feels off.'
Before I could tilt my head in confusion, the masked man charged like the wind.
'Fast. But...'
It wasn't so fast I couldn't dodge.
Thwack—!
I casually swung my scabbard and deflected his attack.
'Too weak for a Red Dragon Knight. Who is this guy, jumping in without a word?'
He didn't match the Red Dragon Knights I'd observed before.
The man recovered his sword and attacked again.
But I'd already predicted the move.
I kicked out lightly, shoving his gut and sending him stumbling back two steps before he regained balance.
"You're not like the Red Dragon Knights I know. How do you charge in without even introducing yourself? Is that what Marcus teaches?"
No interest in talking, huh.
The masked man drew a dagger from his cloak and hurled it at my forehead.
Didn't this bastard ever hear the saying about not throwing daggers with a smile?
Clang—.
I blocked the dagger with my scabbard and immediately drew my sword.
'I'm curious now.'
I issued an ultimatum as he charged again.
"You're after my life, so I have no choice but to kill you."
I twisted my waist, positioning the sword at my left hip.
Whooooong—.
The blade hummed, infused to the limit with chill.
I swung hard at his downward strike aimed at my head.
The moment our swords clashed, I focused my strength into my wrist.
In that instant, a glow enveloped the once-pure white blade.
Boom—!
"Gah—!"
The recoil sent the masked man flying.
He tumbled down the steep slope.
If he wasn't dead, I'd check later.
"Seize him! Kill if you have to!"
At the commander's shout, the soldiers swarmed.
I abandoned the path and bolted into the woods.
I weaved between trees, dodging swords.
Crack—!
A sword aimed at my back caught on a tree.
I shoved the soldier's side, sending him tumbling down the hill.
"Get lost, you small fry."
A soldier slipped on leaves and fell; I knocked him out with a kick to the jaw.
"Gulk—."
I leaped down in front of a pursuing soldier glaring up at me, headbutting his forehead the instant my feet hit the ground.
"Kgh—."
No matter how many they were, I was faster and stronger.
As long as my stamina held, there was no reason to lose.
'Thanks to the Toolsep, my stamina's insane.'
From the highest, most advantageous vantage, I watched the soldiers charge in disorder.
'I command you...'
The emotion in my eyes was pure showmanship.
A swordsman wielding a blazing blade, looking down on the weak—that's the feeling.
The soldiers' spear tips were still distant, but I crouched low, almost collapsing to the ground.
I rose, spinning the sword in a wide arc.
Whooooong—!
Craaaack—!
Everything fell silent, time frozen.
Gasp—! The soldiers halted, inhaling sharply, glancing at each other.
With their eyes, they asked: You okay? Anything cut off?
Didn't need to say it.
Crack—.
Trees sliced clean in the area toppled over.
On flat ground, it would've been the soldiers.
But I cut the trees.
"Huh?"
By the time the soldier registered shock, I'd already leaped off a severed trunk.
The slope made the cut slanted, but even a toehold was enough.
I bounded across the wide stumps, soaring over the soldiers' heads.
They didn't dare thrust spears or swords at me.
Anyone who valued their life would hold back.
They knew one slash could sever their heads.
"Stand aside, soldiers. Let's settle this cleanly between us."
Airborne, I raised my sword high.
"Attack! Take him down—!"
Bang—!
The commander blocked my sword but skidded back steadily.
Years of training made his defense solid and unshakable.
'That Red Dragon guy earlier had no mana. Internal injuries, maybe...'
Even as I clashed swords with the commander, I pondered the other guy with a holy knight's two-timing mindset.
As a holy knight who'd dabbled in octopus-style romance, I could multitask.
All I'd learned were basic attacks and defenses.
But I had combos honed piercing and slashing stars.
Backed by Luke's body—the continent's top swordsman—and mysterious powers.
'No reason I should lose.'
The commander's style was heavy, attack-only swordplay.
As I focused on blocking, his lips curled in triumph, riding the momentum.
"Consider it an honor to die by House Dreyfus's blade."
"Crazy bastard. What the hell are you saying, you little shit."
Like swatting a fly, I swung wide from left to right.
Bang—!
"Urk—!"
He desperately backpedaled, raising his sword to block, then clutched his wrist.
Even with pale sword aura infused, he was pushed back by my plain swing. His face flushed with bewilderment.
"I let you show off a bit thinking there might be something worth learning, but 'Dreyfus this, Dreyfus that'? Ugh, goosebumps. Chicken skin. Nothing more to show? Can I kill you now?"
"You wench—!"
"What the fuck, you prick!"
Clang—!
I blocked another aura-infused strike.
'So this is what they mean by a gap in power.'
I still didn't know how to infuse sword aura. I had Toolsep instead of mana, but it felt iffy to draw on recklessly, so I hadn't tried.
Yet my overflowing energy overwhelmed him.
Thanks to the divine power that always lightened my body and boosted my strength.
Thanks to Toolsep pumping me up with every move.
'In clashes like this, I can consciously draw it out.'
Like Luke borrowing power.
Repaid with life force, so excessive borrowing brings disaster—but a moderate amount, repayable, is fine.
As a holy knight who's taken out loans, I know this.
"Hup—."
The borrowed power crushed the commander's sword aura.
His face twisted in shock as he tried to overpower me blade-to-blade.
Teasing the flustered ones is the best part.
"Didn't get enough mommy milk?"
"You—!"
"Oh, maybe Mommy's not around?"
"How... dare you..."
"What? Can't holy knights trash parents? Didn't expect the guy planning to slaughter kids to have such a delicate heart. How's life blooming in your round little soul, you prick? Too weak to cross swords with me, delicate body and all."
The commander's eyes twitched, glancing behind me.
A soldier reflected in his pupils, aiming for my back.
I whipped my left hand back, blasting cold air. Freezing cracks echoed from behind.
"I'm genuinely curious about the brain structure of guys who charge even when I'm offering to let them live."
The commander's mana must be depleted.
The sword aura vanished completely, revealing plain steel.
Oh, commander quality, huh?
Nice sword at a glance.
I reached out with my left hand and twisted the wrist of the man holding it.
Crackle—.
The commander's wrist froze solid.
His other hand grabbing it froze too.
His face contorted in agony.
"Grgh—."
"What? Hurts? Just this much? After feeling your brain freeze and heart seize, this is nothing. Pain really is relative. Amen."
I pried the sword from his hand and laid it against his throat.
What does a warrior feel when his own blade touches his neck...?
"I've lost..."
...Defeat.
Damn it, this rotten bastard interrupting my thoughts?
"You know it? Yeah, I know it too, asshole. You're done."
This sly prick charges to kill, now acts like it was a friendly spar.
"Guard! Stand down!"
Ah, so he's elite guard.
First time talking to them, so I didn't know.
He addressed the soldiers encircling us.
"Go back and fetch the supreme commander."
I couldn't help but snort in disbelief.
"Who the hell gave you permission to give orders?"
Ha, is this the taste of power?
Even with death staring him down, playing leader—pathetic.
I stepped beside him and kicked the back of his knee, forcing him down.
"Shut your mouth."
He obediently clamped it and bowed his head.
Doesn't matter if he has ulterior motives.
I have Blue Eye.
I pointed his own sword at each soldier one by one.
"Your lives hang by my thread. Any objections?"
I'd planned to kill them all.
Just yesterday, I'd told Requiya as much.
But apparently, I'm not cut out to be a murderer.
The confidence was gone.
Not confidence against them, but confidence in wading through another sea of blood.
Otherwise, my stomach would churn again, eyes turning bloodshot.
For my sake, I wanted to avoid killing.
"No objections? Good. You there! Don't move. I'm thinking of a way to let you all go."