Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Pleasure of Predation
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Claaang!
The metallic screech tore through the ravine.
Sword clashed against sword head-on.
"Urk...!"
His wrist throbbed.
It was a heavy impact that surpassed mere physical force.
The density and quality of mana infused in the blow were on another level.
He's strong.
Gilling Dundaff, the knight he'd encountered in the Black Forest.
This guy was on the same level—or even stronger.
"As I thought, you're no ordinary soldier."
The knight nodded as if he'd figured it out.
A soldier who'd snatched his spear and leaped over the shield wall.
That skill and boldness were beyond mortal limits.
"I am a knight of the Empire, Oliver Kin."
A knight-to-knight honorable introduction.
The problem was, there was no way to respond in kind.
It wasn't even valid from the start.
"Damian Winter of the 6th Legion's 1st Infantry Division."
"6th Legion... 1st Infantry Division...?"
No knight would ever claim such a affiliation.
Oliver Kin's face twisted in disbelief.
"You mean to say you're some lowly grunt?"
"Lowly grunt? Why not use the nicer term 'soldier'?"
He had no idea where this composure came from.
But Damian didn't hide it.
On the contrary, he intended to use it as psychological warfare.
"...A mere grunt like you."
And the mind game wasn't in vain.
The knight Oliver's expression told the tale.
"How dare you, how dare you act so insolent before me!"
The introductions ended there.
Flash!
Knight Oliver charged like an enraged bull.
Clang! Clang! Claaang!
Successive clashes.
A few exchanges made it clear.
This opponent was no pushover.
Even stronger than that knight from the Black Forest.
Especially that shield.
The small buckler in Knight Oliver's left hand.
It grated on Damian's nerves.
That's the problem.
A shield technique handling both offense and defense simultaneously.
Which was why no openings appeared.
Not even when he threw everything he had.
I need to create an opening somehow.
Damian took a deep breath.
The basic mana breathing technique Mikhail had taught him.
The mana stored within his body surged with vitality.
Shing! Kagang! Kaang!
Swords clashed chaotically.
Sparks flew, killing intent swirled.
I'm not being overpowered in strength, at least.
Just breathing mana elevated his physical prowess.
But that alone wasn't enough.
Especially against a sword user.
I need to do more.
At that moment.
Pak!
The buckler smashed into Damian's side.
"Kuh!"
His breath caught in his throat.
Without mana and the Black Viper Leather Armor, his bones would have shattered.
Annoying as hell.
That tiny shield plugged every gap.
Block the sword, and the shield comes flying.
Dodge the shield, and the sword slips in.
Perfect harmony of offense and defense.
The gap in mana manipulation proficiency is huge, too.
Damian was just starting to sense and breathe mana.
His opponent was a full-fledged sword user wielding it properly.
No chance of victory like this.
"Your petty tricks end here."
The knight sneered as he closed the distance.
"Die already!"
A heavy sword strike incoming.
The moment of decision had arrived.
Keep up the pointless defense?
Or.
Create a variable?
As the knight had said.
Even if it meant 'petty tricks'.
He didn't hesitate long.
He had to win.
"Hup!"
Damian didn't block the incoming sword.
Instead, he lowered his stance and darted in.
At the same time, he scooped up dirt from the ground with his left hand.
Splatter!
He hurled it full force at Oliver's face.
A primal, despicable attack.
"Grah! You cowardly bastard!"
Even a sword user couldn't handle dirt in his eyes.
In that split second of flailing blindly.
First, deal with that annoying shield.
Damian didn't waste the hard-earned opening.
He grabbed the Iron Guard's long spear rolling on the ground.
Stab!
Piercing Oliver's left forearm from mid-range.
"Gaaaaah!"
The bastard screamed and dropped the buckler.
Clang!
The most irritating piece of defense was gone.
See? Sometimes you gotta play dirty.
"You... you filthy vermin!"
Oliver lost his reason to rage.
His eyes bulged red with bloodshot fury.
Unforgivable from a knightly perspective.
"I'll kill you!"
Wild, erratic sword swings.
A final desperate frenzy.
He's lost it.
Emotions running too hot?
His movements had become far simpler.
Now I can see it.
An opening had finally appeared.
A crack in the perfect offense-defense balance.
End it with this.
Damian burned his remaining mana.
His muscles screamed in protest.
Swollen to the bursting point.
Proof that power was overflowing.
"Haaaaap!"
A roar that shook the ground.
The final clash with fate on the line.
Kaang! Kang! Kaaang!
The deafening roar of metal devouring metal.
At the end of that fierce exchange.
Kududuk!
The sound of blade piercing bone and muscle rang out.
"Guhk...!"
Knight Oliver spewed blood.
Dawn was embedded in his chest.
"I-Impossible... no way..."
Damian's sword had been just a bit faster.
No, more desperate.
"Me... beaten by... some grunt...?"
That was it.
Knight Oliver's last words.
Thud.
The light faded from his eyes.
He was dead.
"Hahk, heuk, haaahk...!"
Only then did his held breath explode out.
Tension released, his whole body ached.
...I won. Me.
Battered to hell, but he'd survived again.
Against a sword user, on his own power.
And at that moment.
"...!"
Damian's eyes widened.
Mana Manipulation?
Not mere sensing or breathing.
A technique to properly wield mana.
The very key to becoming a sword user.
Shoooo...
Experience poured in simultaneously.
The crystallization of a lifetime of honing.
With this...
Until now, he'd only clumsily imitated it.
Now he knew the proper way.
The sensation of compressing and exploding mana.
All of it etched into his flesh.
And that's not all.
The second gain.
Aggressive Buckler Usage.
He'd fully absorbed the very technique that had tormented him moments ago.
Maximizing close-quarters combat efficiency with a small shield.
Perfect results.
I want to try it. Right now.
Not just Lowest Mana Manipulation.
Aggressive Buckler Usage, too.
Perfect timing, isn't it?
Fatigue was a luxury in this situation.
Damian immediately put the newly imprinted secrets into action.
Woooong!
Different from mere breathing.
Mana surged from deep within his body.
That power infused explosive vitality into his weary muscles and gathered sharply at his sword tip.
The sensation of his physical level rising another step.
Add the buckler to this.
Having tasted mana manipulation,
Damian swiftly picked up the fallen buckler.
As he strapped it to his left arm, it felt as familiar as an old companion of decades.
"It's not over yet!"
"Avenge Sir Oliver! Kill him!"
Right then.
Iron Guard soldiers rushed in.
Not for nothing were they the Empire's shield.
Elite warriors without a trace of fear.
But.
Flash!
Damian didn't back down either.
Claaang!
He deflected the first charging soldier's sword with the buckler.
And twisted its trajectory, shattering the man's balance.
The core of buckler usage: parrying.
Slash!
The opening became opportunity.
Dawn severed the enemy's throat.
"Guhk!"
The perfect offense-defense harmony that had plagued Damian.
Now it manifested from his own hand.
This is it.
Damian felt ecstasy.
Not relief at survival.
A cold, addictive pleasure of predation.
"Now! Annihilate the enemy completely!"
As Damian succumbed to the addiction,
Commander Mikhail's roar echoed.
The Iron Guard's lines crumbled rapidly.
"Waaaaah!"
The prelude to full massacre.
The Iron Guard resisted to the end, but it wasn't enough.
Soon, they all lay cold on the ravine floor.
"Commander, shall we pursue?"
No sooner had the battle ended.
The adjutant asked Commander Mikhail Sobkov.
The Empire's main force had fled using the Iron Guard as shields.
Whether to chase the army with the Emperor himself present.
"..."
They were likely deep in the ravine by now.
Pursuit carried too many risks.
"...No, this is enough."
Commander Mikhail steeled his resolve.
He gazed at his soldiers and bellowed,
hoisting his massive greatsword skyward.
"A great victory! We've driven the Imperial army from this land!"
"Waaaaaaaah!"
The Coldwood Kingdom's triumph.
"We won! We won!"
"I'm alive. I survived! Haha!"
"Medic! Check this guy first!"
Soldiers finally collapsing to rest.
Damian was no different.
...Thought I was really done for.
Truth be told.
A grueling march from the Black Forest, no less.
Without mana, he'd have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.
But I survived in the end.
He felt proud of himself anew.
In the heart of this brutal war.
Surviving travels between north and east.
No, beyond mere survival.
I've definitely grown stronger.
No more dying as some nameless soldier.
Or a bumpkin farmer buried in the dirt.
...That guy, no way?
Meanwhile.
Supreme Commander Mikhail Sobkov's gaze on Damian was unusual.
Even splattered in blood, his eyes gleamed.
Mastered mana manipulation already?
He'd only taught basic breathing before the battle.
Yet he'd already grasped manipulation?
Crossed the sword user threshold on his own in that short time?
Acquired innate mana sensitivity mid-battle, they said.
Now mastering mana use in combat, too.
What the hell is this guy's background?
At this point, he was genuinely curious.
About Damian Winter, the grunt from the 6th Legion.