Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Moment I've Been Waiting For
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The sound of an arrow tearing through the night air.
*Swoosh!*
The moment I heard it, the atmosphere changed.
"Gack...!"
The head of one of the vampires who'd been looking down on me so smugly was pierced by an arrow.
A deep yellow aura flashed, and a thin wisp of smoke rose from where the arrow struck.
"A silver arrow!"
"He imbued the arrow with aura?!"
The vampires were flustered.
No matter how powerful they were, a vampire couldn't possibly regenerate after being hit by a silver weapon infused with such a dense aura.
‘But who fired such an incredible shot?’
Imbuing a ranged weapon with aura wasn't something just anyone could do.
I saw him as soon as I turned my head.
‘Rivera Pietro.’
We weren't close, but I knew his face.
One of the very few men in this lawless land who understood honor.
He charged in, sniping at the vampires, leading a group of highly agitated warriors.
"Kill them all!"
"All the bastards I wanted to kill are gathered here!"
Skilled warriors formed groups of three and four, swarming the vampires.
Of course, it was still a struggle for them to face the highest-ranking vampires, known as the Noble Class.
The warriors bridged the gap in skill with frenzied fighting spirit.
"You! Remember Edelina?! The Edelina you sucked dry. She was my fiancée, you son of a bitch!"
"So it was you... the one who massacred my hometown...!!!"
Faced with the ferocity of the warriors, who charged like rabid dogs foaming at the mouth, the vampires unwittingly faltered and stepped back.
Thanks to them,
the path before me, which had been blocked, opened up.
The path to Count Ksias...!
However,
"Tsk. Pathetic fools."
The moment Ksias clicked his tongue, the atmosphere shifted once more.
*Fwoooosh—!*
A red aura suddenly erupted from the bodies of the faltering vampires.
"Grrrr..."
Their eyes turned blood-red, and steam poured from their mouths.
They transformed into beasts and lunged at the warriors.
"Aaargh!"
"Ah... Edelina... I'm sorry..."
The warriors plunged their swords and axes into the vampires' bodies, but the vampires, as if feeling no pain, charged forward, snapping the warriors' necks and tearing out their guts.
The path that had been opening before me slowly began to close again.
It was a shame... but still, this was something.
‘The situation is much better than before.’
This was no time to complain.
It was time to do what needed to be done.
The fervent desires of the fighting warriors heated my blood.
*Rumble—!*
I drew up my aura. I suppressed the surging energy, pressing it down, and leaned my body forward.
It was to eliminate the vampires blocking my path even a little faster with the charging skill, [Tempest].
The moment I took a deep breath,
"Brother! I'm here!"
a hearty voice boomed out.
"Saltsran?"
What are you doing here?
It wasn't just him.
Sea, Mika, Gepetto, Asha, Daisy, Seklan, and the others.
All my younger siblings who had remained in Kushan City were gathered.
To be precise, all the kids who knew how to handle a sword and were over seventeen were here.
No, what if you get hurt...!
But before I could say a word to stop them, they leaped into the battlefield.
"Brother, just focus on the Count!"
*Craaaash!*
Saltsran's greatsword, one and a half times thicker and longer than a typical sword, sent a vampire flying with a satisfying thud.
The vampire tried to block it, but it was useless. Its blade shattered as it was sent crashing away.
I couldn't help but be impressed.
‘When did he get so good?’
He was completely different from the last time I saw him.
The Juan County, famous for its heavy swordsmanship.
Saltsran Juan.
The last heir of the fallen county was properly carrying on his family's swordsmanship.
And it wasn't just him.
"Him. And him. Target these two first."
Sea leaped into the fray, her indigo hair fluttering, her face expressionless.
As befitting the heir of the Millan Marquisate, known more for military strategy than swordsmanship, her skills with the blade weren't exceptional, but she could certainly hold her own.
"Seklan! Block properly!"
"Daisy! Are you trying to get yourself killed?! If it wasn't for me just now, you'd be dead!"
"I did it because I knew you were there!"
Daisy and Seklan, the youngest of the group at seventeen, also fought impressively while bickering with each other.
"...They fight well."
Have I been thinking of my siblings as too young all this time...?
I'd only thought of shouldering everything myself; I never once considered fighting alongside them.
I never imagined they'd be this helpful.
‘Then again, I was drenched in blood every day when I was their age...’
Seeing their determined faces as they fought, it truly sank in that this wasn't just my fight, but a fight for all of us.
*Vwooom!*
*Vmmmm—!*
As if it understood my feelings, Vanroah cried out.
Right.
Even you think this fight,
we can't afford to lose, can we?
Where the tip of my sword points.
There stands Count Ksias.
The path once blocked by vampires was now wide open.
His face was horribly contorted.
He looked toward my siblings and screamed.
"Don't kill them! You can't kill the Lansen family members!"
"What?! But..."
"Didn't you hear me?! Don't you know they're precious offerings?! Cut off their arms and legs if you must, but do not kill them!"
"Y-yes, sir."
Only then did Ksias turn to me, his face twisting into a scowl.
"Lansen. Your tantrum has gone too far. I can't let this slide any longer."
Each breath he took was laced with a bestial growl.
"You say that as if you've ever let anything slide. But... offerings? My siblings?"
I leaned forward again, raising my aura.
"Yes. Precious offerings... I'd better end this quickly. I can't trust those idiots."
*Ruuuuuumble—!*
As if to prove his words weren't empty, a terrifying aura erupted from Count Ksias's body.
My vision swam.
It felt as if a red, ominous sunset was staining the entire sky.
I forced myself to relax my breathing, which was stiffening with tension.
‘I've barely made it this far.’
This very situation.
This moment, when Ksias has revealed all the remaining power he was hiding,
was the exact moment I had been hoping for.
Now,
it's time to make my move.
*Kwwaaaaang!*
The moment I pour aura into my footing, a storm rages behind me.
Vanroah Royal Swordsmanship
Charging Skill [Tempest]
*Fwoosh!*
The whole world blurred like spreading ink, and only Ksias's distant face came into sharp, magnified focus.
It was a lightning-fast advance that most opponents could never have reacted to, but...
"First. Shall I tear off that arm..."
Ksias's eyes were tracking me perfectly.
And then,
*Grrrk!*
Like an inflating balloon, his arm swelled grotesquely and shot toward my own at an absurd speed.
It looked like he was simply planning to rip off my arm with his claws.
With Ksias's sudden acceleration combined with my own charging speed, it was impossible to dodge.
...Not that I had any intention of dodging in the first place.
*Flash!*
The moment I gathered all my aura and wrapped it around the point of impact, a brilliant flash of light engulfed the world.
*Claaaaang!*
A dull impact struck my chest, and a necklace I was wearing shattered.
A wave of intense heat washed over me, and thick steam billowed out.
The necklace I found in the ruins.
It seemed to have been destroyed in that one blow... but this was enough. It had done its job.
My arm was fine; in fact, it was Ksias's hand that had been sent flying.
"What...?!"
The Count wore a dumbfounded expression.
It was a word that didn't suit him at all.
Bastard.
How cute.
"It's called the [Necklace of Protection]! You son of a bitch!"
The necklace I found in the Ilneon Dungeon. It was identical to the one worn by the cult leader.
The artifact that had effortlessly blocked my decisive blow.
Of course, that alone wouldn't have been enough to block Ksias's attack.
Another reason my arm was unharmed was the thin, black armor revealed through my torn sleeve.
The magic armor I found along with the Necklace of Protection.
A remarkable artifact that could easily block even aura threads.
On top of that, there was the aura shield I'd wrapped around my arm.
Necklace, magic armor, and aura. The combination of these three had allowed me to repel Ksias's strike.
At the same time, a huge opening was revealed.
An all-out attack is always followed by an unavoidable opening.
No matter how skilled you are, right now, you won't be able to deal with the death that comes for you.
‘This is the moment I've been waiting for!’
If I could win just once in a hundred fights.
That moment is now.
*Vwoooooom—!*
The sword's heart and my heart become one.
I wanted Ksias's neck,
and the king's sword, Vanroah, wanted the same.
The moment our two hearts connected, a haze shimmered from the tip of the sword, and that haze was then dyed with a dark blue aura.
My trump card, which I had kept hidden and never once shown throughout today's battle.
To the destructive Aura Blade that stirred a gale, a sharp edge that could slice the very wind was added.
*Thump!*
With a single step, I poured all my strength into the sword and, with maximum concentration, swung with all my might.
The target.
Ksias's neck, which I had struck again and again.
*Shhhk!*
The result of mixing the Aura Blade with ancient Sword Ki was astonishing.
Everything in Vanroah's path instinctively moved aside.
The solid aura that had protected Ksias time and again was sliced to pieces and scattered like fallen leaves.
Feeling his last line of defense, the aura shield, dissipate helplessly, Ksias belatedly widened his eyes and tried to draw up his aura more fiercely, but it was useless.
Thanks to my repeated blows in the preceding fight, the flow of aura around his neck was already poor.
A powerful aura erupted from Ksias's shoulders and hands like spreading wings, but his neck remained a weak point.
Vanroah smoothly slipped through that opening.
Ksias's carelessness, the unexpectedly timed counterattack using an artifact, and the new Aura Blade mixed with ancient Sword Ki.
All of these came together in a single moment,
and struck the Count's neck.
*Slice!*
The Count's head spun into the air and fell.
*Thud.*
The headless body collapsed, and the Count's head stared at me with an incredulous, blank expression.
*Thump, thump, thump...*
After rolling along the castle wall, the head finally came to a stop, its eyes rolling to look at me.
*Fwoosh—!*
His head was engulfed in white flames and began to burn.
Even for a true-blooded vampire, there was no chance of regeneration.
He'd been struck by an Aura Blade from a blessed silver sword.
From within the flames, Ksias mouthed some words.
His voice was filled with shock.
"You... that... was a Soul Blade...?"
Who knows?
I don't know either.
The Soul Blade was the symbol of a Grand Master.
The exclusive domain of a true transcendent being who surpassed even a Sword Master.
Was what I used really a Soul Blade?
I don't know.
I had simply tried mixing ancient Sword Ki with an Aura Blade.
There were many rumors about the Soul Blade, but no one knew what it truly was.
I suppose I'd have to meet a Grand Master to find out.
So I answered honestly.
"I don't know, you bastard."
"You don't... know..."
How anticlimactic.
"You don't know..." — those words were the last ones left in this world by Count Ksias, the ruler of Kushan City, the vampire Sword Master who had made the entire region tremble in fear.