Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: The Imperial Sound Lock Sword
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After thoroughly searching a tributary of the Deser Mountains.
We somehow managed to find a high-ranking druid.
It took a full two days, and the problem was that our opponent was a third-tier.
Still, finding one was an achievement in itself.
But our team faced a crisis the moment we saw him.
The damn prey ignored us and just kept running off somewhere.
"Seriously, where the hell is that bastard going?"
I grumbled, grinding my teeth as I ran to catch up.
The target was so fast that pursuit wasn't easy.
Being a high-grade druid, its physical abilities seemed exceptional.
Of course, right now we needed to maintain a certain distance, so I was deliberately not catching up.
It definitely wasn't because I was too tired to close the gap.
Ahem! Just saying.
"Anyway, he seems to be in a real hurry, doesn't he?"
Even while running like mad, Kamil shrugged with a nonchalant voice.
'Some of us are about to burst from frustration, and this crazy bastard is so relaxed?'
I wanted to plant a fist in his face, but I decided to ignore him for now.
This wasn't the time for us to bicker; we had to catch our target.
*Swish! Thump!*
As we cut through the dense forest, our speed inevitably slowed.
We relentlessly pursued the third-tier druid, skillfully dodging obstacles.
The creature, unaware it was being followed, descended the mountainside.
A short while later, the third-tier druid crossed the wheat fields that spread across the Kallendron territory.
Upon reaching an open area, it finally stopped running.
"Oh! The bastard stopped."
I moved forward to check its surroundings.
Sure enough, just as Kamil said, the third-tier druid was stationary.
The problem was that it had landed right in the middle of a group of Venderford students.
One wrong move and a dispute over the target's ownership could break out.
"This is a bad spot. What if we get caught up in a pointless argument?"
Frixon, who had followed closely behind, asked in a worried tone, but I answered calmly as if it were nothing.
"They don't look like they have the ability to catch it anyway. We can just go and take care of it."
"But what if the princes insist?"
"Then... *krrk*?"
I made a gesture of slitting a throat with the side of my hand.
At that, my team members' faces filled with horror.
They looked at me as if I were a madman.
"Are you saying you're going to kill the princes and silence..."
"Hey, no way. It just means I'll beat the crap out of them."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"As long as they don't do anything stupid, I won't have to hit them. That should be fine, right?"
"That's true, but... will it be okay?"
"What's the big deal?"
Shrugging lightly, I approached the students confronting the third-tier druid.
Then, I heard a small mumble from behind me.
"He may be our team leader, but he's definitely not normal."
When I glanced back, everyone was staring at Kamil Felton with dumbfounded eyes.
Their expressions seemed to say, *You're the weirdest one here.*
'What a funny guy.'
With a faint smile, I approached Frantz, who was cautiously backing away.
It seemed the third-tier druid was targeting the second prince.
"Could you move aside? That one's ours."
Hearing my voice suddenly, Frantz spun around in surprise.
He must have been so captivated by the creature's presence that he didn't even notice someone approaching.
And it wasn't like I had concealed my presence or anything.
"You, you're!"
"No claiming ownership just because you saw it first. We've been chasing this thing for a while now, you see."
"What, what do you mean..."
"Come on! Why are you acting like this? You're old enough to know better."
I stepped in front of the second prince and drew my sword.
At that very moment, the third-tier druid let out a roar, radiating a chilling killing intent.
"Kuaaaak!"
*Rumble!*
The creature's movements were distinctly different from those of the lower-tier druids.
It had the same massive body, but the difference in agility was immense.
Astonishingly, the third-tier druid closed the distance in the blink of an eye and was already swinging its arm.
Its claws, which had grown to over a meter long, were raised sharply.
*Swoooosh!*
The sound of it tearing through the air was violence itself.
The claws, shrouded in a dark aura, looked like they could rip a human body to shreds in an instant.
But its attack never reached me.
*Shing. Klang!*
The first form of the Imperial Sound Lock Sword was executed at the perfect moment.
Two sharp strikes that broke the flow of its movement.
Incredibly, the power of the claws was greatly diminished, and they were deflected harmlessly aside.
My pressing sword strike sent them crashing straight into the ground.
"Hm? What was that?"
The third-tier druid seemed baffled, unconsciously broadcasting its thoughts.
It seemed unable to accept that it had failed to wipe out a single student.
It stared blankly between my face and its own hand, then attacked again.
"What are you looking at, punk?"
*Shing. Tatang!*
But the result was the same this time.
Its momentum was broken again by my sword strike, which met its attack and pushed through.
Lightly executing the next form, I took a step forward.
Then, I extended the tip of my sword.
It looked incredibly simple, but this was the third form of the Imperial Sound Lock Sword: Single Thrust, Severing Grip.
A technique said to be able to seal all movement with a single thrust.
*Stab!*
"Kuaak!"
The third-tier druid leaped back as my sword pierced the hide of its wrist and churned through its forearm.
This was the third time its attack flow had been broken.
But to think the tough hide of an Ancient Werewolf could be pierced so easily.
It was an unimaginable result.
Startled by the unexpected pain, the creature soon regained its composure.
The wound was rapidly healing, and the pain quickly subsided.
"You are no ordinary foe."
It was a very brief clash, but the third-tier druid seemed to have clearly recognized my skill.
Unlike its initial recklessness, its attack motions had become very cautious.
Of course, I had no intention of letting it act so passively.
"Hey now! Don't be so boring."
"What?"
"Can't you move a little faster? Excite me more!"
*Shing. Klang! Klang!*
I pushed it hard, goading it on.
All the while, the paths of the Imperial Sound Lock Sword relentlessly pressured the third-tier druid from all directions.
The opponent couldn't even land a proper attack, flailing about before getting completely overwhelmed.
Every time it charged in bravely, it would only get soundly beaten back.
'Not bad performance.'
Although it was an ultimate technique of the imperial family, I had only learned the first three forms of the Imperial Sound Lock Sword.
It had some unique characteristics, but frankly, it was the most basic of basics.
Facing a third-tier druid with such a simple sword style should have been nearly impossible.
But who am I?
A supreme genius with outstanding comprehension.
Besides, where would decades of swordsmanship training go?
Against a mere druid like this, basic swordsmanship was more than enough.
Ah, of course, I wasn't just honestly repeating the same techniques.
No matter how basic, one can create variations depending on their skill.
I performed the Imperial Sound Lock Sword according to my own interpretation of its principles.
Outwardly, there wasn't a huge difference, but to the one on the receiving end, it must have felt like a completely different sword art.
'The higher its level, the more it would recognize the variations and struggle.'
Against a thoughtless opponent, such a high-level sword art might not have worked.
However, the third-tier druid fell perfectly for the psychological warfare and the power of my varied Imperial Sound Lock Sword.
Now, only one thing remained.
To land the finishing blow on the creature, which had been steadily accumulating damage.
'Of course, I need to create an alibi first.'
In truth, this so-called third-tier druid was nothing special.
I could easily steam it like a dumpling even without a sword.
But for Ray Carter, the son of a merchant from the Four-Part Autonomous District, that was an impossible feat.
"Are you having all the fun by yourself?"
"Alright, alright, I'm coming in too!"
*Kagagang! Thump!*
While I sealed the third-tier druid's movements, my team members began their pincer attack.
As Frixon and Curtis swung their swords, the creature glanced back.
Of course, their aura couldn't penetrate its fur hide.
The skills of those two were on par with most advanced class students.
But now, the result was quite different.
The creature began to feel pressured by the attacks coming from behind.
There was only one difference between us and the princes' team that had been so easily defeated.
'My presence.'
It might sound like I'm praising myself, but it's the truth, so what can I do?
In reality, if I hadn't blocked all its attacks, they wouldn't have even been able to get close.
"I'm going in too! Spirit Resonance."
Following Frixon and Curtis, Mac Ties also joined the battle.
Of course, he didn't engage the third-tier druid directly.
*Rumble! Thump!*
A rock golem that shot up from the ground attacked the target's flank.
As the giant, similar in size to itself, swung an obsidian sword, the opponent faltered.
*Kwoooosh!*
The power of the spirit was considerable.
Mac, having drawn the sword from his waist, was performing the Imperial Sound Lock Sword in the air.
Seeing that his movements were identical to the stone golem's, I understood the essence of his technique.
'He's synchronizing his movements with the spirit. So that's why he was practicing his swordsmanship so diligently.'
I nodded with a satisfied expression at Mac Ties's performance.
If he could do that much, it wouldn't look like I did all the fighting by myself.
With the bored-looking Kamil Felton also launching sword strikes from the left, the stage was perfectly set.
Now it was time to take the head of this delicious achievement.
"You insignificant worms!"
Frustrated that the battle wasn't going its way, the third-tier druid swung its claws frantically.
A dark aura detached from them and instantly tore through the surrounding space.
*Tudududung!*
But any remotely threatening attack was bound to be blocked by my sword.
That's why I had closed in and was using the Imperial Sound Lock Sword in the first place.
I casually parried the highly concentrated energy masses and taunted it.
"Pissed you can't do anything? Mad? But it's all the same even if you struggle, right?"
It couldn't possibly stand for this.
It might actually lose its mind.
Sure enough, dark flames erupted in the third-tier druid's eyes.
"Kuaaaak!"
As it shrieked and slammed the ground, a powerful wave of energy erupted.
*Paaaaang—!*
This time, it spread in all directions, so I couldn't block it all.
"Ugh!"
"Woah!"
Of course, since the force was dispersed, my team members weren't injured.
They were just pushed back a ways and stumbled for a moment.
The problem was what came next.
I watched what the third-tier druid had done with intrigued eyes.
"Oh... what a cute little trick you've pulled."