Chapter 197: Royal Capital (2)
Chapter 197: Royal Capital (2)
“Hahahahaha!”
First Sword burst out laughing. Because he couldn’t control his current emotions with just smiling.
It’s fun.
This is so fun.
I’m so happy that it’s driving me crazy.
I like the sword.
I like swordsmanship.
I like it since I was born with a talent for the sword, and I like it when I swing a sword.
Swordsmanship.
It’s pleasant.
It’s interesting.
Having beautiful women are nice, and eating delicious food is good, but the sword is still the best.
There’s nothing better in this world than the sword.
“Hahaha!”
He fully swung his sword to his heart’s content.
It was different from honing his skills against wooden dummies.
It was also different from swinging his sword while imagining a fictitious enemy that did not exist.
He had an opponent.
That person couldn’t let his guard down too.
That person was also risking his life!
Clangclangclangclangclang-!
Strike followed after strike.
The sharp trail of light split the air again and again.
It was so fast that the light seemed to be naturally connected.
The strikes of his sword of light combined as if it was all swung at the same time, becoming a net that covered the front.
Shwaaaaa-!
A violent wind blew.
The strong wind that rose from the sword attacks twisted the air and distorted the net of light. The violent sword attacks that unfolded in succession broke the light.
Shwapak!
But it couldn’t get rid of it all.
No, at the exact moment one was destroyed, a new light replaced it.
The Sword of Light.
A dazzlingly fast and quick sword.
Clangclangclangclangclang-!
It flashed in front of him.
The sharp sword became faster and faster.
He couldn’t stop it.
So Count Bayer became the wind.
He left himself to the flow of the rushing sword and the wind that it split.
Shwapak!
Blood splattered. He received a big cut on his side.
But it was not a fatal wound.
Count Bayer used his aura to stop the bleeding and kicked the ground at the same time.
He showed off the core of his gale-like footwork technique with his strong footsteps.
He fiercely used his Sword of Wind.
Fangs of the Fiercely Thrashing Wind.
The fangs of the wind that thrashed and blocked everything!
Babababang!
It broke and crushed everything.
His swirling sword destroyed the floor and ceiling. His raging wind tore the air.
The fierce charge.
First Sword knew that he couldn’t easily stop it.
But he didn’t think of avoiding it either.
He dashed towards it.
He faced it head-on and vied for supremacy.
“Uooo!”
The Sword School’s First Sword.
He unfolded his wings of light.
Heavenly Wings of Light!
White light burst all over First Sword’s body. As he dashed, the tip of his sword seemed to split and scatter, spreading out like wings of light.
Fangs of the Fiercely Thrashing Wind versus Heavenly Wings of Light.
The Sword of Wind and the Sword of Light.
The green wind and white light collided. It exploded when it entangled with each other and the shockwave alone almost destroyed everything nearby.
Boooooom-!
The pillars collapsed. The walls broke. The glass windows nearby were all shattered, and the ceiling and floor where the collision took place were deeply dug out. No, it was pretty much gone.
And in that intense clash, their swords interlocked with each other again.
First Sword saw Count Bayer over his sword.
Count Bayer also saw First Sword.
First Sword laughed.
He shouted with a face as if he had tasted the most pleasurable thing in life.
“You’re amazing!”
Sword General.
The Sword Saint of Wind.
“Why did you return it? You deserve the title of Sword Saint!”
There were four sword saints in the S?len Kingdom.
As seen through First Sword’s eyes, Count Bayer’s skills were considerable. He was by no means unqualified of the title of Sword Saint.
“Was it so shocking to be defeated by the Sword God?! How strong was the Sword God’s sword?!”
The empire’s best swordsman.
The continent’s strongest swordsman who was called the Sword God.
There were many rumors that it was an informal confrontation or that them confronting each other was a false rumor in itself, but First Sword knew.
The fact that when Count Bayer was still called the Sword Saint of Wind, he had competed with the Sword God in person.
Count Bayer did not answer. He just focused more and more.
It was regretful, but he had to admit it.
First Sword was a genius.
It was not an exaggeration to say that First Sword’s skills reached the sky.
‘I’m being pushed back.’
First Sword’s sword was faster. Unlike him who was already doing his best, First Sword was stronger, and he was someone who would keep getting stronger from now on.
But even if was.
Count Bayer’s sword shook once more. It became a violent gale that did not know how to retreat.
Far from surrendering or getting discouraged, he swung it more wildly.
‘Sword God.’
It had already been close to ten years.
But he could still remember it clearly.
That sword.
The Sword of Sky that the other wielded.
He couldn’t reach it.
The wild gale couldn’t cross the sky.
But if it was now.
He could do it at least once!
Clangclangclangclangclang-!
First Sword got goosebumps as he faced Count Bayer’s continuous sword attacks.
‘It’s coming.’
Something big.
An attack different from before.
His heart pounded. He felt like his breathing became rough.
He wanted to see.
He wanted to fight it.
And he wanted to break it.
The sword attack of Count Bayer.
The strongest one that the Sword of Wind would unfold to reach the sky!
But it was at that moment.
Apart from the excitement he felt that was in front of him, First Sword felt something go up his spine.
His senses that had only been focused on the Sword of Wind then expanded, and a bitter smile spread on his face.
‘How surprising.’
How did this happen?
The Lord Protector died.
That unpleasant energy, the barrier’s energy that always covered the royal capital, was weakened for a moment, so I thought that he was doing well, but I was wrong.
‘Is it time to retreat now?’
Because he only focused on Count Bayer, he suddenly felt all the things he couldn’t feel before.
It was coming.
Another strong person.
But not a swordsman.
Count Chase.
A mighty wizard called the Red Storm.
It would be too much for him to fight Count Chase while he was fighting the Sword Saint of Wind.
He thought it to be such a shame and really regrettable, to the point that he felt like going crazy from the thought of it, but it was time for him to step back.
Booooom!
The wall was destroyed.
Dirt rose, and at the same time, a powerful wave of mana swept through the place.
Count Chase.
And Count Bayer in front of him.
Count Bayer was on the verge of pulling his best move. That was why First Sword decided to move one step ahead of him.
As the Sword Saint of Light, he unfolded the fastest sword in the S?len Kingdom.
A sword attack.
The nameless attack barely hit Count Bayer. First Sword shifted his body at that moment and swung his sword again.
Rays of Sunlight Strike.
Hundreds to thousands rays of light that covered the world.
First Sword’s white sword aura split into hundreds of pieces and scattered.
It spread out in an instant, covering the entire room and shining an immense light, erasing First Sword and everyone else in the room with its light.
A technique for attacking multiple enemies and not a technique for a fatal strike.
But it had a different use now.
To fool Count Bayer and Count Chase’s eyes.
So that First Sword could create an opportunity to retreat!
Baaang!
A roar burst at that moment. And then it struck.
Gale Specter Strike.
The green sword of wind devoured all the scattered swords of light.
The light that filled the room was eliminated.
“Alex!”
Count Bayer let out his breath when he heard someone call him amidst the roars that burst out in succession.
The swords of light disappeared. And First Sword was no longer in front of him.
“Wasn’t that First Sword?!”
Count Bayer slowly nodded as he looked at Count Chase who had run in a hurry.
“The Lord Protector and First Sword are traitors.”
“What?!”
His surprise was brief. Anger then spread over Count Chase’s face.
“I’ll rip them to pieces.”
More than a dozen people died in tonight’s incident at the grand banquet hall alone.
If he extended the scope to the entire royal capital, he couldn’t even guess how many people had died or were injured.
“Arthur.”
So Count Bayer pacified Count Chase. He sheathed his sword and spoke as he roughly breathed.
“We have to go our children.”
There was still the Lord Protector.
Considering the situation, he was most likely to be attacking the royalty now.
Jude and Cordelia.
Perhaps the two were stopping the Lord Protector.
So they had to hurry.
Even though the Lord Protector was weaker now, he was still one of the Ten Great Swordmasters.
Their children couldn’t be on par with him even if they were strong.
That was why they had to go.
“Okay.”
The two had stood back to back several times on the battlefield.
Upon hearing the words of Count Bayer, Count Chase held back his anger and lifted the magic device he had received from Jude. After determining the exact location, he immediately began moving.
“Haa.”
Count Bayer took a breath. As a result of his continuous sword attacks, he felt like his heart would burst, but he had no time to rest.
He deeply breathed to stop his swelling discontent and immediately kicked the ground again.
Towards the center of the palace.
They flew towards the core of the barrier’s room.
***
“Haa…haa…”
Scarlet harshly breathed as she sat down on the ground.
Her shoulders as well as her hand that held the whip sword were trembling.
It was the side effect of using too much of her sword aura.
“Haa…”
Breathing was so hard that she was in tears.
Therefore, Scarlet didn’t force herself anymore. She lied down on the ground and even set aside her whip sword.
“Haa…”
She didn’t think of anything.
She just closed her eyes and panted.
She was completely defenseless.
But Scarlet didn’t mind.
Scarlet wasn’t the only person here now.
Unlike her who was sweating and panting, there was a monster of the sword who stood without a drop of sweat in him.
Maximilian de Avis.
A man called ‘god’s mistake.’
‘It’s true.’
She didn’t believe those rumors that she had heard, but she could say that it was true now.
‘God’s mistake.’
A monster who was born with all kinds of talent and couldn’t even be imagined as a human being too.
He approached Scarlet.
As her hair dripped with sweat and she roughly breathed, Scarlet forcibly opened her eyes to see Maximilian.
She was out of breath, but she tried to talk and let out a word.
“Thanks…”
First of all, she was of the same age as Maximilian.
And she found it hard to breathe so she couldn’t even speak to him in formal speech.
At Scarlet’s gratitude, Maximilian just nodded his head and then looked around.
After checking the bodies of the hundreds of zombies and the people who were crouching and trembling in fear in the alley’s dead end, he looked at Scarlet again.
“You’re a good person.”
“Huh?”
“You’re a good person.”
Maximilian faintly smiled, and Scarlet felt her face blush.
As expected of god’s mistake.
He was needlessly handsome.
In addition, when a guy who was usually expressionless smiled, there was a considerable charm that came from that gap.
‘Don’t be fooled by his face. That Jude is handsome too, but isn’t he a cunning fox?’
Because there really are a few guys like Lucas whose inside and outside appearances are the same.
Come to think of it, how is Lucas?
Is Pink Bomb okay?
Scarlet’s face became anxious, but Maximilian didn’t see it.
Because he had turned his head to see the western sky turning green.
‘Death magic.’
At present, there was only one person on the continent who could let out such a powerful death magic.
Therefore, Maximilian sheathed his sword. Instead of staying longer, he quickened his steps and looked back at Scarlet.
“I think you already know, but my name is Maximilian de Avis. May I know your name too?”
“Scar…let.”
“That’s a pretty name. It suits you.”
It wasn’t some words he made up. So Scarlet had no choice but to blush when she saw Maximilian’s faint smile.
“Scarlet, I have to go now. The zombies around here have been wiped out… And it seems that the situation here is about to end, so there won’t be much danger. Let’s meet again if we have a chance someday.”
“W-wait…”
Scarlet had nothing more to say, but she thought that he shouldn’t just go like this, so she tried to say something, but Maximilian had already turned around.
He headed west, and Scarlet chose to just close her eyes instead of forcing herself to raise her upper body.
‘Pink Bomb.’
Don’t get hurt and be safe.
Scarlet recalled Cordelia’s face before she let go of her consciousness.
***
The chaos in the royal capital gradually settled.
The flames were still there, but the zombification that spread like wildfire was over.
The Royal Guards reorganized their command system and began to overwhelm the zombies and demon followers, and the royal capital also regained its order due to the activities of the Royal Guard Knights.
“As expected of the royal capital.”
It was the capital of the S?len Kingdom, one of the greatest powers in the continent.
It was greatly shaken, but it seemed to be impossible to completely destroy it.
With his hand on his sword, First Sword gazed at the royal capital before turning to the side.
He saw Koros sitting on the ground and Saluzia treating him.
“You failed.”
The Lord Protector couldn’t destroy the barrier.
Koros and Saluzia’s plans to open the Hell Gate in the royal capital when the barrier had been destroyed had also failed.
At First Sword’s comment, Saluzia grit her teeth.
She wanted to tell him to shut up, but she held it in.
It was useless.
‘It’s over.’
They dealt quite a big blow to the royal capital, but that was it.
Rather, the damaged suffered by the Devil’s Hand was greater.
Saluzia herself and Koros lost almost all of their combat troops, and they also lost their powerful card called the Lord Protector.
“My identity was also revealed.”
The Sword School’s First Sword.
The Sword Saint of Light, Rhun Froud.
He was unable to remain in the Sword School because his identity was revealed.
They really failed.
It was fortunate that Saluzia herself and Koros had managed to save their lives.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
With a bright smile, First Sword approached Saluzia and Koros.
Saluzia sharpened her senses as she instantly became alert, but it was only for a moment.
Because First Sword just passed by Saluzia and Koros.
“Saluzia.”
With his back facing her, First Sword said in a low voice, and Saluzia raised her head to see him.
First Sword shrugged once and continued while he still showed his back.
“I’ve already said it, but my identity has been revealed. I can no longer use the name First Sword. So…in the future, I think I’ll be using my true name from now on.”
Saluzia understood what First Sword was talking about.
As he had said, he could no longer live as First Sword.
He had joined the Devil’s Hand in order to live his life as a demonic human now.
And his new name.
A name given to him by their head, which had already been decided for a long time.
“Duke.”
At Saluzia’s call, First Sword had a small laugh.
He turned around and gazed at the royal capital again.
The Sword Saint of Wind was there.
The two people he liked so much was there too.
‘If the Lord Protector died, it means that that two lived.’
He was one of the Ten Great Swordmasters who had grown old and weak.
How did they defeat such a Lord Protector?
How much stronger would the two who defeated the Lord Protector be in the future?
His heart pounded. He remembered his fight with Count Bayer and unknowingly smiled.
‘Not bad.’
Since he was an enemy now.
Because he could kill and kill as much as he wanted.
It wasn’t just the Sword Saint of Wind.
He had always wanted to fight against Seryu, the Seven-Killings Sword.
And the Golden Sword, who was said to be the strongest among the sword saints.
Even the great swordmasters of the empire.
And those two.
Jude and Cordelia.
He liked those two so much that he wanted to break them himself.
First Sword, or rather, Duke, laughed out loud.
He smiled in anticipation of his reunion with everyone.
If everyone here can recall, ‘Duke’ is the demonic human that the rotten waters have suspected of having killed Landius because he had Landius’ sword.