Chapter 85
1 minute and 20 seconds.
A Sword Saint had barely touched Valleland for 1 minute and 20 seconds when Grand Marshal Ariel died.
The clash of weapons, the screams of soldiers, and the repulsive roars of the heaving flesh all abruptly quieted as they bore witness to her death.
At the same time as Ariel’s death, countless mutated creatures and Marauders froze, like marionettes whose strings had been cut. The flying Marauders plummeted slowly like powerless airplanes, while the towering mutations stood motionless, statues in flesh.
Amid the cold silence, shredded masses of flesh, geysers of mud, and crimson-leather garments danced in the air.
The Sword Saint’s eyes scoured for new prey.
“…This is insane!”
The first to break the silence was Raguel.
During Ariel’s fatal clash with the Sword Saint’s blade, Raguel had nearly completed healing his body. The monstrosity unfurled his massive wings, seeking to escape the frozen battlefield.
Suddenly, a sharp silver object shot toward his face.
Instinctively, Raguel turned his head. The arrow narrowly missed him.
“…”
His gaze followed the cold trajectory of the arrow. It stopped on an Elf gripping a bow as large as himself. Raguel glared at the archer who dared to shoot at him.
A deep rage then settled onto his face.
A freezing wave of death’s fear washed over the archer.
The Elf felt as if the battlefield had been emptied, leaving only the Grand Marshal and himself. Every muscle in his body froze, and for a moment, he even forgot how to breathe.
“Insolent…”
“SSSSHHOOOTTT!”
Just as Raguel collected a dark light with his fingertips, a green-skinned Orc officer bellowed loudly.
Soon, red and blue lights descended upon the battlefield. The Mages’ staves and grimoires conjured fire, lightning, and sharp gusts of wind.
“All troops, forward! The tide of the war has turned! Tie down the Grand Marshal—prevent him from leaving!”
“…Tie me down? You?”
Raguel spread his enormous wings and met the approaching spells and arrows head-on. Though parts of his body and flesh were torn off, the wounds healed almost instantly.
Mud soared into the air again.
The soldiers raised their shields to protect the Mages.
Raguel charged directly into the shields as though it were ludicrous, and the sound of steel tearing apart soon followed.
The soldiers holding the shields that collided with Raguel vanished without a trace. Broken shards of steel flew in all directions.
“Insolent brats.”
Raguel’s hand, stained with red blood, lunged toward the Mages’ necks.
A small Dwarf wielding two hammers charged toward the Grand Marshal, but it was too late… or so everyone thought.
“…Step back!”
BOOM!
Raguel’s outstretching hand vanished in a single explosion, as if it had never been there.
“…”
The Sword Saint’s pummel struck Raguel in the ribs, causing his body to be flung hundreds of meters away.
“Maltil and Michael remain. Soldiers, focus on pinpointing the positions of the other two Grand Marshals. I’ll take care of Raguel.”
The Sword Saint, shaking the filth off his pummel, issued a swift command.
“Yes sir!”
Without waiting for the officers to respond, the Sword Saint leapt forward with another burst of speed.
“…”
The Mages stared, unable to comprehend what had just happened before their eyes. They hadn’t yet realized how close they had come to death or that their lives were narrowly saved.
‘…To reach that level?’
From a distance, the Boy with White Hair watched the Sword Saint’s battle and let out a hollow laugh.
Since he first opened his eyes in this world, the boy had grown unimaginably stronger. He’d developed his own spells, gained insight into the study of magic, and obtained special Artifacts like the red crystal or Daljin’s staff to enhance his powers.
“Shit.”
Yet, at this moment, the boy felt awe and helplessness grip his chest. A thought crept into his mind that no matter how hard he tried, he could never reach such heights.
’…No. Focus.’
Wasn’t he watching the battle of the strongest man in humanity? This wasn’t the time to waste on foolish thoughts.
He needed to learn something, anything, from the Sword Saint’s battle and make it his own.
’As soon as Ariel’s location was identified, he immediately changed targets and dealt with the sniper first. How could his judgment be so fast? Did he plan the scenarios in advance? Or did he intentionally play with Raguel to lure Ariel into shooting?’
The boy’s mind raced.
’Adapting decisions to the situation so quickly… Is it due to experience? Is it a skill that can be learned?’
Despite the difficulty, the boy’s gaze never left the Sword Saint.
’What does he plan to do with the two remaining Grand Marshals out of sight? Will he focus on the enemies in front of him? Or is he deliberately prolonging Raguel’s demise to lure out the other two…?’
“Huh?”
As the boy focused on the Sword Saint’s movements, a black dot appeared at the edge of his vision.
Under the bright sunlight, the dot revealed its black presence and quickly grew into a distinct Marauder form.
Black horns, red eyes, and massive wings.
The very reason the boy was once mistakenly thought to be a Genius Mage.
Grand Marshal Maltiel, his wings spread wide, approached at a tremendous speed.
“Huh? Hold on…”
WHOOSH!
Before the boy could prepare, Maltiel arrived in front of him. The beast raised his sharp claws.
The compressed air exploded, bringing a powerful shockwave with it. His ears were filled with ringing as soldiers, startled by the sudden appearance of the Grand Marshal at the rear, rushed forward with swords and shields.
BOOM!
The Grand Marshal’s claws were stopped by a thin barrier. Once again, the protection of the spirits saved the boy’s life.
“So long, you’ve truly become renowned.”
“Commander!”
Rex, who was standing beside the boy, quickly lifted a massive axe and swung it toward the Grand Marshal’s neck. In the same moment, Maltiel’s wings transformed into a sharp point and lunged toward Rex’s abdomen.
Rex showed no signs of dodging. He seemed to believe that attacking the Grand Marshal in front of him, in order to protect the boy, was more important than preserving himself.
’The barrier will break soon. I need to use Awakening. Skip the incantations and magic names…’
“Grischa!”
As the boy was about to convert his magic power into energy, Arthur’s voice reached his ears.
“…And thus ye have guarded us!”
Following this, Grischa’s urgent prayers resonated.
Under the blue protective shield, a second protective layer, glowing yellow, spread out.
CHING!
Grischa had simultaneously covered the boy in the protective shield, as well as Rex.
The sharpened wings collided with the yellow shield and crumbled. Rex’s massive axe continued its flight toward Maltiel’s neck.
“…Let your blade bring darkness and light. Though the sword shall eventually rust away, today we shall wield it gloriously.”
Grischa’s prayer did not stop.
The bright yellow light that protected Rex was absorbed into the blade of his massive axe. The particles of light gathered at the edge of the blade and began to vibrate in a terrifying manner like an electric saw. Finally, as Rex’s axe reached Maltiel’s neck, the Grand Marshal’s tough skin split as easily as tofu.
“Tsk.”
Maltiel didn’t scream even as his head was severed. Instead, he clicked his tongue as a new body sprouted from his neck.
Without missing a beat, Rex’s glowing axe swung repeatedly.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect much…but observing from such close range is quite a pity.”
Maltiel backed away from Rex’s glowing axe and spoke as he floated higher into the air. With a mocking grin, Mages and archers unleashed a barrage of attacks upon the rising Grand Marshal. Meanwhile, the infantry quickly raised their shields, forming ranks and lines.
‘Hmm…’
As the boy watched the backs of the soldiers who had come to protect him, he felt something was off. The soldiers who had rushed to his aid were clearly the troopers guarding Grischa and Arthur.
‘Then who’s covering Arthur and Grischa…?’
“Got them.”
The cold answer to the boy’s unease was delivered by Grand Marshal Michael.
“…!”
Arthur turned his head sharply, following the voice that reached him from behind. There stood a blue-skinned monster emerging from the ground, wielding black light in his hands.
“Not bad for someone cornered, eh?”
Maltiel, floating high in the sky, smirked wickedly as he looked down on everything.
To the allied forces, the boy was an important talent who must not fall under any circumstances. Therefore, Arthur had ordered the guards protecting him and Grischa to immediately rush to the boy’s aid should anything happen.
This order became his undoing.
The soldiers who should have been guarding Arthur and Grischa abandoned their posts to deal with the Grand Marshal’s sudden attack. In doing so, they inadvertently left the mage and priest completely exposed to enemy ambush.
“Alright, everything from here is a complete unknown.”
Maltiel’s all-in move was more than enough to rip apart the net that Arthur had meticulously woven.
