“We are not Belrak’s dogs! We are Arkan’s Guard! We’ll eradicate all those who disturb the city!!”
“What the hell! Those little rats who hid like cowards suddenly!!”
Duke Yuma keenly observed the battle between those who still thought of themselves as Arkan’s Guards and those who had already become Belrak’s minions.
36 to 40.
There was a numerical difference, but it also seemed there was a gap in actual strength.
Yuma’s brow furrowed slightly.
‘…Why are we losing?’
It was a minor gap, but they were definitely at a disadvantage. And battles are often decided by these tiny margins.
If this continued, it was clear that Arkan’s Guards would ultimately be defeated by Belrak’s dogs.
Normally, shouldn’t the side of justice, all pumped up and shouting “Hooray!” as they unsheathed their swords, come out on top? Isn’t that just common sense?
“I need to help!”
The 3rd Circle Mage Cloney sensed that Arkan’s Guards were struggling and waved her slender arms to draw a magical incantation.
Whoosh!
“What, what is this!”
Green tendrils burst from the ground, binding the enemies’ limbs.
This was the 3rd Circle Plant Binding Spell [Knot of Verdure].
The enemies tied up in the Knot of Verdure were finished off by Arkan’s Guards.
Yuma also stepped forward, holding a dagger.
“Your end is already determined for betraying the Empire.”
Whether it was as the Princess’s representative or whatever, the Princess’s sword or any of that.
They stood so awkwardly, so ridiculously weak that he had no choice but to attack.
‘Please, just hit me first.’
That way, I can parry and reduce their numbers.
“Even if you struggle, this is just where you’ll become your grave.”
Yuma continued to taunt, with his outward demeanor contrasting his inner thoughts.
“Damn it, this is all that bastard’s fault! That guy is the Princess’s representative? The Princess’s sword?”
Perhaps Yuma’s desperation was conveyed.
Three men, forgetting about the one who had just been easily dispatched, rushed at Yuma in succession.
Thud, thud, thud!
They all fell lifeless.
Thanks to the intervention of Yuma and Cloney, the apparent gap in strength was turned around, and the 34 surviving Arkan Guards caught their breath.
Only two from their side had died.
The soldiers who became Belrak’s dogs were all killed except for 12 who kneeled, discarded their weapons, and surrendered.
“The Princess’s sword!”
“Thanks to you, Yuma, we defeated these damn bastards! Hahaha!”
Men and women alike from Arkan’s Guards frequently lowered their heads in respect to Yuma and Cloney.
Yuma kneeled to meet the gaze of one of the surrendering individuals.
“Do you know where Belrak is right now?”
“What’s going on?”
“…I think there’s a high probability that he’s in the usual hiding place.”
“Guide me.”
*
Tap, tap—
Belrak tapped the desk with his index finger. Very rhythmically.
“Looks like things have gone awry.”
The city guard of Arkan.
They hadn’t received any contact from the guards. Those guys said they’d send someone to notify them after either persuasion or suppression succeeded.
Still, Belrak’s mood was not twisted. He wasn’t in a hurry either.
That’s because there was no military organization in Arkan that could threaten him right now.
Especially with one swordsman currently high on drugs and training in the forest.
‘Who would dare defeat the second-seat sword god of the former empire, Chronos?’
Belrak recalled the moment the sword god, Chronos, first came to him.
An old man covered head to toe in a black robe.
“I want to see the ultimate technique of the sword. And for that, I need to gain insight from another world.”
So he said he needed drugs. Drugs that could push the nerves beyond their limits.
Thinking he might be a total nutjob, he sent five or six subordinates, but they all ended up dead.
In a single step of the blade. With a single strike.
In the blink of an eye, Belrak lost his strongest subordinates and could only shiver and hand over the drugs.
“It works.”
The old man, who he thought would kill him without hesitation, suddenly said that it seemed the drugs were effective and asked him to keep supplying them. The drug he ingested was Legnatone, the strongest type, which was not easy to obtain.
When he mentioned that, the old man revealed his identity. He offered his force in exchange for the drugs.
That was a year ago.
Belrak’s rise to become the complete underground king of Arkan was largely due to Chronos’s power.
He had wiped out all the major forces that opposed him.
And standing tall as the number one in the underground trade, Belrak developed a desire.
A desire not just to be the king of the underground, but the king of this city.
“And now I’m on the brink of fulfilling that desire.”
Belrak gazed at Arkan’s mayor, Gelmore, tied to the chair in front of him.
“Have you sorted your thoughts, Mayor Gelmore?”
Gelmore was still staring at his brother, who was crawling on the ground. His brother was completely addicted to drugs, unable to think straight.
A person came to Gelmore’s mind.
The representative of the princess he saw two days ago on the train, Duke Yuma.
‘It’s unlikely that person is still here…’
And even if he was, he wouldn’t know that he was in such a situation.
Gelmore parted his dry lips.
“…I understand. As you say, I’ll follow your orders. And through all good deeds, I’ll make your influence known in this city. And as you mentioned… I’ll suggest to the Empire’s upper echelons to recommend you as the next mayor a year from now.”
“With your power, I’ll make it known to the world that your influence is immense in this city. And as you said… I’ll propose to the higher-ups of the Empire that you be recommended as the next mayor in a year.”
Becoming the true king of the city.
That was Belrak’s ambition.
Honor.
Born as the son of a brothel. Enduring the violence of his drunken mother who beat him to a pulp. Something he had to possess after crawling up from the very bottom.
Belrak grinned widely as he looked at the obedient Gelmore, the mayor.
“Alright, let’s prepare properly tonight and make our announcement. Gelmore. Our alliance.”
“…Understood.”
Everything’s going smoothly.
Belrak rose and spoke to his loyal subordinate guarding the door.
“Strengthen the guards. The Arkan guards might come crashing in here. We must stop them at all costs. You can use those traps we set up. Kill them without hesitation. I have the power to sweep away the consequences of their deaths.”
“Yes, Belrak.”
Mad ambition sparkled in Belrak’s eyes.
“Soon.”
This city will be mine.
Belrak had no doubt about it.
*
Duke Yuma, Cloney, and 34 Arkan guards stepped into the area stained with darkness.
An undeveloped zone filled with abandoned buildings.
“Is this the place?”
The first of Belrak’s dogs, with a bandaged sword on his shoulder, nodded repeatedly.
He was threatened to guide them to where Belrak was.
“Y-Yes. District 8 is indeed Belrak’s territory. We must be careful from here. There are paths exclusively for them. I’ve heard that stepping on other paths triggers magical traps…”
Crack!
As he said this and took a step forward, the first dog suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
“Holy crap… I think I just stepped on something?”
Boom!
The sound of thunder echoed as a slight tremor shook the ground. Suddenly, brilliant light burst forth from the tops of the abandoned buildings.
“Die, foolish and outdated Gelmore dogs!! Kha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!”
Blazing white comets rained down from the rooftops.
One comet per building.
Four comets began to rapidly descend.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
And as they fell, they split into two.
Twisting and tumbling like acrobats, the so-called magical electromagnetic cannons fell.
Belrak, watching from behind the buildings, stared at the rising eight meteor showers.
“It’s begun.”
No matter how many of Gelmore’s troops remain. Anyone, will be annihilated by those. Those magical electromagnetic cannons possessed the speed and destructive power directly acknowledged by the Sword God, Chronos.
“Damn those magical engineers! I had to pay an astronomical amount, but it was worth every penny.”
“Even if they’re organized troops of intermediate Sword Experts, this thing packs enough power to wipe them out.”
As the overwhelming sight pierced through the thick, dark clouds, despair painted the faces of the Arkhan guards.
“Shit… Belrak is already ready to dominate this city!”
“We’re going to die. We’re going to die. We’re going to die. We’re going to die.”
That overwhelming destructive force crushed their will.
All that was left was regret. They couldn’t read the changing tides of the times.
Duke Yuma stepped forward.
That’s when he saw it. In the 34 faces passing by in despair, only Cloney, her eyes sparkling wide with focus, looked solely at him.
Step…
Yuma advanced further.
He needed to bring those 8 projectiles fully into the parrying range.
Yuma’s brain kicked into overdrive.
The guy who had been obsessed with the ‘parrying’ aspect in every game he had played until now.
Falling white meteors.
The positions where those meteors would intersect and meet.
The shadows of the 8 meteors poured down and revealed it.
<Bullet Time>
Whee──────!… Whee─k-
The world began to flow slowly.
Here comes the second Bullet Time.
With 30 seconds of Bullet Time, Yuma, adapted from the first one, moved his body with relative ease.
But ease only in the range of movement.
Parrying is always like walking on a tightrope.
A moment.
Just a fleeting moment to use for tightrope walking.
He met the blade of his shortsword, [Black Dragon Bernac’s Tooth], with the white light bursting forth. He twisted it.
Kang!
He bent it.
Kiiing Kaaang!
He refracted four meteors.
And just before Bullet Time was about to end, he refracted one more meteor.
When the world began to flow at its normal speed again, Yuma’s right arm moved nimbly along the trajectory he had already calculated.
All 8 meteors were deflected.
<Absolute Counter>
And then they returned.
Right back to the four buildings that had sent them out into the world.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!!!Wham-boom-boom-boom──!
The four buildings collapsed simultaneously.
Dense smoke engulfed the world.
Step…
A man walked with dignity.
“I am Duke Yuma, the representative of the First Princess Brigitte, the Princess’s sword.”
His voice was low.
But that voice pierced through the world, cutting through the air.
“Criminal Belrak, come forth and kneel.”
