The collision of the white flash and golden glow caused an explosion to occur. However, it was a noise too complex to be grasped by a human. The sword master’s aura and paladin’s divine power met in a terrific clash, causing space to distort.
Baek Jongmyung’s sword technique was indeed sharp enough to deserve the epithet of piercing the moon, but Ruben’s divine power held up its name in Lairon as God’s Hammer.
The meeting of the two was destined to end in violence.
――――――!
Blood splattered over the ground as the air rang with the sound of armor shattering. It was a wholly natural result, since a master’s attack power was much higher than their defense. So, even a master would suffer a serious injury when facing another master.
“Cough!”
The middle-aged Baek Jongmyung was thrown back, and he grabbed his bleeding left shoulder. He was astounded, since it wasn’t an injury he was expecting. Speed was an absolute advantage in a battle between masters, and Baek Jongmyung had timed his strike so perfectly that Ruben would be hard pressed to block, let alone unleash a counter.
He looked at his opponent with a horrified expression.
Surely he didn’t ignore defense in order to counterattack!
That’s right. Lairon’s paladin, Ruben, had intentionally revealed his upper body beyond the shield and received Baek Jongmyung’s thrust. He had definitely received the more serious injury, but he had managed to slam his blade into Baek Jongmyung’s left shoulder. Baek Jongmyung could still continue fighting despite his left arm being neutralized, while he had clearly pierced Ruben’s right rib and lungs.
As his wound bled moderately, Baek Jongmyung continued to think.
That said, his swordsmanship doesn’t make sense. He wields a sword, but he uses it more like a hammer or an ax.?
Ruben hit instead of cutting, so his sword tended to club his opponents rather than slash at them. It was a meteor-like swordsmanship that focused everything on brute strength and blew away its targets without hesitation. It couldn’t be called excellent, but it was certainly effective in killing his opponents. After all, although the technique might be sloppy, it had managed to crush Baek Jongmyung’s shoulder.
“… It seems as though the match is over.”
However, Baek Jongmyung was sure of his victory. A master might be more resilient, but they were still human. Damage to areas like the lungs was fatal. If it wasn’t treated in time, dying would be unavoidable.
“I don’t think that you will respond, but you may be able to save your life if you surrender.”
It wasn’t Baek Jongmyung’s decision, but something Prince Elsid had asked of him. Lairon supported the noble faction, but this relationship would collapse if Duke Cornwall failed. However, the situation would change if a paladin were killed. The Lairon Kingdom might use his death as a pretext to fight the winner of the civil war. If possible, Prince Elsid wanted to win with the best scenario.
“-Hah,” Ruben revealed bloodstained teeth in a savage grin. “Ha, haha.” It wasn’t a moan. It wasn’t even the sound of a human who had difficulty breathing through his right lung. “Hahahahaha!” It was a burst of laughter. Ruben laughed like he was crazy. 𝙚𝙤𝙫𝙚𝒍.𝒐𝙧𝙜
An ominous feeling started to creep up Baek Jongmyung’s neck. This didn’t seem like a bluff, or even the actions of a seriously injured person.
Ruben’s face distorted into a maniacal, almost demonic leer, “The battle is over? Surrender? You heretic barbarians seem to have a talent for joking!”
He straightened as golden energy burst from his body. It was a power that never once compromised in its strength and the vast halo of divine power wrapped around Ruben.
Dangerous.
Baek Jongmyung gulped. He didn’t know why, but Ruben seemed fine. There were no signs that showed Ruben had consumed a lot of his stamina. In fact, he seemed even more formidable than before.
“I am Ruben, the one who received Lairon’s grace! A mere savage like you… You think you can beat me?”
Ruben’s eyes started to glow as he raised his sword. The blade started to shimmer as it started to exude a ten meter wide pillar of light. The paladin’s fanaticism had reached new heights.
“I won’t leave a single piece of flesh remaining on your blasphemous body!”
***
“Victory.”
Duke Cornwall’s voice was overflowing with confidence. He could clearly see the Eastern swordmaster being overwhelmed by the paladin. He would normally be worried about the wound the paladin had received; however, the duke had been made aware of the paladin’s strength a few days ago.
Despite his injury, Ruben continued to attack.
“It seems that it’s true that Lairon’s paladins won’t die unless their heads are destroyed.”
Unlike magic, which restructured a human body, divine power greatly amplified the body’s inherent vitality. While ordinary people would die from a few choice blows from a sword, the owner of divine power was like a half-immortal.
Unless they were killed instantly, they would drag a battle out till they won. Master level practitioners were especially difficult to injure or kill. If Baek Jongmyung had known this, he would have changed his entire strategy for the battle. This was a disaster arising from his ignorance of the Central Continent, as divine power and paladins didn’t exist in the East.
As a result, Baek Jongmyung was being pushed closer and closer to the edge. If this continued, he wouldn’t be able to last for even one more hour.
“The rest of his troops aren’t great… It seems like I can finish off the prince today. This is a truly silly fight.” Duke Cornwall was beaming with joy.
This was checkmate. Marquis Fergana would block the forces who occupied the three estates if they marched toward him. Any reinforcements would lose their cause as soon as the prince was captured. Duke Cornwall had also prepared anti-teleport artifacts to prevent Prince Elsid from escaping. The thought of the prince’s imminent death brought a smile to the duke’s face.
Today is the best day of my life. The wind is cool, the shadows are just right— Wait, shadows?
Duke Cornwall looked up at the sky in bewilderment. There shouldn’t be any shadows. There were no trees nearby, and the sky was a cloudless blue. Since it was just after noon, the sun was nowhere close to setting. So, where did this shadow come from?
The duke and the other nobles looked around curiously. However, they immediately regretted it.
Ah, I shouldn’t have looked back.
“G-Giant…?” A noble’s voice quavered.
However, Duke Cornwall didn’t blame them. It was a natural reaction to a fifty meter tall earth giant that had seemingly appeared out of thin air. It was a situation which would freak anyone out. The whole army started to murmur at the appearance of the earth giant.
“C-Captain, how do we deal with that?”
“Should we shoot it with archers?”
“Stupid! What if that makes the giant attack us? Don’t move until you receive a command!”
“B-But we can’t do nothing…”
It was a mistake not to address the situation immediately. The airtight defense line became a mess as the soldiers backed away from the earth giant. In the distant sky, a crow was watching the chaotic scene. Naturally, the crow was Theo’s familiar, Hugin.
“Okay, the first stage worked better than I thought.”
The giant was an improved version of the Earth Worm that he had made a long time ago while traveling with Sylvia. Back then, Theo had gotten a headache from the attempt, but he was different now. Mitra’s growth to a top-grade elemental had also helped matters.
She could now control a huge fifty meter tall giant. The moving dirt, which weighed thousands of tons, was a weapon in and of itself.
“Well, I don’t plan to attack with this guy.”
Theo closed his eyes. He didn’t want Mitra to be spattered with human blood, so he came up with a more effective method.
Mitra, can you hear me?
As soon as he called, he heard a little voice respond.
[Yes! Deo’s words clear!]
Yes, well done. Then shall we go to the next step?
Since her bud had flowered, Mitra developed another power. It was proof that she had thrown off the divinity of earth and was acquiring a new divinity, just like Paracelsus had said. Then Theo asked her to use that new technique they had talked about.
Let’s go, Mitra! Sow the seeds!
[Hoing!]
Mitra enthusiastically gave up holding the earth giant together.
Hwaaaaack!
The earth giant collapsed, scattering hundreds of thousands of seeds in every direction.
“W-What are these grains?”
“Captain! It is impossible to avoid!”
.
“They don’t seem toxic…”
“Maintain your positions! Those who move will be punished!”
The soldiers were bewildered, while the knights swung their swords at the seeds several times before giving up. The curious magicians were busy analyzing the seeds. The commander’s voice echoed as he tried to control the camp, but it was clear that it was already too late.
Something happened as soon as the seeds hit the ground.
Kukukung… kukung… kukukukung…
The earth started to rumble first. The soldiers heard the noise coming from the ground and looked at each other with uneasy expressions. The commanders were also struggling to understand what was going on. In any case, the vibrations were too intense to just avoid by moving.
However, before they could send out new orders, the source of the vibrations revealed itself.
Kukukung!
Beautiful saplings broke through the ground. Toots sprouted from the tiny seeds, and the saplings quickly grew into trees that one would more commonly see in a jungle. The seeds also seemed to come in great variety. Zelkova trees, oaks, camellias, willows, ginkgo trees… Trees of every kind, softwood and hardwood, grew into adulthood in a matter of moments.
One tree, ten trees, one hundred trees…
The plains where Duke Cornwall’s army was camped were soon covered in thousands of trees. Some of the soldiers were unlucky enough to get in the way of the trees, and received broken bones for the effort. Some of them were even caught up in the branches and sent flying into the sky. The army had devolved into a chaotic crowd.
Theo watched the situation quietly and said with a smile, “Ah, Mitra. I’m sorry, but I have to make another request.”
[Hooing!]
A large mass of seeds leaped upward. Those seeds, blown along by the wind, landed between Baek Jongmyung and Ruben.
Kukukung.Kukukung!
“What!?”
“No!? What is this?”
It was like a barrier had grown between the two combatants. Ruben brandished his sword and cut down several trees, but there was no end to the growing trees. However, Baek Jongmyung realized that this was an opportunity for him. He didn’t cut down the trees like Ruben and instead quickly retreated toward the estate. It was imperative that he get away.
“This guy! You don’t know honor! Come back!”
Theo watched the situation and couldn’t help laughing. He didn’t know that a paladin would spout such immature lines. It seemed that Lairon had truly rotted long ago, just like Marquis Piris had said. However, Theo’s chuckles faded away and his face hardened. He had achieved all his goals, but something was tickling his senses.
This presence… a sword master! Who is it??
Theo sensed the presence and prepared for battle. He was several times stronger than when he’d fought against Hyde, but he couldn’t help worrying about fighting another master. Moreover, the person was approaching him at a fearsome speed. It seemed they weren’t going to be an easy opponent.
This is a very annoying situation.
This area had anti-teleport artifacts in use, so space transfers weren’t allowed. In order to escape from this area, he would have to use lightning, which burdened his body. As he felt the swordmaster approach, Theo decided to leave escaping as a last resort.
Soon, an uninvited guest in full armor dropped down before Theo.
Duk.
The guest wore heavy armor, and the speed at which he dropped down was no greater than that of a flying arrow. It was proof that he had complete control over his own center of gravity and inertia. He was entirely covered in armor and seemed to have no intention of revealing his identity.
Theo rotated his seven Circles and muttered, “… Andras’ swordmaster… Is he one of the empire’s Seven Swords?”