episode_0011

-Kaaang!

Landenburg training room.

Ever since Marquis Ludwig’s two sons lost their lives, the yellow earth, which had been locked in dead silence, finally stretched out.

The walls, startled by the sharp bursting sound, spewed out sand through the cracks.

Two silver lines collided in succession, scattering colorful sparks.

—-

“Get off-!”

He swung his long sword diagonally and barely managed to shake off Nigel.

Nigel is pushed back as if he is flying backwards.

She turned lightly, landed on the ground, and pointed her sword at me again.

My fingertips were trembling at the harsh gaze that did not even reveal any emotions and only radiated sharp murderous intent.

damn.

Beads of sweat ran down my neck.

I think I encountered about ten swords. The long sword in his hand already had teeth coming out here and there.

Even blocking the attack was close to a miracle.

… Even though it was strong, it was too strong.

Ever since I heard the introduction of Landenburg’s sword, I had guessed that it would be like this.

Because it was a name I had read before, at least as a setting in the story.

Landenburg’s sword.

The strongest force in the East, comprised of ten knights who have reached the realm of mastery, a state considered to be the limit of humanity.

These were the best knights boasted by the Margrave of Landenburg, the guardian of the eastern border.

Yeah, it’s worth bragging about.

In the current empire, there would only be about 40 master-level knights at most, and he has ten of them under his command.

In other words, this woman I’m dealing with right now… .

This means that even among thousands of imperial knights, he is at least forty strong!

… Anyway, I didn’t expect there to be this much of a difference in skill.

I’m clearly ahead in terms of strength and speed, but I can’t even cut off her collar.

The moment every sword strike touched her sword, it flowed like a lie.

It felt like walking through water.

No matter how much I move my feet, I can’t move forward, just struggling and sinking endlessly.

Is this because Hershela has not yet reached her prime?

Or is it because I am not using the power of this body properly?

A feeling of helplessness oppressed me.

“It’s quite different from what I heard.”

Nigel lowered the tip of his sword slightly and spoke softly.

“Or, are you saying you want to play with me?”

That’s right, the Hashall you heard about may be a berserker of Ishangior, but the one standing here is just an ordinary soldier of the Korean Republic!

He’s a soldier without even a gun. If only I had a gun… !

“-Well. Which one is it? Take a guess.”

He forcibly raised the corners of his mouth and made an unsightly bravado.

It’s okay to laugh at it because it’s a pathetic struggle.

However, since I have decided to live as Hashal, I cannot show my weakness.

Jewelry with the plating peeling off is just thrown away on the floor.

“… … .”

Nigel didn’t answer.

The moment I blinked, dust rose up and Nigel’s image rapidly expanded.

shit… !

-Kagagagagak!

He barely blocks the stab aimed at his neck.

The toothless sword body emits a terrible noise, and the broken metal bounces into the air.

The spark that rose up touched my cheek and died down, leaving behind heat.

“The reaction speed is fast-”

There was no time to counterattack.

Nigel plunged his sword deep in, entangled my longsword under the blade and twisted his wrist.

Both arms rose uncontrollably and the body leaned forward.

Is this swordsmanship?

-Kwasik.

I lowered my left arm and barely managed to block the tip of the sword hilt hitting my temple.

I gritted my teeth as the pain felt like my arm bones were being crushed.

“Ugh!”

Nigel’s left arm, where he had put down his sword, hit my arm and the back of his hand, which rose up, hit my chin.

My head turned and my legs became weak.

“-That’s all.”

Her knee, which shot up one after another, crushed my swaying lower jaw.

“Ugh..!”

For a moment, my hearing was cut off.

My eyes flashed and blinked in shock as if I had been hit with a hammer.

The shaken brain spewed out abnormalities.

My vision became a mess.

no. danger. Consciousness…!

Beyond my sinking consciousness, there was a faint image of Nigel swinging his sword at me.

-Kaang!

uh?

My body moved randomly.

The long sword, swung like a flash, parried Nigel’s attack, and as she twisted her body, her outstretched right foot stuck in her lower abdomen.

“Ugh..!”

Nigel’s body flew backwards, with his back bent by the impact.

Like shattering shards of glass, the darkness covering my vision was shattered.

An intense burning sensation rose from the tips of my toes, rushing through the nerves of my entire body like a thunderbolt and hitting my brain.

My shaky mind suddenly became clear, as if it had been forcibly held together.

It was a strange sensation, as if I had been drunk on alcohol and dreams, and then been thrown into ice water while on fire.

The flow of blood pulsating through the blood vessels was clearly felt as if painting a picture, and the heart was beating more intensely than ever before.

Before I knew it, the pain in my arms and jaw had faded into a light throbbing pain.

“……I must have been on the verge of losing consciousness.”

Nigel corrected his posture and muttered as if he couldn’t understand.

“The pupils were completely dilated. I didn’t react consciously. If so, is it an instinct engraved in my body?”

ah. I see

understood. The way we fought was wrong in the first place.

This body belongs to Aishangior Hashall, warrior of Ka`har.

If you tried to control the monster’s body with the consciousness of an ordinary person, there was no way it would move properly.

The answer was to trust your instincts.

Empty your mind. It only sharpened my senses.

Not thinking about anything, just thinking about killing the enemy.

The corners of his mouth curled up into an animalistic smile.

The urge that had been tormented by hunger finally showed its fangs.

The free body roared with joy.

—-

– Quad deud deuk!

The toothless longsword bit into Nigel’s sword.

The steel sword body was roughly ground, and the metal pieces that bounced around tore the hem of the clothes.

Nigel caught a glimpse of the sword that had stopped as if it had been caught, and swung his left foot like a whip.

He tilted his body wide as if it would touch the ground, let it flow, and then bounced into her empty left side.

I extended my left hand and caught Nigel’s elbow as he was aiming for the skull.

“Get away!”

Nigel swung the sword in his right hand, held it upside down, and slashed it towards me.

I dodged it by leaping backwards.

The floor, unable to withstand the impact, burst open and crashed into waves.

Nigel, covered in dust, roughly shook off the hem of his clothes.

“…You’re a completely different person than before. Strength, speed, movement.”

I ignored it and rushed at it.

I’m half conscious anyway, so I can’t even understand.

-Kaaang-!

The two swords faced each other and let out a painful scream.

Not yet.

“Kyaaa!!”

The long sword held in both hands unleashed a barrage of blows like a storm.

A series of deafening explosions erupted, and dust flew in all directions.

The body of the long sword, which was swinging violently like the claws of a beast, gradually became twisted and distorted as if it had reached its limit.

Nigel calmly parried away the barrage of longswords and occasionally counterattacked, but he seemed to be unable to completely resolve the shock and was being pushed back little by little but surely.

Blood started flowing.

The stab that grazed his cheek left a vivid heat, and Nigel’s thigh, which was torn by my sword, turned red.

The endlessly colliding waltz of steel embroidered blood drops in the air.

Pleasure colors the brain.

Each time Hashall’s body was injured, it vomited out more ferocious joy, and the blood flowing down was as hot as burning.

– Pakaang!

In the end, weapons died before people did.

With a sharp death, the broken long sword bid farewell to the world.

Nigel’s eyes flashed as if he had been waiting for just this moment, twisted his upper body and pulled the sword up to his shoulder.

The tip of her sword pierced the space like an awl, squeezing the elasticity of her whole body.

Hashalr’s instincts cheered.

He stretched it out as if facing a broken long sword.

He grazed Nigel’s sword between the blade and the bottom of the blade, and then turned his wrist over.

The stab, whose trajectory was greatly distorted, dug into the floor in vain.

“Empire, swordsmanship…?!”

Nigel, shocked, paused for a moment.

It’s full of gaps.

“Kyaat-!”

The left hand, with its fingertips raised like the claws of a bird of prey, shot like a snake towards Nigel’s neck.

“Quit!”

Nigel reacted hastily, pulled the hilt of the sword and covered his neck under the blade.

Nigel was thrown against the wall of the practice room, accompanied by a scattering of metal fragments.

—-

“Grrr…”

Out of breath, I stared at Nigel, who had fallen out.

As the rising dust slowly settled, the sight of Nigel standing up unsteadily came into view.

Clumps of dirt were stuck to the blood, making it look quite miserable.

I guess I’m in that situation too.

As the heat burning my nerves subsided a little, bitter pain came from all over my body.

“-I see. Is this Kahar’s warrior?”

After catching his breath, Nigel shook off the dust tangled in his hair and put down the long sword with only the hilt remaining.

“No subtlety, but power and speed. Aggressiveness like a wild beast.”

Nigel walked towards the weapons scattered on the floor due to the impact that shook the wall and bowed.

The sight of him picking up a long sword and a long spear one by one and sticking a dagger into his waist was eerie.

“Okay. Kahar are originally a horse riding people, so strength is important, not skill with the sword wielded while riding.”

I accepted the long sword that was thrown towards me.

Nigel pointed his spear at me and bent his knees slightly.

“That’s not the limit, right? Let’s get started.”

The thick murderous feeling swirled again.

—-

Nigel, who was wielding a spear, had become a completely different being than before.

The appearance of disciplined and elegant swordsmanship was suddenly replaced by an unorganized and disorderly attack.

A dynamic movement that involves jumping, retreating, and jumping as if dancing in all directions.

An aggressive fighting style in which all limbs are mobilized to stab and throw spears and daggers, constantly firing at unpredictable angles.

I barely responded, pushing my senses to the limit.

-Kaang!

As if he was throwing his body, he lunged forward and deflected Nigel’s thrust with his long sword.

Nigel let go of the spear, pulled out the dagger from his waist like a thunderbolt, and slashed at his shoulder.

He twisted his upper body to the side to avoid the dagger aimed at his shoulder.

Nigel snapped his wrist and let go of the dagger.

The dagger fired from zero distance with a snap of my wrist stuck in my shoulder before I could react.

“Gaaat-!”

He roared fiercely and swung his long sword, aiming for Nigel’s waist.

Nigel reached out and grabbed the dagger stuck in my shoulder, then jumped onto my back.

The long sword cut through the air in vain.

Flesh fell off from the torn shoulder and blood spurted out.

Without even having time to let out a groan, I hurriedly bent my upper body to the side as I felt a strong sense of crisis coming from the back of my throat.

Nigel’s right foot passed by my ear with a chilling sound.

The ear flap was cut off in half and stuck to the wall of the training room.

I swung my elbow towards my back.

A dull cracking sound rang out, along with the sensation of splitting wood.

“Ugh..!”

Nigel, who was floating upside down in the air and raised his left arm to block my elbow, gritted his teeth as the pain surged through him.

He stabbed his long sword straight at Nigel, who had stopped moving.

Nigel extended his right hand and placed his hand on my shoulder, spinning like an acrobat to avoid the sword.

Nigel’s spear, which bounced into the air, touched her toes.

Nigel, holding my shoulder tightly, wrapped his toe around the spear and struck it down as if kicking it.

The tip of the spear pierced my thigh.

“Kyahaaagh-!”

The long sword, which he swung in a panic, deeply grazed Nigel’s arm.

Nigel grabbed the end of the pole and leapt backwards.

The blade of the spear was pulled out and cut deeply into my thigh.

The blood surged fiercely.

I put all my strength into holding on to my knees that were trying to buckle.

The swollen muscles put strong pressure on the blood vessels, suppressing bleeding.

The body, approaching its limit, let out a scream.

it hurts.

His torn shoulders twitched intermittently, and his tattered clothes were stained dark red and soggy that their original color was unrecognizable.

Perhaps because he had lost too much blood, even his body, which had been boiling with enthusiasm, was gradually becoming colder.

it’s hard.

Nigel, across from him, was also seriously injured.

The left arm hung limply, as if the bone had been cracked, and the deeply cut right arm was constantly crying and spitting out a bright red color.

Her once elegant face was also stained with dirt and sweat droplets, and bright red blood was seeping through her rough breathing.

Hashall’s instincts gritted their teeth and whispered.

Not yet.

There is still more to fight.

Stick out your fangs.

Get your claws out.

I unconsciously looked at my right side.

Between the torn leather fabric, the silver armor flowed a cool chill as if enticing.

Okay, if this is it.

My trembling left arm went to my side.

Our fingertips touched.

“-That’s it.”

A firm voice cut off the impulse.

The consciousness that had been intoxicated by the heat returned.

I let down the long sword in my right hand.