Ch.189The Empire’s Greatest Sword!

“Kugh…!”

I roll to the side, dodging the sword that stabs down where I was.

The steel blade digs deep into the spot where my head and heart had been.

If I hadn’t dodged, it would have been instant death.

“Haaah!”

Knights were everywhere, even where I had dodged to.

I hurriedly rise, swinging my sword to parry their attacks one by one.

“Ka’har!”

I block a longsword coming down with my shoulder guard.

“You traitor!”

A spear thrusts toward my flank.

I swing Durandal to deflect it. The deflected spearhead grazes my armor.

“……!”

I silently grab and break a sword aimed at my spine with my left hand.

The knight who lost his sword looks shocked.

“Does she have eyes on her back?!”

“Attack all at once!”

Six blades thrust at me from all directions.

I swing my sword to deflect two of them, then roll through the opening to escape.

The missed sword strikes scrape against my armor, sending sparks flying.

The knights’ attacks continue to rain down.

Like a spider web capturing prey, they try to entangle me endlessly.

“Where did my opponent go? My eyes must be failing me with age, I can’t seem to find him anywhere.”

That, that contemptible bastard…!

My molars grind together.

—-

Valenstein was walking leisurely among the knights, showing no sign of rushing at me.

With an infuriatingly unhurried manner.

“Your eyes! Must be failing! You can’t even! Fight! What a waste! Of the name First Sword!”

I had no time to shout properly while deflecting the knights’ attacks.

Each individual attack wasn’t particularly threatening…

But when ten or twenty swords came at me simultaneously, it became incredibly difficult.

If I could kill them, I could easily break free.

But the fact that I couldn’t was the biggest problem.

The knights attacking me now were only about 20% of the total; the rest were still undecided, merely maintaining the encirclement.

In this situation, what would happen if I started killing the other knights?

Seeing their comrades burst into chunks of meat, they wouldn’t just stand by.

They would rush at me all at once without hesitation.

Most of them were just knights dedicated to protecting the Empire.

They were deceived by Valenstein and Isabella, but they were innocent.

To slaughter all of them?

Durandal trembled slightly.

My hesitation was evident in every swing of my blade.

I would cut down the insect knights without hesitation… but they weren’t even approaching.

If I were to abandon Leopold and attempt a breakthrough alone, they would likely gather to block me.

Or perhaps they were wary of getting close to me and triggering Durandal’s blessing.

Durandal. This seemingly capable yet incapable sword was now just a sharp blade to me.

Even though my opponent had allied with a witch and was evil, they were still human… the sword showed no sign of releasing its true power.

In the end, I couldn’t kill them all, nor could I borrow the sword’s power.

It was like fighting with my hands and feet tied.

“When fighting head-on, you’re nothing but an old man. Using such contemptible methods…!”

I gritted my teeth as I swung my sword.

“…Is that so?”

A soft whisper.

An icy chill runs down my neck as if I’d been doused with ice water.

A spine-tingling sense of danger races up my spine.

“Huk…!”

Durandal, swung reflexively, clashes with a ringing sound.

Behind me, Valenstein had approached without a trace and was smiling as our swords met.

How did he get so close?

He had concealed his presence so completely that I hadn’t even noticed.

If he hadn’t spoken, I would have been cut down.

– Kagagagaganggg!

We exchange sword strikes five times in succession.

The ground tears apart with a thunderous sound.

The knights surrounding us hastily retreat.

“Do you still think that way?”

“Yes, I do!”

I shake off his sword and kick at him.

My leg carries enough force to burst a bear with a single blow.

“Your strength is always impressive. But if you can’t hit me, it means nothing.”

Before my foot could connect, Valenstein glided backward.

His movement was ghostlike, leaving neither sound nor trace.

Valenstein’s presence vanished again in an instant.

Unlike before, the knights weren’t approaching me now.

“Are you hiding behind your subordinates again! Can you even call yourself a knight?!”

I shouted in condemnation while urgently scanning my surroundings.

Once his presence disappeared, I couldn’t confirm his existence unless I saw him directly.

“Hiding? That’s unlikely.”

Left.

The Frosting I thrust reflexively pierced through empty air.

“They simply swung their swords reflexively when the princess charged. In fact, they’re just standing still now, aren’t they?”

Right.

…My swinging blade hit nothing.

“Why would I need to use them as bait in the first place? Against an opponent of this level.”

Behind.

I turned around hastily, but Valenstein was nowhere to be seen.

“Since you couldn’t even turn back toward me, I had to come find you.”

What is this…!

Cold sweat soaked my back.

Even with my heated body and senses sharpened to their limits, I couldn’t detect Valenstein.

I could clearly sense everything within several meters around me, yet only his whereabouts remained undetectable.

It was impossible to perceive him.

This shouldn’t be possible for a human.

Even if he moved in my blind spots to avoid my eyes, he couldn’t deceive my other senses.

Yet it was happening right before me.

“Your expression has hardened.”

– Thud!

I was struck in the back with a sword hilt. The blunt impact bent my body forward.

My sense of smell was useless.

I couldn’t detect even the scent of cloth and metal that should naturally be present, let alone human scent.

“Where did your earlier confidence go?”

– Crack!

My shoulder guard tears open. Even Asha’s armor couldn’t withstand the blade of true silver.

My hearing was equally useless.

I heard nothing until the moment I was about to be cut.

It was incomprehensible.

One might be able to silence footsteps and hold their breath, but how could one eliminate their heartbeat?

“Are you just going to stand there?”

Even the flow of air remained still.

How could an object the size of a person move faster than I could turn my head without creating even the slightest breeze?

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Yes, Orhan had that same expression.”

Valenstein revealed his presence again.

From my perspective, it was as if a person had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

If someone could teleport without using mana… it would feel like this.

“Indeed, you’re the spitting image of Orhan in every way. Transcendent physical abilities and sharp senses… especially how you rely solely on your physical body in battle.”

Valenstein calmly pointed his sword at me.

A cold sneer settled on his wrinkled lips.

“…You seem to know my father quite well. You’ve been saying this and that since earlier, were you secret friends? Oh, could that be why he had no wife at his age…?”

“So the princess’s mother married a man who prefers men?”

“……”

I tried to mock him once but got it back twofold.

In truth, it didn’t damage me at all.

Neither Orhan nor Imelia were my actual parents.

“Orhan was an amazingly tenacious opponent. We only dueled once… but I still remember it clearly. Because of his body that blades could barely penetrate, he wouldn’t fall no matter how many times I cut him…”

Valenstein muttered quietly.

With the drawling tone typical of an old man reminiscing about the past.

…He fought with Orhan?

This was news to me.

Well, as the Empire’s greatest knight and Ka’har’s strongest warrior respectively, it would be natural for them to clash if their countries went to war…

“Since my father called you ‘foam,’ it seems you lost pathetically. Looks like you were lucky to escape with your life?”

“Orhan didn’t tell you? Yes, I can understand. A shameful defeat where he couldn’t draw a single drop of blood, only getting cut repeatedly before retreating when the battle turned unfavorable… his pride would have been too wounded to tell his daughter.”

Valenstein answered calmly, raising his longsword from its sideways position to shoulder height.

“…My father lost?”

“He endured well. But how could he defeat me without landing a single blow? I wasn’t as easily fatigued then as I am now.”

Valenstein’s presence began to fade again.

Though clearly standing before me, his sound and scent gradually disappeared.

…What principle is this working on?

I couldn’t understand it even while facing him directly.

Then I had no choice but to keep clashing.

“Did you fight this contemptibly back then too? Hiding like a thief while concealing your presence!”

I kick off the ground and charge like an arrow.

Durandal shoots toward his head, piercing through the headwind.

If he disappears the moment I take my eyes off him—

I just need to keep him in my sight and hold onto him!

“You bark like a frightened dog. Are you afraid?”

Valenstein’s sword drew an arc.

– Kaang!

My lightning-fast strike is deflected weakly.

“Kaaah!”

Gripping the sword hilt with both hands, I forcibly redirect the twisted sword path.

The following slash.

A blue arc falls toward Valenstein’s head.

“Like father, like daughter, no different from a boar that’s been struck first.”

Valenstein deflected Durandal by holding his longsword at an angle.

Durandal’s blade slides sideways with a fluid, natural motion.

I tried to twist my wrist to weave the blade under his, but Valenstein’s technique was superior.

The two longswords twisted strangely before separating with a clear sound.

“You’ve learned Imperial swordsmanship well. But you lack adaptability.”

“Oh, is that so!”

I swing my sword faster than his response.

– Kagagagaganggg!

Instead of powerful strikes with full force, I deliver rapid consecutive attacks focused on speed.

The storm of slashes is all blocked and deflected, scattering chaotic light.

“Your attacks are light. Are you afraid of being knocked back and separated from me again?”

Valenstein calmly hit the mark.

“Ha, are you getting impatient because you can’t fight honorably!”

As long as I couldn’t figure out the principle behind his ability to erase his presence… clinging to him like this was the best strategy.

If I attempted a large attack and got knocked back like before, I’d lose sight of him.

My plan was to stick close and fight until either his stamina dropped or the fire seal activated.

If worst came to worst, I could set fire to the surroundings so he couldn’t hide anymore.

“Hardly. Everyone who fought me ended up doing the same thing.”

Valenstein showed his teeth in a smile.

The next moment,

his sword bent like a wave.

“What…!”

The curving sword tip shoots over Durandal.

My reaction was half a beat too slow to this unexpected phenomenon.

– Slash!

My sliced shoulder spurts blood.

The pain of flesh being torn made me instinctively look toward my shoulder.

“Where are you looking?”

Oh no…!

I made a mistake.

I hurriedly returned my gaze, but Valenstein had already vanished.

“Human instinct is always like that. One can endure anticipated pain, but when suffering an unexpected injury, one instinctively checks the wound. The princess is no exception.”

A cold sneer circled through the empty air.

I couldn’t even tell where the voice was coming from.

“Did the Ghost Sword seem so light that it would be neutralized in close combat?”

“Ghost Sword…?”

What’s that?

I asked while using my strength to suppress the bleeding from my shoulder.

“Yes. I gained the excessive honor of being called the Empire’s First Sword at forty. Before that, everyone called me by that name. I myself preferred that nickname to Empire’s First Sword.”

The invisible death.

Valenstein the Ghost Sword.