Ch.211211. Marquis of Bordeaux (5)

The 7th Astolfo, a man who inherited both a great name and a special title, appears at first glance to be a typical spearman.

However, there is nothing typical about the form or quality of his armament.

The plate armor formed by liquid metal that adheres to his surcoat, transforming into metal plates, guarantees both resilience and durability. While liquid metal might seem unimpressive, elven liquid metal is typically made by adding several alchemical ingredients to mythril.

In other words, it’s essentially no different from mythril with fluidity, and when solidified, its durability can easily rival that of pure mythril.

The value of liquid metal that can change its form according to need… is beyond estimation.

The mask he wears on his face is also quite revolutionary, equipped with functions ranging from expanded field of vision and breath regulation to target magnification and analysis.

Though modest, the presence or absence of such minor functions determines whether one can maintain combat effectiveness across various situations.

Meanwhile, the spear in his hand—completed by combining several metal components with liquid metal—appears to be no ordinary weapon, and in fact, it is quite famous in its own right.

Although I never expected it to have such a unique form, I am well aware of its effect.

“Come, knight! (Does it reduce the friction of objects touched by the spear blade to nearly zero?)”

“Prepare yourself, druid! (Seriously, being too famous is also a problem.)”

It reduces the friction of anything touched by the spear blade—living or non-living—and everything within a certain range around it to nearly zero.

It may seem simple and trivial, but in close combat, there are few effects more threatening.

Just tapping the handle area of a weapon in someone’s grip will cause it to slip away if there’s no countermeasure. The same applies to armor, which can slide off even when tightly bound with leather straps. Above all, it’s extremely useful for tripping opponents or disrupting their stance when applied to the ground.

It doesn’t even inflict damage like most magical effects, and since it targets ‘friction,’ it seems to bypass magic resistance entirely.

What makes this ability particularly effective is that it activates instantly with just a light tap, requiring no complex activation. Though supplementary in nature, its ease of use makes it far from useless.

However, this doesn’t make it some invincible power…

After all, since the ability requires contact with the spear blade to activate, there’s no major issue as long as one avoids contact.

As a magic user, I shouldn’t normally engage in close combat with warriors in the first place, and since this is a staged fight anyway, I won’t be using techniques like Soul Resonance.

[Rise, Fury of the Earth!]

—BOOM!!

What I’m using now is nature magic that releases earth essence to create pillars of energy. Normally, this would be a powerful attack spell armed with high firepower and excellent activation speed, but in a staged fight like this, do such things even matter?

The energy pillars, flashy on the outside but hollow within, are at a level that any advanced warrior should be able to handle, but the 7th Astolfo seems unwilling to stop there.

As he leaps between the energy pillars, swinging his spear blade in various directions, the crimson energy pillars bend and curve around him upon contact with the blade, missing him entirely.

‘So it can be used like that too…’

Having never dreamed that the spear could be utilized in such a way, I watched with surprised eyes, and seeing my reaction, he looked back with a somewhat triumphant expression before extending his spear toward me.

[…Swift Feet!]

Using animal spirit possession and animal transformation to instantly enhance my agility, I create distance between us, but the 7th Astolfo quickly closes the gap and attacks me, swinging his weapon.

Of course, since we had agreed beforehand to hold back, the spear’s movements only appeared flashy while actually following predictable, linear trajectories.

Thanks to this, I was able to skillfully defend against or evade his attacks, but even in this situation, I couldn’t help but admire Astolfo’s spear technique.

Honestly, if it were another martial art, I might not have been able to understand its subtleties enough to offer any meaningful observations, but I’ve trained in staff techniques enough to use them in a pinch.

And from my perspective, Astolfo’s spear technique seemed to make the most of the advantage of its 2.2-2.3 meter length, creating an endless cycle of movements.

One thrust, one push. Swing, retrieve, thrust again—the cycle continues.

Overall, it might seem easy to read due to the patterns created by the repetition of a few movements, but the endless variations within this repetition make it difficult to break the cycle.

And as I evaded these flowing, rotating combination attacks, I suddenly realized…

‘Is this the high-level aura quality transformation I’ve only heard about?’

Only then did I understand that the martial art he was using utilized aura property transformation.

I had heard about it a few times before.

While warriors ascending from low to intermediate levels awaken their aura, those advancing from intermediate to advanced levels can imbue their aura with their own principles.

In other words… by transforming the properties of their aura, they can cast magic simply by swinging their weapons.

The manifestation of martial arts that produces mystical effects occurs when, at a certain level of proficiency, mana and aura respond to the martial technique, creating specific mystical phenomena.

The weapons wielded by those who have reached this level actually reflect their mental imagery, naturally accompanied by physical and magical phenomena in their martial arts.

A prime example is the Rose Knight, famous for her “Rose Sword” rapier technique, known for aura that scatters like rose petals and emits a bewitching fragrance when she wields her weapon.

Also, in the Holy Empire, there’s a martial arts sect famous for dual-wielding techniques, whose warriors all have aura that wraps around their weapons like flames.

Of course, Yesugei and El-Temur, whom I fought previously, must have possessed this power as well, but I didn’t notice it then due to my lack of relevant knowledge and the life-threatening situation.

Looking back, there were indeed some prominent phenomena that occurred specifically when they wielded their weapons.

Anyway, the principles embodied in the 7th Astolfo’s spear technique, which has reached this level where martial arts manifest as phenomena, are “circulation” and “rotation.” His unique martial art, which flows endlessly, repeats, and rotates while delivering combination attacks, has taken mystical form.

As a result, the aura current that forms along the trajectory of the spear adds tremendous mass to each strike, creating powerful attacks that can be delivered smoothly and continuously.

But the true value of this attack lies in how the energy generated during rotation is preserved and utilized in subsequent attacks.

The more you dodge, the more powerful the next attack becomes, but if you take the hits, the accumulated damage will cut off your breath before you know it.

It’s a martial art that perfectly utilizes the principles of rotation, conservation of force, and flowing currents, but that doesn’t mean it has no weaknesses.

The more one evades, the more energy and mass accumulate in the spear, making it increasingly difficult to control despite the increased power, preventing him from employing the finesse between cycles that is his greatest strength.

[How much longer do we need to do this?]

‘Just a little longer, please. We need plausibility.’

And the strategy I’m about to deploy is actually designed to give him an excellent pretext for leaving the battlefield by exploiting this characteristic.

I gather power, concentrate it, and condense it into my staff. After signaling to Corin, who is concentrating atmospheric energy in the dark clouds above, I make a request through the communication magic network connected to him.

And finally, at the exact moment I catch the timing…

‘—Now!’

At my command, the magical power compressed at my fingertips draws in the atmospheric energy compressed in the sky, which is relayed by Corin’s and my power, taking the form of a kind of shockwave.

Toward this compressed air I’ve fired, the 7th Astolfo swings his spear, now heavy with accumulated energy, with all his might…

—BOOOOOOOM!!!

With an incredibly resounding boom, the 7th Astolfo is launched into the distance as if shot by something, using the repulsive force.

Honestly, seeing that, I wonder if Astolfo will be alright after taking such a hit, but…

‘Well, he should be fine.’

Hearing the communication magic cut off just before it disconnected due to the extreme distance, I put aside my concerns and turned toward the castle where the Marquis would be, focusing on my objective (making an example).

The time for revenge has come.