Ch.590590. Special Swordsmanship (2)

The crackling red light of the campfire and its warm heat didn’t reach the spot where I had moved. The place I sought out was a small clearing. We simply walked together in silence, just the two of us.

Even though dusk had fallen and twilight had descended, there wasn’t a hint of hesitation or fear in wandering through the forest.

The unusually bright moonlight today was enough to illuminate everything without the need for torchlight. This was the hour when cunning goblins and ferocious kobolds were deep in slumber, and even the beasts that prowled the night were no match for us.

After moving away from the campsite set up for the night, we reached a flat area with sparsely growing trees. Sione, who had been leading the way, stopped.

“Since we’re not going to be shooting arrows, this should be good enough.”

She turned around to face me directly and planted her longsword into the ground.

She even emphasized her relaxed posture by placing both hands on top of the hilt pointing skyward.

“So, what did you mean when you said you wanted to try something with your sword?”

“I’ve been thinking. If the source of the Morning Star is Divine Power… I feel like I could use it more broadly than just imbuing it into arrows.”

Sione gripped the handle tightly.

“Just like how the church’s Divine Power is used not only for healing wounds, but also for holy barriers and the sword energy of holy knights.”

“So you wanted me to join you in trying to infuse the Morning Star into swordsmanship?”

“Exactly. You’re the only one I can clash with without worrying about holding back. Surely after coming all this way—”

Sione pulled her sword from the ground and took her stance.

“You won’t say no, right?”

Her blade gleamed with a dreamy light under the abundant moonlight.

A sword containing a brilliant light. But there was something that caught my attention even more.

Her long silver hair, more radiant than the moonlight, and her clear blue eyes sparkling with anticipation before this new attempt—she was truly the one illuminating this dark place most brightly.

“As if I would.”

I drew my sword as well.

“Come at me with everything you’ve got.”

The power of the Morning Star that arbitrarily bends causality and adjusts things in her favor would be my opponent. Still, I couldn’t tell Sione to go easy when she was provoking me like this.

As we pointed our swords at each other, Sione was the first to take the offensive.

‘Basically.’

She’s reinforcing her body with Mana.

A natural choice. The superhuman strength and skill of knights begin with a body infused with Mana.

But what enveloped her wasn’t just Mana.

‘She’s wrapped Divine Power around her sword.’

I, called the Proxy, could feel it.

The power of the Morning Star contained in Sione’s sword.

‘Sione’s swordsmanship isn’t that exceptional.’

Even though her overall abilities might have improved somewhat since becoming a Master,

Her foundational swordsmanship and combat experience with a sword remain at the level of a knight who has just shed their apprentice status.

At that level, I, who had rolled through life-threatening situations and drawn my sword at the slightest provocation, should be able to fend her off somehow.

‘But that doesn’t mean I can let my guard down.’

What kind of power is that, after all?

I heightened my vigilance and stared intently at her approaching sword.

Kwang—!

A strong impact erupted as our Mana collided, and then our frenzied clash began.

We exchanged five strikes in an instant. We both swung our swords without waiting for the other, and our blades, as if coordinated, headed for the same spot, competing to see which side possessed the deeper strength.

The pressure made my bangs flutter backward, and her blue eyes, excited and staring at me as if she would devour me, reflected my image.

“This is just the beginning.”

Sione’s movements began to change dramatically.

“…!”

Kwang!

I felt it again when our swords met.

Our swords, which should have pushed each other back upon direct collision, had their impact reduced by her swordsmanship corrected by the Morning Star. She had been actively using this to her advantage.

Tuh-up—!

Sione, firmly planted on both legs, with her sword raised, pushed me back in that momentary gap.

“Your stance is broken, Ray.”

Sione wielded a longsword, while I had a shorter blade.

With me being pushed back after having been close to her, Sione had the advantage of distance.

Chaeng—!

Sione’s longsword instantly drew a diagonal line and pressed down on the back of my blade.

‘Sharp!’

Even though I tried to counter her with a middle stance,

Sione pressed the middle part of her sword against the tip of mine. The balance of power was uneven, making my response slow. She actively used the Morning Star to exploit my weakness.

‘I need to raise my sword to block.’

Tzu-zu-zu—!

I raised my sword to a middle stance.

But even so, I couldn’t prevent her sword from penetrating deeper.

Sione, who had been pressing down on the back of my blade, instantly twisted her wrist, using the force I was applying from below to her advantage.

With her blade against mine from a lower position, she instead lifted my sword and pointed her sword tip at me.

‘How vicious.’

In that fleeting moment, her wrist bent so quickly and precisely that it was too strange to be attributed to experienced skill. The resulting attack was cunning and intricate.

It felt as if a malicious snake was coiling around my entire body in this brief moment.

‘I need to shake her off.’

Given the situation, I have no choice.

I tried to swing my sword as strongly and widely as possible to shake her off.

But.

“Hup…!”

Her Divine Power favored her once again.

As Sione was being pushed back by my sword, her blade tilted sideways until it was parallel with mine.

‘No, what…!’

Sione, perfectly controlling her strength, let her sword slide past mine while maintaining that parallel position.

And then she even entangled my sword, pushing her blade in the direction of my force and aiming for my neck.

Her distance calculation and power distribution, as mechanical and unrealistic as if guided by Divine Power, followed by techniques that chilled me to the bone, demanding doubt and countermeasures for my swordsmanship at every moment.

‘It seems.’

It was the same as Ainel’s and Siabel’s.

That unique swordsmanship, as vicious and persistent as a malevolent snake, and even mysterious.

It was the proprietary swordsmanship that the County prided itself on. A swordsmanship that couldn’t even be imitated without extreme understanding of the sword and control over one’s body, one that could only be possessed by those with superior skill who could look down on their opponent’s psychology—this was unfolding in Sione’s hands.

‘I’ve felt the aura of the first Count from Sione before.’

I realized it.

‘If that devilish swordsmanship unique to the County originally started with the Morning Star’s talent.’

The swordsmanship passed down in the County encompasses all the strange and intense sword paths caused by this Morning Star. And if the descendants of Sianella have somehow been imitating these sword paths through the overwhelming talent passed down in their blood.

It’s not strange that even Sione, who is relatively lacking in swordsmanship talent, can easily follow the County’s swordsmanship through the power of the Morning Star.

‘Not content with ancient magic in her arrows, now she wants to use a sword too?’

How much stronger is she trying to get in this short time? I guess this is what it takes to be chosen as the protagonist who will save a world doomed by demons.

In the end, facing Sione who had momentarily incorporated the County’s swordsmanship into her movements,

“Touched.”

With the blade of the longsword approaching my neck, I had no choice but to acknowledge her victory.

“I won?”

During that brief moment just now.

As if she had poured tremendous effort into it, Sione, with beads of sweat on her forehead, smiled as she brought her face close to mine.

Chu.

Then she briefly stole a kiss from my dazed lips.

“Next time, I won’t end with such a trivial kiss.”

Sione, who had sheathed her sword, carefully caressed her lips and once again created distance between us.

“If you don’t want to be pinned down by me on the dirt—”

Sione, whose momentum had risen, said.

“You’d better focus, Ray.”

Indicating that she was not yet satisfied with this sparring match.

* * *

“Holy Maiden, the enemy forces have retreated, so perhaps you should rest for today.”

Despite the voice full of concern, the Holy Maiden, Artena, merely looked down at the battlefield where they had just fought fiercely against the enemy from atop the remains of the partially destroyed castle wall.

The battlefield could only be described as utter chaos. Flesh and bone dust of those who had risen from death, along with those who had been alive until just moments ago, all tumbled together.

“You’ve already used countless blessings. The fact that this front line hasn’t been breached yet is enough to be called a miracle.”

Although soldiers participating in the holy war would have become accustomed to such horrific scenes by now, Artena still felt the same grief and mourning as when she first witnessed them.

“It was all possible thanks to the Holy Maiden’s dedication and sacrifice. So please, take some rest now—”

And finally, Artena’s attention shifted from the battlefield to her.

“Even with my blessings… if it weren’t for those elves back then, this place would have already been breached, allowing the enemy to advance.”

She had been constantly thinking about the elf she had encountered earlier.

The Elder Edelin.

Moreover,

“And if it had been the first Holy Maiden, she would have pushed back the front line instead of barely holding it.”

And the story of the first Holy Maiden that she had left behind.

“Indeed… as the Forest’s Holy Maiden said.”

Artena had long been inclined toward Edelin’s words that kept circling in her mind.

“Perhaps it’s time to borrow the wisdom of the ancient saint.”

Indeed, as she had sarcastically yet somewhat admiringly mentioned, the woman first chosen by the God of Law and War.

She leaned toward directly confirming her story again.