Ch.72Myriad Sword Emperor

On the dry wasteland, bodies were occasionally discovered. The tattered clothes they wore, thin as they were, helped to infer the shape of what they had worn in life.

“Looks like they were killed by a sword.”

Flora said as she examined the remains. Part of the ribcage had been cleanly cut away. Judging by the clean cut, it was clearly the work of a skilled swordsman. Most remains found in the wasteland looked like this.

The frequency of finding corpses increased as they headed west. This indicated that many people were heading in that direction. There was even a signpost. It seemed newly made, with the smell of thick ink spreading across the wooden board.

Theo struck the sign. The neatly standing wooden signpost broke easily.

“This is legitimate.”

“It’s written in the language of the reincarnated…”

A new world. Written in various types of letters, but the meaning was the same. Sentences she couldn’t read were likely dimensional memories that the World Child had not yet absorbed. Through the memories absorbed by her sword, the World Child could vaguely read the language of the reincarnated.

They were on the right track. The direction indicated by the signpost matched the direction Max was guiding them. The World Child’s group picked up their pace.

One week. That was the additional time the World Child’s group had spent. The World Child looked up at the rocky mountain before her eyes. It wasn’t an ordinary rocky mountain. The cleanly cut surface revealed traces of a skilled swordsman.

Someone had cut the rocky mountain with a sword, creating a natural wall. And not just one, but three. The cleanly cut rocky mountains formed cliffs, which served as walls surrounding the central construction site. It was an excellent formation for preventing outside intrusion.

“Did a person really do that…?”

“My goodness… what kind of mountain…”

Flora and Theo also gazed at the massive rocky mountain, letting out exclamations of admiration. As swordsmen themselves, they recognized the traces left on the rocky mountain. It was only much later that they discovered the large-scale construction site below.

“Did they say they were building a city…”

It seemed that rumor about building a city was true. Even now, countless people were gathering toward the construction site. The World Child felt sharp gazes directed at her group. Having approached close enough to be visible, others had also spotted the World Child’s group.

There was no need to hide. The World Child acted boldly instead.

“Let’s go.”

“Really…?”

“You’re going there…?”

Theo and Flora made disgusted expressions. It was a place inhabited by a monster capable of carving mountains into walls. It was natural for the two to feel fear.

The World Child turned around and said:

“It would be stranger to turn back now. Someone with that level of skill would have already detected us.”

“That’s… true, but…”

Despite standing and staring at the construction site for a while, there was no reaction. It meant that they weren’t particularly concerned about the World Child’s group.

‘Or they don’t have the capacity to care.’

Her instincts, honed in the wilderness, told her that the skilled person who had cut the rocky mountain into walls was not present at that location. The World Child trusted her instincts.

As the World Child’s group advanced without hesitation, there were people who blocked their way. They all wore loose, robe-like clothes. Attire from another dimension.

“Stop right there.”

There was no particular hostility felt. Just a slight wariness at most. Looking around, she could see others dressed similarly distributed here and there. Perhaps they were serving as guards maintaining the city’s security.

The World Child’s group obediently complied with their command.

“What’s your purpose for visiting?”

After asking the question, they quietly tensed their muscles. The World Child realized that this question itself was a kind of test. A brief memory from a week ago flashed through her mind.

What was written on the signpost that Theo had broken?

The World Child quietly opened her mouth.

“Didn’t they say there’s a new world?”

That seemed to be the correct answer. The World Child could see her counterpart relaxing immediately after her response. The hand that had been resting lightly on the sword came down. There was even a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“So it’s you folks. I’ll guide you to your place.”

Only the man at the front walked inside, looking back. It was a gesture to follow him. The rest of the personnel remained there, continuing to guard the entrance.

The World Child exchanged glances with her companions and followed behind him. The distance was too close. It wasn’t a situation where they could talk and sort things out. The World Child, Theo, and Flora could only exchange glances.

“Y-you folks… Could it be? I thought you seemed extraordinary. So it was you!”

Only the tactless Max blurted out nonsense.

The place they were guided to was a large tent. It was too spacious for the World Child’s group to use, but there were no other people in sight. Seeing that even beds made of layered leather were provided, it seemed this was a temporary residence until the city was completed.

As the group looked around the tent, the man who had guided them here said:

“The Overseer will come to see you as soon as he returns. Please wait until then…”

Until the moment the man left, no one opened their mouth. They just sat down in comfortable spots with nonchalant expressions.

It was after the man disappeared that Theo and Flora urgently approached the World Child.

“World Child! What did he mean by ‘you folks’? What’s going on?”

“Do you know these people? What’s happening?”

The World Child didn’t answer immediately, letting the tension build. The answer she had casually given had been correct. Only the reincarnated could read the signpost. Since she had repeated the exact words from the sign, they had misunderstood her identity.

She put down her heavy luggage and dusted off her clothes, causing a cloud of sand to fall. Before opening her mouth, the World Child struck the back of Max’s head with her sheathed sword. As the light blow produced a crisp impact sound, Max’s form collapsed.

Only then did the girl speak.

“It seems they’re mistaking us for reincarnated ones.”

“What…?”

“Ah, because of your answer earlier…?”

“This works out well. We can gather more information.”

“Well, that’s true, but… isn’t it too dangerous? Pretending to be reincarnated. What if we’re found out…”

“Do you really think we’ll be found out?”

At the World Child’s question, Flora and Theo looked at each other. Thinking about it seriously, it didn’t seem likely they would be discovered. The Blue Wing’s main mission was to observe and eliminate the reincarnated. Given their mission, they were familiar with the reincarnated ones’ personalities and behavior patterns. This meant they could imitate them sufficiently.

Lying about their world of origin wasn’t a problem either. The reincarnated came from various worlds. Even worlds that seemed similar at first glance often differed in their time periods.

The reincarnated rarely interacted with each other. There would have been no exchange of information about the dimensions they had crossed from. That was what the Blue Wing had determined. Even if there was, it wouldn’t be a problem. It wasn’t easy to identify all those numerous dimensions.

The frequency of reincarnated ones appearing was increasing day by day. As their numbers grew, so did the number of dimensions they came from.

“Ah… I’m not very good at acting…”

“I can… if it’s like that…”

Once they understood the situation, Theo and Flora began creating personas to act out. Having been exposed to various information about the reincarnated, from their dimensions of origin to their ages and names, they created detailed settings.

The World Child didn’t think much of it. It was a very easy task. She just needed to pull out one of her many memories and overlay it on her face. Familiar memories led to fewer mistakes. The World Child recalled the memories imprinted through the White Dragon Sword.

As she began to act as her chosen persona, changes immediately occurred. From her standing posture to the length of her breaths. The position of her sword shifted slightly downward. With just those minor changes, the atmosphere around the World Child changed.

After some time had passed, the World Child’s keen senses detected the approach of strangers. Not just one, but ten in number. The faint wind carried the smell of oil mixed with metal.

“I’ll handle this alone.”

Before Theo and Flora could react, the World Child declared as she stood up, and men with swords burst in, tearing through the tent. Their momentum was quite impressive, but that was all.

‘I don’t sense any hostility…’

As she drew her sword, mana swirled out, spreading as if to dominate the space. A cold chill descended.

‘A test, I see…’

The test wasn’t over yet. Were they trying to gauge her skills, or did they have other intentions? We’ll see. The World Child directed an arrogant smile toward the faint gaze she felt from afar.

Inner World Manifestation

A World for the Empress

Martial arts that had crossed dimensions transformed into a new world through the girl’s hands. Space twisted, and a pure white snow field spread out. Simultaneously, the attackers’ movements noticeably slowed. The formless energy that had been swirling around their swords had long since disappeared.

Only one person could move freely in this space.

‘Only I am the center of this world.’

The arrogant gaze of the Empress wrapped in winter was revealed. As the cold winter wind blew in and enveloped the attackers’ bodies, their faces turned pale, and they began to collapse one by one.

The time it took for all ten to fall was just over ten seconds. Even after they collapsed, the imaginary world summoned by the World Child did not disappear and continued to dominate the space.

The cold wind persisted until the moment she sheathed the White Dragon Sword.