Chapter 83: War (3)

“Incredible….”

Over the past few months of training under him, I’d realized he possessed strength beyond my imagination.

Yet even with the power of that special sword, who could have foreseen him decimating the enemy’s left flank with a single swing?

Who could have anticipated such an extraordinary sight?

When I heard he’d defeated Lobo, I vaguely thought it impressive, but honestly, it didn’t feel real. That magic beast was a legendary creature, and I’d never even fought an ordinary one, so I couldn’t grasp its true strength.

But seeing humans swept away like fallen leaves made his power instantly clear.

‘A genius….’

No, he was something special that transcended common sense, beyond such a simple description.

‘How ridiculous I must have looked, challenging him all this time…!’

Recalling my past words to him, my face flushed hot with embarrassment.

At the same time, I understood his seemingly self-destructive behavior. His words weren’t reckless bravado, but backed by genuine confidence.

‘I’m so glad I didn’t tell Father.’

If I had tattled and caused a duel, our family’s soldiers would’ve been swept away just like these mercenaries.

Realizing this, a cold sweat ran down my spine, making me shudder.

“Woooooah!!!”

“Ugh…!!”

Startled by the sudden, energetic shout from afar, I turned towards its source.

The nobles gathered here had forgotten all dignity, cheering as if this were some arena.

“How shameful….”

While I understood the sentiment, cheering while people died seemed too frivolous.

“But it’s not incomprehensible.”

Lady Nana, guarding Prince Euclid, responded to my muttered words.

She gazed at him solemnly, as if defending the cheering nobles.

“Strength naturally draws people in. Given the current opponent, such exhilarating swordplay warrants a cheer or two.”

“Yeah!! That’s right!!”

Did Prince Euclid want to cheer too? When Lady Nana defended them, he offered a small cheer of his own.

‘Should I… at least say “hang in there”…?’

The thought crossed my mind, but no matter what, I couldn’t utter such careless words while people were being killed.

‘He’s moving….’

Turning from the swept-away left wing, he now faced the still-intact right wing.

Despite just demonstrating such an enormous technique, he showed no signs of fatigue.

With each step forward, formations shattered and heart-wrenching wails filled the air.

Like a great flame devouring moths, all he left in his wake were blood and mangled corpses.

The solid formation crumbled in an instant, and the clustered mercenaries scattered in all directions.

This was just my thought, but I didn’t think they scattered to draw his attention and buy time. Weren’t they simply trying to flee as quickly as possible?

No, that must be it. Even if labeled cowards later, the being before them was so terrifying that instinct drove them to escape as soon as possible.

That instinctive action bought them a little more time, but it couldn’t save them completely.

Their legs simply couldn’t outrun his slashes from that katana.

“That katana keeps bothering me. What is it? It stretches, devours blood and flesh….”

“Likely a demon sword. If it uses Lobo’s materials, such oddities aren’t surprising.”

“A demon sword….”

It was just two words, but merely expressing them sent chills down my spine.

‘That man….’

Brandishing such an ominous object before so many people – does he lack any sense?

While using demon swords wasn’t strictly forbidden, those who kept such dubious items close were generally shunned.

‘He probably doesn’t care about that in the first place. Moreover….’

Given the students’ current reactions, worrying about him being ostracized seemed pointless.

“Wooooaaaah!!”

“To rampage like that without tiring!! He’s not human!!”

“A monster!! A monster!! Could he be the rumored Swordmaster?!”

Seeing this fanatical response, there was no need to worry about Ian being shunned after this.

If anything, he’d likely become even more popular than before the trial. Imagining him surrounded by other students, laughing merrily, irritated me for some reason.

As I clicked my tongue at the rising annoyance, Prince Euclid, observing his battle, spoke.

“Calling him a monster is quite rude….”

“They mean it as praise in their own way. More importantly, that strength… it’s comparable even to the future Sword Saint.”

When Lady Nana mentioned the future Sword Saint, everyone’s gaze naturally turned to the person closest to her.

“……”

Rain didn’t respond to those words, continuing to stare at him as if entranced, just as she had since the battle began.

‘Why is she acting like that?’

She didn’t seem displeased by the comment, but her dazed look was somehow unsettling to watch.

Turning away from her, I shifted my gaze back to the battlefield, watching him rampage like a madman.

Having already decimated most of the right wing’s mercenaries, he now pursued those who had luckily fled far from the right flank.

The mercenaries who had moved quickly without looking back while their comrades were slaughtered began to slow down, likely running out of stamina.

Finally, they collapsed one by one, and that became their end.

Some fell to wind blades, others were cut down directly, disappearing from this world with only a single scream.

With the right wing’s enemies annihilated, our gazes naturally turned to the remaining enemy headquarters.

Perhaps because they hadn’t sent any troops during this battle, the enemy headquarters remained completely unscathed.

‘Why is that?’

Judging by their armament, they seemed to be this domain’s knightly order.

Though not as well-trained as our domain’s knights, who constantly face barbarian invasions, they should at least be stronger than mercenaries.

Shouldn’t they have sent support to target him while the mercenaries acted as shields?

Of course, I didn’t think that would have brought him down, but it was strange they hadn’t moved their forces at all.

‘They must have some scheme….’

Given the stakes, they surely came fully prepared.

But whatever strategy they’d devised, he approached the headquarters without hesitation, as if to smash through it head-on.

As he neared the headquarters, the nobles’ cheers grew louder, and he seemed to respond by increasing his speed even more.

Just as he reached the front of the headquarters, a tremendous vibration shook the ground, reaching even our distant location.

“Wh-what’s happening?!”

Before we could react, a purple light burst from the enemy headquarters, and a massive magic circle appeared right in front of it.

“Is that… a summoning circle?”

Almost simultaneously with Prince Euclid’s exclamation as he stood up, a horrific rat-like magic beast emerged from the magic circle.

Starting with a rabbit-like beast, magic beasts poured endlessly from the circle, throwing the gathered nobles into confusion.

“Your Highness!! We should evacuate this place!! Lady Jessica and Lady Rain too–“

Interrupting Lady Nana’s words, a crimson light, even brighter than the earlier purple glow, filled the entire plain.

As everyone reeled from this sudden phenomenon, an unfamiliar girl’s voice echoed widely.

“Ah, aaaaah…!!!”

‘I wondered what trick they were up to, but it was summoning?’

I’d felt something was off when the headquarters didn’t move at all, but I didn’t expect this little ploy.

They were using the mercenaries as shields to buy time for this magic they just activated.

When a guy in fancier armor than the other knights first jumped out and unfurled a scroll, I thought a high-tier spell might come.

Even if it had, I would’ve cut it down with Baldo, but at least it would’ve been far more threatening than this low-grade magic beast summoning spell.

“How do you like it!! The power of this secret treasure left by Lord Pierre!! Be crushed under the endless horde of magic beasts pouring forth!!”

As the man holding the scroll spouted nonsense, I felt a change.

‘It’s hot….’

The hilt of Wolffang in my hand began to heat up like it had been thrust into a fire.

Sensing this as a sign of some transformation, I drew Wolffang from its scabbard at my waist.

As I slowly pulled Wolffang from its sheath, an intense light that threatened to blind burst forth from the blade that had been hidden in the scabbard.

While everyone else was stunned by the overwhelming light, I was bewildered for a different reason.

‘Various emotions are flowing in….’

Rage, sorrow, hatred… countless emotions I couldn’t even name were being transmitted to me through Wolffang.

-Rattle rattle!!

As Wolffang’s blade began to tremble as if writhing, a girl’s voice, unlike the usual beast-like sound, began to echo.

“Ah, aaaaah…!!!”