The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 80

9th Class Sword Master: The Seeker of the Sword – Episode 80 (80/497)

67. Meeting at the Nadir Rock

Nadir Rock.

In the past, during the Magic Era, this place was called Cheongdo. It was the only lush forest in the water-scarce southern region.

“Wow……”

Mikhail let out a soft exclamation as he gazed at the continuous greenery in the desolate desert.

In the South, where magic was practically nonexistent, it was an anomaly, as if magic existed only in that specific location.

Especially,

Looking down from atop the Serpent’s head, its uniqueness was even more pronounced.

Caryl stared at the cliff rising at the edge of the exotic greenery with a sense of renewed emotion.

“That is the territory of the Five Great Families, but also the land of the Digon Clan.”

“That’s right. The Chang Family, the head of the Five Great Families, reveres Digon. It is said that the mission to protect Nadir Rock is also Digon’s command.”

Kinu Mukari pointed to the area outside the jungle and said,

“If you go further west from Nadir Rock, you will find the Chang Family’s base.”

“Hmm.”

Caryl nodded slowly.

Then, he sprinkled an unknown powder on a tree branch. The white powder smoked and burned as soon as it made contact.

But strangely, the tree branch remained unchanged.

“What have you been doing since earlier?”

Mikhail looked at Caryl, curious.

Since entering the vicinity of Nadir Rock, Caryl had been sprinkling the powder on rocks and branches from time to time.

“This? It’s dried corpse spider powder. Once it smokes like this, nothing remains. It’s colorless and odorless.”

“Hmm……”

At Caryl’s words, Mikhail tilted his head.

“It’s a kind of marker. The Imperials wouldn’t know, but we have a special way of recognizing it.”

“I see.”

Bekan seemed to understand Caryl’s explanation, but questions still remained.

‘Why leave a mark? Who would see this?’

But he didn’t get an answer to his question.

Because Caryl dusted off the powder and spoke to Bekan.

“First, we will go straight to Nadir Rock without going to the Chang Family. Securing the Spring of Secrets first and then meeting the Chang Family is the way we can gain an advantage.”

“It won’t be easy. For Caryl to unite the Five Great Families would be like rebelling against Digon for them.”

“They are not outwardly subordinates of Digon, are they?”

“That’s true, but……”

“It doesn’t matter. Besides, after Nadir Rock is captured, the Digons will come looking for me.”

“……”

Bekan and Kinu could not understand Caryl’s plan at all and just looked at each other.

* * *

“Hoo.”

Caryl wiped the blood-stained blade of Ice Claw with a cloth and let out a low breath.

“Krrk……. Krrrk!!”

Listening to the troll’s screams, Caryl stretched as if he was stiff.

‘He’s definitely from a hunter background, so he knows how to deal with monsters well. Thanks to him, the speed of ascent is also fast.’

The first monster they encountered at the entrance of Nadir Rock was a troll.

With bodies superior to orcs, these humanoids had abnormally long limbs and long fangs protruding from their snouts.

It was a difficult monster, but with Bekan and Kinu at the forefront and Aidan and Mikhail supporting them, hunting was easy.

‘There are only four of them, but they are all at least knight-level. Bekan and Kinu don’t have magic, but they have combat power comparable to Aidan.’

Magic is powerful, but it is not absolute.

Caryl had proven that in his past life.

[That big guy aside, Kinu is also not an easy opponent. Did he receive the blessing of the wind spirit? Every arrow he shoots hits the mark.]

‘Didn’t you say that blessing is extremely rare? It seems like you’re overusing it.’

[That just means the guys around you are monsters. Aren’t you a cheat yourself, with the memories of regression?]

Caryl laughed softly at his words.

“Krrk!!”

The last remaining troll rushed towards Caryl. Even after seeing the corpses of its companions, the dim-witted creature didn’t seem to realize the difference in power.

“Krarararak……!!”

Throwing the cloth he had used to wipe off the blood, Caryl clicked his tongue and moved his sword.

With a fluid and beautiful trajectory, the sword mercilessly split the troll’s body from the crown of its head.

Kwaang—!!

The blade of Ice Claw pierced through the troll and exploded violently as it hit the floor.

It was a monster with excellent regenerative abilities, but it couldn’t possibly recover after its limbs were cut in half.

[……Can’t you handle it a little more carefully? Do you know how much effort it took to make that one sword? It was completed after decades of being stuck in a workshop with dwarves and elves.]

‘Weapons are just tools to kill enemies. I’m using this better than anyone else. Besides, you wouldn’t have made it so poorly that the blade would be damaged to this extent, would you?’

[Keueung……. You’re good with words.]

Aln Zabisus clicked his tongue as he watched Caryl pull Ice Claw out of the floor without hesitation.

That’s because, at his feet, the corpses of trolls and orcs were piled up like a mountain, to put it mildly.

[Krrrreureureuk……!!!]

At that moment,

The Sand Serpent, which had been flying in the sky, brushed past Caryl and grabbed another troll behind him in its mouth and flew higher.

Wooddeuk-!!

With the sound of bones crunching, occasional drops of blood fell to the floor.

[How many is that? It looks like only that guy will be eating.]

‘That’s good.’

Trolls were strong monsters to humans, but they were just mere prey to the Sand Serpent.

“Amazing……”

Kinu Mukari looked at Caryl and said quietly. He had heard that he had tamed the master of the hills, but it was the first time he had seen him fight directly.

“Bekan, I understand why you pledged allegiance to Caryl. No warrior in the South can fight like that.”

“……”

At Kinu’s words, Bekan nodded and silently tended to his axe.

“Why are there so many monsters in Nadir Rock, where there is supposed to be the power of spirits?”

“The legend of Nadir Rock is just a legend. Honestly, it’s not easy to see a spiritist even in the Empire, so there’s no way there would be a spirit here without magic……”

Mikhail said casually, catching his breath.

Because of his large size and tanned skin, he looked older, but Mikhail, Kinu Mukari, and Bekan were all surprisingly the same age.

Mikhail, who was initially awkward about speaking informally due to their appearance, felt comfortable talking to him after a battle.

“No. It’s different.”

Bekan, who had been silent, said.

“The legend of Nadir Rock may be just a legend as you say, but at least the presence or absence of monsters is important in that this place is directly managed by the Chang Family, the head of the Five Great Families.”

“That’s right. Tulu Chang, the head of the Chang Family, is known to be a thorough person. There’s no way such a person would leave Nadir Rock unattended like this……”

Mikhail, who was unfamiliar with Tulu Chang, didn’t think much of it, but Bekan and Kinu Mukari couldn’t hide their uneasy feelings.

“We’ll know when we get to the top. We can look down on the Chang Family from above Nadir Rock.”

“I understand.”

“Euhm……”

“But why are we climbing without riding the Serpent? Wouldn’t it be better to go to the top at once?”

Aidan wiped the blood from his dagger on the troll’s corpse, straightened his back, and said.

“One reason is to avoid the eyes of the Chang Family, but the most important thing is that he doesn’t want to go up there. I’ve tried holding the reins a few times, but he won’t go any further.”

“Huh? That’s strange.”

Aidan couldn’t understand Caryl’s words. The Sand Serpent, a higher species, is reluctant to climb Nadir Rock when there are trolls?.

“There might be something at the top.”

“Hmm……”

“Is there really a Spirit King or something?”

“Hey, don’t joke around.”

Aidan shook his hand and laughed at Caryl’s words.

* * *

The summit, which had felt so far away, was now visible.

The lush green forest of Nadir Rock had changed its scenery, and an eerie aura lingered.

“Euhm……”

Even though they had climbed this deep, the fact that no one from the Chang Family had appeared made Bekan and Kinu, who were from the South, unable to lower their guard.

“At this point, it’ll be easy to climb, right?”

Unlike the two, Mikhail lightly spoke as he checked the tomb-like altar in the distance.

“Yeah. Compared to subjugating the Demon Nest where the Two-Headed Eagle was, this is a piece of cake.”

“Right?”

When they heard the name of Nadir Rock, which the Southerners considered sacred, the two had imagined a much harsher situation.

But the monsters that appeared were only a few trolls and goblins.

“Hmm?”

At that moment.

Bekan, who was walking in the lead, found weapons scattered on the floor.

“There are corpses here.”

“It’s difficult to confirm properly because they are damaged……. Judging from the patterns engraved on the weapons, they seem to be people from the Chang Family.”

As soon as they came out of the bushes, a foul smell that stung the nose wafted through the air.

“Oop……”

As soon as he saw the black, charcoal-like corpses, Mikhail involuntarily gagged.

“What? Corpses?”

While they had been on guard against the Chang Family as they climbed towards the summit, they never imagined that they would be greeted by corpses instead of living people.

“Did they get attacked by monsters…….”

“Why did those who protect Nadir Rock die here?”

“No. It’s not the work of monsters.”

Aidan, who quickly checked the corpses, answered Mikhail’s question.

“The trolls and orcs we met are monsters that use weapons, but the weapons they use are crude. There’s no way they could be cut so cleanly like this.”

“……You can see that?”

“Yeah.”

Mikhail was reminded of Aidan’s true identity as he watched him nonchalantly touching the corpses that were charred black and difficult to distinguish.

“They killed them with weapons and then burned the corpses. And if you look closely, the armor is different. It’s strange. Mixed in with the corpses, there’s Imperial knight armor.”

“Imperial knight?”

“Yes. You can’t tell the color because it’s scorched, but the shape is that of a knight. Besides, the fact that they left the weapons means that money isn’t the purpose……. Was there a conflict?”

“Well. That’s the most likely possibility, but considering the solidarity of the Five Great Families, I can’t imagine them raising their claws against the Chang Family.”

Bekan shook his head and answered Aidan’s words.

“Besides, there’s no way an Imperial knight would be here. You didn’t see it wrong, did you?”

“I’m sure.”

There were always small and large conflicts between the tribes in the South, but Nadir Rock had never been defiled in this way.

The Ymae, Enra, Tashai, and Bui tribes, excluding the Chang Family, also revered Nadir Rock.

“If it were a conflict between tribes, they would never fight here. This is the work of Imperials.”

“Hmm……”

Caryl passed Aidan and examined the corpses.

At that moment,

His eyes flickered slightly.

‘The shape of this armor is…….’

“Do you know something?”

Aidan noticed his change and quickly asked.

“Well. I’ll have to check it out first.”

He said that, but Caryl recalled a scene in his forgotten memories.

“Could the Empire be doing something here? They’re already conquering the North……”

At Aidan’s words, people fell silent.

The unexpected corpses.

For some reason, the dead in front of them felt like they were warning of what would happen at Nadir Rock from now on.

“Stop.”

It was then.

Caryl chanted lowly and raised his hand.

Tang-!! Tatatang–!!

At that moment, dozens of spear blades soared from the bushes, aiming at Caryl’s group.

“……!!!”

The group hurriedly raised their weapons at the blades gleaming in the sunlight.

“How……”

Could it be that it was such perfect concealment that even the assassin Aidan couldn’t sense it?

But there were dozens of them, not just one or two.

He muttered in a low voice, as if he couldn’t believe it, looking at the spears in front of him.

“It’s not your fault, Aidan. It’s natural that you didn’t notice.”

“Yes?”

“There’s no shaking in the spear blades. No one is holding them. It must be a trap set up from the beginning. It’s probably to stop intruders, but……”

Caryl looked into the bushes and said,

“It seems like you’ve set the wrong target for the spear blades. Take a good look at who these two are.”

But there was no answer.

Bekan and Kinu Mukari looked at Caryl with tense faces.

“Well, fine. We were curious anyway. It’s better to ask directly. Because it seems like an explanation is needed.”

Could it be that he noticed the presence that even Aidan couldn’t find? Caryl stared at one place.

“What happened here?”

At that moment.

Caryl, who shot out like a bullet, put his hand inside the bushes.

“Eueuk?!”

A high-pitched groan erupted.

As Caryl pulled his arm with all his might, a masked figure popped out from between the bushes.

“Tell me.”

As Caryl pressed down on the masked man’s neck, he struggled to escape from Caryl’s grasp.

However, he couldn’t release the hand holding his neck. He glared at Caryl with pain-filled eyes.

“L, let go!!”

“Oh my, get your bearings straight. You’re the one who pointed a spear at me.”

Caryl looked at the masked man’s cry as if he was dumbfounded. He put more strength into the hand holding his neck, but somehow he didn’t sense any murderous intent.

“Why are you here when you should be in the village?”

Hwaak-!!

He mercilessly took off the mask.

“……!!”

As the covered face appeared, Bekan and Kinu Mukari’s eyes widened. But Caryl said in a low voice, as if he already knew the owner of the mask.

“The daughter of the Chang Family, Kaila Chang.”