The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 460

274. The Battle of Pharell (4)

Thump-

Aidan placed the heart he held in his palm into a small bottle. Only the shattered shell remained, rustling away in the wind. Even a bug that had once covered the continent in terror was no different from a dead fly once it died.

[What are you planning to do now?]

“What else?”

He looked at the bloodstains on his two swords.

Zzzt……!

As electricity grazed the blades, smoke rose and the blood evaporated. Surprisingly, what he had cut down wasn’t just Rice’s main body.

Having crossed the strait, he had flown through the dust created by the gnomes, cutting down the bugs within. Thus, his blades were stained with the blood of countless insects.

However, he showed no emotion about his achievement, planting his swords into the ground as he spoke.

“I need to check out the gods’ faces first. I need to see where I should shove this sword to cause them the most pain, don’t I?”

[I like that.]

Kungen enveloped Aidan’s body.

“The gods may have created the world, but they are not our masters. We decide our future.”

Kwaang-!!!

With a sharp explosion, the surroundings were blasted as if a bomb had gone off, filled with black smoke and a deep crater. Just moments ago, he had been standing there, but now he was gone without a trace. Only scorched black ash marked the ground in the direction he had run.

* * *

“You…….”

“How…….”

It wasn’t that he couldn’t come here, but the gods couldn’t hide their surprise at the old man’s appearance. His hardened face showed anger, and he looked as if he would explode if anyone so much as touched him.

“Good. Another candidate has joined the ranks.”

“……I do not participate in the ridiculous games of humans.”

The old man said to Carryl.

“So, you’re a spectator? Well, that’s not bad either. The more the merrier, after all.”

Ppatdeuk-

The old man gritted his teeth at Carryl’s words.

The reason why he, who was always calm and collected, was so angry could only be one thing.

“Could it be…….”

“You stopped the disaster?”

“Just a bug. Nothing surprising enough to call it a disaster. You don’t run away in fear at the sight of a summer fly, do you? Don’t you think?”

“Keuheuk.”

The woman with the snake-like lips burst into laughter at Carryl’s words.

“What…… are you babbling about?”

“Calm down. Don’t you know that using your power outside of your domain is against the rules?”

“Shut up!! How dare you humans wag your tongues at gods! Do you think that’s acceptable!!”

Kwaaaaaang—!!!!

It was then.

A massive, opaque magic shield resembling the shape of Tower Shield [a type of large, defensive shield] descended from the sky and slammed into the ground.

Crack……! Crack!

Kwaang—!!!

At the same time, from beneath the ground cracked by the impact, huge stone walls erupted around the magic shield.

“Maktun……!!”

The old man smashed the stone wall blocking him with all his might. Sharp shockwaves burst out, but the magic shield behind the stone wall pushed back the old man’s fist with a ringing sound.

However, the man behind the shield was also pushed back a few steps as if he had been bounced back by the impact.

“Are you alright?”

“Perfect timing. You seem to have mastered Automata [a type of magical construct]. Good job, Su-an.”

Carryl looked at the one who had blocked the old man’s attack.

“Wearing it on the body is fine, but manifesting Automata through the gauntlets is still lacking. But it’s enough to block them. Are those the gods you were talking about, Master?”

Su-an, whose wrist was tingling from the old man’s attack, twisted his wrist and said.

“Yes. It’s a god’s strike. Just blocking that is a great achievement, so you can hold your head high. You’ve proven yourself enough.”

“Haha. It was worth getting beaten to a pulp by Gordon Fabian.”

Su-an gave a bitter smile, feeling as if something that had always been a homework assignment had been completed.

“Aidan stopped the disaster.”

Carryl said calmly.

“I thought he would be able to do it.”

And Su-an, as much as Carryl, answered as if it were a matter of course.

“You bastard……!!!”

The old man glared at Su-an Hazar, who had blocked his attack, and roared.

“How dare you interfere with the work of the gods! Do you have a death wish!!”

“And you come begging. With your disaster averted, you’re no different from those two. If you’re going to give up your seat, get lost. If not, beg me like them.”

“……What?”

“Especially you, go to the very end, kneel down, and slam your head on the floor. Then I might consider it.”

“You crazy bastard.”

Buaaaaaaaang—!!!!!

From inside the old man’s sleeve, bugs resembling Rice poured out.

“I came expecting something, but is this place also full of bugs?”

“…….”

However, just before the bugs could pour out of his sleeve, the old man looked down at the sharp, electric sword blade aimed at his neck.

“First Maktun, then Kungen. Some useless things are getting on my nerves. Do you think you can cut me with that? The ignorance of humans…….”

“Even if I can’t cut you, I can create an opening. The moment you release those bugs, you’ll be permanently deprived of the chance for the god’s seat. Isn’t that right? Who was it that showed their hand first because they were scared?”

Aidan said, catching his breath and readjusting the Lightning Strike. Having crossed the strait in an instant, his body still crackled with hot electricity.

[It’s been a while. If you want to fight, feel free. I will do my best to stop you.]

Kuuuuuung—!!!

A huge shadow loomed around Pharell.

The Bone Dragon opened its large mouth and spoke to the old man. The gods’ faces darkened slightly at the appearance of the Golden Dragon Toska.

“You’re just one of my creations. How dare you try to stop a god?”

[I may be no different from a human in your eyes, but as Aidan said, I can buy time. If you use your divine power here, it would violate the rules you speak of. I think they would find you more troublesome than us.]

At Toska’s words, the old man looked at the other gods standing behind him.

Ppatdeuk-

In the end, the old man glared at Carryl and nervously gritted his teeth. But as if acknowledging his warning, the old man’s swarm of bugs disappeared back into his sleeve.

“Now, only Yula is left.”

Carryl chuckled at the sight and said.

“You guys must have been looking down on us from above. If so, Yula must be watching this scene as well.”

“That’s right.”

The woman with the snake-like lips answered first.

“If you’re watching, come down, Yula. If you’re so thirsty for this fight that you searched for me in the Spirit Realm, there’s no need to stand on ceremony, right? Don’t you think?”

However, despite Carryl’s words, the dimensional gate did not open any further.

“I see. It’s not the time yet.”

Looking at the silent sky, Carryl gave a cynical smile and steeled himself.

‘There’s no need to rush.’

Haven’t I endured and persevered through countless eons to finally reach this point?

‘I’ll drag every last one of you arrogant bastards who look down on us from above down to the ground.’

Carryl’s eyes gleamed.

“Good. At this point, let me tell you about the terms of the deal I can offer you. You must be dying to know.”

He slowly scanned the surroundings.

“Who is the god of the fourth disaster?”

At Carryl’s question, one person appeared among the group of gods. He was a very small man. Moreover, his eyes were so large that they seemed to take up 1/3 of his face, making him look completely different from a human.

“I told you, I’m not afraid of summer flies. But since I’m giving you a fair chance, I have to give you the opportunity to challenge the disaster as well.”

The man’s shoulders twitched at Carryl’s words.

That was because the fourth disaster was a giant fly-shaped monster called Uatchit.

‘Honestly, I’m not too worried about the fourth disaster. The problem is the next one……. the fifth disaster, Hathor.’

The fifth disaster, which started with livestock, quickly engulfed humans, causing corruption like a contagious disease. It was a type of germ, not a specific monster or magic.

‘To develop a cure for Hathor, we need a sample. But getting that is not easy. To get that sample, we have to give almost an entire city to it.’

The sight of people screaming and dying inside the city where the epidemic was rampant was still vivid. Some said it was fortunate because the number of soldiers who died fighting the previous disasters was smaller.

‘If you die fighting, at least you have honor.’

Carryl could not forget the memory of having to push people into the city where the epidemic was raging.

That is why he wanted to make a deal with the gods at the end of the third disaster.

Even if the fourth disaster were to occur, he was confident that he could stop Uatchit as he had done with the previous disasters.

“Are you going to cause a disaster?”

Carryl asked, hiding his emotions.

“…….”

As expected, the man could not answer easily.

“If we stop your disaster, you will become the same as the gods who have been deprived of their opportunities. You’ll end up like that guy.”

Carryl pointed to the old man, the master of Rice, who was frowning in the corner.

“But you’re lucky. Unlike those three, you are the master of this disaster, so you have the first chance to make a deal with me.”

“What?”

“Wait a minute!! You said the opportunity would be given fairly!!”

The other gods behind him became agitated at Carryl’s words. Having seen the old man’s defeat, they too became desperate. But as if expecting that reaction, a strange smile appeared on Carryl’s lips.

“Of course. I’ll give you a fair chance.”

“……If I don’t cause a disaster, how can I get the god’s seat?”

“It’s simple.”

Carryl turned the finger he had been pointing at the old man and wiggled it.

“Kill that bastard.”

“Wh, what…….”

“You, you son of a bitch!! How dare you!!! A mere human mocking a god!!!”

“And you.”

Carryl moved the finger he had been pointing at him to the man who resembled a fly.

“If you kill him, I’ll give you another chance to challenge the god’s seat. Aidan.”

“Yes.”

At Carryl’s call, Aidan took out a small bottle from his chest as if he had been waiting for it. The old man’s face hardened at the sight of the glass bottle containing Rice’s heart.

“The human will declare defeat to the one who survives. Then that person will sit on the god’s seat that they so desire.”

“Wa, wait a minute!! What kind of fair opportunity is this!! I haven’t even caused a disaster yet!!”

‘I’ve been tricked.’

The god of the fourth disaster, who resembled a fly, cried out desperately. But even if he had known that, it was too late to turn back now.

“And you two.”

Carryl said to the burly man and the woman with the snake-like lips, who had been deprived of their opportunities first.

“If you kill the gods of the fifth and sixth disasters, I will give you a chance as well.”

Unlike the man who could not hide his embarrassment, the quick-witted woman with the snake-like lips seemed to be looking for her opponent among the other gods.

“The mud fight starts now. Do you understand what I mean?”

Thud- Thud- Thud-

Carryl walked towards the god with the fly-like face.

“If it’s a war to decide your positions, then fight with your lives on the line.”

Squeeze-!!

He grabbed the god’s cheek tightly with his hand and warned with a growl.

“Never play with humans again.”