The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 214

KWA-AAAAAAAANG—!

The phantom swordsmanship that had risen behind Rain tore apart the surrounding demons.

Knights of Rain and the allied forces’ executives formed a battle line centered around the Sword Masters Association, facing the demons.

As if making a last stand, they positioned the Demon King’s castle behind them, confronting the demons for the sake of the Hero.

“You goddamn bastards! Just die already!”

Sword energy erupted from Rain’s sword.

Each time he swung his sword, a demon’s head exploded.

Rain swung his sword relentlessly throughout the battle.

He was a powerhouse among Sword Masters, belonging to the executives of the Sword Masters Association.

He could kill most demons with a single strike.

“Damn it. I’m really gonna die!”

However, war wasn’t a one-on-one fight.

Even as Rain cut down dozens, hundreds of demons, they were being replenished with even more.

Rain felt his breath growing ragged and bit his lip.

Swinging his sword until he was out of breath was an experience he hadn’t had since becoming a Sword Master.

‘The term ‘immortal’ isn’t wrong.’

Individually, they might die, but if the entire demon race was seen as a single entity, they were unkillable.

The allied forces’ executives quickly grasped this fact, which was why they had no choice but to send the Hero into the Demon King’s castle.

“Ah, aaaaaaack!”

“Kier!”

Kier, the adjutant who had been guarding Rain’s side, collapsed, bleeding.

No matter how skilled a knight was, they were in danger if directly attacked by a demon.

Especially in an environment as filled with demonic energy as this.

Not only would their bodies be harmed, but their souls would also be devoured, leading to death.

‘Thanks to the Saintess’s blessing, he’s still alive, but….’

The blessing of Saintess Cecilia covered the entire battlefield.

The priests of the Gaia Order, praying together, were pouring divine power across the entire battlefield.

If they hadn’t been there, the allied forces would have been pushed back by the demons long ago.

‘At least things seem to be improving over there.’

Rain looked at the allied forces’ front line.

The mages’ interception magic circles were activated, and the various races perfectly filled the gaps left by the Knights of Rain.

At that rate, they could hold out for a while.

“Hold on a little longer! Reinforcements will be here soon!”

Rain encouraged the knights while swallowing a bitter taste.

The demons were gradually decreasing.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a positive sign.

The demons who had left their positions were going to face the allied forces.

The Knights of Rain, who had broken through the demons’ ranks in a concentrated attack, had played a part in the allied forces holding out.

Since they were drawing aggro [aggression] in front of the Demon King’s castle, the demons had no choice but to turn their attention to them.

However, now the demons had realized it.

They were rats in a trap, fish already caught.

That was why the demons were moving to hunt the fish they hadn’t caught yet.

‘I’m up to my neck in it, so I’m worrying about unnecessary things.’

Of course, Rain wasn’t in a position to worry about them.

The real problem was here.

“Rain. Can you hold out?”

KWA-GAANG—!

The Sword Dragon, who had cut down an approaching demon, spoke.

The Sword Dragon’s Vitality Palace [a technique or ability that restores stamina] was also replenishing the knights’ stamina.

“…I’ll have to hold out until I can’t anymore.”

Rain felt like he was about to collapse at any moment. The knights around him were the same.

They were on the verge of collapsing, but they were holding on.

Most of them were executives of the allied forces.

Those who were close to Sword Master level. They were burning with willpower.

“Tch. And I haven’t even attained enlightenment on the Martial way yet.”

Before he knew it, the Lord of the Righteous Heaven Alliance had also approached, smashing a demon’s head and trampling its limbs.

“I never expected to survive this anyway.”

He had heard that they would be rescued after the allied forces’ front line stabilized, but he didn’t expect it.

The positions that the Knights of Rain and the Sword Masters Association held in the allied forces were too significant.

With those positions vacant and the executives taken away, there was no way the allied forces could move.

“It can’t be helped. You knew the risks when you set out, didn’t you?”

“Tch. Yeah. I know. And is there any need to whine? Our opponents are demons anyway, and the Hero, who’s half our age, is fighting the Demon King.”

Rain shook his head and spat on the ground.

Seeing the spit mixed with red blood made him feel even worse.

“…That’s true.”

The Sword Dragon looked at the screen showing the Demon King’s castle.

Even the demons who had received the Demon King’s demonic energy were this strong, so how strong was the Demon King’s true form?

He couldn’t even imagine it.

Rael was facing such a monster alone.

“Well, let’s fight. Until our arms fall off in an unsightly manner.”

The Saintess’s blessing gave the Sword Dragon a little bit of strength.

Even though they were mayflies who didn’t know when they would die, he intended to kill even one more demon.

“Even if I die… I’ll let them know that the Mount Hua Sword is the strongest.”

“Alliance Lord, you should drop that concept already.”

“What nonsense are you spouting, Rain?”

“This idiot has already deceived himself. Give up.”

The Sword Dragon chuckled and raised his sword.

The knights around him were the same.

They could feel the end.

Everywhere they turned, they were surrounded by demons.

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands.

Perhaps even more.

They had to cut down even one more demon instead of counting heads.

‘I wonder if my name will be left in the history books.’

Rain gave a bitter smile.

He swung his sword relentlessly, but even with the efforts of him and the Sword Masters Association’s executives, they couldn’t maintain the front line.

The battlefield had already become a scene of carnage. Only Rain, the Sword Dragon, and the Lord of the Righteous Heaven Alliance were desperately holding it back.

“…Haa. I should have held out a little longer.”

Most of the knights were no longer in a state to fight.

They were barely standing, and the Sword Masters were the same.

The Sword Dragon’s Vitality Palace had already lost its power. The Lord of the Righteous Heaven Alliance was also resorting to mindless punches instead of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

The phantom swordsmanship behind Rain would soon disappear as well.

‘I’m sorry. Rael. I’m sorry, Grand Duke.’

There were times when knights had to risk their lives.

So he had no regrets about dying.

However, if this death didn’t help Rael, it would be quite sad.

Unfortunately, Rain wouldn’t be able to see the results.

Swish—

The phantom swordsmanship behind Rain disappeared.

At the same time, seeing the demons rushing at him, Rain gripped his sword tightly.

Even without a domain, he intended to fight until his dying breath.

At that moment.

PA-AAAAAAAANG—!

A massive torrent of power crashed into the demons.

Seeing the demons being swept away as if caught in a tsunami, Rain’s eyes widened.

“…What is this?”

It was a power that Rain had felt before.

Turning his head, he saw a man walking through the devastated demons.

“Sword Saint… ?”

Rain stared at the approaching man.

The aura he had seen a few times thanks to Rael.

The Continent’s Greatest Swordsman, the Sword Saint.

He was holding a sword.

The man who hadn’t held a sword even once since the end of the Great War was holding a sword.

“This place will be safe. Rain. Go back.”

“S-Sword Saint. How… ?”

Rain hadn’t fully grasped the situation yet.

Demons.

Why weren’t the demons attacking?

Looking around, he could see the reason.

The demons seemed to instinctively feel fear towards the Sword Saint’s sword and were cowering.

A single human had changed the tide of the war.

The Continent’s Greatest Swordsman was writing history once again.

“Is it over there?”

The Sword Saint didn’t pay attention to them.

He had to stop this exploding power.

The center of the Demon King’s castle.

He could feel a massive clash of energy.

The Sword Saint raised his sword.

The essence of the Sword Saint’s sword that he had built up over his entire life, the energy of the heavens, gathered on the sword.

The Sword Saint’s final Sword Saint’s sword, unleashed by the greatest swordsman of the human race, even contained his life force.

“Sword Saint’s Sword Third Form, Heaven’s Answer.”

The sword energy that shot out from the Sword Saint’s sword soared into the sky and rushed towards the Demon King’s castle.

Immediately after, the Sword Saint opened his eyes at the place where Heaven’s Answer’s sword energy had reached.

“…Sword Saint?”

Rain blinked as he watched the Sword Saint disappear.

*

KWA-AAAAANG—!

“…Tch.”

Rael clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes.

Maledrak’s fist was pushed back by the Flash and returned to the center of the demonic energy.

Rael had won the collision, but his expression wasn’t good.

Clearly, Rael’s Sword of Heavenly Calamity had been overwhelmingly superior in the first collision.

However, the demonic energy was getting stronger each time the attacks met.

‘It’s still absorbing demonic energy.’

That monster was getting stronger even at this moment.

The fear of the entire continent was gathering on him, and the demonic energy of the Demon King’s castle was enveloping him.

Besides, there was an even bigger problem.

That was that all of Rael’s movements were being read.

Flash!

Rael’s body lunged forward, thrusting the Flash forward.

The demonic energy of the Demon King’s castle didn’t hinder Rael.

However, the Flash, which had penetrated with tremendous speed, was easily deflected by Maledrak’s attack.

This situation had been repeated several times already.

Maledrak was blocking all of Rael’s attacks as if he were predicting the future.

“The resistance still doesn’t end.”

At the same time as Maledrak’s words, his massive body disappeared into the demonic energy.

Rael’s senses and Rotation could detect Maledrak even within the demonic energy.

But knowing his location was useless.

Maledrak’s fist covered Rael faster than Rael’s Flash.

Instinctively, Rael, holding the Flash, barely blocked his fist.

At a fairly close distance, Rael and Maledrak’s eyes met.

Only then did Rael notice something strange.

“Damn it. I get it now….”

Rael stepped back, adjusted his stance, and raised his sword.

“Get it?”

“Those eyeballs. They weren’t just decorations? Damn, I thought they just shot lasers sometimes.”

Hundreds of eyeballs attached to Maledrak’s body.

Each of them had a field of vision.

Moreover, those eyes were connected to the demonic energy that filled the Demon King’s castle.

Not only did Maledrak have no blind spots, but he could see everything.

As long as Rael was in contact with the demonic energy, all of his movements would inevitably be read by him.

“You have eyes that the human race can’t have. But, what can you do about it even if you know that?”

TA-AAAANG—!

Maledrak rushed at Rael once again.

Nothing changed just because he knew.

It would be better to die without knowing anything.

Rather, it would only prolong the time of suffering.

“Sword of Heavenly Calamity.”

As soon as Maledrak disappeared, flames erupted from Rael’s sword. It was the Sword of Heavenly Calamity.

Maledrak didn’t stop even after seeing the Sword of Heavenly Calamity.

That sword was certainly threatening, but hundreds of eyes were watching Rael. He had completely grasped Rael’s speed and movements.

WHOO-AA-ACK-

At that moment, the flames of the Sword of Heavenly Calamity began to grow strangely large.

The light of the Sword of Heavenly Calamity burned the demonic energy and brightly illuminated Rael’s surroundings.

‘What is that?’

Maledrak swallowed his surprise for the first time.

He was curious as to where that enormous power came from.

‘A little stronger. With a single blow.’

Rael’s magic power rotated throughout his body.

He focused all his nerves on controlling his magic power.

The Sword of Heavenly Calamity alone wasn’t enough to reach Maledrak.

It wasn’t just about raising divine power.

He burned the divine power in his entire body as fuel for the flames.

“…!”

Maledrak’s eyes widened at the power of the Sword of Heavenly Calamity.

That sword was so powerful that it could even annihilate Maledrak, who had obtained divine authority.

Not only that.

That sword was definitely aiming for Maledrak.

It was different from how it hadn’t been able to chase Maledrak until now.

“It only takes one time.”

Rael gave a faint smile.

He knew Maledrak’s location.

It was just that he hadn’t been able to react with the Sword of Heavenly Calamity.

Then he had to be even faster.

Sword Saint’s Sword Fourth Form, Shattering Heaven.

The sword that pierces a thousand stars in an instant was imbued in the Flash.

Even if the Sword of Heavenly Calamity and the Sword Saint’s Sword had the same origin, they were different swords.

Originally, the two couldn’t be mixed.

However, it was possible if Rael’s talent and body were combined.

Just once.

He forcibly poured divine power into Shattering Heaven.

His body creaked and screamed, but he ignored it.

If he had a body stronger than a dragon, he could withstand this much burden.

The unavoidable flames glared at Maledrak.

Maledrak saw his future.

That massive flame wouldn’t go out until it had burned all the demonic energy.

However, he couldn’t stop now.

The flames approached so quickly that he couldn’t react.

He couldn’t avoid it.

He couldn’t escape.

Maledrak acknowledged that fact.

The flames of the Sword of Heavenly Calamity would tear apart the Demon King’s solid body and end his life.

“It can’t be helped.”

He had to avoid the worst-case scenario of death at all costs.

So, he couldn’t hesitate.

KWA-AAAAAAAANG—!

The Sword of Heavenly Calamity struck Maledrak’s body.

The flames burned the demonic energy and completely crushed Maledrak’s eyeballs.

The sword, which had burned Rael’s divine power, completely evaporated one side of the Demon King’s castle, including Maledrak.

Demons were famous for their strong vitality, but there were limits to that as well.

If their existence was completely evaporated, they couldn’t be revived.

“…”

Rael stared at the completely half-destroyed Demon King’s castle.

The center of the Demon King’s castle, where the ceiling had collapsed and two walls had completely disappeared, was nothing more than ruins.

He cautiously looked around.

The power contained in that sword was truly overwhelming.

It was strong enough to send even Maledrak to hell.

However, Rael wasn’t relieved yet.

A strange sense of tension made his heart pound.

The sensation that remained at the tip of the sword that had cut down Maledrak at the last moment.

It was somehow lacking.

“The demon bastards didn’t die nicely either, and the Demon King doesn’t die nicely either.”

SWISH-

At the same time.

Maledrak’s demonic energy began to assemble in front of Rael.

Seeing Maledrak gradually taking shape, Rael raised his sword.

“Amazing and annoying. I have no choice but to admit it. You made me unleash my divine authority.”

At that time, an unidentified force pressed down on the place where Rael was standing.

Maledrak, who had formed his body, glared at Rael.

“I’ll praise you for daring to make me like this. Hero. But, you won’t be able to die comfortably.”

Maledrak, who had always had a calm expression, raised his body in anger.

He had never been serious from the beginning.

Maledrak’s goal was to gather the fear of the continent through a confrontation with the Hero.

And to transcend his level and become a god.

However, the Hero in front of him had ruined everything.

In order to survive the Sword of Heavenly Calamity, he also had to unleash his divine power.

His dream of becoming a god had been shattered.

“I’ll kill you painfully from head to toe.”

Maledrak’s face contorted.

Once unleashed, divine authority couldn’t be reversed.

The demonic energies around him swirled as if they had life.

“Ugh…”

The demonic energy containing divine authority strongly pressed down on Rael’s shoulder.

An irresistible tyranny.

The unreasonable power was enough to make him laugh in vain.

“This is bullshit… How the hell were you gathering this much power?”

The power that Maledrak called divine authority was close to twice that of Rael.

That monster had been hiding his power until the very end.

KWA-AAAAANG—!

“Ugh…!”

As Maledrak waved his hand, Rael’s body was slammed into the wall.

Rael spat out blood and fell to the floor.

“Now that it’s come to this, there’s no need to drag out the war any longer. I’ll kill you, devour the continent, and start over from the beginning.”

He would turn the entire continent into hell and produce fear.

It would take a lot of time to restore the divine authority that had disappeared because of the Hero.

“Ha, haa… Crazy bastard.”

Rael slowly raised his body.

The aftereffects of imbuing Shattering Heaven with the Sword of Heavenly Calamity were pressing down on his entire body.

He was in a state where he couldn’t fight properly, and the enemy in front of him had become even stronger, so it was a complete defeat.

‘Is it impossible after all?’

Rael bit his lip in frustration.

He had worked hard to save this world.

He had learned the sword and become a Hero to prevent the butterfly effect caused by him.

In the end, he had come all the way to defeating the Demon King, but he was blocked right in front of him.

“Damn it… Don’t be ridiculous.”

Rael forcibly raised his body.

His hand wouldn’t even go up properly, but he raised his sword and glared at Maledrak.

“How pathetic. What are you going to do with that body?”

“Cough!”

Crack-

Rael’s body floated into the air.

The demonic energy strangled his neck, and his breath was gradually being choked off.

His consciousness was fading, and his vision was blurring.

“The human race is finished. Don’t worry. I’ll let you watch the entire spectacle of the human race being wiped out.”

He would inflict the most painful death.

The Hero would be kept alive until all his friends and family were dead, and all the creatures of the continent were dead.

The Hero would become a sacrifice to gather Maledrak’s divine authority.

Swish-

At that time, the demonic energy strangling Rael’s neck was severed.

“Cough, cough… Haa, haa.”

Rael gasped for breath and immediately stepped back and raised his sword.

He didn’t know why the demonic energy had been severed, but it was to block the next attack that would follow.

However, Maledrak wasn’t looking at Rael.

Maledrak, feeling a familiar power, turned his head.

“You foolish disciple. You’re a mess.”

Thud. Thud.

A swordsman appeared in the center of the Demon King’s castle.