Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 145

The commander-in-chief of the Crolltora siege was Paladin Lyon.

The emblem engraved on his armor symbolized the Holy Cross, the sacred order of knights.

“So, you weren’t Caroline’s escort knight.”

“My introduction was late. I am Captain Lyon of the Holy Cross.”

As a matter of course, he did not mention his family name or middle name.

This is because after becoming a Paladin, one belongs to the Deus Order [Order of God], not their family.

Lyon lightly bowed his head towards Nimue, who was standing behind Cainchel.

“It is an honor to fight alongside the Guardian of the World Tree.”

“…Don’t misunderstand. I’m only cooperating because I have to.”

Nimue was still prickly towards humans other than Cainchel.

She had been focusing on treating her injuries for a while and had joined the group half a day ago.

She was planning to lend her strength in facing Meliot.

“The Holy Cross is usually dispatched to various regions to help spread the teachings of the Deus Order. We only gather in one place when the hammer of God is needed. But is the gate area alright?”

“Yes, it will open soon.”

Lyon did not ask separately about who the collaborators were.

Elves as well as dwarves were with Cainchel.

Clearly, someone whose identity was unknown was moving for Cainchel’s sake.

“Thanks to you, we were able to minimize civilian casualties and strike at the heart of the enemy.”

Crolltora was a fortress with tremendous defensive power, called a natural fortress.

Originally, a siege warfare of washing blood with blood would have to be fought to break through it [a brutal, protracted siege with heavy casualties on both sides].

Gurrrl-!

With the sound of chains rising, the firmly closed gate opened.

It seemed that Cainchel’s collaborator had done his job properly.

With Lyon’s signal, the Paladins of the Holy Cross rushed towards Crolltora Castle.

Thus, the Crolltora siege began.

The guards defending Crolltora Castle were taken aback by the suddenly opened gate.

“Enemy attack! Fire!”

“T, the gate is open!”

“Damn it! Fire! Don’t let a single one into the castle!”

“Lower the bridge! What are you doing! Lower the bridge!”

Who would have thought that a vampire would be hiding inside the castle?

Thanks to the Holy Cross’s lightning-like rush, they were able to break through the outer walls in less than 10 minutes.

However, breaking through the inner gate did not seem easy.

A beautiful woman with purple hair and a huge man were blocking the way.

The soldiers of Crolltora, who were running away, cheered at his appearance.

“It’s Meliot-sama! [Lord Meliot!]”

“We’re alive!”

“Meliot-sama! Please sweep away all the outlaws who invaded the castle!”

Lucia licked her blood-red lips and waved her hand.

“Meliot, sweep away those vermin who couldn’t even protect a single gate along with them.”

“Al, right… My, love Lucia… Anything, if that’s what you wish…”

Meliot raised a huge greatsword. And he swung it as it was.

Kaga Gaga gag-!

And nothing remained where the sword energy that spewed from his hand passed.

Houses, walls, and even humans were all turned to dust.

Lyon gripped the sword he was holding even more tightly. It was an unbelievable sight.

“To, to kill his subordinates with his own hands! And you call yourself a lord’s daughter!”

“Ahaha! Don’t worry! I’ll send you all together in a friendly way!”

The Holy Cross was an order of knights made up of Sword Knights.

Even if all of them rushed in, they could not defeat the immortal monster Meliot.

Knowing this, Lyon gave the most appropriate instruction he could give now.

“I’ll leave the rear to you, Cainchel-kyung! [Sir Cainchel!]”

While Cainchel and the two elves faced Meliot, they would subdue the soldiers guarding the castle.

That was the best move that the captain of the Holy Cross could come up with.

Lucia cackled and shouted.

“You’re free to come in, but not to leave! Meliot, sweep them all away!”

Geuooooo――!

Meliot’s huge body shot forward with a speed that left no afterimage.

At the same time, the arms of several Paladins who were retreating flew away.

“Kkyaaaa!”

“G, a monster! This guy is a monster!”

He was literally a walking disaster.

The reason why Crolltora Castle had the title of an impregnable fortress was all thanks to Meliot’s existence.

In the end, Cainchel stepped in to help the Holy Cross escape.

Cainchel held Durandal in both hands and infused it with Aura [magical energy].

Due to eating dragon meat twice, his Aura had exceeded ten thousand.

He could now use Durandal, which consumed a tremendous amount of Aura, without any burden.

“Sherbet!”

And the cold air that froze everything covered Meliot.

This could not injure his body.

However, it was possible to slow down his movements for a while.

Before he knew it, an explosive Aura was spewing out of Cainchel’s body.

“Guest, since you didn’t come to find me, I came to meet you in person.”

@

Lucia smiled with satisfaction as she looked at the man blocking Meliot’s path.

What he was holding was the sword of the clown who had fought Meliot a while ago.

The curry made by the clown contained the power to undo curses.

That was also the case for the curse on Meliot.

He was a natural enemy that had to be killed no matter what.

But to think he would come here on his own two feet.

“Ahaha! Is that your bare face? You’re surprisingly handsome. But I didn’t order curry, so why did you come? Oh, right, can you see? Meliot is no longer able to smell anything! It’s really hard to tame him like a fierce watchdog.”

Lucia poured lead into Meliot’s nose so that he could no longer smell anything.

Now, no matter how delicious food you bring, you can’t draw out Meliot’s appetite.

“I’ve seen the face hidden inside the clown makeup, so I’ll kill you soon. Then, Meliot!”

“Lu, Lucia…”

Lucia declared death without a moment’s hesitation. Then Meliot swung his sword with lightning speed.

It contained the power to break even a huge mountain.

Cainchel’s Aura reacted to that desperate blow.

‘Booster, and another booster!’

The technique that had given him a momentary advantage in speed against Elizabeth unfolded.

The muscles that accepted the Aura beyond the limit were destroyed.

And they were instantly regenerated, spewing out even stronger power.

Meliot’s sword was crazy fast. The shockwave alone collapsed the surrounding buildings and cracked the ground.

Cainchel perfectly deflected it by striking the sword.

Kuuuuung-!

Just by touching the swords, a roar that could tear the eardrums rang out, and a huge cloud of dust rose.

Lucia screamed with a shocked face.

She couldn’t believe the sight unfolding before her eyes.

“Wh, he blocked Meliot’s sword?!”

A clown who was only slightly better at cooking.

But what he showed now was a quick sword that even Meliot couldn’t keep up with.

It doesn’t make sense.

Meliot was a man who reached the level of Sword Master with only basic swordsmanship.

Unless the opponent’s swordsmanship level was higher than Meliot’s, this was impossible.

Lucia didn’t know, but Cainchel’s basic swordsmanship was 13 stars. The same level as Meliot.

He was just imitating the power of 14 stars by using a double booster.

‘I don’t think I can drag this out for long.’

Even if the Aura containing divine power regenerates the destroyed muscles, there is a limit.

He can only use the double booster three more times.

He had to defeat the immortal monster before using them all.

Lucia realized that Cainchel’s speed was faster than Meliot’s and made a decision.

Peok-!

Lucia punched herself in the face with her fist. As she repeated it, her face turned red, her lips tore, and blood flowed down.

She cried out pitifully.

“Save me, Meliot!”

Meliot’s eyes turned even redder when he saw his lover’s injured appearance.

“Lu, Lucia… Just wait a little… I, I will protect you.”

Aura that was so hot that it would explode if touched began to spew out of Meliot’s body.

He slammed the floor with his fist containing Aura.

Kugugugung!

The ground cracked around the point where his fist hit, and the earth shook.

At the same time, Meliot’s body disappeared.

The strongest attack that the immortal knight unleashed to protect his lover.

It was a movement that had already transcended the concept of speed.

‘He hurt himself to make Meliot go all out. I can’t avoid that with normal methods. Then…’

“――Brilliant Road!”

And the optimal sword path, where only one existed among countless possibilities, appeared before Cainchel’s eyes.

‘Here!’

As he swung his sword accordingly,

Kaga Gaga gag-!

The sound of an explosion that would burst his eardrums rang out, and Meliot’s body, which had disappeared, reappeared.

“Nimue! Abel!”

Now that Cainchel was blocking Meliot’s sword, it was the only chance to restrain his body.

Abel and Nimue, who had been hiding in the black smoke, jumped out.

“Rose Bouquet!”

Nimue swung two twin swords containing Aura and cut off Meliot’s left arm.

“Kkyaaaaa!”

Lucia was flustered. Where on earth were those elves hiding and appearing from?

“Th, there was definitely no one there! No one!”

Her real identity was an assassin who had been carefully raised by the Assassin Guild.

She was better than anyone else at discerning signs.

It was the ability of the vampire Leman that had deceived Lucia’s eyes.

When hiding in a vampire that turned into smoke, even a dragon would not notice its existence.

Leman hid his body in the shadow of the building and returned to the vampire’s body.

His body was burning because of the sunlight shining down.

If he had been exposed to the sunlight for 10 more seconds, he would have turned to ashes and disappeared.

Leman put out the fire on his body with his cloak and muttered.

“Whoa! The sunlight is so damn good.”

The sun was one of the vampire’s greatest weaknesses.

No matter how strong they were, they couldn’t withstand the sunlight shining directly on them for even a minute.

However, Leman had endured for a full 3 minutes.

Abel, who was holding a knife to Lucia’s neck from behind, muttered.

“Good job, pervert. But I won’t give you blood.”

Leman knelt on the floor as it was and shouted.

“That’s too much! Can’t you give me at least a sip!”

Lucia’s face contorted as she was attacked by the combined attack of the vampire and the elf.

“Va, vampire? What vampire is out in broad daylight!”

Thud!

Abel struck Lucia’s head with the knife he was holding.

Then, the power of the magic tool was released and he returned to his original form.

As Lucia, who was giving orders, disappeared, Meliot began to run wild.

“Where are you, Lucia! You are the only one for me!”

“Nimue-nim! [Lady Nimue!]”

With Cainchel’s signal, Nimue’s beloved sword Rose Bouquet lengthened dozens of times.

It wrapped around Meliot’s body, which had only one arm left.

Geuaaaaaaak!

With a roar like thunder, Aura exploded from Meliot’s body.

The time he could be tied up was less than 1 second.

‘But it’s enough to put a bracelet on Meliot’s remaining arm!’

Cainchel activated the last remaining double boost.

The muscles that had already exceeded their limit were destroyed, and blood was seeping from every hole in his body.

His vision turned red and he was suffocating.

But with this, he gained the speed to overwhelm Meliot for a moment.

“Then please wait a little, guest. I will make you the dish you want soon.”

Click-!

The moment Draupnir was put on Meliot’s arm. He lost his strength and fell to the floor.

“Hoo…”

Nimue, who had squeezed out Aura to the limit, let out a deep sigh.

She met Meliot on her way back to the Green Mountains to plant the World Tree.

The despair, fear, and horror she felt while fighting an opponent she could never win.

All of those things disappeared like melting snow.

She looked at Cainchel with eyes filled with strange longing.

The only human she could trust.

She wanted to be with him forever.

But she was the queen of many elves, and there was still much work to be done.

But it would be okay to feel the afterglow of victory for this moment, right?

“…You won against a monster who can never die. Cainchel. It’s all thanks to you.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to find Meliot’s weakness without Nimue-nim. Then, would you help me move Meliot?”

“Where are you going to take this guy?”

“To the kitchen. Because from now on, I have to make the best dish for this person.”

Nimue’s eyes widened. Could it be that he was going to cook for the enemy?

Then she laughed without realizing it.

Cainchel was that kind of man.

Chicken Soup for the Soul #3