How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 19

Living as the Third Son of a Failed Novel – Chapter 19

As Vane Lindeyer, I steadied myself, using my sword as a crutch to rise.

Rage consumed me.

It wasn’t my own emotion. It was clearly what Vane Lindeyer had felt. But sharing his experiences, it quickly became my own.

Crack!

The urge to cut something down and see blood was overwhelming.

I pushed myself up and gripped my sword tightly.

“Good. Let’s break through this.”

A hoarse, deep voice escaped my lips. I could feel the ache from my clenched jaw.

“Knights, gather here!”

At my call, the knights, who had been embroiled in fierce combat, began to assemble. As expected, they had long lost their warhorses.

“Mages, are there any mages!”

At my continued shout, a middle-aged man with a sweat-soaked and weary face teleported beside me.

“I will assist you.”

“Duke Bashrun, are you unharmed?”

“…Not exactly unscathed, but I’m still alive.”

Hearing him called Bashrun, it was clear he was the founder of the Bashrun Dukedom.

The knights, gathered in such a short time, looked at me.

“Lord Lindeyer! Orders!”

Regardless of my will, my vision rapidly shifted, quickly assessing the situation.

“Breakthrough and cover. Simple objectives. We’ll divide into two groups. One group will provide cover, and the rest will break through to support the Grand Duke. Jeff! Guerril! Hinde! Bishlar! Stay behind me. You will lead the breakthrough with me.”

The names of familiar legendary heroes were spoken.

Even without further explanation, everyone took their positions with perfect coordination. I stood at the forefront of the wedge formation, followed by the heroes.

“Bashrun, open the way.”

At my words, Bashrun, sweeping back his silver hair, clasped his hands together.

Whoosh…

A powerful mana storm erupted, drawing the attention of soldiers and monsters alike.

What appeared next in the air were dozens of house-sized fireballs.

“What is all this?”

“Fireballs.”

“Those are?”

“Yes. Just a bit bigger and a bit more numerous.”

Bashrun grinned and waved his hand.

Soon, a carpet bombing of fireballs began.

Bang! Boom! Rumble!

The ground cracked and twisted, raising thick dust.

It was Bashrun’s talent that he even considered blocking the enemy’s vision.

“Bashrun, you come too.”

“Catch up with you? Ha.”

“Let’s go!”

There was no grand charge command.

We had been through dozens of battlefields together. We understood each other with just a look.

Swish…

Focusing my power, the blazing energy from the mana heart in my lower abdomen writhed.

Buzz! Buzz!

The erupting, burning aura enveloped the sword, emitting a strange cry.

Thud!

Each time I leaped, the ground moved away and then quickly came back. With just a few leaps, I covered dozens of meters in an instant.

Screech! Caw!

The first wave that surged toward us was a horde of orcs and trolls.

“Jeff! Take them!”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than the short-haired man shot out, wielding his aura blade to clear a path.

Following the path he created, the rest of us, except for Jeff, charged forward.

But that was only for a moment.

Before we could even go a hundred meters, a group of minotaurs, snorting fiercely, blocked our way.

“Guerril!”

As if by agreement, the large knight from the rear shot out.

“Hinde! Bishlar!”

When we encountered wyverns and ogres, I sent the remaining two knights.

With that, Bashrun and I were left alone, and he laughed in dismay.

“Now it’s just the two of us? How cozy.”

“We’re almost there. Let’s go.”

“I wonder what we two have to do.”

“I’ll clear the path, and you’ll cover me. In the meantime, help the Grand Duke fight the Black Dragon without worry.”

Understanding my meaning, as the wise mage he was, Bashrun began to reorganize his remaining mana.

“Grand Duke!”

Slash! Slash!

The man who had seized control of an area, slaughtering monsters with golden aura, turned his head. Belangkas.

“Oh, Lord Lindeyer! What a welcome sight!”

“This is no time for jokes.”

“It’s in difficult times that laughter is needed.”

“Quiet.”

“How harsh.”

“I’ll create an opportunity.”

Belangkas glanced at the Black Dragon floating in the sky and nodded.

“Can you handle this place?”

I also briefly looked around at the monsters surging like waves and asked the Grand Duke.

“How much time do you need?”

“Ten minutes.”

“I can’t hold out any longer than that, even if I die and come back. Keep your promise.”

“Then let’s make it fifteen minutes.”

“Quiet. Bashrun! Create a foothold for the Grand Duke!”

Ignoring Belangkas’s jest, I shouted, and Bashrun sighed deeply.

“Grand Duke, I also can’t maintain this for more than ten minutes in my current condition. If you don’t want to fall, finish it within that time.”

“My subordinates are threatening me…”

Whoosh…

Bashrun waved his hand, and a massive phantom steed was created.

“All I have to do is focus on the fight?”

At the Grand Duke’s words, trying to entrust even the control of the phantom steed, Bashrun gritted his teeth.

“It might be a bit rough if I drive.”

“Not bad. I’m into that kind of thing too.”

“Damn it.”

Bashrun spat out a curse and began to control the phantom steed with Belangkas on it.

The target was the Black Drake, the leader of the monsters, the Demon Dragon.

“Hoo.”

Now, the only remaining task was to protect Bashrun until Belangkas defeated the Demon Dragon.

Goo…

Focusing my mind, I unleashed the mana I had been saving.

The flowing mana consumed my entire body, granting me superhuman strength. At the same time, the blazing aura blade soared, burning blue.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The first opponent was a giant twin-headed ogre, approaching with earth-shaking steps.

Perhaps because of the mana pushed to its limit, everything around me felt slow.

‘I can do it.’

In the slowed time, I was free.

I gracefully extended my upright sword, aiming for the ogre’s brow.

Buzz, buzz…

The burning blue aura represented my feelings.

And I, too, reaffirmed my unwavering belief in my sword, speaking it aloud.

“My sword is the wind.”

Clang!

The ground twisted from the impact as I leaped up in an instant.

“A whirlwind that fells great trees.”

Crack!

The twin-headed ogre’s body was split in half by the sword I swung diagonally in mid-air.

“A gentle breeze that lays down reeds.”

Splat!

Dozens of trolls that followed were scattered into hundreds of pieces, fluttering like reeds.

“Like a rainstorm that leads thunder.”

Rumble!

Finally, the erupted aura split like lightning bolts, tearing apart and turning to ash all enemies within a radius of dozens of meters.

“I am the wind.”

It was a sword dance containing the profound secrets accumulated over decades as the Knight of the Freezing Gale.

Whoosh…

Afterward, the ashes scattered by the mana adorned the sky. It was a scene as if thick volcanic ash had been scattered.

Feeling a moment of peace, I looked up at the sky.

Roar!

The black Demon Dragon was falling with its wings torn.

* * *

Ding!

“Huff!”

Waking from the reminiscence at the sound of the steeple bell, I suddenly felt nauseous and began to gag.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Aside from all the petty emotions that were not mine, but clearly someone else’s.

“Uweek…”

The feeling of cutting down living things was still vivid in my mind.

“Damn it.”

Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I unknowingly cursed.

It was an experience I never wanted to go through again.

In a short time, I had bathed in blood and flesh, taken lives, and lost lovers and comrades. [This refers to the memories and emotions experienced through Vane Lindeyer.]

I had never experienced or felt such emotions in my life. As much as I was unprepared, the shock came doubly.

‘Damn it…’

Anyway, I can’t just sit here like this.

I can’t make this experience my own unless it’s now, while the memories are vivid and the senses are intact.

Clang!

I drew my sword and stood in the center of the hall.

Steadying my dizzy body, I took a deep breath. Then, I closed my eyes and revived the memories and senses.

‘The Incarnation of Vane Lindeyer.’

To draw out a hero from the achievements experienced and make him an incarnation, a verbal spirit is needed to materialize the achievements. [A verbal spirit is a phrase or saying that helps to focus and manifest power.]

And the answer to that verbal spirit can be found in the memories of the past I experienced a little while ago. It could be a magnificent song, a solemn poem, or a solitary monologue.

Frankly speaking, it was now just a matter of eating the prepared meal. Hadn’t Vane Lindeyer himself been so engrossed in self-admiration that he revealed the method himself?

‘Let’s do it.’

Focusing my mind, the terrible battlefield, as terrible as if I had experienced it myself, unfolded again in my imagination.

“My sword is the wind.”

「 My sword is the wind. 」

As I chanted the first verse, Vane Lindeyer’s voice echoed in my head, overlapping with mine.

“Kugh…”

Just reciting the first verse brought a violent reaction.

The sword became heavy as if it weighed a ton.

Swish…

I felt like something was settling in my body, no, in my soul.

I could instinctively tell.

It was the process of Vane Lindeyer, a memory of the past, being drawn by the verbal spirit and dwelling in my body as a being called an incarnation or avatar. [An incarnation or avatar is a manifestation of a being or power in a physical form.]

“Kuh…”

What followed was excruciating pain.

I glanced at my reflection in the glass window.

The pupils, which should have been black, were dyed red.

Trickle…

Blood began to seep out through my facial features.

The reason was obvious. My body and skills were not yet able to handle Vane Lindeyer’s soul.

‘But.’

Just once, let’s swing the sword just once.

As I put strength into my hand and lifted the sword, a scream escaped from the excruciating pain, even though I had made up my mind.

“Kaaaa!”

Cough!

Suddenly, red blood gushed out of my open mouth.

I wondered if I would just swing the sword once and die. But if I stopped here, I would be driven crazy by the thought of all the effort I had put in.

‘I don’t care. I’ll swing it once, whether I die or not!’

Ignoring the blood dripping down my chin, I finally lifted the sword and swung it.

Flash!

The sword strike, shot out like lightning, drew the same line as Vane Lindeyer’s.

Could there be a more perfect sword path in the world than this?

If one devoted one’s life to swordsmanship and reached the realm of divine skill, one might be able to unleash it once.

Perhaps Ruth, Gilaine, or even the master, Count Lindeyer, would not have been able to unleash such a sword strike.

Clang!

After that one swing, I dropped the sword.

My stamina and mental strength were exhausted, and the summoned incarnation disappeared as easily as it had appeared.

“Cough…”

Incarnation or whatever, I felt like I was really going to die, so I crawled to my bag.