The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 128

105. Southern Disaster (3)

“You… you son of a…!!!”

Ruon, uttering words unbecoming of an Imperial Prince, drew the sword at his waist and shouted.

Tuk-

However, his sword wasn’t fully drawn.

“……!!”

Surprisingly, Carryl effortlessly pierced through the knightly encirclement and flicked Ruon’s sword hilt with his finger.

“Th-This!!”

Struggling with all his might against the unmoving sword, Ruon cried out in panic.

“You!!!”

It was a fleeting moment.

Of all the knights, only Azif reacted to Carryl, interposing himself between the prince and the intruder.

Clang—!!

He swung his sword upwards with all his strength.

With a sharp metallic clash, the distance between the two widened.

“Reveal your identity. Who dares commit such an audacious act?”

Azif infused his sword with a Mana Blade [a weapon imbued with magical energy]. The unique lightning attribute crackled, and the blade began to blaze.

“Hmm.”

Carryl watched the display and lightly exclaimed.

“The Mana Blade’s power is impressive. I heard you’re at the peak of Sword Expert. Probably the strongest knight in the Empire, aside from the Commander-in-Chief, Belin Valention, and Kwell McGovern.”

Azif’s face hardened at Carryl’s words.

How many could remain unfazed upon seeing his sword?

Moreover, he had an army of 70,000 behind him.

Even a Sword Master wouldn’t do something this insane. Yet, the unknown boy before him seemed to be enjoying himself.

“Are you running away with such power? From mere Minotaurs? Even if they are S-class monsters [monsters ranked by threat level, with S being among the highest], it shouldn’t be a den that 70,000 troops can’t conquer.”

And that feeling was right.

“The Imperial Guard’s reputation is tarnished. Would Kwell McGovern have acted this way?”

Azif’s face hardened at the boy’s mocking words directed at them.

“Shut up!!”

Having maintained his composure, he finally lost it when Kwell’s name was mentioned and charged at Carryl.

Pazzuzzuk……!!

The electricity from the blade erupted in all directions.

Azif’s sword glowed bright yellow, radiating heat as if it were scorching hot.

His body arched like a bow, and he swung the sword he held with both hands from above, aiming precisely at Carryl.

Carryl stepped back, and with a deafening roar, Azif’s sword struck the ground.

Thud-thud-thud—!!!

Carryl kicked Azif’s sword, which was stuck in the ground, with all his might, causing him to stagger.

“Kuh!!”

However, being a skilled knight, he didn’t fall from Carryl’s sudden attack and used the recoil to swing his sword once more.

In an instant.

Carryl dashed into Azif’s domain.

“……!!”

Before he could react, Carryl deflected his sword as if showing off, and thrust his own sword into the empty space.

1st Crown Posture.

Just before Carryl’s sword could slash Azif’s chest.

He pushed the sword away and, instead of the blade, clenched his fist, then opened his palm and pushed his chest.

Kwaaaang—!!!

A deafening roar erupted between the two, as if the air had exploded.

The electricity on Azif’s retreating blade crackled and faded away with a hazy mist, as if it were oxidizing.

‘He… received my sword?’

It was an all-out attack.

Yet, Carryl seemed relaxed.

‘What is his identity……?’

An unknown pressure.

This was an aura he had never felt even from the Sword Masters Kwell McGovern and Belin Valention.

It was as if…

It was not of human origin.

Azif instinctively realized that the opponent before him was dangerous.

“C-Capture him!!!”

As the distance between the two widened, Ruon shouted urgently. The knights guarding him charged at Carryl.

“Kuaaaaaaa—!!”

“Waaaaaa–!!!”

Although they didn’t reach Azif’s level, the knights who had followed Ruon were among the best in the Gold Knights Order.

Each of them was confident in their skills.

Moreover, the number of Gold Knights summoned this time was 30 in total. Even a Sword Master would find it difficult to face them all at once.

“St… Stop!!”

However, Azif shouted at his knights.

He knew they were no match for him, just from exchanging blows once.

Thwack-!

Carryl slammed his fist into the side of the knight right in front of him, and a dull sound was heard, as if something was breaking.

“Aaaagh!!!”

The knight, not Carryl, screamed, as if the fist thrust into the armor had broken something.

“Cough… cough.”

The knight, unable to breathe properly as if making metallic sounds, trembled before Carryl and collapsed.

“…….”

“…….”

Seeing the shattered armor fragments of the knight who had been struck falling to the ground, the knights stared at Carryl with blank expressions.

‘What on earth is that magic power……?’

Once one reaches a certain level, it is possible to apply Mana Blade to one’s body instead of a sword.

Pazuk…… pazuzuk…….

But it was the first time they had seen magic power emitting purple electricity.

That was because none of those present knew about non-attribute power.

As their comrade fell with a single blow, the knights did not dare to approach Carryl rashly.

“Calm down. I didn’t come here to fight you. Well, I may have provoked you a bit, but you should expect to hear some harsh words when you throw away the lives of over a thousand people. Don’t you think?”

Carryl said, stepping on the fallen knight with one foot.

“Your Empire guys will definitely throw away more lives like that in the future.”

“……What?”

Ruon frowned, as if he couldn’t understand his words. An army of 70,000 had been stopped by just one person.

An impossible event was unfolding.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t easily muster the confidence to break through this one person.

“At least the older shield is more knightly than you.”

Kwaaaang—!!

Kwagagang–!!

The sound of explosions from the rear.

The gates of Load Tower, which had been firmly closed until now, opened, and Marze was seen at the forefront.

“All knights, stop the monsters from the Demon Nest!!! Soldiers, focus on rescuing the prisoners!!”

He swung his massive warhammer, fighting the monsters pouring out of the Demon Nest.

Tuddeudeuk—

Taking advantage of the momentum, the gates of Turtle Castle opened, and the bridge lowered, causing Tvamel’s forces inside to pour out as well.

“Marze is one thing, but Aven is a bit unexpected. Defending with the castle is the best method, but even that old man ended up coming out.”

Even as he said that, Carryl didn’t seem to dislike Marze and Aven’s decision.

“I don’t know if it’s because you’re swayed by sentimentality, but the Twin Armor’s forces will decrease due to the monsters, as you guys think. But instead, the survivors will talk about you.”

Carryl said quietly, passing by Ruon.

“As vile cowards.”

* * *

“Fight!!! Fight!!!”

“Shieldbearers of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranks, maintain formation!! Don’t let the monsters cross the shields until the people escape!!”

Following Aven’s shouts, the soldiers of Load Tower and Turtle Castle, without exception, followed his orders as if they had been trained.

Marze and Aven, having been enemies who fought each other for many years, knew each other’s forces inside and out.

“Swordsmen, protect the mages!!”

“Spearmen!! Forward!!”

Without exchanging words, Marze led the knights towards the entrance of the Demon Nest, and Aven handed over his knights to him.

Instead, the soldiers of Load Tower followed Aven’s command, and the adjutants followed his orders without hesitation.

It wasn’t easy to entrust one’s forces to someone else so casually.

It was a unique trust that could only be gained by meeting on the battlefield and exchanging swords for decades.

‘Even if we combine the knights from Load Tower and our side, there are only a little over 50. It’s going to be close, even with Marze.’

It wasn’t just blind faith that led the knights of the two castles to launch a joint attack.

That was because the Minotaur was a monster that was difficult to handle even with 50 knights.

“The left side is open!! Call the forces from Turtle Castle!”

“Yes? But if we take more forces out of the castle while the Imperial Army is here…….”

“Now that we’ve opened the gates, we can’t think about what’s behind us anyway. Since that old man Marze has stepped up, there’s no choice! We’ll evacuate the people no matter what.”

“Understood!”

Aven would never have thought of opening the gates if he were Marze.

It wasn’t just the monsters that were the problem.

It was clear that the 70,000 Imperial soldiers behind them would be targeting them.

“I must be getting old too……. He wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t do that.”

For some reason, Aven chuckled, as if he didn’t dislike Marze’s actions either.

‘That being said, why aren’t the Imperial Army guys moving? I thought they would retreat the front lines and attack the castle along with the monsters…….’

Abandoning the prisoners and retreating was as he expected. But after retreating the front lines near the Fournine River, the Imperial Army’s movements stopped for some reason.

‘Did something happen?’

But with the battle raging, there was no way to check the situation of the Imperial Army.

[Krrrrooooo……!!]

It was then.

With a roar, the field of vision momentarily darkened. When Aven looked up, a Minotaur was falling towards him like a guillotine axe.

Kwaaaang—!!

With a deafening roar, the soldiers around him were thrown away.

Aven, who had fallen from his horse and was rolling on the ground, hurriedly grabbed the ground and shouted.

“Damn it!! What the hell is Marze doing!! Why is this guy here……!!”

Aven shouted, looking at the Minotaur that had appeared before him.

But when he turned his head, he could see Marze fighting another Minotaur at the entrance of the Demon Nest.

‘Two S-class monsters at the same time……?!’

At first glance, the entrance of the Demon Nest seemed like one, but monsters were being respawned simultaneously from two holes connected like passages.

It was the worst.

Even one was difficult to handle, and the number of knights who could face two Minotaurs was woefully insufficient.

“Damn it……!! The castle’s forces are!!”

“That’s still…….”

Aven shouted, looking at the left flank that had been completely destroyed by the Minotaur’s axe.

“S, Save me!!”

“Ugh!!”

People began to scramble and run away from the monsters that had entered the main camp. Due to the chaos, the soldiers and civilians were entangled, and even the formation was not properly maintained.

‘This is dangerous if it continues like this.’

Aven threw away his broken baton and drew his sword.

‘If it’s the worst situation, I…….’

He was also the commander of the Knights Order, although he was not comparable to Marze.

Even though he had retired from the front lines, there were few who could buy time against the Minotaur except for himself.

It was then.

Kwaaaang—!!!

There was a force piercing the rear of the monster horde like a sharp awl.

With tremendous breakthrough power, the force charged hundreds of meters, instantly penetrating deep inside where the Minotaur was.

‘Who is that……?’

Aven was unable to come to his senses at the sudden appearance of the massive force.

Even for a Knights Order, it would be difficult to wipe out monsters at such a rapid pace.

“……!!!”

At that moment.

One person caught his eye.

‘That person is…… Princess Viola?’

He recalled a memory of attending a banquet held in the kingdom in the past.

Some of the face he had seen when he was young still remained, so Aven could easily recognize her.

Moreover, seeing Grace, who had been by her side even then, he could be certain.

‘Has the Kingdom of Penria sent reinforcements……? But why is the princess here herself…….’

Aven hurriedly looked around.

Except for a few knights following her and Grace, the rest of the forces were wearing unfamiliar armor.

‘Was there such a unit?’

The soldiers, wearing black leather armor and wielding blue-glowing weapons, had an unusual aura.

It didn’t matter who they were.

He was just grateful to the unknown army that was clearing out the monsters in an instant.

‘Thanks to them, we survived.’

As the monsters around them were cleared, the soldiers who had been in chaos began to reorganize their ranks.

Following the path cleared by the unit, the remaining civilians were able to escape to the safe zone of Twin Armor.

‘We need to reorganize the ranks quickly.’

The crisis had been overcome, but the biggest enemy still remained.

[Krooooo—!!!]

At the Minotaur’s roar, the soldiers hurriedly raised their weapons and began to surround it.

“Hold it back!! Until Marze’s Knights Order returns, you must prevent it from entering the line!”

Aven encouraged the soldiers, but the situation was not good.

With the Knights Order gone, it was virtually impossible for ordinary soldiers to stop the Minotaur.

He thought that all he could do was buy as much time as possible.

“There’s no need for that. Withdraw the soldiers.”

Viola, who had approached him, said with a firm face.

For some reason, surprise could be felt on her face as she spoke.

“Yes?”

It was then.

“……?!”

Aven realized that the Minotaur, which had been rampaging until a moment ago, was not moving for some reason and was trembling.

The answer to the question about what she had said a moment ago came as astonishment.

“Hmph.”

That was because Carryl was riding on the Minotaur’s shoulder, grabbing its neck with a relaxed expression.