The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 287

193. The Strongest Seat

“…What?! How dare you…!!!”

The Emperor roared, slamming his fist on the armrest of his chair.

However, with his strength already depleted, his anger seemed pathetic rather than intimidating.

“You shouldn’t overexert yourself. If the poison rises further and you collapse, who benefits? Your sons are already waiting for you to die, aren’t they?”

“Shut up!!”

At that moment,

light emanated from beneath Carryl’s feet, and a massive barrier formation drawn across the floor of the room activated.

Whirr…!!

Dozens of golden ropes shot up from the floor, binding his body.

Thump―!!

Simultaneously, the doors burst open, and priests flooded in.

All were first-class combat priests wearing armbands. Carryl smiled as if meeting a welcome comrade, looking at the man standing before them.

The Madman of the Battlefield, Yurin Hyugard.

However, unlike that moniker, Yurin’s face was stiff with tension as he looked at Carryl.

“Long time no see. I thought you’d be enjoying the Empire’s patronage, but you’re still with the Order. Or are you still here because of the Emperor?”

“May Yula’s blessing be upon you. Agnus.”

Yurin ignored Carryl’s words, gathering the mace he held to his chest and casting a blessing.

A faint milky light flowed through his entire body, and the combat priests behind him also emitted auras.

“Do you think a single blessing spell will be enough? I’ll give you time, so you better prepare as much as you can.”

Carryl said in a low voice.

“Or you’ll die.”

“…Nonsense! What’s activated now is the Order’s highest-level sealing formation.”

Unlike the tense Yurin, the other priests behind him snarled at Carryl’s words.

“Even a king of a nation cannot easily get away with causing a disturbance in the Holy City!”

“Bind that man!!”

Crack… Crackle…!!

At that moment,

Carryl exerted his strength, and the barrier formation engraved on the floor slowly began to crack.

Boom!!

With a deafening roar, the restraints holding his arms shattered into pieces, and the barrier formation emitting light on the floor split in half.

“I-Impossible…”

Watching the barrier that had vanished in an instant, the Order’s priests stared at Carryl in disbelief.

Thud― Thud―

Carryl brushed off the remains of the barrier that had turned to ashes, as if shaking off dust, and moved his feet.

With each step he took, the combat priests tensed and guarded, but Carryl passed them by as if he had no interest in them.

“Yurin Hyugard.”

Carryl tapped him on the shoulder.

Sizzle…!!

Then, smoke rose from Yurin’s shoulder.

“Ugh?!”

With burning pain, a black hole was burned through his priest’s robe.

“You’re not thinking of fighting me, are you?”

The body’s memory remained vivid even after time had passed.

The overwhelming dread he had felt at the Fire Dragon’s lair resurfaced, and Yurin trembled.

“How is Jake?”

“…The fifth of the McGovern family is safe.”

Yurin answered in a barely audible voice.

“So there’s no danger as a hostage.”

At Carryl’s question, Yurin nodded. The Emperor shouted at his appearance.

“Y-You, what are you saying right now!!”

Carryl nodded and passed him, looking at Tylan Sutein.

“Emperor.”

“…!!”

Carryl, standing before him, looked down at the Emperor.

“Surely this isn’t the end of your hidden cards. If you were trying to deal with me with just a few combat priests and a hostage, you should start racking your brain right now.”

“You…”

At that moment,

“Carryl―――!!!”

KWAH-AAAAH―――!!!

With an earth-shattering roar, his body staggered for the first time.

“What in the world is the meaning of this!!!”

With a bellow that seemed to shake the heavens and the earth, those inside dropped their weapons at his roar.

Kwell McGovern.

Indeed, he was a figure of immense power, worthy of being called the greatest swordsman on the continent.

However, the fact that Carryl had withstood his blow without a scratch was even more astonishing.

“I was merely asking about the well-being of Jake, my brother.”

“Is that… what you should be saying right now!! You are now pointing a sword at His Majesty! Do you think you will be safe after doing such a thing?”

“And if I’m not safe?”

Carryl coldly retorted.

“I have resolved the family matter as my father wished. But I must make my stance clear. Is my father now Kwell McGovern of the Empire, or is he the head of the McGovern family?”

Kwell felt his question like a dagger to the heart.

But he had to decide.

Just as Carryl had revealed his position first in front of his disciples, Kwell knew that he could not remain lenient forever.

“I am…”

Kwell said to Carryl with a hardened face.

“A knight of the Empire.”

Swoosh―!

The sword he held moved so quickly that it seemed to disappear. Even most knights would not be able to follow his speed.

KWAH-AAAAH―――!!

However, Carryl accurately blocked Kwell’s sword, which was aimed at his chest.

A tingling sensation in his wrist.

‘It feels faster than my last prime in my previous life.’

As the future had changed, there might have been some changes in Kwell’s path that Carryl didn’t know about.

‘What happened?’

What was clear was that his sword had become heavier and more complete.

It was as if,

The completion of swordsmanship that Nar Di Maugh had lamented in his previous life might be possible in this life.

“To think I would draw my sword for a reason other than to teach you swordsmanship.”

Kwell aimed his beloved sword, Yulston, at Carryl.

His sword, passed down to the head of the McGovern family, emitted a clear emerald light as the magic of flames was added to the blade of faint jade light.

Called a masterpiece comparable to the five treasures of the Blader, this sword suited Kwell better than anyone else on the continent.

“Hoo…”

As he inhaled, the blade of Yulston emitted even more intense magic.

‘6th class…’

Carryl could immediately recognize the magic condensed in Kwell’s sword. The amount of magic was less than his own dragon magic, but the purity of the mana blader was by no means inferior to his own.

“Congratulations on your achievement.”

He said, looking at Kwell.

“You’ve become even more amazing than when I saw you in the Imperial City. Breaking through the wall of the 5th class can’t have been easy… You’re amazing.”

Even though they were in a situation where they were pointing swords at each other, Carryl admired Kwell’s strength.

He had already reached the realm of swordsmanship in his previous life and had honed his sword even more in the Tower of Parell for what felt like countless eons.

In addition, he had accumulated magic through the repository of knowledge left by Aln Zavius, the great mage of the Magic Age.

Nevertheless, knowing that overcoming the wall of magic was by no means easy, Carryl wondered if Kwell’s talent was truly beyond the limits of humanity.

“I obtained a lucky chance by chance. I probably wouldn’t have reached it on my own. But to think that this achievement would be used to block your path.”

‘…A lucky chance?’

At Kwell’s words, Carryl slightly narrowed his eyes.

[Just a light curiosity. Among those called the three strongest on the continent, including your father, who is the strongest? There’s no way those guys would fight directly over politics or anything… So I went to find them myself.]

Why was that?

At that moment, the words Nar Di Maugh had said during their first meeting in his previous life flashed through Carryl’s mind.

What shocked him more than the surprise of meeting a dragon was when he heard that Nar Di Maugh had visited the McGovern family in the past.

‘So?’

[Honestly, I was disappointed. He was said to be the most at the pinnacle of the five existing Sword Masters, but…]

It was scathing.

Carryl said at his evaluation.

‘Was that so?’

[His age was a pity. He seemed perfect, but in fact, his sword was not complete. If he had been a little younger, his achievements would have been different.]

Through his conversation with him, he learned that the Dragon’s Heart was sealed in Einherjar, and he gained Dragon Magic after his regression, but he did not see Nar Di Maugh visiting the mansion because he left the mansion afterward.

“…”

In any case, even in his previous life when Carryl stayed at the mansion, he was holed up in his room, so he didn’t think anything special would happen in the meeting between Kwell and the White Gold Dragon whether he was there or not.

‘Could it be…’

Carryl shook his head.

In order for the assumption in his head to become true, one of the countless possibilities had to be connected.

That’s why he thought it was speculation.

But who could have imagined everything that has happened so far?

“I suppose you wouldn’t tell me even if I asked about the lucky chance.”

Carryl shrugged.

It wasn’t a friendly situation where they could leisurely discuss swordsmanship.

The two who reached the realm of Grand Master.

Thump…! Thump!!!

Each time Kwell took a step, the broken floor caved in as if it were mud.

‘Amazing…’

‘Could it be that he has already surpassed the realm of Sword Master?’

The three disciples who followed him had never seen Kwell go all out, so they were just amazed.

Thump―

Unlike them, who were in shock, Carryl was convinced the moment he saw Kwell.

Even if they were the same Sword Master, he was different.

The trembling of his heart that he had never felt when he met Gordon Fabian or Ganes Avelant.

“You’re amazing.”

Carryl said with sincerity.

“I once said to the Empress of the South.”

“…?”

“That the position of Sword Master has been fixed at five for too long.”

“That structure has been broken. Haven’t you risen to the ranks of Sword Master?”

“It’s not just me. She has also risen to the ranks of Sword Master this time.”

Kwell, who knew the relationship between the South and Carryl, hardened his face at those words.

There were only five Sword Masters on the continent.

It wasn’t easy to have even one, but Carryl’s words meant that his forces had two Sword Masters.

“Also, more Sword Masters will be born in the future.”

Carryl gestured towards the three people standing behind Kwell.

“It has to be.”

Kwell said as if trying to shake off the anxiety he had felt a moment ago. Certainly, as Carryl said, the three he had chosen would soon become a great force.

If that happened, the Empire would have the most Sword Masters.

Of course, Kwell didn’t know that there were those under Carryl who had the qualifications to become Sword Masters, from Suan Hazar to Aidan and Grace Panpinel of the Three Kingdoms.

“But why are you saying that now?”

Carryl smiled lightly at his question.

“The fact that the structure of five has been broken means that the ranking of the strong can also change, doesn’t it?”

“…What?”

Clang―

He drew Ice Claw.

Woo-oong…!!

At the same time as the blade trembled, a pure white chill and hot flames rose from behind him.

Crack―

As Carryl gripped the hilt of the sword, the cold and heat were concentrated on the blade as if being sucked in.

Buzz… Buzzing…!!

A fierce Arcane Blade erupted as the power of the Flame King and the Queen of the Tide mixed with arcane power.

“Haven’t you been there for too long?”

Kwell looked at Carryl with a tense face at the sword energy he was seeing for the first time in his life.

“The Strongest Seat.”

Carryl said in a low voice.

“Now, step down.”