The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 339

220. Niel Blanc (4)

“Stop him!!!”

After the two Knight Commanders were taken down in an instant, the knights hesitated to move.

They knew that anyone who blocked Khalil would end up like them.

However, as if snapping out of it at Belin Valention’s roar, the knights hurriedly threw themselves at him.

“Get out of the way!!”

The knights snatched shields from the shieldbearers in front of them, covering their faces as they ran.

Duty.

Knowing they would die, but with someone to protect, the knights could throw themselves into the inferno.

Watching them, Khalil smiled coldly.

He didn’t dislike it.

He too had once lived such a life.

Because there was someone he had to protect more than anyone, he could fight even at the cost of death.

4th Riffle Posture.

But not now.

Khalil, who had been sprinting, pressed his right leg into the ground, rotating once, then leaping into the air again with the leg as a pivot, increasing his speed.

The 5th posture continuing in the air.

5th Spirale Serpent Posture.

Kwaaaang!! Kwang!!

The Spirale Serpent, imbued with the speed of the Riffle rather than a crouching stance, pierced through the wall of knights blocking him with explosive power.

Swish—

Despite the collision between the massive shield wall and the sword, there was surprisingly no impact sound.

Rustle, rustle…….

Thud—

The shields were torn to shreds and fell to the ground like paper, and the knights who had formed the wall in front of Khalil stood still.

Swish, swish, swish……!!

The moment Khalil took a step, the knights’ limbs were severed like the shields a moment ago, and red blood gushed from their entire bodies like a fountain.

Gold, purple, and jade-colored armors were intertwined, but all began to be dyed red by the scattered blood.

“If you don’t want to lose your lives needlessly, reveal your true form. How long do you intend to be called by that name? Niel Blanc.”

“…….”

Khalil, who had torn apart a dozen knights, stepped over their corpses and spoke to the figure standing at the end of the hall.

“Charge!!!”

Blood clots spurted from Cam Gray’s mouth each time he spoke, as if the blood flowing from the sword wound that pierced his collarbone and shattered it was flowing backward through his esophagus.

Perhaps because of his desperate cry.

Waaaaaaaah―――!!

Waaaaa――!!

Thousands of shieldbearers and spearmen rushed towards Khalil all at once.

“…….”

Khalil glanced at the soldiers who were leaping over his head, trying to crush him with their swords and spears, and pressed his hand on the floor.

Kwaaaaaaang!!!

Sharp pillars of fire soared from the floor, drawing a circle around him.

“Kuh-ack?!”

“Aaaaaaagh!!”

The image of the fire giant, Lamine, appeared and disappeared like a lingering image behind Khalil.

“…….”

[These guys don’t know the value of their lives.]

As Alrune slashed his ice claws in the air, black smoke began to envelop the cracked red barrier.

[First magic, then humans blocking the way? It’s like what the Platinum Dragon would do. It would take too long to cut down all those guys and go, so I’ll help.]

Swish, swish, swish―――!!

The black smoke devoured the entire Sun Hall in an instant, then spread out as if carried by the wind, growing even larger.

“What, what is it?!”

“I can’t see!”

“Maintain formation!”

The soldiers began to panic and flounder in the space that had turned as black as pitch.

[Five minutes. Even borrowing the magic of Duat, concealing the entire area is limited to that much.]

“That’s enough.”

Khalil leaped towards Niel Blanc without a moment’s hesitation.

Flash—!!

The black smoke scattered, drawing a long tail along the edge of his sword.

Kaaaaaaang……!!

The sharp sound of swords colliding rang out.

Khalil, feeling a heavy sensation in his hand, slammed his sword down to the lower left, rotating halfway and slashing the sword horizontally once more.

Kaaang—!

Recovering the rebounding blade, he thrust again to the lower left. Then, a diagonal slash from the bottom up to the right.

Colorless Qi Sword, Variation 3, 2nd Unicorn Posture.

Rotating the sword that had risen above Niel Blanc’s shoulder halfway, he moved the tip of the sword downward and simultaneously executed the 3rd form and the Unicorn Posture.

A relentless barrage of sword strikes collided.

Pzzzt―!!

The moment Khalil thrust Lakna, he felt a tingling sensation in both arms and hurriedly withdrew his sword.

Tzzzzzz…….

Khalil’s gauntlets, made of mithril, were excellent at magic defense due to the properties of the mineral.

However, the impact that had penetrated the gauntlets just now felt different from magic.

“That sword is…….”

In the black mist, a light yellow flash of electricity flickered.

It was a sword he had never seen before.

Niel Blanc, holding two twin swords he had never seen even in his past life, looked very out of place.

Zzzzt……. Zzzzzzt…….

Lightning surged from the two blades, emitting a pure white light that occasionally turned blue.

‘Was there such a weapon?’

Khalil recalled his past life, but it was a weapon he had never seen. In fact, even in his sparring matches with Nar Di Maug, he would always just use whatever weapon was in the training ground, and in the fight against Tarak, he was in the form of a dragon, so he had never seen his weapon when he was human.

[I can’t believe it…….]

[This feeling is…….]

[Could it be Gran?]

Unlike the unfamiliar Khalil, the Spirit Kings continued to speak, seemingly confused as they looked at Niel Blanc’s twin swords.

‘Do they know something?’

[Thunder Lord. It’s the power of Kungen, the Spirit King of Lightning.]

Lamine murmured in a low voice.

[I never thought he would be sealed in a sword……. No, what is that sword in the first place?]

[It’s a sword I’ve never seen before. To think there exists a weapon that can create such a strong magical barrier to seal a Spirit King…….]

[Spirit King? Why is a Spirit King inside that?]

As their questions continued, this time Alrune uttered a word.

[To think I’d see that in a place like this. Should I say it’s good to see it……. Or should I say damn it…… I don’t know. That’s Thunderstrike and Lightning. One of the 5 great weapons of the Blader that we created.]

The Spirit Kings recognized the energy inside the sword, and Alrune, on the other hand, recognized the two swords themselves.

[You? Is the weapon created by the Blader of the Magic Era so great that it can seal a Spirit King?]

Etheral, more than anyone, knew his Ice Claws well, which contained his power, so he spoke in a suspicious voice.

[At least we’ve seen two weapons. Kalduan’s Gauntlets and Ice Claws. They’re definitely useful, but not enough to seal a Spirit King itself.]

[That’s what I want to ask too. To seal the power of a Spirit King, you need to have the ability to at least make a contract with the Spirit King. The Council of Seven Elders occasionally learned spirit magic for fun, but none of them were that capable.]

[Then…….]

Duat said in a low voice at Alrune’s words.

[That’s not something you guys made.]

Khalil glared sharply at Niel Blanc at his words.

‘Whatever that sword is, what’s more certain is that it blocked my swordsmanship. Is there anyone on the continent who can perfectly block my swordsmanship?’

Khalil’s conviction that Niel Blanc in front of him was Nar Di Maug grew stronger and stronger.

[But isn’t it a bit strange? Since everyone in the Empire knows that there’s a Guardian Dragon, why bother hiding his power? Why bother staying in human form until the end.]

‘I don’t know. The reason is, as you said, I’ll have to catch him and ask.’

Khalil exhaled and once again gripped the two swords.

A slight tremor.

How many times had they fought?

Ironically, Khalil seemed to recall the sparring matches he had with Nar Di Maug in his past life.

It was a memory he had forgotten as he traveled back in time within Farrell for a long time, but unlike his head, his body seemed to still remember the thrill of that time.

Total defeat.

From before he gained the title of Sword Saint to after.

In his sparring matches with Nar Di Maug, Khalil had never once won against him.

‘But it’s different now.’

In his past life, he had no magic power, could not control spirits, and had not even obtained the divine power called Master Key.

But the most obvious difference.

He was not alone.

Khalil’s blade crossed, and a sharp wind arose as if cutting through the air.

Annihilation Strike.

Lakna’s silver-gray aura blade, imbued with divine power, rose explosively, and the two swords crossed, a pure white light flashing.

The Absolute Sword that had even bisected the Chimera [a mythical fire-breathing monster with a lion’s head, goat’s body, and serpent’s tail].

At that moment,

The barrier created by Alrune could not withstand the sharp impact and disappeared like smoke in an instant.

“……!!!”

It was a strike with all his might.

But the moment he saw the result, Khalil realized that his Annihilation Strike had been blocked.

Crack…… Crack, crack……!!

A sharp metallic sound.

Khalil looked ahead with a hardened face.

Niel Blanc was clutching his shoulder as if he had been injured, looking up at Khalil with a pained expression.

“Kuh……. Kuh-heuk.”

Khalil was at a loss for words at his appearance, with a faint groan and sweat beading on his forehead.

“Why are you still pretending to be human…….”

Khalil tried to pull out Lakna, but surprisingly, it didn’t budge.

The ability to grab Lakna’s formless mana blade was by no means common.

But the one who blocked his sword was someone else.

“Are you alright, Sir Niel Blanc.”

The three people who had blocked Khalil’s path.

Among them, the red-haired man with a Flamberge [a wavy-bladed sword] with a blade that curved like a wave pressed down on Lakna and said with a snarl.

“Everyone, please evacuate. It seems we are the only ones who can stop this one.”

Crack……!

Crack……!!

As the wave-shaped blade emitted flames, it collided with Lakna’s aura blade, and sparks began to fly.

Like ashes scattering, the remnants of the flames brushed past the back of Khalil’s face.

“Block me?”

Khalil swung Agnel, which he held in his other hand, and spoke to him.

At that moment,

Khalil’s eyes widened.

‘……Could it be.’

[Yes. That’s right. Those three are not human.]

Lamine answered his words.

[They are dragons.]

The three dragons, known to not interfere in the human world, had not even shown themselves in the Holy War when Tarak appeared.

But now they were right in front of him.

At a time when the danger that had swept across the continent, Tarak, had not even occurred.

‘Not only the Platinum Dragon, but the other three dragons are helping the Empire?’

[If that’s true……. This, the situation is not going well. No matter how strong you are, it’s impossible to face three dragons at the same time. They are all beings who have reached the 9th class realm.]

[It seems the Empire was not only trusting in the Platinum Dragon.]

Alrune gritted his teeth at Lamine’s words.

[Damn it, no wonder……. They readily agreed to the war. Could it be that they are all participating in the war? There were a total of five dragons who participated in the Holy Spirit War, including Liselria.]

But unlike Alrune, the Spirit King Lamine took the seriousness of the situation differently.

[That’s right. But for four of them to join a mere human war……. That’s terrible.]

Even the Spirit Kings spoke in trembling voices, as if they were nervous. That was because the Empire had as many as four overwhelming dragons, which was a force reminiscent of fighting against gods.

But rather than the current fact, Khalil let out a sigh that was like a question he would ask Oliven of his past life, who was now gone.

‘With this much power……. Why didn’t they use them in the Holy War?’

Were there unavoidable circumstances?

That could have been the case.

But…….

His dying comrades.

The people being devoured by Tarak.

The subordinates screaming.

And even their families who had disappeared into ashes.

At least the emperor of the Empire who led them…….

He should have begged on his knees until his hands wore out, and done whatever it took to get their power.

Of course, even so, the outcome of the Holy War might not have changed.

But at least, wouldn’t it have been possible to delay the sight of the deaths of family and friends even a little?

Merely…….

‘It would have been more hopeful than the future gained by using a wretched member of the minority race.’

Khalil raised his head and glared at one place.

‘How much more are you hiding from me?’

His eyes trembled as he looked at a boy who had appeared with the three dragons far away.

“No……. Have you ever been truthful?”

Khalil said with a snarl.

“Oliven.”