The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 371

236. The Final Battle (2)

KWA-BOOM—!!!

KWA-GA-GA-GA-GANG—!!!!

With a tremendous explosion, the massive walls of the Imperial Capital crumbled.

“Enemy attack… Ugh, aaaaagh!!!”

Swept away by the collapsing debris and thick dust, the soldiers on guard duty screamed as they fell.

“Don’t panic!! The wall hasn’t completely fallen!! Stop the enemy from climbing up, no matter what…!!”

Swish-

Amidst the chaotic soldiers, the commander of the defense forces shouted, but he couldn’t finish his sentence.

His severed head fell to the ground, but the soldiers didn’t notice his death due to the dust billowing from the collapsing wall.

“This sword is dull.”

Ziggurat muttered to himself, seemingly displeased, even though he had cleanly beheaded the commander without getting a drop of blood on the blade.

Whoosh-

Since Derrill had turned his sword to ash, he was using one from the wall’s soldiers, and he lightly twirled it, as if trying to get used to it.

“After the first wall, the second wall is protected by a magical barrier. We will create a disturbance to draw the enemy’s attention while our lord destroys the second wall.”

“Understood.”

As if the high walls of the Imperial Capital were of no concern, the Ten of the Moonless Night were already over the walls with the first explosion.

As soon as Ziggurat’s order was given, they each took out small spheres from their pockets.

Flick-!!

Dozens of spheres were thrown with all their might, and one of them standing behind scattered thin needles in all directions.

Bang!! Bang!! Ba-baaang—!!!

Surprisingly, the needles accurately pierced the dozens of spheres, creating acrid clouds of smoke in the air.

“Fire.”

Another member of the Moonless Night nodded towards Ziggurat and took out the bow he had been carrying on his shoulder. The massive bow was almost as tall as he was. He held the bow horizontally, and as he lifted one leg and pulled the string, it bent as if it would break.

Shoooooo—!!!!!

The moment the arrow flew from the string of the great recurve bow, a flash of sparks appeared, and it passed through the smoke at an incredible speed.

Clang!! Whoosh……!!!

At the same time, the smoke in the air spewed red flames as soon as the arrow hit, and the flames split into smaller pieces, spreading the fire to the roofs of buildings throughout the Imperial Capital.

“Fire!!”

“Hurry!! Prevent the fire from spreading!!”

“Request support from water-attribute mages…!!”

The soldiers hurriedly turned the water from the fountains in the plaza and the fire hydrants everywhere.

Fsssh…….

But surprisingly, the flames that seemed like they would burn fiercely disappeared like the wind as soon as they touched the roofs.

“Huh?”

“What is this….”

The imperial defense forces, who thought it was a fire attack, looked at each other, bewildered by the suddenly disappearing flames.

“Haha, it failed!! Subdue them!!”

“Everyone, go up to the wall!!”

The defense forces from below began to rush in. But Ziggurat nodded as if it was going according to plan.

“Everyone, cover your noses and mouths. The poison of the Simian is deadly.”

The soldiers began to rush up the wall, but they simply stared at the soldiers without moving.

“Cough……. Huh?”

The soldier at the front coughed lightly and covered his mouth as he saw a lump of blood fall to the ground.

And it didn’t take long for him to realize that it had come from his mouth.

“Cough! Cough!!”

“Keh… Keh-he… Cough!!”

“Ptooey!! Ptoo-ack!!!”

The soldiers who had been pushing up towards the Moonless Night instantly collapsed to the ground and began to vomit blood.

“Sh, Shield magic!!”

“No! Heal first!! Cough…! Keh-he…!!”

The desperate cries of the mages that followed were heard, but their situation was no different from the soldiers. Even the mages who thought they were protected by shield magic vomited blood, and the defense forces quickly fell into panic.

“Poison!! Poison has been spread on the wall!”

“S, Save me!!”

As the soldiers who went up the wall died instantly, the soldiers hurriedly tried to go down. As a result, the stairs below became a scene of chaos as the soldiers pushing in and the soldiers trying to go down became entangled.

“Aaaaaah……!!”

Some soldiers were pushed around and eventually fell to the ground below, and the sound of bones breaking with screams was heard everywhere.

“Move according to the plan.”

Ziggurat glanced at those soldiers and then disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

“Easy. Thanks to Randal, knowing the back roads of the Imperial Capital makes infiltration much easier.”

Karyl muttered to himself as he opened the underground door under the old building. The outside was already noisy, and the sound of soldiers’ footsteps could be heard loudly.

[Wouldn’t infiltration be meaningless for someone like you? Is there a reason to come in like this?]

At Allen’s words, Karyl gave a strange smile.

‘The Empire’s Sword Masters, including my father, have already been deployed to the battlefield. The only obstacles left in the Imperial Palace would be Belin Valentiun’s Golden Knights and Kadin Ruer.’

The Golden Knights, the Empire’s strongest knight order and the Imperial Guard, were skilled, but they couldn’t stop Karyl with the already aging commander leading them. Before Serga emerged, Kadin, who was the Empire’s only Archmage, was the only one skilled enough to face Karyl, but he was only a 7th class mage.

Karyl, who had already seen the multiple sealing formations he had created in collaboration with the mages of the academy he had cherished, knew that his level could not threaten him.

‘If I had to pick one… it would be those guys.’

Karyl’s eyes shone as if he was waiting for something.

Click-

As soon as he opened the door of the building, he began to sprint through the alley at a rapid pace.

“…Interesting.”

He stopped for a moment when he stood in front of the plaza after passing through the alley. He sneered as he looked at the large pillar erected in front of him.

In his eyes, a woman was tied tightly to the pillar like a criminal. Her pale face was already devoid of blood, indicating that she was not alive.

[It’s gruesome, but it will definitely serve as an example. The Empress, who once ruled the continent, is now a sacrifice for treason.]

Allen gave a bitter smile as he looked at her corpse hanging on the pillar.

[Even 100,000 lives couldn’t save her life.]

Olivon ultimately did not spare the Empress, who had returned with 100,000 troops from the Marquisate. The reason was simple: because she had no value.

“It shows that he is an infinitely kind emperor, but he will never tolerate traitors.”

[By sacrificing one empress, he gave mercy to the soldiers who returned from the Marquisate and fear to the nobles of the Imperial Palace, so it’s a profitable business.]

“Losing a genius named Brand Gaumont and gaining only the life of the empress who rebelled against him… His death would have angered him more than 100,000 troops, so it’s a natural result.”

As Karyl looked at her, he somehow remembered Olivon trying to kill him in his past life.

‘Was I like that too? The Ten of the Oracle who fought for you. Then… what was the benefit you could gain by killing us and abandoning me?’

Clench-

With endless rising anger, Karyl’s hand gripping the handle of Lakna tightened.

Thud- Thud-!!

The destination was, of course, the Imperial Palace.

Leaving behind the pillar where the Empress’s corpse hung, Karyl unhesitatingly ran towards the Sun Hall, where Olivon would be.

* * *

“Stop him!! There’s only one enemy!!”

Kwaaaang—!!

Kwagang—!!

“Ugh!”

“S, save me……!!”

The shouts of the knights, who had been so confident, quickly turned into screams, and the sound of footsteps rushing towards the corridor gradually approached the Sun Hall.

“Damn it……. What does that bastard think war is!”

Belin Valention shouted in disbelief at the report of Karyl’s brazen intrusion into the Imperial Palace alone.

Seventy thousand troops were besieging his territory. Yet, Karyl didn’t care and instead struck from behind.

It felt like he was being utterly violated.

Ppatdeuk-

Belin couldn’t suppress the shameful feeling as an Imperial knight, knowing that the Imperial Palace, which he had prided himself on as the strongest on the continent, had been raided twice without any resistance, and there was no one who could stop him now.

Kwaaaang……!!

The door of the Sun Hall was violently opened.

One side of the tall door, several meters high, was shattered by Karyl’s kick and fell to the floor with a loud noise.

“…….”

Olivon, sitting on the throne, looked at Karyl walking into the Sun Hall. Cardin Luer and Belin Valention stood beside him with tense faces.

“Olivon.”

Karyl called out his name as he looked ahead. His voice, filled with mana, was clearly heard even 500 meters away in the hall.

Thud- Thud- Thud-

He slowly moved his feet.

He scanned the surroundings of the Sun Hall as if savoring his memories.

The absolute gap with the Emperor.

The distance of 250 meters was so far that Olivon’s figure could hardly be seen properly, making it difficult to even estimate how enormous the Imperial Sun Hall was.

However, this distance was not just for showing majesty. Imperial citizens were born with mana. Because they could speak with mana, communication was possible even from this far away.

But while communication was possible, being born with mana also meant being born with the ability to use mana as a tool for murder.

In the end, this distance was for the Emperor’s safety.

But now, this absolute gap meant nothing to him.

Whether it was 250 meters or 500 meters, if he walked forward, there would be no one who could stop him.

Truly a one-man army.

Karyl walked forward without hesitation, as if he didn’t care about the assassins and hidden magical traps placed in the Sun Hall.

Swish-!!

As he drew his sword in the air, the court magician, Cardin Luer, couldn’t hide his bewildered expression.

“All the traps in the Sun Hall have been disarmed……?”

These were defensive magic circles that had taken decades to complete. He, who had a deep understanding of barriers, had created them by supplementing and modifying the traps passed down from the old Imperial era.

But as if mocking his efforts, Karyl disarmed them with just a single gesture.

“Those who come out will die. You know better than anyone that you are no match for me. Don’t sacrifice your lives for an emperor who is about to die.”

Karyl didn’t even turn his head.

At that one word, none of the assassins placed in various locations could release the drawn bowstrings.

“You!!!!”

A sharp cry rang out amidst the silence.

Belin Valention drew his sword and rushed towards him. The mana blade, filled with mana, showed that it was a strike with all his might.

“…….”

But in Karyl’s eyes, it was just a slow sword strike filled with power. Even that power didn’t seem that great.

Karyl watched Belin’s strike and lightly dodged his attack with a cold, indifferent expression.

Thwack-!!

As he struck his chin with his palm, Belin’s body soared into the air. Karyl swung Ice Claw, still in its scabbard, against Belin’s back.

“Kuh…… Keoeok!!”

The sound of Belin’s spine breaking from the impact as he floated in the air could be heard as he gasped for breath. The solid armor he was wearing shattered like glass.

“Sir Belin!!”

Cardin Luer hurriedly shouted as he watched him roll across the floor. But Olivon stopped him by raising his hand.

“To charge in here alone, your arrogance truly surpasses that of a dragon.”

“Arrogance? It’s skill. Shut up and prepare to die. It’s time to end this war, just like you said.”

“Is that so? Do you think I haven’t made any preparations?”

Olivon said in a low voice as he looked at Karyl.

Charrreureung……!!

Chwaaaaaaaaak—!!!

At that moment, a transparent wall appeared between Karyl and Olivon, blocking them like a shining curtain.

The size of the barrier gradually increased, completely surrounding Olivon, and then several more layers were created, pushing Karyl back.

“…….”

Karyl lightly tapped the barrier surrounding Olivon with his finger as if flicking it.

Pajik……!!

Then, sharp sparks flew, and his hand was thrown back with a shock, along with a crackling sound as if electricity was flowing.

“[The Order].”

Alun said in a low voice as he watched the scene. Karyl looked at Olivon, who was smiling with satisfaction, with cold eyes.

“The last card you believe in was just a god.”

Karyl scoffed.

Jeujeujeujeujeuk……!! Jeujeujeujeuk……!!

Then, as if he had been waiting for this, he plunged his sword into the barrier that was blocking him.

“Then good. That’s the best news I’ve heard in a while.”

Jeujeuk……!! Jeujeujeuk……!!!

As Lakna was embedded in the barrier, it began to shake violently with a loud noise. Olivon, who believed that the barrier would never break, looked at him with a relaxed gaze.

Kwaddeuk!! Kwaddeudeudeudeuk……!!

Jeujeujeujeujeujeuk……!!

But despite that, Karyl pushed Lakna’s blade deeper and deeper into the barrier.

Very little, very little by little, but the blade was definitely digging inward.

“…….”

Olivon’s eyes wavered.

“Watch closely.”

Karyl said to him, putting anger into every word of his voice.

“The sight of the power of the god you believe in being shattered by my hand.”