The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 459

274. The Battle of Farrell (3)

[You’ll die if you keep this up.]

Aidan wryly smiled at the rough voice echoing in his head. The sight before him was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Swish…! Swoosh…!

He could only feel the wind brushing against his cheeks; the world’s colors seemed inverted, with white turning black and black becoming transparent.

A scene from an unknown realm.

Aidan felt as though he were inside a flash of light piercing through a fleeting moment where time stood still. It was as if the world was rushing past him, not the other way around.

‘No time. Of all places, Anchar is across the strait in the former duchy’s territory.’

[You should have used a teleportation magic circle to cross over. Pushing the power of lightning like this will burn out your internal organs first.]

The owner of the rough voice was none other than Kungen, the King of Lightning Spirits. Aidan chuckled wryly, looking at the remnants of electricity scattering from his legs.

‘Who was it that said I could go faster than teleportation magic?’

[Well, I said it wasn’t impossible, but it depended on you…]

Kungen smirked, watching him.

[At first, I thought it was just boasting… I admit it. I can’t believe you could actually accept the power of thunder. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a unique human since Kaie Essir.]

‘If I stop the impending disaster and get to Lord Farrell, he might think differently. I’m not even worthy to stand at his feet.’

[The one who made contracts with the other Spirit Kings besides Maktun? And possesses the hearts of Liselria and Nardie de Maug… Honestly, it’s hard to believe.]

‘Don’t worry. You’ll find out soon enough.’

[Well, I don’t dislike you either. Even though it’s a fake, the fact that you possessed lightning and thunder means there might be a connection between us.]

‘Is that why you readily made a contract with me?’

[Don’t be absurd.]

Aidan looked at the small orb above his shoulder. Just like when Lamine emerged from Ein Trigger, Kungen’s small form lightly tapped his cheek.

[I liked your eyes.]

‘You’re a strange Spirit King.’

[I’ve always been eccentric. The power of lightning is different from other elements. It’s an element, but it also contains the power of light and darkness, an incomplete power. That’s why it can be even more intense.]

Kungen looked at Aidan.

[I had a feeling you could use me well. It’s a blow to my pride that Maktun released my seal, though.]

Listening to his answer, Aidan increased his speed. His legs were still running through the air, and he was already passing the edge of the strait beneath his feet.

[But be careful. I’m not as kind as the other Spirit Kings, who adjust their spirit power to suit their contractors. This is my last warning. You can use my power as you wish, but if you are consumed by lightning as a result, it’s not my fault.]

‘Does that mean I can run even faster than I am now?’

[If you wish.]

Aidan looked ahead.

Having crossed the sea in an instant, he caught sight of smoke from a battle far in the distance.

‘That’s the answer I wanted.’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Aidan put strength into his legs.

* * *

“Damn, there are so many.”

In the artillery corps newly built in the harbor of Cove, where the Steel Fleet once docked, dwarves, much smaller than humans, were busily moving.

The artillery they were operating was completely different from anything seen before.

“Load the magic artillery with dispersion rounds. They can’t be cut with swords, but even the smallest bugs can’t avoid smoke.”

The gnome standing at the edge of the harbor commanded, watching the bugs flying in from afar.

Clank-!! Drrrrrrr…!!!

As soon as his command was issued, the gnomes pulled the levers of the control panels.

Then, dozens of cannons with sleek barrels and intricate patterns simultaneously aimed across the strait.

“Magic power charge 80% complete!! Ready to fire.”

The gnome wearing large goggles shouted, looking at the screen connected to dozens of devices.

“This is a gift that our Gnome Kingdom has put its heart and soul into for you. Try it out!”

Calipson, standing at the front line, shouted with burning eyes at his subordinate’s report.

“Do not allow a single bug to set foot here. All batteries!! Commence firing!!!”

As Calipson forcefully lowered his raised hand, the artillery corps set up in the harbor unleashed fire.

Bang! Bang! Boom-!!

Boom-!!!

The shells flying with black smoke exploded in mid-air, creating fierce flames, and the flames turned into dust again, transforming into a cloud that seemed to envelop the harbor.

[Kirr…! Kirrrrk!!!]

The bugs that were flying in began to scream in agony as they flapped their wings and entered the cloud.

“Alright!!”

“Waaaaah—!!”

The Gnome Kingdom soldiers cheered as they watched the swarm of bugs falling into the sea.

Calipson clenched his fist without realizing it at the sight.

“Be careful!!”

It was then.

The gnomes, who had been focused on the disappearing corruptions in front, hurriedly turned their heads at the voice coming from behind.

Whoooooooong—!!!

Whooong—!!

Thousands of bugs rotating in a spiral, resembling a drill, were fiercely falling from above the soldiers’ heads.

“N, no… when?!”

“Were the ones in front bait? No way. Did they divide their forces and come in? To use more than half of their forces as bait… Bugs using strategy?!”

Calipson’s face twisted.

“Batteries 1 and 3!! Rotate to the rear!!”

“…The bugs are too fast!!”

The magic artillery hurriedly rotated to the rear, but the massive cannons could not keep up with the fierce movement of the swarm of bugs.

“D, danger…!!!”

The moment the sharply rotating swarm of bugs was about to engulf the artillery corps,

Whoooooooooong—!!

Barely by a hair’s breadth, the bugs suddenly changed direction, avoiding the cannons and rising back into the sky, scattering.

“What’s going on?”

The soldiers crouching under the cannons were bewildered and raised their heads, confused by the bugs that had stopped attacking.

Thud-

It was then.

The gnomes had momentarily forgotten about the person who had given them the initial warning amidst the sudden bug swarm attack, but they belatedly realized that there was one person.

A woman who had landed on the edge of the magic artillery’s cannon barrel was pushing and pulling against the swarm of bugs as if playing an invisible tug-of-war, with her palm facing forward.

“There’s a limit to how much I can hold them back with my power… Hurry and evacuate!!”

Anchar shouted.

She was barely controlling the bugs with the power of verdure [life energy], but it was a precarious situation that could break at any moment.

‘I’m sure of it. That one… is the main body.’

She noticed, looking at the green bug at the forefront of the swarm that had attacked from behind.

It was a small size that could not be seen with the naked eye, but her way of seeing things was not with her eyes but with the vitality emitted by the living beings themselves, so she could accurately pinpoint where Rice’s main body was among the many battlefields.

‘I have to stop it.’

The third disaster, Rice, was not just a swarm of bugs. They were countless swarms that had struck the entire continent, but unlike Hekt, whose individual clones led each region separately, they moved around a single center.

In other words, Anchar was convinced that if she could catch the main body in front of her, she could stop the rest of the bug swarms as well.

“Kugh?!”

However, having only one main body, unlike the divided clones, also meant that the bug swarms moved and resisted more organically than Hekt.

Whoooooooooong!!!!

As the main body was bound by Anchar, the bug swarms quickly targeted her back and attacked.

“Unta! Ha-Krato!!!”

Anchar hurriedly chanted a druid’s spell.

Clang! Bang!!! Crash, crash, crash!!

A shield enveloping her entire body unfolded, and the bug swarms began to throw themselves at her shield as if it were raining.

“Ugh…!!”

Every time the bug swarms struck the shield, she grimaced as if her own body was being hit.

Crack… Crack…

The shield she had deployed was different from that of a mage. Stems sprouted on the transparent shield that the bug swarms were hitting, and they intertwined like a net, ensnaring the bug swarms.

“Cough….”

The druid’s shield, grown from the earth, was connected to the caster, so the damage was inevitably returned to her.

With the attacks of numerous bug swarms, there was no way she would be unaffected, no matter how much the damage was reduced.

“Fire the artillery!!!!!”

At that moment, Calipson’s shout was heard, and the dispersion rounds erupting from the magic artillery created a cloud over the druid’s shield.

“I told you to evacuate!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. We too are here to fight. War has already spread throughout the continent, and there should be no retreat once you set foot on the battlefield.”

Calipson took out a small pill from his pocket and pushed it into her mouth.

“Oop?!”

“It’ll be a bit salty. It’s snow rock salt from the north. Salt has a disinfecting effect, but I’ve also engraved a recovery spell on the surface of the salt with delicate magic, so it should help a little.”

“Ugh… I, I see.”

Although her mouth was full of saltiness, Anchar felt her heartbeat calm down.

“But what are you going to do now? How do you kill the main body? Should we shoot dispersion rounds at that thing?”

However, she shook her head at Calipson’s question.

“That won’t work.”

“Then?”

Anchar’s hand, holding Rice, trembled. If she were to let it go here, she would have to go out and find the battlefield where it was again.

“The way to destroy the corruptions is all the same. They won’t die unless you cut out their hearts.”

“But how do you cut something you can’t even see….”

Clang—!!!

It was then.

“……!!!”

Anchar felt as if the tightly stretched string had suddenly snapped and staggered backward.

A flash of light burst through the dust, and sparks flew in all directions as if the operators of the magic artillery nearby had been electrocuted.

“W, what’s going on?!”

Unlike the bewildered and noisy gnomes, Anchar, who had fallen backward, stared ahead with trembling eyes.

“Report to the Lord.”

Flutter…! Flap, flap…!!

The legs of the small bug held between her index finger and thumb were pathetically fluttering.

“…….”

A man appeared through the striking lightning.

“Aidan!”

He gave Anchar a faint smile, then stared silently at the bug in his hand before putting strength into the two fingers holding it.

Crack-

Only the sound of the bug’s shell crumbling like a cookie remained on the battlefield.

* * *

“How long are you going to keep us waiting?”

The man said to Karil with a mix of annoyance.

“He won’t come. He’s the most cunning and inscrutable of our gods. He’s probably reconsidering what kind of deal we’re making with you.”

The woman with the snake lips also added weight to the man’s words. It seemed they wanted to achieve something before the master of the third disaster appeared.

“I don’t care about him or his shortcomings. When the road is long, you have to crawl [even a slow pace will get you there eventually].”

However, Karil still spoke with a relaxed expression despite their words.

“…….”

As soon as he finished speaking, a dimension door opened and an old man with a hardened face appeared.

“Isn’t that right?”

Karil sneered, looking at him.