The Bastard Swordsman Of The Imperial Guard [EN]: Chapter 103

“Thousand Slaughter Sword, Form 3: Trample the Heavens.”

*Whoo-oong!*

The sound of air being sliced echoed through the Special Guard’s training grounds.

Feeling the cool breeze brush against his cheek, Raelle straightened his posture.

“Is there any swordsmanship more messed up than this…”

Raelle frowned, looking down at his sword.

He had been swinging his sword for hours, but he couldn’t feel the slightest grasp of Trample the Heavens.

It was completely different from Enter the Heavens and Ascend to the Heavens, which he had been able to grasp just by saying the technique’s name.

‘How the hell am I supposed to cut down that tree way over there? Seriously, isn’t this magic, not swordsmanship?’

The realm of Trample the Heavens was beyond Raelle’s common sense, after living in a medieval fantasy for over 20 years.

It wasn’t just shooting sword energy; it was shooting sword intent.

“No, to be precise, it wasn’t shooting… it felt like truly transcending space.”

Raelle drew out his sword energy and shot it towards the tree.

*Swish-!*

The leaves touched by his sword energy scattered.

Shooting sword energy itself wasn’t difficult, as he had just demonstrated.

“It’s completely different. That old man’s sword wasn’t like this.”

Raelle thought of the Thousand Slaughter Sword Master as a terrible teacher, but his swordsmanship was the real deal.

The realm of Trample the Heavens was a completely different kind of swordsmanship than simply shooting sword energy.

“Thousand Slaughter Sword, Form 3, Trample the Heavens! Dammit! Trample the Heavens!”

*Swish-!*

Raelle once again raised his sword intent and slashed through the air.

However, only the sound of air being sliced echoed, and it didn’t reach the tree far away.

“Raelle, why are you constantly waving your sword around in the air?”

Just then, a clear voice rang out from the side.

“…This is all training. Training.”

Raelle turned his head towards Reina, who was lying in a hammock.

She was holding Vermeil III in her arms, looking at him with a curious expression.

‘I feel like a monkey in a zoo.’

Well, even Raelle thought that training by swinging sword intent in the air looked foolish.

“That’s what humans call sword intent, right? Are you trying to cut down that tree with it?”

“Yeah. It’s the swordsmanship of that old man, the Thousand Slaughter Sword Master.”

“Ah, like those elves who shoot sword energy? Is it similar to that?”

“It’s completely different from that.”

Shooting sword intent, unlike sword energy, was nearly impossible.

Sword intent was created by forcibly overlapping sword energy, so it would scatter into the air if it escaped the swordsman’s control.

Moreover, if the sword intent itself was a special realm like Enter the Heavens, there was even less to say.

It would immediately scatter into the air if Raelle didn’t control it.

‘Since it’s not about shooting it in the first place, it’s not an important concern.’

Raelle shook his head and sheathed his sword.

What couldn’t be done, couldn’t be done, no matter how much he practiced.

As Ghent had said, something would come to him if he practiced slowly.

“By the way, why are you just watching?”

“Hmm? It’s because I have nothing else to do.”

Reina stroked Vermeil III’s soft fur.

In fact, Reina’s life had been very relaxed lately.

There were no more enemies harassing the elves, and 유리’s [Yuri’s] forces were growing without any problems.

If there was no work with the Special Guard, the rest of her time was completely free.

“Come to think of it, I’ve been wondering, why do you keep holding him?”

Raelle narrowed his eyes as he looked at Vermeil III.

That fox wasn’t doing anything every time he saw it.

It was just lazing around, living up to its name as a spirit beast.

“Umm, Vermeil III makes me feel good when I hold him. Oh, and when I take a nap, he’s like a pillow, and I fall asleep so easily.”

“That’s animal abuse.”

Raelle expressed his condolences to the poor Vermeil III and looked around.

The guy who used to make vegetable juice for him after every training session was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Ghent?”

“He’s working.”

“Ah.”

Ghent seemed to be monitoring the Demon King.

He was taking on Raelle’s share as well, so he must be quite short on time.

‘I want to help if I can find a way.’

The Demon King was a monster that could destroy the Empire and was the target of the demons.

They couldn’t just leave such a monster alone forever.

“Raelle, you don’t look good.”

“I have my reasons. I’m going to head out, so take it easy.”

Raelle stretched and checked the time on his watch.

It was almost time to meet the Sword Dragon.

“Where are you going? I’m bored; can’t I come with you?”

Reina got up and sat on the hammock.

She was already feeling stiff.

“It’s just sword training; it’ll be boring. And why do you want to follow me? If you’re bored, play with the elves. There are tons of them in the capital.”

Since the elves had settled in the forest next to the capital, they could be seen frequently in the capital.

In particular, the land near the forest had skyrocketed in price, and Raelle had made a decent profit thanks to that.

“I don’t want to. If I go to the elves, I have to work.”

“Work? Ah, the demon soldiers?”

“Yeah. Do you know how annoying that is? I have to draw power from the World Tree’s branches.”

The elves were healing the demon soldiers according to Raelle’s orders.

They were working hard to heal them, but it seemed like they still had a constant stream of customers.

“Anyway, not today. I’m busy, so stay here and don’t follow me. Let’s grab a meal sometime.”

Raelle nodded and said.

“Meal? You promised?”

Reina got up from the hammock and stared at Raelle.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Raelle gave a perfunctory greeting and turned around.

He heard a “Yahoo!” from behind, but he didn’t bother to pay attention.

‘Erengor said that Reina is the most talented elf in the elven race.’

Raelle shook his head, thinking of the leader of the elves.

“Is the elven race slowly declining? To think that the hero of the era is such a lazy bum.”

To think that such an elf was the strongest talent in the clan.

Raelle felt that the elves were a truly pitiful race.

*

After leaving the Special Guard, he headed to the meeting place in District 2.

Carlson and Lucas were already waiting at the meeting place.

“Raelle, you must respect me. I am Carlson, the hope and future of the Silver Cross Knights. You can’t treat me like this.”

“Why are you being such a pain in the ass?”

Raelle sighed as he looked at Carlson, who was spouting nonsense as soon as he saw his face.

It seemed like he was unhappy about being pushed into the Sword Dragon’s training.

“Just thinking about the humiliation I suffered because of you…”

“Hey, how amazing is that person? There must be a line of people wanting to learn from him.”

The Sword Dragon’s skills were famous not only in the Vanessa Kingdom but also in the Empire.

Even if he wasn’t the best swordsman on the continent, he was a man with comparable skills.

“That’s not the point. I almost got my head smashed…”

“Tsk. What a drama queen. Lucas, are you also dissatisfied?”

“I enjoyed it. Raelle, there was a lot to learn from the Sword Dragon’s sword.”

“See that, Carlson? That’s the mindset of a true warrior.”

“Haa, is it really my fault? I don’t know no matter how much I think about it. Gaia-men [referring to followers of the goddess Gaia].”

Carlson prayed to Gaia for his injustice and moved his feet.

The only fortunate thing was that today was the time for Raelle to get beaten by the Sword Dragon.

“Raelle! It’s been three days.”

A man two heads taller than Raelle was waiting at the place Carlson had led him to.

He greeted Raelle with a hearty laugh.

“Greetings, Sword Dragon.”

Raelle bowed his head and entered the training ground.

As befitting a high-ranking noble of the Vanessa Kingdom, the training ground at the temporary accommodation was quite well-equipped.

“Let’s start the sparring right away. That Carlson was begging me to show you a proper taste.”

“Ungrateful bastard…”

Raelle shook his head as he looked at Carlson.

Did that guy even know how many times he had saved his life?

*Swish-!*

Raelle drew his sword.

Seeing that Lucas and Carlson’s aura had changed quite a bit in three days, the Sword Dragon’s teaching skills were proven.

“Lucas’s skills have improved a lot.”

“That guy also works hard. Now, let’s check your skills.”

Over the past three days, the Sword Dragon had taught Lucas and witnessed the talent of a true genius.

He was curious about Raelle’s true skills, since that genius was jealous of him.

“Please take care of me, Sword Dragon.”

“Come in first, Raelle.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Raelle lightly raised his sword energy and rushed towards the Sword Dragon.

The Sword Dragon’s eyes widened as he saw the distance closing in an instant.

“…Ho!”

*Thwack-!*

The Sword Dragon smiled as he deflected Raelle’s sword.

The first thing he felt was speed. And an accurate sword path.

*Clang-! Clang-!*

The sword he had just deflected changed its route and aimed for the Sword Dragon’s side, and when he moved his body, it naturally followed behind him.

It was a speed that most knights could never react to.

‘Indeed… I can understand why that guy is jealous.’

The Sword Dragon thrust his sword into Raelle’s solar plexus as if he was curious.

It was a thrust that contained the mysteries of the great sword he had learned, but Raelle lightly brushed it off and rushed at the Sword Dragon.

*Thwack-!*

Every time the sword and sword touched, he could feel it.

A perfectly developed body and magic power evenly distributed throughout his body were supporting his movements.

Raelle was truly a man with the talent of a warrior.

‘To think that such monsters were born in the same generation…’

Lucas.

That kid was also an incredible genius that the Sword Dragon had never seen before.

But what about Raelle?

He had similar talent to Lucas, but his achievements were much higher.

“Raelle, draw out your sword intent! I’m really curious about who your teacher is!”

The Sword Dragon smiled and created sword intent.

It had been a long time since he had met such a guy.

It seemed like he could have a pretty fun duel.

“Thousand Slaughter Sword, Form 1: Enter the Heavens.”

*Whoaaa-!*

A thick sword intent blazed on Raelle’s sword.

The Sword Dragon’s eyes widened as he saw it.

“Ha, haha…! Hahahahaha! I see. So that’s how it is!”

He finally knew who had raised that monster.

The Sword Dragon continued, as if he was amused.

“The Thousand Slaughter Sword Master. You were his disciple, Raelle!”

“…!”

Raelle looked at the Sword Dragon, inwardly surprised.

His eyes were full of conviction.

Feeling that he wasn’t just probing, Raelle immediately opened his mouth.

“You recognized it right away? Even Commander Rain and most people don’t recognize it even when they see it in person.”

“Rain? That guy wasn’t even a Sword Master during the Great War.”

Ordinary people might not recognize it.

However, he was a Sword Master who had experienced the Great War, so he could recognize it right away.

What Raelle was mastering was the sword of the best swordsman on the continent, the Thousand Slaughter Sword Master.

“I see. If it was him, he could have raised a monster like you. I understand now.”

He finally understood the reason for Raelle’s incredible power.

If he was a swordsman who had learned from the Thousand Slaughter Sword Master, it was only natural that he was outstanding.

“…Sword Dragon, let me say one thing.”

Raelle was dumbfounded.

Who gave him the right to attribute his strength to that old man?

“All I learned from that old man was sword intent. It’s not thanks to that old man; it’s the result of my own efforts.”

Raelle raised his sword with a dissatisfied expression.

He had forged his body by training his magic power since he was a child and rolling around on the streets.

It wasn’t thanks to that old man, the Thousand Slaughter Sword Master.

“Haha, is that so! That’s also good. You can prove how good you are yourself! Why don’t you clash properly with the swordsmanship you’ve built up yourself!”

The Sword Dragon raised the corners of his mouth and raised his sword.

Meeting an outstanding warrior was always a pleasure.

*

“Simple swordsmanship is on par with grandfather… Raelle is really amazing.”

“I agree. The Sword Dragon also looks happy.”

Lucas watched the sparring between Raelle and the Sword Dragon with sparkling eyes.

There was always something to learn from the sword of an outstanding swordsman.

‘I can still catch up…’

Lucas knew his talent.

It was true that Raelle’s talent was outstanding, but he could confidently say that he was no less talented.

Lucas focused on the sparring, putting the swordsmanship of those two into his head.

“Why are they fighting so well? I need to see Raelle’s head get smashed…!”

Carlson looked at Raelle with a disappointed expression.

Raelle should have been subjected to the Sword Dragon’s indiscriminate violence like him…!

Why does the chief god Gaia allow such inequality?

Anger surged from within Carlson’s body.

Accordingly, his divine power also became stronger.

‘Amazing…’

Kyle shuddered as he watched the two of them grow even while sparring.

As expected of the Empire’s Three Heroes.

They were terrifying talents.

*Thwack-!*

After a while, the two swords collided and pushed each other back.

Raelle, who was standing in the training ground, lowered his sword first.

“Let’s stop here. I think I’ve shown you enough of my sword.”

“…I see. I saw it well.”

The Sword Dragon felt Raelle’s great talent and turned his head with a regretful look.

He saw his grandson, Kyle, on one side of the training ground.

‘To think that he was born alongside such monsters…’

Kyle’s talent was definitely outstanding, but the timing was bad.

He would live his whole life competing with those monsters.

“Grandfather-! Good work!”

“Thank you, my grandson.”

The Sword Dragon hugged the approaching Kyle and received the towel he handed him.

Raelle, who was watching the scene, suddenly remembered something he was curious about.

“Come to think of it, Sword Dragon, I heard that the Belmos family’s secret technique is the Virgin Boy Art [a martial art that requires the practitioner to remain a virgin].”

“Ho, you know it well. Did you hear it from Kyle?”

“Yes. But… how are you still using magic power?”

The Virgin Boy Art was originally supposed to become stronger by maintaining a pure state.

But he had children? Raelle couldn’t understand.

Was he not really blood-related?

“Raelle, it’s because grandfather reached the realm of Sword Master before meeting grandmother!”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

What did the realm of Sword Master have to do with the Virgin Boy Art?

“Hehe, are you curious? Then I have no choice but to show you my domain.”

“Domain?”

Raelle’s eyes widened at the sudden words.

“That’s right! I mastered the Virgin Boy Art to the extreme, which accumulates pure magic power by maintaining the pure state of the body, and I was able to overcome even its limits! It’s called the Virility Palace! Inside it, even those who have mastered the Virgin Boy Art can share even the hottest love!”

“Ooh, grandfather! I want to see it again after a long time!”

Kyle looked at the Sword Dragon with his hands together.

Kyle really liked the feeling of being full of power when he was inside the Virility Palace.

“…Virility Palace?”

Raelle’s eyes naturally narrowed. Even the name was messed up.

A domain was a place where you could perfectly control your power in a specific space.

But to share love inside the domain for the sake of the pure magic power of the Virgin Boy Art…

It was really a fact he didn’t want to know.

“I’ll show you my Virility Palace right now, Raelle!”

“Please, I beg you. Please stop.”

Raelle squeezed his eyes shut.