𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧
“Ahhhhh!”
“Uh. . . . . .Ah. . . . . .”
“””Raaaah!”””
ㅤ
An ax-wielding woman, a middle-aged wizard, and a multitude of soldiers.
The entire enemy army surges toward us all at once.
They aim to crush us with the same brute force of numbers as before, a strategy so simple it’s hardly a strategy.
But now they have the added strength of two heroes, enhanced by demonic power. Even the same attack is a different beast.
ㅤ
Leading the charge is, of course, the ax-wielding woman, exceptionally physically capable.
She charges straight like a boar, fully swinging her enormous ax with both arms.
A downward swing.
It’s a monotonous attack.
Though her power and speed are incredible, it’s not difficult to handle this if it’s all she’s got.
ㅤ
I step diagonally forward and catch her downward swing with the shorter wooden sword in my left hand.
As always, I’m overpowered, and my left hand sinks under the momentum of the ax.
I transform that sinking momentum into rotational force with my Flowing Blade technique, thrusting my right wooden sword toward the head of the ax-wielding woman.
Thanks to my experience in the Dragburn battle and the training along the way, the effectiveness of my dual-sword technique has improved, allowing me not only to defend but also to counterattack.
Still, the power transmission rate is low, and one-handed attacks lack power.
It’s probably not at a level that would work against the Four Heavenly Kings.
But it should be enough for the ax-wielding hero before me.
ㅤ
“Huh?!”
ㅤ
The ax-wielding woman staggers as she takes the thrust executed by the Flowing Blade to her head.
But she doesn’t fall.
As expected, using Flowing Blade along with Heaven Shaker lowers its accuracy.
But without combining it with Flowing Blade, taking down the hero would be impossible.
Especially since the durability of those with martial divine protection rivals that of demons.
ㅤ
But if it doesn’t work once, I’ll keep hitting until it does!
I launch a follow-up attack on the staggering ax-wielding woman.
If her brain is shaken from that last strike, then the conventional Heaven Shaker should have some effect.
I’ll keep pounding her until she’s down.
ㅤ
“. . . . . .Tch.”
ㅤ
But it’s not that easy.
The middle-aged wizard interferes with my follow-up by sending multiple water bullets flying at me.
They curve skillfully, avoiding the ax-wielding woman and the approaching soldiers in front of me.
Whether he’s left enough reason not to involve his allies or he’s simply avoiding obstacles, it doesn’t matter.
ㅤ
Either way, it’s a troublesome attack.
The water bullets are faster than I expected.
Blocking them is easy.
Distorting their trajectory with Distortion Chain and nullifying them by making them collide with each other would suffice.
I’ve even deflected a few with Calamity Return, aiming them at the ax-wielding woman, but the pressure from the barrage of water bullets prevents me from moving forward. A few seconds are lost, making it impossible to follow up on the ax-wielding woman.
The deflected water bullets are stopped by the soldiers forming a wall before they can reach the middle-aged wizard. The ax-wielding woman, who took a few hits, only has minor injuries.
By the time the after-effects of the concussion had faded, she had regained her footing and attacked again.
This time she’s joined by the other soldiers who have caught up.
“Damn it. . . . . .”
ㅤ
Various weapons are swung at me, with the ax-wielding woman leading.
Flowing Blade. . . . . .No, this is the time for,
ㅤ
“Distortion Thousand Hands!”
ㅤ
Three attacks came at me simultaneously.
An ax-wielding woman from the front, and swords from both the front and the back.
No matter how many enemies there are, since I can’t move in a packed formation, the number of close-range attacks executed simultaneously is not that many.
ㅤ
First, I deflect the most immediate threat—the ax-wielding woman in front of me—with my wooden sword in my left hand, directing its path to slash the legs of the soldiers behind me.
Simultaneously, with the wooden sword in my right hand, I redirect the trajectory of the sword coming from the side towards the arm of the ax-wielding woman.
Furthermore, I deflect the sword swung from behind me at a spot protected by Sword Saint Shizuka’s haori and mithril breastplate, and lead its path towards the ax-wielding woman’s abdomen.
As a result, the ax-wielding woman receives slashes to her left arm and abdomen, and several other soldiers fall, their legs severed by the redirected attack from the ax-wielding woman.
ㅤ
However, the damage inflicted on the ax-wielding woman is still minor.
Annoyingly, she stops the attacks with her muscle armor.
The sword embedded in her arm doesn’t sever it, and the one thrust into her abdomen doesn’t penetrate.
What’s more, she regenerates instantly as soon as the swords are withdrawn.
Next, the ax-wielding woman swings her weapon again, and new soldiers swarm over the fallen allies, with additional attacks even coming from middle-aged wizards and other back-row classes.
ㅤ
I can handle this.
I won’t lose if I continue fighting.
But while I’m doing this. . . . . .
ㅤ
“Ugh, o. . . . . .?!”
“Hahahahahahaha! Pathetic! Unsightly! You’re disgraceful!
Even my brother, who was so desperate, can’t catch up and now looks like trash!”
“Damn, g. . . . . .!”
ㅤ
Beyond the wall of soldiers, Blade is being hacked apart by Rest, and the countdown to defeat progresses moment by moment.
Rest swings his sword with a mad grin, while Blade loses focus watching his younger brother.
The outcome is as clear as day.
Somehow, I have to finish things here and rush over to help Blade.
Damn it!
If only the enemies were ones I could kill, this would be so much easier!
ㅤ
“Doug-san! Please help!”
“Hmm! Understood!”
ㅤ
I judge that neutralizing this entire force alone in a short time without killing them is a tall order, so I call for backup from Doug-san, who is reliably incapacitating soldiers in the back.
Doug-san shakes off the enemies in front of him and comes over.
But the situation changes even in that brief period.
ㅤ
“I’ve always hated you! You’ve always been an eyesore!
Just because you were born with the divine protection of the Holy Warrior, everyone expected great things! They recognized you!
And I kept being compared to you!”
ㅤ
Rest’s demeanor changes from mania to anger.
He continues to spew out.
The darkness in his heart.
Words that gouge out Blade’s heart.
ㅤ
“I’ve been working harder! In order to overcome the difference in talent, I’ve struggled so hard!
Yet, as if mocking my efforts, you flaunt the gap between us with the power of the Sword Saint!
Despite often skipping practice! Despite never making a desperate effort! Using just the power you were born with!”
“Gugh?!”
ㅤ
Along with his words, a piercing fist sinks into Blade’s abdomen, used as a feint with a sword strike.
Unable to withstand the blow, Blade falls to his knees.
This is bad!
However, Rest doesn’t immediately follow up on Blade; instead, he looks down at the kneeling Blade with a sneering, sarcastic smile.
ㅤ
“I’ve always, always been so envious of you, Brother.
But now, I’m finally free from those feelings.
Because now, I’m stronger than you!
When physical abilities are reversed, that’s just how it is.
Your swordplay lacks depth, Brother. You only win because of your brute force as a Holy Warrior. You’re bad at reading your opponent’s moves.
That might work against weaker foes, but not against someone stronger.
In other words, it won’t work on me, now that I’ve become stronger!”
ㅤ
Rest laughs out loud, so thrilled he can hardly contain himself.
. . . . . .To be honest, I’d had a similar feeling, but to be ridiculed and called out like this by his own younger brother, it must be a huge blow to Blade’s psyche.
Even from the outside, it’s obvious he’s devastated.
He may be broken.
Rest mercilessly kicks Blade’s face and tramples on him.
Enough already!
ㅤ
“Ugh?!”
“The ranking is over. Now, let’s finish this! With your death, I will say goodbye to my weaker self!”
“Ah, aaaaahhhh?!”
ㅤ
Unable to block Rest’s decisive attack, Blade’s arm is severed and flies through the air.
Yet, with his remaining arm, Blade uses his greatsword like a shield and desperately clings to life. But he has no more time!
ㅤ
“Doug-san!”
“I understand! Aaahhhhh!”
ㅤ
We set out to rescue Blade, launching our final assault on the enemy before us.
We weren’t just idly watching Rest’s domestic violence.
I defend, and Doug-san attacks, and thus we’ve been steadily eliminating the obstacles before us.
Thanks to that, we’ve neutralized more than half of the soldiers.
We’ve almost taken down the greatest obstacle, the ax-wielding woman.
We’ll make it!
Just in time!
ㅤ
“Raaaaaaah!”
ㅤ
The ax-wielding woman raises her remaining arm to swing her ax.
Backed into a corner, her survival instincts have intensified, as she wildly swings her weapon, seemingly abandoning all reason.
This is our chance!
ㅤ
“『Flowing Blade』!”
“Huh?!”
ㅤ
Deflecting the ax strike with precision, I deliver a Flowing Blade attack to the arm of the ax-wielding woman.
If it had been a real sword, that would be one thing, but an attack with a wooden sword can’t inflict significant damage on a hero.
Moreover, the current opponent is a hero endowed with the power of demons.
Such minor damage will likely be healed in an instant.
ㅤ
However, the aim of that strike wasn’t to inflict damage through impact, but to dislocate the shoulder joint with a powerful blow.
No matter how high their regenerative abilities, if you dislocate their joints, their movements will be momentarily hindered, creating an opening.
And if an opening is created, we have forces capable of dealing massive damage even to a hero.
ㅤ
“Sorry, Vanessa! Haaaa!”
ㅤ
Apologizing as he calls her name, Doug-san lunges at the immobilized ax-wielding woman.
Lowering his hips as he advances, he first directs a sword strike at her left leg.
Circling to her rear, he delivers a double slash aimed at her right leg and right arm.
With that, he successfully incapacitates the ax-wielding woman by disabling all four of her limbs.
Doug-san then throws the incapacitated ax-wielding woman, forcefully removing her from the combat zone.
ㅤ
With that, the biggest obstacle is down.
The only significant barrier remaining is the middle-aged wizard.
This should be easier compared to the ax-wielding woman.
Wizards are weak up close.
Even if they possess divine protection for magic and have been granted demon powers, they may be stronger than regular soldiers in close combat, but they can’t compare to those with divine protection for martial arts.
However,
ㅤ
“Goodbye, Brother!”
ㅤ
It seems Rest will finish off the middle-aged wizard with his blade before I can even get there.
What to do?!
ㅤ
“Kid! Jump!”
“Huh?!”
ㅤ
Shouting that, Doug-san suddenly slashes at me from the side.
I was puzzled for a moment, but I immediately understood his intent.
The sword Doug-san is swinging is aimed at my abdomen.
Instinctively, I took the action that seemed best.
I catch the belly of the swinging sword with the sole of my foot. Doug-san blows me away with all his might, launching me toward Rest.
ㅤ
“oryaaAAAA!”
“Doug-san!”
“Leave this to me and go on ahead!”
ㅤ
Despite being left alone on the battlefield with nearly half of the soldiers and a middle-aged wizard, Doug-san, who was kicked in the vital spots not once, but twice, doesn’t seem like someone you’d expect. He sent me off with words that were quite manly.
Doug-san’s stock within me is rapidly rising.
At first, I thought he was just someone relying on the power of divine protection, and when we reunited, I didn’t think much of him, considering him to be a reasonably decent person. But it turns out, he’s something else.
You, you were a proper hero.
ㅤ
I won’t let Doug-san’s sacrifice be in vain.
With the momentum from being launched, I lunged at Rest, who is about to finish off Blade.
ㅤ
“Rest!”
“Don’t get in my way!”
ㅤ
My wooden sword clashes with Rest’s blade.
Our swords, crossing for the first time in a day, made an incredibly sad sound.
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