Chapter 343
Kkaang! Chaaeng! Chae-aeeaeng!
Clear metallic sounds rang out again and again.
With the towering castle wall as the backdrop, the sight of two boys swinging large swords over their shoulders while spinning in combat was as splendid as watching the sword dance of master artists.
Kkaaaang!
From the impact of parrying his opponent’s weapon, Simon was pushed back, his feet scraping against the ground.
The two hands gripping the hilt trembled. The rough finish of the greatsword rubbed against burst blisters, stinging sharply.
“Impressive.”
His opponent, Jule, praised without reserve as he raised his greatsword upright.
A relaxed expression, and yet the sword remained unsheathed.
‘…Why isn’t he using a drawn blade, and swinging it while still in the sheath? Doesn’t feel like he’s going easy on me.’
“Be careful, Simon!”
From behind him came Dick’s shout, and Simon’s head turned.
“Jule’s a cursed sword user!”
A cursed sword.
As the name implied, it was a blade imbued with a curse. Said to grant its wielder immense power in exchange for blood, death, and all manner of misfortune.
In the past, no knight would dare touch one, but after the Great Necromancer Era began, necromancers accustomed to curses started putting their hands on such weapons.
‘…A cursed sword user, huh. There really are all sorts of necromancers out there.’
As he listened to Dick’s explanation, Simon clicked his tongue.
Chak.
Just then, Jule shoved the sheathed sword into his belt, adopting a stance with the hilt pointing forward.
The moment his hand twisted on the hilt—
Chwaaaaaaak!
A massive slash tore straight into the castle wall behind Simon. The wall shuddered as if about to collapse, rubble clattering down, and a cloud of dust rose up.
Dodging with a backward lean, Simon’s eyes widened as he stared at Jule.
‘…Iaijutsu?’
But he hadn’t even seen the blade being drawn.
To unsheathe such a large sword, launch a slash, and return it to the scabbard without the action being visible, was that even possible?
If he truly had that level of skill, there’d be no need to cling to iaijutsu; he could simply overwhelm Simon outright.
“Simon! That’s the cursed sword’s ability!”
According to Dick’s explanation, the technique Jule had just used was indeed a type of iaijutsu.
Jule performed the entire sequence—drawing the sword, launching a slash, and returning it to the sheath—but to others, that scene was skipped, as though it had never occurred in this world.
It looked as if Jule was simply standing still, gripping the hilt.
It wasn’t some petty trick of illusion or hallucination.
It was closer to a reversal of cause and effect, or manipulation of reality.
The opponent never saw Jule swing the cursed sword. Jule was the only one who swung it, but in this world, the action never occurred, only the result of the swing remained.
‘…That performance is absurd. Thankfully…’
Simon steadied his breath and raised his greatsword.
It seems to consume a lot of Darkness, and there’s a delay before he can use it again.
Perhaps just as Simon guessed, Jule pulled the sheathed sword from his belt and charged forward. Simon grit his teeth and swung his greatsword.
Kkaang!
Once more, the two exchanged blows in a frenzy. Simon’s pitch-black greatsword, enchanted, clashed fiercely with Jule’s red scabbard, scattering sparks in every direction.
“Splendid! You’re quite skilled with the sword as well!”
Jule’s expression was one of pure delight, but Simon’s gaze was elsewhere.
Because of Jule’s appearance, their allied soldiers had abandoned climbing the wall by ladder. Dick was sending the soldiers to the inner castle’s south gate—a wise decision.
“Dick! You go to the inner castle too! I’ll deal with Jule somehow!”
“Uh, got it! Be careful!”
As he moved off with the soldiers, Dick called back one more warning.
“And remember—if you get hit directly by that cursed sword, you’ll be afflicted with its curse! Don’t let him land even one strike!”
‘Easier said than done…!’
Kkaang!
Sparks burst violently as sword and scabbard collided.
Jule’s right foot shot forward as he swung the scabbard, knocking Simon’s greatsword upward, then gripped the hilt tightly.
‘!’
Seeing the movement, Simon immediately released his sword and threw himself aside.
Chwaaaaaak!
The straight-line slash carved through the spot where Simon had been, smashing into the wall.
Still carrying force, the slash climbed the wall before bursting at the top, sending great plumes of sparks into the sky.
Whoa.
Cold sweat trickled down Simon’s temple. A huge crack marred the wall.
If he wanted to, he could bring the whole wall down by himself.
It was no wonder people called him the strongest in Keyzen when in good condition, even if he was only Special Case No. 5.
Stepping on the greatsword Simon had dropped, Jule spoke.
“Quick dodge, but what will you do after throwing away your weapon?”
He raised the sheathed sword upright and charged in a straight line.
Simon silently extended his right arm. A magic circle glowed in his palm.
‘Curse!’
Distracted by the magic circle, Jule spun his body. With a sharp clang, he deflected the greatsword that had been flying toward his back.
‘Damn, so close!’
It had been a well-thought-out feint, but Jule had a swordsman’s sharp instincts.
The greatsword, spinning in the air, curved back into Simon’s hand with a chak!
‘Got the idea from Feer’s Greatsword of Destruction.’
The hilt had been fitted with a skeleton’s bone in advance.
Simon gripped the greatsword anew, and Jule charged. The two clashed again, neither giving an inch, fighting fiercely.
“Haaah!”
“Khup!”
Chae-aeeaeeaeeaeng!
Simon’s hands trembled on the hilt, the opponent’s sword path was incredibly hard to predict.
Jjeok!
For the first time, a strike landed at his waist.
The barrier gauge dropped drastically, and Simon gagged. Even with the scabbard, a proper hit would shatter his ribs.
As Simon staggered, Jule took a step back and aimed the hilt forward in an iaijutsu stance.
‘Dodge!’
Simon instantly threw himself to the side.
Chwaaaaak!
As expected, the slash shot out straight ahead. But—
Kkaaaang!
Simon instinctively raised his greatsword. The red slash collided with the blade.
‘Iaijutsu with a double strike?’
The cursed sword’s invisible movements were overwhelmingly dangerous. Sight and sound gave no hint of its path, he could only rely on instinct.
If instinct failed to trigger, or guessed wrong? In real combat, he’d be cleaved in two instantly.
“Though it’s enjoyable to cross swords with someone from Keyzen, I don’t understand why a summoning applicant like you is fighting with a blade.”
Jule tightened his grip on the cursed sword.
“Show your true strength. Unless you bring out that ‘Royal Guard’ you’re so proud of, you have no chance.”
So that was your aim from the start.
Jule had come specifically for Simon, likely at Elisa’s orders.
If Jule defeated him, all the better. Even if Jule lost, Simon would have to summon the Royal Guard, consuming large amounts of Darkness and blood, and be left exhausted, no real loss for them.
‘…No reason for me to play along with Elisa’s plan.’
If he consumed more Darkness here, operating the skeleton mage to create flames will also become difficult.’
‘Run!’
The decision was made.
Simon summoned a skeleton from subspace and donned Bone Armor.
Perhaps thinking he was finally going to fight seriously, Jule smiled in satisfaction and waited.
Whoosh!
Simon suddenly hurled his greatsword. While Jule blocked it, he turned his back and bolted away.
“What?!”
Jule’s expression shifted to bewilderment.
“H-how can you show your back in the middle of a duel! Stop!”
Ignoring him completely, Simon sprinted toward the wall. Jule, flustered, chased after him in a hurry.
‘Come back!’
Retrieving the greatsword he had thrown earlier, Simon surged Darkness into his legs and scaled the wall.
Tap!
Jule, in pursuit, also climbed the wall.
“I told you to stop! Isn’t it shameful for a swordsman to run away with his back turned?!”
‘Sorry, but I’m a necromancer.’
At that moment, the soldiers atop the wall spotted the two of them.
“Squeak squeak! It’s the Supreme Commander!”
“The one-eyed guy next to him is an enemy! Fire!”
The archers unleashed a volley of arrows solely at Jule.
However, Jule deflected every arrow with swift movements of his scabbard, and finally caught up to Simon.
‘You’re chasing me this far?’
Simon reached the top of the inner wall, and Jule, right behind him, swung his scabbard as he ran.
Kkaang! Chaeng! Chae-aeng!
The weapons of the two boys clashed repeatedly as they dashed along the wall.
“Hup!”
Pausing his attacks for a moment, Jule gripped the hilt of his cursed sword, and Simon quickly raised his greatsword in front of himself.
Kkaaaaaaang!
Jule’s slash collided head-on with Simon’s greatsword.
The greatsword finally shattered, and from the force of the impact, Simon’s body was flung out over the wall.
“Eek!”
“C-Commander!”
Even as he fell, Simon swiftly extended his fingers.
A turquoise Cloud shot out like a rope, sticking to the base of the wall. As it tightened, it yanked Simon’s body back toward the wall.
“Out of my way!”
Pushing past the soldiers, Jule charged forward. Any weapons thrust toward him were simply smashed apart by swings of his scabbard, and he closed the gap with Simon, who had just landed.
‘Persistent!’
Simon snapped his index finger forward.
<Sickness>
The curse of nausea shot out like a flash, but Jule casually raised his scabbard to block.
The moment the curse touched the scabbard, it shattered and dispersed as if Cancellation had been activated.
“The cursed sword is the king of curses! Such attacks won’t work!”
Jule’s charge was like that of a berserker.
Even as wounds opened from attacks pouring in from all sides, and his barrier gauge dropped, he didn’t seem to care at all.
Despite his plain and foreign appearance, his obsession with battle was just like that of a cursed sword user.
“Hyup!”
At last, Simon descended the wall. This was the core of the inner city, the heart that could be reached only after breaking through the inner defenses.
‘No matter what, Elisa wouldn’t have told him to chase me this far…!’
Whoosh!
But Jule descended the wall as well. Simon let out a dry laugh.
‘If you’re chasing me this far, I have no choice.’
Simon sprinted down the sloping stairs of the city, with Jule right on his tail.
Jjeoeeooeong!
When Jule touched the hilt of his scabbard, a crack tore through the residential area above. With a tremendous crash, bricks and houses collapsed, blocking Simon’s path.
Ku-ku-koong!
Simon weaved through the falling debris, but his body was soon obscured by a thick cloud of dust.
“Hup!”
Sweeping his scabbard, Jule cleared away the dust, revealing Simon lying prone on the ground.
“Got you!”
Jule immediately charged, but an emerald sword light suddenly shot out from the front, striking his scabbard aside.
“!”
Jule flinched, taking a step back.
“From here on,”
<Simon’s Original – Royal Guard>
Through the settling dust, a skeleton swordsman unit in turquoise cloaks surrounded Jule.
“I’ll give it my all.”
Simon said, placing an emerald crown upon his head.
At last, Jule smiled and gripped the hilt of his cursed sword.
“The skill of Special Admission No. 1, I’ll learn a thing or two!”
“Before you can do that—”
At Simon’s signal, twenty-three Royal Guards shot forward like flashes of light.
“I’ll end this in one strike.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters