The viscount couldnt believe it.
Itd been a single blow.
With one blow, a hundred heads had been cut off.
The bodies of the knights had exploded into chunks of flesh.
Those brave soldiers
Those dozens of knights hed nurtured for long with such difficulty
Theyd all died under one blow.
How could this happen
The cause was a mere pilgrim!
Hed thought the man was someone of no note, but that was obviously wrong.
Besides, he used a sword!
A sword pilgrim.
The fact that somebody like that was active inside the empire meant he was confident in his own strength.
How could he do something like this, with that meagre amount of divine power
Was he hiding his strength?
A pilgrim who was capable of a feat like this
No.
There was a strong possibility that this was a Master, pretending to be a pilgrim.
Think, Geralt, think! If you dont want to die right now
Should he run away?
Or should he try to talk things out?
If the opponent really was a Master, hed definitely die the moment he tried to run away, so the viscount dismissed that thought.
There was no point in trying to talk things out either.
The opponent had already raised his sword.
Hed dared raise his sword within the empire, and reveal his own identity.
He wouldnt respond to talking.
Then there was only one way left.
Creak.
Geralts grip upon his spear tightened, making it groan.
Even if he had to perish right here, wouldnt it be a great honour to trade blows with a Master in his final moments?
Come on, then!
Creeeeakkkk.
That sword
His aim lay near it.
Ill take that arm.
Give up your flesh to break the enemys bone.
Thooommm!!
His spear thatd been bestowed by the empire
There was nothing lacking about it!
The tip of Geralts spear glowed red.
Light wrapped around his arms, and his muscles swelled into a grotesque shape.
Spear held at his side, he threw himself forward, aiming at a single point
As Callius sword prepared to pounce, Geralt only had time for a single thought.
He hadnt been able to see the sword at all during the first blow.
This time shouldnt be much different either. So he had to throw his spear, now.
Ahhhh!!
The bulging muscles, large enough to match an average human body, yielded all their power into a single motion.
Paang!
The wind gave way.
A single spear broke through the air.
With this, hed be able to hold on for a while
While he was so sure
Snikt.
That cold sound made Geralt blink once.
His eyes turned to the earth.
His spears shaft had been cut exactly at the midpoint, and the sight made him reflexively gape.
Ah?
Slide. Thud.
Uh How
Geralts body collapsed, sliced cleanly in two.
In his left hand, there was a small javelin still clutched tight, but now it had no meaning.
Crackkkkkkk.
As Geralts body crumbled like dust, it was the end of the imperials.
Haah
Callius let out a long breath, and again sheathed his sword.
Crack.
Boom!
Craaaaashhh!
The burning brothel finally collapsed.
With the mass of flames and rubble behind him, Callius stared at Chris.
The silence between the two stretched.
Just as Chris was about to say something
Whiiiiish.
A sword flew through the air and landed at his feet.
It was a well-balanced sword
But just one of the common ones Callius had in his possession.
Almost in a daze, Chris reached down and grabbed it by the hilt.
Its heavy.
But despite the heavy weight felt by his hands, Chris heart was beating so fast that he wanted to immediately give it a swing.
But since hed just been showed that fantastical swordsmanship
So would anyone in his position.
The spear and the mace had long since vanished from Chris thoughts.
Ah, Uncle! N-name? Whats your name!!
As the pilgrim whod already turned around was about to disappear, he slowly glanced back and gave him a brief reply.
Find out.
Then he quickly disappeared into the darkness.
A pilgrim in pure white, bearing a sword.
For a long while, Chris was left staring after him, choking back his tears.
A pilgrim of the sword
As if to etch that into his mind, Chris clutched tight the sword that didnt suit his underdeveloped body, and looked at the burning remains of the brothel in front of him, then at the road along which the pilgrim had vanished, and finally, up at the dark sky.
High above, the stars yet burned as if nothing of note had happened, twinkling.
Rattle, rattle.
Hey! Slow down!
B-, bandits are chasing us, how can I slow down!
Ah, I keep telling you they wont be any trouble.
Thunk, thunk-thunk! Ting.
Arrows kept hitting the wagons side.
Philomatours face wrinkled with nervousness.
Serena! Cant you deal with them?
Master Callis is working on it.
No, just how long
An open carriage with no roof.
Callius was riding on it, his eyes closed and his hand at the scabbard on his lap.
Despite the rattling of the wagon, he sat perfectly balanced.
Hed practicing some kind of swordsmanship. Hes been doing it quite frequently of late.
That hundred something?
Hundred Flowers Harvest. Its the sword art of Master Callis, so dont besmirch its noble name with your shabby mouth.
Really, what
That was then.
Callius eyes opened.
And his sword swung.
Slash!
A half-moon sword arc few and cleaved the bandits apart.
Oho.
Ohh! Cool!
Awesome.
The complaints were washed away.
Praises poured in instead. But he who received them, Callius, didnt seem satisfied at all.
Why are you doing this?
Its harder to use while riding a wagon.
Isnt that obvious?
Thats not it.
It was a sword skill.
Its wielder had to know how to use it fully anytime, anywhere.
Therefore, Callius was training to be able to use it from any position and in any situation.
In the beginning, hed had to focus on the quickdraw part for a long time before he could use the technique.
Of course, that was just because Callius proficiency was low.
Hundred Flowers Harvest wasnt originally supposed to work that way.
So, ever since hed left the kingdom, whenever hed had a chance, he had been practicing the technique, and although hed achieved a certain level by now, it was still far from perfect.
By the way, will that kid be alright? His mother wanted him take care of, didnt she?
It was Aldo speaking.
He asked, while tinkering with his hammer.
Callius re-sheathed the Predator Sword as he responded.
I did what I could.
The world didnt lack people with their own circumstances.
Trying to carry them all along wouldnt help Callius achieve his objective.
In the first place, he was a fugitive on the run.
Taking a child along who couldnt fend for himself would only be a burden.
So Callius had given the boy a sword.
A sword that mightve been a common thing for him, but definitely not for Chris.
If Chris had a sword; if he was really determined to go down that arduous road
Giving a sword like that away was worth it.
If a single sword could nourish a boys dream
The sword would repay its value.
Did you really need to do that? Didnt Veronica say shed give you her wealth
Ive already received my reward.
When Phillips sword had turned into light
Callius had been aptly compensated.
[Faith +2]
Thanks to that, Callius [Faith] now stood at
Callius von Jervain
Title Hero of National Salvation
Occupation Pilgrim
Spirit Level 3
Divine Power 15703/16934
Talent Bards Blessing Instinctive Intuition
Characteristics [Verse of Grace] [Nobilitys Duty] [Death Verse Composition] [Prodigal Son of the Order] [Gluttony] [Tricolour Eye] [Bewitching Scent]
Constitution Smelting Bones
Ability
Strength 102 (30)
Agility 86 (30)
Skill 19
Health 89 (30)
Faith 95 97
Ninety-seven.
Ill have to prepare soon.
He had to prepare to raise the quality of his spiritual power.
The moment [Faith] reached a hundred
Hed break through the limit of level 3.
Normally, hed have to purchase sacred stones in bulk and find a suitable training room, but there was no need to panic.
Oh, I can see it!
His destination was the Saharan Holy Land.
Can we just cross the border like this?
No.
Across the border freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
The Saharan Holy Land could be seen over the mountain ridge.
Its mark was a tower that rose high in the sky, leaning precariously to one side as if it could fall any moment, yet stood proudly.
What a great place that is.
Have you been there before, old man?
I remember when I went there with my father, when I was young. Its a bit hazy now, but the Holy Land was such an incredible place that Ive still kept the memories.
Aldos lips curved up as he looked at Philo and his companions.
Do you know the story of Sahara? Why was a sanctuary created at the centre of the Sahara Desert?
Dont show off, talk!
Callis, do you know?
Callius nodded.
Its ironic, that it was men with the power of the Gods who ended the Dragon Demon War.
Hah! You really do know. Thats right. Sahara wasnt always a desert.
The Sahara Desert was exceptionally red.
Hence its other name, the Red Desert.
However, the story went that it hadnt been a desert from the start.
The war between the dragons and the fallen had shattered and devastated the land, and the sea of blood split over it had left it barren and stained red.
That war had been so fierce and the aftermath so great, that countless men had gotten tangled in it and died meaningless deaths.
And that was when theyd appeared.
They were followers of the various Gods that make up the continent today.
Sword, spear, mace, bow, hammer, et cetera.
It was said that armed warriors who followed various Gods had appeared and put and end to the Dragon Demon War.
After that, a tower had been built to commemorate it.
And from then on, in the Sahara
You couldnt kill people recklessly.
Itd become a true sanctuary.
They say that if you kill someone in the Sahara, a dragon or a demon will appear. Theyre sensitive to the vows theyd made.
Ah
Serena looked at Callius.
She seemed to be making another strange mistake. But Callius didnt care.
The Saharan Holy Land
Callius held quite a few expectations for it.
There were multiple reasons, but there was one especially important objective.
The King of Steel.
First, he had to get the King of Steel.
To prepare for war against the empire, there was no other sword that could help as much.
And the second objective was Stella.
There are traces of Stella in the Holy Land.
As Aldo said, among the heroes whod ended the Dragon Demon War, Stella was one.
Traces of Stella in the Holy Land
Meaning, traces of her swordsmanship, still remained.
Callius has learned Stellas lost sword art, but it wasnt perfect.
How much progress could he realistically make based on a sword manual with a few scribbled letters and a few diagrams?
That hed been able to assimilate and understand it to this level was already an achievement.
In the first place, Stellas swordsmanship
Wasnt made to deal with humans. What Callius had learned was a tweaked version Stella had made before her disappearance, with modifications to make it useful for fighting other people.
Originally, the Silver Flower Wave Sword was not made to kill humans.
Itd been made to fight dragons and demons.
Its still strong enough, though.
But the original Silver Flower Wave Sword had been in a whole other league. It was the strongest sword art on the continent.
That was the moniker the Silver Flower Wave Sword deserved.
Stella had been famous as a saint, but before that, shed been called the Dragonslayer.
Her sword, was a sword that killed dragons.
Because of the Light Dragon Sword, Ive incurred the dragons wrath.
Learning Stellas true swordsmanship was now quite important.
And the third objective for heading to the Holy Land
That was
As expected, its going to be troublesome.
Philos voice awakened Calius from his thoughts.
Far away
There were people gathered at the border.
Imperial soldiers in red armour.
Two people stood at their forefront.
Twin princesses, one from the empire and the other from the principality.
The two were guarding the border.
In total, the number of border guards had quadrupled.
Since killing was impossible in the Sahara, the imperials were determined to not let them step foot there.
While everyone in the party were frowning at the sudden complication
Callius expression remained unchanged.
He merely
Fiddled with a ring he wore on his finger.
The [Ring of Leteti].
Editors Notes:
None for this chapter.
Dont forget to like, comment and rate/review on ! Were quite a way into the middle of the story, so hopefully youve formed enough of an opinion.
There will be two (or maybe three, lets see) more chapters this week, since there werent any releases this month.