The moment I was about to swing my dagger at the knight’s neck.
I had no choice but to stop before I could even thrust my dagger.
It wasn’t because of guilt over the murder.
I had already seen countless bloodbaths and had become accustomed to it.
Nor was it because I was overwhelmed by the knight’s spirit and couldn’t swing my sword.
It was simply because I had decided that I shouldn’t swing my sword.
Behind the knight,
From there, a tremendous force was shot towards me.
The moment I frowned and tried to stare at the person who was sending their spirit towards me.
“……!”
I was forced to jump up from the ground in surprise.
*Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang*.
A sword attack of enormous size passed between me and the knight.
If I had been in that spot, my body would have been split into six pieces.
*Swoosh*.
I looked down and saw the knight gasping for breath.
“You are lucky.”
“Gasp, Cough……!”
The knight coughed up blood and glared at me as if she was going to kill me.
Oh, how scary.
If I stayed here, I would definitely be killed by the Sword Saint.
Although it was true that I had won the duel, the situation would be reversed again due to the Sword Saint’s single blow.
……There was a need for the Demon Clan to turn the tide again in order to gain the upper hand.
“I am nothing but the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings of Bares. But it’s an honor to have the Sword Saint himself come forward to catch me!”
As I shouted, the Demon soldiers behind me began to murmur.
“Yeah, he was just a half-demon we didn’t even care about until recently.”
“We can do it too. We must not lose our momentum.”
“Waaaa-!”
A roar erupted from among the Demon soldiers.
At this, the corners of my mouth rose.
Along with this.
*Thump*.
*Thump*.
The demons beat the ground with their weapons, creating a huge vibration.
*Thump*.
*Thump*.
The human soldiers also pounded the ground as if they couldn’t lose to the demons, but only a much smaller vibration could be heard than the Demon soldiers.
And a huge, cavernous voice flowed from Crete, drowning out even the small vibrations of the humans.
“Now is the time to avenge the past, so we must not miss this opportunity. Charge-.”
Crete’s booming voice echoed throughout the area.
Crete had no intention of missing the opportunity I had created.
Eventually,
“Kill the humans!”
The Demon soldiers and the human soldiers clashed.
* * *
“S, Save me……”
“Cough……!”
Tens of thousands of soldiers killed and were killed in a battlefield that was like a slaughterhouse.
In such a battlefield, I had to work hard to find a way to survive.
Damn it.
At least give me time to escape.
I couldn’t help but curse Crete inwardly.
Right after I defeated the Sword Master with the newly acquired skill.
Crete immediately started the battle.
If my body had been in good shape, I would have been able to escape safely even in this chaotic battle, but I couldn’t be sure because my body wasn’t normal.
‘……This is.’
I made a frustrated face.
It was good that I defeated the knight.
But the aftermath was the problem.
The human soldiers rushed at me to save the knight, and the Demon soldiers rushed at them to kill them.
In the chaotic battle that ensued, I couldn’t find a way out and had to wander around.
And there was one more big problem,
‘……The demons are losing to the human soldiers.’
I looked around with cold eyes.
The gap in skill between the human soldiers and the Demon soldiers was significant.
The level of brute force possessed by one human soldier and one demon soldier was similar.
However, due to the ‘swordsmanship’ used by the human soldiers, the Demon soldiers had no choice but to be driven into a corner.
The swordsmanship of the Nina family.
The Sword Saint had also distributed the swordsmanship he had devised himself to the soldiers.
Although the secret swordsmanship was only allowed to be passed down to blood relatives, he allowed the soldiers to learn at least the basic swordsmanship that contained the principles he had mastered.
Therefore, they were being pushed back not because of the difference in physical strength, but because of the difference in swordsmanship.
However, the Demon soldiers fought well under Crete’s command.
*Clang*.
*Clang*.
The blades of the Demon soldiers and the human soldiers flashed.
“H-How are they not falling?”
“……We can’t rest comfortably before killing the humans.”
The Demon soldiers fought the humans with a will to die.
It was so desperate that it made my heart ache.
Although their swordsmanship was inferior to that of the humans, they gritted their teeth and tried to overcome it somehow.
That was why they were able to maintain their formation even in this situation, despite being pushed back.
……But this balance would soon tip sharply in favor of the humans.
A sandcastle that would collapse with a single touch.
That’s what the Demon soldiers were.
I stood my ground in this chaotic battle and glanced at Crete, who was watching the battle from the sidelines.
His enormous presence made him stand out even from this distance.
‘Crete…….’
The demons would all die here unless he had a plan.
What was he thinking?
No, if he had any plans, he wouldn’t have been brutally killed by the Sword Saint in the original story.
Perhaps…….
Suddenly, a frightening thought crossed my mind.
No way, that couldn’t be it.
*Swoosh*.
I shook my head to get rid of such ominous thoughts.
No matter how reckless Crete was, he wouldn’t think of such a thing.
……He definitely shouldn’t be.
Ignoring the anxiety that was trying to grow in my heart, I walked through the Demon and human soldiers.
To find one person.
‘Where is Rene?’
I was desperately looking for Rene.
With her skills, she wouldn’t be hit by the blind blades of the human soldiers.
However, I was worried.
In the Nina family, there were many strong people besides the Sword Master I had just fought.
The Seven Swords of the Nina family.
If Rene encountered them, she wouldn’t be able to avoid death.
That’s why I had to be by Rene’s side and protect her…….
Just as I was worrying and my heart was pounding.
*Thud*.
I stopped walking.
‘What is it?’
*Clank* *Clank* *Clank* *Clank*.
A strong, strange sound was coming from somewhere.
It was definitely getting closer to where I was.
Eventually,
“……!”
*Clang*.
A blade covered in powerful sword force clashed with my dagger.
And I frowned at the overwhelming force I felt.
From where did they shoot such an attack?
If I hadn’t learned the principles that Crete had taught me, I would have been hit right away.
Fortunately, I was able to deflect the attack by swinging my sword with the Killing Intent.
However, I wasn’t completely unscathed.
Maybe it was because I couldn’t react immediately.
*Swoosh*.
I wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of my mouth.
I had suffered a minor internal injury from the recoil of receiving the sword force.
But I couldn’t see the attacker anywhere.
‘……They just shot out a sword attack imbued with sword force?’
I had a rough idea of who the culprit was.
First of all, it wouldn’t be the Sword Saint.
If it was the Sword Saint, my body would have already been cut in half.
So the only person who could perform such a feat would be one of the Seven Swords of the Nina family.
It was despairing for the Demon Clan.
This meant that there were many people among the humans who could not be stopped unless it was Crete or me.
‘It seems like they haven’t fully revealed themselves yet…….’
That was a good thing.
For some reason, the Seven Swords hadn’t participated in the war directly and were watching the soldiers fight with the Sword Saint from behind.
Perhaps they were trying to figure out the level of the Demon soldiers because of the martial prowess I had shown.
And if they realized that the Demon soldiers were much weaker than the human soldiers and that there were no other strong demons……
It was obvious what they would do.
‘The war is already lost.’
Actually, it didn’t need to go that far.
This war would only end when the Bares family knelt before the Nina family.
I had a hunch.
‘I need to find Rene quickly.’
I had to at least save Rene before then.
If the Seven Swords started to move,
The demons would be slaughtered.
Just as I was about to move my feet.
“How dare you do that to Lady Shael……!”
A human soldier glared at me with bloodshot eyes and swung his sword at me.
A blow filled with rage.
However, it was too far away to reach me.
Position, distance, and skill.
He couldn’t kill me.
So the one who got hunted was,
*Stab*.
“Gasp, Cough……”
The human soldier.
As soon as I slashed his neck slightly with my red dagger, his body collapsed.
Now, I could slaughter ordinary people without much effort.
Like now.
*Thump*.
My heart started to race again.
I knew instinctively that this was the activation of the Eye of Arrogance.
Eye of Arrogance.
Its ability was to temporarily enhance my dynamic vision to the limit when I killed a living being.
And I experienced what that limit was.
‘Slow.’
Everything was trampled under my feet.
My enhanced dynamic vision allowed me to even see the beads of sweat dripping from the humans.
I could see the path.
Where I should go to kill humans more efficiently, what I could do to save more time.
*Thud*.
*Stab*.
*Thud*.
*Stab*.
I slashed the throats of the humans within reach of my sword.
And stabbed the blade into their hearts.
If they were far away, I threw my black blade at them.
I moved forward, wielding my dagger in this manner.
The Eye of Arrogance, whose activation conditions had been met.
It roared with joy, enhancing my dynamic vision to the limit.
Although my body was not in its best condition because I had just used the Manifestation of Inner Image, I became the most prominent being on the battlefield.
A being more extraordinary than Crete and the Sword Saint, who were watching the battle from behind.
Having my dynamic vision enhanced to the limit meant this.
Momentarily, I could move like the Absolutes.
The human soldiers’ eyes were drawn to me.
They sensed that I was dangerous and looked at me, but
*Thud*.
*Thud*.
*Thud*.
They had to lower their gazes.
Their necks were all cut off as I swung my dagger.
Eventually, when my mana ran out and the Eye of Arrogance could no longer be activated.
“……M-Monster.”
Only the words of a terrified human soldier echoed across the battlefield.
And,
*Boooooooooo-*.
A loud trumpet sounded from the Nina family’s castle.
Hearing this, the human soldiers hurriedly stopped fighting and began to flee.
I watched them from behind and caught my breath.
The number of human soldiers I had slaughtered alone was at least three hundred.
One Sword Master and three hundred soldiers.
This was my achievement today.
The first battle between the Bares family and the Nina family.
It ended in the victory of the Bares.
……For now.
Access 5 advance chapters with the ‘Position Exchange I’ Tier ($10), or 10 advance chapters with ‘Eye of Arrogance’ Tier ($18), or 20 advance chapters with ‘Sword Lacquer’ Tier ($35), or 30 advance chapters with ‘Fighting Spirit’ Tier ($50)
Bonus chapter on reaching milestones.
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