Chapter 109

THUNDER!!!

Aswell urged his horse to greater speed.

“Do you intend to attack the alchemists as soon as we arrive?”

“They have already attacked our border. We would be justified in attacking any of their facilities.”

Once his mind was made up, he never wavered.

“There could be traps.”

“Then we need only break through them.”

In a way, those words were immensely reassuring. Only the Sword Emperor could say such a thing.

SHING!

He drew his sword.

“There it is!”

As they rode along the outskirts of the Great Forest, a large building came into view, just as reported.

“Attack!”

Aswell reached the building first.

[“Grrrr...”]

At that moment, black-armored soldiers emerged from hiding in the undergrowth.

BOOM! CRASH!!!

Without a hint of alarm, Aswell swung his sword at the soldiers.

CRUNCH!

It sounded more like an explosion than a cut. Aswell looked at the soldier’s body, shattered to pieces by his sword.

‘There’s no blood.’

There was certainly something strange about the body, which had broken into fragments like pottery.

“Khan! You were right. They aren’t human! But calling them monsters... Something isn’t right.”

Though shattered, the body had a human appearance. If he had to describe it, he would have called it a porcelain human.

[“Kyaaaah!”]

[“Kyaah!”]

The soldiers rushed Aswell. But the attacks of those slow, shambling creatures had no chance of reaching him.

THUD! WHAM!!!

THUD-THUD-THUD!!!

In an instant, Aswell’s sword burst seven soldiers apart. It was truly Seven Kills.

“Hoo...”

He drew a breath, then thrust his sword forward in a headlong charge.

CRAAASH...!!

He looked like a charging beast. The move was savage and overpowering, fundamentally different from the swordsmanship he had displayed thus far.

“This is something I learned from Fenrir.”

Aswell withdrew his sword and spoke to Woojin as though eager to show off.

“I named the sword art Ravenous Wolf.”

Apparently pleased with the name he had chosen, he repeated it to himself a few more times.

“Ahem. There’s something I’d like to show you too...”

Woojin surveyed the area.

“But there aren’t any enemies left.”

Having disposed of the black-armored soldiers in moments, Aswell kicked open the laboratory door.

“Wh-who are you?!”

Several robed figures stood inside.

“Surely you already know who I am?”

SLASH...!!!

Aswell cut down three of the five alchemists in an instant. There was probably not an alchemist in the world fast enough to evade the Sword Emperor’s blade.

“E-eek!”

“P... please spare us!”

The two survivors stood frozen in terror among their abruptly slain colleagues, crying out to Aswell in tearful voices.

“Tell me. Which of you can tell me more?”

The two glanced at each other.

“I-I’ll tell you everything!”

“No! I outrank him! I know more!”

They shouted at Aswell, each competing to speak over the other.

SLICE.

The first alchemist’s head fell.

“You had better be telling the truth about your rank.”

GULP.

The alchemist swallowed hard and nodded repeatedly.

‘This is easier than I expected.’

The black-armored soldiers were unusual, but not beyond the ordinary troops’ ability to handle. And the alchemists trembled at the mere sight of a sword; they hardly seemed likely to fight.

‘Which means...’

Woojin cast a sidelong glance around the room.

‘These aren’t the ones who destroyed the border garrison.’

BOOOOM!!!

It happened then. With a tremendous roar from beneath the building, a steel plate in the floor shot up toward the ceiling.

“E-eek?! Th-this is bad!”

The thick steel plate crumpled like paper and fell to the floor. At the sight, the last alchemist sprang up and tried to flee.

“Going somewhere?”

“P-please save me! No, wait! Everyone, run! We’re all going to die!”

The alchemist tugged at Aswell’s arm and shouted, seemingly forgetting they were enemies.

[“Grrrr...”]

Ragged breathing rose from below.

‘That’s it. The thing that wiped out the border garrison.’

Woojin knew it instinctively as he smelled the foul stench wafting up from underground.

“You people... What the hell were you making?”

THUD!!!

An enormous hand thrust up through the hole left by the shattered steel plate.

“...!”

It was only a hand, yet everyone was horrified the moment they saw it.

[“Ghh... ugh...”]

[“Help...”]

[“Mom... Mo... m...”]

[“I... wan... t... to go... ho... me...”]

Horrifyingly, each finger of the protruding hand had been woven together from people whose limbs had been severed. Sobs that sounded like screams continued to issue from their remaining heads.

“You sick fucks...”

For the first time, Woojin spat a curse at humans rather than monsters.

Bracing itself with the hand, an enormous body emerged from underground.

[[[“Let’s plaaay.”]]]

The body, covered in hundreds of heads, grinned at Woojin.

[“KRAAAAAAH!!!”]

The heads attached to its body opened their mouths in unison and shrieked, unleashing a tremendous gale.

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

As Aswell shouted, the shriek slammed into the building.

[Using Barrier.]

Woojin stepped in front of Aswell.

CRAAASH!!

The Barrier erected before him shattered with a deafening crash.

“Hah... hah...”

[Coldhearted Winter activates.]

▶ Attack Power increases by 10% when Health is at or below half.

Sharp cuts covered his body. Breathing heavily, Woojin stared at the monster in disbelief.

‘What the fuck... One attack took half my Health?’

And that was despite using Barrier.

“... Urgh.”

Behind Woojin, the last alchemist coughed up blood and toppled over. Red blood flowed from his eyes, ears, and every other opening. His body shuddered, and he died.

“Damn it.”

Woojin bit his lip as he watched the alchemist die.

WHOOSH!

At that moment, Aswell moved.

CRAAASH!!!

His sword targeted the corpse monster’s limbs. As it pierced seven vital points with precision, black blood streamed from the creature’s body.

[“Aaagh! Aaaaagh!”]

[“No! No!”]

[“I said stop! Stop it, you lunatic!”]

[“Stooooooop!”]

It was a horrific sight. The dead heads covering the monster’s body all began spewing curses at once.

[The capital defense force falls into a panic.]

“E-eek?!”

“Run!”

Horrified by the monster, the soldiers screamed and scattered.

[Trait: Valor activates.]

▶ You are protected from fear.

For a moment, terror bore down on his entire body, but Woojin easily shook it off.

“Be careful.”

Aswell stepped back and addressed Woojin.

CLANK!

His armor was blackening and corroding at an alarming rate. He quickly unfastened his pauldrons and gauntlets and threw them to the floor.

CRUMBLE...!

The corroded sections disintegrated into powder. Those were the places the corpse monster’s black blood had touched.

“The protective magic on my armor was useless. Its blood seems to possess some special power.”

Attacking it would not be easy. If its blood so much as touched their skin, their entire bodies might melt in moments.

“We should probably attack from a distance... But with our archers in that state...”

Aswell looked at the panicking soldiers with a troubled expression.

“I should have brought the Red Knights, even if it meant pushing them.”

They were the Kingdom of Tekan’s only truly capable fighting force.

‘You’ve had quite a struggle on your hands too.’

Woojin smiled wryly.

“Indeed. It’s a shame I left Ruen behind to train, too.”

—I’ll try!

Setsuna thrust her hand toward the corpse monster.

[Using Phantasmal Barrage.]

Orbs shot from her hand toward the monster.

THUD! THUD-THUD!!!

Her barrage rained down across its body with dull impacts.

[“Grrrr...”]

But not a scratch appeared on its body.

—H-huh?

“... Does it absorb magic?”

Its body began to swell, as though it had absorbed Setsuna’s barrage instead.

“Watch out—!”

CRAAASH!!!

The absorbed projectiles came pouring back at the group. At that moment, Woojin’s sword moved.

Dragon Heaven, Second Gate - Strike

CREAK...!

His hand tightened hard around his sword.

A single downward slash. The keen gust of pressure raised by his sword flew toward the monster like a sharp crescent moon.

‘Sword energy...?’

No, it was slightly different.

BANG!

BANG-BANG-BANG...!!

As the sword wind swept past, the projectiles exploded all around Woojin like fireworks.

WHOOSH!

Woojin charged toward the monster behind the exploding barrage.

[“Help! No!”]

[“Aaaaaagh...!”]

The corpse monster began tearing the human heads from its body and hurling them at Woojin.

As Woojin dodged,

SPLAT! SPLAT-SPLAT!!!

the sound of bursting watermelons mingled with the screams of the remaining heads.

—Master!

[Using Mist Step.]

At Setsuna’s cry, Woojin vanished.

[“Grrr?!”]

Reappearing behind the corpse monster, Woojin bent low and slid his sword into its sheath.

CLICK.

Then he drew it in a horizontal slash, as though performing a draw cut.

Bolton Secret Art, Second Form - Raging Waves

SPLAAASH...!!

A pure-white surge of water rose from the blade and struck the monster’s waist.

‘Such tremendous power...’

Aswell was watching Woojin’s skill closely. What he had lacked was refinement in his swordsmanship. But now, with the addition of these new sword moves, that gap had been filled.

“...!”

Suddenly, Aswell’s eyes widened.

“Watch out!”

BOOM! BOOOOOM!!!

The faces attached to the fallen corpse monster began exploding all at once.

“Argh?!”

Caught in the explosion, Woojin was hurled into the building.

[“Grr... I...”]

Once all the heads attached to its body had exploded, nothing remained of the creature but a bare skeleton.

BOOM! BOOM!!!

The monster rushed at Woojin, who lay inside the building, with terrifying speed.

Was it because it had shed everything that had been dangling from its body? It thrust its iron-spike-like bones at Woojin with frightening speed.