Chapter 513
Chapter 513: Let’s Settle This Here. (4)
The armies of both sides exuded fierce momentum.
The Delphine Army, which had rushed over without rest, was quite exhausted, but their morale remained high.
They were confident of victory because they had the Kingdom’s Greatest Sword on their side.
The same was true for the Penris Mobile Army. Even though they were more exhausted from the battle, they were still burning with fighting spirit.
They believed that with Ghislaine, they could win any fight.
“Hmm.”
Just as Ghislaine was about to issue the charge order, he turned back briefly. Cayenne did the same.
They could charge their entire armies at each other at this moment. However, everyone was far too worn out.
The equipment on the Penris side was better, but the numbers were in favor of the Delphine Army. With both sides having the same types of troops and all being elite, there was no guarantee that either side would win.
For this reason, both Ghislaine and Cayenne couldn’t issue the charge order. They were thinking the same thing.
“After all, the ones who will determine the outcome are not us.”
Ghislaine smirked and stepped down from the Black King.
Surprisingly, Cayenne also dismounted and approached Ghislaine.
The two had implicitly agreed that there was no need to waste their soldiers and increase casualties at this point.
If one of them were to die, it would be very easy to annihilate the weary opposing side.
Facing Ghislaine, Cayenne drew the two-handed sword on his back and spoke.
“This time, I can finally kill you. You won’t be able to escape like last time.”
Ghislaine also sheathed his spear and drew his sword from his waist.
“I wanted to face you once. It seems the opportunity has finally come.”
“Your arrogance ends today. After I kill you, I will wipe out those guys and head back to the southern front.”
To Cayenne, this duel presented a fantastic opportunity. If he killed Ghislaine, he could return intact.
Hearing those words, Ghislaine chuckled.
“You’re quite confident. However… even if you win here, the southern front will be obliterated.”
“What?”
Cayenne, bewildered, saw Ghislaine take a stance as he continued.
“Can the army without you withstand the Northern Army? Do you even know who is commanding them right now?”
“Who is it?”
“Amelia.”
At the mention of that name, Cayenne’s face contorted even further.
The Duke’s faction suffered tremendous losses because of Amelia.
After Desmond’s downfall, they only received support while not attacking Penris. Later, she interfered with plans to attack Perdium using barbarians.
Was that all? In the early stages of the civil war, she disrupted the supply lines, slowing the advance of the 5th Legion.
The Duke’s faction, which had always dismissed her, had to finally acknowledge her abilities.
But now, Amelia was once again holding them back?
Hearing a name that must be captured and killed made Cayenne’s blood boil.
Ghislaine, seeing Cayenne’s twisted face, smiled gleefully.
“I knew you would follow me.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Yes, drawing you here was also part of this operation. The Delphine Army left on the southern front will be crushed by Amelia. Can that kind of massive army operate properly without you?”
Kuoooh!
At Ghislaine’s provocation, a storm-like momentum began to erupt from Cayenne’s body.
It was a trap that he had to endure even if he knew. Had he not come, Eclipse would have truly been occupied.
In the storm of mana, Cayenne, with his lion-like mane flying wildly, opened his mouth with a stiff expression.
“The two fools of the North completely ruined our grand plan.”
“You’re quite the type that can be provoked.”
Paaack!
In an instant, a massive aura blade erupted from Cayenne’s sword.
With an expression of utter indifference, he continued speaking.
“That’s fine. I’ll kill you here and then head straight to the southern front to finish off Amelia.”
Sometimes tremendous power can obliterate all schemes. Though the two had shown quite a bit of cunning, it wasn’t too much to handle.
That was the power of the Kingdom’s Greatest Sword.
Kuwung!
As Cayenne stepped forward, the ground split and trembled.
There, he swung his sword. At first glance, it looked extraordinarily slow.
Zhurong!
Ghislaine raised his sword, yet before he knew it, Cayenne was right in front of him, still in the posture from which he was swinging his sword.
Dduhduhduh!
An overwhelming pressure crushed down. Forced back in his stance to block the sword, Ghislaine let out a ferocious grin.
This was it. This was the strength he wanted to contend with.
Paaack!
His body became engulfed in black energy again. From his eyes, a fierce crimson light erupted.
Kwahm!
The two fell apart and instantly clashed again. Blue and red flashes mingled and spread out around them.
Kwahm! Kwahm! Kwahm!
The two swords never completely connected. They were blocked by the energy bursting forth before the blades could meet.
However, the shockwaves created by this prevented the surroundings from remaining still. Each time swords were swung, the ground shattered, creating storms.
Due to the flashes and storms, it became impossible to see the two fighting.
Kwahm!
With every clash of swords, Ghislaine swallowed the blood rising from within. Cayenne’s sword carried immense power.
‘Indeed… the reputation of the Kingdom’s Greatest Sword is genuine.’
It was on a different level from Count Palantz, who had gotten lazy after consuming Dragon Heart. Cayenne’s sword had no hint of fluctuation. There were no useless techniques.
His sword resembled the steadfastness of his character. If a knight’s sword were to reach its peak, this would be its form.
What was more remarkable was.
‘The amount of mana is beyond imagination.’
Even with the Dark’s power amplifying his energy as much as possible, it still fell short of accepting Cayenne’s strength. Each time he blocked an attack, his hand tingled, nearly dropping his sword.
Certainly, he was still lacking in terms of mana. Even if he were in perfect condition, it would have been disadvantageous.
He was even in a state where he had already expended half his mana in dispelling Elois’s illusion.
‘Seems like he hasn’t taken a break for even a moment.’
It was clear that he had dedicated decades of training with the best support. No matter how quickly he knew how to grow stronger, catching up in terms of time was difficult.
However, there was one thing Ghislaine had accumulated for a longer time than Cayenne.
With a flick!
Swoosh!
At the moment Ghislaine’s sword moved strangely, blood erupted from Cayenne’s cheek.
Ghislaine’s sword, from some point on, began moving sharply. He no longer faced Cayenne directly in a clash of strength.
What he wielded was his swordsmanship honed through countless life-threatening encounters in his previous life. It was unpredictable to the point of lacking any formal rules.
It wasn’t a sword honed for the sake of a duel or a fair fight. It was, in essence, a sword learned in struggles to survive.
No, it would be more accurate to say it evolved rather than merely learned.
With this swordsmanship, Ghislaine had taken down orcs even without mana, effortlessly defeating even stronger foes.
And facing Ghislaine’s swordsmanship, Cayenne’s eyes widened.
‘What is this!’
Cayenne had never witnessed such a brutal style of swordsmanship in his life.
At first, he thought it was just erratic swordsmanship. But the more they fought, the more it felt otherwise.
In fact, the movements of the sword itself were astonishingly simple. More straightforward than that of a stubborn knight.
It was merely a sword technique of cuts and thrusts. Yet, predicting its trajectory proved impossible.
‘This is absurd!’
It wasn’t just a straightforward sword. When the basics reached their peak, did they look like this?
Before he even realized, a blade appeared from the blind spot. Each swing could deal lethal wounds, being an exceedingly practical and living sword.
Thus, Cayenne was left further confused.
‘This is swordsmanship that shouldn’t be achievable at that age.’
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had been wielding a sword from the moment he was born. He had been born into a noble family, learning and discarding countless sword techniques, forming his unique style.
Thus, he naturally built a world of his own.
Unlike others, it wasn’t based on any beliefs or emotions.
Sword.
The sword that had been with him since birth became his world and everything.
For someone like him to become the Kingdom’s Greatest Sword was a fate and reason that made sense.
Yet, his opponent displayed swordsmanship that surpassed his own, achieved purely through will and realization regarding the sword.
‘This is impossible!’
Cayenne, who had taken the sword itself as his world, was sure.
That sword bore the weight of time. The weight accumulated from killing and being killed countless times, soaked in blood.
While Count Penris had gained a reputation as a war fanatic after fighting many battles, that alone was insufficient. It was a sword created through tens or hundreds of times more experience.
That sword was surely telling him so.
Count Penris had killed more than known and risked his life more. It was a sword achieved by enduring all those years.
‘Who on earth are you…’
Kwahm!
Before he knew it, the two swords clashed again. They were communicating with their swords in this way.
The conversation grew more intense. Cayenne unleashed fatal attacks with the overflowing power of mana, while Ghislaine retaliated with the techniques he had built up over time.
— M-master! I’m running low on mana!
Dark shouted, almost screaming.
The phenomenon of Ghislaine’s body being seriously damaged like before had diminished. His vessel had widened enough to accept the amplified strength through training.
However, he had to use that power appropriately. If he didn’t, his body would soon be ruined again.
Ghislaine had already consumed a tremendous amount of mana from breaking Elois’s magic. Then, without resting, he was pouring out power once more, so Dark’s mana had its limits.
If this continued, he would exhaust all his strength and eventually collapse.
‘It’s fine. I can empty it entirely.’
Ignoring Dark’s cries, Ghislaine continued to exert himself. If he could just kill the opponent in front of him, the remaining forces would crumble easily.
Cayenne represented the pinnacle of the Duke’s faction’s power. The symbolism he carried was greater than anything else.
Cayenne had similar thoughts. He continued to push forward, accepting Ghislaine’s blows with his body.
‘All I need to do is kill Count Penris.’
Count Penris shattered all the Duke’s schemes and changed the situation on the continent. His actions were truly heroic.
In other words, eliminating this person could reverse all scenarios.
‘So I must!’
Kwahm!
The two swung their swords with all their might. Numerous wounds appeared on Cayenne’s body, causing blood to spray.
Ghislaine was not unharmed either. Every time Cayenne swung his sword, the black energy tore violently. With each blow received, that energy diminished gradually.
And finally, when Ghislaine’s body was exposed outside.
Kagagagak!
Cayenne’s sword, seizing the moment, sliced deeply into Ghislaine’s chest.
Swoosh!
Ghislaine swiftly retreated, but he didn’t completely evade the attack. Blood gushed from the wound.
Cayenne, slowly observing how Ghislaine’s injury healed, spoke.
“It’s not healing as fast as last time.”
“Ah, I’ve exhausted a lot of power right now.”
“You have some intriguing abilities. If just a few more years had passed, I wouldn’t have been able to handle it myself.”
“In that time, you would have grown stronger too.”
The two faced each other, smiling. Regardless of their positions, fighting such a formidable opponent was an enjoyable affair.
Cayenne raised his sword once more and said.
“If we had fought together… we could have taken this continent more easily.”
Ghislaine also replied, extending his sword.
“If we were to be reborn, that wouldn’t happen.”
“Right, so one of us has to die here.”
Kwahm!
Cayenne swung his sword violently. He pressed Ghislaine down with the mana still remaining.
Ghislaine struggled to block and was busy trying to retreat. If the foundation of his body collapsed, even the most outstanding technique wouldn’t become effective.
— M-master! It’s dangerous!
‘It’s fine. Empty it more.’
Cayenne was pressing Ghislaine so hard he could hardly breathe. His hands trembled whenever he blocked an attack. He really had to acknowledge Cayenne’s strength.
Kingdom’s Greatest Sword.
The weight that name carried was not light.
Ghislaine had made a name for himself as one of the seven strongest on the continent much later than this. Cayenne was likely to be a figure of similar caliber even back then.
And if he just survived this, in a few years, he would surely be recognized as such again.
Kwahm!
Ghislaine, unable to withstand the pressure of yet another blocked sword, fell backward.
He quickly regained his stance and looked up. Cayenne approached, exhaling heavily.
He too was bleeding from various wounds all over his body.
“Well done. You’re the first to push me this far.”
“That’s what I wanted to say.”
“The pretense ends here. I will remember you as our greatest rival who interfered with us.”
Cayenne raised his sword high. Ghislaine responded with a grin.
“The outcome should be seen until the end, right?”
“The power I possess now is beyond what you can handle.”
It was neither arrogance nor disdain.
Anyone could see Ghislaine had already run low on mana. A worn-out Ghislaine could not withstand Cayenne’s overwhelming mana.
But Ghislaine, without losing his smile, said,
“I actually prefer to push through with sheer strength the most.”
Cayenne ignored those words and attempted to swing his sword.
Kwahhhhh!
If it hadn’t been for an enormous amount of mana being sucked into Ghislaine’s body from the surroundings.
“What the…?”
A startled Cayenne looked around, mistaking it for the appearance of reinforcements.
But there was no one around.
As he looked back, Ghislaine had already risen.
“What are you doing right now…?”
From Ghislaine’s body, an overwhelming amount of mana was erupting again.
It was an incomprehensible event. How could mana that was exhausted recover this quickly? To recover mana, one had to spend time in mana cultivation.
Cayenne’s eyes widened. There was a method to refill mana without mana cultivation.
“Don’t tell me…?”
When creating a core for the first time, the empty core rapidly draws in surrounding mana.
It was absurd for someone already superhuman like Ghislaine to be generating a core for the first time, but that was the only explanation that fit.
Ghislaine stretched his sword toward Cayenne and smiled.
“Let’s clash again. I’ve regained a bit of my former strength.”
On his body now.
Five cores were spinning fiercely.
