Chapter 180
The Holy Sword is an unreasonable power.
Darius learned this from a young age and also experienced the power of the Holy Sword firsthand.
When he was very young.
The day the members of his tribe ambushed a white-haired woman.
The sword wielded by that woman was undoubtedly a Holy Sword.
The entire tribe perished to her blade, leaving only Darius, who had been on a scouting mission, as the sole survivor.
“Was there a living one? Hmph. An orc devoid of fighting spirit is no warrior.”
The woman, the Master of the Holy Sword, dismissed Darius.
“You raised your weapons to kill me first. And you all died. Meeting me is akin to meeting a dragon.”
With those words, the Holy Sword’s wielder vanished.
He had never heard of a hero wielding a white Holy Sword, yet that overwhelming and unreasonable power was undeniably the power of the Holy Sword.
Thus.
On the day when Darius learned that the Demon King Satan had acquired the Holy Sword.
On the day when he defeated Hero Bearnes and took the Holy Sword for himself, he genuinely decided to follow Satan.
With Satan, the Holy Sword would no longer be a source of fear!
Satan would surely be the one to defeat the wielder of the Holy Sword!
He was naïve.
He forgot that if Satan did not face the wielder of the Holy Sword, then he himself would.
“Ah, ah…”
The golden storm soared into the sky.
The hero raised his sword high above him, devastating the surroundings.
The golden storm prevented even the orcs from approaching, and those who did were shredded by the sword winds.
The unreasonable power of the Holy Sword.
A miracle that was unreachable no matter how hard one tried.
Just like creatures unable to resist the might of a colossal natural force, Darius found himself kneeling unwittingly before the overwhelming display of power.
“Ah, ah…”
Would it be too much to hope for a miraculous appearance from Demon King Satan to save him?
Was there no warrior from Satan’s army to take down that hero miraculously?
Why was it that only humans could wield the Holy Sword, and why did the blessings of the Holy Sword only befall humans?
Goohhhh.
The hero stepped out from the golden storm.
Clutching what seemed to have once been the Holy Sword in both hands, he walked forward slowly, holding the golden glowing winds.
The once singular Holy Sword split into two.
The golden storm wrapped around him, becoming armor that protected the hero, and the Holy Sword split to the left and right—
“…double…spear?”
It became a cavalry spear held in both hands.
“Doesn’t that mean it’s not a double sword?”
“…I don’t have time to waste. I’m busy.”
The hero lowered his stance, placing the twin spears to his sides.
“I can’t let you meddle with my time.”
And then.
Slowly, the hero began to spin.
Like.
A windmill.
“Ah, ah…!”
An overwhelming display of violence.
The golden storm, bursting anew around the hero, became even stronger and more destructive than before.
The attack that had just shredded hundreds of orc soldiers seemed like a mere breeze; the blade winds raised by the hero’s twin spears made even orc Darius struggle to maintain his stance.
“Ugh, uah, uuuu…!!”
Yet.
The blood of the orc boiled.
The will to not die like this, the enmity towards humanity, and the desire for the witch beyond loomed in Darius, giving him the strength to rise.
“I am Darius, the Orc Road of the Demon King’s Army!”
Gripping his trembling hands tightly, Darius shouted at the witch he saw far away.
“I will defeat the hero and surely claim you! Sorceress of Crimson Lotus! Kraaah!!”
Darius dashed towards the hero.
Pouring all his strength into his hammer, he sought to strike down with the weight and strength he had devoured and nurtured until now.
In that moment.
“…This bastard…”
The golden eyes looking up at him had a clear hint of ‘rage’ and ‘malice.’
“Ah.”
Darius sensed it.
His own death.
And then.
Fwooooshhh—
The golden spike flew precisely towards his face, marking his last memory.
*
Dual wielding is a romance.
Some say those who wear steel boots with plate armor are cowards; others claim wielding a shield is not manly.
– A man should wield weapons in both hands!
He claimed.
A real man should wield weapons with both hands.
– Isn’t it enough to storm the enemy before they can attack you and finish them off?
He swung his hand axes as he said this.
And he continued his onslaught, attacking ferociously until the enemy fell, smashing all foes in front of him.
– Do you know why the gods gave humans two arms?! It’s to fight wielding weapons in both hands! Just as you hold a fork and knife at mealtime, you don’t hold a knife and plate!
…It’s debatable whether the gods truly intended to give two hands for that reason, but undoubtedly, his words had merit.
No, rather than merit, there was ‘style’.
After attacking non-stop like a storm, he was victorious.
So I taught Lucius something for now.
“The Holy Sword simply takes the form of a sword; it doesn’t have to be a ‘great sword.’”
The Holy Sword is the power of nature.
It just takes the form of a sword; that form can change infinitely according to the owner’s will.
Just like how Lucius currently possesses it in the form of a ring.
Like how the Emperor of the Empire 500 years ago maneuvered the Holy Sword as a ‘mobile fortress harem.’
The Holy Sword doesn’t need to retain its original form.
A person who wielded a spear doesn’t need to practice swordsmanship upon obtaining the Holy Sword; the sword will transform into the shape of a spear automatically, as long as the wielder reaches a certain level of proficiency, like Lucius now.
“…But I didn’t know he could use dual spears.”
Typically, splitting a sword leads to thoughts of dual swords, but Lucius’s adaptability is quite remarkable.
A sword turned into twin spears.
Where on earth does such an idea come from?
And not just any spear, but thick and sturdy cavalry spears.
“…Well, good things are good.”
Whether it’s cavalry spears or whatever, what does it matter?
Warriors, including Lucius, were victorious.
They defeated the orc who seemed to be the enemy commander, and the remaining orcs were nothing more than minor pests.
And I.
“…Mining magic stones is so sweet.”
I could munch on all the magic stones from the tens of thousands of orcs.
Of course, I would need to hand over a part to the Anari Principality, but at least aside from that portion, I could keep the rest, and I did keep it.
Fwoosh, fwoosh.
Though the battle had reached a lull, the warriors were dazed in the presence of the hero’s overwhelming power, but I was wholly focused on devouring the fallen orcs’ hearts.
‘Now is the time for farming!’
While our side was lost in a daze.
If I didn’t gather them now, I wouldn’t be able to later.
As if it were something used out of necessity during battle, I had to devour the orcs’ magic stones to make use of them with my mana.
‘It’s only natural for me to gather this much since there was considerable expenditure in this battle.’
This battle.
The orc enemy.
‘Annihilation.’
And the casualties on our side.
“I’m supporting, so there’s no way anyone should get hurt.”
None.
*
“Crazy talk.”
The Emperor of the Empire found the news passed on by a spy planted in the Principality utterly unbelievable.
“The Orc Road led by Darius was entirely defeated? And not a single one sustained injury or death? Does that even make sense?”
“W-we have seen the report.”
“Crazy! Even with the power of the Holy Sword, there’s a limit. How could one not sustain a single injury against tens of thousands of orcs!”
It didn’t make sense logically.
It didn’t make sense physically.
It didn’t make sense rationally.
“Not a single one sustained a scratch while defeating tens of thousands of orcs? I’d rather say the Great Demon Lord Bel Phegor is humanity’s savior!”
In any case, it didn’t make sense.
That was truly nonsensical.
“Is war just child’s play?! The opponents are orcs! Monsters! They’re filled with hatred and a will to kill against humans! Even before the overwhelming power, they’re monsters who will try to bite at the human’s ankles! How could they be defeated without a scratch?!”
“W-would you like to see it for yourself…?”
“What?”
“It’s a recording sent by the spy. Though the quality of the footage isn’t great as it was recorded separately…”
“Bring it here!”
The Emperor huffed and switched on the projection stone sent by the spy.
Crackling, click.
Something began to appear before his eyes.
“Oh my….”
The Emperor unwittingly covered his mouth with his hand.
A feast of muscles.
Clad in a helmet, groin guard, and military boots, the warriors stood ready with their weapons somewhere.
Creak, creak.
When his turn came, a man leapt downwards.
The sudden drop made those watching shrink back, feeling as if he would die immediately from the fall—
Thud!
A golden current sparkled below, and the man rose as lightly as if landing on a bed, moving forward.
Creak, creak.
Walking at a decent pace.
Purple mana flowed like decorations from the backs of the warriors scattering to the sides, and soon the man reached the front line.
[…….]
There stood a young man with golden hair.
Wielding a breathtakingly beautiful Holy Sword, he looked forward while revealing his entire body aside from his groin guard.
“……Is that the hero?”
The Emperor murmured.
“……Hmph.”
He unconsciously lowered his hand from his mouth.
Something damp felt, and the Emperor—
“……Hah.”
Swallowed the blood that flowed from his nose.
“……The Hero of the Wind.”
Swallow.
“Order the Empire’s Intelligence Division! Find out everything about that hero! From head to toe! And!”
The Emperor’s gaze fell upon the particularly large groin guard among the others.
“Everything hidden beneath that armor, too!!”
