1007. Words spoken become a source of strength.
“Kill me!”
The pale skin and the way the face was stitched together in places looked grotesque. Rem stared at the guy performing such strange antics without even blinking.
Was it at least not too late?
He saw people gathered on one side, overwhelmed by the intimidation and commanding presence. Aside from trembling violently, they couldn’t even breathe properly.
Some of them were gasping for breath, looking as if they would die at any moment.
Rem didn’t exactly think of himself as caring for everyone he saw, but even in the midst of this, a woman with broken fingernails crawling on the ground caught his eye.
“Ah……i. Nae, ah, i. P, pl.”
I understood what was being said. It must be the mother of the child I am holding in my hand right now.
“Ugh!”
The child vomited blood. Although his body was not severed by the knife cut, the shock had swept through him.
“for a moment.”
Trimache approached, took the child, and stroked his back.
It’s okay.
He vomited blood, but his insides weren’t shattered, and there were no cracks anywhere. He looked no older than thirteen or fourteen; how did he end up in this state all alone?
“What about the monster water?”
In the meantime, the child opened their eyes and asked a question, their eyes looking as if they held stars. They were an extraordinary child.
With soft green eyes and round ears. Though less than a quarter-in-a-lifetime, fairy blood flowed through the child.
It’s okay.
As Trimache answered, the child took a thin breath in and out and asked again.
“How is your mother?”
“She’s fine. She’s not dead.”
“Ah.”
It was only then that the child fainted. It was a miracle that he had remained conscious until now.
Should I call it extraordinary mental strength?
“What a fascinating little kid.”
Rem, who had been watching, thought the child was not ordinary. It was merely a fleeting thought. This was not where they needed to focus right now.
She saw Trimache soothing the child, but the fairy seemed to have no intention of moving, merely tending to the child. Sinar and Temares, too, were simply watching the enemy like spectators. Esther looked ahead, then glanced at Rem. “Should I do it?” the witch asked with her eyes. Rem shook her head.
Anyway, the troublesome work is my job.
Rem thoughtfully shielded those who had been overwhelmed by the intimidation with his back. ”
Now, just look at my back.”
The intimidation and spirit emanating from the pale, patched-up fairy knight could not overcome Rem and were broken.
Although nothing was visible, it seemed as though a massive tent was enveloping and protecting everyone. With that, everyone was able to breathe easily.
“Flammel, Flammel.”
The mother of the child who was about to step forward suddenly stood up.
“He’s not dead. If you go out now, you’ll die before him, so stay put.”
Rem spoke of soda. Enkrid twisted his neck from side to side. There was no need for him to stage such a protest as a knight. It was purely a provocative gesture.
“You’ll be a great knight, won’t you? The one to grace my end?”
The fairy knight who could not die asked.
“No, I’m just a passerby.”
What kind of great knight is a guy who swings a sword at a kid looking for?
Encred knows the world is a dangerous place. That is why he hated guys like this even more. So, this wasn’t anger or rage, but annoyance.
Stop talking nonsense while acting purely of your own free will.
Encred muttered as he clenched and unclenched his fist. The gauntlet, woven from metal and leather, fit snugly into his hand like a perfectly interlocked jaw. This was also made by Eitri.
You use your fists, too, don’t you?
This is the item he handed me while saying these words. It is a bit of a stretch to say it matches today’s outfit, but it is an excellent piece of equipment. It was made entirely of black metal and monster hides.
“I am curious why you are giving such a gift to you, brother, rather than me.”
Audin had shown pure jealousy.
“Because you have yours?”
Of course, Encred retorted without ever losing a word.
“Bring me an outstanding knight to kill me. I do not want to kill anyone anymore.”
A pale face, eyes filled with faint anticipation—watching that, Encred thought, “This guy is really, really acting nauseatingly.”
His words and actions were at odds. The elf wielding the greatsword spoke, swung it around behind his back, and brought it down with all his might.
Although the two were more than ten paces apart, the space between them narrowed the moment the sword landed.
The elf knight, whose skin had been stitched together, had moved his foot to make it happen. Intimidation struck first, followed by the wind gripping his limbs like chains. Then the sword fell.
The form of intimidation was that of a wind giant. Its body was so massive that a single gesture would blow everyone away. For it was a monster that forged typhoons and used storms as its armor.
“I am the king who controls the wind!”
The fairy shouted. No, it didn’t shout directly. It was a message conveyed by the will residing in the intimidation.
Encred crossed his arms to block the front, put strength into his feet, and bent his knees.
bang!
He blocked the blade with the metal part of the gauntlet wrapped around his crossed arms, and simply endured the pressure of the wind mixed with intimidation and momentum.
“……hmm.”
The fairy knight let out a single groan as he thrust his greatsword down. It was something that could have been blocked or dodged. He
was the first to see someone just endure it with their body. Should I call this ignorance, or boldness?
It was both. A cool blue gem emitted light between his crossed arms and greatsword.
“wind!”
The Elf Knight shouted. Having mastered the art of wielding the essence of the wind to the extreme, the swirling winds always aided him.
In an instant, the wind transformed into a fist to strike Encred’s stomach, while another stream of wind coalesced to serve as a foothold for the Elf Knight. It was the Elf Knight leaping backward, slashing with his greatsword.
Kagagak!
Sparks flew between the gauntlet and the greatsword, swept up in the swirling wind and flying in all directions. A whirlwind formed from the sparks.
The wind struck his belly and the greatsword slashed his gauntlet, but Encred endured and blocked everything before advancing forward.
“Will you move forward no matter what wall stands in your way? Really?”
The boatman asks.
Yes, that is likely the case.
Encred’s heart remained unchanged, whether during the first repetition of this day or now.
Moreover, considering the hardships inflicted by the boatman, the world, and life itself, such a mere wind was nothing more than a wall. It was merely a passing breeze.
Encred pressed his palms together, then spread them apart, and leaped forward. Even without a sword, he could simply make his two hands his two swords.
Now, he had two swords. What was he to do?
Block and block again!
The essence of the wind turned into heavy maces, blades, and spearheads to block his path, but he deflected, parried, and dodged them one by one with his hands.
Bang, bang, thud, ching, ting! Such sounds erupted in succession.
Encred, having cut through the wind and approached, had his left hand transform into a mace. If you bend your fingers to make a fist, what else could it be but a mace? He struck the fairy knight in the side with it.
Bang!
Whoosh! Thump, bang! Thump, pop! Rumble!
The rhythm was similar to before, but a different sound erupted. Whoaah! A shockwave blew behind Encred as he finished his punches. The elf
knight, sent rolling and bouncing to one side like a tossed doll, crashed into a house built of mud and stone, collapsing as he went.
Is he dead? No, he couldn’t possibly die from something like this.
“Without Kendo!”
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, a monster’s voice came from within the rubble of the collapsed house. The creature, having risen while smashing through the debris with a bang, aimed its greatsword forward.
“Are you going to keep attacking without Kendo?”
The guy asked. Encred felt dumbfounded. ”
What are you talking about? You’re the one who stuck my sword into the ground.” Was that something the guy who had struggled so hard to temporarily seal the engraved weapon, even spilling blood, should say?
And didn’t he get defeated just moments ago even though he used both hands instead of the sword? That bastard’s head isn’t normal.
Besides, even though he poured blood and did all sorts of things earlier, his sword wouldn’t be held by that. An engraved weapon is meant to resemble its owner.
Encred walked to the spot where he had stuck Onul, grabbed the grip embedded in the ground, and pulled it out.
The sword came out with a soft “Swoosh.” Onul muttered and spoke to him.
You can’t tie me up like this.
It is a natural reaction, you know. Since it is not a sword with a consciousness, Encred merely felt it; it didn’t actually say it.
“You want to die?”
Encred raised his sword above his head as he asked. It must have been this bastard’s work that shattered the previous village.
Fine, what? You want me to pay the price? I will pay it. I will pay that price by plunging my sword into your face.
With his sword still in hand, Encred lunged at the Elf Knight with a swift swipe. His footwork was so nimble and swift that a long afterimage lingered in Rem’s eyes. The
Elf Knight, with his face turned, possessed armor that deflected spells and was one of the Five Fingers of the Imperial Knights, a name renowned in the previous era.
Yes, that was
the case back then. However, time is an unstoppable river, and those who do not ultimately survive the flowing current are bound to fall behind the times.
Even the Five Fingers, the title that represented the Imperial Knights decades ago, showed a stark difference in skill compared to the knights representing the present.
Although his greatsword still exuded an intimidating aura that weighed down his entire body, there were plenty of knights with such specialties. Didn’t Aesia use a similar technique, for one, too?
Did it become an article?
If it didn’t work, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep beating him until it did. Whether Asia agreed or not.
He pushed the falling greatsword away and then pulled it back. He secured the sword with a bind, spun his body around, and struck the guy’s helmet with his elbow.
Every movement flowed naturally, appearing like one of the swordsmanship techniques he practiced, but it was a single strike that added variation upon variation.
Fuck.
The helmet split open, and black blood flowed downwards like disheveled hair. The hair-like blood continued to grow longer in dots, reaching the ground.
“What are you?”
The fairy knight asks. How should I answer in this situation?
“Long-standing problem solver?”
I blurted out words that suddenly came to mind. I support those who have dreams. That is why I was cheering for that guy’s dream as well.
“You said you wanted to die?”
When I asked that, the corners of the fairy’s eyes turned up at an abnormal angle.
“That hits the nail on the head. Words spoken by one’s own mouth become a source of strength, so if spoken lightly, they become a knife that stabs me. That is the power of words.”
Temares spoke. The mind-reading dragon realized that the guy who had been saying he wanted to die earlier was desperately struggling to live for even one more day. He was a two-faced fellow. Temares hated people like that.
The moment Enkrid heard Temares’s words, several thoughts suddenly overlapped in his mind.
To increase purity?
I must not deceive the enemy to the point of betraying my own will. It is not a swordsmanship rooted in deception, but rather speaking and acting to the point of deceiving one’s own life that damages the purity of Will.
Therefore, a knight keeps his oath and his vow.
The art of refining purity.
It is about walking with all one’s might the path one believes is right. So, all that remains is to keep doing what you have been doing.
At the same time, I recalled the moment I broke free from the verbal spell Yongin uses, and I understood the part Temares just explained.
That is why, now.
Stop.
The guy, who had been pretending to swing his greatsword, was about to suddenly back away. He wouldn’t have been able to escape even if left alone, but he stopped.
The horse became a shackle and held him.
The horse became a chain and wrapped around his body.
Fight to the end for what you want.
At those words, the elf’s eyes rolled back. He mobilized everything remaining within him and brought his greatsword down. It was a straightforward vertical slash.
Encred raised his sword diagonally to parry the blow, deflected it, and advanced, striking the elf knight’s flank as he passed.
The blade of today, his imprinted weapon, now radiated a silver light. Angered more than ever and sharper than ever, the blade sliced through the elf knight’s armor like mud, cutting through skin and bone.
More than half of the body part connecting his upper and lower body was severed. The creature’s body tilted sharply to one side and fell. It was because his waist had been severed in half. Standing with his hands on the ground, the creature muttered.
“You’re saying I’m going to die?”
She is a summoned being. Therefore, she cannot die. She is immortal as long as the witch’s magic continues.
Whyyyy.
The evil spirit, which had cried out that it wanted to die and struggled desperately to survive, dies. The light in its eyes faded, a foul stench emanated from its remaining body, and maggots suddenly swarmed within. Everything, including its armor and sword, rotted and crumbled in an instant.
Had anyone known this, they would have wept with joy. For there were truly so many who had lost loved ones to the very man Encred had slayed.
Trimache trembled as she placed the unconscious child back into the mother’s arms.
This is good enough.
Isn’t he on par with the Four Great Knights of the Empire?
Excluding the Barley Harvester, the other four knights of the Imperial Knights are considered the top four skilled, and he has the ability to compete with them.
No, if it’s them, still.
After all, the Four Great Knights of the Empire are on a completely different level.
She judged that they were not at a level she could gauge with her own skills.
Rem, who had been watching, clenched and unclenched her fist. Well, just watching this makes a fighting urge boil up inside me.
Let’s find it.
Enkrid said to him.
“You’re really attractive. Fiancé.”
Was Rem the only one feeling the urge to fight? Even Sinar, a fairy whose forte was calmness, had a face full of boiling blood. His gaze was extraordinary.
However, no one had forgotten what they had to do.
I have to finish what I was doing.
Encred’s repeated words were the answer. Everyone wandered through the forest again. If an immortal fairy knight had appeared here, it meant a witch was nearby. After all, it was a given that a summoner would be near a summoned creature.
Esther half-closed her eyes and cast a spell. Looking at the rotting corpse, a few spells worth attempting by expending magic came to mind.
