203. Guardian of the Empire (3)
The emperor stared straight at the knight who looked like him.
He narrowed his eyes as if he enjoyed seeing my real skills.
Kagagak―――!!
Gilbert’s great sword and Irina’s great sword clashed noisily with each other.
Intense sparks spread here and there, heating up the sparring hall.
“… !!”
My appearance that is not pushed by force.
Gilbert stared at my black eyes beneath Irina’s blade as if I were going to kill him.
The moment the sword is taken out, the attitude of approaching the opponent with the intention of killing whoever he is.
He was indeed a veteran knight who had spent his entire life on battlefields where life and death were at stake.
“Kaaa!!”
The knight of the great sword pushed me as hard as he could.
The soles of my feet, which were firmly planted on the floor of the sparring gym, gradually pushed back.
Then the leader pushed my blade away and spun at high speed.
Afterwards, he raised his sword into the air.
―――――!!
Like the man in the myth who lifted the Earth, he struck down his greatsword fiercely.
That moment.
Quaaang―――!!
All the ground split apart except for me, who blocked the sword energy with my precious sword.
As if an animal had scratched it.
「….」
The day Irina’s imperial palace collapsed.
It was identical to the shape carved on the exterior wall.
When I saw that, my cold heart became warm.
“That’s strange….”
Gilbert, who released his sword energy, placed the great sword on his shoulder.
After that, he silently extended his sword into the air and looked at me maintaining his defensive posture.
“This sword looks somewhat familiar.”
He shook his head at the strange sense of heterogeneity he felt as he clashed the strange swords.
However, the former leader instinctively raised his sword again.
「Why? “Do you feel like you’ve dealt with someone in the past?”
I released my defensive posture and arrived in front of him, cutting through the thick dust.
“…!!”
He bent his knees.
Then, he stretched out one leg and thrust out his long sword.
A bloody blade rising in front of one’s nose.
In response, he urgently grabbed the great sword with both hands and twisted it, striking me in its tracks.
“The long sword instantly resembles a rapier… ?”
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Up until now, I had only slashed my sword at Darc senselessly.
Gilbert immediately took a step back due to the sudden change in sword skills.
Then, I immediately grabbed the long sword with both hands and raised it.
Then, I crossed his wrists from side to side, aiming for his thick neck.
“… !!”
With another change in swordsmanship, he held on to the blade of his greatsword with both hands.
And used it like a shield to protect his neck.
“Huh…” !!”
In order to respond to the converted swordsmanship, he also took steps appropriate for the weapon.
Like a veteran driver, he adapted to the changes.
But, this was just the beginning.
――――――.
An attack with a long sword raised in the air and swung repeatedly while twisting his wrist.
The attack immediately changed to a short sword held with one hand and stabbing like crazy.
Kigigeek――!!
If the short sword is blocked, use the long sword again.
Afterwards, he extended the length of the sword and swung it.
“Huh…. Huh….”
Two-handed sword.
One-handed sword.
To Zweihender.
Gilbert exhaled harshly as attacks from all types of weapons found on the battlefield rushed like crazy.
His wrist began to tremble as if he was afraid of what kind of attack would come next.
“I’m shaking…” ?”
Obviously, the person I saw in front of me was nothing more than a very young lump of blood.
However, every time the swords clashed, the emotions he felt were completely opposite.
If your long sword breaks, use the dagger of the person you killed.
When the dagger’s teeth break, it strikes the opponent like a mace until they die.
It was absolutely terrifying, like a madman who single-handedly blocked a street and killed hundreds of people.
“Gilbert, you’re so excited…” !”
“I’m sorry….”
The senior officer who was watching the squad leader from the side stepped forward.
He wrapped his two daggers in dark blue mana and joined the duel.
――――.
He interrupted me as I cornered Gilbert.
I swung both swords like the fangs of a huge snake and aimed at his side.
「Huh… !!」
In response, he twisted the long sword he was holding by twisting his wrist.
Thanks to this, he was able to strike out two daggers at once.
Kaaang!!
“Thank you, Liam… !”
Then, Gilbert found a gap.
He swung his great sword with the intention of cutting my body in half.
―――――.
The body was rotated along the orbit.
After that, he immediately swung his sword and clashed blades with him.
“Hold it that way!”
As the two knights grounded their teeth, Liam threw his dagger.
I pushed as hard as I could like a rhino, letting each other’s blades slip.
Thanks to this, Gilbert and his body rotated at the same time to avoid the dagger.
At the same time, I twisted my wrist at the timing when the swords crossed and slit his throat.
“Ugh… !!”
Gilbert barely managed to defend himself with mana.
However, his deep blue flame began to extinguish.
“Step back!”
Then, senior leader Liam charged at me with his remaining dagger.
The leader lowers his posture as much as possible to prepare for an attack with my long sword.
When I raised my sword into the air, he went straight in and tried to stab me in the heart.
Because the successor director was seriously injured, a clear ending was needed.
If he collapsed, he knew he would be at a huge disadvantage as he had a short reach.
「….」
If it had been any other opponent, everyone would have instinctively swung their greatswords and counterattacked the sudden attack.
However, I didn’t do that.
Because I also knew well when the assassins were aiming for a shot.
I watched every moment when my successors were killed by the Black Knights.
‘I didn’t forget it even for a moment.’
I did not instinctively strike down the raised sword.
‘The moment you killed my men.’
I twisted my body sideways to avoid the trajectory of his dagger.
After.
‘That timing.’
I grabbed Liam’s arm as he leapt towards me with my free hand.
And then, he struck down with the elbow holding the great sword.
“Ugh… !!”
A wrist bent to the opposite side.
He fell to the floor without being able to say anything due to the pouring pain.
“This is ridiculous….”
Fortunately, the mana shield did not break and there were no fractures.
However, his arm was shaking like crazy, as if to prove the pain of almost becoming a reverse joint.
“Liam!!”
Gilbert came to his senses and shouted in a loud voice.
That sight was as sad as losing a comrade on the battlefield.
「It’s fascinating.」
I stared at the face of the greatsword knight who was worried about his colleague.
And, he spoke with unfocused eyes as if he was standing on a battlefield from the past.
「I never thought the Black Knights would make that kind of voice too….」
Gilbert stared at me as I said something incomprehensible.
「He is clearly the same person, but why was he so cruel back then? .」
I shook my head with an expression of incomprehension.
And then, he imbued his long sword with white aura and raised it into the air.
“Ugh… !!”
Gilbert immediately held the great sword firmly with both hands.
And then, he repeatedly caught my long sword slashing at him.
Kaaang!!
However, the more he received it, the more his blade began to shake.
Kigigeek―――!!
The more we collided, the more he was pushed back.
Then, Gilbert was soon driven to the edge of the sparring arena.
As his wrist twisted, he ended up losing his grip on the sword.
――――――.
His huge great sword fell on the sparring hall tiles.
The loud metal sound filled the amphitheater.
After that sharp sound announcing the result of the sword fight.
Lastium Stadium was silent.
Everyone looked at the two fallen leaders and one defense engineer.
「….」
The sparring hall floor was torn to pieces by Gilbert’s strike.
Dust rose from the floor and created a dusty wind.
The soft sound of the wind filled the quiet stadium.
After that, when even the sound disappeared.
Gilbert glanced up at a knight looking down at him.
And then, I realized.
If they had dealt with just a few hundred soldiers and a few leaders….
I can see before my eyes that I have cut down several ‘leaders of my level’.
“We lost.”
The large man lowered his head.
The moment his knees touch the collapsed sparring floor.
「Waaa――――――!!」
The huge Lastium Stadium was filled with loud crowd noise that had never been heard before.
In it was the voice of a woman who shared the same memories as me.
“Veil… !!”
Irina’s sea-blue eyes twinkled.
Transparent tears flowed down her soft cheeks.
However, I did not see the princess.
Now that the terrible memories have become clearer.
I stared straight at Rosanna and Leon, the culprits of this situation.
「….」
The emperor followed my gaze and looked at his wife and son.
Then, he asked with a gentle smile.
「Lord Veil is very interested in you.」
This is me with my shirt torn here and there and dirt on my face.
Leon looked down at the sparkling eyes within the black hair.
Definitely, it seemed like a fox that bowed down a few months ago.
It was all intended to destroy him.
When the crown prince realized this, he felt deep anger and fear.
His clenched fist trembled slightly.
「Leon, have you committed an unforgivable sin against that friend?」
The emperor looked at his son and asked leisurely.
「Then it would be best to apologize quickly.」
Leonhard crossed his arms alone.
「I conquered five countries at that age. It was a time when the blood was quite boiling.”
And, while worrying about his son, he spoke teasingly.
「I achieved whatever I wanted to achieve.」
The emperor quietly closed his eyes while saying this.
However, he soon furrowed his eyebrows as if he felt anxious inside.
A man who said that although he was not an empire, he would make a wish worthy of it.
Because I suddenly became curious about the man’s wish.