531 – Mountains Beyond Mountains
Grull was like a bolt of lightning. He struck like a flash, piercing through the slightest gap in an instant. The two daggers resembling fangs moved swiftly, mercilessly exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses. With this weapon, Grull feared no enemy.
“A principle that can only be used after preparation? How half-baked.”
However, Grull’s boasted principle and his favored weapon were ineffective against Marquis Rafaeno. Marquis Rafaeno approached slowly, leaving a trail in the air. As if it didn’t matter what Grull did.
“You have to push the ground with your feet to move that distance? You become as strong as you prepare… How weak, your principle is so weak.”
Every time Grull used his principle, pushing the ground with his feet, Marquis Rafaeno grasped the trigger and pressed Grull. Grull felt suffocated as his legs were targeted whenever he tried to gain some ground.
“The martial art you’ve mastered. The elixir you’ve taken. The skills you’ve honed. That’s preparation, Grull. Believe in yourself a little more.”
“Don’t act so smug!”
“I’m not acting smug, I am smug.”
Marquis Rafaeno stepped forward, his breathing steady. The Vulcan Combat Manual was a martial art based on duels. As Marquis Rafaeno leaned forward and stretched out his legs, his body elongated like a spear. In Grull’s vision, the Marquis seemed to fly like an arrow.
‘He’s faster than me…!’
Without using his principle, he would be inferior in both strength and speed. Was it because of talent? No, before arguing about that. The two were different from the starting point.
The Marquis’ martial art was more refined. The Marquis’ energy was more abundant. He hadn’t even neglected his practice. After rooting his feet like a giant tree, he exploded his martial art for a moment, pushing his body out. At the same time, he stretched his whole body and used that force to move completely.
‘That’s not all. Every technique is so sophisticated! There’s not a single bit of waste!’
The techniques created and developed over decades and centuries by people called geniuses. Grull, who had seen its peak, had no time to be impressed and bent his back. A trail of light passed before his eyes. Grull, who was about to get up from the recoil, remembered the Marquis’ principle and deliberately fell forward. If he raised his head, his neck would be cut by the blade.
Losing his posture was fatal. The Marquis’ rapier swung and struck Grull down. Grull, watching the rapier fall over his stomach, used Ground Slide while lying down. It was a gamble he had tried for the first time, but the principle unfolded properly and his body slid about 2m. The rapier, which had lost its target, dug deep into the ground.
“A principle is a new power. It’s like you have one more hand that can move freely. However, your principle is just an extension of your martial art. You move quickly with martial art… Isn’t that something you can do without touching the principle?”
It was true, but the Marquis took two more steps in an instant and pursued him.
Martial art is a technique that moves by holding and pushing the ground with martial art. Ground Slide, a principle, is a movement close to a shrinking technique, but Marquis Rafaeno’s footwork is so fast that it is not easily visible to ordinary people. The presence or absence of the principle is filled with footwork.
“Because of that principle, you, who have not mastered footwork, cannot be my opponent.”
Grull’s side was torn and blood splattered. Grull, who had blocked the wound with martial art, gritted his teeth.
He couldn’t win. If he had chosen the ground before fighting the wolf, he might have been in perfect condition. In his current state, he was desperate to block. Thinking about Marquis Rafaeno’s principle, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat him no matter how much ground he had chosen. No matter how fast he moved, if he got caught in the trajectory of the charcoal sword, only Grull would get hurt.
“That’s because you didn’t learn it. A warrior as bright and talented as you would make such a wrong judgment. Tsk tsk.”
Unlike Grull, who was breathing hard, Marquis Rafaeno’s breathing was not rough at all.
“Grull. Do you really not know why you’ve been safe until now? Who wouldn’t have thought of bringing an elixir from the land of all nations? It’s just that there was no need to advance into the empty Enger Plains while risking the threat of wolves. If we send a large number of troops, we will lose them to the attacks of beasts and wolves. It’s better to leave it to civilians like adventurers in such cases.”Grull had started a business with the Beastmen who roamed the plains, bringing them wealth and power. Of course, Grull’s abilities were excellent, but it was also an opportunity that came about thanks to the Wolf King.
“However, now that the Marquisate has decided to take action, you should have joined us. It would have benefited both you and us. But… if you fight us, we will have no choice but to expel you.”
But it was an unacceptable proposal for Grull. Grull refused the offer because Marquis Raphaeno said he would drive out the Suin.
“Why are you trying to drive out the Suin when you’re so smart?! What would you do in this Enger Plain without the Suin?!”
And the difference in their positions became clear. Marquis Raphaeno expressed his doubts.
“…Hmm? If you stay, it will be difficult to send settlers to this land.”
“They are the settlers!”
“You are not the one who decides that.”
“No! We decide for ourselves. We decide what we can do!”
“Unfortunately, Grull. That’s not for you to decide.”
Two daggers were thrown. The advantage of a pair is, of course, the number itself. It is difficult to block daggers moving in different trajectories with a single rapier, just as you cannot block two hands with one hand. At times like this, you should stop the attack by attacking the body instead of the weapon, but the Marquis chose a slightly more troublesome path.
“Strength decides.”
He cuts one side in advance before Grull arrives. And follow the other side and deflect the dagger. The tragedy of the past blocks the left hand, and the tragedy of the present blocks the right hand.
And the tragedy of the future will cut Grull. The rapier reflected in the sunlight shone coolly.
“Without strength, you cannot convey your will to the world, Grull. Come back when you are stronger. If that happens.”
“Stop!”
At that moment, the Regressor intervened. A gust of wind leaps through the space and flies towards Marquis Raphaeno. Marquis Raphaeno, feeling an unusual momentum, clenched his fist with his other hand and swung it into the void.
Volcanic landscape, explosion. The energy contained in the fist catches the wind. Geonki-gong is a qigong that works on everything in the world. A qigong master who has reached the realm can infuse energy not only into steel but also into the air. The Marquis grabs the wind with his hand and infuses it with energy and swings it.
Kwaang. Cheon-ae’s swordsmanship disappeared, colliding with Marquis Raphaeno’s fist. The Marquis felt a cold sensation and looked at the Regressor who had broken in.
“It’s not Ichi. Is it a relic? Then you are the adventurer who you said you called from the Purple Top.”
“Yes. Why are you suddenly here?”
Even though the Regressor appeared, Marquis Raphaeno did not look nervous at all. Rather, the Marquis sighed regretfully.
“Is there only half here? A relic is ultimately someone else’s power. Those who cling to it will never reach the truth… It’s a pity for your talent at that age.”
The Regressor without Jizan is objectively slightly below the Master. He lost to Jeolchang and did not gain a clear advantage in the fight against Jiseon. Even if he uses Jizan, there is no guarantee that he will win unconditionally, so he has little chance of winning against Marquis Raphaeno.
However, the Regressor didn’t care that much. She was a Regressor.
“You’re the one who’s wasting your talent! If you were that good, you would have fought the Wolf King, but after you’ve fought, you’re trying to put a spoon on it?”
Marquis Raphaeno was annoyed by the uninvited guest who kept interrupting, but he endured it once.
“This is the internal affairs of the Marquisate. Don’t interfere. Well, if you insist, I won’t stop you. I have to show that much power.”
‘Dealing with relics is a hassle, and I don’t want to make the Purple Top get involved. It’s annoying. It would be nice if I could solve it with words…’
Of course, the Regressor snorted and shouted.
“You keep talking about strength, strength. What about you? You’re just a gangster who just uses his power in the Marquisate? That kind of talk is just about the level of a swordsman, but from the perspective of the Empire, you’re just a frontier master!”
“…”
As expected, the Regressor. He detonated a bomb that could not be compared to the Erectorus Engineering. The remark was so serious that not only Obelisk and Suin, but even the army brought by Marquis Raphaeno watched the Marquis’s expression.In the suffocating silence, the marquis’s mustache quivered slightly. It was clear to anyone that he was feeling intense anger.
“Yes. Since when did we fight with words? I tried to resolve it with dialogue.”
Swish. Marquis Rafaeno drew another sword from his waist. It was a mangosh, slightly shorter than the rapier he was using. The mangosh with its jet-black blade swallowed the sunlight and wailed ominously.
“Since there are two of you, do you mind if I use two swords?”
Hostility bloomed thickly. If they fought like this, someone would die. Sapien hurriedly intervened and shouted.
“Stop, Marquis Rafaeno! Otherwise!”
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Sapien made his last choice, just to stop the fight.
“I will report this to the Empire and the Holy See!”
That one word made even the marquis and the army hesitate. Sapien, who confirmed that the threat worked, went a step further.
“The Enger Plains are the land where Saint Enger planted his flag! We, his descendants, are the rightful owners of this land, and we are nobles who have defended this land with all our might! The attempt to seize the land anointed by the saint is unforgivable by justice!”
It would be a ridiculous attempt if it were the land of a vassal state. However, the name of the saint transcended even national borders, and the attempt had clear legitimacy. Besides, the Empire would not hesitate to intervene.
“You. You shouldn’t have done that.”
-However, it was also a terrible trick for Sapien. Marquis Rafaeno commanded in a small voice.
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
Clatter. The army raised their weapons in unison. The mage unit began chanting, and the escort unit formed a formation.
The war army led by the Black Tiger Army. Each of them was a strong man who surpassed the warriors of the Beast Wave, and they advanced in formation. The target was… not only Grull and the regressor, but also all the watermen who were resting after the battle was over.
“Execute the traitors.”
“…What?”
“Public official Sapien, Grull of the Beast Wave. And that adventurer. I designate the three of them as traitors. Anyone who helps them will be killed. This is the execution order given by General Black Tiger.”
The vassal state is a vassal of the Empire. Therefore, the people of the vassal state are one step lower than the people of the Empire. It’s like a fate that has been set since birth.
Of course, no one likes a fate that is unfavorable to them. And some try to overcome it.
Marquis Rafaeno was one of those few. The regressor was shocked.
“Are you going to war? Are you just going to go out?!”
“Do you feel absurd? What can I do? That’s how the world works. In the end, if we collide with each other, we have no choice but to compete with our strength.”
The pig waterman fought against humans to fight against the absurdity. However, the pig waterman, who had become the ruler, created another absurdity. The watermen of Ende denounced their foolishness and cowardice.
But are the pig watermen really that cowardly and foolish?
The pig watermen were just a little late. Such a foolish revolution has happened dozens of times so far. And the successful revolution was just overshadowed by its brilliance, and the same absurdity continued.
Humans were also pig watermen.
The vassal state imposed the absurdity it received from the Empire on Ende.
“Obelisk! Prepare for battle!”
“Children! Raise your weapons!”
Thunder and fire poured down on their heads as they got up in a hurry. It was white magic fired by the Imperial Mage Corps. The Obelisk and the Beast Wave warriors were terrified by the preemptive attack to break their morale. Ende did not have a mage unit that could fight them.
The Black Tiger Army is much stronger in terms of military power alone. As they advanced with the support of the mages, the soldiers who were exhausted from fighting the wolves and rescuing the buried were helplessly defeated.
Even the rescue was not over yet. The laborers who were still removing rocks and rescuing the buried were suddenly struck by lightning, regardless of whether the army came from that side or not.
“Whew. I barely escaped… Now I can rest a little.”
“Euaaagh! Fire!”
“Whew?!”
They were ambushed by humans they thought were their allies, without any system or strategy. It was a situation where they had to worry about whether they could even run away before discussing victory or defeat.If there was any luck, it was that Ende’s only wizard had just been released. The royal wizards who had been indiscriminately firing magic at Suin felt something strange.
“Wizard Algios. The trigger is blocked.”
“What is it? Is it a unique wizard?”
“It seems so. The wand used as a catalyst is not working. The same phenomenon occurs even if the trigger is changed. It’s like something is caught in the law. However, if you let the magic power flow directly, the magic will go out normally.”
“A unique wizard who controls the trigger? The effect is weak, but the rule is simple and the area is wide. It would be tricky if we met on the battlefield.”
“Wait. You control the trigger?”
“The rule may be different, but for now, the effect looks like that.”
“Then, conversely… Can’t you activate the trigger?”
“What?”
Kwaquakwang. The catalysts possessed by the wizards were activated and magic was fired in the wrong direction.
Unlike black magic, which uses my body as a catalyst, white magic uses gems or tools as catalysts. If you draw a magic circuit on a sophisticated alchemy tool and inject magic power, you can use magic with just a keyword. There were also many magic tools that had only triggers set so that they could be used without having to inject magic power separately in preparation for battle.
The reason it is past tense is because it was all operated by Kito’s unique wizardry. The flames rising from the wand spread in all directions. The wizard unit, which was only familiar with attack and not defense, screamed and ran around.
“Is it a surprise attack?”
“No. It’s a unique wizard!”
The royal wizard unit is a valuable force even for the vassal state. When such a unit went berserk, their eyes were drawn to it for a moment. The returnee did not miss the gap and swung Cheon-ae.
“Cheonggeomgi, Pacho!”
Cheon-ae is a relic that symbolizes space itself. As the storm raged, it blocked the advance of the corps, and the raging magic spread with the wind. The corps paused for a moment to identify the type of attack.
The returnee, who had created a precious gap, though very briefly, looked back and shouted.
“Everyone run… Ugh!”
“It’s a futile effort.”
A sharp swordsmanship attacks the returnee. Two swords aimed at the returnee. It was a powerful and quick surprise attack, but the returnee, who had developed Cheonban-gyeong, dodged it by bending his back.
In terms of pure energy, the returnee is not inferior to the Marquis. Because I drank the elixir I obtained with the knowledge of the future like water, and because I acquired it with the best qigong called Cheonban-gyeong. No matter how fast the swordsmanship is, I can avoid it all the moment I recognize the attack. Avoiding attacks was no less than a rule that made sense.
‘Cheet! I can’t fight back…!’
However, it is impossible to say that it is advantageous even if you wake up dead. The tragedy drawn by Marquis Rafaeno remains for a long time and is dangerous even later. Most of the logic is like that, but it is too absurd to fight head-on.
There was another problem.
‘When on earth will that remain?! Now there are tragedies everywhere! There is no place to retreat now!’
The true value of the anthracite sword is its ability to control space. The space where the sword has passed even once now belongs to the Marquis. Unlike the type of rule that consumes, Marquis Rafaeno becomes more advantageous the longer he fights.
It may be different if you retreat in a direction where the sword does not reach, but the safe place is usually on the side of your allies. The allies are caught up in the master’s swordsmanship.
‘Absurd…!’
“Isn’t it absurd?”
Marquis Rafaeno spoke as if he had seen through the returnee’s mind.
“It’s the same. Absurdity always comes to everyone. Whether or not you can overcome it depends only on your strength. So… I’m struggling to get that power.”
“So you’re going to kick out all the Suin people?! If you do that, that absurdity will come to you someday!”
The returnee shouted, recalling the king of sin, but Marquis Rafaeno calmly replied.
“No matter what I do, the absurdity will come. In order to gain the strength to overcome it. I will become the absurdity myself.”
But that’s not absurd.
It is a very natural thing that humans act with selfishness. It is called absurdity, but in reality, it is just the savagery hidden under the guise of order.The reason why I consider that absurd is because I expect something from the other person. I feel wronged because I want the other person to be a human like me and to think and follow me.
Real absurdity doesn’t happen that way. It comes so suddenly and intensely that you can’t even feel wronged.
Yeah, just like…
“Oh my. You’re the tallest human here.”
Like a girl who suddenly appeared in front of the marquis, swinging her striped tail under her blouse.
The girl who appeared through the gap of the war was relaxed even though flames were spreading and blood was splattering. Even amidst the chaos of steel and screams, she showed boredom rather than fear. Her eyes showed arrogance along with faint curiosity.
The girl who appeared even more absurd in an absurd situation spoke slowly.
“I ask you.”
I can’t read her mind. If that was all, I wouldn’t have felt anything.
But my instincts are telling me to be afraid. My whole body is shaking, and cold sweat is running down my back. Before I knew it, my clothes were soaked. Even the fact that Aji treated people doesn’t matter now.
Maybe because there won’t be anyone left for Aji to treat!
The tiger king, San-gun. The king of beasts, who is truly called the king of the mountain, commanded the human.
“Where is the wolf?”
Is it a coincidence that every important characterw are all girls???