The Nameless Barbarian blocks my way. Just like before, Kail swung his sword. Most barbarians would easily fall dead with just this much, but the one he encountered this time was different.
“HAHAHA-! Outstanding warrior!”
“…Aura?”
This barbarian Kail met knew how to infuse aura into his weapon, just like Kail himself. A master at the level people call Aura Expert.
As is typical of masters at this level, they were not opponents who could be easily defeated with just a swing or two of the sword.
It was a realm where victory or defeat was determined by how deep the accumulation of their training had been. And Kail could proudly say that when it came to training, he was second to none.
“State your name!”
“…”
To the barbarian’s words, Kail responded without a word and swung his sword. It might have been considered dishonorable, but for some reason, the barbarian seemed even more delighted.
“Yes! That’s right! True warriors converse through steel!”
The Nameless Barbarian exclaimed as he swung his axe. The axe imbued with aura generated intense sparks every time it clashed with the sword.
Those sparks alone were enough to draw all eyes around—Kail instinctively realized that this fight shouldn’t drag on.
‘There are archers on the walls and sorcerers like Duke Grace… we won’t be overwhelmed unilaterally…’
Arrows and magic only worked if the soldiers and knights on the front line managed to stop the barbarians’ movements.
If the barbarians who slaughtered the soldiers climbed over the walls, neither the towering walls nor arrows and magic would be of much use.
And now—having come down from the walls, Kail understood that if this dragged on, there was a chance he’d get surrounded and attacked by barbarians.
“HAHAHAHAHA-!”
“…Hoo.”
As the barbarian laughed heartily, Kail smirked. The aura coursing through his body surged through his muscles and nerves, extending even to his weapon and armor.
Two warriors enhanced by aura collide.
Striking with swords, cutting, using armor and gauntlets, fists and kicks, even headbutts with helmets—Kail used every means available to pressure the barbarian.
Surprisingly, despite Kail’s specialized training in swordsmanship and wrestling, the barbarian was more skilled in this kind of close combat. Real combat wasn’t something you could perfect just by learning swordsmanship and wrestling.
‘This isn’t going to work.’
Realizing the battle was dragging on, Kail took a gamble. He threw his body towards the axe aimed at him.
Believing that with his body fully charged with aura, he could withstand a single blow from the axe, Kail thrust himself forward and quickly extended his shoulder.
He blocked the fiercely incoming axe aimed at his head with his shoulder armor and immediately exploited the exposed opening, driving his sword deep.
THWACK-! The sword pierced through the barbarian’s abdomen, and Kail slashed upward as he pulled it out.
Just moments ago, the laughing barbarian’s upper body was cleanly split in half, erupting in a fountain of blood.
“—Gerald?”
A distant barbarian watching his comrade die let out an exclamation. Without any concern, Kail flicked the blood off his sword and pointed it at the barbarian staring blankly at the corpse.
The barbarian, trembling after witnessing his comrade’s death, soon screamed madly and charged at Kail.
BOOM- BOOM-! Explosive sounds erupted beneath the feet of the barbarian running across the snowy plain, and his figure arrived in front of Kail in the blink of an eye.
“You son of a b*tch─!”
Overflowing with rage, the barbarian manifested his fury into the Bones of the Nameless Monster. Gripping a long bone in one hand, the barbarian struck down hard as if wielding a blunt weapon. Kail, deflecting the bone with both hands, felt his knees naturally buckle under the force.
“What the…!”
“Die, dieeeeee!”
The barbarian didn’t stop there, continuing his relentless barrage. Swinging the bone without catching his breath, he seemed tireless.
Every time Kail deflected the bone, he felt a tingling sensation not just in his muscles but down to his bones. Hard to believe, but he realized that this barbarian’s strength surpassed his own.
‘Is this even possible?’
A sudden wave of reality hit him. Though his body hadn’t fully matured, it was a physique he’d trained for nearly ten years. He systematically trained every day, enduring pain that felt like his bones were breaking.
Yet these barbarians, who probably never trained formally, just frolicking in the wild, were surpassing him so easily? Though muscle mass varies between races—this was just too much.
“How dare you harm Gerald─!”
While Kail doubted he could overpower him with brute strength, the barbarian continued to sing his song of rage.
SWISH-! After deflecting the fiercely swinging bone, Kail read his next move and interrupted the barrage.
In an instant, the barbarian released a dumbfounded “Huh?” as his wrist was struck and he lost grip of the bone.
Even unarmed, the barbarian immediately swung his fist, but no matter what, a sword was longer than a fist.
At this point, there was no need to forcefully swing the sword to counter the barbarian’s strength. Simply adjusting the angle and aligning the blade caused the barbarian’s fist to be cleanly sliced in half.
“If only raw power could solve everything, wouldn’t that be nice?”
With those words, Kail slashed the barbarian’s neck. He had natural strength, but because of it, he neglected discipline.
On the other hand, Gerald was a more tense and dangerous opponent. He relied on skills honed through practice, not innate strength.
Speed and power alone can’t ensure survival.
Skill alone can’t ensure survival either.
The harmony of body and technique was crucial.
And—
“I understand.”
Kail gazed firmly at the sword in his hand. For ten years, he’d been stuck at the wall of the Aura Expert. He’d questioned whether the Master’s wall truly existed, but after just one real battle, he began to grasp it.
He realized why Aura Masters were called Sword Stars and understood the seemingly unrelated correlation between aura and the sword.
“Coming here to experience real combat was the right choice.”
Had he stayed in his territory, merely swinging his sword and engaging in non-lethal sparring with knights—he would never have gained this insight.
The Master’s wall would have felt even further away.
“—Who’s next?”
With those words, Kail advanced forward. He could feel the barbarians hesitating as his presence pushed the frontline slowly forward.
Smirking, Kail prepared to charge at the barbarians, but then an enormous energy above caught his attention.
“!?”
Startled, Kail looked up and finally realized the source of the energy in the sky.
An ice iceberg large enough to block the sky loomed there.
The iceberg flew straight toward the barbarians. Like a catapult, its impact alone was sufficient to wipe them out.
Watching the iceberg obliterate the barbarians before vanishing, Kail marveled at the power of magic.
“—Why are you here?”
A voice from atop the walls called out, and Kail respectfully bowed his head. Its owner leaped down from the walls to stand before him.
The lord of the North and the Six-Star Sorcerer,
Duke Walter Grace, looked at Kail and asked:
“Kail Meyer.”
“It’s been a while, Your Grace.”
“Why are you here?”
“I ran away.”
“Ran away, huh.”
Grace let out a hollow laugh, lips twitching as if he had much to say. But realizing how ridiculous it would be to lecture Kail, who wasn’t even his son, he shook his head and looked at him.
“Never mind. Let’s retreat. The barbarians should withdraw by now─.”
─Found youuuuuu-!
At that moment, a loud voice echoed from far within the barbarian territory. Hearing the vast resonance, the duke immediately turned his head toward the sound.
As Kail belatedly followed the duke’s gaze, a spear-like object flew in from somewhere unknown, reaching the duke in an instant.
CLANG-!
“Grrrk-!?”
Several layers of the duke’s protective mana barriers shattered instantly, sending him flying back dozens of steps. Kail turned his gaze from the duke to the direction the spear had flown from.
Something was approaching. At first glance, it appeared to be a long spear, but upon closer inspection, it was clearly not.
It was a person. Someone running at an unimaginable speed, so fast they resembled a spear.
The moment Kail recognized him, he reflexively swung his sword. Yet his gaze remained fixed on the duke.
Though ignoring a sword imbued with aura would be impossible, this man made it possible. To be precise, the sword he wielded made it possible.
SWISH-! Kail’s sword was cleanly cut in half. The power to effortlessly slice through an aura-infused sword existed in only one thing in this world.
Aura Blade.
The authority of an Aura Master.
The power to cut through everything in the world with a single sword.
“So you’ve finally shown yourself, Duke!”
“—Damn brat.”
The greatest warrior ruling all barbarians.
The Grand Warrior Chantal appeared before the two.
