Metal and metal dance.
Every time sparks flew, blood and screams joined in a symphony. The blood that surged began to warm the cold snowfield red.
The elf soldiers could not withstand me at all.
Even if they somehow managed to deflect my strike, they would inevitably fall to the follow-up blow. In fact, there were more who couldn’t even exchange a single blow with me.
It was due to the poor quality of their weapons.
There were elves whose lives were cut short as their swords were cleaved in half. Many soldiers were holding weapons made of wood rather than metal.
It was more like an armed militia than a regular army representing their race.
Even the term ‘army’ seemed ambiguous. It was closer to calling them a band of thieves.
Still, it was a decent number of supplies taken from humanity, as elves of considerable skill stood in my way.
Though it only bought me a few seconds.
Clang, clang, clang!
The swords shot at high speed, striking the elf’s sword blade one after another. It was only three exchanges, but with each hit, the elf noticeably staggered.
It was obvious from that.
With a crack, I tore through the opening, penetrating the elf’s heart.
As the sword came out, blood gushed out. The elf tried to hold onto my sword in a last-ditch effort, but before my aura, the elf’s skin was far too weak.
It seemed I had already killed a dozen or so.
It was a quite impressive feat compared to my worries. If I could achieve this level of achievement by myself, the hundreds of elven attackers would be swiftly dealt with.
Most importantly, my companions had begun to engage in battle in earnest.
“Light, flood forth!”
With a crackle, pure white energy erupted.
As it began to overflow, the elves screamed and trembled. The elven mages stepped in late, but Senior Elsi was among the most skilled mages.
Taking advantage of the elves’ paralysis, Yulen and I swept across the battlefield.
The elves with contracted muscles were actually harder to deal with. They had become too stiff. Of course, that did not pose any obstacle against skilled fighters like Yulen and me.
Additionally, the imperial princess was making solid contributions as well.
“Stars, light, the trajectories of truth coming from the veiled dream… Pour down like a torrential rain and strike the world. Star’s banquet!”
Though her voice trembled, the spell was completed somehow.
The ripples it created were enormous.
Like candles being lit, spheres of blue magical energy began to line up in the sky. Their numbers increased from one or two to eventually dozens.
Some elves sensed something suspicious, but it was already too late.
The projectiles poured down like a torrential rain.
With each sphere that detonated, explosions erupted. The ground shook, and a few nearby elves screamed as they fell.
Among them, there were those who had lost one or two limbs.
In the distance, I could see the pale-faced imperial princess. She was stumbling and even gagging.
Perhaps she found the devastation she had caused too horrifying.
It was understandable.
What scattered was not just snow and earth.
Flesh and blood, dismembered limbs, and heads that, until the end, glared at me in resentment.
Is this hell?
For a moment, I recalled the riverside of Benedetta. The mad voice that said life was a prison and death was liberation.
I could empathize with it, just a little.
I gritted my teeth and delved deeper into the elven ranks. I aimed to break the frontline completely.
It was then that something changed in the atmosphere.
The moment I took a step forward, I felt the elves retreating in unison.
Soon, a vacuum formed around me. The soldiers who were supposed to hold the line seemed to be stepping aside, leaving me no choice but to stop.
No, in fact, there was another reason for my pause.
A few approaching figures had an unusual gait.
They were clearly walking, yet no footprints were left on the snowfield.
It was a unique movement I had never seen even in the academy. I stood dumbfounded, facing four or five approaching elves.
Before long, Yulen had caught up by my side.
He too seemed to feel the same discomfort I did.
He momentarily stopped, watching the elf swordsman’s steps with interest.
“What do you think? Do you have any idea?”
“I’m not sure, but it sounds familiar. There were those who could walk on puddles without leaving ripples when we were fighting against the elves.”
It didn’t sound like an ordinary story.
I let out a chuckle.
“This might be a bit tiring to deal with.”
“By oneself, sure.”
Yulen gave my shoulder a light pat.
And then he smiled his characteristic battle-hungry smile.
“Shall we see who can kill more?”
“Not a bad idea, bu…”
It was an unpleasant comment that disregarded lives, but I intentionally chose not to point it out.
I felt like it would bring me some comfort.
As soon as I kicked the ground, the world split. And at the end of the stopped time, I found myself standing in front of the elf swordsman with my sword drawn.
Now that I think about it, the elf soldiers did say something.
To call for the ‘sword wielders’.
It seemed elves specially called those who wielded swords as ‘sword wielders.’ It certainly had a peculiar atmosphere about it to have a separate name.
Even though it was right in front of me, it felt as if its existence had been erased.
It was like mist.
Silver aura traced like beams of light. Incredibly fast sword strikes fell from top left to bottom right, a speed that ordinary soldiers couldn’t even react to.
However, the sword wielders were different.
Their bodies naturally retreated with a gliding motion. Then, they immediately thrust at my opening.
Of course, no matter how fast they were, it couldn’t compare to my reaction speed.
I dodged easily, and just as I attempted to land a critical hit.
Suddenly, I felt a strange sense of unease.
There was some instinct that transcended sight, sending a warning.
My body froze, misaligning at that moment.
In a trajectory where I should have caught them by their throat, I instead dodged the sword wielders’ thrust for a considerable time.
The sword wielder’s blade shouldn’t have even grazed me.
Yet, it lightly brushed past my clothing, leaving a mark.
I let out a hollow laugh.
There were two blades.
I couldn’t understand the principle behind it. I advanced ferociously to give them no leeway.
And again, a blade surged toward me.
Having over-rotated, I had given the elf time to recover its posture. I knocked one of the blades away with my sword.
The invisible blade shattered and the metallic blade flew toward me.
However, there was one fact the elf sword wielder overlooked: I also had another blade.
My spare hand swiftly drew out a hand axe.
Clang, sparks flew as the elf sword wielder’s sword sliced through the air. It couldn’t handle the sudden shock.
Finally, the sword wielder’s eyes widened, which would be his last expression.
With a crack, my hand axe struck down, splitting his skull.
I checked on the remaining sword wielders.
Yulen had taken another head, leaving three left.
Two of them charged at me.
There was no need to engage with their peculiar swordsmanship one by one.
I gritted my teeth and threw the hand axe.
Thud, the rebound created ripples in the air. The hand axe flew at high speed and struck the swords of two elven sword wielders in succession.
Clang, clang.
And as it spun in the air, I was grateful that my opponents were elves.
They probably hadn’t heard the rumors about the dancing hand axe.
With a crack, the axe descended, cleaving one elven sword wielder like firewood.
In the midst of that skilled maneuver, one of the elves hesitated in surprise, giving me an opportunity to throw my sword.
The blade whizzed through the air, slicing towards the elf swordsman.
The elf sword wielder attempted to deflect it out of instinct. For a moment, his eyes lingered on the strange trajectory it was taking.
But in a duel of experts, losing focus was taboo.
With a crack, my kick charged alongside the sword and struck the sword wielder’s solar plexus.
He wheezed, spewing blood as he staggered back. Lowering his upper body, I swept the ground and grabbed the hand axe lodged there.
That was just before the final exchange.
As the sword wielder swung his sword desperately, I threw myself into him, diving into the distance. The hand axe was shorter than the sword, giving me an advantage at close range.
Just like now.
With a crack, the hand axe shot upwards, crushing the sword wielder’s jaw.
The silence was brief.
With a thud, the elven sword wielder collapsed, and the series of battles came to an end.
Yulen took a few seconds longer to finish off his sword wielder.
He scratched his head in irritation.
“Ah, using an axe is unfair…”
“If you’re upset, then go get one yourself.”
Though I was joking, my mood still wasn’t good.
It was my first time taking so many lives.
Not of monsters, but of sentient beings.
I felt as though I wanted to drink and pass out.
But the battlefield does not wait for sadness.
I sensed the approach of more presences. Elven sword wielders.
How many more were there?
While I was feeling a throbbing headache.
“Go ahead.”
Yulen spoke to me dismissively.
I glanced at him. My friend was grinning brightly.
“We made a bet, didn’t we? So while I handle these guys, just go ahead and take out the strongest one like always.”
I turned to look behind me.
I could see a few soldiers sliding towards Yulen and me. But further back, Yuridina’s soldiers, led by Sir Alex, were advancing in a surge.
They too would be swept away by that tide shortly.
Then Yulen only needed to hold out for a while.
There was a chance.
Instead of answering, I nodded once. Yulen quietly stood there, holding his sword.
It was time to kick the ground and leap out.
Perhaps because I had already delved quite deep, the soldiers blocking me didn’t resist.
The archers and mages were a nuisance. However, once the swordsmen allowed me to approach the rear, the battle was as good as over.
Before long, I found an old man.
Elves were a race that remained forever young.
They do not age until just before death. But what of this old man?
Is he a corpse on the brink of passing?
Looking at his bent back and small stature, it did seem so. He likely could not even move without the aid of a cane.
As I momentarily hesitated in my steps, the old man smiled brightly.
It was a bright smile.
“You’ve come well, young one… We were fully prepared, yet I never expected such variables to arise.”
“Bread with bread, a dagger with a dagger.”
The old man’s eyes became mysterious at my thrown words.
He seemed entertained, waiting for what I would say next. I took a deep breath and aimed my sword.
“I’ve heard it was an elven proverb… Seems it’s my turn to return the dagger, doesn’t it?”
“Of course.”
At the same instant, the old man threw his cane onto the ground.
The cane rolled away, leaving a pitiful sound. I looked at the elven elder with filled curiosity.
Wasn’t he a mage?
“Bread with bread, a dagger with a dagger… Our long-proclaimed saying. But consider this: how many daggers have we received?”
It was then that bizarre sights caught my eye.
With a crack, the old man’s hunched back straightened again.
Crunch, thud, clunk.
With each sound of bones clicking, the old man’s figure grew larger and larger. What had initially seemed ample, his clothing started to appear tight.
Then suddenly, it burst open.
The muscles continued to swell.
In mere moments, the small and frail old man had transformed into a muscular giant over 2 meters tall.
I felt as though I’d seen something similar before.
When the old man’s white hair grew in and his once methodical gaze turned red with bloodlust.
Expletives naturally slipped from my mouth.
“What the hell…?”
He was a mage.
I involuntarily recalled memories from the orphanage.
What cursed memories they were.
Today, it seemed another scar would be etched into that wound.
