Seeing the warriors approaching from afar, Kail let out a hollow laugh. The aura contained in the flying spear that had just arrived and the aura of the approaching warrior were different colors.
In other words, it meant there were at least three Masters. Moreover, it meant that three suddenly appeared in this generation.
If there had been even one more Master during the time when Chantalka was alive, the Great Wall would have collapsed long ago.
‘What luck.’
Kail kicked towards the solar plexus of Uunosu, who was kneeling before him. After knocking her out instantly while she was off guard, he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and threw her backwards.
The soldier who had been confirming the kill on the fallen warriors caught the suddenly flying Uunosu and staggered back a few steps.
“Take her and get out of here. Since she’s a Master, tie her up with chains.”
“Yes, yes! Understood!”
Watching the soldier who had received the order quickly enter the fortress walls carrying Uunosu, Kail slowly walked forward.
Apophis, which he had just used, was currently recharging, and Apophis himself, having consumed a lot of power, was quite exhausted. In this state, even if he released the Demon Sword again, the warriors would easily kill Apophis and escape.
There was no need to waste strength unnecessarily. The most important thing in a fight was stamina management.
“Our sister seems to owe you a debt.”
From afar, the voice of the slowly approaching warrior echoed. Kail scratched his ear indifferently and turned his gaze away.
Phew—after flicking the earwax off his fingers and looking back at him, the warrior began smirking as if amused.
Looking at his laughter-filled face, Kail recalled that laughter originally expressed hostile intent. If a wild beast showed its teeth and “smiled” at its opponent, it wasn’t because it was happy—it was expressing anger.
That’s how it felt looking at this guy. This warrior was angry at Kail.
‘This brat is the same.’
To think he’d get riled up by such a minor provocation? Smirking, Kail finally responded to the warrior.
“You, what’s your name?”
“Ho ho, you want to know my name? Very well. My name is─.”
“Ah, I don’t care. Honestly, I’m not really curious.”
Another dismissal. The guy’s smirk grew even stronger after being ignored twice in a row. Kail smiled back at him, but his smile was one of ease, not anger.
He picked up the weapons of the Barbarian Tribe warriors scattered around. Most of the weapons of the iron-deficient barbarians were made from grinding the bones of magical beasts or monsters.
In his original world, they would have rotted away quickly and become useless, but this world, where supernatural abilities existed, was different. The bones of magical beasts were the best weapons for absorbing a warrior’s magic power or aura.
“My name is Kail. Kail Meyer.”
“…I’m not really curious about that either?”
“You should know. It’ll save you from getting scolded by your ancestors.”
Hearing that, the guy paused momentarily, furrowing his brow as if he didn’t understand what Kail meant. But then, realizing the implication, he started charging forward.
Watching the ignorant Master recklessly rushing in, Kail took a stance to throw the weapon in his hand.
The unknown guy prepared to deflect any incoming weapons and gripped his axe tightly.
“When you go tell my name, even your ancestors will understand. They died by my hands too.”
“You bastarrrd-!”
Boom! He stomped down hard. His aura-filled step shook the earth, and the guy’s attention was completely focused on his weapon.
That shouldn’t happen. It seemed like he thought this was a battle between Aura Masters, but in this world, it wasn’t just Aura Masters who existed.
Whoosh─ An Aura Blade generated in mid-air stabbed directly into the guy’s limbs. The guy, who had only been focusing on what was in front of him, could only blankly watch as the sharp aura severed his limbs.
“What an idiot.”
Smirking, Kail threw his weapon with full force toward the warriors watching beyond the Master, their faces filled with shock.
When Kail’s aura-filled monster bone hit its target, it exploded like a grenade, bursting in all directions.
They weren’t even Aura Masters; ordinary warriors couldn’t withstand the power of an Aura Blade. As fragments of aura-infused bone pierced holes through the warriors’ bodies, Kail approached the guy who had collapsed without limbs.
“So, what’s my name again?”
“Ka, Kaaiil…!”
“Okay, good job remembering.”
Looking at the Master who stared up at him resentfully, as if questioning how this could happen, Kail swung his sword silently.
The guy collapsed forward, knocked unconscious by the sword strike to the back of his head. Kail smiled refreshingly as he looked at the unconscious figure.
‘That’s it.’
Those terrorists from before had just gotten lucky. Any normal Master would inevitably end up like this before Kail.
Having achieved a secret technique that allowed him to create Aura Blades outside his body—something other Masters could never dream of—Kail had surpassed the level of an ordinary Aura Master.
Of course, if they had known beforehand and prepared accordingly, it wouldn’t have ended so easily. Assuming neither side knew anything about the other, there weren’t many capable fighters who could beat Kail one-on-one.
‘After all, even I almost got taken down because I didn’t know about the opponent.’
Kail gritted his teeth as he recalled the Holy Weapon hammer that had nearly destroyed his body. Next time, he wouldn’t fall for such tricks—but neither would his opponents.
If you don’t progress, you’ll fall behind. He needed to remember that while he surged ahead, others were fiercely catching up.
These barbarians didn’t realize that. They had fallen behind the times. That’s why they were dying.
“Alright—shall we move on to the next?”
Feeling the spells flying toward his back, Kail picked up another weapon.
This was the battlefield; there were plenty of weapons.
Weapons to use once and discard were even more abundant.
The barbarian warriors, who had lost their Master in an instant and whose morale had plummeted, still charged forward as if they didn’t know retreat.
And before long, they were annihilated.
The war was over.
* * *
No matter how many times he smelled it, the medicinal odor never became familiar. Opening his eyes, the Duke realized he was lying on a hospital bed.
Since he rarely used it, he had only placed a cheap bed in the infirmary. Now that he was awake, he could easily tell how terrible the bed was.
“Grrr…!”
“Ah, you’re awake?”
“…Who’s there?”
“I’m the medic. I’ll call the Cleric. Please lie down for a moment.”
With that, the medic quickly left the ward to fetch the Cleric. Only then did the Duke realize the situation he had been in and groaned as he lay back on the bed.
After staying awake for over 500 hours, he had collapsed. Even though he was a Master, it was miraculous he hadn’t died.
If Kail hadn’t completed his mission and returned, he might have died from a burst blood vessel or been conquered by the barbarians.
‘The invasion…… seems to have been successfully repelled.’
Otherwise, there was no way he could be peacefully lying in the medical room. He should have woken up tied up in a torture chamber, drenched in cold water.
His limbs torn off, eyes gouged out, tongue cut—those things could all become threatening tools for a Sorcerer.
“Your Grace, are you coughing?”
Not long after, the Cleric whom the medic had called burst through the door. Seeing the familiar face of the Cleric, the Duke smirked.
“Ah, I’ve awakened.”
“You can sleep more. Going over 20 days without deep sleep? Even for a Master, something must be wrong somewhere in your body.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“It’s only been eight hours since you collapsed.”
“Ah, then it’s fine. I can catch up on the rest gradually.”
Saying that, the Duke tried to sit up. But before the Cleric or medic could stop him, he staggered and collapsed back onto the bed.
Facing the Cleric shrugging his shoulders knowingly, the Duke burst into hearty laughter.
“There’s no time to be lying around.”
“I’ll inform the adjutant. Your Grace needs rest.”
“How did the battle go?”
“We won. A decisive victory. You’d be shocked to hear who we captured.”
“Did we capture a Master?”
“Two of them.”
“…That’s surprising.”
Capturing two Masters. Even if they wouldn’t work for the Empire, considering how valuable a Master’s corpse was, this was undoubtedly a gain.
Unless they were insane, the barbarians wouldn’t attack now that two Masters had been captured. Politically and practically, they had gained numerous advantages.
“Medic.”
“Yes.”
“Go and fetch Kail… my son-in-law.”
“Yes, understood.”
The Duke immediately summoned Kail. Kail, who had been training and organizing the insights he gained today, appeared before the Duke, voicing his complaints about being called unexpectedly.
“You called for me? Father-in-law.”
“Kail. I heard about your achievements. They were impressive.”
“Not at all.”
“The barbarians won’t dare to invade first anymore. Unless they’re crazy, they won’t start trouble while two Masters are held hostage. I’ll reward you separately. Is there anything you want?”
“Ah, actually, there is.”
Casually, Kail pulled out a document and a pen. Before the Duke could tilt his head in curiosity to check the document, Kail shoved it in his face and said,
“Don’t look, just sign it. That’s my wish.”
“…What is this?”
“It’s nothing bad for you, Father-in-law. Absolutely not.”
“Hmm.”
Though something felt off, the Duke didn’t think much harm could come from signing a single document. Who knows, maybe it was the marriage registration form for him and Yuri.
If that were the case, it would make sense for Kail to hide the content and demand a signature first. He probably wanted to secure his daughter at any cost.
Without saying a word, the Duke signed, and Kail, upon receiving the signature, immediately tucked the document away with satisfaction. Only then did the Duke get to hear about the document’s contents.
“So? What’s in the document?”
“Ah, this? It’s nothing special.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Kail spoke nonchalantly.
“It’s the expedition document to attack the barbarians.”
“Mm, an expedition to attack the barbarians… what?”
“It’s the expedition document. Officially recognized just now by Your Grace.”
Hearing his words, the Duke stared at Kail as if questioning his sanity.
As always, Kail had mostly acted out of his mind.
And this time would be no different.
