My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 223

“Go.”

With Lichen’s quiet whisper, the entire legion began to move.

As they passed by me and Ariel, they still harbored murderous intent. However, they were only watching; no one aimed to harm me. Perhaps it was expected given the commander’s orders.

I stealthily observed the demon tribe making their way toward the city wall.

My strategy depended on how long the S-Class heroes, magicians, and knights atop the wall could hold out.

Looking at the momentum of the demon tribe, it was clear they would breach the wall in less than an hour. Our numbers were overwhelmingly insufficient to withstand the deluge of their strength spilling over the wall.

Once one breach begins, it would collapse like dominoes.

And it wasn’t just the city wall that I had to worry about.

I stared at the demon tribe in front of me. Holding out against this guy for even a few minutes would be difficult for me.

If I do manage to hold on, it would be a maximum of three minutes.

So, I needed to force Lichen to use his ultimate skill within those three minutes.

Once he activates his ultimate skill, he would exhaust a considerable amount of magic, making him hesitant to advance until he recovers.

There was also a way I could exploit that, so I had to finish this quickly.

“Alright, then let’s get started.”

He drew Miles.

Miles. Ranked 8 in the demon world, its primary abilities were imitation and dependency.

It could transform into any object or creature, even something that doesn’t exist in this world.

Additionally, it significantly amplified the stats of the user while possessing special abilities.

On top of that, its original power meant that I had to expect at least two high-level demons in this battle.

As I infused my sword with aura, a red glow appeared inside his helmet.

“So, this is the realm of a Sword Master. I see. If that’s the case, it’s possible to land a hit on Peremus. Though the fifth Sword Master, Pasma, was defeated, he managed to land a hit on Peremus.”

He nodded in agreement.

“My name is Lichen. What’s yours?”

He asks knowing full well. Is this chivalry?

“…Praus.”

“Praus, show me your power. The same power you showed upon Peremus!”

Boom!

As he fully unleashed his power, the ground split and a terrifying aura surged forth.

“What kind of magic is that…?!”

“It includes Miles’ magic as well. If we solely look at the magic capacity, it exceeds that of Peremus.”

“You speak too much.”

“!”

Before I knew it, Lichen approached from the side and swung his sword.

Clang!

Such incredible force. I felt my body lift and vibrations shot through my hands. I barely managed to hold onto the sword.

“What the hell…!”

It wasn’t just my strength that sustained this. Thanks to Pasma’s quick reaction, I was able to bear the shock to some degree.

Struggling to keep my balance, I gazed at him. Without the skills and the power of artifacts, I couldn’t deal with high-level demons.

“Hmm? It feels much lighter than I expected. Did you really land a hit on Peremus? The mana feels genuine… Well, it doesn’t matter.”

He planted his feet into the ground. In an instant, he seized my back and thrust his sword towards my neck. The speed was unimaginable to my eyes. But right now, Pasma governed my body.

Boom!

A few strands of hair were sliced off. Pasma immediately spun my body and raised the sword.

“Ascension Sword!”

Clang!

The moment our swords met, magic and mana clashed together and entwined. The magical energy spilling from his sword disrupted for an instant, forcing him to stagger back.

“This is quite useful! But you’re still lacking in power!”

In an instant, he closed the distance and swung his sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With each clash of swords, the impact sent my sword shaking in the direction of the blow. The absolute difference in strength was still impassable.

Even after just a few strikes, it felt like my arm might tear off.

“I can’t shake the feeling that your strength for a knight is too weak. I haven’t even given you half of my strength. Did you really land a hit on Peremus?”

“…Should I ask that guy directly?”

Creak—!

Despite my words, I had no luxury to act arrogant. Just making contact with his sword felt like my muscles were being torn. It felt similar to when Stella manifested against Peremus.

No, it might even be worse than that.

“By the way, a truly skilled knight can assess their opponent’s ability after just a couple of exchanges. You’re overwhelmingly weaker than the Sword Masters I’ve killed!”

Clang!

He strikes with full force. My body lifts into the air and is pushed back.

“To challenge me with such skills… pathetically amusing.”

Lichen assumed a stance common for sword techniques I understood. At that instant, I felt the atmosphere being drawn toward his sword, gathering.

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique 1: Evil Spirit Slash.”

“Phantom Wave Slash!”

Boom!

A violet sword energy flew toward me, but Pasma perfectly timed his strike. He sliced through the energy with precision.

“Oh? The power is weak, but your mana is strong… Praus, you should have been a magician instead. The realm of a Sword Master is built upon immense strength; that’s an unchanging truth. I don’t know how you achieved this, but you’re not suited to be a knight.”

“…You sure love to talk. If you plan to teach me, I’d prefer you to stop.”

I adjusted my stance and took a deep breath.

To turn this battle in my favor, I couldn’t just rely on brute force.

My greatest asset right now was the amount of mana I could imbue in the artifact. While my defenses may be lacking, my attack power could still hold up against a commander-level opponent.

“I’m sorry. When I see weaker foes, I can’t help but give advice… because you’re just too weak compared to me.”

The opponent was far too strong to think of my next move. If I kept going as I was, I’d die without dragging this out at all.

I tried to save the number of uses of my artifact as much as possible, but it didn’t seem feasible.

“Is that so? Then from now on, things will be different.”

I slightly loosened my grip.

“Pasma, time for a brief switch.”

“Understood.”

“Imitation.”

I extended my hand to reflect Lichen in the mirror.

[Identifying target “Lichen”.]

[Imitating the power and skills of “Lichen”.]

For one minute from now, I would surpass Lichen.

I infused my sword with all the mana I had.

“What’s that… that pressure…!”

First, I would smash Lichen’s Miles.

Miles was a living sword. Its defense would harden beyond Ecabel’s level when transforming into an object, but the amount of mana I had likely surpassed even Lichen’s.

So there was no way I couldn’t break it.

Clang!

“KYEEEK!!”

A scream erupted from the sword along with a cracking sound. The demon tribe rushing toward the city wall turned to look at us.

“What the—!”

Surprised by the unexpected power, even Lichen seemed taken aback, letting out a groan. The longer this dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would become for me. I must unleash my full strength within this minute.

“Phantom Dance.”

Strike! Dodge! Strike!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

His reaction was swift.

I narrowly avoided Lichen’s attack and swung my sword at his blind spots, yet I found no openings.

However, as time passed, I began to gain the advantage.

With every clash of our swords, Miles screamed in agony. I was focusing my strikes on one spot on his sword.

“This bastard…!”

Recognizing he couldn’t sustain the defense, Lichen desperately deflected my sword.

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique 3: Evil Spirit Slash!”

As I watched the diagonal strike, I murmured my own skill.

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique 3: Evil Spirit Slash.”

Clang!

Not only did I perfectly parry his strike, but I also sent him flying back. An incredulous voice emerged from within his armor, overwhelmed.

“What?!”

“Grrr!”

“Phantom Wave Slash!”

The exposed vital area from the distance.

I pierced my sword precisely toward his heart.

Clang!

Even in a disoriented state, he managed to block my sword. However, since I had already struck that spot several times before, cracks began to form on his blade.

“What’s this?! How could you, who was so weak just a moment ago…!”

Panic began to set in. The more he panicked, the more I could manipulate him.

“Don’t tell me! Did you hold back your strength just to gauge my level?!”

“Well, who knows?”

I immediately closed the distance and thrust my sword.

“Phantom Wave Slash!”

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

“KYEEEK…!”

Unfazed by Miles’ screams, Lichen revealed his intent to kill as he blocked each of my thrusts. Miles’ surface was mostly shattered and in ruins.

“…I’ll kill you!”

The magic emanating from him surged into the sky. I could feel he was starting to get serious.

Good, go all out. The moment you use your ultimate skill, your soldiers will fall into hell.

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique 5: Evil Spirit Wave Slash!”

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique 5: Evil Spirit Wave Slash!”

Almost simultaneously, we slammed our swords into the ground and charged toward each other. The blue and violet sword energies collided in an explosion.

Boom!

The dust billowed up like a cumulus cloud, engulfing both us and the surrounding demons.

While my view was obscured, with magic now visible, there was no problem pinpointing Lichen’s location. The moment I confirmed where he stood, I swung my sword into the air.

“Phantom Wave Slash!”

The sword energy soaring through the dust struck Miles, causing it to shatter against Lichen’s chest.

“KYEEEK!”

“Guhurk!”

I ripped through Lichen’s armor and cleaved into his torso. However, it seemed I couldn’t completely sever it; only blood oozed out from between the armor plates.

“How could you mimic a sword technique I developed?!”

He staggered, clutching his chest as he questioned me.

“It was plainly visible.”

“Are you saying that with such power and skill, you’re still not a hero?!”

“I’m not good enough to be a hero.”

“…Hmph, it’s been a long time. I never thought someone would force me to reveal my full strength. As an apology for underestimating you, I shall go all out as well.”

As he infused magic into Miles, its blade began to grow back.

Tsk, this isn’t going to be easy.

But this had expended quite a lot of his magic, so it wasn’t a bad result.

“Evil Spirit Integration.”

The magic that enveloped his entire body began to concentrate inside Miles, altering its armor’s shape. Horns sprouted, the armor grew larger, and red markings appeared.

This was the response when he activated his full power.

“Show me your true strength.”

Lichen adopted a heavier stance than ever before.

It would soon be one minute. I didn’t know how many strikes we could exchange, but I had to wrap this up before the counterblow hit.