My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 231

“I’m missing my Teacher, so let’s wrap this up quickly.”

Tina attempted a horizontal slash aimed at Lichen’s side. Lichen jumped away just in time to evade the All-Cutting Sword.

Or so he thought.

Whoosh!

The tip of the All-Cutting Sword, which had been swinging horizontally, suddenly stood vertical and sliced from his chest to his shoulder. Armor was lightly severed, and blood began to seep from the inside.

‘How…? I definitely dodged that!’

It was a puzzling thought. Lichen had accurately read the trajectory of Tina’s All-Cutting Sword. Since he dodged just as it was coming at his side, there had been no chance to change its path.

Yet, he couldn’t comprehend how he had been cut while in midair.

Tina, who had actually caused the injury, felt displeased.

‘Still lacking. I didn’t aim properly.’

She had anticipated how Lichen would move, adjusting the sword’s trajectory just before the strike. Right now, Tina could see all of Lichen’s magic flow.

However, she was still unaccustomed to seeing the essence, making it a bit difficult to grasp.

“Phantom Sword!”

Swish!

Once again, Lichen couldn’t evade. He coldly analyzed the pain of losing an arm while ignoring the agony.

‘Again… This time it seems to be a skill, but the trajectory is off. Yet it’s still aimed precisely at the vital point. If I hadn’t stiffened my body, my heart would have been pierced.’

Due to the characteristics of the Phantom Sword Technique, it was hard for an outsider to grasp the movement of the sword. The erratic sword strikes rendered even the user unable to predict their own movements.

Amidst all this, Tina mastered mental state techniques, and was nearing the true essence of the Phantom Sword Technique that even Pasma could not reach.

“Miles!”

Miles, who had been stuck in the ground, flew to Lichen’s grasp as if being pulled.

“Picking that up again won’t matter.”

“You’re arrogant!”

Tina, watching for concentrations of magic within both Lichen and Miles as they clashed, waited for Lichen to approach her.

Without hesitation, Lichen swung his sword.

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique, 3rd Form: Evil Instant Kill!”

Tina, observing the diagonal sword strike, aimed for the most relaxed part of the magic within and swung her sword.

“Phantom Wave Slash!”

Miles couldn’t withstand her attack and was cut in half.

“Ugh—!”

“I told you, it’s pointless.”

Tina’s magic penetrated Miles’s insides, disrupting the flow of magic and rendering recovery impossible.

“Who are you…?”

“Is there any reason for me to explain to a dying demon tribe?”

Gathering magic into her sword, Tina readied for the next strike. Lichen, in a rush, formed his sword for defense, fearing that using Miles as a shield would lead to yet another severing.

But Tina precisely targeted the slight gap in Lichen’s magic, cutting through his sword and armor cleanly, even slicing into his body.

“Gah!”

Had Lichen not responded quickly, this attack would have bisected him.

Reeling but maintaining his balance, he clutched his side while channeling magic into Miles.

“Evil Spirit Unity!”

‘The gaps in magic are gone.’

The deepened magic of Lichen and Miles absorbed the mana that had interrupted the flow.

Miles returned to his original state. Lichen’s wounds healed entirely.

Lichen exuded a fierce killing intent that had not been seen until now. The knights, who were pressing the demon tribe, flinched and turned to Lichen.

“I’ll go at it with all my strength!”

“…Trivial.”

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique, 6th Form: Demon Exploding Sword!”

“Reverse!”

Boom!

The moment the All-Cutting Sword clashed with Miles, an enormous explosion erupted in front of the two demon tribes.

Lichen had reverted his strength as it was.

“Gah!”

Naturally, being struck by his own power caused Lichen to momentarily lose his senses and slump to the ground. Tina looked down at him, sniffing dismissively.

‘I now understand why the Teacher said to come after breaking through my limits.’

Had she not reached a mental state, she wouldn’t have been able to fight like this.

Knowing that Lichen’s magic was no weaker than Praus’s, she thought he might not have been able to face the deputy commander alone.

‘He really is wise. Our Teacher. That’s why I like him.’

“Don’t look down on me!”

Lichen seized Miles and charged at Tina.

“What… I did think you wouldn’t give up.”

As he swung his sword, Tina raised her All-Cutting Sword.

“Just now, you bounced the sword like this, right?”

Clang!

He imitated Miles’ special skill, ‘Equipment Removal.’ Once again, Lichen, who lost his sword, was caught off guard.

To be precise, the technique Tina used wasn’t Equipment Removal; she had precisely struck where Lichen would drop his sword.

“Then let’s end this.”

“Who decides when it’s over?!”

Lichen drove his strength into the ground, causing the earth to erupt.

Seizing the moment as Tina’s center of balance wavered, he caught Miles again, swinging with full power.

‘I’ll cut through such a wide area that maintaining a defense will be impossible!’

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique, Secret Art! Evil Spirit Extermination!”

As Lichen prepared to imbue the massive magic into Miles for a swing, Tina’s All-Cutting Sword sliced through the air first.

“‘All-Cutting Sword: Flash Slash.’”

Mocking the light swing, Lichen finally thrust his sword. However…

“Wha—?”

A dumbfounded sound escaped Lichen’s lips, believed to be incomprehensible.

Realizing his body wasn’t responding, he slowly lowered his head. What came into view was the butchered armor and body.

“What the—!”

Crack!

The trees in the forest that Lichen and Miles had turned their backs to were all sliced and fell helplessly.

With a thud, Lichen collapsed to the ground, a bitter smile sprawled across his face. He wanted to recover again, but the mana flowing through the severed parts disrupted his magic, leaving him immobile.

“This is… the strength of a Hero? Impressive—”

“Shut up.”

Tina swung her sword before Lichen could finish his sentence, slicing him in half.

“There’s nothing I want to hear from you. I want to run to my Teacher right now.”

Finally, she stabbed her sword into Miles’s eye, killing the rulers of the 2nd Legion.

With the death of the Legion Commander, the threatening demon tribe began to falter. Tina also observed the demon tribe trying to sneak away.

“Now’s the chance! Kill them all—”

“Everyone stay still.”

“What?!”

“I will kill all these demon tribe members myself.”

‘If I say I wiped out the entire 2nd Legion alone, surely my Teacher will hug me and praise me, right? Hehe, hehehe…! I won’t let this chance slip away!’

“‘Phantom Dance.’”

Tina smiled as she charged at the demon tribe.

Thus began the one-sided slaughter of the 2nd Legion.

And all who witnessed Tina laughing while butchering the demon tribe thought,

That one must be insane.

*

‘…Is that Praus’s disciple? No… a Hero?’

Ecabel pondered, looking at the golden-haired elf who had suddenly appeared and erected a Turquoise Barrier. He was dumbfounded as he watched her casually receive the breath under her coat while sticking her hand in her pocket.

‘More importantly, what’s with the color of the mana barrier? It’s strange, isn’t it?’

In this world, mana was only blue. The turquoise barrier was something Ecabel had never seen in his life.

“Don’t you know? The primordial mana was turquoise.”

Maria spoke as if she could read Ecabel’s thoughts. She began to gather an immense amount of mana between her hands.

“Orient, I’m counting on you.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry.”

Maria couldn’t help but feel a great burden in manifesting transcendent magic with her mana, so she had to borrow mana from the contracted Orient.

“I still vividly remember how you killed so many beastmen in the Beastmen’s Forest.”

The amount of mana emanating from her was not that different from Praus’s. It was a power that came from combining Orient’s mana.

“Hang in there.”

She alternated looks between the approaching demon tribe and Ecabel, launching a black sphere.

‘That’s an unfathomable amount of mana. What is this—’

“Transcendent Magic: Black Hole.”

As the sphere traveled a certain distance, it abruptly turned into a swirling vortex, beginning to suck in everything in the world.

“I have no intention of dragging this out. I’ll erase you all from this world.”

The breath that had been pouring into the barrier, as well as the demon tribe approaching the barrier, were all sucked into the sphere. The corpses scattered on the ground were spared from being dragged away thanks to the barrier.

“Ugh! What the…!”

Even the new Deputy Commander leading the legion was helplessly sucked into the void.

Ecabel desperately braced against the strong pull, but he was gradually being drawn in.

“What’s going on! What is this!!”

His mouth gaped open, reverberating through the air. As Ecabel poured more strength into his breath, he shifted the Black Hole’s pull, chaotically affecting the barrier.

Swish!

“…That’s impressive.”

Maria genuinely admired Ecabel, watching him endure the gravitational pull of the Black Hole while also attempting to break the 9th tier barrier with his breath.

“Still not easy, huh? Must be at the Commander level.”

She spread her palm towards Ecabel, who remained suspended in the air.

“Now seems like a good time. You must have consumed quite a bit of magic.”

As mana concentrated in Maria’s palm, light emanated from the staff she held, resonating with it.

“Transcendent Magic: Compressed Barrier.”

Compressed Barrier.

It was a technique that constricted everything within its range until shattered.

“What is this!!”

The massive form of Leviathan was engulfed by the turquoise barrier. The breath could no longer reach the barrier that Maria had summoned.

Thump! Thump!

While it tried to strike the barrier with its tentacles and body while spewing breath, it didn’t budge.

“Damn it! What the hell is this!”

Maria dispelled the barrier and flew towards Ecabel. Hovering in the air, she clenched her hand into a fist.

“Experience how painful it is to be crushed like all those who died from your breath.”

“Damn it! I…!”

But as the barrier gradually tightened, Ecabel desperately shouted, attempting to resist, knowing his current magic was insufficient to shatter the barrier Maria had set.

Crack crack.

The sound of his massive form being crushed echoed.

Desperately, Ecabel shouted ‘Polymorph’ and transformed into a human form, but the barrier accelerated and closed in as though waiting for that moment.

“Gyaaaah—!”

Ultimately, upon witnessing Ecabel being completely crushed, Maria canceled the spell. As Ecabel fell to the ground, she ignited him, ensuring the body itself turned to ashes.

“…Phew. I guess that’s settled. Can I go see my Teacher now?”

Sighing in relief, Maria staggered as sudden dizziness hit her.

“Transcendent Magic relies wholly on Orient’s support.”

“Good job.”

Feeling her mana depleted from casting the two spells, she slowly headed towards Logia.

“Old man, are you alive?”

Maria crouched in front of the white-haired elder, placing her finger beneath his nose.

“Old man, are you dead?”

“…Ah, I’m not dead. How rude, really.”

Logia, having regained his senses, grumbled.

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“All of you are so arrogant…”

“If you’re strong, it’s okay to be a bit arrogant. Because without me, you’d have exploded and died like those people.”

As she said this, Maria injected mana into Logia for healing.

“I’m healing you, but despite using all my mana, that’s a problem, and the mana has regurgitated, throwing the flow into disarray. Living as a magician will be tough.”

“I was aware of that since I started vomiting blood.”

Logia said wistfully with a bitter smile.

“But you did protect many people.”

“Yeah. I feel proud of that.”

“…Is it something I should be happy about hearing from a mere fifteen-year-old brat?”

“Hmph! Then don’t brag about it.”

Maria scoffed as she teased him.

*

Despite the overwhelming odds, as three legions fell, the threat of the demon tribe heading towards the Empire began to gradually subside.

And the Demon King, knowing nothing of this, slammed his armrest of the throne. One side of the throne shattered completely.

“Useless children!”

Preparations for war were flawless.

The legion was far more aggressive than those created by the 1st generation Demon King, and their combat power was nothing to scoff at.

Yet, as one by one they began to fall to Heroes, could he contain his rage?

Furthermore, with the World Tree’s karma being consumed, the Demon King began to inscribe his past memories, gaining a degree of understanding about what the World Tree had done thus far.

“…Has the World Tree been reincarnating this whole time?”

Having lived for hundreds of years, his emotions had dried up to the point where he no longer felt engagement with ordinary matters, yet now he was so furious he couldn’t make rational judgments.

“You’ve made a grave mistake, World Tree. Since you’ve granted me your memories, you will never reincarnate again.”

He muttered, trembling with clenched fists.

“…Fine. I’ll ensure that all the trump card beastman Heroes you possess are killed, so that you may never reincarnate again.”

The Demon King gazed out at the Human World visible from the window.

“I am here. Heroes. Until you kill me, this war will not end.”