“Looks like your spirits have risen now that reliable reinforcements have arrived.”
Lightly ignoring Damon’s words, Sergei began introducing the knight.
“First, allow me to introduce him. He is one of the four Sword Masters of whom Icarot is so proud.
With a mage’s support, I daresay these four alone would be enough to hunt a Wyrm-class dragon.”
“You had men like this at your disposal, and yet you drove eighty thousand soldiers into the jaws of death?”
Damon continued his icy interrogation, as though blades were attached to his tongue.
But Sergei did not seem to care in the slightest.
“Ah! For victory, I can endure any number of sacrifices. Now then, I suppose we ought to test your abilities. Sir Helbertron.”
“Give the order.”
A muffled voice emerged from the knight standing firm before them. From that alone, it was clear that even the mouth area was completely covered.
“Gauge that man’s abilities for me. I have a use for him, so do not kill him.”
“Understood.”
The knight drew his sword lightly and approached Damon. His gait was suffused with inner power. Judging by the evenness of his stride, he was a master who could easily be compared to a peak expert of the Central Plains. Damon tensed and infused mana into his gauntlets. After all the twists and turns, he was finally about to face a Sword Master of Truvenia in decisive combat.
“Damn it. If only I were in my old condition, this would have been a good match……”
Judging by the patterns engraved on the armor, it was certainly anti-magic defensive armor. In that case, this was a fight overwhelmingly unfavorable to Damon. There was a high chance that the Magic Missile he prided himself on would not work. The knight, having drawn near, raised his sword upright according to etiquette and introduced himself.
“I am Helbertron of House Veronica. I desire a match with you that leaves no regrets.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’re another fool full of empty airs. Cut the useless chatter and come at me.”
Perhaps because his self-cultivation ran deep, Helbertron showed no particular reaction to Damon’s provocation.
“You are an impatient fellow. Then I shall attack.”
The moment he finished speaking, a dazzling flash erupted. His longsword, wreathed in vivid sword aura, cleaved down toward Damon’s shoulder like a thunderbolt. Since he had been prepared in advance, Damon slid backward as smoothly as flowing water. Even so, he could not stop a chill from running down his spine.
“Damn. He’s filthy fast.”
Muttering under his breath, Damon used the mana he had gathered to push Haste to its limit. The opponent’s sword was brimming with aura, and if he collided with it, even the Power-Up Gauntlets would have no way to withstand it. They would certainly be cut apart the instant they clashed, so no matter what, he had to avoid striking weapons against each other.
“Let’s see what you’ve got!”
Shouting like a thunderclap, Damon narrowed the distance between them like an arrow. To fight effectively against a comparatively long weapon like a longsword, he had to make the most of the characteristics of his short weapon, the spiked gauntlets. For that, close combat was the best choice. This was an attacking habit already ingrained in Damon’s body since his days in the Central Plains. However, his opponent’s movements were beyond ordinary. As though he did not lack real battle experience either, Helbertron retreated as much as Damon charged in and swung his sword fiercely. Perhaps because he was a Sword Master who could operate mana, his movements were not at all inferior to Damon’s under Haste.
“Damn it. Crafty bastard.”
Damon tried to close in while spewing curses nonstop. But his opponent did not give him even the slightest opening. At the same time, he occasionally unleashed razor-sharp attacks, and Damon barely avoided them based on his past experience. Soon, a fierce exchange unfolded between the two.
“Hah!”
Just in case, Damon fired several Magic Missiles. But as expected, the opponent’s armor completely blocked the magical attacks. The instant a Magic Missile struck, the patterns drawn on the armor shone brilliantly, and the mana scattered into nothing. The sight drained his strength, but Damon was not the sort to abandon a fight because of that.
“There must be an opening somewhere……”
Burning with his characteristic fighting spirit, Damon immersed himself in the close-quarters battle. Not to be outdone, Helbertron violently brandished his sword and continued the duel.
“Impressive.”
The nobles gathered for the meeting watched the fierce battle with their mouths hanging open. Not only Dietrich, but even Marquis Briggs could not close his gaping mouth. Of course, he too was someone who had ascended to the ranks of Sword Masters, but it could be said that he still had a long way to go before reaching Helbertron’s level. Compared to Marquis Briggs, Helbertron’s movements were faster, and the light of his Aura Blade (sword aura) was more vivid.
Since ancient times, the clearer the light, the stronger the power of the Aura Blade. Marquis Briggs could also execute an Aura Blade, but not to that extent. In other words, Marquis Briggs was by no means a match for Helbertron.
Helbertron’s movements could almost be called art. A sword path precise enough to show not an inch of error, movements that seemed measured with a ruler. His attack and defense were exactly as written in a textbook of swordsmanship. In addition, his dazzling footwork pressed his opponent, who was using Haste, without pause. He truly deserved to be called one of the four Sword Masters who led Icarot.
But Damon, too, did not yield in the slightest and fought back fiercely. Since he could not clash weapons and Magic Missile did not work, it could be called a markedly disadvantageous fight, yet thanks to his innate fighting spirit, he was fighting without being pushed back an inch. As the fight continued, his eyes gradually became bloodshot. Of course, because of the Sevenfold Severing Forbidden Art, he could not bring killing intent to mind, but once he immersed himself in combat, he attacked and defended like a madman. However, because his mana was continuously being consumed, his movements were slowly growing dull.
Slice.
His clothes were mercilessly cut away, and lines were carved across his skin. Drops of blood kept spraying from his wounds, but he was in no position to pay any attention to them. That was how desperate the situation was. Helbertron’s movements were becoming more agile as time passed. But due to the nature of relying on a limited amount of mana, Damon’s movements could only continue to slow. On top of that, the fact that his own attacks were not working at all was steadily draining Damon’s strength. The opponent’s armor was perfectly blocking even blows from the Power-Up Gauntlets.
Papapapak.
Even powerful attacks that had instantly killed an ogre were utterly powerless against the magic defensive armor. The magical patterns engraved into its surface effectively scattered the mana concentrated in the gauntlets. It was easy to understand why Sword Masters were called the natural enemies of mages. An ordinary mage would have flung one or two mediocre spells before having his head sent flying.
But the pride of once having been a martial artist who had reached the supreme peak would not allow Damon to raise his hands in surrender so easily.
“Huff, huff.”
His breath had risen to his throat, and his entire body was drenched in sweat. But his opponent showed no sign of fatigue at all. Perhaps thinking he had seized victory, Helbertron even seemed somewhat at ease. Seeing that, the watching nobles already appeared to consider the match decided. Only Dietrich clenched his fists tightly and prayed for Damon’s victory.
“Ugh.”
Damon hunched over after receiving a fairly serious wound on his back. He had dodged with all his might, but regrettably, his body had not obeyed properly.
“Why not admit defeat now?”
Helbertron still stood as firm as a mountain. His voice resonated strangely, muffled by the face guard. In that instant, a thought flashed through Damon’s mind. He immediately put it into action.
“Eat this.”
The mana he had scraped together with all his might transformed into a long streak of light and flew out. Its target was Helbertron’s helmet.
“I told you, it’s useless.”
Helbertron did not even think of dodging. Thus, the attack spell struck Helbertron’s helmet head-on. At that instant, along with a cry of shock, dazzling light spread in every direction.
Flash.
What Damon had launched was not Magic Missile. It was Lightning Bolt. Of course, the magic armor instantly neutralized most of the light that burst out, but because of the afterimage, Helbertron was unable to see for a brief moment. What happened next was Damon darting like a flying tiger into the flustered knight’s guard. As though there was no need to think any further, he grabbed the edge of Helbertron’s armor and pulled.
“Uh?”
Feeling his body being dragged, Helbertron braced himself with strength. But because Damon did not miss the moment and pushed his body, Helbertron lost his balance slightly. Helbertron struggled desperately to right himself. Damon cleverly pulled his body again.
This was a body technique unique to the Central Plains that properly used the opponent’s strength. Since he had already mastered all manner of Central Plains fist arts, Helbertron ultimately lost his balance completely. His arms flailed as he began to topple sideways.
“Haat!”
When Damon lightly kicked at his foot, Helbertron’s body spun once in midair before crashing heavily to the ground. Even while the ringing of his armor left him dazed, Helbertron reflexively raised himself. But Damon had already grabbed his helmet and was rolling backward. With his back against the floor, Damon kicked, and Helbertron’s body somersaulted through the air. In the process, the firmly secured helmet came off. Having been sent flying, Helbertron barely got to his feet, his expression humiliated now that his helmet had been removed. Rage surged to the top of his head because Damon had played with his body as though it were his own. The fact that he had not let go of his sword even then was indeed worthy of a Sword Master. As though there was no need to think further, he tried to swing his sword and cut his opponent in two. Sergei’s request had already vanished from his mind as cleanly as if it had been washed away.
“You bastard!”
At that instant, a cold cry brushed past his ears.
“Now it’s fair, isn’t it?”
No sooner had the words ended than two streaks of light flew toward his eyes. However, Helbertron was not so easy to defeat. As his sword-light flashed, the Magic Missiles scattered in midair.
Papapak.
But those were not the only Magic Missiles flying toward him. Several Magic Missiles were being fired while scattering in every direction. The angles from which they came were dispersed so widely that he could not block them all with his sword alone. In the end, Helbertron had no choice but to throw himself aside and dodge.
“Crafty bastard.”
As befitted his reputation as a Sword Master, Helbertron dodged lightly, and yet another streak of light shot toward him from the front. It was a magical attack infused thoroughly with the essence of Central Plains hidden weapon techniques. Shocked out of his wits, Helbertron reflexively swung his sword. But the blade caught nothing.
“Huh. It was a trick.”
In that instant, his vision went dark. A single Magic Missile that had cleverly hidden itself among the shadows of the streaks of light revealed itself right before his eyes. He could neither dodge nor even consider it.
Thud.
Helbertron, struck squarely between the brows by the Magic Missile, collapsed straight to the floor.
“How can this be?”
“This is impossible.”
The nobles watching could not help but be shocked out of their minds. Some even stood with their mouths wide open, drool dripping down. Who was Helbertron? Was he not one of the Sword Masters who upheld Icarot, one of the four who prided themselves on being the greatest swordsmen of Truvenia? And yet such a man had been subdued by a mere mage who was not even a Sword Master. The watching nobles had no choice but to doubt their own eyes again and again.