Chapter 35
Far from the village.
Two men in black robes stood before a bloodied orc.
A spear on one's back. A staff made of ancient deadwood in the other's hand.
"Pahwaro..."
A sword mark swept by a wave of petals.
The man holding the staff saw the trace of Pahwaro and became dazed, as if recalling a very old memory.
"To think I'd see Stella's sword again now... Life truly plays severe tricks."
"Lord Ramatu. Why did you leave him be?"
"A flower about to bloom is beautiful, isn't it?"
The man holding the spear pushed back his robe and revealed his face.
A handsome man with striking blonde hair.
The apostate, Luteon.
"I staked my life on this mission. If the dozens of knights and the paladin left alive now become an inevitable factor in the mission's failure, I will hold you responsible, even if you are Lord Ramatu of Kracion..."
Ramatu shrugged.
"Try it if you can."
Ramatu of Kracion.
One of the representative figures of Kracion, said to have lived for hundreds of years.
He was not human, but an old monster himself.
Luteon clicked his tongue.
"...So. Why did you save this orc?"
"Keltuk is an acquaintance of mine. It would've been a waste to just leave him."
Isn't that so.
As he nudged the orc with his staff.
He moved spasmodically and shouted.
"Արդյո՞ք դա խանգարում է մարտիկի պայքարին!!!"
A thunderous roar erupted from the orc.
His face and chest bore deep wounds, bleeding red blood.
However, that did not quell his anger at having his fight interrupted.
"Lord Ramatu, what is he saying?"
"He's asking why his fight was interrupted."
The man with the staff, called Ramatu, shook his head.
"Great Warrior Keltuk. It is not yet your time to die. Did you not make such a contract? I am sorry for making you forsake a warrior's pride, but it couldn't be helped. Our agreement is the same, is it not?"
Keltuk, grinding his teeth, let the blood flow from his face and chest and raised his axe.
The moment one of the men raised his spear in caution.
Thud-!
Thud. Grrr.
Keltuk, letting out a pain-filled groan, severed one of his own arms.
"Stiff-necked barbarian..."
"What? Why his own arm?"
"He considers fleeing from battle a disgrace, and is showing respect for his opponent and punishing himself. Tsk tsk."
This is why orcs are...
Thump. As the black-robed man tapped the ground with his staff, the blood sprang up as if it were alive.
And soon it attached to the cross-section of the orc's severed arm, hardening to become one with the axe.
"Luteon. You said you were going to ambush Zerban, how did that go?"
"It failed. They were bait anyway. If he shows a fatal opening later, that will be the day he dies."
"Elberton. I'm not sure if his head will fall easily. Do your best."
"Are you not going to help?"
"I think I've done my part by bringing the orcs. Kracion only returns as much as it receives. Whether it be grace or revenge."
Tap. At the sight of Ramatu instantly disappearing, Luteon also looked in the direction where Callias had been.
"Callias... you too are a Zerban, I suppose."
Luteon lingered, drawing the sword he had seen in his mind, before disappearing.
* * *
Creak.
Callias, having finished his conversation with Bernard and exited the mountain cabin, looked at the traces of the camp scattered all over the ground.
Seven had died fleeing from the Great Warrior.
The survivors now numbered around thirty.
"Lord Callias!"
"Lord Callias has awakened!"
"Sir Callias!"
Allen and Aaron.
And unknown sturdy knights ran over like children.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-your wounds were severe, but already..."
"As expected of him..."
"Lord Callias! Please remember the knight Renon! I did not run away!"
"Pilgrim!"
"Your body..."
Callias ignored the knights chattering on their own and called for Brans.
"Brans."
"Yes, my lord! Gasp!"
He had raised his hand to pat him on the shoulder.
But Brans, thinking he was going to hit him, unconsciously flinched.
"...."
Callias's hand, which had been raised to praise him, lowered again.
"Prepare yourselves."
"Where are we going?"
"You ask the obvious."
The destination is Zerban Castle.
We go to Jaybarsh.
"But your body is still..."
Brans said cautiously, glancing at the knights.
He didn't not know that feeling, but there was no time.
Even now, they had wasted three or four days just resting, so it was even more so.
They had to hurry, kill the orcs, and stop the mastermind of this war so that the reward rank would increase and the quest could be completed.
'The wheel is still turning.'
And with this wheel, Callias's future would also change.
Even if he knew it was a thorny path, he had no choice but to press forward.
Callias briefly turned around.
Behind his twilight cloak fluttering in the wind, the knights following him looked at Callias with resolve.
"Not bad."
Callias found the sight of the knights following him quite acceptable.
However, their haggard and scruffy appearance, likely from not eating or washing properly, was highly unpleasing to the eye.
"Lord Callias!"
Allen was seen in the distance.
He was coming with a clear face and a horse.
"I got a horse!"
Allen smiled brightly like a child wanting praise.
That appearance was so unfit for a knight that Callias almost let out a chuckle.
"A fine horse."
It was a brown horse with a lustrous mane and just the right amount of muscle standing out at a glance.
"Try riding it. Since your body isn't fully healed, you can ride this guy to Jaybarsh."
"You bastard Allen, I wondered where you went, and you were trying to score points by yourself!"
"I just happened to get lucky."
"Hahaha! Playing modest!"
Callias fell into distress amidst the harmonious appearance of the knights.
'Callias can't ride a horse.'
Callias, who wasn't good at anything, couldn't wield a sword, let alone ride a horse.
Having become the current Callias, he too was a busy modern person and wasn't familiar with horses.
There had been opportunities to ride horses before.
But he failed every time.
'Should I try?'
It might be a little different now.
However, one concern was.
'If I fall off the horse...'
Even so, he was of noble birth; if he couldn't even handle a single horse, how embarrassing would that be?
Callias looked at Allen and the knights with eyes full of expectation, pretending as if it was nothing.
"Hmm."
And then he immediately drew the sword at his waist.
Shik.
Thud.
"Gasp!"
"A-ah, Lord Callias..."
Callias slit the horse's throat.
In a single stroke.
The horse probably died without even realizing it was dead. His sword was that swift and sharp.
Most of the knights only saw him draw his sword and sheathe it.
His sword was so fast as if the middle process had been skipped.
His swordsmanship had less unnecessary movements than before and had reached a higher realm.
"L-Lord Callias. Why on earth... did my gift not please you?"
However, for a different reason, Allen teared up.
Since the neck of the horse he gifted was slit in a single stroke, he wondered if he had done something wrong. Just as Callias was worrying about what excuse to make.
"His Lordship is bestowing a reward upon the knights who guarded his side! Since you couldn't sleep or eat for his sake, why do you not understand his deep intention for you to at least eat well? Right, my lord?"
This bastard Brans.
His useless meddling was actually helpful for once.
Callias nodded.
"To think you care for us so..."
"I didn't know...! I foolishly failed to understand Lord Callias's intention. I am sorry!"
"Enough, so eat."
"Yes!"
The knights immediately began to drain the horse's blood, skin it, and butcher it.
'Come to think of it, I'm a bit hungry.'
Callias touched his stomach and headed into the forest.
"Where are you going?"
"With thirty heads, a single horse won't be enough, will it?"
It would be better to hunt a few wild animals to stretch his body as well.
Also, if there were any magical beasts, he needed to feed blood to Loas to restore the sword body to its original state.
"I will accompany you."
"Alright."
Walking into the forest with Brans, Callias plucked a reachable blade of grass and made a grass flute to play.
Musical notes.
Walking like that, he steadily cut down the deer and wild boars that approached.
Brans flattered him, saying he was amazing after all, and tied up the deer and boars, putting them into the [Eldora's Double Bag].
"It's here after all."
"What is?"
"The presence of a magical beast. Hide."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Callias left Lucen and grasped Loas at the presence of the magical beast that soon appeared.
He drew Loas, timing it to when the beast charged from the bushes, and slashed.
Splatter.
Callias, who bisected the wolf-shaped magical beast in one stroke, was startled when he saw Loas in his hand.
"What is this guy."
The sword that had clearly been broken displayed an even more distinct blade body than before.
Setting aside the regular patterns that had newly formed on the blade, the red blade body, as if infused with blood, was unmistakable.
"When did it change?"
After it broke?
Or after he lost consciousness?
He couldn't know for sure, but Callias couldn't contain his joy.
Because.
[Predatory Sword - Loas]
Grade - Spirit.
Imbued Soul - Mixed Soul.
-An experimental body concentrating Rogeris's research.
It was his last fiend, but it became a sword by Callias von Zerban.
Innate Ability - Predation.
It was because the Predatory Sword - Loas had joined the ranks of the Spirit Swords.
The red blade body, signifying a Spirit Sword, was more splendid and beautiful than any other light.
The smell of blood was thicker than before, but the power the sword itself possessed had increased greatly enough to surpass it.
"It's certain."
Loas had become a Spirit Sword.
He felt like he knew as soon as he grabbed the sword.
They say a master can grasp the state and level of a sword as soon as they hold it, and Callias could somewhat feel it too.
"The feeling of slashing a magical beast was faint."
To bisect a magical beast's body and feel the slash as faint meant the blade was unbelievably sharp.
Callias's grip on the hilt tightened firmly.
'With this, it'll work.'
Great Warrior Keltuk did not die.
Even in that fight with him, the need for a Spirit Sword was desperate.
What if it weren't for the resourcefulness using his trait and the holy stone? What if Bernard hadn't appeared in time? What if the orc hadn't enjoyed the fight and taken his time?
Callias would have died even if he had achieved enlightenment through the trait of Sasijakbi.
It wasn't originally a fight he had odds of winning. However, the regret settled in a corner of his mind that if he only had a Spirit Sword, he wouldn't have been pushed around so easily was not small.
"The quality of divine power has also increased."
A Spirit Sword was also in his hands.
Now he was not afraid of a battle with the Orc Great Warrior Keltuk.
Rather, he looked forward to it.
The Manhwabongyuk and the first stance of the Eunhwapgeom, Pahwaro, which had ascended to Iseong.
He could even use the second stance, Baekmyo.
Although the skills were still unstable, the grade of his divine power had increased, and his vessel had also grown, so he wouldn't be handled as easily as before in the next battle.
"If we meet next time."
I will surely strike him down with my sword.