volume 1 - Chapter 49 (1/2)

TL: OZ = Unit to measure stats. Hopefully I didn’t revert back to using EN for the past chapters.

Edit 2: For now my new PC is up and ready (and I retrieved the txt file, but I still need to try the recurse thing so that I can access my old Win 7 stuff), you guys can expect a new chapter to break that cliffhanger tomorrow.

Chapter 49 – Sword Arte

Since Brendel did not intentionally try to be stealthy, he was discovered at the courtyard in the first level by a patrolling team. The seven guards tried to flank him, but Brendel killed three of them easily and the remaining four scattered, alerting the fortress of an invader.

There was a total of thirty two guards within the fortress, and the majority of them were mercenaries. The leader of the guards was mercenary captain from Randner, with the capability of a mid level Iron-ranked swordsman with commanding abilities.

Thus, when Brendel entered the second level, he was ambushed at the dining hall with eleven guards waiting for him. The first moment he pushed open the door, the central lamp in the hall was lit up, with the archers in the floor above immediately raining their arrows down below.

With such a close distance, the arrows were already at his face once they left the bows, and he was only able to guard his face, chest and abdomen. His gauntles flashed a faint blue and some of lethal arrows were deflected, while several of the arrows brushed across his arms and thighs.

[f.u.c.k!]

Brendel gritted his teeth and cursed. With 4 OZ worth in his physique stats, he was able to automatically turn the lethal damage into normal damage. The wounds that were supposedly inflicted became nothing more than bruises. Even so, the pain he received did not lessen.

If this was a normal situation, Brendel would have chosen another path as he knew that there were going to be guards ambus.h.i.+ng him from the floor above. There might have been guards at the stairs at the side sections, but the situation would not be as treacherous as this location.

But this was a different situation.

He swung his sword at diagonally, and a transparent rippling wave came from his blade. A huge crash echoed in the hall as half of it was struck by his sword. The candle-holders, plates and utensils on the long dining table were propelled forward from the wave, while the ceiling’s chandelier exploded into shards. The railings on the corridor cracked and shattered into pieces.

The guards were cut open by the wave and they fell back lifelessly.

‘The White Raven Sword Rave’, Aouine’s Royal Court’s sword arte. This secret technique was a rare ranged ability that a warrior profession could learn in the early period. At level 0, the sword arte was able to reach approximately five meters away, with a even bigger cross-section impact. At level 25, it was able to strike at the enemies hundred of meters away, and it was comparable to a swordsman who had awakened the Elements within him.

The expenditure of this arte merely used 3 points of stamina, a mere fraction when compared to unleas.h.i.+ng the Elemental Powers. It was the reason as to why so many people pursued these techniques.

This unworldly attack made the remaining guards in the living room fall into a deathly silence. It was only when a piece of broken wood fell from the second floor onto the ground, that woke everyone from the stupor—

“Knight!”

“A paladin!” (TL: Literally ‘Holy Cathedral knight’, but as people have suggested, it’s paladin.)

“Mother Marsha above! Ser Arnon, let’s retreat!” The guards yelled out as they lost their morale and retreated.

A sword aura was the basic technique of a warrior who had awakened his Elements. According to tradition, the Cathedral of Flames would grant them the official t.i.tle of a knight, and to differentiate them from the various kingdoms’ conferred t.i.tle of ‘knights’, they were called Paladins.

Even a tier three ranked swordsman could not fight against the Knights, not to mention ordinary people like them. Unless there were enough people to drain their stamina, there was no use in fighting them.

“It’s not a f.u.c.king paladin!” The team leader Arnon pulled his closest aide back as he swore loudly.

[That was a royal swordsman, are we embroiled in some s.h.i.+tty political battle?] (TL: Literally “palace swordsman”)

He lived up as their leader as he was much more experienced than them and guessed otherwise. He even knew the n.o.ble lord upstairs was a close courtier to the king. Even though this was not the first time he got involved in a political war, this was the first time he saw a royal swordsman.

[He used the highest grade Royal Arte, and that was one of the powers only the Crown would have. A low Iron-ranked swordsman possessing such power…]

For a single moment, Arnon was envious of him, but he quickly remembered his responsibilities. He raised his head up to check his surroundings. Brendel killed four people with that single strike, and the remaining guards either ran away or were too scared to move.

Arnon did not have any time to feel the loss, and he stood up with a hand gesture as he shouted: “Retreat! Retreat! Find the people of the spiraling staircase and get them to fall back. That place can’t be held anymore, we’re going up to the next floor.”

The remaining guards finally cleared their minds and immediately ran to the doors. Some of them threw away their bow and arrows. Arnon felt demoralized when he saw this scene.

“f.u.c.king h.e.l.l, these n.o.bles are just made out of trouble!” He cursed as he turned back and slapped the aide who he just pulled back. He screamed at him as the latter shook off the fright: “Inform the Fortress’s camp and sound the alarm, do you understand!”

“Sounding the alarm, but the earl said that was used to warn the entire city right?” The aide was confused.

“Shut the f.u.c.k up! If this ‘guest’ dies, we’re all dead, do you hear me?!”

The aide paused and then nodded urgently. He was scared of the enemy having accomplices, so he did not use the staircase, but climbed down using a rope quietly. Even though it took a little more time, it was definitely safer.