Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Ego Sword Picked Me Up (12)

For Philia

TAP-TAP-TAP!

I maintained a fixed distance from the warriors.

The angered barbarian warriors sometimes threw their weapons, but such clumsy attacks were easy to dodge or knock away with Flambeju.

And anyone who entered my attack range was always cut.

SLAAASH!

There was no need to obsess over the red solid lines.

On a battlefield, “death” was not always the best outcome. Rather, there were also benefits that came from “injury.”

Simply making someone unable to fight by cutting off their limbs or making them lose too much blood had more effect than killing a single person.

“Do they not take care of their comrades?”

―Why do you think those bastards are called barbarians? They believe dying on the battlefield is a blessing! Rather than return alive with a disability, they would rather be stabbed to death by an enemy’s blade!

Only then did I understand their way of fighting a little more.

‘They’re like Vikings dreaming of Valhalla.’

After that, I attacked the warriors shallowly.

With the sharp Flambeju, I merely severed their limbs without taking their lives.

And I widened the distance from them clearly.

“For Philia!”

That was not the common tongue used by the people of the Rubalt Kingdom, but the language of the barbarians.

A warrior threw an axe from close range. I barely swung my sword and knocked it away, but I ended up allowing him to approach.

CHOP!

I had no choice but to strike the warrior’s neck. When his head floated up, the warriors behind him grew even more excited and hurled axes wildly.

‘Damn it!’

I tried to knock them away somehow, but several axes grazed my thigh and shoulder.

After the axes came short spears. When the distance between us widened, the warriors took throwing postures as if they had been waiting for it.

I used footwork and closed the distance between us. While stabbing a warrior’s abdomen with Flambeju, I used him as a shield as he leaned toward me.

THUD-THUD-THUD!

The spearheads that pierced the warrior poked into me. Thanks to my armor, I avoided fatal wounds, and for now, due to the sacred object’s influence, I barely felt any pain.

“……Necromantic secret art, Spirit Invocation!”

―Did you call, Master?

“Guard my side, Baluka.”

―As much as Master wills.

Baluka looked thoroughly excited. He picked up a pair of axes a warrior had dropped, then stood beside me with a grin.

A short spear flew toward Baluka, who had appeared suddenly.

THUD!

The spear pierced through Baluka’s neck, but he did not disappear.

As if he felt no pain, Baluka pulled the spear out of his neck and returned it.

SQUELLLLLCH!

Baluka was a half-spirit. He took only half the physical damage, felt no pain, and could move even if his limbs were cut off.

However, Baluka had limits as well. If he suffered serious damage, he would be returned to Hell.

‘Good!’

Baluka’s counterattack changed the momentum.

The warriors could not hide their shock at Baluka, who even rejected death.

“It’s a curse! A cursed knight! We have to bring a spellcaster!”

The barbarian warrior shouted, but their spellcaster had long since lost his life.

And the one who shouted did not last long either. I cut through his waist with Flambeju.

After Baluka joined in, dealing with the barbarians became much easier. Though he seemed intoxicated with slaughter, he strictly obeyed the order to guard my side.

“Shoot!”

The archers on the wall supported us. No, those bastards pulled their bowstrings blindly.

They were fools who did not know how to distinguish friend from foe.

“Aaaaaaah!”

“T-Those bastards are shooting us!”

A stray arrow had lodged in the back of an allied mercenary!

‘Fucking bastards!’

A situation where I had to pay attention to both front and back at once!

I tried to move back a little more to escape the archers’ firing range, but a mercenary behind me pushed me forward.

He was one of those great senior mercenaries.

Thud!

An arrow lodged in the senior’s shoulder.

“Damn it! Aaaagh! L-Let go of this!”

The mercenary gripped his shoulder and spat curses, but soon he was seized by barbarians and dragged somewhere.

‘This is complete pandemonium!’

A short while later, infantry armed with spears burst out from inside the gate. They circled to the left of the mercenaries and struck the enemy’s flank.

“Throw spears!”

The barbarians struck directly by spears at close range collapsed.

The soldiers held out another set of spears and charged at the barbarian warriors.

“Uwaaaaaah!”

Cheers poured out, but our side’s advantage did not last long.

It was because the enemy’s numbers were far greater.

Even then, I swung Flambeju again and again.

If Flambeju had not been light, I would have fallen long ago.

“Hah! Hah! Hah!”

War was not a game. Even an Olympic medalist could not swing a weapon easily for two or three hours without getting tired.

That impossible thing was what I was doing. It was thanks to the sacred object.

But even that was slowly reaching its limit. My breath rose to my throat, and bile came up. If my tension loosened here, I felt as if I would faint from the aftermath of using the sacred object recklessly.

―Concentrate! Do not give up! You are my master! You are material for a Knight!

The Knight Flambeju spoke of was different from the knight I knew.

In this world, a Knight was someone chosen by a special sacred object, an existence that wielded power strong enough to threaten the survival of a nation.

And a Knight’s aptitude depended on how much they could assimilate with the sacred object they were given.

―Your talent is more than sufficient. I guarantee it!

The reason Flambeju had crossed dimensions to choose me was because of “talent.”

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

I bought time while clashing swords with a barbarian. After taking several rough breaths, fortunately, my breathing stabilized. That astonishing recovery ability could also be called one of a Knight’s traits.

CLAAANG! SWISH! SLAAASH! CLANG-CLANG!

As I swung the sword like a madman, before I knew it, no one remained around me.

―Master, run…….

Even Baluka had accumulated enough damage to be returned to Hell.

Only the blood shed by the barbarians filled the area around me.

But that blood was rapidly decreasing.

The Necronomicon inside my backpack had extended black tentacles and was greedily sucking up the blood.

Fortunately, the others could not observe the Necronomicon’s mad behavior. That was because a restriction had been placed on the Necronomicon to avoid people’s gazes.

SQUELLLLLCH!

It was when I drove Flambeju into a barbarian’s neck.

“Aaaaaaah!”

The barbarians who had just begun climbing over the wall screamed hideously. They had barely opened the gate, yet instead of entering through it, they rushed back outside.

“A K-Knight!”

“Run!”

The barbarians, who had charged in as if they had taken drugs, scattered in every direction and tried to flee.

Behind them stood a man.

One of the mercenaries pointed at the Knight and shouted.

“Knight Babel! It’s the Knight of the Moon!”

He was one of the “Knights” of whom only 17 existed in the Rubalt Kingdom.

Clad in silver-white armor, he was a young man with silver hair. His navy-blue eyes and fluttering hair were striking, and in his hand was a sword of a bizarre shape.

‘A Chinese cleaver?’

It was a rectangular sword sharpened only on one side.

It was a kitchen knife that seemed suited to Chinese cooking, a shabby weapon that did not match his gleaming armor at all.

SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH!

Every time Knight Babel swung his Chinese cleaver, barbarians split apart.

Since their torsos were cut whole into two or three pieces, the barbarian warriors panicked.

Knight Babel dominated the battlefield. His presence alone made the barbarian warriors lose their will to fight, and Babel chased them to the end and sliced through their bodies.

A combat weapon on the level of national power!

If Earth had nuclear weapons, this world had Knights.

“I command. O home of dying stars, O origin of newborn stars. Illuminate the world with Star Sword True Shadow.”

Light settled on Knight Babel’s sword. It was a radiant glow like stars in the night sky.

‘A person?’

Along with the light, I glimpsed someone. It seemed I could see the sword’s spirit, just like Flambeju.

The spirit was a woman with a cold impression, dressed in a bluish dress. When she stretched out both arms, light scattered in every direction.

The clusters of light soon poured down all at once like a meteor shower and swept over the barbarians.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOOOM!

The barbarian formation was ruined as if it had been bombed. It was a truly magical sight, unbelievable as the ability of a single person.

“Knights are incredible!”

―Hmph! What is so incredible about that? If Master becomes able to draw out all my power, we will lightly surpass such petty tricks!

A sacred object like Flambeju did not end with someone becoming its master. One had to be backed by the ability to draw out the sacred object’s power and endure the backlash that surged in afterward.

‘Interesting.’

On Earth, I had been skilled in my own way, and I had confidence that I could accomplish most things.

But in this world, I could not even present my name card.

‘First, I will establish a power base. Second, I will obtain skill equal to that Knight.’

I set mid-to-short-term goals while watching Knight Babel’s bombardment.

After finishing one round of bombardment, the Knight moved through the enemy formation and swept through the barbarians.

My eyes could see the trajectory of the sword the Knight swung.

The blue energy surging above the short Chinese cleaver did not allow the barbarians even a place to dodge.

‘Is that Knight all right after pouring out that much power?’

Right now, if I relaxed my tension even a little, I felt as if I would faint in terrible agony. It was because I had overexerted myself against the barbarians.

In contrast, Knight Babel remained perfectly fine even after pouring out countless streams of sword energy.

With the Knight’s participation, the state of the battle completely reversed.

The rumor that a Knight could sweep away 100 warriors alone was true. No, that rumor was an understatement.

“Who will receive my sword? Warriors of the wild, I challenge you to a duel!”

At Knight Babel’s shout, a sturdy black-haired warrior came charging with heavy steps. He was armed not with a sword, but with an iron mace, and wore an animal bone over his face like a mask.

Before their weapons even clashed, Babel’s sword cut through the air.

No, it sliced through the warrior along with space.

SLAAAAASH!

Babel passed the warrior and cut down the archer behind him in succession. He had noticed the surprise attack of the warrior holding a bow.

‘A Knight! One who stands at the peak of the sword! Is surpassing someone like that what it takes to build a proper Achievement?’

Honestly, I had taken this world lightly. I had been confident that with my experience, talent, effort, and knowledge from Earth, I would become the best in this backward world.

But once I actually faced one of the 17 Knights, my confidence was cut down. Fortunately, however, it had not been completely broken.

“They’re running!”

“Catch them!”

“Take their noses!”

Our allies chased after the barbarian warriors, and the mercenaries tried to take even one more of their noses.

Baron Azif had placed a bounty on barbarian noses.

I, too, tried to chase after the barbarians. After rolling around like a dog, I felt it would be unfair not to receive a reward.

However, my feet did not move.

It felt as if they had been fixed to the muddy ground.

‘Damn it…….’

Agony difficult to endure surged in all at once.

Not even a groan leaked out. It was because I was gritting my teeth and enduring it.

‘Still, is this better than before?’

Even amid this, I remained sane. It seemed to be the influence of an Achievement, but that was closer to a curse than a blessing. I did not even lose consciousness like before.

With a clear mind, I accepted the horrible agony with my whole body.

‘Ghhhhhhhh!’