"Ugh!"
Sensing something amiss, another priest swiftly dodged to the side.
It was only then that he realized.
"Urgh... when did this…?"
His side had been slashed deeply.
Fortunately, it wasn't fatal. The priest mustered his energy to stop the bleeding.
Half of his side had been severed. Had the attack gone even slightly deeper, his body would have been cleaved in two.
Yulian gazed indifferently at the priest.
'Still not enough.'
The fleeing priest was slightly stronger than the one who had just died. That was why Yulian couldn't kill him in a single blow.
Yulian had once cleaved a superhuman in half in a single strike. Although that superhuman had been exhausted and careless while fleeing from Yulian, a superhuman was still a superhuman.
The fact that a weaker half-baked priest survived meant Yulian had yet to reach his desired level of mastery.
To others, his current abilities might seem unfathomable, but not to himself.
"W-Who are you…?"
Clutching his wounded side, the priest asked in a trembling voice.
Yulian didn't respond. Instead, he moved his sword again.
Slash!
"Aaaargh!"
The priest's arm was severed. He had narrowly avoided a fatal blow.
In truth, the priest hadn't dodged by perceiving the attack. His body had moved instinctively the moment his opponent raised his sword.
Yulian raised his sword once more.
"…."
Indeed, this opponent was stronger than the last one. Because of that, Yulian expanded significantly more mana.
His technique consumed an extraordinary amount of mana. This was an area he would need to refine further.
Focusing even more, Yulian swung his sword through the air.
Slash.
The priest couldn't evade the third strike. His head fell.
Yulian didn't spare him another glance and spurred his horse onward.
Thud, thud, thud!
He briefly glanced at the Artrode cavalry spreading out on both sides, then raised his sword over his opposite shoulder.
As if gathering power, Yulian held that position momentarily before swinging his sword in a wide horizontal arc.
Wham!
An unbelievable event unfolded once again.
Soldiers in the middle of the Artrode formation were suddenly cut down, their bodies falling apart.
Neigh!
Horses collapsed, and severed bodies dropped to the ground.
"Ahhhh!"
The cavalry behind them recoiled in terror and came to an abrupt halt.
"W-What is this?!"
The center of the formation had been obliterated, with no visible explanation for the attack.
As a result, only the cavalry at the front advanced, leaving the rest scattered. Finally, the allied cavalry spread out, moving to counter the enemy.
Thud, thud, thud!
Yulian charged directly at the enemy commander.
Seeing him approach, Count Srowk shouted in panic. Yulian's seemingly inhuman strength had left him pale with fear.
"M-Mages! Kill that man! Take him out first!"
The mages, equally terrified, hastily activated their mana fields and extended their hands.
They too understood that something incomprehensible was happening.
Overwhelmed by the rapid onset of fear, they poured all their mana into their spells.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
Yulian's horse, surrounded by blue mana, moved at a tremendous speed.
In an instant, he was upon the mages and swung his sword through the air.
Slash!
The mages froze in shock, their faces blank.
"Huh?"
"What? My magic…?"
"You cut through… mana?"
The spells that were forming, bending the laws of the world to manifest, were nullified. The flow of mana was disrupted.
Magic in this world is a process where a mage completes a spell structure with their knowledge and mana, manifesting it into reality.
Until the spell structure is activated, it exists only as the mage's intent. Dispelling magic typically involves deconstructing the activated spell structure.
But Yulian had cut something intangible and invisible—the spells themselves. The mages' shock was only natural.
"W-What… what is this…?"
The mages were so bewildered that they couldn't act, even as Yulian raised his sword again.
Slash.
The mages' heads fell in unison. The mana they had gathered dispersed chaotically into the air.
'Success.'
In warfare, mages are dangerous foes. If left unchecked, they can inflict significant damage on allied forces.
Thus, Yulian had been pondering how to counter them effectively.
Killing them quickly upon approach wasn't difficult. But if even one spell activated, his troops would suffer.
After much thought, he came up with a method.
He could imbue his mana with his intent. It was this ability that allowed him to cut enemies from a distance.
'If that's the case….'
Couldn't he cut anything if his intent was strong enough, even if it wasn't physical but merely conceptual?
He felt he could. No, he felt as if he already had.
And so he tried—and succeeded.
'For now, this works up to about 4th or 5th circle mages….'
The stronger the mage, the stronger their intent. Starting from 6th-circle mages, they would likely pose more of a challenge.
Moreover, this technique consumed an extraordinary amount of mana. After breaking through the infantry earlier, Yulian had less than half his mana remaining.
Still, it didn't matter. He had gained new insights today and found ways to improve.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
Count Srowk trembled as Yulian approached him slowly.
At first, he hadn't recognized him. But seeing his face up close, he realized who it was. He had seen this face in portraits many times.
'The prince of Turian.'
A superhuman rumored to rival Duke Fenris in strength. Though wary of him, Srowk hadn't been overly concerned.
After all, wars couldn't be won by a single superhuman alone.
'I thought Duke Fenris would be the biggest obstacle….'
Duke Fenris was renowned as one of the continent's strongest individuals. His martial prowess was extraordinary, but his ability to conduct war was even more highly regarded.
Still, Srowk had thought his side had a fighting chance, with strong armies, other superhumans, and capable strategists.
But the man before him was on a different level. He wielded powers beyond comprehension.
"Kill him!"
Count Srowk's escort knights all rushed Yulian.
But with a single swing of his sword, Yulian cleaved them apart. No one was left to block his path.
Count Srowk swallowed hard.
'This man….'
The continent was filled with powerful individuals, yet no one knew who was truly the strongest.
For that reason, the title of "Continent's Finest Sword" did not yet exist.
But now, Count Srowk was certain.
'This man is the true Continent's Finest Sword.'
His mind was awash with confusion.
For a fleeting moment, he felt the urge to kneel and bow before this overwhelming force.
Count Srowk was more terrified than his soldiers. Having reached a much higher level of understanding, he could see far more.
Clench.
But Count Srowk gritted his teeth. To feel such fear and submission toward an enemy!
Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.
Yulian approached him slowly, staring at him.
Count Srowk held his breath as Yulian drew closer.
'Those eyes….'
At a glance, they seemed devoid of emotion. But the longer he looked, the more he felt something resonate within him—a profound, unexplainable darkness.
The realization sent chills down his spine.
'What are we… fighting against?'
No matter how strong and skilled Duke Fenris was, a fight with him was still a battle between humans.
That was why they strategized and sought ways to win.
But this opponent was different.
'A monster….'
No, even the term "monster" didn't suffice. This being was something beyond human.
Who could withstand such a force? Perhaps this man alone could end this war.
In his presence, what meaning did armies and wars hold?
Yulian's overwhelming power left Count Srowk with an indescribable dread.
Despite his fear, Count Srowk could not simply offer up his neck.
Unlike the other corps commanders, he was a devout follower of the Church of Salvation, always ready to sacrifice his life for the faith.
Jumping off his horse, Count Srowk retreated a few steps.
"This life… for the Church!"
Boom!
Suddenly, a fierce black energy erupted from his body.
Crack! Crrrack! Craaack!
His body twisted grotesquely and began to swell.
"Graaaahhh!"
He had transformed into a Crusader using a secret technique of the Church of Salvation. Once the power was unleashed, death was inevitable.
But in exchange, he gained strength several times greater than his original power.
Already a skilled knight, Count Srowk now wielded strength nearing that of a superhuman.
"Kill… you…"
He didn't think he could win. He merely hoped to inflict even a minor wound, something to aid his allies.
"Grrrraaaahhh!"
Letting out a beastly roar, Count Srowk lowered his body.
At the very moment he pushed explosive strength into his legs to lunge forward—
Yulian swung his sword lightly.
Slash.
Thud.
The head of Count Srowk, who had transformed into a Crusader, fell to the ground.
Fwoosh!
The black energy that had engulfed his body dissipated violently, unable to find a place to settle.
His swollen body shriveled up and collapsed lifelessly.
"Crusader."
For once, Yulian muttered quietly to himself.
He had seen Crusaders before during Turian's civil war. But now that he had encountered Ghislain, it felt different.
The way Crusaders used their power was fundamentally distinct from priests. Instead, it resembled the power Ghislain wielded.
"…"
Yulian gazed silently at Count Srowk's corpse for a moment before turning his head.
Boom!
The allied cavalry was pushing back the Artrode cavalry.
With their central formation destroyed, the rear cavalry couldn't move properly.
The front riders were few in number.
From the beginning, the Artrode cavalry was vastly outnumbered. They fell helplessly to the attacks of the allied cavalry.
"Aaargh!"
"Regroup the formation!"
"Move!"
Artrode commanders shouted desperately, but it was too late to restore their broken mobility.
With their formation completely destroyed, the 6th Corps of the Artrode army was annihilated, one by one. Barely any managed to escape.
Despite their recent victory, they failed to inflict any damage on the allied forces and were utterly defeated.
This was to be expected since Yulian single-handedly eliminated all threats.
"…"
Staring at the fallen corpses, Yulian turned his head again.
Dark was approaching.
"Huff, huff, found them! They're a ways off, but it looks like they're heading this way too."
Yulian nodded.
The allied forces had sustained a fair amount of damage. Given the scale of the enemy they had just faced, their accomplishments seemed remarkable.
Yulian suspected another corps was coordinating with them. Ghislain had mentioned the possibility as well.
The enemy's objective was clear—they had been fed false information by Ghislain, deliberately leaked through a spy.
'…Displeasing.'
The thought of betrayal soured Yulian's mood. These spies had betrayed the trust of those who believed they fought together for the same cause.
For the first time since joining the allied forces, Yulian felt a twinge of discomfort.
It was an unfamiliar sensation. Did he still care about such things?
Perhaps it stemmed from painful memories of being ostracized during his childhood.
Or perhaps it was a newfound sense of camaraderie, fighting alongside the allied forces to save people.
Or maybe…
Dark's voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"Ugh! Yulian, I don't think I can keep going much longer."
Dark No. 28 had significantly diminished in size. The longer it acted, the more its mana depleted.
It couldn't be helped. Dark's clones relied on Ghislain's mana to sustain themselves.
Suddenly, Yulian wondered if he could replenish Dark's mana himself. He felt as though he could.
"Stay still for a moment."
"Why? I'm not a creature meant to stay still. The world won't leave me alone, after all!"
Ignoring Dark's protests, Yulian grabbed its body.
"Gah! How dare you, insolent wretch! Unhand me this instant!"
Yulian slowly infused his energy into Dark. The foreign energy initially rejected it, but Yulian didn't stop. He poured his intent into merging their energies.
Before long, Dark's body began to grow.
"Huh? What? What's happening?"
Dark was flustered.
It was supposed to be sustained only by its master's energy. Since its consciousness and energy were linked with Ghislain, it shouldn't have been possible.
Yet, the depleted energy was being replenished.
"Wow! Yulian, what are you? What's going on?"
Seeing Dark grow larger than expected, Yulian stopped infusing his energy.
"That's enough."
"How did you do that? Huh? Why does this work? It doesn't make any sense!"
"Let's go."
Yulian didn't explain. He had simply acted on the feeling that it would work.
And it did. It felt as though Dark's energy and his own were already one and the same.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Yulian and the allied forces moved toward their next destination. They barely needed rest since they hadn't expended much energy.
Sitting on Yulian's shoulder, Dark chattered incessantly.
"Wow! This is amazing! Yulian, is there anything you can't do? Like being ugly? Or lame? Or weak? You can't do those things, right? But I can!"
"…"
"And this energy feels really strange. It's like we were originally one. Didn't I tell you I feel comfortable around you? Maybe we were lovers in a past life!"
"…"
"Listen, I once inhabited this brat Edwin! It was comfortable then too, but…"
Dark babbled on without pause, rivaling Claude in verbosity.
"…"
Yulian didn't respond, choosing to ignore Dark.
For just a brief moment, he wondered if helping had been a mistake.
[T/L: I need your support, dear readers. I will give discount to all those who will buy the rest of the chapters all together, so please support me the reader on my webnovel platform and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]