I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse - Chapter 71

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 71: The Violent Holy Knights

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Zain gripped a longsword.

It was not the Iron Lion Knights' regulation longsword, but a crude Goblin-made blade.

Its balance was strange, but a longsword was still a longsword.

The moment Zain held the sword, Zain became a knight.

Zain had not shouted like this since those first three months after joining the order, yet the knight shouted while swinging the sword.

"When you swing, make it as heavy as a mountain. Iron Lion Standard Heavy Sword, First Form!"

Whoosh!

Zain brought the sword down as if chopping firewood with an axe.

"Shift your weight forward and put it behind the strike!"

That was what the instructor had clearly said.

Stepping forward with the front foot and putting one's weight into the blade was the basic principle of heavy swordsmanship.

Iron Lion Standard Swordsmanship was a style that placed absolute importance on practical combat.

"Linked form, L-Lion Thrust!"

Zain took another step forward.

At the same time, Zain thrust the lowered sword as though stabbing with a spear.

Since Zain's arm was fully extended, the sword's reach naturally exceeded what an opponent would expect.

It was a linked form meant to pierce the neck of an opponent retreating backward.

Clap clap clap clap-

The people watching Zain applauded.

Rania clapped enthusiastically, while Oliver looked reluctant.

The problem was that Goblins were included among the audience.

Zain's face turned bright red.

It was not because Zain had some strange fetish for getting attention.

The situation was simply too bizarre to accept.

'Is this a dream?'

Zain was surrounded by monsters and Goblins, putting on a swordsmanship demonstration.

And the monsters were applauding the knight.

One monster had demanded all of this.

That tiny white snake attached to the neck of that enormous Chimera Snake...

No matter how Zain looked at the white snake, they seemed like an insignificant monster.

Their scales looked like crystal, and the crown on their head was unusual, but their expression said everything.

Their mouth hung open, and their eyes sparkled brightly.

Why did a snake even want to learn swordsmanship?

"This is the first form of heavy swordsmanship and its linked form..."

"It is pleasing to behold."

Nanaruk, ruler of the Goblins, translated the snake's words.

Zain even doubted whether it was a proper translation.

That tiny white snake did not seem like the sort to speak in such an old-fashioned, dignified tone.

"Would you like to... try it yourself?"

Zain asked.

At first, Zain had no idea how the snake intended to wield a sword.

Yet, surprisingly, the snake could use magic.

The snake lifted the stolen dagger, Ashira, as though it were a longsword.

In other words, the sword floated in midair.

"Uh, then, put your weight into your front foot and..."

Zain stopped speaking.

The snake did not have front feet.

Besides, the snake's actual body was stuck in those tree vines.

"...Swing the sword downward."

Whoosh!

The blade dropped limply.

"Then take another step and thrust it like a spear..."

The dagger shot forward.

Then it whirled high into the sky.

The Transparent Hand made a full circle in the air before returning to its original position.

'...'

This was clearly not swordsmanship.

Clap clap clap clap-

Yet the Goblins applauded, and Rania, who had been dozing off, startled awake and joined in.

The snake was doing a dance of joy.

Zain had no idea why the snake looked so proud.

'Teaching the order's swordsmanship to others is forbidden...'

Naturally, one was not allowed to pass on the Iron Lion Knights' regulation swordsmanship to another person without permission.

But there was no rule saying Zain could not teach it to a snake.

Zain took comfort in that.

Besides, Zain was not the only one trapped in this awkward situation.

Oliver, the hunter with an exceedingly suspicious past, had also been asked to teach the snake dagger arts.

Oliver looked deeply displeased, but they endured it for Rania's sake.

"I will... teach you Perran School Dagger Arts."

They were a hunter who made their living catching and killing monsters.

Who would have thought they would teach dagger arts to their prey?

Had the snake noticed that their dagger arts were special?

How?

The Goblin acting as interpreter had specifically asked them to teach Perran School Dagger Arts.

Oliver could not even guess what was going on.

Perran School Dagger Arts.

Perran was the name of a famous master thief from the Empire.

"Cheoin Perran" was still treated as an idol among rogues.

Remarkably, Oliver had inherited that person's dagger arts.

Naturally, it was a secret, though Zain and Rania had already discovered that Oliver knew them.

"It is a very difficult style of dagger arts, so it is only natural if you cannot follow along..."

It began with drawing the dagger from the holster at their waist.

"E-E-Eagle Slaying...!"

It was Oliver's first time shouting the name of a technique while using dagger arts.

The instant they drew their dagger, Oliver threw it.

The dagger spun through the air.

Then Oliver's body suddenly dipped low, and they unleashed a ghostly kick.

The moment they struck the dagger's hilt with perfect precision...

Whoosh! Thud!

The flying dagger buried itself in the ground and trembled.

It was not a very practical move, but it was cool enough to die for. That was Perran School Dagger Arts for you.

The snake's reaction was intense.

"Saaah!"

"It is exceedingly pleasing!"

Even without Nanaruk translating, it was obvious that the snake was satisfied.

"Give it a try."

How could a snake without feet perform Eagle Slaying?

Yet the snake did it.

Whirrrrr!

Ashira spun in the air.

The problem was that, although it spun slowly, it did not stop.

'...Crazy.'

The Transparent Hand had to be holding the dagger by its hilt.

The magic that only manifested up to the wrist was clearly spinning the dagger in midair.

Yet the onlookers gasped in admiration instead.

"Ooooh!"

"Waaaaah!"

The Goblins applauded and cheered.

The sight of the dagger spinning endlessly looked magical.

Thud!

Instead of kicking it with a foot, the dagger simply stabbed into the ground.

The force behind it was not impressive in the slightest.

Still, the Goblins of Runga began chanting the snake's name.

"Urooros! Urooros!"

"Urooros! Kaak chinggit!"

The heat spreading through the crowd made them look like fanatics.

Though, for all that, the white snake they worshipped was only doing a ridiculous dance.

For some reason, anger welled up in Oliver's chest.

At this rate, the stress was going to make them ill.

"Phew..."

They exhaled deeply and barely managed to compose themself.

Zain and Oliver met each other's eyes.

They had been trying to kill one another only moments ago, but at this moment, they shared the sorrow of fellow sufferers.

Still, they had one comfort.

'It will never properly learn them.'

Superior swordsmanship became a high-level skill in itself.

But monsters almost never successfully acquired swordsmanship.

At best, bipedal monsters with properly formed hands and feet very rarely acquired something resembling swordsmanship.

In other words, it was impossible for a magic-using snake like that to learn swordsmanship.

Not merely extremely difficult, but literally impossible.

Perran School Dagger Arts and Iron Lion Standard Swordsmanship would not be leaked.

'Let's just let it imitate us.'

That was the shared thought of Zain and Oliver.

* * *

「Because of the trait ‘Relentless Growth,’ there are no restrictions on acquiring skills.」

「You have acquired ‘Perran School Dagger Arts Lv. 1.’」

'Ah, so this is about how much...'

In just three hours, I successfully acquired Perran School Dagger Arts.

And, of course, Iron Lion Standard Swordsmanship too.

The Awkward Swordsmanship skill I had originally possessed disappeared.

It seemed Iron Lion Standard Swordsmanship was treated as its superior skill.

At last, I had learned proper swordsmanship and even acquired dagger arts.

I would have been grateful just to obtain a skill called Swordsmanship, but these had actual names.

Even Pelerian could not bring himself to call these skills lousy.

-Damn it, I should have killed those humans beforehand. If it had been crappy swordsmanship, you would not have been waving a sword around like an idiot...

'Don't worry so much.'

-What are you talking about now?!

'I'll study magic diligently too.'

-Ptui.

If they liked it, they could just act like they liked it.

They really were a rude old mage.

Still, I had decided to become a magic swordsman.

Pelerian had no reason to worry so much.

"Gwooo..."

At that moment, the Chimera Snake let out another cry.

Kibaemi was expressing their desire to get moving.

They had only slept for three hours, yet they were already pestering us to leave.

Even if I scolded Kibaemi, that would not work anymore.

The Chimera Snake was clearly a monster obsessed with advancing toward the continent.

'Nanaruk!'

I called Nanaruk.

Sadly, it was already time for us to say our goodbyes.

'Can you climb the canyon?'

"What choice do we have? At this rate, we'll be swept up in the Monster Wave too."

I would have liked Nanaruk to come with me, but I could not hold her back for my own greed.

She had hundreds of people depending on her.

From what I heard, she had led the warriors who could fight on an expedition to the continent.

The remaining noncombatants had gathered together in the Great Forest to build the foundation for their kingdom and make potions and weapons.

Someday, a red gale of Goblins might sweep across the continent.

"Let's meet again!"

A trace of regret showed in Nanaruk's eyes as well.

'Nanaruk, hold out your fist.'

"...Like this?"

Nanaruk held out her fist.

It would have been nice if my tail were free, but it was not.

I bumped my head lightly against Nanaruk's fist.

'This is how we greet each other.'

"That's cool..."

The warmth of our friendship was so intense that it felt like it would cause global warming.

-What a load of bullshit.

I completely ignored Pelerian.

Nanaruk jumped down from Kibaemi's back.

"All right, let's gooo!"

The Goblins rose from their places.

No one told them to, but they respectfully bowed to me.

Some even knelt and prayed to me.

It seemed Urooros's standing had risen considerably.

Nanaruk had wanted to wipe out all the humans, but her attitude had softened a great deal.

"I hope you humans survive too."

Rania's expression brightened in particular.

Nanaruk's appearance was now as neat as that of any ordinary human or elf, so she probably looked cool to Rania.

"Thank you. For the potions too..."

"They weren't mine anyway."

Nanaruk casually raised her fist.

She seemed to have picked up fist bumps quickly.

Then she immediately struck Rania's forehead.

Thump.

"Aah!"

Rania clutched her forehead and staggered back.

Zain and Oliver panicked, but Nanaruk only seemed to be trying to greet her.

She offered her own forehead too.

"You do it too."

"Y-Yes..."

Rania timidly tapped Nanaruk's forehead.

"Gwooo!"

At last, the Chimera Snake raised their body.

The other monsters stopped resting when they saw Kibaemi.

My control would not work anymore.

'Goodbye, humans!'

I decided to let the humans live.

'Hide in the carriage or something. I'll let you live!'

Nanaruk interpreted my words in a dignified manner.

Oliver then carried Rania on their back and entered the remains of the carriage.

*「You use Elementary Elemental Magic: Earth Lv. 5.」

I had already pushed the carriage between some rocks.

I even covered it with dirt, so it would not be easy to spot.

Well, if the monsters found it, there was nothing I could do, but had I not done enough?

"Then farewell!"

Nanaruk shouted, and the wave began moving again.

Soon, the tide led by the Chimera Snake would engulf the continent.

Kibaemi roared and set off.

No, they should have set off.

I never imagined they would suddenly do something like that.

"Gwooooo!"

Dozens of tree vines shot out from the roaring Chimera Snake's back.

The Goblins screamed and ran away.

But the Chimera Snake was not aiming for the Goblins.

The carriage I had worked so hard to hide.

The vines wrapped around the carriage where the three humans were hiding.

Then, just as it had kidnapped me, it lifted the entire carriage onto its back.

"Gwooo!"

It looked satisfied to have gotten a new doll.

You crazy baby tree snake!

The pleased Chimera began running again.

The broken carriage was tightly bound by tree vines, so the door would not even open.

Through the gap in the bars on its window, I met Rania's eyes.

'I didn't tell them to do that!'

But Nanaruk was no longer beside me.

There was no way to convey what I meant.

One Chimera, one white snake, one elf ghost.

And three humans.

Countless monsters.

All of us ran through the canyon together.

* * *

Gerard Martein.

Commonly called the Tiger Marquis.

One of the Eight Heroes.

Perhaps because the knightly order led by Gunther of Steel was called the Iron Lion Knights, Gunter Frihansen and Gerard Martein were portrayed by the public as rivals.

But mentioning that in front of Marquis Gerard would earn his wrath.

Marquis Gerard did not see Gunter as his rival.

Gunter was a lowborn man with no proper roots, which was why he lived as the royal family's hunting dog.

Even his knightly order was filled with mercenaries who had once begged for scraps somewhere.

Marquis Gerard, on the other hand, belonged to the prestigious House Martein.

And what of the Holy Knights of Light under his command?

As their title of "holy knights" indicated, they were a venerable knightly order recognized by the Church of Light.

When he received the grim news that a horde of monsters was approaching his territory, the marquis put on his armor without delay.

He assembled the soldiers and called forth every holy knight.

At this rate, the Monster Wave would destroy his territory.

No one dared guess how the marquis felt.

'Greylim has already fallen too.'

It was certain.

How long had it been since Gunther of Steel escorted the lord of Greylim, the marquis's son-in-law, to the capital?

And now such a tragedy had occurred.

'He is the cold-hearted marquis who ignored even his own daughter's plea for help...'

Marquis Gerard had received several letters from his daughter, but he had not acted personally.

As someone who was practically the second most influential figure in the House of Nobles, he must have found it burdensome to openly oppose the royal family.

The news that returned as the price was the Monster Wave.

The marquis's daughter, the lady of Greylim, was likely dead. Along with the marquis's granddaughter.

After completing preparations, the marquis headed straight for the church.

The highest-ranking bishop in Martein was preparing to receive an oracle.

The marquis walked into the sanctuary.

Even without the golden armor he wore, he had an imposing build that made it hard to believe he was in his sixties.

With the armor, the sanctuary's central aisle looked narrow.

The bishop stood before a massive sun-shaped relief, and Marquis Martein stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"Kneel."

Marquis Martein knelt on one knee and made the sign of the cross.

The bishop rang a small bell beside them.

Ding-