WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ I Pulled Out Excalibur

Chapter 318

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First Horn of the Empire (4)

The ground shook violently.

Some parts of the split earth collapsed and fell, while others were swept up by the wind and hurled into the sky. Everything in sight spun and scattered in chaos, as if a storm itself had descended.

"......"

In that chaos, Gerd's heart stayed calm. His eyes did not waver either. This was no longer a scene strange enough to unsettle him.

An old man who had lived nearly two hundred years thought to himself.

It was a familiar sight.

And a nostalgic one.

It had happened more than a hundred and fifty years ago, yet the memory was as clear as if it were yesterday. Gerd recalled the past. Back then too, his master had rampaged just like this.

"I'm going first. Follow me."

"If you can keep up."

He remembered that infuriating grin, and the metallic click as his master pulled his helmet down over his face. He saw it vividly, his master kicking off the ground again and again, then landing in the center of enemy lines with a heavy boom.

Whether the enemy numbered in the hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands.

Once his master jumped into their midst, he gladly became the storm. Even from far away, Gerd had always been able to see it. Earth overturning, enemies slammed into the ground, thrown into the distance, hurled into the sky...

"You're full of energy today too, sir."

Whenever he watched that sight,

the knights of the Golden Horn Knights would pat his shoulder and grin.

"Let's go, kid."

"We can't let the captain run wild alone."

Remembering the past, Gerd looked at the present.

Now there were no knights beside him to pat his shoulder. The master who had shouted for him to follow was far too distant now. That radiant past had faded and been fouled by a demon's trickery.

But.

Even so, some things did not fade.

Gerd gripped his sword.

Right now, Master saw himself as a war hero. To him, this place was the heart of a battlefield, and they were enemies of the Empire. It seemed he was dreaming of the era when he had shone brightest.

Gerd smiled without meaning to.

Yes, how long had he wished for this reunion? To Gerd, Aldaran Vasaglia was a hero. The object of his admiration and envy, the goal he had chased. Gerd had always longed for that figure racing freely across battlefields.

Even if this reunion had been stained by demons.

Why could this not still be a chance? A chance to show his master the one hundred and fifty years he had lived. A chance to prove himself.

Clench.

The old man's eyes looked at the present, not the past. Overturned earth, broken sense of direction, rocks and dirt blown everywhere by violent wind. In the middle of that confusion, Gerd found his center.

The moment Gerd moved,

Aldaran, standing at the eye of the storm, turned his head. Their gazes met. The instant they did, both moved almost at once. Aldaran's sword pulled the storm along as it moved. Gerd's sword cut through the mound of dirt blocking his view and surged forward.

In this situation, what was the best move?

Sword Masters who could see the near future always chose the best option. In this instant, the two Sword Masters made almost the same choice at almost the same time.

Sword aura projection.

The moment Gerd completed his slash, projected sword aura split the dirt pile apart. It cleared the dust. It sliced through the rocks blocking the line between Gerd and Aldaran.

Projected aura collided with projected aura.

...Sword aura was, in the end, force drawn out through a sword as its medium.

Unless one used special techniques that burdened the body, secret arts and ultimate moves, sword aura rapidly lost cutting power and force the moment it left the blade. If that limit did not exist, masters of the sword would have been called wizards of blades, not swordsmen.

Even if Sword Masters projected aura to intercept enemies dozens of meters away, that was only effective against weaker opponents.

In other words, against another Sword Master,

projected sword aura was not very effective. It could not deal meaningful damage. Even so, there was a simple reason both Sword Masters projected aura now.

Clearing obstacles. Securing vision. Suppression. Forcing specific movement from the opponent. Sword Masters achieved multiple goals with one action.

Projected aura met projected aura and canceled, the mana that formed them exploded into a flash, wind pressure swept away dust, and then...

Kaaaaang!

The instant they projected sword aura, both rushed each other without hesitation and swung. Each sword was aimed at the other's neck, yet instead of neck meeting blade, blade met blade and stopped.

A deadlock born of steel against steel.

In a moment shorter than a fragmented second, dozens of techniques were exchanged between Gerd and Aldaran. Twist the sword. Divert a slash. Strike up the hilt and bend the trajectory. Slide along the blade and target the throat.

Counter met counter. Technique canceled technique. Both swords, pursuing the same goal of slipping or knocking aside the opponent's blade to cut the neck, eventually shot upward in opposite directions.

After the battle of calculations, both swords cut empty air.

With a rough slice, deep trenches were carved behind both of them. In that single exchange, Aldaran felt a strange dissonance.

It felt like facing a mirror.

"It could only be this way, couldn't it?"

Gerd took one step forward.

"Who do you think taught me the sword?"

With a creaking sound, Gerd compressed his sword aura. Aura that could have stretched for dozens of meters was pressed into a blade only 1.5 meters long.

"Don't draw your sword aura long."

"In the end, whether they call you a Transcendent or whatever else, a swordsman is someone who fights with a sword. If you stretch sword aura like a whip, what kind of swordsman is that?"

"Don't forget the essence of the sword."

It was a method he had learned from Aldaran himself. Against another Sword Master, extending aura long was meaningless anyway. Density was what mattered.

The same was true for his opponent.

Aldaran's sword aura, which had flickered like flame, compressed into the blade. It should once have been pure white, and though now stained like paint, it had not lost its brilliance.

An advantage gained by touching transcendence.

Both men gave up the advantage of stretching aura to cut dozens of meters away. With compressed aura on their blades, they thrust and swung at each other.

Though this was a battle between Transcendents, absurdly, it took place within only a few meters where their swords could touch. At a glance, their duel looked no different from ordinary men's combat, but...

Kaaaaang!

Even if it was only 1.5 meters long, it was aura that could originally cut across dozens of meters, compressed into that space. The repulsion and shockwaves produced when sword met sword split the ground and ground down the rocks with wind pressure. Any thought of it being ordinary vanished at once.

Sword clashed with sword.

Blades flying for each other's necks bent along bizarre trajectories and returned again and again.

Kang, kagagagak!

Sword aura crashed into sword aura and sparks flew. Through those sparks, the old man's eyes and Aldaran's eight eyes shining through the crack in his helmet glared at each other.

One step, Gerd was pushed back.

Slowly, he began to lose ground.

Gerd was being pushed back, yet he did not regret it. The old man realized his memory of his master had not been exaggerated at all, and he smiled instead.

That was not the only reason he smiled.

Even for himself, who had thought he had reached the summit, there were still things to learn. As he watched the perfect Triumph Sword unfolding in front of him, a strange light entered Gerd's eyes.

Ah.

Eyes that should have long been worn down by years and storms, dulled and faded, were shining now. Feeling as if he had returned to his boyhood, Gerd swung his sword.

Kang, kaaaang!

If Gerd had stood here as just an individual, not as First Horn of the Empire, only as Aldaran's disciple, he would have continued this duel forever. Even if he were pushed back, worn down, and died in the end.

"If possible, when you come find me, bring the banner of the First Horn of the Empire."

But Gerd had made a promise.

He said he would stand before his master as the First Horn of the Empire. And what the Empire's first pillar had to do was simple.

Protect the Empire.

And.

Bring the glory of victory to the Empire.

Even while continuing his sword duel with Aldaran, one corner of Gerd's gaze watched beyond him. There, from the very beginning, a young man had been waiting in stance.

Gerd swung his sword wide.

He created an opening.

At once, Najin, who had been holding position in midair, kicked off a floating boulder and launched forward.

2.

Keeping his stance, Najin waited for the opening.

He bent his knees, lowered his sword, and narrowed his eyes. Pushed by the raging storm, standing on a rock lifted into the air, Najin steadied his breath.

Gerd had told him earlier.

He said he would create an opening. So wait for that moment. Watching the duel below, Najin waited, and...

Now.

That moment came. He straightened his bent legs. He kicked off the rock that had briefly served as ground beneath him. The instant he kicked, the rock exploded, unable to endure a Transcendent's leg strength.

A single flash.

Najin rushed forward. From high in the sky, he plunged diagonally toward the ground. Pulling platinum-colored sword aura behind him, he looked exactly like a meteor.

Boulders still spun between Najin and Aldaran, but the instant they touched Najin's body, they crumbled with dry crackling sounds.

In a split second, Najin pierced through and swung at Aldaran. A blade layered with acceleration upon acceleration. Aldaran's back was exposed as he swung toward the pushed-back Gerd, and Najin's sword came down trailing light...

At that instant, the arc of Aldaran's blade bent.

As if he had eyes in his back, as if he had accounted for Najin from the start, he pulled back the sword he had been swinging at Gerd.

He knocked Gerd's blade aside and drew a huge semicircle.

Slice.

The sword tip that traced that half-moon gently split through the ground and emerged out of it. Aldaran twisted his body and continued that half-moon into a complete circle.

Kaaaaaaaaang!

He deflected the attack in front of him and countered the attack from behind at the same time. At the moment of collision, the ground beneath Aldaran's planted foot caved in with a crack. Najin's eyes widened.

Grit.

Najin clenched his teeth, landed in a sliding motion, and charged Aldaran again. Gerd did the same. From opposite directions, they thrust their swords at Aldaran.

First Horn of the Empire, Gerd.

Dawn Horn, Najin.

The two were currently the Empire's strongest force. On the continent, no one could match them. Even if the range expanded to the Outland, that number was still small. Both were top-tier Transcendents.

And now those two Transcendents, without a trace of carelessness, were thrusting to kill. Endlessly sharpened tips rushed for heart and throat.

...Who could handle both of them at once?

Even to Merlin, their combined assault looked dangerous. Only a Transcendent of Round Table level could likely receive it. Yet under that level of coordinated attack,

"......"

Aldaran blocked every strike. He pressed incoming blades away, knocked them aside, and sometimes guided them into positions where Gerd and Najin's swords tangled and interfered with each other. As if fully used to this kind of situation, he handled the blades skillfully.

When it looked like he had been pushed back a few steps,

Ssshhhhh!

as if even retreat had been one move in his plan, a sword flew through that gap. Still, Aldaran could not avoid being pushed forever. He realized it might be difficult to defeat both of them at once.

In that case.

Aldaran suddenly stopped with a hard step. He held his sword diagonally under his shoulder. In that moment, Najin's downward strike from above slammed into Aldaran's shoulder.

It landed, but went no farther.

Aldaran's sword, braced beneath his shoulder, blocked it. Why was he taking the blow? The instant that question crossed Najin's mind.

Grab.

Aldaran reached out. With his empty hand, the one not holding his sword, he seized the back of Najin's neck. A choked sound escaped Najin as his breath caught.

Boom.

Aldaran kicked off the ground and started running. He ran while gripping Najin's neck, as if to force distance between Najin and Gerd. Fingers dug into Najin's throat and tightened. Najin clenched his teeth.

Crack, he kicked Aldaran in the abdomen, but Aldaran did not budge and kept sprinting with Najin in his grip.

As his airway closed, Najin found an answer. He had imagined this before but had never used it in real combat. Still, this was no time to be picky.

Excalibur was lodged against Aldaran's sword at his shoulder, no longer advancing.

Najin let go of it.

He released his grip and raised both hands overhead.

The moment he let go, Excalibur turned to light and vanished. Then, the instant Najin clenched his raised hands, Excalibur appeared again in a cluster of light.

Flash.

Najin brought the light-trailing sword down, as if saying that if Aldaran would not release his neck, he would cut off the whole arm. This kind of attack seemed to be outside even Aldaran's expectations, and his body stiffened for a brief instant. But only for an instant.

Whip.

At the same time he released Najin's neck, he kicked Najin's abdomen. His greave clanked as the joints locked, and his fully extended foot drove into Najin's stomach.

"Kh, ugh..."

Najin's body lifted into the air. His blade only grazed Aldaran's shoulder. Then Aldaran aimed his sword at the flung Najin. The time from aiming to firing was a split second.

Ramming Horn.

With his body suspended in the air, Najin could not fully cut through the storm. At best, he swung imperfectly to reduce the impact. Blood flooded his eyes as the storm slammed into him. Pain hammered his body, his insides churned, but even with bloodshot eyes Najin looked beyond the storm.

As expected.

With a heavy thrusting sound, Aldaran's sword pierced through the storm and drove in. Najin twisted his body, so the thrust pierced his shoulder blade instead of his heart.

Boom.

Now the situation was reversed. With Najin skewered on his sword tip, Aldaran started running. He struck the flat of the embedded blade with his gauntlet.

Crack, crackkkkk!

The wound tore wider. The sword buried in his shoulder tried to split bone and flesh apart. Just as Aldaran had done, Najin braced his own sword under his shoulder to stop the blade from going deeper. It felt like sparks were exploding in front of his eyes.

When the blade stopped advancing, Aldaran kicked Najin again. As the sword was pulled free, Najin's body launched like a shell. Bang, he rolled across the ground several times and slid. Aldaran chased at once and moved to bring his sword down.

Then.

A sharp slice.

Head lowered, without even looking, Najin swung and his blade scraped Aldaran's forearm. If Aldaran had not stepped back, his arm would have been severed.

"......"

Aldaran lowered his sword while looking at the drops of blood falling from his forearm. His face was still hidden by the helmet, but Najin could tell he was surprised.

"Hah."

Najin let out a laugh and lifted his head.

"You know..."

He was breathing hard, but his eyes were shining.

"This isn't the first or second time I've gone through this."

"It's not like this is the first or second time I've dueled you."

Najin pulled up one corner of his mouth and readjusted his grip on the sword. Unlike then, Aldaran was now using sword aura and displaying strength close to his prime, but... Najin was not the same as then either.

He had changed. A lot.

A disciple, by nature, had to show his growth when he reunited with his master. The constellations engraved into Excalibur shone, and Najin's sword aura surged wildly.

You led me to Sprouting.

You made me gain the stars of Breakthrough and Indomitable.

And now, I...

Flash.

Challenge, Dragon-Slaying, Breakthrough, and Indomitable lit up, followed by Requiem, Banter, Selection, and the Star of Adventure. Najin's sword aura no longer stopped at Sprouting, it had passed Blossoming and reached Full Bloom. Showing his growth to his master, Najin pointed his sword at Aldaran.

It was both a Triumph Sword and the Empire's Sword.

The sword completed by your first disciple, and the sword all Imperial knights treated as their foundation. Najin aimed the Empire's Sword at the Empire's hero.

"First."

"I'm going to smash that helmet."

"Now, you can be a knight even without it."

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