WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 26

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The Forgotten City (6)

"I surrender! Surrendeeer!"

"......."

"Calm down first and put that axe down. We were wrong."

"Wrong?"

"Yeah. This whole thing was just... my hand slipped, it was an accident. We were wrong. So..."

Thud!

The huge double-headed axe split the man’s skull in half while he was still rambling excuses. Blood burst out, and gray matter spilled in long strings. The body in front of him dropped face-first to the floor.

"Accident my ass. You sneak-attacked us and now you’re spewing bullshit. Bastard. Tch!"

Bruno frowned and spat. Around him, several more corpses lay scattered, just like the man who had just died.

"Everyone okay?"

Erik asked while taking slow, deep breaths. He was holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, and another fresh corpse lay at his feet.

"I’m fine."

"I’m fine too. If it were the first time, maybe not, but now I’m more or less used to it."

Bruno and Hanna answered in turn. Erik nodded without a word.

It had already been four days since they had fallen into the dungeon, no, the ruins of the Kingdom of Alenos. They were still pushing toward the center of the ruins.

They had focused on survival over profit, so they had not picked up much loot, but that had kept things stable. Still, the closer they got to the center, the more people they ran into. And every one of them was out for plunder.

"At least nobody got hurt..."

Erik exhaled, trying to settle his nerves after the ambush. As expected from a party of three Bronze Rank mercenaries, they had taken no real damage.

"If we didn’t have the mana compass, we might’ve gotten hurt badly."

"True. It was so expensive I never even considered buying one, but now I wish I had."

Bruno nodded at Hanna’s mutter. They had received the mana compass as payment for giving Kyle information. This small compass did not just guide them toward the center of the ruins, it also pinpointed people hiding nearby.

Even if someone could not use mana, that did not matter. They could not hide the mana waves leaking from the Magic Tools they carried. At first, Erik’s party had deliberately avoided people, but at some point they started killing and carving their way forward. They had no choice. There were just too many people now.

"How many is that now?"

Erik looked at Hanna as he asked.

"Including the group that attacked us on day one, this is the fifth group. If we count only the ones we killed, that makes thirteen."

"Hanna, you remembered all that?"

"Yeah. Just in case. It might become a clue later."

"Thirteen in four days... We’re closer to the center, so I guess it can’t be helped."

Bruno grumbled. All three were veteran mercenaries who had seen plenty of hell, so they did not hesitate to kill, but they were not the type to enjoy attacking others first for no reason. No matter how it happened, the sensation of taking a life and the guilt that followed did not fade easily. Not unless you were the type who enjoyed it.

"If we meet Kyle-ssi later, I should thank him. That compass has helped us a lot."

Erik said as he flicked blood off his sword.

"You think both of them are safe? Lena-ssi... honestly, she looked like a noble with no experience in this kind of thing."

Hanna muttered in a worried tone.

"Both of you, quit the nonsense and get ready to move. I keep telling you, we’re more likely to die before those two. We survive first."

"Bruno’s right. Let’s get moving."

"We’re still putting escape first, right?"

"Yeah. Honestly, the loot we already got is enough profit."

The three of them searched the dead mercenaries and took whatever looked useful. They exchanged glances for a moment, then nodded at the same time.

"Wait a second."

At Bruno’s words, Erik checked the mana compass again.

One mana flow was coming from the center of the ruins. Two were from the Magic Tools carried by the men they had just killed.

Click.

Click, click, click, click.

"...Huh?"

Erik narrowed his eyes at the mana compass and let out a stunned sound.

"Erik? What’s wrong?"

"No, the mana compass..."

"Did it break?"

The other two stepped beside him. Then they understood why Erik looked so shocked.

The compass needle was spinning like mad, like footsteps of death itself. The repeated sound from inside it came at terrifying speed.

Click, click, click, click, click, click.

"Fuck, what is this all of a sudden?"

Bruno cursed. The needle still could not settle and kept spinning in every direction.

"This thing’s busted..."

"No. Something from the Arven Mage Tower wouldn’t break this easily."

"Then what the hell is it?"

"If it’s not broken, then probably from every direction..."

Thunk!

"Aaaagh!"

Bruno suddenly screamed. Erik and Hanna whipped around in shock. Blood was pouring down Bruno’s leg beneath his twisted expression.

"Bruno!"

"What happened?"

They rushed to check Bruno’s face. Not good.

Then both of them looked down and their faces went rigid.

A dagger.

A very small dagger had flown in from behind and stabbed into Bruno’s thigh. It was so small it could fit entirely in Hanna’s palm.

A razor-sharp blade with no sound, no presence, made for one purpose only. Assassins.

"An ambush? Who the hell..."

Erik scanned the area quickly. The mana compass was still spinning wildly, but there was nothing visible down the corridor. Under the lamplight, only faint shadows stretched out.

"Erik!"

Hanna shouted, panic all over her face.

"Damn it. We run first. We’re at a huge disadvantage here. We’ll just get hit by thrown blades again."

How far away had they thrown that from? Erik forced the rising dread to the back of his mind and started moving while supporting Bruno. Unlike their original formation, Hanna moved behind the two men with her staff aimed backward, ready to cast at any moment.

They moved, and moved again.

Up, down, side paths.

They passed forked corridors, stairways, and open chambers.

"Haa, haa..."

Bruno’s face kept getting paler. His breathing grew rougher and rougher.

"Shit, Bruno! Stay with me! You’re not dying here!"

"Bruno, don’t pass out. I’ll protect you..."

"......."

No answer came back. Erik felt his own senses dulling too. Bruno was bigger than most grown men. Erik, on the other hand, was average in height and strength.

Of course, the longer this went on, the heavier it got and the slower he became. That was natural. Hanna losing focus behind them, that was natural too. Their growing panic, all of it.

"Bruno, please..."

"Hey, Erik..."

"Bruno? You’re awake?"

"I’ll say this once, so listen. We stop here."

"What?"

Erik stopped walking. Bruno shrugged off Erik’s support and leaned against the wall, dragging in ragged breaths. Erik turned and saw Hanna staring at Bruno with tears about to spill.

"It’s already too late. We can’t run."

"What are you talking about? Stop saying crazy shit and move! We need to get as far away as we can..."

"You know, don’t you? Who the ones that ambushed us are."

Erik was about to snap, then he shut his mouth. He understood what Bruno meant without hearing it out loud.

"No way..."

"Yeah. It’s them. I wish I were wrong too."

Twin Fangs of Silence.

They had been vaguely suspecting it anyway. They had only been denying reality because of a tiny sliver of hope.

"Bruno? Erik? What are you two talking about...?"

Hanna asked, her voice trembling. Bruno, grinning with a bloodless face, answered.

"You see this... right?"

He gestured at the dagger buried in his thigh.

"I see it! I see it! That’s why we have to run right now!"

"That’s exactly what I’m saying. Those bastards... they coated the blade with poison."

"What?"

"And not lethal poison, paralysis poison. Fuck... those sneaky assassin bastards fight like filthy cowards too."

Hanna tried to speak but failed. He had been poisoned, and with paralysis poison. A little more time and he would not be able to walk at all.

If a fight broke out, he would be dead weight. Leaving him behind was the right call. It was the smart call. Erik, an experienced Bronze Rank mercenary, knew that. Hanna knew it too. But when the moment came, they could not move their feet.

If they abandoned their childhood friend and ran, maybe they had a chance to live. Standing here like this was stupid.

They knew. They understood.

But still...

"I can’t go. If anyone’s going, you two go."

Bruno set his jaw and gripped the double-headed axe he still had not let go of with both hands. His face was pale, but he was smiling.

"At least I can buy you some time."

"Bruno!"

"Don’t be so mad, Hanna. We’re not kids anymore. I’ve been prepared ever since the day I became a mercenary. Didn’t think I’d die like this, though."

"Then I’ll stay too."

"Erik?"

Bruno stared at Erik, eyes wide. Hanna was no different.

Erik ignored them and prepared for battle while retracing the route they had come through. He pulled out a potion. He checked again to make sure his blade was still intact. If he fought beside a dying Bruno, they could buy at least a little more time. Their enemies did not seem to want quick kills. They seemed to want to toy with them.

"You two... are you insane?"

Hanna muttered, looking back and forth between them.

"You’re not telling me to run away alone, right?"

"You got it. Go."

"No! How can I..."

"Hanna!"

Erik shouted. She flinched hard at the voice, nothing like his usual self.

"I’m not telling you to run blindly. This is the only way."

"But!"

"If we stay like this, we all die anyway. So go and bring back anyone who can help. I don’t care if you spend money, I don’t care if you trade every relic we collected. And..."

If luck was with them, maybe she would find Kyle-ssi’s group.

He did not say the rest out loud. Even so, she seemed to understand enough. Hanna’s lips were trembling.

She would also know Erik was lying. In these huge ruins, the odds of running into Kyle’s group were low. And even if she did, he had no obligation to help them. Other people would not be able to beat the Twin Fangs of Silence in the first place.

They would be lucky if those people did not rob them. Everyone they had met so far had attacked for money. So this was a lie to ease her guilt, even a little. Erik knew it, Bruno knew it, Hanna knew it.

"Go! Now!"

"Ugh...!"

Erik shouted again. Hanna bit her lip hard, then turned and sprinted desperately away.

Her pounding footsteps faded farther and farther. Left behind, Erik and Bruno looked at each other once and raised their weapons. Soon, just as the area sank into complete silence, a man stepped out from beyond the dark. A man with a snake tattoo on his forearm, grinning at them like he was enjoying himself.

***

"Kyle-ssi!"

Boom!

A giant golem arm smashed into the ground. Kyle dodged lightly and slashed diagonally with the sword in his hand.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound rang out. The attack did not bite. The metal golem’s forearm could not be cut even by Kyle’s star iron sword. The rune letters carved all over its body glowed brighter than before.

An ancient guardian made only to eliminate intruders. The rune letters on its body were probably one type of spell formation engraved for autonomous action. Kyle had met quite a few golems like this.

What mattered more to him now was something else.

The soft red metal making up the golem’s body.

Could that be Solarium?

"Looks like they had money to burn."

Kyle smirked and circled under the giant golem. The golem’s single eye moved rapidly in all directions, trying to track Kyle as he moved around its feet.

"What do I do? What spell should I use...?"

Behind him, Lena stamped her feet in panic. She had heard of Rune Guardians before. The essence and crystallization of magic, made by layering multiple high-level spell formations. And this was a golem from the Kingdom of Alenos, which had collapsed 300 years ago.

She knew all that. But there was a huge difference between reading about it in books and seeing it right in front of her. She was sure the books had listed weaknesses and strategies, but she could not remember them now. Her hands and feet were trembling as if frozen solid.

Should I use fire magic?

Lena thought about it. Then she dismissed it immediately.

Fire-element magic would not do much against a metal golem anyway. Other magic was not much better. At Lena’s current level, she could not deal effective damage to that golem. To destroy it alone, they would need someone like an elder of the Lenore Magic Tower.

Then ice magic?

"Lena!"

While she hesitated, Kyle’s voice reached her.

"Y-yes!"

"Use ice magic and bind its legs! Just for a moment is enough. Can you do it?"

"That much... yes! I can!"

Lena answered firmly. She could not bring down the golem, but binding its legs briefly was possible.

"Hoo..."

Lena took a deep breath and aimed her wand forward. While she did that, Kyle kept the golem’s attention on him.

Kraaaash!

The thing swung its fists so wildly it was hard to tell whether it was guarding this archive or destroying it. Stone fragments blasted up from the shattered floor.

Kyle dodged every strike and kept thinking calmly.

What to do.

The method for golems that guarded a fixed place like a Rune Guardian was simple. Cause confusion in its thought process. They had powerful bodies and strength, but they were slow. Overload the system and cut it down in one clean strike.

The problem was that current Kyle could not destroy a Rune Guardian without Sword Aura. Solarium, while not as rare as star iron, was still a precious metal used for weapons and armor. The whole ten-meter golem was probably not pure Solarium, but every key part would be made from solid Solarium.

In the end, he would have to use Magicite.

"Kyle-ssi!"

Just as his thoughts reached that point, Lena’s voice cut in. He glanced back and saw Lena aiming her wand his way.

"Frost, bite the earth. Halt those steps."

"......."

"Glacial Vines!"

Blue light leaking from her wand turned into cold.

The spreading frost formed vine-like strands beneath the golem’s feet and wrapped around its limbs as if binding them.

Kyle sprinted up the golem’s frozen forearm. The single eye that had been darting around madly to track his movement locked onto him for one instant. At that same moment, white Sword Aura coiled around the silver blade. With a familiar sound, the pure white edge cleanly took the golem’s head off in a single strike.

Clang!

Thud, thud, boooom.

The steel head rolled across the floor with a harsh grinding noise. Almost at the same time, Kyle landed smoothly on the ground.

"Kyle-ssi!"

Lena hurried over to him. A beat later, the golem’s huge body crashed down with a heavy thump. Kyle dispersed the mana of the Sword Aura from his sword. Half of the Top-grade Magicite he had been using for reconnaissance over the past few days glowed green and slowly faded away.

"Did we... defeat the Rune Guardian?"

Lena asked, slightly out of breath, probably from casting.

"Yeah."

"Haa, thank goodness..."

"......."

"What you used just now, that was Sword Aura, right?"

"I can’t use it often."

"Even so, that was amazing. It was my first time seeing a knight’s Sword Aura in person."

"A knight’s Sword Aura?"

"Ah, not a knight, I mean..."

Kyle sheathed his sword and stared at Lena. She gave a foolish smile and avoided his eyes.

"Anyway! It was really cool. A Rune Guardian, and one from the Kingdom of Alenos, must be incredibly durable..."

"It definitely was tough. Still, your magic wasn’t bad. It helped a lot."

"Really? But even without me, it looked like you could have beaten it alone..."

Lena trailed off. What she said was true, Kyle could have taken down the Rune Guardian alone. But he would have needed to spend one more Magicite. The Rune Guardian made of Solarium was that sturdy.

Because she had bound its legs with ice magic, he had beaten it using just the remaining half of one Top-grade Magicite. In a way, her magic had saved one full Top-grade Magicite, roughly dozens of Gold.

"No. It helped. I’m not lying."

"I-is that so...?"

"More importantly, collect the loot. A guardian this size should pay well."

Kyle found a large Magic Stone inside the now inactive golem. Naturally, it was near 100% purity Top-grade Magicite. Its size was more than double a normal Top-grade Magicite too.

"What’s left is..."

Kyle and Lena returned to where they had first stood. Above the tall pillar in the middle of the archive, the white grimoire was still fluttering its pages just as before.

"Just selling this one thing would put us well past our target amount."

"Ah..."

Kyle grabbed the floating grimoire in one hand. The grimoire that had been flipping pages by itself stopped moving.

"Items like this are not easy to find even in ruins."

"......."

"Even sold quickly, it should bring at least five thousand Gold. If it goes to auction, it might pass ten thousand."

"Is it that expensive?"

"Magic-related relics are always in demand. The rare ones are worth whatever price people are willing to pay."

He checked the contents. Fitting for a relic that managed an archive, the book was packed with defensive magic and spell formations that optimized mana flow. The design blueprint of the Rune Guardian they had just defeated was a bonus.

"First, let’s put this in the Inventory Pouch..."

Kyle closed the book and handed the grimoire to Lena. At that moment, his face turned cold. Lena, who had been smiling at the thought of hitting their target, noticed and spoke carefully.

"Kyle-ssi? What’s wrong?"

"Someone is coming this way."

"What?"

"Quiet."

Lena closed her mouth. Kyle spread his senses wide. Before long, approaching footsteps heading this way became clear. Whoever it was sounded urgent with every step, running desperately through the corridor before finally entering the archive.

"Huh? Someone’s at the entrance..."

"......."

"Hanna-ssi?"

Lena’s eyes went wide. The person who entered the archive was Hanna, the only female mage from Erik’s party, whom they had parted with a few days ago. Her robe was torn everywhere and soaked with blood. Hanna spotted Kyle and Lena a moment later and rushed toward them in visible relief, like someone freezing to death finding a spark of fire.

"Kyle-ssi! Lena-ssi!"

"......."

"Please help us, please... Erik and Bruno...!"

Hanna’s voice was desperate. She limped as she came, and the sight was painful to watch.

"Hanna-ssi? What happened? You look badly hurt..."

Lena was startled and started to step forward, but Kyle raised a hand and blocked her path.

"Kyle-ssi?"

"......."

"Hanna-ssi looks seriously hurt! We need to help her now..."

"Stay still. Who are the bastards following you?"

Kyle was not looking at Hanna. He was looking past the archive entrance, at the outer corridor beyond it.

Tap, tap, tap.

A sound came, something being tossed and caught. Hanna turned back with terror in her eyes. In the area where the lamplight barely reached, a man slowly stepped out.

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