WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 28

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The Forgotten City (8)

The bloodshot eyes of the assassin lost focus. His desperately thrashing limbs, along with his neck, went limp like a puppet with its strings cut.

Clang!

A beat later, the dagger in his hand hit the stone floor. Kyle let go of the dead assassin's neck. Like his comrades who had fallen first, the last assassin became a cold corpse and sprawled across the ground. Only one man remained, staring blankly at the scene.

What was that?

What just happened?

A mage?

"......."

The man stayed silent. He simply could not understand it. He could not accept it. If Kyle had killed them with his sword, he would not have been this shaken.

Casting magic always took time. Incantationless Magic was extremely difficult, and even when someone could use it, it was usually limited to weak low-tier spells. On top of that, Kyle was armed with nothing but a sword, light leather armor, and a hooded cloak over his shoulders.

If you threw over a dozen poisoned daggers, he should have taken a fatal wound no matter how he moved. Their trajectories had been that precise. Every single blade had aimed for a vital point. Even an elite knight from a great noble house should have had to give up an arm or a leg.

Yet he blocked them. With Wind Magic. Not some simple low-tier spell either, but absurdly precise mana control. It made no sense.

"...Did you use a relic?"

Only one conclusion remained. He used a relic. Or a Magic Tool, or an Artifact. Without that, none of this made sense.

"Who knows."

Kyle looked down at his sword. The man scanned the archive again. Like before, it was quiet.

The only difference was the rows of corpses and the thick smell of blood.

And those corpses had been his subordinates moments ago.

"Ha...."

The man looked up at the high ceiling of the archive and gave a dry chuckle.

"If you do not want to open your mouth... fine."

"......."

"I will force it open."

His rune dagger flared brightly. At the same time, his figure vanished from sight in a blur. There was no presence. The silence spread through the chamber as if it had erased even sound itself.

At the center of that silence, Kyle slowly gripped his hilt. If he could not see with his eyes, he only needed to feel through presence. Body Reinforcement through mana always left traces in the air. And when it came to reading presence, Kyle trusted himself more than anyone.

A silver blade flashed out from Kyle's waist at terrifying speed.

A sharp metallic clang split the air.

The sound came half a beat late. Red sparks burst in front of his eyes. The man who had disappeared was already right in front of Kyle.

The gray fur coat that had been whipping in the wind slowly settled.

"Surprised?"

Between crossed sword and dagger, over the grinding scrape of metal, the man grinned viciously.

"People love saying assassins are cowards who can only ambush from the dark."

"......."

"But I am better at close combat. Especially killing knight bastards like you. The ones who start out full of confidence always end up begging for their lives with those same mouths that screamed about honor, once I start carving into them myself...."

The man rolled his eyes once, then stared straight at Kyle.

"What about you?"

"You talk too much. One of your favorite bugs died, and that made you mad?"

The dagger slid up along Kyle's blade. Kyle did not dodge. He guided it aside. The man clenched his teeth.

"Do not think you will die cleanly. I will kill you for sure. I want to see you begging at my feet. That face will be worth watching."

The dagger that dropped low shot up at once, aiming for the back of Kyle's neck. Afterimages of blades poured out in a blur. The speed was vicious. A single hit would be fatal.

A rapid scrape of metal burst out.

Kyle knocked every attack away. Sparks burst in all directions, and sharp metallic clanging filled the archive. Maybe because daggers had short reach, the man kept closing the distance and swinging nonstop. He gave Kyle no room to think. It was like tightening a noose, slowly herding prey.

Behind Kyle, Lena hugged Hanna and watched in a daze. She was so absorbed she forgot to breathe.

She could not follow it with her eyes.

It was the first time in her life. She had never seen combat like this. It was nothing like sparring at the Lenore Magic Tower. This was pure slaughter meant to kill. The idea of holding back did not exist. Every strike aimed for a vital spot.

That made it worse for Lena, because every battle since leaving the Magic Tower had been one-sided. The mercenaries who suggested forming parties were all nobodies, and after she met Kyle, she had only watched from behind while he handled everything. This was the first time she had seen Kyle struggle this much. It even looked like he was being pushed back little by little.

What should I do?

Lena looked down at her own hand. The wand in her right hand was trembling.

I need to help. I have to use magic. But how? Her strongest specialty, freezing magic, would be poison in a tight clash like this where they were tangled together. The same was true for her other spells. All she could do right now was wait quietly for the result.

Everything she had learned at the Magic Tower was useless here. The Lenore Magic Tower might be the greatest in the Kingdom of Brendel, and she might be one of its full-fledged mages, but at this moment she was no different from a useless child. Her prized freezing magic felt more likely to hold Kyle back than help him. Right now, Lena could not even read the flow of that battle.

I am no help at all.

"Haa... haa...."

Just as despair and helplessness started eating through her, she heard ragged, heated breathing. It was Hanna. Cradled in Lena's arms, Hanna looked even paler than before, gasping rough breaths in pain. Only then did Lena snap back to herself.

Her eyes settled, calm and cold. As soon as that numb helplessness faded, she could see the situation more clearly and judge it better.

Right now, she could not help in that fight.

Then what was best? The best move was to pull back with Hanna and stay out of the way. In fact, after losing initiative at the start, Kyle had done nothing but block the man's daggers the entire time.

It was the exact opposite of how he instantly killed everything he met, whether monster or human.

Pull back. Kyle-ssi is an incredibly strong knight. If not for me, he can beat an assassin like that.

Lena made up her mind and was trying to stand with Hanna in her arms when it happened.

The back of one of the nearby assassins twitched.

Lena had been moving carefully, trying to retreat unnoticed, and her body froze.

He is alive?

At the same moment, she reflexively grabbed the pendant tucked against her chest. Mana flowed.

Thump!

Her judgment was right. A dagger flying at her face hit a translucent shield and bounced off.

"Ah...!"

But that was not the end. The assassin who had been playing dead sprang up as soon as he confirmed the dagger was blocked and charged at Lena as if nothing had happened. Panting hard, Lena aimed her wand at him.

Mana rushing out of her body turned into blue light.

"Do not come!"

Lena screamed at the top of her lungs.

Basic ice magic, Ice Arrow.

She even skipped the incantation. It was a complete mess. There was no way proper power would come out of it. Even so, Lena poured mana in wildly.

The blue light blazing from her wand was just about to burst toward the assassin. Something flashing through midair flew in even faster. It struck the back of the assassin's head with perfect accuracy as he rushed at Lena. He crumpled forward, and the Ice Arrow she fired a beat late split empty air.

"...Kyle-ssi?"

Wide-eyed, Lena looked toward where the dagger had come from.

Kyle was there, still fighting the man.

"You dare look away in front of me!"

A heavy metallic impact thundered out, not a sharp ring. Kyle's body slid far back. He quickly reset his stance.

After throwing a dagger into the back of the assassin charging Lena, his breathing was slightly rougher than before.

"You filthy sons of bitches...."

The man gripping his rune dagger spat through clenched teeth. For a moment, the battle slowed.

The last hope that could turn this fight. The one assassin who had still been breathing was now collapsed near Lena.

The man's face twisted viciously. If things had gone as planned and they had taken that girl hostage, this would have become very easy. Too bad it got tangled because that bastard noticed and threw a dagger.

"I had doubts at first, but now I get it."

The man spoke. Kyle asked back.

"What do you get?"

"You really are a knight. Did Marquis Filein send you?"

Unlike before, this was a question with a fixed answer already in his head. At first, it had been vague suspicion. Now that their blades had met directly, he was sure. The swordsman in front of him was not a common mercenary, he was a knight.

His sword posture and style gave it away. A man who had killed countless Gold-rank Mercenaries and knights could only reach that conclusion. Nothing was more annoying than an orthodox knight who had trained properly from the ground up. Not like mages you could just ambush in secret.

Kyle had seen through every feint and trick and precisely knocked aside only the fatal attacks. Minimal movement, best possible result. Impossible without the skill of a high-level knight.

More than anything, one thing made no sense to him.

"Why are you not using mana? Are you playing with me right now?"

Kyle was not using mana. That fact alone infuriated the man.

"I do not know what you are talking about."

"Playing dumb?"

"......."

"Fine. Keep your mouth shut then. Let us see how long you stay silent. Which comes first, me dying, or you begging for your life?"

Green mana coiled over the man's rune dagger. The tangled mana formed one smooth Sword Aura.

"Do not think you can block this without mana like before."

The man stepped forward slowly and spun his rune dagger once.

"I will kill you."

Boom!

The floor of the archive exploded. The man vanished in an instant. Kyle closed his eyes.

He sharpened his senses to the limit. Do not depend on sight. Trust your sixth sense.

Where?

Left.

Steel scraped against steel with a grinding scream. Kyle slowly opened his eyes.

The man's face was right there in front of him, lips curling as he stared straight at Kyle. A thrusting dagger. A sword that blocked it. The man drove Kyle backward as if spreading a net around him. One step, two, three. Kyle's body was pushed back.

"Swords have reach, but they are slower than daggers. Unless you are wearing full plate covered in spell formations, armor will not block Sword Aura."

Swinging his dagger, the man kept talking.

"Do you know why our guild is called Twin Fangs of Silence?"

The dagger Kyle knocked away bent at a grotesque angle and came for his neck.

Kyle moved his head with the smallest possible motion. A faint line of wind brushed his skin. A few cut strands of hair fluttered in the air right beside him.

"A viper does not have one fang. It has two."

"......."

"Like right now."

A soft cutting sound slipped past him.

A burning pain flared on Kyle's cheek. Beyond his vision, red droplets of blood flew up. He shifted his gaze slightly and saw another dagger in the man's left hand, one he had no idea when he had drawn.

It was not a throwing blade. Slightly smaller than the rune dagger in his right hand, but another relic engraved with rune letters just the same. While raining a fierce assault with his right hand, he had drawn the hidden second rune dagger with his left. It happened in an instant.

Fast enough to be hard to react to without mana.

"This is going to get more fun now."

The man grinned and muttered. One dagger became two. His speed jumped another level.

Wind tore, steel rang, and another burst of impacts hammered through the archive.

Explosive noise rang everywhere. Iron clashing with iron, wind tearing through the air. The force behind the dagger swings was no comparison to before.

Green Sword Aura coiled around the second rune dagger too.

In the blink of an eye, afterimages of green mana ran wild in all directions.

That was when Kyle's Sword Path began to change. His sword, which had only defended until now, suddenly shifted trajectory and aimed for the man. A blade that flowed naturally from defense into offense. The man twisted his body to dodge Kyle's slash, then immediately lifted his mana-reinforced right leg and kicked Kyle.

Thud!

Kyle raised his left arm and blocked the kick. The recoil launched him up into the air.

"Let us see if you can block this too!"

The man chased him hard. He was already fast, and once he added mana-based Body Reinforcement, he closed the distance in an explosive burst. Both hands lifted, each gripping a rune dagger wrapped in Sword Aura.

I will cut him in one strike.

I am faster. Only I am using mana. He blocks well, but that is all. The magic earlier surprised me, but unlike normal knights, he must have given up Body Reinforcement and Sword Aura in exchange for magic.

In midair, your options are limited. By then I will already be in his face. His sword style is textbook knight technique. Solid defense. But that only matters with mana backing it. My dagger reaches his neck first, no question.

Got you.

Just as the distance nearly closed and the man crossed both green daggers in confidence, a strange discomfort hit him.

...What is this?

Kyle's posture changed. He did not panic and rush into a desperate guard. He did not look shaken by the man charging at him. Floating in midair, he simply stretched his left hand forward and drew his sword back in his right hand.

Like an archer drawing a bowstring.

No way.

At that moment, pale blue particles scattered from Kyle's outstretched left hand.

Mana in its purest form unfurled into the air.

Surging mana. Shuddering air. A familiar mana wave.

A sword form?

The charging man faltered. At the same moment, Kyle's feet touched the ground.

That timing was exactly half a beat faster than the man had predicted.

Right before the man reached him, Kyle did not retreat. He stepped forward instead. Pulling his left hand back toward his chest, he adjusted the angle of the sword in his right hand slightly. His eyes had been fixed on the man from beginning to end.

A clear, alien resonance rang out. The noise around them faded from his ears.

The Magic Stone shattered, and the released mana rushed over the star iron blade at Kyle's will. Threads of pure white rising from the Cross-Guard wrapped around the blade. The silver edge turned completely white.

The fastest sword Kyle could use, his absolute top speed.

A sword form repeated thousands, tens of thousands of times. There was no need to think now. The man realized what Kyle was trying to do and twisted his body from up close, too late. Then he realized it was already too late and swung both daggers at Kyle with all he had.

First step, set the posture.
Second step, seize the opening for counterattack.
Holding the sword now dyed white, he took the final third step.

Asherad Royal Swordsmanship, Third Form.

Piercing Frost.

Flash!

Light burst out. Through his field of vision washed in white, Kyle's sword shot forward.

Pure white light spread everywhere, swallowing the green glow.

A streak of white pierced out between the man's daggers.

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