WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Sword Master of the Fallen Kingdom

Chapter 80

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Prey and Hunter (3)

The sound of hooves drew closer and closer. At first, the smoke had only looked pale and hazy, but as the distance shrank, it came into focus.

“Fuck...”

Jade, sitting in the driver’s seat, cursed before he could stop himself.

The sun, which had been above the mountain peak just a short while ago, was slowly disappearing below the ridgeline. Slanting sunset light spilled down over the highlands, dyeing the scenery orange-red. It was beautiful. It certainly would have been, if not for the barbarians. Right now, they had no time to leisurely admire the view.

“This is driving me insane. When the hell did they catch up?”

Jade grumbled with a frown and snapped the reins. The two horses pulling the carriage neighed and picked up speed.

“Are they the barbarians from earlier?”

Elysia asked, turning to Kyle. She was gripping the partition connected to the driver’s seat to keep her balance in the shaking carriage. Kyle, who stood perfectly steady even on the rattling carriage, nodded silently. His gaze stayed fixed behind them.

“The ones who survived and fled must be chasing us.”

“Why? For plunder?”

Elysia asked, unable to understand.

“They already lost their comrades once. If they saw us use magic, they should know their chances are slim...”

“Back then, aside from the hill, it was open ground with almost no cover. This is different. This forest road is practically their front yard. There’s a stream to the left of the road, and sloped coniferous forest on both sides.”

Kyle looked back at the scenery falling away behind them. Elysia turned that way as well. The road the three of them had traveled by carriage now looked impossible to flee from or bypass.

If they had each been on horseback, it might have been different, but as long as they were traveling by carriage, their only option was this relatively wide road beside the stream.

“Our route is limited to a single path. On top of that, this terrain is unfamiliar to us, but they probably know it well enough to picture it with their eyes closed.”

“Then that means...”

“We need to go through another chase. Fortunately, this is better than last time. At least they’re not flying.”

Elysia swallowed. Kyle calmly brushed the ring on his left hand without realizing it.

Anything would be better than wyvern knights.

If there was one thing he could not understand, it was why they were chasing them this far when they only had a single baggage carriage. Considering their culture and pride, though, it was not entirely incomprehensible.

More than anything, Kyle’s Inventory Pouch contained far more money than several large trade caravans combined. The barbarians did not know it, but if they succeeded in plundering it, they would have made an excellent choice. Kyle currently had large gold coins and top-grade Magicite worth over ten thousand Gold in his possession. Of course, that only mattered if they could defeat him.

“What do we do now? Keep running? Or stop and fight?”

Jade asked while keeping the carriage from overturning toward the stream and pushing it as fast as he could.

“No. Don’t stop. Keep running.”

“Until when?”

“Until all of them are dead.”

Just as Kyle said that, a clear sound of hooves suddenly came from the forest on the right side of the carriage. When he stuck his head outside, he saw a barbarian who had sprung out alone turning his horse toward the carriage.

“Got you! Durga’s enemy!”

The voice was rough and strange, very different from the ordinary continental common tongue. A barbarian with wide, bloodshot eyes drew the curved sword at his waist. He seemed to have been close to one of the barbarians Kyle had killed earlier.

Kyle paid him no mind. He simply stretched his left hand outside the carriage. A blade of wind fired instantly without an incantation and tore through the entire body of the barbarian, who had just been trying to bring his horse alongside the carriage. Horse and rider, still carrying their speed, staggered and tumbled toward the stream.

Splash!

The stream water shot high for a moment. Before long, blood seeped out and dyed the clear stream red.

It did not last long. The carriage kept racing forward, and the corpses of the dead horse and man were soon left far behind. Whether the barbarian had acted on his own or had been sent deliberately, the pursuit showed no sign of slowing. Jade cursed again from the driver’s seat.

“Fuck. They really are crazy bastards. Did they throw him out as bait?”

Jade’s voice held unmistakable irritation. Not fear. He had been driving horses all day and was already exhausted, so wrestling with barbarians on top of that made his temper flare.

“They’re surrounding us from every direction! How many are there?”

“Probably over forty.”

Kyle answered dryly. Jade sounded dumbfounded.

“Over forty? You said there were around thirty before! And you killed several of them too!”

“I told you there were reinforcements behind them.”

“Fine, so do something about it! If we keep going like this, they’ll catch us!”

Kyle took a few steps toward the back of the carriage and stared out at the open view. As the distance between the carriage and the barbarians narrowed, the sound of hooves and the presence of people in the forests on both sides grew clearer.

Found him.

After quickly scanning the surrounding terrain, Kyle spotted one barbarian. The man who seemed to be the leader was staring straight at them from between the dense conifers.

Between the passing tree trunks, he kept his eyes on Kyle and aimed his bow.

Swoooosh!

Light flashed. In the blink of an eye, an arrow shot between the tree trunks and hurtled toward the back of the carriage where Kyle stood.

Clang!

Kyle swiftly drew his sword and struck the arrow away. The mana-laden arrow struck his star iron blade, quickly lost its light, and bounced uselessly toward the stream. A numbing shock ran through his grip.

Even after reinforcing his body with mana in that instant, the impact was this strong. He could roughly imagine how powerful the arrow had been. An ordinary mercenary probably would not even have reacted before his upper body was blown away.

When the attack failed, the man who seemed to be the leader vanished deeper into the forest. Other barbarians appeared as if filling his place.

“Elysia.”

The distance was closing. The barbarians were surrounding them along the forests on both sides. Kyle turned toward Elysia, who had come up beside him at some point, and quietly called her name.

“No problem.”

Elysia gave a small nod. No lengthy conversation was needed. Exchanging looks was enough.

The two raised their hands almost at the same time. Immediately after, fierce currents of wind shot out from both sides. The blades of wind tore through the barbarians riding between the tree trunks and the horses beneath them without hesitation.

Terrible death cries echoed from every direction.

The barbarians were not simply sitting there doing nothing. Once they reached a distance where they could see each other clearly, they raised their bows and drew their strings toward the back of the carriage.

Arrows flew in staggered volleys. None reached them. Kyle used the bare minimum of wind magic and quickly knocked away the arrows aimed at him and Elysia. Beside him, Elysia calmly used magic while trusting Kyle completely, her golden eyes sharply tracking the barbarians between the trees.

After they killed about ten of the pursuing barbarians...

“...They dodged it?”

For the first time, Elysia sounded surprised. The barbarians, who had only been taking one-sided hits until now, were avoiding Elysia’s wind magic by zigzagging between the conifers.

“They’re already adapting...”

Kyle clicked his tongue inwardly. A formless blade with no sound, shape, or warning. Even so, the barbarians were using their dead comrades as a lesson and avoiding anywhere Kyle’s and Elysia’s gazes landed.

With coniferous forest on both sides, once the enemy focused on evasion, it became difficult to accurately target barbarians chasing at high speed while standing on a carriage running at high speed.

“Hey, Kyle! The horses are tired!”

To make matters worse, the carriage that had been racing at full speed gradually began to slow. They had been moving since early morning until early evening, even if they had rested from time to time. It would have been stranger if the horses were not exhausted.

“Can’t be helped.”

Looking at the barbarians who had already come close, Kyle glanced back and said,

“Jade. Keep running until the horses collapse.”

“What?”

“And Ellie. Knock away every arrow that flies toward the driver’s seat, no matter what. If they try melee combat, cut off the horses’ legs. Jade can handle the rest if it comes to that.”

“What are you planning to do, Kyle?”

Elysia asked. Kyle did not answer. Just then, two barbarians who realized their arrows were not working were closing in on the back of the carriage.

“Don’t tell me...”

The moment Elysia muttered while looking at Kyle, he kicked off the carriage and leapt toward one of the barbarians approaching on horseback. His body rose into the air, and the hem of his black cloak fluttered. As Kyle’s long shadow fell right in front of him, the barbarian reflexively drew his sword.

Slash!

Kyle was faster. Before the barbarian’s blade could pass him, the silver edge swept across the man’s neck. The severed head, carried by the momentum, sprayed blood and rolled roughly across the ground. Kyle kicked away the headless body and landed straight in the saddle.

Neeeigh!

The horse realized its owner had died and cried out as if going berserk. Kyle ignored it and cut off the neck of the other barbarian beside him. Then, as if nothing had happened, he turned the horse toward the conifers on the right.

“That insane bastard...”

Jade glanced back and let out a stunned laugh. Elysia had not expected Kyle to do something like that either, and she stared blankly at the vanishing black cloak.

“Young lady! You saw him, right? Stop worrying about that guy and come help me over here!”

Jade shouted at the top of his lungs. Elysia belatedly came to her senses and moved toward the driver’s seat.

“I only need to knock away the arrows?”

“Yeah. And when you have room, take out their horses’ legs too, like he said. Can you do it?”

As soon as Jade spoke, three or four arrows came rushing in, this time aimed at the horses. Elysia quickly knocked them away with wind. Broken pieces of arrow shaft scattered behind the carriage.

“Of course. Thanks to that good rest, I can keep going for a long while.”

“...Good. Let’s give this a shot.”

Holding the reins in his right hand, Jade propped up the sword he had set down on the driver’s seat so he could draw it at any moment. Elysia’s eyes narrowed.

The forest on the right and the coniferous forest beyond the valley on the left. The barbarians were closing in from both sides.

***

“We’ve almost caught them!”

“Kill them! Aim for the horses!”

“Kuaaaagh!”

“Magic! It’s magic! That sorceress is using that wicked wind again!”

The chase continued with the valley in the middle. Shouts and screams rang out between the conifers.

The barbarians who had caught up to the carriage were shooting arrows at the horses from both sides. But they could not reach them. Before the arrows could touch the horses’ bodies, the invisible wind swept them all down behind the carriage. It was the same even when they aimed from blind spots.

Unable to just watch, a few barbarians approached the carriage. Since ranged attacks were not working, they intended to try melee combat. Naturally, that did not go their way either. The moment the dark brown-haired man they had thought was a mere coachman drew his sword, the barbarians and horses running beside him were chopped apart and sprayed blood.

“Leader! These aren’t ordinary bastards!”

One barbarian riding ahead approached the man who led them. The man and some of the barbarians were currently riding deep inside the coniferous forest.

“What do we do now?”

The approaching barbarian asked. The man remained silent. His black eyes turned toward the stream faintly visible below the sloped forest.

At first, they had numbered over fifty, but now they had already been reduced to around thirty.

“Maybe we should retreat, even now...”

“No.”

The man spoke. The barbarian who had come to him flinched.

“We continue. We catch them. Drive them in no matter what.”

It was surprising that they used magic so skillfully, but he had thought they could catch them easily if they used the forest for hit-and-run attacks. That had been a mistake. Even so, he could not withdraw his forces now. Too many had already died. If he retreated like this, he would lose face.

If running away meant being branded a coward, he would rather fight until one side died.

The man sincerely believed that. They were a cavalry unit specialized in mounted combat, even among the many forces commanded by Great Chieftain Zakan. Each one was an elite who had lived on horseback from birth. Every group that avoided the main trade route and took the auxiliary trade route had either died without escaping their grasp or become hostages and gone down the mountain penniless.

They could win.

In truth, the enemy carriage was slowly losing speed. Since the horses were pulling both carriage and passengers, greater stamina loss was inevitable. On top of that, if they were this skilled, the equipment they carried had to be impressive too. Even plundering just their Inventory Pouch would bring in a huge amount of money.

He did not fear death either. Barbarians always lived with death at their side. It was better to step forward bravely and die than retreat like a coward and cling to life. Even if the sacrifice was great, as long as the gain matched it, he could stand proudly before the Great Chieftain.

The main force included not only barbarians but also Count Barkan’s regular troops.

The harder it was, the sweeter the plunder would be. The only problem was that black-cloaked bastard who had knocked away all his arrows earlier...

“Aina is dead!”

“Kuban fell too! Him! He’s coming this way!”

The loud shouts of the other nearby barbarians snapped him out of his thoughts. The man came back to his senses and lifted his head.

Not far away, a rider in a black cloak was running parallel to them. Holding a sword slick with blood, he looked around with cold, deeply sunken eyes, as if measuring them.

“Die!”

That was when one barbarian swung his sword at the black cloak. The barbarians of the cavalry unit were as skilled with swords as they were with bows. Yet the black cloak deflected the barbarian’s sword as if mocking him, then cut off his neck in one blow. The other barbarians roared in rage.

“Shaka!”

“Charge him all at once!”

The distance between the horses narrowed. In the middle of the forest, rough hoofbeats rang out from every direction at once. Blades poured in from all sides. Silver flashed in the black cloak’s hand.

Spurt!

Red blood burst out in every direction. Amid the falling barbarians, Kyle stood on the saddle, lightly leapt, and moved onto the horse beside him. He twisted the reins in his hand and turned the horse’s head away from its straight path. Changing direction in an instant, Kyle charged straight toward the man who had been about to draw his bowstring.

“Block him!”

Someone shouted. The remaining barbarians moved toward Kyle all at once.

White light rose over the bloodstained silver blade. Soon, the white light became a pure white flame. The man’s eyes widened in shock. Through the scattering blood, the racing white light surged straight toward him.

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