The Pushover Young Lord in a Romance Fantasy Won't Take It Anymore - Chapter 67

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

◈ The Pushover Young Lord in a Romance Fantasy Won't Take It Anymore ◈

Chapter 67: Scurry

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The reddish-gold meteor that tore through the night sky pierced the leader’s head with perfect accuracy.

Booooom!!

An explosive roar that seemed to overturn heaven and earth. The Solar concentrated into a single point erupted violently.

Fwoooosh!

A terrifying shockwave and blast of wind swept across the area.

The battlefield, where blood had been spraying like a storm, was suddenly swallowed by a dust cloud. The wave of magical beasts was swept back like the ebbing tide by that single blow and burned away.

“...!”

Selena instinctively drove her sword into the ground to keep her balance.

Beyond her silver hair whipping in the gale, shock filled her cold silver eyes.

Rumble...

The thick cloud of dust slowly began to settle.

An eerie silence hung over the battlefield.

The magical beasts’ ear-splitting shrieks and the soldiers’ screams had stopped. Only the sound of burning flames and crumbling earth remained.

At the center of the crater stood a single man.

Kneeling with his sword braced against the ground, Astin drew ragged breaths.

The reddish-gold Solar surrounding his body had already faded. He looked as though he could collapse at any moment.

Yet Astin steadily rose, supporting himself with the pommel.

At his feet lay the leader’s mangled corpse, no longer recognizable.

Astin slowly looked around.

Shing.

He raised his reddish-gold sword high into the sky. Using every ounce of strength he had left, he fired up his Rings.

“The leader is dead! All troops, advance!”

At Astin’s shout,

“Waaaaah!!”

Ten thousand voices became one and swept across the battlefield.

“The Commander did it! Long live Young Lord Astin!”

“We won! We won!”

“Vanguard, advance! Strike them from behind!”

The soldiers gripped their spears and shields until the veins stood out in their hands. Murderous madness gleamed in their eyes.

Despair instantly turned into joy, and fear into a bursting exhilaration.

That was what the existence of one man, Astin, had brought about.

Kirik, kiririk!

The exoskeleton magical beasts, having lost their ruler, all turned at once.

Once the pheromones controlling the battlefield vanished, they lost control and began scattering in every direction.

The vanguard, which had been clearing the path at the front, moved first.

“Bwahahaha! Long live the Great Chieftain! Kill them all!”

Bellutak and Buraltak burst into laughter as they crushed the magical beasts’ backs.

“You bug-like bastards! Kill every last one of them!”

“The Ashen Forest is nothing before our Commander!”

“Don’t get carried away! Hold the formation!”

Even the soldiers who had only hidden behind their shields took up spears and swords.

Maintaining formation, they began wiping out the magical beasts.

Lucia watched the scene, then fixed her gaze on Astin.

“Haah... That Young Lord really is insane.”

She clicked her tongue, but her feet were already racing toward Astin.

The magical beasts might have lost their fighting spirit, but there was still a risk of being trampled and injured.

Selena was also running after Lucia toward Astin.

Thud.

Jenkinson dropped to the ground from sheer exhaustion. A relieved smile hung on his lips.

But inwardly, he still could not believe what had happened.

“That man’s really insane. Is he really some pampered young lord?”

Seeing Astin, it was strange enough that he was still breathing.

What, was he the Meteor Sword or something? Jenkinson could only let out a dumbfounded laugh.

Bagot approached him.

“Get up. It’s not over yet.”

“Come on, brother. Things are going well. Why do you keep saying that?”

“If you can’t follow the Commander’s example, then get up and take hold of your sword.”

“No, can you follow his example? Does it make any sense to dive in from the sky like a meteor? And hit a single point that precisely?”

Bagot pressed his lips together.

Did it make sense? Of course it did not.

Unable to break through the magical beast wave, Astin had changed course and attacked from the sky.

Anyone might think of the idea.

But actually putting it into action required madness, and succeeding was nearly impossible.

Could Swordmaster Hendrickson have attempted it? Bagot seriously considered the question.

Probably not.

‘A fitting epithet will be given to the Young Lord.’

This was no exaggeration. He had achieved something beyond even a Swordmaster.

Before long, gossips and bards across the Empire would be speaking of it.

Meteor Sword Astin.

It was obvious Astin would be given such an epithet.

“W-What the hell? He’s still fighting after ending up like that?”

At Jenkinson’s voice, Bagot turned his head.

Slice!

Where he looked, a dull reddish-gold sword was cutting magical beasts in two.

“Young Lord! I said you should rest!”

“Vanguard! What are you standing around for?!”

“Ah, seriously! Young Lady, stop him too!”

“...Huh.”

To still be capable of swinging a sword after reaching that state.

Words like awe or wonder were not enough to describe it.

That man was no human.

Bagot became absolutely certain of that.

Meanwhile, one gaze fixed on Astin was strangely lingering.

“...”

The Holy Sword Keeper stood still, feeling along the Holy Sword’s hilt.

Her gaze remained fixed on Astin.

* * *

The battle from the previous night ended in a one-sided extermination.

Having lost their center, the magical beasts scattered like the receding tide, and the frenzied expedition members pursued them to the end and slaughtered them.

That night, the soldiers were intoxicated with victory. Their blind faith in their Commander went without saying.

Even the next day, the expedition could not shake off the afterglow.

“Phew, the Ashen Forest isn’t much after all!”

A mercenary puffed out his chest and bragged.

The soldier beside him lightly smacked his helmet and scolded him.

“You crazy bastard. If it weren’t for the Commander, we’d all be dead by now.”

“I-I know! I know that. I just said it because I’m in a good mood.”

Smiles would not leave the marching soldiers’ faces.

Once morning came, the expedition resumed its march toward the center of the forest without delay.

Though excited, they neither broke formation nor relaxed their guard.

Along the path, the soldiers scattered the blood and corpses of exoskeleton magical beasts.

Thanks to that, the lesser magical beasts did not even dare come near.

Step, step.

Ten thousand footsteps echoed through the quiet forest.

It was so peaceful that last night’s magical beast wave felt like a lie.

In a way, that was only natural. Any magical beast with a survival instinct would have hidden away during the night.

As the tense atmosphere eased, murmurs began spreading among the marching soldiers.

“But seriously, what is the Commander? How can a person plunge down from the sky like a meteor?”

“It makes no sense. Who would have expected that huge magical beast to die in one hit?”

“I thought a meteor was falling from a clear sky. Seriously.”

They had witnessed an unbelievable feat with their own eyes.

The soldiers breathed excitedly, like children.

“When this expedition is over, we’ll get treated to some good liquor.”

“Treated? How?”

“I’ll tell everyone I was in Commander Astin’s direct unit! People will beg me to sit beside them and tell them all about it.”

Tales of heroism in taverns were only the beginning.

The soldiers’ minds were filled with the rosy futures awaiting them.

“With this achievement, I’ll definitely be knighted. I’ll finally have a respectable family name too.”

“The bounty on my head will be lifted. The Imperial Family will issue a pardon.”

“Maybe our family can reclaim its lost coat of arms when we return.”

Honor and advancement in status. Restoration for fallen families. And hefty rewards.

The soldiers grinned without hiding it.

“I’m curious how those pigs in the imperial capital who always looked down on us will react. What do you think they’ll say?”

“How would those bastards living comfortably inside the city walls know what we went through? If they hear the Commander took down the leader alone, they’ll foam at the mouth and call it a lie.”

Just imagining the nobles’ reactions made the soldiers feel satisfied.

Honestly, even they would not have believed it if they had not seen it with their own eyes.

It would not have been strange for the nobles to deny it.

Grrrrumble.

Someone’s stomach growled.

A soldier chewing hard rations as he marched swallowed his saliva and muttered.

“Ah... When we get back, I’m stuffing my mouth with bread slathered in butter first.”

“You need a steaming bowl of meat soup with that.”

“I don’t need any of that. I’ll just sleep like the dead in a soft bed. All day.”

Agreement rose from every direction. What stirred the soldiers’ hearts now was the simplest everyday life.

Before long, the endless march came to a stop.

The choking ash and fog cleared away as though they had never existed, revealing a wide-open view.

“Everyone, unload your gear. This is the destination.”

At Astin’s command, the expedition cheered.

It was the source of the corruption and the place where demonic energy flowed forth.

Paradoxically, its center was clear and quiet like the eye of a storm.

The soldiers excitedly threw their heavy packs and shields onto the ground.

“It’s over! It’s really all over now!”

“Fuck. We actually survived the Ashen Forest?”

As though they had returned alive from hell, the soldiers embraced one another, forgetting even the smell of sweat.

They had survived not just any monster realm, but the Ashen Forest. Calling it hell would barely be an exaggeration.

Watching them from a distance, Astin let out a quiet laugh.

He had seen this scene many times before. In his first life.

“Young Lord.”

Astin turned toward the voice. Lucia was looking at him with a bright smile.

“You probably already know without me saying it, but I really wanted to tell you. It’s all thanks to you, Young Lord. You saved everyone and led them here.”

“That is too much praise.”

“It’s true. I’m sure everyone thinks so.”

Astin did not think he had saved everyone, even as an empty courtesy.

He had no desire for recognition, and above all, he was an honest person.

“I could not have even attempted it without you, Young Lady.”

He had made the greatest contribution, but even that had been possible because of Lucia’s help.

Had it been another seven-star archmage instead of Lucia, such a precise strike would not have been possible.

Astin realized it anew.

The woman before him was the protagonist protected by the world.

“You worked hard, Young Lord.”

“You worked hard as well, Young Lady.”

“Mm.”