Chapter 314 – The Cold Blooded King.

– Kaang!

The sound of iron resounding as swords collide with each other. Krikaliev looked at himself and at his opponent with swords in front of him. White, strong feathers that seemed to shine in the sunlight, shiny beaks, and bright yellow eyes like those. The opponent facing him with a sword was a beastman with the face of a bird of prey, a harpy.

“That bastard’s bird head can’t adapt!”

A harpy is a race that is born with bird feathers and body parts on a human body, but the appearance of a harpy is uniquely heterogeneous. Even harpies usually had wings, but there were many cases that were no different from humans.

“Did you say Yakaf? I don’t care what you say.”

The voice of the guy who opens his mouth in response to his words is a man’s voice that even feels weighty. It was even more bizarre that he spoke human words with the face of a ferocious bird of prey just by looking at it, but that was not a problem.

“I’ve heard countless mockery of this face. But I don’t see any mockery in your words.”

The problem was that he didn’t even show any signs of getting angry at his words.

“Tsk, you’re the tired type after all. Your subordinates were busy running wild on the road.”

This was also his past. When he hadn’t yet given the name of Leah’s father. The story before the harpies were kicked out of the Holy Land and settled in Parz.

“Are you talking about Gideon?
“If you call him that casually, he’s obvious.”

In fact, Yakaf had been aware of it since he faced the harpy. Momentum sharpened like a single sword. Efficient action to the point of giving goosebumps without wasting an inch. Power that does not shake while lightly blocking a large and heavy Barisada with a long sword held in one hand. It was even harder to pretend not to know.

“You’re Vargazette.”

The king of harpies who have reigned in the Holy Land for 500 years. He is also called the King of Wind. There was a person in front of him whom he had only heard about.

“I’ve heard enough about you from my subordinates for about a year.”
“Did they at least run to tell you that they couldn’t do it in their line?”

The humans who had risen from the underworld were attacked by the harpies, lost their colleagues and family members, died fighting for revenge, or joined hands with the rebels who were holding their breath in the Holy Land, but did not dare to find the time to attack them. Even the rebels were afraid of earning the hatred of the inhabitants of the Holy Land to cause a disturbance in an extreme way.

“But only you were different. Even if you ran and hide, you didn’t hesitate to run at us again and again.”

Even Bargazzet, who heard the news, as well as his subordinates, were dumbfounded when he proudly entered the castle and stole goods even in the middle of the day. He would have thought of it as a mere petty thief if he had stayed hidden all the way.

“At first, I thought you were a strange guy too.

Yakaf proudly stormed in, picked up useful items, and carried them away. Although there were occasional exceptions, he focused on ambiguous items that were essential but could be supplemented. He fights swords, but he runs away, so he didn’t lead to a situation where he would risk his life. Because it didn’t end in a day or two, and it was repeated, there were even some harpies making bets on whether he would attack today or not. So, rather, among the knights, it was rare for a guy who hadn’t competed with him with a sword.

“Whether short or long, you must have crossed swords with one of us.”

Those who live underground in the Holy Land inevitably have little experience in fighting people with swords. There were also monsters on the bottom floor, so the knights’ life must have continued, but even if that wasn’t enough, it wasn’t enough. That’s why even if there were humans who came up from the lower floors with qualifications, most of them had lost their lives to his subordinates. But now there is an exception.

“You’ve accumulated experience by fighting swords with us.”

It was to the point where even Vargazette felt like a commotion today, as if a troublemaker had gone wild. The moment he realized that fact, he decided to step out himself.

“I felt I couldn’t leave you alone any longer!”

At that moment, Yakaf felt his sword cut through Barisada. Barisada was not an ordinary large sword. However, it bounces along with his arm, as if a light sword had been hit by a heavy sword.

“They’re strong!”
“Are you going to keep talking about that mouth until it dies!”

That’s why he stabbed his sword to end it right away, but he couldn’t. Before that, Barisada’s blade, which rippled sharply from below, rose and rushed toward Bargazzet. He drew his sword and blocked Barisada with his hilt.

“A sword…?!”

However, he backed away at the sharp feel of his shoulder being cut without even the impact of his own sword. He must have blocked the sword with the handle, but he passed through the handle of Yakaf’s sword casually and cut his shoulder slightly. If he hadn’t noticed quickly, he could have left a huge scar on his shoulder.

“It’s a pity, I guess it wasn’t a form for 500 years.”

The sword pierced Var Gazette’s emerald feathers, leaving only a slight stab wound to his shoulder.

“That’s strange. I thought your sword definitely bounced off.”

Vargazette checked the blood dripping down her feathers and looked at him. Apparently, he confirmed that Yakaf was missing the handle of the sword. However, the sword that should have bounced away came back to cut him up and was now held in his hand. Then, the possibility must have been magic. Was it his magic that just passed through the handle that should have blocked the sword? However, Bargazette could not clear the question. Even if you are a wizard, there is only one magic that can be given to a paladin.

It’s possible that he’s a wizard, but that was a fool’s guess. If he was a wizard, he wouldn’t have even set foot in the Holy Land in the first place. Then there is only one thing left. He immediately swung his sword at Yakaf. Then their swords facing each other again. Vargazette tried to slash his sword. At that moment, his sword twisted differently than before and rubbed like sliding.

‘Is the reason why the sword bounced off the first attack was to measure my strength?’

But he hasn’t done his best yet. Var Gadget drew a circle around him and hit the sword that clung to his own, stronger than before. Then, the trail of the sword, which was not visible in the first one, came into his eyes.

“It’s a unique swordsmanship. Did the underground knights even create this kind of swordsmanship before they knew it?”

At first, it seems that he simply missed the sword, but the truth is different. By moving his hand in detail, he makes the huge sword use his hand and arm as an axis and attacks the opponent in reverse. Because of this, it was as if he was getting the power he had with his sword back as it was. That was the reason for his fast movements, unsuitable for an excessively large sword.

“Has it already been figured out?”

Yakaf could tell from the blow that the first time he crossed his sword with Vargazzet, his own sword ricocheted. I couldn’t defeat him by force.

“But I didn’t expect to get caught this soon.”

He didn’t think he would go undetected, but even so, he was too quick to get caught. I thought it might be too late to notice because the strength of a beastman is basically twice as great as a human’s.

“I hope you don’t feel too heartbroken. If I hadn’t already fought someone who used the same swordsmanship as you, it would have been difficult for me to understand.”
“…Same swordsmanship?”

Yakaf hardened his face at those words. His swordsmanship was a swordsmanship that he made with Leah from a young age, used it himself, and complemented each other to match the barisada he had modified.

“Yes, was she a woman called Leah?”

Her presence left a deep impression on Bargazette. For hundreds of years, few underground humans stood in front of him, but among them, she single-handedly defeated the subordinates of this generation and reached his front. It might have been because of the rules that the Paladins of the Holy Land had to abide by, but that alone was memorable enough. Especially because of the swordsmanship that draws an unfamiliar trajectory like Yakaf. Then Bargazette realized.

“Now I understand.”

It was only less than 10 years ago that the woman came up from the underground. But at that point, her man who came up from her basement was using the same swordsmanship as her. This couldn’t have been a mere coincidence.

“With that level of skill, she could have guessed the odds even if she joined the other keuts and attacked me. She didn’t.”

Also, he was noticing that something was wrong with her. The woman who pounced on him as if she was desperate. Her wild and desperate green eyes glared at him as she danced with death as if she threw herself into his attack while entrusting herself to the sword. Bargazette finally realized the meaning of those eyes.

“What did you do with Leah?”
“All the inhabitants of the underground who did not become the owners of the Holy Land share the same fate.”

Whatever the outcome, she was destined to remain a tragedy, so she pushed herself forward.

“Death to the loser.”
“…I was expecting it. I feel dizzy hearing this myself.”

For the first time, Bargazette felt the proper way to live. At the same time he sees his sword coming towards him and butts it with his own. It’s a heavy attack as the sword is big, but you can’t beat him with strength. The moment he tried to strike it lightly, he felt the sword stick to his sword instead of being struck away.

‘This guy can’t be!’

It was only two bumps. It meant that I was catching up with his movements, measuring his strength with just two bumps and moving delicately enough not to drop my sword. Until now, few people had been able to properly stand sword-to-sword with him. Even a woman named Leah could be called a genius, but not to this extent. Lines created by swords and swords endlessly face each other and twist. Even closing her eyes is hard. It changes rapidly in a very brief moment.

“Are you a real human being!”
“At least I don’t want to hear from you!”

Yakarp felt in his body that even the slightest deviation of the direction of the weapon would bring him closer to death. Indeed, it may be said that he has lived for hundreds of years, but Vargazet did not miss the sword, catching up even in the slightest moment when he changed the speed of his sword movement. A melee without an inch of retreat. At this point, one of the two could gamble, but the two felt that it was virtually impossible. A surprise attack using a pommel or cross guard has a larger action than expected and is too unsuitable for use now.

Then there is only one thing left.

“Tsk!”
“Kuk!”

Their feet collide and make a tingling sound. Although Yakaf was wearing armor, he couldn’t help the shock, and even though Bargazet’s body was strong, it was nothing compared to steel. Soon, they twist each other’s swords again to find gaps, but their movements only create sparks between the swords.

‘You’re reading my movements? What happened to him!’

While Bargazzet is shocked inside, Yakaf’s thoughts continue.

‘When you move your body, there is a precursor. It’s hard to find because of the feathers that cover his body, but for a moment his muscles twitch.’

Where that power goes, there is a guy waiting for it. But even then, Vargazette twisted and faced his sword. Yakaf knew that this would inevitably lead to a war of attrition where each other gnawed each other’s swords. And that fact was noticed by Bargazette as well.

‘Anyway, he’s human.’
‘He can’t keep up with the harpies with his strength and stamina.’

Not knowing that each other’s thoughts overlap, while the sword path continues, the swords collide and shed sparks, aiming for each other’s gap.

‘In the end, he’ll bet on the gamble first!’
‘Simple tricks are noticed!’

At that moment, the sound of the swords playing against each other stopped for a moment. The reason was simple. It was because Yakaf’s sword, facing Bargazet’s sword, passed through his sword without resistance. Because of that, the moment each other’s swords aim at each other.

– Chae Ae-Aeng!
“Her.”
“Under.”

They were fighting swords again. At that fact, they let out a sigh close to a sigh. Even if Yakaf aimed at himself through Bargazzet’s sword, he had a secondary weapon connected to the chains of his armor and pauldron. However, with the exception of the bare minimum armor, Bargazzet was almost completely covered in feathers. It is obvious who will suffer more damage. At that time, Bargazet blocked it by raising his sword, which had been passed through Yakaf’s sword, from the bottom up again. But it wasn’t just a matter of that.

“Your magic, was it to pass through the desired object and directly aim at the opponent.”
“Doesn’t your sword become a magic tool that ignores magic?”

It was different from cancellation. Because Yakaf was still using magic.

“At least your magic seems to be negligible.”

Vargazette did not deny Jacob’s words. He literally didn’t know that he would be using his sword as his magic tool. His sword was somewhat close to a long sword, but unlike ordinary swords, it was all pitch black. And on the bottom of the black blade, there were white letters engraved.

“I thought it was just a strong, bladeless sword. I never thought it would help in this way.”

It’s called Durandal.

“There’s no such thing as time travel! I never thought I’d hear what he was thinking!”
“◼◼◼◼◼ ◼◼◼ ◼◼◼◼!!”

Krikaliev was fighting pitch darkness in his memories that were no different from his past.