Chapter 7: Garnahazza 2
“Are you Leonard?”
The demon Belzera’s voice was low but resonated throughout the surroundings.
“That’s right. Are you Belzera?”
“Indeed. I’ve heard about you. I’ll guarantee the lives of you four. In exchange, kill the hero Ares. I don’t care how you do it.”
Belzera’s words were concise, containing only the bare minimum without any waste.
“If you’re directly guaranteeing our lives, then there’s no problem. By the way, are those three behind you your only guards? Isn’t that a bit careless?”
“This is enough. I judged that bringing too many would risk frightening you into not showing up. The best scenario is for you to betray the humans. The second-best is to kill you if you try to deceive us. Both outcomes benefit us. So, which will it be?”
Beads of sweat appeared on Leonard’s forehead.
“What? Did you think we’d go back on our promise?”
“Lying is a human habit. It’s incorrigible. However, you are strong warriors who have defeated many demons. Killing you would be meaningful for us. Therefore, whether you betray the humans or break your promise, it doesn’t matter to us.”
“Demons really are wary, aren’t you? I was hoping to surprise you a bit.”
Leonard drew his sword. Efsei readied his spear, while Sophia and Nina began chanting spells.
“You choose to fight, humans? You have no chance of winning.”
Belzera also drew his sword. A black light dwelled in the blade.
The demons who had been standing behind also stepped forward.
Efsei was fighting the blue demon. It was a battle of spears… though compared to the demon’s enormous spear, Efsei’s looked like a young sapling.
However, Efsei’s aim wasn’t to win, but to draw the blue demon’s attention.
He had actually wanted to take on the role of defeating Belzera himself. But after losing a direct contest to Leonard, he had relinquished that role.
Now, he intended to be a sacrificial pawn to help defeat Belzera.
Drawing the enemy’s attention was something he had done countless times in previous battles.
With only one demon opponent, it was actually easier than usual.
First, he launched an attack to divert the blue demon’s attention to himself.
Their spears clashed, but Efsei’s spear bent heavily, sending a numbing sensation through his arm.
Seeing this, he retreated while luring the opponent out. Then, from a low stance, he quickly closed the distance and unleashed a swift upward thrust aimed at the demon’s throat.
The demon avoided this by flinching, but that was as Efsei had anticipated. He followed up with several more thrusts in quick succession.
However, the demon intentionally took one of these thrusts on the shoulder, then swung its spear like a club, sending Efsei flying.
Efsei was slammed against a ruined wall, but he quickly regained his posture and dodged backward.
The demon’s spear pierced the spot where he had just fallen.
Blood was flowing from the demon’s shoulder, but it continued wielding its spear without concern.
“Shouldn’t you take better care of your body?”
Efsei said, spitting out blood-tinged saliva.
“This hardly counts as a wound,”
the demon replied, thrusting its spear casually.
Efsei leaped sideways to avoid the attack, but was met with another thrust, which he barely managed to deflect with his own spear.
(This is tough)
In terms of spear technique alone, Efsei had the advantage, but the fundamental difference in strength was too great to overcome with skill alone. However, if Efsei were to resort to fleeing, the demon might return to Belzera, and if he took a defensive stance, he risked being hit by breath attacks or magic. The demon had a wide array of attack options.
Therefore, to some extent, Efsei had no choice but to keep initiating attacks.
(Well, I suppose it’s easier than that time)
Despite being at an overwhelming disadvantage, Efsei managed a smile.
In terms of the situation, it was far worse fifteen years ago. After all, he couldn’t even touch Belzera back then.
He swung his spear. Though easily dealt with by the demon’s brute strength, he continued his attacks.
He thrust his spear through the tiniest openings, carefully avoiding the demon’s spear. Even if Efsei’s spear hit the demon, it wouldn’t be fatal, but if he were to take a hit from the demon’s spear, it would likely cost him his life.
Efsei continued this desperate battle, as if shaving away at his own life.
While he succeeded in drawing the demon far enough away from Belzera, the end came abruptly.
The demon’s spear sliced into Efsei’s thigh.
For such a massive spear, it was barely a graze, but it was deep enough. Efsei fell to one knee.
(Is this the end?)
Efsei thought he had fulfilled his role sufficiently. He had bought time. If they couldn’t take down Belzera with this, it would be Leonard’s fault, he thought with a sweaty grin.
The demon’s spear tip approached like a whirlwind. With his leg immobilized, Efsei couldn’t raise his arm either.
(At last, I’ve fought to the very end)
Strangely, Efsei felt a sense of contentment.
However—
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The demon’s spear tip suddenly vanished, its attack ending in a miss.
“What!?”
The blue demon exclaimed in surprise.
“That was some sloppy spear work,” a voice said.
Unnoticed, a knight had appeared near Efsei.
Short blonde hair and a sturdy build. He looked young, perhaps not yet twenty. In both hands, he held a great sword imbued with magical light.
A clanging sound was heard, and the demon’s spear tip fell far away.
From the situation, it seemed this knight had cut off the spear tip.
But neither Efsei nor the demon had caught that moment.
“Who are you?”
The blue demon stepped back, creating distance.
“Leon. The Sword Saint. Draw your sword. You can’t win like that.”
The man who called himself Leon urged the demon to draw the sword at its waist.
Was this out of confidence, or out of respect for chivalry?
The demon gripped what was left of its spear in its left hand and drew its sword with its right.
“Are you ready? Then, here I come.”
However, before Leon could move, the demon swung with its blunted spear.
—But the demon’s left wrist holding the spear flew through the air.
Leon had glided forward, closing the distance in an instant and slicing off the demon’s arm.
Leon didn’t possess such speed. It was just that there was absolutely no waste in his movements.
The movement of his feet, his arms, the shift in his center of gravity, the trajectory of his sword, every part of his body down to his fingertips was perfected, showcasing the ultimate sword technique honed to its limits.
The demon let out a roar to suppress the pain and swung down with the sword in its right hand.
Leon assessed the sword’s trajectory, slipped past the demon’s left side to its back while cutting its flank. Then, as the demon involuntarily dropped to one knee from the pain, Leon beheaded it with a fluid motion.
The demon probably didn’t even realize what had happened before it perished.
“…How can one reach such a level of perfection? How can one attain such skill?”
Efsei muttered breathlessly.
“It’s nothing more than the accumulation of basics,”
Leon answered as if it were nothing special.
“I learned the importance of that from a friend,”
Basics? Come to think of it, Leon hadn’t done anything extraordinary. Except that every movement realized the ideal. But no human should be able to reach such a pinnacle.
“Who are you? Are you even human?”
“I’m a Sword Saint. Before being human,”
Leon grinned daringly.
Sophia cast a spell aimed at the red demon.
It was a wind spell with a short incantation, prioritizing speed over power.
The demon swatted away the blade of wind aimed at its head with one hand.
For the demon, it was a spell weak enough to ignore, but it was clearly targeting the eyes, forcing evasion.
Sophia continued to cast small spells in rapid succession.
Though each lacked power, they accurately targeted vital points, forcing the demon to respond.
The demon swung its axe at Sophia as if swatting away insects, but couldn’t close the distance. Sophia moved well for a magic user.
And even while moving, she didn’t lose her breath and continued chanting spells.
This was the result of training Sophia had undergone since joining Leonard’s group.
While waiting for next chapter , I implore you dear readers to read other masterpiece novels that also written by the same author :
- Monster Meat Led Me to the Throne
- The Wicked Princess and 12 Eyes – The Strongest Squires and the Legendary Evil Woman, the Second Time in Her Life
- The Suspects of Necromancy
- The Exiled Merchant Saves the World with the Power of Gold (translated by my friend meerkat)
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