After a brief silence, Hazen opened his mouth.
“In the past… there was someone who tried to save the one I loved, risking their life, their whole life, even their very soul.”
“…So there was someone who called that person a monster. That’s terrible. Who was it?”
“It was me.”
“Eh?”
“It was me. I called them that, because the power they possessed far surpassed even my own. Many times, over and over again.”
“……”
“If I hadn’t done it, I couldn’t have stopped it. I would have died… It was to protect the ones I love. There are many excuses I could make. However, I will never forgive myself for it in my lifetime.”
“……”
For a while, silence prevailed.
Captain Lorenzo let out a deep sigh.
“I see…”
“I spoke an unnecessary thing. Please forget it.”
“Ah, I understand now that you, too, are human.”
“…I really shouldn’t have said that.”
Hazen muttered bitterly.
On the third day, the 2nd Battalion led by Hazen was standing at the forefront in front of the central gate. And before their eyes appeared the cavalry led by General Gizal.
It was a predictable move.
By the second day, they had reduced the enemy’s main force. This would create the possibility of a prolonged war. Directly confronting them is the best strategy, or so Hazen believed.
And so.
General Gizal chose to confront them of his own volition.
And Hazen also chose to confront him of his own volition.
Just as yesterday, Gizal was approaching them alone. Hazen too, approached him undefended. This was within the range of his lightning magic staff.
However, neither of them flinched or hesitated as they stared at each other.
If Gizal had activated the lightning magic, he would have been able to take Hazen’s head. But he knew that would not happen.
Because at this range, Gizal had never been defeated. Therefore, at this distance, he had an absolute advantage.
By granting the power of life and death, one takes away the opportunity for life and death. That was Hazen’s one-on-one approach.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Hazen Heim.”
“…I am Gizal, the General of the Diode Duchy.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to have a one-on-one duel. What do you think?”
“Alright.”
“I’m glad. By the way, shall we make a bet?”
“A bet?”
“If I win, General Gizal, you will become my subordinate.”
“…Haha! Then if I win, you will become my subordinate.”
“Of course.”
“That’s quite a confidence you have there.”
“It’s not confidence, it’s certainty.”
As Hazen said this, Gizal’s expression changed.
“…Alright, let’s go with that bet. How do we start the signal?”
“Something simple is best… the moment this coin hits the ground. We’ll fight until one of us surrenders.”
Hazen showed the coin he had.
“Understood. That’s fine.”
Gizal took a fighting stance. Hazen also smiled subtly.
A contract is a constraint. This way, no matter how much preparation we make, they won’t attack from their side.
Hazen boldly summoned 8 magic wands behind him. Of course, there would be no attack from the opponent.
“I had heard about it, but it’s really true. Being able to wield 8 magic staves is…”
“In a single battle, you don’t usually use that many. But the ability to adapt to your opponent is an advantage.”
Hazen grips a magic staff in each hand.
“…The name is Thunder Cutting Sparrow.”
Gizal says, taking a stance.
“It’s an impressive magic staff. As expected, it broke through the cursed armor of Lei fa.”
“…It was just a matter of compatibility. In terms of the staff’s quality, it was inferior.”
“That’s not true. In fact, the compatibility was poor.”
Against General Gizaal, who specialized in speed, the hardness of the cursed armor proved effective. In that sense, it was remarkable that it overcame their expectations.
“Are you saying you also have a way to defend against my Thunder ?”
“Well, I can think of a few, but I have no intention of using them.”
“…What do you mean?”
“General Gizal. I want you. So, I intend to show off the difference in our abilities and defeat you fair and square.”
” …… “
To defeat General Gizal. That doesn’t mean finding loopholes, take advantage of his opening or setting traps.
To defeat… to win over General Gizal.
It means–
“Your speed. I will overwhelm it and win.”
Hazen declares it boldly. With a 10th-grade magic staff, he claims he can overwhelm at least a 4th-grade master-crafted magic staff. As a mere lieutenant, he declares that he will show the difference in abilities before a true general-level opponent.
“…I’ve changed my mind. If you’re a boring guy, I’ll just cut off your head.”
“Hehe… Go ahead. The victor has the right to life and death.”
“Let me hear the name of your magic staff.”
“The name? Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic staff of that caliber. I lent it to Lei-fa.”
“Are you mocking me?”
“No. But I do have a name… This is Magnetic Thunder. It is the magic staff that will break through your Thunderbolt.”
Saying that, Hazen flicks a coin with his finger. It soars high, spinning around, and falls to the ground.
In an instant, Hazen and General Gizal disappear from the soldiers’ sight.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Gizal uses shunrai [Swift Thunder] and moves quickly towards Hazen. Hazen also moves to a different location using the ability of [Magnetic Thunder].
At that moment, Gizal is confident in his victory.
Too slow.
The claim of a 10th-grade jewel is likely a bluff. 7th or 6th… no, considering Hazen’s unfathomable abilities, it’s probably around 8th grade. It does seem to be a thunder-attribute magic staff, but its speed is only about 1/10th of Swift Thunder.
Swift Thunder not only increases Gizal’s speed, but also makes his body able to withstand it.
In other words, it can even handle super-fast visual perception and thought processes.
Hazen’s reaction after the coin landed was faster. But the pure speed difference is more than 10 times. He cannot change his decision with a single movement, but he can catch up with the next movement.
“……”
However, that confidence. If Hazen has already anticipated this level of ability difference, he must have found a way to win somewhere. Hazen-Haim gives the impression of a strategist, so there’s a possibility of a trap waiting at his destination.
Gizal decides to set an intermediate point and head towards Hazen.
“…!”
However.
As soon as he activates Swift Thunder, he notices a clear anomaly. Hazen is no longer in that position. Expanding his field of vision, Hazen has already started moving to a different location.
Why? His speed is overwhelming, yet Hazen disappeared. And now, his movement speed is sluggish. There’s no way he could have mistaken the target location.
Upon reaching the destination, he immediately activates Swift Thunder again to head towards Hazen without hesitation.
“Nonsense…”
He’s not there. Hazen has already started moving slowly from a position about 10 meters to the right. The speed is still slow, but Swift Thunder cannot change its destination midway. He would need to activate it again to do that.
As if anticipating Gizal’s thoughts, Hazen slowly grins.
“Tch…”
Don’t be provoked. Gizal tells himself that repeatedly, then retreats far back. And while moving at high speed, he keeps an eye on Hazen’s actions. His movements are still sluggish. And when he reaches the destination, Hazen’s movements completely stop. He doesn’t budge an inch from there.
Instantly, Gizal breaks into a smile. If he can catch the moment of Hazen’s stoppage, he’s practically won. As usual, he’ll just activate Swift Thunder and take his head.
“It’s over.”
The moment he reaches the destination, he immediately activates Swift Thunder without hesitation.
“Why… Why?!”
Despite being in the middle of moving, Gizal shouted in a frantic manner. Hazen, who should have been there, was gone. He was nowhere to be seen.
That couldn’t be possible.
Had he misjudged the speed? No, his Lightning magic staff was a weapon that used a 3rd class jewel. It was hard to imagine the second Lieutenant had a magic staff that exceeded that.
In fact, the visible speed of movement felt dull. Of course, the moment he stopped, he would become an ordinary person until the next move, so if he targeted that, he should be able to capture him for sure.
What on earth was happening?
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