Chapter 187 : Chapter 187
Chapter 187
‘Hmm.’
Despite the interference, he managed to overcome the three-pronged attack from the Prince’s faction.
It was only natural. He had been checked a bit, but Hectia's swordsmanship hadn't gone anywhere. However.
‘He caught me off guard.’
Hectia had also been holding back with his greatsword, but the original power of that bullet wasn't this strong either.
If it had been a real battle, the path of his sword might have been disrupted.
‘A blow that breaks the flow. As expected, he’s amazing.’
The next attack was a joint attack from the cadets who had come from other classes and entered Class A through the skill-based placement.
He blocked their attacks by swinging his greatsword from where he stood, and his eyes were on Martin.
‘A firearm skill that grows without end. An intellect that surveys the battlefield. An intuition that seemed to have transcended human limits finally seems to have reached its peak.’
When one reaches Hectia's level, one can gauge the opponent's level to some extent just by looking.
Moreover, his background was not ordinary either. He was the Princess' Black Knight, the guardian of the World Tree, and even a Peacemaker.
‘Considering his hidden potential.’
Next was Luri's attack. The Fire Spirit King poured out the power it had compressed, but Hectia blocked the flames by spinning his greatsword like a windmill.
Just then, a bullet fired from the side, as if not getting tired of it, harassed Hectia. He raised his left hand and punched the bullet away. Of course, it was only possible because it was a sparring match, not a real battle.
‘Martin’s current level is…’
Whether he was hiding his power or controlling it.
‘A Platinum Knight.’
He didn't know if Martin himself was aware, but Hectia felt burdened by the gun muzzle that was constantly aimed at him.
“Haap!”
And one more person.
“Here I come!”
Gilbert. His sharp blade plunges onto the greatsword. They exchange blows. Unlike the opponents so far, he can't be brushed off in one strike.
‘This one too, is a Platinum Knight.’
Above all, look at the radiant light flowing from his entire body. Isn't this also the power that the Peacemaker wielded?
‘But still, it’s not enough!’
He acknowledges that Martin and Gilbert are geniuses. But still, their level and experience are immature!
“Haap!”
The red greatsword, for the first time, was imbued with the flames that resembled its owner's title.
The Flame Knight Hectia. His true nature envelops Gilbert.
“Bord, Lina! Please!”
“Leave it to us!”
“Yes!”
“…?!”
Gilbert takes a step back, then rushes in at the same time as the two people who have joined him.
‘Is it Bord and Lina? These two are…!’
Lina had also trained with Gilbert under the Star Child. She had no Stellar Force, but for that reason, her sword skills surpassed Gilbert's.
But Bord…? Can he really handle the true nature of the red greatsword?
“Deploy barrier!”
Bord's shield pushes forward from the front. The emblem of the Tauforos family is engraved on the large shield, and mana is overlaid on it. The brown mana, the symbol of the shield family….
‘Brown and… green?’
That green is not ordinary. It's familiar. I've seen it recently. Surely, from the Elf Queen!
‘I will not… reduce the output!’
The greatsword, clad in crimson flames, is swung in all directions.
“Frontkeeper!”
A giant of green and brown mana soars up. It was as if, if the World Tree were to take human form, it would look like that.
‘Cadet Bord was lacking in mana…?’
No! Absolutely not! It’s overflowing! Now I can see it. A power of a completely different origin from mana was residing in Bord's entire body in an immeasurable amount. When the mana giant raises both hands and pushes the shield forward, the red greatsword is blocked!
To think that mere cadets, and first-years at that, could block my full power! The future of the Empire is bright!
Hectia, filled with excitement, shouted.
“Excellent, Cadet Bord!”
And, through the gap in the greatsword, a rapier stabs in.
Lina. It was only imbued with mana, without Stellar Force or anything else, but for that reason, it was sharper than anything else. Just as he was about to twist his body to dodge, Gilbert's sword also charges in.
‘Worthy of praise.’
For the first time, Hectia used footwork.
‘But I have my pride.’
Forward. He pushed his body between the shield and the two swords.
‘I cannot retreat.’
The red greatsword dances. The flames surge and push back the giant. Soon, even Gilbert and Lina's swords are scattered.
‘Is this what they mean by the new generation.’
Hectia, who had never been told he was lacking anywhere, felt it. The saying that the young ones these days are scary.
‘This is not like an adult. Me too.’
Flames were imbued in Hectia's entire body.
‘To feel such a competitive spirit like a child.’
I want to teach them more. I want to tell them more. I want to see these young ones bloom towards the lofty realm, the end of the sword.
‘But.’
Not now. I see a fatal flaw. Let's correct that first.
Hectia's body shoots forward like a rocket.
Towards the Prince Kazaks faction, which had tried to pressure Hectia first.
“Kgh, you're coming at me, Sir?!”
“I am a teacher now!”
The red greatsword cuts through Kazaks, and he is eliminated and thrown out of the training ground.
Muller, who was watching that scene right next to him, stabs his blue spear at Hectia, but it was caught in his left hand. Absolutely overwhelming.
“Wow, it feels like we’re the first to get hit no matter what we do these days….”
Muller, with a final cry, ducked his body to avoid the swung greatsword, but the erupted sword aura cut down Shuga behind him.
“Gyak!”
Shuga was also summoned next to Kazaks. And Hectia's kick exploded on the abdomen of Muller, who had ducked his waist.
“Keoheok!”
Similarly, Muller was summoned next to Kazaks. In an instant, the Prince Kazaks faction was defeated.
The figure of Hectia who turned around was the Flame Knight himself. The cadets who had come from other classes flinched.
【Heavy Rain!】
The secret technique of the Deminiyan family, Heavy Rain, explodes. It was a magic that Mary had prepared from the beginning. Rainclouds formed, and rain began to fall on the entire training ground. It was just ordinary rain, but to Hectia, it would be a fierce whip of rain that would pierce flesh and break bones….
“…Not a chance.”
With a chiiiik sound, it vaporizes. The whip rain boiled and disappeared before it could even touch the flames emitted from Hectia's entire body.
The rain fell heavily, but on the contrary, the flames gradually expanded their territory and filled the training ground.
The one standing in the center was Platinum No.1 Hectia.
***
“Wow, wait a minute.”
“He said he’d treat it like a real battle, but, ah, still, this is….”
“This is, uh, a sparring match, right? We’re not going to die, right?”
Hectia charges. How could we possibly stop the strongest Platinum Knight who was fighting relentlessly with a red greatsword?
“Wait, that's enough!”
Thump!
Luri blocked Hectia's path. Above her, the Fire Spirit King in the form of a phoenix was floating.
“Reckless. Wouldn't it have been better to join forces with the other cadets, Cadet Luri?”
Despite Hectia's question, Luri was confident.
“Teacher Hectia! No matter how it’s derived from mana, fire is fire! The Fire Spirit King can freely control and dominate all the fire in the world!”
[….]
The Fire Spirit King is silent. Hectia held his greatsword upside down and stuck it into the ground.
“Give it a try.”
The flame mana is still surging.
“Now, now! Your Majesty the Spirit King! Try it! You can do it!”
[…Yes….]
A divine aura emanates from the body of the Fire Spirit King.
The primal spirit. The unique aura of the king of spirits, said to have been born with the creation of great nature! The power to control all flames in the world is shot at Hectia!
“…”
“…”
[….]
And surprisingly, nothing happened.
Luri looked back at the Spirit King with an expression that said, ‘This wasn’t supposed to happen’.
“…Uh, Your Majesty the Spirit King?”
[I told you. Not all fire is the same. I must have told you a hundred times that it wouldn't work.]
“No, I really didn’t think it wouldn’t work….”
[Humans call what they know and are familiar with 'ordinary'. Is that correct?]
“…I suppose so…?”
[Yes. Not all fire is the same. The flame wielded by the great swordsman before you is the will of a martial artist who has reached a master level, manifested as mana. The fact that it takes the form of a flame is merely because it evokes a similar image to his sword aura among the things that man knows. It does not originate from great nature.]
A part of the flame on Hectia's greatsword gathers and transforms into the shape of a small firebird.
[Since it has taken the form of fire, I can't say it has no effect at all, but since the opponent is who he is, this is the limit even for me.]
“Ah…. I see, is that so?”
Luri, who was listening to the explanation with a blank face, soon glanced this way and.
“Um, I declared very confidently that I would block him…? Is there any way?”
[There is. You just have to become stronger. Strong enough to surpass the will and mana of the great swordsman before you.]
“…”
Above the head of Luri, who had an expression that said ‘are you serious right now’, Hectia's knuckle was delivered. Luri was summoned outside the training ground.
“…I don’t quite like it.”
Hectia still has a displeased expression.
Next, Hectia aimed for the person who seemed to be the most annoying. The master of the endless army.
“Tsk, protect me!”
The golden sand knights appear. Harris, who was Adela's escort knight, and the ones who were the Shadow Knights did not abandon their loyalty even in death, but.
“Kgh, you ruthless bastard!”
They couldn't help it in front of Hectia's flame greatsword. The cornered Adela created a giant sand wave, but surprisingly, Hectia broke through it head-on and eliminated Adela.
“Let go, you brat! Let go! How dare you! Hectia, you brat!”
Instead of a kick or a sword strike, he grabbed Adela and threw her outside the training ground….
“…”
When I stared at her, Adela met my eyes and shouted.
“Why don't you turn your head?! Don't look!”
“…”
I turned my head as she wished.
‘Well, it’s only a matter of time.’
I have no intention of using my full power in a place like this. Isn't it a waste of strength and mental energy? It will be over soon.
There wasn't much to see. The riff-raff were eliminated without being able to resist in front of Hectia's greatsword.
The only ones left were the main character party. …They were at least watchable.
“Here I go! Deploy barrier!”
“We’ll strike the gap!”
Bord blocks, and Gilbert and Lina check him at close range. Mary also checks him from a distance with magic. I could see that even Hectia couldn't easily break through. But.
“Let's end this soon.”
The greatsword, which was about to strike Bord's shield, drew a deformed movement and eliminated Lina.
Following that, the surprised Gilbert was eliminated, and Bord's shield, which couldn't cope with the situation of being left alone, was finally breached by the greatsword's continuous attacks.
‘To think he could block Hectia's attack that much. It was worth giving him the Authority of the Jungle.’
Thus, the only ones left were… me, Anette, Elisha, and Mary. The four of us.
“…”
Hectia walks over with the red greatsword on his shoulder. A formidable sense of pressure. An ordinary person? No, even most monsters would cower in fear.
‘It’s a fight that doesn't need to be fought.’
- Know-It-All (Lv 4) reports. Except for you, almost all the cadets have failed to meet the standard.
The tasks Hectia had given us in this guided sparring session were to use our 'full power' and to 'cooperate'.
‘I have nothing to say about using our full power. Gilbert and I hid our strength.’
The other cadets surely used their full power.
But cooperation, well. Even if someone was attacked, I at least pretended to cooperate with a sniper shot.
‘But they were all foolishly standing by.’
On the same training ground, with a powerful enemy before them. As if they were filming a movie. They waited for Hectia to approach, and only when the front team was finished did they move.
‘Let’s forfeit.’
By now, Hectia must have cooled down a bit.
‘Above all… it’s a bit much to ask an injured person to step forward.’
The moment I turned my head and saw Elisha.
“Tch…! Martin, cover me!”
She leaped forward!
“…!”
I immediately raised my shotgun.
‘This woman, without any fear, really!’
The sparring was already over. The test was already failed. In a fight that didn't need to be seen since it was just sparring, I had ended up raising my shotgun.
‘She can’t even use her arm!’
Instead of holding a bow in her left hand, Elisha held a small, awl-like dagger in her right hand.