I Became a Swordsmanship Genius in the Game

Chapter 45. Marching Out

Lucas, who had opened his eyes, slowly rose from his seat.

A faint, blood-red mana swirled around his body.

Lucas moved both arms, examining his body. His expression, unlike him, seemed excited.

Then, as if he had finished examining his body, he made eye contact with me.

“…Thank you.”

Lucas looked at Hyunwoo and bowed his head.

I was more surprised by his overly polite demeanor.

Lucas, who had raised his head, opened his mouth.

“My mana seems to have recovered quite a bit.”

“That's great. What about magic? How much can you use?”

“Perhaps, with this amount of mana….”

Lucas closed his eyes for a moment and looked inward.

And then, he opened his eyes again.

“Thirty percent of my peak. I should be able to use simple magic without any trouble. It will get better with time.”

Hyunwoo nodded his head.

Just as I had expected, Lucas's recovered mana was at thirty percent.

From now on, it seemed I could include his magic in our combat power.

“You won't be using a sword anymore, right?”

“Probably. It would be better to use magic to recover my mana quickly.”

His lips twitched as he uttered the word ‘magic’.

It was a colorful expression I had never seen on him before.

He must have been incredibly happy.

‘Well, a vampire who can’t use magic.’

For Lucas, there would be nothing more damaging to his pride than that.

“I owe you a great debt this time.”

“If you know, then treat me well.”

“Of course. A vampire does not forget a debt.”

“……?”

Seeing Lucas reply with a serious expression even to my light joke was rather bewildering.

His attitude was certainly different from before.

As it happened, I had something to tell him.

“Actually, I did have something to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“The role of a guide for the subjugation I've been assigned. If you were with me, you'd be a great help.”

“If you wish.”

Lucas nodded his head without hesitation.

As a vampire with keen senses, he would be a great help in finding the way.

Of course, his combat abilities would be helpful too.

‘He’s useful as a swordsman, but he’s even more useful as a magician.’

Hyunwoo nodded as if satisfied and came out of Lucas's barracks.

With this level of relationship, I could say that we had become companions.

We had been through a lot with Lucas, but it seemed that restoring his mana this time was the final nail in the coffin.

Because Lucas was not a being who would betray you, as long as you could build trust.

‘Though it is quite difficult to build that trust.’

Hyunwoo soon arrived at his own barracks nearby.

He put away his thoughts about Lucas and took out the subspace pocket from his clothes.

He took out the glass bottles from the subspace pocket and laid them out on the floor.

A total of 200 glass bottles.

Inside each glass bottle, the number of golden beetles had increased considerably.

Once they exceeded a certain number, they multiplied at a tremendous rate with each passing day.

Crunch crunch―

Tap― Tap―

Even for Hyunwoo, who wasn't particularly afraid of bugs, it was a slightly grotesque sight.

‘Considering the rate of reproduction so far….’

About three days.

That was the time needed for the golden beetles to fill all the glass bottles.

* * *

The lord sought Hyunwoo again four days later.

Lord Bation announced the end of the preparations and gathered the subjugation forces.

Hyunwoo, who had been meditating quietly with his eyes closed in the barracks, opened his eyes.

‘It’s later than I expected.’

My own preparations had been finished for a while, but since the lord himself was moving, it seemed they had been quite thorough with their preparations.

The moment Hyunwoo tied Cheonbyeondo to his waist and was about to step out of the barracks, Pierre, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, stuck his grimy face in.

“Mr. Hyunwoo….”

“What have you been doing all this time?”

“Trying to find a way back….”

“So, did you find anything?”

“……”

Pierre shut his mouth as if he had nothing to say.

It seemed he hadn't given up on returning home yet.

“I'm busy right now. See you later.”

“Yes?! Where are you going without me??”

Pierre clung to him with a face full of fear, as if worried he'd be abandoned.

I had left Pierre alone while making various preparations, and it seemed he had become very anxious.

In any case, Pierre was trapped here because of me. Perhaps because of that, I didn't hate the squirming Pierre.

“Just guard the barracks well. You should be able to go back soon.”

“Are you serious?!”

“Of course. I'm dead serious.”

“Have a safe trip!”

After Pierre’s farewell, Hyunwoo stepped out of the barracks.

When he came out, his eyes met with Lucas, who was waiting in front.

“Were you waiting?”

“I just got here.”

“Really?”

I looked down at Lucas’s feet.

There were many footprints, as if he had been pacing in front of the barracks.

Hyunwoo let out a smirk― and headed to the summoning location, the castle gate, with Lucas.

In front of the gate, forces numbering in the hundreds were lined up. A sense of grim determination emanated from them.

Since most of them were composed of knights and elite soldiers, only myself and Lucas were late.

Noctis, the knight in charge of command, frowned and got angry.

“Hurry up and get in position.”

“Yes.”

The role assigned to Hyunwoo and Lucas in the subjugation force was that of a guide.

Naturally, the two went to the very front of the forces.

They stood at the head, but it wasn't the most dangerous position.

‘In fact, it might be the safest on the battlefield.’

Recalling the reliable reinforcements that would back them up, Hyunwoo turned around, and Lord Bation, adorned with numerous clanking artifacts, appeared.

The lord, who appeared late, stood right behind Hyunwoo and Lucas.

The lord looked at Hyunwoo and opened his mouth.

“Are you ready?”

“Everything is ready.”

“I will trust you. No, it must be true.”

The lord scattered his mana around.

Crack―, the surrounding ground split.

He didn't pressure me directly, but it was sufficiently threatening.

“…Don’t worry.”

“I’ll be watching.”

With those words, the lord closed his eyes on the spot and began to meditate.

Everyone was nervously waiting for the sortie, but the lord remained motionless.

The knight Noctis, unable to watch any longer, spoke to the lord.

“When will we depart…?”

“Everyone, wait until I give the signal.”

“Yes.”

A long shadow stretched out in front of the gate.

The sun began to set.

As darkness faintly settled in, the cries of the Lafre began to be heard again today.

Kieee―! Kieeee!

When Hyunwoo turned around and glanced at the lord, he still had his eyes closed.

The sound of the Lafre swarm grew closer, but the lord seemed to have no intention of giving the order.

Waaaaaaah―!

The clash between the remaining soldiers on the castle walls and the Lafre swarm began.

As the two forces collided, the lord finally opened his eyes.

“We depart now.”

“Yes! Open the gate―!”

The soldiers who had been on standby opened the gate.

The lord had waited until the Lafre's attention was entirely focused on the castle before giving the order to march out.

‘A judgment befitting a thorough man.’

The castle, now without its elites and knights, would be in peril, but the probability of the operation's success would increase.

Creeak―

Through the opening gap of the gate, the grotesquely piled-up swarm of Lafre could be seen.

Gulp―

The sound of nervous people swallowing their saliva could be heard from all over.

From now on, the subjugation force had to break through that swarm and get to the forest.

The knight Noctis raised his arm.

As he lowered his raised arm, he shouted loudly.

“Charge―!”

The subjugation force rushed out of the gate at the same time, as if they had become one.

Hyunwoo also took out a glass bottle from his pocket and ran.

***

The charge of the Demon World soldiers required no such thing as a warhorse.

Even though it was just running with two legs, they kicked off the ground and advanced with overwhelming physical ability.

Kieek―! Kiek―!

The cries of the Lafre were instantly swept past them.

The subjugation force, moving like a single organism, was able to quickly break through the Lafre swarm.

The occasional Lafre that noticed the subjugation force and charged at them were instantly pulverized by the knights’ attacks.

It was a breakthrough as if they were crossing an empty field.

The subjugation force, which seemed as if it would reach the forest without any crisis, came to a halt at the shout of a knight.

“Large group of Lafre approaching from the front―!”

There was no option of going around.

If they did, they would be instantly surrounded by the Lafre swarm.

Noctis, who heard the knight's report, called for Hyunwoo.

“Human―!”

Hyunwoo took out a glass bottle without hesitation.

Then he immediately threw the glass bottle at the Lafre swarm in front.

Crash―!

The glass bottle, which hit the body of one Lafre, shattered into smithereens.

The golden beetles inside flew out at the same time.

Buung―!

Crunch crunch―

The golden beetles that had spread out in all directions made a creepy sound as they gnawed at the Lafre.

Kieeeeeeeek―!

As the Lafre writhed and retreated, a space was created.

Hyunwoo threw one more bottle and shouted.

“Now―! We must hurry!”

We had to get through this place quickly.

There were many glass bottles with golden beetles, but there were even more Lafre.

In that time, the subjugation force, which had reformed its ranks, started running again.

‘This is a battle of speed.’

If we couldn't catch Anesta in time, we would eventually be surrounded and die.

“Let's go!”

The closer they got to the forest, the denser the Lafre swarm became.

There was no more time to spare the golden beetles.

There wasn't even enough time to swing a sword.

Hyunwoo put away Cheonbyeondo and threw glass bottles like crazy.

He left breaking through the path to the knights.

The knights did their best to break through the writhing swarm of Lafre.

‘So far, it's according to plan.’

The subjugation force smoothly broke through the Lafre swarm.

And so it went for a while.

An anomaly occurred around the time they were passing the entrance to the forest.

Kieeeeeeeek―!

The Lafre, who would retreat whenever the golden beetles were brought out, did not back down.

Crunch― Crunch―

They paid no mind to their bodies being gnawed at and charged at the subjugation force.

‘Anesta!’

She had clearly noticed the subjugation force.

Hyunwoo gritted his teeth.

The subjugation force, which had been charging with great momentum, was blocked by the endlessly swarming wave of Lafre.

The subjugation force was stopped for only a moment.

It was just a brief hesitation, but the Lafre swarm instantly filled the surroundings and swarmed in.

‘Damn it!’

Hyunwoo looked back at Lord Bation.

The lord, as if he thought he had to step forward himself, nodded and took a step.

At that moment.

“I'll do it.”

Lucas stepped forward.

Then, he immediately jumped into the swarm of Lafre.

“Wait―!”

It happened before the surprised Hyunwoo had a chance to stop him.

A blood-red light flashed from within the Lafre swarm.

⌜Ring of Blood⌟

It was the magic Lucas had used in the confrontation with the gorillas last time.

The Lafre were split in half by a thicker and larger blood-red circular ring than before.

The magic didn't end with just one cast.

⌜Ring of Blood⌟

⌜Ring of Blood⌟

The magic, used two more times in succession, wiped out all the surrounding Lafre.

In an instant, the view in all directions was cleared. In that time, Lucas returned to the party.

He was gasping for breath, as if exhausted.

“Are you alright?”

“I can handle this much.”

The encirclement had been broken thanks to Lucas's feat, but it wouldn't take long for the Lafre to fill in again.

The knight Noctis, who had belatedly come to his senses, shouted.

“Move quickly!”

The subjugation force ran through the forest again.

Hyunwoo stared at the back of the running Lucas ahead and clicked his tongue.

‘He’s incredible.’

It wasn't for nothing that the value of a magician was rated higher than a knight in war.

The combat power of Lucas, who had regained some of his mana, was beyond imagination.

Thanks to Lucas, the subjugation force was able to catch its breath.

While running, Hyunwoo kept his eyes on the ground beneath his feet.

Then, he spotted something and hurriedly raised his arm.

At Hyunwoo’s signal, the lord stopped the subjugation force.

“Wait for a moment.”

“Wait! Maintain a perimeter and reform the ranks.”

While Noctis was commanding the subjugation force, the lord approached Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo was squatting and examining the pitch-black corrupted ground.

When the lord approached, Hyunwoo said.

“I found it.”

“Is it a trace of Anesta?”

“Yes. This trace is the path she took when she moved through the tunnels.”

The corrupted ground was the trail left behind by the moving Lafre.

Among them, Hyunwoo pointed to a patch of ground that was particularly dark and corrupted.

“This is the trace left by Anesta. If we follow this trace, we will find a tunnel.”

The lord cast a detection spell over the trace Hyunwoo had pointed to.

A moment later, the lord, who had finished his detection, opened his mouth.

“It's correct. It’s faint, but the pattern is the same as the mana I felt from its husk.”

Having finished his confirmation, the lord began to use magic in earnest.

Paat―!

Black smoke emanated from the lord's hand and spread out along the traces of Anesta.

When Hyunwoo turned his head to follow the smoke, he could see a point in the distance where the smoke had stopped.

That place was the end of the tunnel created by Anesta. A passage connected to the outside.

“It's ten minutes away.”

When the lord gave a signal to Noctis with his eyes, he shouted loudly.

“We're moving again!”

As if most had regained their energy with a short rest, they quickly found their respective positions.

It was a movement befitting the elites of a castle.

The subjugation force began to advance in the direction the lord had indicated.

To catch Anesta, we first had to lure it out of the tunnels.

To do that, we had to block all the passages Anesta could come out of.

There were several passages, and the gist of this operation was to block them one by one and lure it to one place.

In other words, a rabbit drive.

As if we had taken the right direction, more Lafre swarms appeared as we advanced.

However, even though the number of Lafre had increased, they couldn't stop the knights’ offensive and Hyunwoo’s golden beetles.

After breaking through the curtain of the Lafre swarm without any particular damage, the entrance to a huge tunnel, a passage, appeared, just like the one seen at Gert Castle.

Hyunwoo quickly approached the passage.

As he got closer, the nearby Lafre threw their bodies and charged at him.

“Stop them from getting close!”

Under the cover of the knights, Hyunwoo was able to reach the entrance of the passage.

Hyunwoo looked down.

A pitch-black darkness with no end in sight. The entrance to an abyss unfolded.

Hyunwoo turned his subspace pocket upside down and poured the glass bottles into the passage.

The number was a staggering forty bottles.

Thud thud thud―

He poured an enormous amount of golden beetles into the passage and also put a lot of Lafre seeds inside so that the beetles wouldn't come out of the tunnel.

The passage soon became a good home for the golden beetles.

Now, through this passage filled with golden beetles, Anesta would not be able to stick its head out.

Hyunwoo turned back and shouted.

“It’s done!”

“Good. We’re moving! Where is the next tunnel?”

“Next is….” Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs noⅴelfire.net

Anesta had created several passages in a clockwise direction around Gert Castle, its initial point of appearance.

‘The number of passages is five in total.’

Hyunwoo raised his head and looked at the location of Gert Castle.

He drew an imaginary line in his head between Gert Castle and his current location.

The location that would appear if you rotated that line about 90 degrees clockwise. That was where the next passage would be.

Hyunwoo pointed in one direction.

“It’s that way.”

“Move out!”

The subjugation force that had been blocking the surroundings gathered to break through one spot.