Sword Devouring Swordmaster

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 157 — Return (4)

“Will it be all right, Lady Audrey?”

“The people?”

“Yes. No matter how strong those people are, someone will surely end up injured or dead. That’s the kind of beings the mage corps are. We’ve experienced it enough ourselves.”

“You’re right. We’ve experienced it to the point of disgust.”

“Then…”

“That’s exactly why I’m sure. It’s fine. Arhan is here, that dependable orc is here…”

“……”

“And my big sister came. Now that Elizabeth is here, they’re finished.”

Audrey smiled. A bright, untroubled smile — one she hadn’t shown in a long time.

“…You should’ve seen this too, Hailyn.”

***

Elizabeth.

Though she had looked quite ridiculous earlier, tossed about by Arhan’s threats, that didn’t mean she was a mere trifling being. If Karavan threatened you like that, any existence in the middle realm of this continent would have been shaken. It was a special situation — nothing more, nothing less.

“Hm.”

Elizabeth — the First Witch. Even within the Sky Empire, crowded with countless mighty beings, she ranked among the very top. Normally, there was no way someone like Elizabeth would personally step into such a petty battle. It would be like an adult drawing a sword to join a children’s scuffle.

‘Well, as I said earlier, this situation is… special.’

Elizabeth let out a deep sigh. It had been ages since she had come out into the world and interfered in the affairs of the middle realm. She might end up entangled in all sorts of troublesome matters when she returned to the Sky Empire — after all, the name “Elizabeth, the First Witch,” carried its own weight.

‘I’ll think about that later.’

For now, she had to focus on what was happening before her. Even if her opponents were pitifully weak, this was a mission given to her as a Witch. Since she had received the mission, she had the duty to carry it out flawlessly.

“Hm.”

Elizabeth closed her left eye. As her left eyelid shut, her right eye opened wider, her gaze expanding outward. She was no longer seeing through human eyes, but through the heavenly vision floating above the skies — gazing down upon the world. To Elizabeth, the enemies she saw now appeared as mere dots. Pathetic insects that would be crushed into nothing with a single step.

“Three, five, seven…”

The heavenly gaze missed not a single enemy. Though Witches were proficient in all kinds of magic, their essence was that of devotees who served a single god. The most powerful weapon a Witch possessed was her deep connection with the “Father in Heaven.”

“Stop her—!”

Of course, the enemies knew that too.

“Stop the magic! Don’t let her use magic! We have to stop the Witch!”

The soldiers of the mage corps, their eyes bloodshot, all turned their gazes toward Elizabeth.

War Mages who had survived countless battles, the disciplined mage-soldiers moving under their command — all of them targeted Elizabeth. Before their overwhelming killing intent, Elizabeth remained indifferent.

“If we can’t stop her, we’ll all—”

“Being the center of attention… How tiresome.”

Stop her, they said.

But who, exactly, could stop whom?

“My husband is terribly jealous, you know. He says even when another man glances at me, it unsettles him. So, everyone…”

The mana around Elizabeth began to ripple. And with it came screams from all directions.

“Close your eyes, please.”

Crack — with that sound, things burst open here and there. Everyone who had tried to approach Elizabeth clutched both eyes and fell, screaming. Blood-red tears streamed down from the mages’ eyes. Some, struck by unexpected agony, even fainted where they stood.

“Y-you damn—!”

“Ugh…”

“Because of you—!”

And around the fallen mages, the villagers swarmed — striking their bodies with clubs and sickles. Fury boiled visibly in their eyes. They did not stand idly by. They poured out all the emotion they’d bottled up until now, obstructing and sabotaging the mage corps’ movements at every step.

“How dare you—!”

“How dare we? You are the ones who dared to ruin our village! You don’t get to use the word ‘dare.’ That word belongs to us, and to our lord — you filthy, iron-reeking bastards of the Machine Empire!”

Thwack! — a club swung by a villager smashed a War Mage’s head apart. No matter how powerful a mage was, if they lay on the ground without magical protection, they were no different from ordinary people. Amid the screams and spurting blood, Elizabeth flicked her fingers once.

The spell was complete.

“I saw your Flame Veil. Not a bad barrier spell.”

At that moment, a thunderclap rang — Kwarang! — as a bolt of lightning struck the center of Karavan territory. The bolt didn’t vanish but spread outward, forming a roof of light in the sky like the Flame Veil the Machine Empire had once cast. Then, taking on a dome shape, it sealed Karavan territory without a gap. And then—

“Of course, that’s only compared to your standards.”

The lightning barrier that enclosed the territory began to burn the enemies Elizabeth had marked with her heavenly gaze one by one. Under the sky’s watchful eye, no one could escape.

Whenever the sound Kwarang echoed, at least one soldier perished — reduced to black ash.

It looked like divine punishment from the heavens.

A punishment that none could defy, one that burned only the guilty.

***

“Kill them! At least one—!”

The War Mages’ eyes were red. What was this? This wasn’t what they’d come for. Their infiltration unit had targeted the outskirts of the Iron Kingdom — a backwater domain so remote even the Iron Kingdom’s own citizens barely knew of it.

The War Mages had volunteered for this, hoping to test the power of their newly learned or developed spells and savor the thrill of slaughter.

“Hhh…”

But where was that thrill now? They weren’t killing — they were only dying, one after another.

The War Mages, who were considered some of the most competent in the Machine Empire, suddenly felt as if they’d returned to the days they first entered the Mage Tower.

Magic they’d never seen or heard of, not even imagined, was sweeping through their ranks. They couldn’t even grasp the principle behind it, let alone resist.

“Damn it!”

The comrades beside them turned to ash in a flash of light. The sound came afterward — the rolling Kwarang of thunder. That slight delay between death and sound was maddeningly horrific. Fear welled up inside them — the fear of when the next bolt would fall on their heads.

Amid the terror, some War Mages began chanting teleportation spells to flee, while others resolved to take at least one more life before dying. The latter prevailed.

‘These primitive peasants… they can’t even read, yet they dare raise their hands against mages? To beat us to death with sticks — the nerve!’

Even if they died, they had to leave these fools an unforgettable scar. Only then could they die without regret in the spirit world. Some of the War Mages thought so. They all began chanting teleportation spells. Most of them were struck by lightning before they could finish, but a few succeeded. However—

“Huh.”

Elizabeth wasn’t the only one stopping them.

“No.”

Whooong— — a sound, and their heads flew through the air.

A glaive — enormous, far too large for a living being to wield — smashed their heads apart, and with one swing shattered arms and torsos alike. Amid the spray of blood and entrails, a green orc bared her fangs and smiled.

“No means no.”

The orc’s movements were too fast for the mage corps to track. A storm had appeared on the battlefield — a green storm that destroyed everything it touched. With every step she took, mages’ bodies crumbled and fell. And even—

“Die, orc, die—!”

—magic didn’t work on her.

“……?”

“I don’t die.”

What flowed in the veins of Sherizik the orc was not only the blood of a warrior. She also carried the blood of a great Orc Shaman. Thanks to that, she was not only immune to most magic, but could also wield powerful shamanic arts herself. A selfish lineage — the beauty of a transcendent maiden, the might of her race’s apex warrior, and even the ability to fight spiritual beings. A talent so bright even the heavens would envy it.

“No one can get hurt. Villagers, please don’t come too far forward — stay back a little. It’s dangerous. The Lord would be sad if anyone got hurt.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Uwaaaah! Scary orc! Big scary orc!”

“Hey! Don’t cry! H-he’s helping us!”

“……”

Looking at the crying child, Sherizik smiled bitterly.

Yes, perhaps it had been too violent for children to watch. Reflecting inwardly, Sherizik slowly turned her head. As the situation settled down, a beautifully swung blade glimmered in the center of the territory. The fight of the land’s master, Arhan, was drawing to its end.

***

“How… ridiculous.”

Edward Stein, commander of the mage corps infiltration unit, lay sprawled on the ground, both legs severed. What had gone wrong? He hadn’t made a mistake. Even when cornered, he had fought his best, and at times his swordsmanship had reached the level of his prime. Yet—

“You said you hate unfairness.”

That bastard was wrong.

A sword blessed by the Earth Spirit King Gaia? Because of the holiest spirit’s blessing, all of Edward Stein’s proud earth magic had been sealed. In desperation, he tried other spells, but the mysterious, burning flame around the young man’s body consumed and erased all magic.

“You… are the most unfair one.”

He’d tried binding him with complex magical arrays, but a flash of blue light destroyed them all, making his opponent even faster and stronger. How could such a being exist? This wasn’t a human — it was a weapon born to kill mages. Even if his earth magic had worked, could he have won? Edward Stein wasn’t sure.

“How did you gain such unfair power? How can one human hold so much strength? This defies the laws of nature…”

“……”

“No answer? Hah… insane. To die without learning a thing — maddening.”

A backwater land the mage corps had mocked.

A domain no one had worried about.

“Ah…”

Edward Stein saw the approaching blade. As it neared, he slowly closed his eyes. Coming here was a mistake.

“……”

The one protecting this land— was a monster.

***

Thanks to my precious neighbors’ help, we had defended the territory. Sherizik had kept her word. No one had died or been injured.

As the chaos settled, I, as lord, had things I needed to hear.

While people bustled about and countless voices chattered, I was listening to the cause of this incident.

“It’s because of the Iron Legion.”

What came from Audrey’s lips— was something I hadn’t expected.

“All of this happened because of the Iron Kingdom.”

Something I truly had not seen coming.