Sword Devouring Swordmaster

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 162 「Thunder」 (2)

“First of all, Hailyn has a limit by birth.”

“A limit by birth?”

“Orc shamanism is fundamentally built upon a strong body. Unlike conventional magic, which draws upon external Mana, orcish shamanism uses one’s own body as a vessel to commune with the Spirit World.”

“Ah.”

“Hailyn’s body is far too weak compared to an orc’s. She can easily use simple star rites, like those that read ill omens, but she won’t be able to summon ancestral spirits or sing of the wrath of the stars to protect this land.”

“Then what should she do?”

“She’ll have to fight dirty.”

“Dirty…?”

“She must combine weak spells — ones that don’t destroy but hinder movement, irritate, and discomfort the enemy. In small-scale battles, perhaps it’s less clear, but in large-scale warfare, those kinds of shamanic arts are much more powerful. Tell me, which has more value: dropping a rock on a few heads to kill three or four men, or turning the ground beneath an army into a swamp so thousands cannot advance as they wish?”

“Ah! I think I get it now.”

“There are shamanic techniques as potent as magic itself. But the true strength of shamanism shines when it uses the environment. You have to fight cleverly, Hailyn.”

“Yes! I will! Lady Sherizik, you’re quite knowledgeable about shamanism too!”

“I had talent for it myself.”

“Then why didn’t you become a shaman?”

“My talent as a warrior was far greater.”

“Hmm… I think shamans are way cooler than warriors, though.”

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing! So I’ll just be learning minor spells then?”

“Hmm. Still, you should have at least one last resort, shouldn’t you? If enemies beyond your power appear, a way to threaten them with mutual destruction. For instance—calling down the stars themselves and sending both allies and enemies together into the Spirit World…”

“That sounds great! I can’t die alone. If I’m going to die, everyone should die with me!”

“Splendid, Hailyn!”

***

After much thought, Elizabeth finally spoke.

“We’ll need to avoid the elves as much as possible. Outside the forest might be manageable, but facing them inside the Great Forest is impossible. The forest and the fair folk are one and the same.”

“Even with your help, Elizabeth?”

“I won’t be helping.”

“Are you perhaps weaker than High Elf Nadin?”

“…Honestly, I can’t say I’d be confident inside the forest.”

Elizabeth glared at me.

“Do you even understand what kind of being High Elf Nadin is? That old elf is about the same age as my dear husband. He’s one of those who have existed since the era when this continent was called the First Land. What were you thinking, provoking such a being?”

“He attacked first.”

“Still! You didn’t have to taunt him at the end!”

“…He insulted the Karavan name.”

A being that should never have been born.

Yes, that’s what the old elf had said.

「Well done, young descendant. Do not let yourself be cowed.」

Liam had agreed.

「But only someone like me gets to say things like that. Your act wasn’t wrong, but your weakness and inadequacy were. If it bothered you, you should’ve gotten stronger faster.」

“……”

As always, there had been no need for further words.

Still, that was Liam’s way.

“Well, fine. If it was to protect the pride of that arrogant Karavan family, then I can’t blame you. But we can’t send anyone else. I can’t allow my younger siblings to go to a place like the Krevelin Great Forest, and no one else knows the location as clearly as the descendant of Steel does… In the end, yes — it has to be you. The best we can do is add a companion.”

“A companion?”

“I’ll go with you.”

Elizabeth put on a face of great resolve — one that screamed of noble self-sacrifice.

“As the First Witch, I have a duty to recover the treasures, and I must dedicate myself to ensuring this mission’s success. Besides, there’s no one as brilliant or as trustworthy as I am. You should be honored, descendant of Steel. To receive my help again, and journey once more with a beautiful lady as flawless as me!”

Hmm.

‘Makes me miss traveling with Sherizik.’

Sherizik had been the best companion one could ask for.

***

Krevelin Great Forest.

If the Sky Mountains were the first mountains, the Great Forest could be called the first forest.

For ages, it had held sacred energy, and that alone made it a natural fortress protecting against all invaders. At the center of the Great Forest grew the World Tree, which stood as a guardian deity to all forest dwellers.

Thanks to the eternal prosperity bestowed by the World Tree, the Great Forest did not have a brutal ecosystem like the Sky Mountains. Instead, it was rather peaceful. The beings born there could live without eating or drinking due to the tree’s blessing, and if they sowed seeds, a rich harvest was guaranteed — allowing them to export resources freely to the outside world.

As a result, all powers that existed within Krevelin Great Forest were fairly well-organized and stable. They wasted no resources on sustenance, and any rock or herb near their homes could turn out to be a gem or rare medicinal plant. The entire Great Forest, territory of those born under the World Tree, was vast. Thus, despite its “forbidden” reputation, Krevelin Great Forest was wealthy, technologically advanced, and even peaceful in appearance.

But there was a reason it was designated forbidden.

Its peace was granted only to elves and beastkin. The forest was closed to outsiders. The World Tree offered no kindness to any being not born beneath it. And once the World Tree sang its rage, no being except elves and beastkin survived. The Wrath of the Forest — the terrifying natural violence inflicted upon intruders — was the very reason Krevelin Great Forest was marked as one of the continent’s reserved regions.

“To enter the Great Forest, we must first deceive it.”

“Deceive it?”

“Yes. We must disguise ourselves — as elves, beastkin, or any being of the forest. We absolutely cannot enter in our true forms. If we do, not even I could survive.”

“It’s that bad?”

“In the age of dinosaurs, even dragons failed to conquer this forest. Within it, the World Tree can exert divine power rivaling the Seven Lords or the Nine Goddesses. It is strong only within the forest, but there, it is almost omnipotent.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“Indeed. And the High Elves are beings who can command the World Tree. Do you understand what that means? Inside the forest, they’re basically gods. You picked a fight with gods, you foolish swordsman.”

Damn. She really held grudges.

「She keeps yapping… makes me want to stab her.」

…Still, she wasn’t as extreme as my master. Aside from being noisy and petty, Elizabeth was actually a decent companion. As the legendary adventurer’s memories had shown, having a magic user in the party was invaluable — because the difference between having and lacking magic support was the difference between “comfortable” and “miserable.”

“Let’s set out.”

Elizabeth, the pinnacle of Witches. A top-tier mage could teleport across vast continents with a single incantation. Audrey had barely managed to move Mana around to cast spells, but Elizabeth handled teleportation between nations as naturally as breathing. Truly, the worth of mages was immeasurable.

‘Would be a nightmare to have one as an enemy.’

A magic wielder could flee to the other side of the continent in an instant, or appear from nowhere right in front of you.

A top-tier mage could even disable an entire corps of magic soldiers single-handedly. The significance of a mage at that level was immense.

“Is this the Storm River?”

I looked around. The place Elizabeth had teleported us to was a valley, a stream of clear water glittering under sunlight that broke through the cliffs. It was beautiful. Elizabeth shook her head.

“This is the entrance to the Great Forest. Even for me, it’s impossible to teleport directly into a reserved region. The Sky Mountains, the Great Forest, and Monsterland in the northern continent — teleportation doesn’t work in these places. The Mana flow is far too unstable.”

“Ah, how troublesome.”

“…The swordsman who would’ve ridden a horse and climbed mountains for days is now complaining? Didn’t I tell you to always be grateful? Keep that up and the Sky Father might actually send a thunderbolt down from clear skies.”

Hmph. Whatever.

“So do we just walk in? You mentioned disguises earlier.”

“We’ll do that now. We’ll mix external Mana with the Great Forest’s Mana to create new shells that hide our souls. The World Tree sees through souls, not appearances, so these shells will disguise us from its sight — but they won’t last long. We must get in and out quickly.”

“What kind of shell will you make?”

“I’ll disguise myself as an elf, and you as an earth spirit.”

“Why are you the beautiful elf while I’m a rock?”

“Well, because I’m beautiful— ahem, no! Because you have Gaia’s Sword. I’ll extract some of the power within it to shape your shell.”

Hmm. That sounded a little self-serving.

“Let’s just get it over with.”

I didn’t really care. Whether I became a rock, an elf, or even a maggot — as long as I could safely get in and out, it was fine. I glanced at the map. There was no need for detailed decoding of Labyrinthos; I still had the memories from 「Flight」 of where the Witches’ treasure had been hidden.

‘…Still, why was it called “Thunder”?’

I remembered perfectly the moment when the old adventurer and Icarus had hidden it.

Of course, neither had known it was a Witch’s treasure — they hadn’t even thought it valuable.

To them, it was just one among many spoils they’d earned on their adventures.

They had never stolen from others, and if they found something with an owner, they returned it.

That told me that “Thunder” didn’t look like a treasure at all. Maybe, since Witches were both mages and priests serving the Sky Father, it was a symbolic relic. That made sense — believers always called bizarre things holy.

“It’s done.”

“Really? I don’t see any difference.”

“To the eye, no. But the World Tree doesn’t see with eyes — it perceives the essence of a soul. To it, you’ll appear as an earth spirit, and I’ll appear as an elf. So lead the way. We can’t maintain this long.”

“Alright, got it.”

Nothing seemed different. I had half-feared I might turn to stone, but thankfully that didn’t happen.

“Follow me closely.”

I led the way into the forest.

The scent of nature filled the air. And yet, a question kept rising within me.

‘…If every being except elves and beastkin is rejected, how did the old master of 「Flight」 get all the way to the Storm River?’

From my inherited memories, the old adventurer had entered just fine — without a scratch. How could that be? As my habitual suspicion surfaced, a hypothesis formed in my mind.

‘Could it be…?’

No way. That?

‘No, impossible.’

I shook my head at my own thoughts. There was no way — a sword, even a legendary one, couldn’t possibly have such power. It was absurd.

But if — ‘If my hypothesis is right…’

Then traveling through this Great Forest might be far easier than expected. Maybe even—

‘That old elf, High Elf Nadin…’

—might not be a problem after all.