554

Episode 554: You've uncovered a lot. (3)

At the same time, Leonard crossed his arms and stepped back.

A bright red line was drawn on his arm, which was filled with mana.

'what?'

Leonard couldn't hide his bewildered expression as he stepped back.

His arm was cut off without warning. If he hadn't been a superhuman, his head would have been cut off in an instant.

The thought gave me goosebumps.

'What kind of technology exists like this!'

Leonard joined hands with the Salvation Church and saw many superhumans.

Even though the priests of the Salvation Church were half-human, they still displayed superhuman powers.

Guys like Gator and Aiden couldn't even guarantee their victory.

What about the Duke of Fenris that I saw briefly? He was stronger than rumors said.

But the one before my eyes was different from other superhumans. No matter how superhuman they were, I had never imagined that they could use such a technique.

The man on the horse, Julian, was still looking at Leonard with a blank expression.

"I will take the author's place."

That one word was all it took. The mobile force passed by Yulien and began to attack the villagers.

Kwaaaaang!

"Eww!"

The townspeople could not stop the mobile force that charged straight at them on horseback.

As they were preparing to flee, they were swept away by the mobile force.

Leonard gritted his teeth.

'Those crazy guys.'

Even though I had obtained information, the way I handled things was too aggressive. I just pushed it away without any verification.

I have never seen more radical people in the world than they are. They seem to be worse than the Salvation Church.

Even as the revolutionaries hiding in the village were swept away, Leonard was unable to move to help his allies.

'There is no gap.'

He was not someone easy to deal with while worrying about other things. Rather, he was someone strong enough to make you risk your life.

If the Duke of Fenris displayed the power of a typhoon that tore everything apart, the one in front of him was radiating a cool, refined aura.

Even the slightest opening would be enough to cut him down. Leonard had no choice but to focus all his attention on the person in front of him.

Seeing Leonard's reaction, Julian also felt inwardly puzzled.

'He's no ordinary guy.'

He was stronger than the half-baked priests of the Salvation Church. It was strange that someone that strong was in a village like this.

Julian asked as he got off his horse.

"Who are you?"

"… … ."

Leonard didn't answer, as he was more accustomed to keeping his identity hidden.

But he soon changed his mind.

I have already met the Duke of Fenris. The others will probably be able to guess my identity as well. There is no reason to hide my identity.

So I answered confidently.

"I am the master of the revolutionary group."

"… … ."

Julian furrowed his eyebrows. There was a bigger one than he had thought.

Leonard also asked him as he raised his mana.

"Who are you?"

"Julian."

Leonard nodded. He also knew that name from hearing the information.

A prince of Turian and a hero who saved the kingdom from crisis.

I thought he was moving with the Duke of Fenris's mobile force.

Leonard asked, moving back slowly.

"How on earth did the Duke of Fenris give us that information?"

"… … ."

Julian didn't answer. Instead, he asked something he was curious about.

"Why is the revolutionary leader here?"

Leonard smiled with conversion.

I was curious about what trick the Duke of Fenris had done, but I didn't necessarily want to hear the answer. My main purpose was to kill time by talking.

If they asked questions, it would be welcomed. That would make it easier to escape.

"I am...."

Scratch!

"Ugh!"

Leonard backed away again hastily. His chest was cut open.

You started talking to me and then suddenly made a surprise attack!

As far as Leonard knew, Yulien wasn't like that. According to information, he was indifferent and cold, but he enjoyed confrontation rather than ambush.

No, it wasn't even fun. With that level of skill, there would have been no need to resort to other methods.

But how can you act differently from the information? Leonard said, frowning.

"I didn't know you could do something like that. But you are the prince of Turian. Did you learn it in war? Have you thrown away your chivalry?"

Although it was meant to be embarrassing, Julian answered honestly with a blank expression on his face.

"I learned it from a friend."

"What? What kind of friend?"

"The Duke of Fenris."

"… … ."

Leonard let out a hollow laugh. I've heard that the people around the Duke of Fenris are all strange, but it seems like they're being influenced by something like that.

In fact, it was Giselle who told Julianne to do this.

― You can attack across space. Just talk to them and cut them down. You don't have to go through all that fatigue, right?

So I tried it and it definitely worked. I think it would work really well for someone who was lower level than Leonard.

He does not act indecently because he has been used to that attitude since childhood, but he has no intention of keeping to the code of chivalry when dealing with enemies.

Because he wasn't really interested in that kind of thing in the first place.

Leonard gritted his teeth at the sight of Julian answering so calmly. It seemed like it would be hard to shake his heart.

"Okay, let's see what your skills are."

Kwaaaaah!

As he drew forth all his strength, a tremendous amount of mana spread out around him.

At the same time, Julian moved and swung his sword.

Kaang!

Leonard's sword blocked Julian's sword. However, despite blocking the sword, Leonard's clothes were torn and wounds were carved into his body.

Even if I blocked it, it was a problem. Even the aftereffects of mana were crossing over space.

But who is Leonard? He was the one who had been leading the revolutionaries in the shadows. He was as quick-witted as he was cautious.

grasp!

For a moment, his body shook and created several afterimages. It was a great technique that would have fooled anyone else.

But that wasn't enough to fool Julian's eyes, because he could see the flow.

Yulien, who had instantly grasped the flow of mana, swung his sword towards one side.

Scratch!

Leonard's body was cut again. He barely managed to twist his body to avoid a fatal wound, and he took out a few beads from his bosom and threw them.

Phew!

The marbles shattered and thick smoke spread out. It was impossible to see even an inch ahead.

However, such attacks are of little use to superhumans. They may be a bit of a hindrance since their vision is obscured, but they can still detect their presence.

It wasn't Leonard who didn't know that. He just created a battlefield that was advantageous to him.

Chorus!

Leonard pulled out a chainsickle from behind his waist. It was much smaller than a normal chainsickle, and the chain was much thinner.

It had a special handle that could store a chain, so it normally looked like a small scythe.

These two chainsickles, which he always carried around on his waist, were Leonard's real weapons. They were made with portability in mind, so they didn't seem to have much killing power, but it was a different story when wielded by a superhuman.

Phaaaat!

Leonard swung his mana-infused chainscythe in a wide swing. The long chainscythe could strike from a distance.

Yulien easily dodged the chainsickle that suddenly appeared through the fog. Then, he swung his sword in the direction the chainsickle had come from.

Scratch!

There was a clear feeling of being hit, but it was shallow. Leonard had already moved away, throwing his chainsickle.

Leonard pulled the chainsickle stuck in the ground, and used its strength to appear next to Yulien.

Pfft!

They are superhumans who move within a split second of time. Sometimes, even a brief moment of blocking their vision can be fatal.

But before he could even turn his head, Julian had already drawn his sword.

Kaang!

Julian's sword and Leonard's sword clashed, sending out sparks.

As the attack was blocked, Leonard disappeared into the fog again. At the same time, the chainsickle rose into the air and aimed for Yulien.

Kaang!

Chainsickles and Leonard's swords appeared out of nowhere and aimed for Yulien.

And as time went on, the speed began to increase. Leonard finally unleashed all the power he had been hiding.

Kaang! Kaang! Kaang! Kaang!

Julian couldn't ignore the attack and quickly swung his sword to block it.

If you avoid the chainsickle, Leonard's sword will come in, and if you block the sword, the chainsickle will come in.

It was as if two supermen were rushing at me.

Leonard's weapon skills were that excellent. It was enough to make Yulien frown for a moment.

In the fog, the two moved at incredible speeds, exchanging attacks and defenses. However, the close combat did not last long.

Julian changed his tactics. He decided to cut down the entire surrounding space.

Although it would consume a lot of mana, there was no reason to be dragged around by the opponent's excellent weapon skills.

Kaang! Kaang!

After a brief clash, Yulien took advantage of the opening and swung his sword sharply.

It wasn't specifically aimed at anything. It was just an attack aimed at all directions the sword was swung.

Scratch!

"Ugh!"

Leonard, who had been moving busily, groaned as his stomach hurt.

'What kind of monster is this?'

I was proud of myself for being quite strong, but this was on a whole other level.

Despite the reckless barrage of attacks, the enemy did not budge. All that was left was a small wound on the side.

He himself is getting wounded here and there and is covered in blood.

Even though his weapon was coated with a powerful poison, his opponent continued to move as if he had not been hit at all. I couldn't understand how that was possible.

'This won't work.'

I had no intention of continuing to fight anyway. I was planning to take the opportunity to escape.

grasp!

Leonard threw down his sword.

Kaang!

As expected, it was blocked. But he still had one more move left.

Chorrrrrr!

The remaining chain sickle tied to his waist flew in the opposite direction.

And another chainsickle flew towards Yulien.

Kaang!

Yulien deflected the chainsickle and advanced, but Leonard had already moved far away using another chainsickle.

He started running like crazy, exploding his mana.

"Stop it!"

The mobile force that had already cleared the village was surrounding the two. Leonard took out the marbles from his bosom again and threw them around.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

There was thick smoke everywhere. It was so bad that it was hard to even open my eyes.

"Eww! What the heck!"

"I can't see it!"

"Chase after him quickly!"

The mobile force could not pursue Leonard in this fog.

Julian sensed the presence and chased after him, but Leonard again swung his long chainsickle to keep him at bay.

After repeating this several times, I was finally able to create some distance between us. Leonard ran away without looking back.

Julian stopped chasing him. He was a skilled man, and he figured that if he had gained that much distance, it wouldn't be easy to catch him.

He himself was not in a state where he could use all his strength.

"… … It's quite strong."

Julian let out a breath of pure admiration. No one had ever faced him so long in a one-on-one duel.

The revolutionary leader was that strong and excellent.

"Julian! Are you okay?"

As the smoke cleared, the soldiers hurriedly approached.

"It's okay."

Black blood was flowing from Yulien's side. He had been using mana to prevent the poison from spreading.

Most poisons can be completely broken down with mana, but the poison Leonard used was not so easily removed.

This is the first time I've been exposed to such a strong poison. It's stronger than the poison I was abducted and consumed as a child.

It was a wonder where they got such precious poison.

Still, Yulienne sprinkled a potion on the wound with an expression that it was nothing serious. This much could be driven out with just a few days of practice.

However, I felt that I should warn other people to be careful of poison in the future. Even if a superhuman is poisoned, they won't die easily, but their fighting ability will be greatly reduced.

"Let's go back."

At Julian's words, the mobile force cleared the village and loaded the wagons with goods.

That's it for this mission. Now we must join the Allied Forces.

Julian returned home with a little dilemma.

'It's not enough.'

Although his opponent was superior, it wasn't to the point where he couldn't win. Rather, it was as if he had overwhelmed him.

But in the end I missed it.

It was because of the opponent's remaining skills, but once it reached a certain level, it was difficult to dismiss it as just a remaining skill.

And the opponent was also good at improvising. Didn't he end up being poisoned? It meant that the opponent had more experience than him.

'I see.'

Julian was still inexperienced. Because he was so talented, he had no experience fighting and growing against those who were as strong or stronger than him.

It was probably the first time I fought a Helgenik.

Even if you were talented enough to gain enlightenment and become stronger just by breathing, that alone wouldn't make up for the lack of experience.

Julian was feeling it little by little throughout this war.

Just meeting the leader of the Revolutionary Corps today was a great achievement. I was able to realize once again what I lack.

'Next time… … .'

Next time I won't be fooled by the same number, because I gained new insight today.

He was getting stronger like that every day.

* * *

The mobile force raided the revolutionary group's hideout and returned to the Rutanian army camp.

Claude was excited when he saw the wagons being pulled by the mobile force.

"No! Why do you always bring this stuff here! It's so burdensome!"

Wherever Jiselle went, she always came back with something valuable. It was no different from when she was in the territory.

The Mobile Forces divided their units and raided six hideouts of the revolutionary group, including the village of Stonebrook.

Naturally, the accumulated wealth had to be enormous.

"Gisselle said, lifting her chin haughtily.

"Distribute this well to the Allied Forces. And did you send troops to other places as well?"

"Yes, I sent some troops with me."

In addition to the Mobile Force, other troops were sent to the hideout in a slightly distant area. This is because the Mobile Force must now participate in the full-scale battle to occupy the Kingdom of Artrode.

"Okay, we'll rest for two days and then move. The Allied forces waiting will also advance at the same time."

The orders of Commander-in-Chief Giselle were relayed to everyone.

Now they will begin to advance towards their respective strongholds.

And Jiselle, who had taken a long break.

I had that mysterious dream again.