515

Episode 515: Finally here. (1)

Cayenne stared blankly at Giselle.

"The King of Mercenaries… … ."

If it were normal, I would have just laughed. The title of king was not something that anyone could use.

No matter how powerful a man may be, he dares not call himself king. Not even the most powerful duke in the kingdom, nor the Marquis of Branford.

But now I couldn't laugh at Jiselle's words.

"Wow!"

"Captain! We're here!"

"Captain! Are you okay?"

Dominic ran toward them, shouting loudly. The Drake mercenaries and mercenaries from each kingdom followed him.

The number was as high as 50,000. It was a number that the Kingdom of Rutania could not hire at once.

'King of Mercenaries.'

Cayenne looked around at them with tired eyes, lost in thought.

The other kingdoms were not doing well either. Nevertheless, such a large number of mercenaries were gathered at Giselle's command.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was truly the king of mercenaries. If such a man is not a king, then who can be called a king?

'We... ... still don't know that guy.'

The mercenaries were scattered all over the place, so I didn't pay much attention to them. I didn't think it would matter how much the Fenris Mercenary Corps expanded its power.

To them, mercenaries were just disposable beings to be used for a short time.

But I never thought I'd be caught by those mercenaries in the end.

'Did that damn policy really work?'

I knew that Earl Fenris was spending a lot of money on mercenaries. I knew that he was making treaties with kingdoms and giving them benefits, but I thought he was just making them bigger.

But look, they all came with arrogant expressions to rescue their master.

Perhaps among them there are those who don't know who Earl Fenris is, and those who were dragged here by chance.

But those who lead them are different. If they weren't loyal, the mercenary scoundrels wouldn't have rushed out like that.

At least, it was clear that one sense of belonging to the Fenris Mercenaries had been completely established.

'It wasn't something that could be done simply by valuing it highly.'

Several times my plans were ruined by the Earl of Fenris. Each time, I prepared for the task by evaluating his abilities upward.

But even that was arrogant. The opponent was not someone to be judged and dealt with.

'It was a position we had to challenge.'

That's what I had to do. I had to face the author as a challenger.

Just like when we faced the Shadow Knight Commander whom the King and the Salvation Church feared, we had to do our best from the beginning.

It's too late. It's too late.

Now that beautiful peacock castle will be trampled by those horses' hooves.

Cayenne exhaled heavily and held out his sword again.

"Yeah, I guess we have no choice but to see the outcome."

His army was already completely surrounded. The enemy was showing off their fierce momentum and wanted to attack at any moment.

If we start a battle like this, we will be annihilated without being able to exert much force.

If you wish for even a little miracle.

The only way to raise morale was to kill him.

Jiselle also looked at Cayenne and smiled ferociously.

"Yes, that's right. I can't take the title of the Kingdom's First Sword in a bad light, right?"

In fact, you can just fall back like this. You can leave the finishing touches to others.

But Giselle didn't do that.

A life-or-death challenge is the best way to overcome your limits. Opportunities like this don't come often in life.

That's why you must overcome that guy with your own strength.

No other words were needed.

Crunch.

The two people stepped forward at the same time, stepping on the ground.

And they swung their swords at each other, ignoring defense.

Choaaaak!

"Crunch!"

They both retreated at the same time, spurting blood so loud that it was hard to tell who was screaming. Both of them were so badly wounded that it was questionable how they could move.

The two men continued swinging their swords at each other. They just stared at each other with devilish expressions.

"Ugh, ugh… … ."

Kuung!

The two people, who were breathing heavily, fell down at the same time as if they had made a promise. Nevertheless, they somehow gritted their teeth and got up, swinging their swords again.

Chook! Chook!

The sound of their bodies being torn apart continued incessantly, and blood gushed out. It seemed as if both of them had forgotten their defenses.

It became unclear whether both sides could just sit back and watch this happen.

Finally, Dominic drew his sword.

"Sir, stop! It's dangerous!"

Count Mowbray also raised his hand and attempted to move his troops.

It was too dangerous. If we were not careful, Jiselle could lose her life due to excessive bleeding.

But Giselle pointed her sword at Dominic and said,

"Don't… … move. It's… … over."

Every time she opened her mouth, blood flowed out. Even in the midst of all this, Giselle was smiling.

Cayenne was the same. He smiled and glared at Giselle.

"Heh heh heh… … . That bastard… … ."

I have never fought this fiercely in my life. If I can win this fight and survive… … .

"I will kill you and go beyond the limit again."

"That's what I want to say."

Boohoo!

The two swords slowly advanced towards each other. The sword that had lost its mana was too weak to kill even one soldier.

Kaang.

The swords clashed. The seemingly meaningless action was repeated several times.

Kaang, Kaang, Kaang.

The occasional metallic clang gradually subsided and finally stopped, and silence flowed all around. The two people remained motionless, their swords locked.

Jiselle opened her mouth slowly.

"I won."

"… … ."

Cayenne said nothing. He just glared at Giselle, blood still dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Ddddddddd… … .

Jiselle poured the tiny amount of mana she had left into the five cores.

That feeble force began to grow stronger as it traveled through the core.

Knock knock!

Because it had a weak start, even when it was amplified, it was weaker than the power of a normal knight. However, Jiselle's body was now unable to withstand even that weak power.

The tired muscles immediately twitched, the wounds opened, and blood gushed out.

Even in that state, Giselle gritted her teeth and swung her sword.

Kwaaang!

Cayenne blocked it, but his body was unable to absorb the shock and staggered violently.

Jiselle swung her sword again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Once, twice, three times… … Every time he swung his sword, Kaien stumbled and backed away. He could no longer handle his opponent's strength.

Cayenne looked at the sword pointed at him with blurry eyes. He tried to block it with his sword, but he had a feeling that this would be the last time.

'knife.'

It was his black world. And another sword was flying towards him, destroying that world.

'iced coffee....'

I finally saw the world beyond.

Kaang!

Kwajik!

Kaien's sword, which had blocked Jiselle's sword, eventually broke. And it was as if Kaien's world had broken apart.

Beyond the fluttering sword shards, Giselle's eyes were visible.

His eyes were still burning with anger and murder.

'Why are you… … .'

Choaaaah!

Cayenne couldn't finish the thought.

This time, Jiselle's sword cut deeply into his body.

"Coolook!"

Cayenne staggered, coughing up blood, with a long cut from his collarbone to his side.

But he didn't fall. He still stood on the ground and looked at Giselle.

Jiselle raised her head from the position where she had drawn her sword and looked at Cayenne.

Neither of them had the strength left to move any longer.

Cayenne opened his mouth with difficulty.

"You… … are the best sword in the kingdom."

"… … ."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

The two people who reached the highest level risked their lives and squeezed out all their strength.

So much so that I don't even have any regrets.

That's why only two people could laugh here now.

Cayenne turned around. He shouted with the last of his strength at the Delphine army that was looking at him.

"All surrender!"

Kuung.

With those words, Cayenne's body collapsed and he knelt down. Slowly, his eyes closed and his head bowed.

The fame of the Kingdom's First Sword, Cayenne Balzac, ended here.

And the new kingdom's first sword was born.

The Fenris Mobile Force, the mercenaries, and even the Mowbray Army all took up arms and cheered.

"Wow!"

"The captain won!"

"Now our lord is the first sword of the kingdom!"

"Hahahaha… … Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

The people who were cheering were shocked because Jiselle's body was falling down.

Kuung!

"Hey, save the lord!"

The Fenris knights ran towards Giselle in surprise. It was fortunate that they all carried potions.

The knights poured potions on Giselle's body as if they were giving her a bath. However, Giselle, who had already lost consciousness, did not wake up.

The most senior Count in the place, Count Mowbray, looked at the Delphine army and asked.

"Are you going to fight?"

The commanders of the Delphine army looked at the kneeling body of Cayenne. With expressions of resentment and tears in their eyes, they finally laid down their weapons one by one.

Because it was to protect the honor of the Kingdom's First Swordsman, whom they respected the most.

Count Mowbray, who had disarmed the Delphine army, spoke to Dominic.

"Surround the city. Don't let any of the Duke's retainers escape."

"All right."

I couldn't leave Commander-in-Chief Giselle behind and go in. I had to wait until he woke up.

However, the Earl of Mowbray thought that besieging the castle would be of little use.

'He must have already run away.'

The news of their arrival must have already reached the Duke's ears. The outcome of the battle was already decided, no matter who won between Giselle and Cayenne, so there was no way the Duke would remain.

Only after a full day did Jiselle come to her senses.

"Ugh… … I slept for too long."

Dominic shouted with a joyful expression.

"You're awake! Your wounds are too serious, so you shouldn't move around carelessly!"

"Is the castle surrounded?"

"Yes, I didn't let even a single ant escape."

"Hmm… … Let's go in."

Jiselle got up with the help of the knights. She still had difficulty moving properly, but there was nothing to worry about.

There were a whopping 80,000 troops here. Until all the troops on the southern front arrived, there would be no trouble.

Jiselle slowly entered the city. There was no one in sight on the streets. Everyone must have been hiding in their homes.

After passing through the quiet streets, we arrived at a white castle standing proudly.

"You're finally here."

I had been here in my previous life. I had taken over the capital and came here to find the Duke, but the Duke was not here either.

"I wonder if it won't happen this time either."

Giselle also thought the same as Count Mowbray. The outcome of the battle was already decided, so there was no way she could just sit back and wait.

In my previous life, I ran away so many times that I never even saw your face.

The castle was just as quiet as the outside. It seemed like all the servants had already fled.

Still, the dead will be hiding all over the city. They probably couldn't all escape.

Jiselle walked with difficulty, supported by the knights. And when she arrived at the Hall of Glory, the center of the castle.

"huh?"

A dozen people were standing in a row in the center of this huge hall. They seemed to be blocking the way.

These were the final swords protecting the Duke's family and Melkir's assassins.

A corpse lay in front of them.

Jiselle immediately recognized who the body was.

"Raoul."

Raoul, who had run away, was found dead here. Blood was pooling around the corpse, which was stabbed with dozens of daggers.

It was clear that those blocking the road had killed him.

And behind them, in the highest position.

A man was standing with his hands behind his back. He was looking at a picture hanging on the wall of the hall.

In the blood-filled painting, a monster was trampling and eating people.

It looked like a dragon, but it wasn't a dragon. It was more like a snake.

The man who had been admiring the painting slowly turned his head and looked at Giselle.

"Are you the Earl of Fenris?"

"you...."

The man continued with a gentle smile.

"It's our first meeting. I am the master of this castle, Duke Ernhard Delphine."

Erhard was waiting for Giselle.