168. Festival of the Sword (11)
#168
“You guys need to cool it down.”
A tidal wave of monsters was coming. Ronan pulled at the hilt of his sword. He gathered mana into his sword body and waited for the monsters to approach within range. The still immature core was heating up, ready to explode.
‘As loud as possible.’
In any battle, suppressing the starting point was especially important in large-scale battles. Even if the opponent was a monster rather than a human, nothing would change. It was the moment when the leader of the monsters came within 20 steps. Ronan rotated his body sideways and fired a wide sword strike. A red crescent moon was shot along the sword path of La Mancha. The audience sighed when they saw that the diameter of the sword was only 2m.
“Stupid, what are you going to do with that?”
“I’m disappointed. “Are you only strong in person-to-person combat?”
In front of the monsters that came at him like an onslaught, his sword skills seemed almost reckless. At most, he would just kill two or three coming from the front. Perhaps because the monsters looked ridiculous in their eyes, the Giant Boers and Black Orcs who were leading the charge instead of avoiding them, spurred on even more aggressively. When Ronan saw that, one corner of his mouth turned up.
“Jerk the.”
Suddenly, the shape of the crescent moon crumbled. The sword energy was divided into hundreds of pieces and scattered like a fan. Each and every one was a shot made by extremely compressing the spirit. Faba Park! Fragments of sword energy were widely dispersed and stuck into the monsters’ bodies.
“Keuek!”
“Quick!”
A hive of orcs and borers rolled around on the floor. Those who were unlucky enough to be hit in the heart or head died on the spot. Although the surface area was small, it had strong penetrating power, causing fatal injuries the moment it was hit.
The red water droplets that penetrated the skin cut into the muscles, bones, and internal organs, and then escaped, hitting the monster running behind them. The monsters on both sides, who were completely unprepared, also suffered devastating damage. Those who were watching shouted with shocked expressions.
“oh my god!”
“Wow, I never thought I would use my sword like that!”
It was my first time seeing a method of using sword techniques. It seemed like at least 30% had been reduced by the blow just now. The momentum of the monsters whose feet were tangled slowed down even further. Ronan took a breath and smiled with satisfaction. She was quite useful except that she consumed a lot of mana.
“Not bad.”
This proved that even enemies within 30 steps can be dealt with with sword techniques. It was the product of Ronan’s efforts to catch up with geniuses like Nabirose and Schlieffen, whose power was suppressed by a curse. He shot out the same sword energy once more and suddenly bit his lower lip.
‘But it’s still not enough.’
However, what Ronan ultimately had to cut down was a giant flying in the sky. In order to bring down the bald heads firing spears from above the clouds, the range had to be much longer. Ronan, once again concentrating, was about to fire his third crescent. From far away, a furry snow troll flew in a parabola.
“Gwaaagh!”
“Damn, what?”
It was a huge guy that looked to be 3 meters tall. He was still alive, as he was struggling with his limbs. Ronan swung his sword reflexively. The sword shot out as if to intercept it and cut the troll’s waist in half. Blood exploded and poured onto Ronan’s head. As my vision cleared, I caught sight of the twin-headed ogre roaring in the distance.
“Kwoaaaaaak!”
“Gaaaaaa!”
Anyone could tell that it was that bastard who threw it. He was the guy who turned Fox Knight into Fox Carpet. He was very angry, as if he had been injured by the sword’s bullets. Ronan sighed after seeing that the core’s mana was almost depleted.
“My arms are like this.”
Now that things were like this, I had to enter into a melee. Of course, I was expecting it, so it didn’t really matter. Come to think of it, this was already my third time dealing with the Twin Head Ogre. Ronan crouched down. bang! He strengthened his legs with the remaining mana and leapt off the ground.
The movement took place so quickly that the ogre lost sight of Ronan’s form. It was a moment when the two heads were looking around for their missing opponent. A small shadow fell over the ogre’s face.
“Really?”
“Gwok!”
Two heads raised their heads. Ronan, who had just reached the top, was descending in a circle. The ogre, feeling an instinctive sense of foreboding, urgently raised his club and took a defensive stance. However, it had no particular meaning. La Mancha, splitting the oak club like tofu, dug between his two heads.
“What?!”
Sigh! The red-stained blade cut longitudinally across the ogre’s skin. The moment Ronan landed on the floor, her sword marks widened and her fresh blood spurted out. Internal organs poured out like a landslide and covered the floor. It was nice to get rid of the most annoying guy in one go, but there was no time to celebrate. Ronan immediately rolled to the side. Sigh! Three polearms that appeared to be 2 meters long flew in and stuck where he was. It was a spear thrown by the Lizardmen located in the rear. Ronan, who made eye contact with them, spat on the floor and sneered.
“Children of reptiles.”
“Krlik.”
The Lizardmen opened their mouths and chuckled. It was very strange to see them calming down because of the distance. Ronan wordlessly drew his dagger Ymir. Then he threw it inside the cage, its huge mouth still open. The sound of a blade cutting into something could be heard faintly. Within a few seconds, a loud roar erupted.
“Kwaaaaaa!!”
The attention of the audience and monsters was focused on us. At the same time, a huge manticore jumped out screaming. A shiny dagger was dug deep into the right eye of the lion, whose bushy mane was flowing. Ronan laughed when he saw that.
“The captain must step forward. Even though it’s the strongest, if you just play around, you’ll use it.”
Among the monsters that could be nominated in this test, it was the strongest. The manticore that was struck by lightning began to run wild. The monster lion swung its claws and stinging tail wildly and launched indiscriminate attacks on the surrounding area. The Lizardmen who threw spears at Ronan ran away screaming, but were immediately pierced by poisonous needles. The fact that its strong body rotted black in less than three seconds was truly a terrifying poison.
Ronan slaughtered monsters with Manticore. Every time she swung her sword, a variety of blood splashed out and drenched her face. With a single blow, the limbs of the shouting gnoll were blown away, and the bone of the goblin that was trying to stab its back was broken with a kick. I dodged or swatted away all the claws, teeth, and vicious blades that came flying from all directions. None of them passed Ronan’s body.
Eventually, some of the monsters got fed up and turned their backs on them and ran away. But Ronan had no intention of letting go of the rout. thud! When he stamped his right foot, the sparkling roots that grew hit the bodies of the fleeing imps.
“Huh! Dog, dog!”
“Keeeeek! Considerate!”
The monsters that looked similar to human children even burst into tears and begged for their lives, but by that time, Ronan’s sword had already cut through their necks. Ronan let out a low laugh as he stepped on the head of the imp that had fallen at her feet. The dizzying scent of blood passed over her nose and pierced her brain. A deathly scream echoes sporadically.
Ronan liked this feeling. At least I could not think about anything while I was drunk on blood.
“Kwaaaa!”
At that time, the manticore that discovered Ronan spread its wings and roared. Unlike the manticore brought by Varen in the previous Battle of the Beasts, its flying ability was not limited. Yikes, flying would be troublesome. Ronan muttered and switched cores. And the moment the flying Manticore reached the top of the arena, it activated the aura stolen from Terranil. Ymir resonated with the core and gave off pure white light. Kwaaaaang! The manticore’s head was shattered by the powerful shock wave that erupted from the sword body.
Shoot… A torrential rain of blood and brains poured down throughout the arena. There was no comparison to the troll era. The manticore, with half its head blown off, crashed down with a loud noise. Thunderous cheers erupted from the audience.
“Wow!”
“Kill them all!”
Now, no one cared about Ronan’s safety or whereabouts. Primal excitement and joy enveloped the arena. Overwhelming force and a feast of blood far beyond common sense were driving the crowd into a frenzy. The supervisor’s lips parted softly.
“···Is that really a human being?”
It looked like fire dancing in a pile of straw. Ronan was still carrying out massacres. The sight of him wading through the red rain and swinging his sword gave the impression of diligence. It didn’t take long for all the hundred to be wiped out. After confirming that the surroundings had quietened down, Ronan lowered his sword.
“after.”
My narrowed field of vision began to widen again. In the arena that had turned into a red swamp, only Ronan stood. His appearance, soaked in blood from head to toe, was reminiscent of a person who had just come out of a river flowing in hell.
Ronan roughly wiped the blood from his face with his palm. When he raised his head, a confused group of people came into view. Schlieffen, Nabirose, and Lin all had similar expressions. Without saying a word, he raised his fist and once again showed only his index and middle fingers. The ship shook the arena with cheers louder than when the Manticore’s head exploded.
****
The third test did not end until late at night. It took longer than expected, and this was because Aran Farzan had to airlift monsters so that the remaining participants could take the test. Like the others, the blood-possessed overseer didn’t notice the lack of monsters until just before the next sequence began.
Schlieffen, who took the test exactly two people later, also nominated a hundred monsters, but there were no monsters left like that. He had to be content with chopping up 56 monsters with wind. Therefore, the first nomination naturally went to Ronan.
Only the twenty successful applicants returned to the base. Among them were Nabi Rose, Lin, and Russell. They headed to the restaurant as if they had made an appointment. The people who made a toast to the shattering glasses gathered around Ronan as if they had made a promise.
“It’s really amazing! I knew it was strong, but I didn’t know it was that strong. “It turns out I wasn’t bluffing when I said I killed the Witch of Winter!”
“I didn’t know who the monster was. “What on earth is it?”
“There is a banquet at my family’s castle next week. I haven’t found a partner yet, but please dance with me. “You certainly won’t refuse, right?”
They all expressed their awe and affection in their own way. The nobles who were proposing to recruit him offered conditions that were twice as good as before the end of the third test. Ronan answered most of his questions with hints of laughter. There was a sense of rejection, but the biggest reason was that I was really tired.
‘Damn, I can’t do this anymore.’
The excitement in my heart did not subside, but my body could not bear the fatigue. I had to save my energy for any variables that might arise tomorrow. It was the moment when he was just about to say good night to people. The door to the restaurant opened and the owner, who had left a moment ago, came in hesitantly. He looked at Ronan and opened his mouth.
“Hey, Ronan…?”
“ok?”
Ronan turned his head. The owner’s face, which was always hot from grilling wild boar, had turned as pale as snow. Ronan shrugged his eyebrows.
“What’s wrong?”
“Outside… the… guest came to visit.”
“customer?”
“Yes, yes. “He told me to come out alone because he had some business to do for a moment…”
The owner’s voice was trembling. He looked like someone who had encountered a ghost while walking in the forest.
“What, who is it?”
“Now, you should go and find out the details… Well, I definitely delivered!”
The owner shouted and hid in the kitchen as if running away. Ronan frowned at her in an unexpected situation.
“What is this?”
Since I was a guest, I couldn’t ignore him. He left the restaurant, saying he would be back for a while. His drunken men happily let him go. Whoa! As soon as I opened the door, a cold wind blew and blew my bangs. There wasn’t much to see except the snow field, the Milky Way, and the amazing scenery below the mountains.
“What, there’s no one there.”
Ronan muttered in an annoyed voice. No matter how generous the owner was, he wasn’t the kind of person who would pull off such cheeky pranks, so I was just wondering. At that time, a familiar voice came from behind him.
“It’s been a while.”
For a moment, my heart sank. It was a low and deep voice like Mount Tai. Ronan turned his body around and slowly raised his head. A huge shadow was sitting on the roof of the restaurant. The tail flowing down the eaves was swinging like a fishing line. It wasn’t that difficult to guess the identity of the shadow. After she caught her breath, Ronan opened her mouth.
“Zaifa.”
“Looking at your face, you seem to be doing well. “I’m a little late because I have work to do.”
Jaipa, who was quietly looking at the sky, jumped down. There was almost no sound of her footsteps, incongruous with her size. He approached with great strides and stopped right in front of Ronan.
“There was something I wanted to ask you the whole time.”
Ronan didn’t answer. He couldn’t read the emotions in his low voice. The red eyes shining far above looked like a malefic warning of disaster. Jaifa, who had been looking down at Ronan in silence, opened her mouth.
“Follow me.”
