3 bar menu

Chapter 277 part 1

After several rounds of offense and defense since Regul had restarted his fight with Gwandan, Regul had to acknowledge that the Dragonian before him was the strongest and finest warrior he had ever encountered in his life.

Among the elements that constitute the strength of a warrior—physical ability, skill, experience, inherent dignity, and fortune—Gwandan was the first freak he had ever met to exhibit all of these at such an exceptionally high level.

If anything, in terms of skill compared to his other abilities, Gwandan might not seem as exceptional. Yet, when he intercepts, dodges, and evades attacks of Regul as if foreseeing them, not letting a single strike touch even his clothes, it was more than a matter of skill.

In Regul’s combat history, he had fought people with telepathy, people who could predict his movements from the electrical signals or smells coming from his body, and even those with foresight. However, Gwandan’s reactions were simply based on observing Regul’s movements and dealing with them effortlessly.

Since Regul was not dealing with any special abilities, there was no gap for him to take advantage of.

「You can react quickly enough just by watching? That’s the most frustrating thing!」

「I may not have skills to boast of, but my eyesight is quite sharp, wouldn’t you say?」

「If your ease is meant to irritate your opponent, it’s working」

「Hmm.」

He meant it as a “Hmm” in the sense that he didn’t mean to do that.

Regul tightly gripped his beloved sword, Lio Blue, with both hands and drew the tip of it back behind him. He then unleashed a full-force slash at Gwandan’s『Poleaxe』. The attack was specialized towards the heft of slashing strikes.

The blue slash stretched from Gwandan’s lower left towards his Poleaxe that he held diagonally in front of his chest.

This was one of Regul’s favored techniques: breaking the opponent’s weapon to reduce their combat ability significantly or, if destruction was not possible, flicking it off and creating an opening for him. It was a technique that he had accumulated enough experience to assert its effectiveness against opponents who were roughly humanoid in shape.

In fact, the shock that was transmitted from the blue blade that had struck the middle of the Poleaxe was so great that, for an ordinary person, not only would their weapon have been shattered, but the bones in their arm and even their entire body, would have been shattered, causing their internal organs to rupture.

「Tch.」

Regul’s frustrated click of the tongue clearly showed that the slash had been meaningless.

The slash, which had previously disarmed even the mightiest warriors and defeated them, had only caused the Poleaxe to shake slightly, and it was far from forcing Gwandan to drop it.

Regul thought back to his childhood when he had repeatedly struck his father with this technique, only to be effortlessly deflected each time.

It was safe to say that Regul instinctively acknowledged the significant gap between them, which was akin to the gap between a child and an adult.

Even if he had fought the Twelve Winged Generals, would he have realized in such a short time that his skills and strength were no match for theirs? Without realizing it, Regul’s entire body began to be covered in an unpleasant sweat.

「Since you rushed out alone, your soldiers are frantically converging here. Their coordination and speed are impressive. They’re well-trained.」

「Is that so? It sounds like you’re saying that your own troops are even better trained.」

「Is that so? Hmm, I didn’t mean it that way. I meant it as a compliment. I’d be troubled if you didn’t take it that way.」

Regul realized that Gwandan was speaking with a superior tone, even though he was not consciously doing so. At the same time, he realized that Gwandan’s attitude would likely be unaltered even if facing the Twelve Winged Generals, let alone him.

(Although I don’t want to consider it, could he be a powerful being, far above me or the Twelve Winged Generals? Someone who can take such an attitude… Perhaps a mythical creature or spirit with a pact with the royal family?

If so, they should have acted before external threats emerged when Asteria and Linosart began their strife. Why act now? Aside from Asteria and Linosart, there must be another important factor… Could it be that Asteria’s doppelganger is the key after all…?)

Regul didn’t consider himself to be wise but was neither inherently dull nor slow-witted.

He relied on his martial prowess mainly because it was often the most efficient and least sacrificial approach. As Regul quickly generated and discarded countless possible scenarios, Gwandan spoke to him cheerfully.

His attitude was irritating to Regul, who now suspected Gwandan might be intentionally provoking him because if Gwandan was doing it this often in such a short period of time, it could be that he was either trying to buy time for Amria and the others to escape or to tease him.

「What’s wrong? You seem to be hitting a dead end in your thoughts. Have you forgotten what I declared? If you want to know something, try landing a blow on me. It’s the quickest way to make me speak the truth. Why not give it a try?」

「Tch, you’re even more condescending than my older brother when I was a kid… I don’t know if you’re our enemy or our ally, but there’s no doubt that you’re a warrior who is beyond my reach, even with all my strength.」

「Hmm? You’re suddenly being very humble. What’s gotten into you?」

「Shut up, don’t interrupt when someone is giving you a sincere evaluation.」

「I see, so it’s more adult-like to listen in silence.」

「Hmph. You’re really a guy who looks down on others, aren’t you? Like, what, you were chasing after that woman who might be Asteria, but you decided to change your mind and land a blow on me instead?」

「Oh? I’m honored. You’ve deemed me more worthy than Asteria.」

Regul genuinely wished he could defeat Gwandan right there, if possible. It was not surprising that he would want to eliminate this huge, unexpected threat that had suddenly appeared.

The problem was that even if Regul mobilized the entire Roaring Sun’s Majesty’s forces, he didn’t think for a second that he could eliminate him due to Gwandan’s unfathomable strength. Plus, Gwandan’s ultimate objective remained unclear.

If he didn’t know what his opponent’s goal was, he would be in danger of only reacting to the situation and falling behind. Therefore, Regul had decided to go all out on the verbal promise that he might not be able to do.

「It’s more a matter of my pride, but… here goes!」

As Regul finished speaking, he leaped back, then landed, crouched low, and kicked off the ground. The power stored in his legs gouged the ground, and combined with the blade of his beloved sword, Lionblue, he dashed forward like a fusion lightning bolt of blue and gold.

Gwandan, who had only been receiving attacks until now, launched his first serious attack since he had started fighting Regul.

It was nothing special. He simply raised the Poleaxe that he was holding in his right hand straight up and swung it down at Regul without any fancy moves or techniques.

Yet, this exerted an immense pressure on Regul’s entire body and psyche. His senses – sight, hearing, smell, touch – and all instincts for survival as a living being were on high alert against Gwandan’s strike, desperately seeking a way to survive.

Regul did not perceive any intent to kill in Gwandan’s strike. That was obvious, as Gwandan harbored no such malice towards him. Nevertheless, Regul’s body and mind recognized this simple, brute-force, and perfunctory strike as the greatest and worst threat he had ever faced.

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to describe it as a natural disaster that had occurred and explicitly aimed at Regul. Regul did not doubt for a moment that the threat of nature, which sometimes disrupts the fates of many, was now embodied in this Dragonian.

Receive it? Impossible. Who would be stupid enough to directly face the lava flowing from a volcano?

Dodge it. That was the only option. Not to flee, but to dodge. Even if it resulted in a laughably trivial wound, Regul wouldn’t be satisfied until he struck back at this Dragonian, who was like a natural disaster.

Truly, it was a matter of pride, a very, very small pride, but one that he couldn’t afford to throw away.