Chapter 46

Two Problems (5)

TL: Naturalrice

RW: MrScaryMuffin

KOR Check: Naturalrice

Icy mist created a dense, glittering silver curtain . Bloody Talon leapt backwards, nocked an arrow in his bow, and tried to anticipate where Ajest might pop out .

[Grease]

However, Ajest burst through the smoke at an unbelievable speed . The first arrow missed hopelessly and Bloody Talon didn’t have time to fire a second . Ajest’s blade froze the air as it closed the distance between them .

A loud clang rang out in the night . As Ajest landed, she felt that something was amiss . Her opponent’s arrows were definitely made of wood, but her sword had made contact with something metal, resulting in a familiar clang .

Just as Ajest’s sword had approached him, the barbarian drew his weapon faster than she could track and savagely fended off her attack .

Bloody Talon was behind her now, holding his sword loosely . The barbarian chief pointed his weapon towards Ajest . It was a blade crafted into the shape of a wolf’s fang, overflowing with a crimson aura .

It was an Aura Blade .

Ajest calmly adjusted her grip . Her leg muscles tensed fiercely and she held her breath for a moment before launching herself towards her opponent with all of her strength . She put everything she had into a powerful strike aimed directly at Bloody Talon, but he brushed it aside casually . He continued to deflect her follow up strikes in similar fashion, moving faster than she could see . With each clash, Ajest took damage . The powerful impact created by the Aura Blade caused every muscle in her body to scream in pain each time their blades met and the damage was gradually building up .

The clash of metal continued to ring out as powerful strikes were sporadically exchanged . As Ajest’s body began to falter due to the accumulated damage, Bloody Talon began to move unpredictably . He slapped her sword aside with a powerful swipe and pressed on with his next attack before Ajest could recover her posture . The moment their blades met, he spun around and threw a kick at her abdomen . Her waist folded in brutal fashion and Bloody Talon followed up with an elbow to her spine, causing her armor to break .

Ajest barely managed to stay standing . She swung her sword in an attempted counter-sweep at the barbarian’s legs, but he evaded and brought down his Aura Blade on her head .

A strange sound filled the air as Ajest summoned the most powerful defensive spell of the Third Circle, [Sigh of Kizard], drawing from the magic circle to form a shield around her and block the Aura Blade . The spell also slowed the blade for just a brief moment, but it was barely enough to allow Ajest to retreat . Spears of ice, created by the Second Circle spell [Prison Lance], shot up from the ground around Bloody Talon as he tried to pursue .

“Graaaaa!” howled Bloody Talon as he swung the Aura Blade around to shatter all the icicles . While the attack failed to impale the barbarian, it was successful in its secondary goal, which was to create some distance between the two combatants .

Standing more than 10 meters away, Ajest spat out the blood that was welling in her mouth . Her shattered armor was barely hanging onto the leather strap around her chest and the runegear she was wearing underneath was screaming warnings at her .

[Warning: Runegear mana is below 20% . Defensive capabilities are decreased significantly]

“Monstrous bitch,” Bloody Talon looked at Ajest in disgust . As they fought, the blood-curdling screams of the other barbarians rang out endlessly from within the palace of ice . Ajest was still maintaining her Frozen Palace as she dueled with him .

She was continuously pouring her mana into the magic circle that stretched endlessly through the sky, which was used to maintain her icy barbarian trap . This allowed her to hold off the entirety of the barbarian invasion . The number of men she had felled reached 20 already .

“However, even you must have reached your limits . ”

Bloody Talon’s assumptions were correct . Ajest was not in an optimal state . She had poured an incredible amount of mana in order to maintain Frozen Palace, which was now holding 90 barbarians . Her opponent was also someone equal to a Rook-class Knight . It was difficult enough to fight such an opponent, but doing so while also maintaining a high level magical formation had pushed her past her limits . Doing anything more would be suicidal .

In reality, Ajest did not need to do anything more . It would not have mattered if she had fled . Her quest was not to eliminate every barbarian, but to simply interfere with the plundering of the rations . To that effect, it would not be wrong to say that she had already completely her quest . However, a single thought kept her from leaving .

‘If I lose here, I won’t be able to catch up to him . ’

Desir Arman . Ajest was single-mindedly focused on him .

‘He went through our battle with a smile on his face . ’

Ajest thought back to that bitter moment during the Promotional Exam .

‘I…will surpass Desir Arman—!’

Ajest tightened her grip on her sword and casted another spell, this time on the surface of her blade . An enormous amount of mana began to swell once more .

A strange sound emanated from the blade, a special characteristic of Magic Swords when they are activated . However, the timbre from her sword was off . A portion of her Frozen Palace began to crumble, the chandelier fell and pillars started to melt . With a stubbornness bordering obsession and a will that deserved respect, Ajest pushed past her limits to maintain Frozen Palace while casting an additional spell .

[Magic Sword: Ice Wave]

It was Ajest’s final gambit . The air around her sword began to chill and freeze, leaving behind a streak of frosty air with every swing . Her appearance was that of an Ice Princess, wielding her sword of judgement within her palace .

“Haaaah!” The Aura Blade clashes with the Magic Sword .

Another portion of the Frozen Palace collapsed with a thunderous boom . Bloody Talon, who possessed keen awareness, could sense that something was strange . As his sword clashed with the Magic Sword, it began to get frosty and cold . Even the handle and his hands were beginning to freeze as well .

The blade shuddered and the steel began to shriek . It was a sharp noise that dug into his ear drums, as if his weapon was a living thing that was sounding its death throes . Bloody Talon stared dumbly at his own sword as it inexplicably shattered into sharp fragments that flew towards him . Bits of frozen metal ripped into his skin, muscles, and body .

“Kyaaa!” screamed Bloody Talon as his steel-like body and his ruggedly handsome face were torn to shreds . He could not withstand the sudden pain and cried out . Drops of fresh blood dripped onto the floor . Unable to stand any longer, the barbarian chief fell backwards . He looked up towards Ajest with his remaining good eye .

“Un-unbelievable,” mumbled Bloody Talon . The words that he struggled to produce were slurred due to the sword fragments embedded in his mouth .

‘I lost?’

He could not accept his own loss . He believed that he was destined to be a great hero . He was such a powerful warrior that none in his tribe could face him . Additionally he was the wisest of all leaders [1] . He had seen a great path of glory laid out before him . He was going to become the greatest chief in history and lead his tribe to become more powerful than ever before . There was a hero’s path that was instilled in his heart and heritage .

‘And…I lost…to a girl younger than me…!’

His eyes slowly closed .

‘Betrayed…by destiny…’

It could be argued that this was not technically correct . He wasn’t betrayed by his own destiny, but instead swallowed up by a greater destiny . That is, the destiny of Ajest Kingscrown…no, Ajest Roguepalace . The destiny of one who possessed the royal blood of the Empire and who will, in the future, lead the expedition team of humanity’s greatest into the Shadow Labyrinth . Bloody Talon’s destiny was cruelly trampled by Ajest, the epic hero who would shake humanity’s history .

The news of the barbarian assault on the food storage, led by the Hawk Tribe chief Bloody Talon, spread throughout the entire region of Evernatten . The inhabitants of the region whispered tales about the incompetence of the soldiers and knights that allowed such an assault, but soon the conversation shifted to those about certain soldiers . Tales of the brave souls that faced off against Bloody Talon and rang the warning bell was popular among the people . The heroism demonstrated by these soldiers, who discovered the assault and resolved it themselves, stood in stark contrast to the sheer incompetence displayed by other soldiers .

“I don’t know who these soldiers were, but they deserve to be commended . ”

“I heard it was a maiden knight and the lord’s personal servant that rang the bell . ”

“But there is no female knight in our region?”

“Does that mean it was some attendant that did this? What a silly rumor . ”

At the same time, stories of a knight-captain that stood against the barbarians alone began to spread .

“Not only that, but I heard the knight-captain of our land faced off against the entire barbarian army alone!”

“Bull . This guy…where did you hear such a story? It’s hard enough for a veteran soldier to stand against a single barbarian warrior . ”

“That doesn’t make any sense either . ”

“You must be talking about some other Order . ”

While most of the people believed the story to be exaggerated, they still endlessly praised the three protagonists of the tale . As the rumor mill churned through the nation, the Lord of Evernatten, Wilhelm Evernatten, was reading a report in his homestead . It was a summary of last night’s events and required his guidance to tie up its loose ends .

“Lord, we are here . ”

“Did the knight-captain come as well?”

“She told me she will be delayed due to injuries . Should I tell the others to wait?”

“No, send them in . ”

The office door opened and Desir and Pram entered and kneeled before Wilhelm .

“Raise your heads . ”

They did as he asked . Wilhelm looked down at them and spoke solemnly .

“Are you the ones that rang the bell to alert everyone of the barbarian invasion?”

“Yes, we are . ”

“You have performed a great deed . Courage to stand your ground when the barbarians came and the wits to ring the bell to alert raise the alarm . These are definitely deeds that deserve merit . ”

“We are humbled by your praise . ”

They responded calmly, but snuck a peek at each other and noticed that they were both grinning . The lord was definitely looking at them favourably and, by the sound of things, rated their deeds highly . Their actions were indeed considerable . Wilhelm heard that not only was the barbarian raid suppressed but Bloody Talon, who had been the greatest thorn in his side, was captured alive . This was only possible because these two had alerted everyone to the invasion .

‘This clears Pram’s quest of performing a meritorious deed and the lord’s affection should have risen considerably,’ thought Desir . Pram’s quest had confirmed its completion during the battle against the barbarians . All that was left was to raise the lord’s trust and affection towards him . This had been one of the entry requirements for the main scenario .

Lord Evernatten opened his mouth to speak again . Desir waited for his words with anticipation .

“If I had my way, we would announce your feats to the public . ”

‘If I had my way…?’

Desir’s expression changed as the atmosphere in the room grew tense .

Editor’s notes:

[1] “He was such a powerful warrior that none in his tribe could face him . Additionally he was the wisest of all leaders” — He’s also the most humble .