Academy’s Genius Swordmaster Chapter 169

169. Festival of the Sword (12)

#169

“Follow me.”

The low voice was serious. However, the atmosphere was quite different from when I saw it in the imperial palace before. At least it didn’t feel like the sun burning black. I was wondering whether I should follow this or not. Suddenly, Butterfly Rose’s voice was heard from inside the restaurant.

“Ronan! Where did you go? “Did I teach you that way to make your teacher drink alone?”

“···under.”

Ronan placed his hand on his forehead and sighed. Judging by the way her tongue was curled, she seemed quite drunk. In fact, the two students performed well in the exam, so it was natural to feel quite good.

Before the test started, he had so earnestly warned me not to do anything reckless, but when I succeeded in catching a hundred, I found it ridiculous that he was grinning from ear to ear. Zaifa, hearing her voice, perked up her ears.

“This voice… Did the snake come with it?”

“That’s it.”

“···It’s annoying. “Hold on tight.”

“ok?”

Ronan tilted his head. Suddenly, Jaifa stretched out her arm and instantly lifted Ronan onto her shoulder and carried him away. What is this? She didn’t even have time to scream. phut! He crouched down and leapt toward the night sky.

“Holy shit…!”

The night sky poured over my head. The fearsome leg power was still alive and well. Every time Zyfa kicked the ground and jumped up, the star repeatedly moved away and came closer. As he was jumping up and down the snow-covered ridge, he landed at some point. Ronan jumped down from his shoulder and cursed.

“Hey you bastard, what are you doing with all this?”

“This is my temporary residence. “I hate noise.”

“Temporary shelter?”

Once my stomach settled down, the surrounding scenery came into view. It was inside a spacious cave. It wasn’t deep, but it was high and wide enough for Jaifa to straighten her back.

Outside the entrance, I could see the starry sky, the setting moon, and the eastern Great Plains at a glance. It was located in the middle of a rock wall, so it was nearly impossible to enter unless you had wings. Jaifa nodded.

“okay. When you come to Farzan, most of your accommodation and meals are provided here. “When you go up to the sacred site, there are a lot of troublesome things to do.”

“···It’s quite useful.”

Ronan, who was looking around the living quarters, shrugged his eyebrows. Although it looked simple, it had everything that was needed. Not far from the entrance, a huge bonfire was burning vigorously as if it had just been lit. Several stakes with large pieces of meat stuck into them were stuck around the campfire.

“What meat?”

“moose. “Would you mind listening?”

“later.”

Inside the cave, there were about five or six wooden boxes stacked with unknown contents. The hammock, made with nails hammered into both walls, looked more like a trap for catching an animal such as a bison than a bed.

Beside it, leaning at an angle was a fearsome scimitar that only Jaipa could wield. Looking again, it was closer in size to a building material than a weapon.

Judging from the subtle changes in its appearance, it seemed like it had been destroyed by Nabirose and then rebuilt. Jaifa walked forward and sat down on the box. Ronan asked, crossing her arms.

“So what do you want to ask?”

“Did you kill my men?”

Zaifa asked calmly. His tone was dry, as if he was asking me if I had watered my flower pot yesterday. For a moment, Ronan’s face hardened. It was a question he expected, but he didn’t expect it to hit him like this. Vertically narrowed pupils were staring at him. Ronan, who was silent for a moment, opened his mouth.

“…You’re making sounds that don’t even sound like words.”

“okay. I guess so. “This is nonsense.”

That’s nonsense. After repeating this, Zaifa closed her mouth. The sound of the wind was loud in the awkward silence. Ronan was about to say something. An indescribable, eerie feeling ran down my spine.

‘Dangerous.’

Ronan pulled the hilts of both swords in a movement that was almost instinctive. At the same time, a sharp sound of metal echoed under the night sky. Kaaaaang-! Ronan made eye contact with Jaifa and raised one corner of her mouth.

“I knew it would be like this.”

I was expecting it from the moment I sat down within arm’s reach of the scimitar. The sharp purple blade of the scimitar was stuck between the crossed blades of La Mancha and Ymir. Ronan gritted his teeth as he still felt the immense power. The moment I relaxed even a little, my forehead would split in half. Jaipa, who was watching him, spoke with interest.

“It has increased significantly. “Did you change it to a dual sword style?”

“I change it whenever I feel like it. “Do you want to give it a try?”

Ronan spat on the floor. Jaipa silently took his stance and thrust out his scimitar. Considering his size and weight, he had incredible speed. Every time the three blades collided, sparks like spray bloomed in the air. Irregular metallic sounds echoed in the cave. We were in the middle of competing for about 20 sum. Suddenly, Jaipa obtained the scimitar. Ronan, who had just raised his sword diagonally to cut, urgently stopped his movements. The tip of La Mancha’s sword stopped exactly in front of Jaipa’s neck.

“f*ck, what are we going to do now?”

Ronan frowned. If she had been a little late she would have really gotten cut. Jaifa, who was looking him up and down, nodded his head.

“···Of course it’s not you.”

“what?”

“At that time, I was skeptical even at the imperial palace. “I don’t know what happened, but I sensed an energy similar to that of those fanatics.”

Ronan twisted his mouth. As expected, she noticed. Jaipa, who had placed the scimitar against the wall again, picked up two extra boxes from the corner and placed them near the bonfire.

“Sit down.”

“Are you going to swing a knife like this again? “I heard it’s similar.”

“Your charges were just dropped. It’s similar, but the texture is different. You don’t have that youthful smell that is typical of those who are steeped in illusions. “The way he wielded his sword was completely different from the sword marks left on the bodies of my men.”

“How is it different?”

“It was a massacre that only an emotionless butcher could commit. “It is fundamentally different from your sword, which is dripping with emotion.”

Jaifa hesitated. Ronan swallowed thickly at the horrifyingly accurate analysis. I could only say that it was a great intuition to have such accuracy without even being able to see the sparkling mana.

“I should have resolved the misunderstanding at the palace, but I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay if you know that’s not the case. “What about your lieutenant?”

“He hasn’t woken up yet. The military doctor said that it was highly likely that psychological factors were involved. “I was so shocked that I closed my mind.”

Ronan twisted his lips. The sight of the lioness still crouching in the hole, terrified, was pleasing to the eye. It seems that the wound in my heart was deeper than I thought, as I still haven’t recovered even after a month.

“···Damn it.”

“But my body is completely healed, so I will come to my senses soon. “Aren’t you going to sit down?”

“To urge you.”

Only then did Ronan lower his sword and sit down on the box. The warmth of the bonfire was warm. Jaipa opened the lid of another wooden box using only his little fingernail. There were five or six large bottles of alcohol, well packaged. He took out two bottles and handed one to Ronan. The label, made of luxurious paper, had a detailed sketch of a snow crystal shape. Ronan’s eyes widened.

“Is this supposed to be an eternal fairy tale?”

“It’s a hometown drink. “I’ll take you to the bar later, so please talk to me.”

Jaifa responded and took a gulp of alcohol. Maybe it was because he was so big, but when he swung his neck a few times, the bottle was immediately empty.

Without any delay, he immediately took out the next bottle and opened it. No matter how wealthy you are, it may not be something you can easily obtain, but it was truly a use worthy of a swordsman.

“Let’s talk together… shall we do that?”

Ronan muttered quietly. He drank the alcohol in one go like a Zyfa and let out a stinging breath. He felt his body heating up and his energy returning. I thought that maybe this was the secret to strength. Ronan wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked at Jaifa.

“Puha…it’s awesome. So what were you doing that you were late for?”

“I came here to kill the pests. “In the end, I couldn’t find any clues.”

“pest? Nebula Clage?”

“okay. “I think I caught at least a hundred.”

Jaipa said that from the day he left the imperial palace, he traveled the entire continent to hunt down the culprit who killed his subordinates. The most likely suspect, Nebula Clage, had to bear the wrath of the Sword Saint, and as a result, small branches near the islands were completely withered away. Ronan tilted his head.

“You caught it all by yourself? “Is there anyone who uses a strange shield?”

“It happened sometimes. These guys are dealing with a defense shield that cannot be breached no matter what they do. However, all of them had weak durability, so there was no problem.”

Ronan laughed. Jaipa explained that there is a separate way to attack those who use Star Protection. In short, all you had to do was hit and run repeatedly and catch it when the protection faded, which was possible because it wasn’t a permanent shield like the bald ones.

‘Monster bastard.’

Still, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s an easy feat to say the least. We could see that Sarante was defeated in the end. In many ways, I was keenly aware of the fact that he was the greatest swordsman of all time, and at the same time, I wondered why this author was not seen during the final battle.

‘No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t look like he was murdered by anyone.’

My head was spinning. There were too many people, including Nabirose and Kratir, who could not guess the cause of their disappearance.

Ronan, who had been drooling, drank again. Anyway, nothing could be resolved even if I thought about it right away. Then Jaifa, who had been rummaging through his pockets, held out something to Ronan.

“By the way, do you know what this is?”

“hmm?”

The small, shiny metal was carved into the shape of a seven-pointed star. Ronan raised his eyebrows when he saw the familiar shape. It was undoubtedly the item worn by Bishop Terranil in the desert ruins of Dainhar.

“···Where did you get this?”

“This is an item obtained when attacking a burrow’s procession. The chief there left him with his arms. “Something was being transported in a carriage, but unfortunately it was missed.”

Jaifa clicked his tongue. It happened in the southwestern part of the continent. He explained that he surprised them in a forest where the grass and trees were all white, and defeated them, but missed the leader and the wagon.

After hearing the description of the white forest, Ronan brushed his bangs. Although the location was completely different from the one Russell had mentioned, the features were surprisingly similar.

“where are you?”

“So… it was a forest that appeared after crossing the Itasian Mountains in the northwest. “Only certain sections turned unusually white.”

“You didn’t find any ruins or anything?”

“Ruins…? It’s a shame, but I couldn’t do a detailed investigation because I was going crazy with anger at the time. If you are interested, please visit. “I will give that to you.”

Jaifa gestured. Ronan nodded slightly and put the badge in his pocket. I felt like I was getting closer to the truth. In addition to Nebula Clage, they talked about what they had been up to for the past two years. Thanks to the fairly strong alcohol, the atmosphere did not become too serious.

“That’s right, your teacher often comes to visit his adjutant. “He’s someone I don’t even know.”

“teacher? Is it really Varen?”

“okay. “This is the kid who blocked me in the imperial palace.”

“Hehehe, well, it’s time for that lion to get married too. “It’s pretty good.”

Ronan chuckled. She let out a low laugh as if she was also happy. Suddenly, Ronan’s eyes landed on the scimitar leaning against the wall. Darman’s face flashed before her eyes as he delivered her knife.

“So, I guess you haven’t received it yet?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Uh…so.”

Ronan trailed off. It was because he remembered what Darman had said. He clearly said that the sword he was delivering was a gift from his teacher to Jaipa.

‘Surprise gifts are always the best.’

I didn’t want to beat the candle for no reason. Ronan, avoiding eye contact, looked around and said.

“no. “You will find out soon.”

“It’s bland.”

“So, why did you come here? “I don’t think she came as a participant like Nabi Rose.”

“The Imperial Sword Saint has the obligation to participate in the final exam and the ceremonies taking place in the sacred place. It is my duty to console the rookie who won the final exam and show him the direction in which he should move forward as a prosecutor. It’s annoying, but I’m looking forward to it a bit this time. “There are quite a few potential participants, including you and the Empire’s Morning Star.”

Of course, that snake is annoying. Jaifa mumbled and took a sip of his drink. Ronan’s eyes widened. This was a rule I was completely unaware of.

Who would have thought that the winner of the final exam would spar with the swordsman? For a moment, thoughts related to Russell, the devil, and Nebula Clazier quickly passed through my mind. Ronan, who had been smoothing her chin, slowly opened his mouth.

“Zaifa.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“What if I told you I found it? “The one who killed your men.”

In an instant, Jaifa’s eyes changed. After being dumbfounded for a moment, he drank the second bottle of alcohol in one go.

The liquid, enough to buy a house, was completely gone in three sips. Cheer up! Jaifa threw the empty bottle on the floor and glared at Ronan.

“What do you mean?”

The growling voice was showing life again. Ronan put his hand in her inner pocket and played with her Dawn card. The wind mixed with the ice cap was howling outside the cave.