Level up with swords (65)
Mercenaries’ fights are always improvised.
When they are doing ‘work’, they calmly calculate their profits and losses, but when they are not, they pull out their weapons over trivial disputes.
Due to the nature of the industry, which proves its value through force, if you endure it while being looked down upon, your value will only drop. There is a need to counter the controversy in some way.
Gustav grabbed his claymore and used his auror to evaporate the alcohol remaining in his body.
Cheeeee… .
Hazy vapor rises above the bronze skin.
The momentum was so brutal that the mercenaries who came with Jerome took a step back without realizing it.
Gustav, the mercenary leader who reached the highest B rank.
His strength was already close to the bottom of A rank.
“Take the lead.”
“Are you giving me orders again?”
Unlike his subordinates, Jerome did not lose his composure.
The sarcastic voice is disgusting.
But Gustav answered without any agitation.
“It looks like you came here with the intention of giving it a fight from the beginning, but you don’t even have the courage to show your back? 〈Scavenger〉.”
“under!”
Only then did Jerome, who had completely erased his smile, growl.
“I would have told you not to call me by that name.”
“That’s funny.”
“what?”
Gustav said, snorting at his threat.
“You can be rude to me, but I can’t? “I was wondering why you came here to fight, but you’re still talking.”
“… … “Follow me.”
The murderous look in Jerome’s eyes sparkled darkly.
He is also the leader of a B-rank mercenary group. If he just steps back after making it this far, he will be an inexcusable coward.
The mercenaries, divided into two groups, rushed out of the tavern.
Gustav and Jerome.
It was a fight between two mercenary leaders who were close to A rank. At that moment, the people in the bar turned into spectators, and in an instant, hundreds of spectators gathered around them like the walls of the Colosseum.
“Hmm, that’s a bit strange.”
“What?”
Leon, who heard Hamel muttering to himself, turned around.
An archer belonging to the Claws of Steel, he once served as a ranger and his senses cannot be neglected.
Then Hamel answered as if he had been waiting for the question.
“Jerome has quarreled with the captain more than once, but he has never come out to challenge the captain as openly as he did now. “If he fights sincerely, he knows who will win.”
“I guess the difference in skill is quite big?”
“Well, that’s right. The compatibility of the weapons is not very good, and Jerome has been famous for always looking for easy jobs.”
That may be why the nickname ‘Scavenger’ came about.
A beast looking for a corpse.
Avoiding opponents you can’t beat is wise, but always sticking to easy opponents is another story.
What glory can come to someone who only deals with the weak?
“But that attitude suddenly reversed today.”
“hmm.”
Not only Hamel but other mercenaries reacted similarly. He was rolling his eyes, saying that there was definitely a plot going on and that he didn’t know what kind of trick Jerome might pull.
Only Gustav calmly dismissed the concern.
“do not worry.”
The well-polished blade of the claymore glowed dullly.
“I win.”
Gustav left those words and walked forward.
Jump and jump.
Radius 15 meters.
The vacant lot surrounded by onlookers was the duel site for the two. When the two men stood facing each other, everyone who was talking fell silent.
It was an unusual life.
The air sent a chill down the back of my neck, and the faces of the mercenaries who read that airflow naturally hardened. He had a hunch that this duel would result in the blood of one of the two.
Gustav’s mouth opened.
“What are the rules?”
“If you die or surrender, you lose. Weapons should only be used with what is in your hand and on your bare body. “The use of artifacts is prohibited.”
“good night.”
Without taking their eyes off each other, the two mercenaries took four steps back and straightened their posture.
If you turn your back, you will see through the gap.
This is different from a fair duel between knights.
There was no separate starting signal.
gulp.
When someone swallowed their saliva, the two men took that as a starting point and rushed towards the enemy in front of them.
“Sigh!”
The first attack was Gustav’s.
Zweihander, who is 2.3 meters tall, was the first to put his opponent at range. The great sword that tore through the wind with a ‘hook’ was swung with a speed that was far from its weight.
A powerful strike that can hardly be called a slash.
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If you hit it from the front, your body will be shattered along with its defenses.
Whoops!
A metallic sound rang out, making my ears tingle.
The result was that the two swords hit the claymore’s sword face, causing the blade to fall to the side.
Surprisingly, Jerome perfectly parried his sword strike.
This would have been absolutely impossible for him before.
“Running like a wild boar!”
Jerome’s dual swords whipped around, aiming for the gap.
Falcata.
It is a single-edged sword that is used like an axe. The center of gravity is greatly shifted forward, making the sword’s path unique, and it exerts maximum destructive power when cutting with the front part of the blade.
Jerome was a master at handling both of them skillfully.
Kagagaga River!
Sparks fly from the blade that hit the claymore.
The twin swords, which even created a blurry afterimage, seemed to have increased from eight to eight or more instead of two.
It is a close contest of power and speed.
If Gustav suppresses the flow with one slash, Jerome swings ten times to create an opening.
Unshakable rocks and constantly churning waves.
The conflicting styles of battle clashed head-on, dizzying the eyes of those watching. Only strong people of B rank or higher could follow the sword combination accurately.
“Your skills have improved considerably, Jerome!”
Gustav smiled viciously and swung his sword.
The blood boiling over from the fight lifts the spirit. A grey-white auror that was as shiny as steel swallowed up the claymore.
His auror attribute is ‘Steel’.
It is a specialized property of land that has both attack and defense power.
“Don’t look down, you son of a bitch!”
Jerome, who felt the praise as an insult, cried out.
When ‘Waves’, one of the specialized properties of water, dyes his dual swords ultramarine blue, the owner’s anger amplifies their power.
The sword strikes were several times more intense than before.
Wow!
A clash between a horizontal cut and an X-shaped cut.
The shock wave that erupted between the two swept through the vacant lot, unknowingly pushing away onlookers who had taken a few steps away.
If I had been a little closer, my skin would have been torn.
“Ugh!”
And it was Jerome who was pushed back in that clash.
Both of his hands seemed to have burst, and red blood was flowing down the forearm of the hand holding the dual swords.
Unable to hide his shock, he shouted hysterically.
“Nonsense! “Did your mother get along with an ogre?”
“It looks like you really have to die to get into that maw!”
Gustav, enraged by the insulting words, aimed his sword. Although he was dominant, he was not dominant.
If I lost my composure, this situation might turn around.
He was still angry at Jerome, but at the same time he was admiring his growth. He must have been scourging himself to no end, for in just a few months he was right behind his back.
“I don’t know why we started the fight, but let’s put it this way. Otherwise, it will only end when one of the two dies.”
“okay! “That one is you!”
Unlike Gustav, Jerome was full of desire to do something.
I wonder if he really came prepared to fight for life or not, and his life-threatening spirit continued to swell without any signs of abating.
On the contrary, his eyes cooled down.
“I didn’t know that even though I did this much, I would be pushed back. I underestimated you a lot. From now on, I will go with all my might.”
“what?”
Gustav was truly surprised by those words.
Do you still have hidden powers? If you think about it calmly, it was definitely a bluff, but Jerome’s eyes were serious.
It was then.
“… hmm?”
Was it because of my mood? The eyes of the guy Gustav saw seemed to be dyed red. An instantaneous, so uncertain, change occurred in a matter of seconds.
No one watching noticed.
Immediately after that, it moved.
Whoops!
Two lines of ultramarine blue lightning exploded.
Gustav’s body, which reflexively raised its great sword, was pushed forward. Both its speed and power are on a different level from before.
Even the afterimage continues to increase, making it impossible to keep up with Jerome’s speed.
In this place, the only person who properly understood his attack was Leon, who used the <Answer>.
‘The movements are a bit sloppy, but that’s Karen-level speed… !’
I’m not sure how he did it, but Jerome has stepped into A-rank territory. It was not a speed that Gustav, who was still only at the top of B rank, could handle.
The dominant situation was instantly overturned.
Jerome already had the upper hand in speed, but as that advantage multiplied several times, he couldn’t handle it.
Pachi!
The blade that missed the great sword cut off Gustav’s shoulder.
“Tsk… .”
No, it’s not just the shoulders. The number of sword strikes that passed by without missing that moment was three.
In particular, there was a lot of blood flowing from the thighs and sides.
Blood splatters all over Gustav’s body, and wounds appear. Even after turning to his defensive posture, it is difficult to maintain his position. Before he knew it, a puddle of blood began to pool at his feet.
It doesn’t even give you a chance to surrender. The chain of attacks that had only the intention of killing him was chipping away at him.
“Leader!”
Han Sen, who could no longer bear it, tried to break into it, but
“Uh huh, it can be used if a third party arbitrarily intervenes in the duel.”
Jerome’s men, the 〈Wolf Teeth〉 mercenary group, intercepted him.
They all had weapons, as if they were planning to fight if necessary. The number of people is four, not much different from them.
Just like in Claws of Steel, each and every one of them is a B-rank elite. Since the cause was on the other side and the power itself was equal, the mercenaries, including Han Sen, could not move carelessly even though they gritted their teeth.
And the situation became increasingly unfavorable for Gustav.
Sigh!
Fresh blood gushes from the sword struck at an angle.
Although I avoided the vital spot, I was cut quite deeply.
As Gustav, who was staggering from dizziness, regained his bearings, Jerome, who saw him, laughed and brushed away the blade.
“Hahahaha! Say it proudly again! “If I get down on my knees and pray right now, they might let me live?”
“You… !”
“What are you going to do if you stare at me like that? Look at your feet first. It looks like a bucketful’s worth of water has spilled out. How much longer do you think you can hold on? huh?”
Jerome’s eyes were shining red as he mocked Gustav.
The thick smell of blood tickles your nose, and as you look at fresh blood filled with vitality, your true nature begins to awaken.
My calm breathing becomes very rough.
The moment the ultramarine blue aura turns faintly red,
[Leon.]
El Cid immediately recognized the discomfort and spoke.
[Hold me high and let out the light of the Auror. Right Now!]
Leon followed the instructions without a moment of hesitation.
As the sword pulled from his belt was raised towards the sky, the people around him looked at him with puzzled faces.
The exceptions were the two who were concentrating on the duel, but the same was true for the mercenary groups ‘Wolf Tooth’ and ‘Claws of Steel’. When everyone was looking at him and questioning him, Leon gave his strength.
Flash!
The ‘solar’ aura fused with the light of purification spread warm light in all directions. The light was not strong enough to blind one’s eyes, but it was enough to erase dirt and push away the darkness of the night.
It was a typology established in a different direction from 〈Auror Weapon〉.
To ordinary people, it’s just a warm light, but since it was El Cid’s advice, I thought it might have some meaning.
‘Huh?!’
just as expected.
“Kwaaaaaak!”
“Ride! “My body is on fire!”
“Hot, hot! “It’s hot!”
The mercenaries of “Wolf Teeth” were rolling on the ground and struggling. Those who scratch so hard that their skin is torn off, those who roll on the ground and try to escape to a place where light cannot reach. Despite his normal appearance, he reacted as if his entire body was on fire.
To other people, it was nothing short of crazy.
Moreover, Jerome was also affected by it.
“Keuuuuu… .”
Exhaling black smoke from his entire body, Jerome glared at Leon with red eyes.
However, as if he didn’t even have the strength to attack, he soon fell down and flinched.
It looked like an earthworm placed on a hot iron plate.
“… “What happened?”
Even Leon, who had done that, was so embarrassed that he stuttered.
He just did as El Cid told him to do, and he didn’t really know what happened.
Why did the mercenaries have seizures when they just touched the light?
How many seconds did Jerome become incapacitated after entering A rank?
Many questions passed through his mind.
[What are you worrying about so much?]
But El Cid said it as if it was no big deal.
[These guys are all Dhampirs. So, I was crushed in front of your aurors and my holy power.]
“Dhampir? what is that.”
[A person on the borderline between vampires and humans. In a word, they are half-penny people. Although they can live under sunlight, they are greatly weakened, and become several times stronger in the darkness of the night. It must have been thanks to him that he overpowered that rice cake.]
Leon tilted his head at those unexpected words.
‘Dhampir, then are they related to vampires?’
[That is highly likely.]
‘Wow, the story we talked about while drinking is rolling in right away.’
First of all, there seemed to be a need to sort out the situation.
There were also problems with the treatment of Jerome, who had suddenly suffered a seizure and collapsed, and the 〈Wolf Teeth〉 mercenary group, as well as Gustav, who was seriously injured.
Leon, who had a lot to do at night, took a deep breath.
