Kwaaang!
“Damn these creatures!”
Caliann gritted his teeth as he faced three knights whose defense was seemingly impervious even to him.
The refined realm he had barely achieved was of a different caliber, even compared to mid-tier knights.
Dealing with three mid-tier knights should’ve been within the norm for him.
But now, he could only watch helplessly as these knights blocked his every move, and his subordinates fell one after another.
“This is ridiculous!”
Kwaaang!
In a burst of force, Caliann managed to push the three knights back with a powerful strike.
In that moment, a golden sword cut through the wind and interjected.
“Leave them to me and help your comrades!”
With a golden force emanating from his blade, the red-haired warrior cried out as the three knights withdrew without a word.
The figure of this red-haired adversary was strikingly similar to the imposing man who, during their first clash, had managed to make Caliann dodge without realizing.
Flames sparked in Caliann’s eyes at the sight of this brat.
“Are you a whelp of the Macline?”
Not even an hour into the battle and his side was already showing signs of defeat.
Capturing this fellow could buy his allies time to regroup.
Clenching his teeth, Caliann swung his force-entwined blade.
However…
Kwaaang!
“Urgh!”
“What a lackluster high-tier knight. Put some more strength into it!”
Surely the aura he sensed from the brat was, at best, mid-tier.
Yet it was him who got pushed back at the collision.
“How dare you, a lucky brat!”
Overwhelmed by a sense of danger and his crumbling pride, Caliann began to release a murderous intent.
‘Good, this is going well.’
Seeing Caliann emitting killing intent, Logan smiled.
‘A proper enemy high-tier knight.’
Logan solidified the second form of his divine sword vision, Dan-geum-jam, pounding against the wall of high-tier force users.
The wall that seemed easy to cross had been intact for months.
At a time when it was maddeningly close to breaking through, facing not his own family’s high-tier knights but one from a different region was the most suitable encounter for an epiphany.
With his side slowly taking the upper hand on the battlefield, there was no reason not to be thrilled.
“Come at me!”
Quaaang!
The duel began with a head-on collision devoid of any finesse or technique.
Both red and gold forces collided, and the aftermath of the shock was almost equal for both.
But even that seemingly even match was enough to disconcert Caliann.
‘A mid-tier knight with the strength of a high-tier?’
Impossible.
The enhancement ratio granted by the force grew exponentially with each higher realm.
This must have been due to his own complacency.
“I won’t hold back anymore, you brat!”
“Keep dreaming…”
Clang!
Crash!
Bang! Boom!
Their swords crossed numerous times, skimming armor and flesh alike.
After another evenly matched collision, Caliann’s eyes finally dimmed with a heavy glare.
Logan was quite pleased with the change in his opponent.
“Now you’re getting serious.”
“Damn you…”
Not fully understanding the situation but accepting it nonetheless, Caliann acknowledged that in terms of strength and speed, he was not being outmatched by his adversary.
‘How can someone so young… What a monster.’
But physical attributes aside, there was something Caliann knew he couldn’t emulate.
He extinguished the inferno of anger and jealousy within and gripped his sword calmly.
Moved by the urgency, he acknowledged that a hasty attack could spell danger for himself.
Crack.
“Things will be different from now on.”
With those words spoken in a low voice, his red sword swung out, and simultaneously ‘two’ swords aimed for both Logan’s top and bottom.
The vivid red blades were too realistic even for Logan’s senses to distinguish in a moment.
But…
‘Below!’
The sword targeting the lower half was undoubtedly real, while the one above seemed merely a floating red blade.
Logan moved to block the lower strike when suddenly…
‘No, it’s too obvious a trick!’
Realizing this, he quickly maneuvered his sword to cover both above and below.
Clash!
Boom!
Crash!
A moment too late to react, the tangible upper red blade grazed Logan’s neck.
“Hmm. Lucky you.”
“Quite the trick up your sleeve.”
The realization that both swords were solid surprised even Logan, to which Caliann responded with a murderous chuckle.
“Enjoy that trick of yours until you draw your last breath.”
Whoosh.
The red sword now appeared as three blades, each targeting a new angle: a diagonal slice from the shoulder, a horizontal cut across the legs, and a thrust.
Faced with an unrelenting multi-directional assault, Logan had no choice but to retreat helplessly.
“But I know a similar technique that could be useful.”
Whir.
The moment his golden blade shone, a strange energy spread, slowing the three incoming sword strikes in an odd way.
The slightly misdirected red blades revealed an opening, which Logan exploited as he lunged forward, sword in hand.
“Ugh! Cut the crap!”
With a forceful kiai, Caliann’s red blade brightened, multiplying into five.
Logan had to hastily retreat from the sheer might of the new blades.
As his pace fell back faster and faster, Caliann seized the momentum, relentlessly swinging his sword.
The torrent of five red blades felt like an ambush from five opponents, but Logan fought back with composure, bundling the swords with overwhelming force, even finding moments to counter among the pressure.
Yet, despite the calm retaliation, wounds piled up on his body uncontrollably.
Caliann, having finally taken the advantage, forgot his original intention amidst a surge of killing intent.
“Die!”
At that instant, Logan, eyes shining, leaped into the onslaught of those red blades, which seemed bound to rend him asunder.
“Taah!”
Quaaang!
“Ugh!”
“Gasp!”
Another great clash ensued, but this time, it was Caliann who was pushed back even farther.
Logan, bearing superficial cuts on his thigh and forearm, bleeding yet grinning broadly, had found it.
‘Got it.’
He realized that instead of binding all five swords with his overwhelming force, targeting just one or two decisive blades would suffice to create an opening, despite some damage.
“Each of your blows is too weak. If this is all you have, it’s disappointingly flimsy.”
It wasn’t a mere display of dominance; Logan had turned the battle into a stepping stone for his growth.
Eager for Caliann to exert more effort, Logan’s provocation hit its mark perfectly.
Crunch.
“I’ll slash you to pieces.”
“But seems like your head will hit the ground before that happens.”
As Caliann’s eyes reddened with intensifying bloodlust, Logan charged with a smile.
Clang! Bang! Kwaaang!
Crash.
As injuries etched into Logan’s body, more severe wounds befell Caliann in return.
Then suddenly…
Amidst Caliann’s ultimate technique, San-geom, Logan’s blow sliced through Caliann’s flank.
Rip.
“Cough, cough!”
Stumbling, Caliann incredulously looked at Logan.
He had seen the last strike with his own eyes and yet failed to defend against it.
He crossed five swords to block, but Logan’s attack had far surpassed their power.
This only meant one thing.
“Could it be…”
“Thank you for the fight.”
Feeling ‘three’ cores pulsing in his heart, Logan smiled broadly, the two cores orbiting the center core enhancing the force eightfold, invigorating his body.
His blood loss from many cuts had caused slight dizziness, but now his body was rekindling with energy.
It was time to give this worthy opponent a final, grand display.
‘Let’s finish with a flourish.’
With an intent to inspire allies and despair the enemies, Logan’s core transformed into a massive golden gleam erupting from his sword.
“This is the end.”
The first form of his divine sword vision, Wave Splitter.
Eight layers of golden waves surged, sweeping across a 7-8 meter space in front.
Kwaaaang!
Caliann was obliterated, his armor reduced to blood-stained sand scattering in the wind.
As the shocking scene drew all nearby eyes…
“I’ve captured the enemy commander!”
Logan shouted with a booming voice that shook the surroundings.
Right at that moment…
– Soto Sylvan has been captured! Those who kneel and disarm shall live! All must surrender!
His father’s even louder outcry reverberated beyond the castle walls and across the entire battlefield.
The impact of those words scattered the attention focused on Logan instantly.
“When did he… get there…”
Logan smirked awkwardly, covered in blood.
* * * The battle that ensued half a day after the declaration of war concluded in just a few hours.
Moreover, the result was overwhelmingly one-sided, a decisive victory for Macline.
Baron Sylvan’s knight, Caliann, and 42 others deceased. Soldiers, 1,223 deceased.
Macline’s knight, Pames, and 5 others deceased. Soldiers, 0 deceased.
A turnout so favorable, it would be deemed a lie upon hearing it through rumors.
Silvan ran, losing his knights swiftly to Padric’s capture.
When Silvan the baron was taken and a sword threatened his neck, the remaining knights, poised to resist to the end, all surrendered.
The MacLine knights occupying Silvan Castle wore faces full of smiles for a reason.
– We have won. Decisively so.
A swelling pride for progress turned into reality.
There were sacrifices, but the general ease and laughter on everyone’s face were well justified.
On the contrary, the Silvan family and knights kneeled in plain clothes within the great hall, the situation grim for them.
But that concern was not for the conquerors to bear.
“Soto Sylvan. I offer you a chance.”
Seated in place of the lord, Padric’s voice echoed throughout the great hall, and Soto Sylvan, who suddenly aged a decade in half a day, raised his head with a haggard complexion.
“Repent for your sins and take the minimum bounty to leave this territory with your family.”
Already humiliated and kneeling, the defeated were now instructed to apologize.
“No one would accept this lightly.”
“Such blatant declaration and unwarranted occupation will not be tolerated by the royal court either!”
For those watching, Soto’s desperate outburst elicited nothing but hollow laughter.
Just as demonstrated in the previous estate war with Tesron, the royal court held little interest in this rural backwater.
Unless it was high treason or a similar major event, they wouldn’t care.
However, such matters couldn’t be voiced publicly, so Padric looked down at the vanquished with a sneer.
“You insulted and threatened Macline, which possessed a just cause. My actions were merely to protect our sovereignty. Even the royal court will find no fault.”
“Even if the royals overlook this, Count Biphros of the Southwest will not allow it! Especially against Macline!”
Faced with this claim, Padric tensed.
If the downfall of the Macline earldom was once caused by the earl’s mismanagement, the biggest beneficiary of overturning Macline was Biphros, formerly a vassal of Macline.
The fertile Biphros Plains, formerly Macline Plains, elevated Biphros to the position of Lord of the Southwest naturally.
Owing to the mediation of the royal court and Macline’s barren lands, Biphros didn’t enforce vassalage upon the Macline family.
But for Macline, the name alone was distasteful.
“Are you declining the opportunity and choosing death?”
Padric’s tone naturally bore a hint of deadliness.
“I, I…”
Realizing too late that his own words had sealed his fate, Soto paled.
“Just…”
Whoosh!
Before Soto could muster a defense, his head soared into the air amidst a spray of blood.
“Ahh!”
“Dad!”
“Honey!”
The three wives and five daughters of Soto’s kneeling family screamed in unison.
“In honor of the viscount’s choice for a dignified death over submission, his end came with the least pain possible.”
Logan, having just wiped the blood off his sword, bowed indifferently to his father.
“Good, that was done well.”
The scene had been preordained, and so Padric’s expression remained stoic.
They had captured Soto to avoid unnecessary losses, and now they had killed him to sever any lingering hopes of the remaining knights.
Even if there were any knights truly loyal to the tyrannical Soto, the coup was to offer a chance for change.
‘If you had bowed from the start, it would have been a bit troublesome. But this worked out well.’
Regardless of Soto’s actions, the outcome was sealed.
The choice given was merely a facade for the narratives that would spread, aimed at preventing any hot gossip among the other nobles.
Especially…
‘Biphros…’
Currently, it was a foe beyond the capacity of the Macline family.
For now, they had to momentarily retract for a future leap forward.