novel(9)
| ← Ch.220 | Ch.222 → |
I decided to feign innocence towards Elder Weger, who was smiling at me."I don't know who this Youngest Master-nim you are talking about is, but you shouldn't shoot sword aura so recklessly in the capital."
Elder Weger smiled merrily at my scolding."Hahaha, I have already heard from Young Miss's report that Youngest Master-nim goes around wearing a white half-mask with recognition interfering magic cast on it."
Then, after saying so, he gave a look of surprise."But I'm surprised you're wearing a mask that's already been revealed. I thought the Youngest Master-nim would use a new recognition interfering magic tool. Yet, Youngest Master-nim is really wearing a white half-mask, just as the Deputy Chief-nim said."
I burst into laughter at Elder Weger's words."Hahaha, as expected of Hestia noona."
"Oho, you're not denying that you are the Youngest Master now?"
When I didn't deny it, Elder Weger asked with interest, and I smiled lightly."You won't believe me even if I deny it. And I wore this mask because I thought I'd be discovered in the capital anyway."
My third sister seemed to have guessed my prediction as well. If the current situation was within Hestia noona's expectations, what would she do now? There were a few scenarios that I could guess, but I thought that she would probably take action herself. No, when I left my hometown, considering that she lost me at the end of the chase, it was clear that she would take action directly.
I asked Elder Weger with confidence, "Which one did she bring, Blackie, Goldie, Whitey, or Spotty? My guess is that she brought Blackie, the one who follows her the best.
Even if Hestia noona herself moved, my weak-bodied third sister would not be able to catch me alone. However, if she allowed the people from my hometown's delegation to act on her behalf, it was obvious what would happen to the capital, so she couldn't allow it. As such, at the least, she would have definitely prepared a means to move quickly.
"Who knows? I don't know what you mean." Elder Weger still wore a gentle smile.
I couldn't read Elder Weger's expression at all. Indeed, the old monster's facial expressions could not be read because not only could he control his facial muscles, but also his pupils and pulse rate.
I looked at Elder Weger as he continued pretending to be ignorant and checked the Holy Sword I had put in my pocket."Well, I can roughly guess, so there is no need to answer."
Considering the number of delegates I saw at the banquet hall, it was clear that the foreign minister, capable of reading the political situation, would remain at the banquet hall. Hestia noon would probably try to move as discreetly as possible, so at most, there would be three people brought alongside her.
If it was as I expected, there was a high possibility of her only bringing around one escort. If so, the escort would be Gallahad hyung. My eldest brother was a poor thinker, but he was also one of the most powerful in the village. He was simple and tactless, but when I was in my hometown, I never beat my eldest brother in a pure head-on match.
"Oh, is that so?" Elder Weger smiled and spoke, spewing out martial aura to the point of making one's body tremble.
"Aside from that, they say flying magic is prohibited in the capital, so how about coming down?"
This didn't seem like what someone who suddenly fired a sword aura should say.
"What if I refuse?"
Elder Weger answered my question in a calm voice."Still, it does not matter. Looking at you, you seem pretty exhausted, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to give you a flight advantage."
At the same time, Elder Weger stepped lightly on the ramparts. Following my senses, I quickly took out the Holy Sword, injected mana into it, and swung.
Kang!
Elder Weger jumped towards me at a speed beyond my vision's capabilities, and he swung his sword, clashing with mine."That's a good reaction. It seems you haven't been lazy and stopped training just because you left your hometown."
Along with Elder Weger's praise, I lost the strength contest and was pushed towards the ground. Despite being a magician and still growing, Elder Weger perfectly overwhelming me in a contest of strength was not the power an old man should have. What a monster.
I landed on the ground, rolling to disperse the impact. Elder Weger also turned around in the air and landed on the wall.
Elder Weger looked down at me from the wall and commented, "I love the sword you're holding. A sword that useful will reduce your skills a bit, but you should develop your abilities so that you won't be swayed by it."
Elder Weger's eyes glistened without hiding his feelings. That look was the same one he wore when pushing his disciples through hell training. I felt goosebumps all over and started running without looking back.
Even if I flew away, my opponent was someone who could jump through the sky by kicking the air, so it was not very efficient. If I were in good condition, it would be different, but after overexerting myself fighting my grandfather, if I ran away through the air and the great elder started chasing me, there would truly be no way out.
"Did you give up on the sky?" Elder Weger immediately jumped off the wall and asked, chasing me.
"Who knows!"
Fighting in the capital without flying had two advantages for me. One was that my opponent couldn't use any skills large enough to destroy the capital, and the other was that I was very familiar with the geography of the capital. With these two advantages, I would be able to escape Elder Weger's pursuit somehow.
Elder Weger shot a sword aura at me, and I threw myself to the side to dodge. While in the air, I stepped on the walls of a building in a residential area and jumped high, grabbed a magic street lamp, spun my body, and swung my Holy Sword, shooting a sword aura.
Elder Weger also ran over on the walls of the building while avoiding my sword aura. I let go of the street lamp and settled on the roof of the building. After this, I jumped between the buildings and fled towards the neighborhood where the high-ranking nobles lived.
"Uhtcha!" [1]
Elder Weger tried to move as gently as possible to not destroy the architecture, but the old buildings on the outskirts of the capital were likely to break down if a Crow attempted to move at full speed.
"How can you destroy the buildings?! Don't you feel sorry for the people who live there?" I've lived in the capital for quite a long time and have gotten used to the fragile buildings' durability, but Elder Weger hasn't.
Elder Weger smiled sheepishly when I lightly reprimanded him."Huhhuhhuh, jeez. Youngest Master-nim is still as shrewd as always."
The best example of this was, while running away, I was taking the capital hostage.
"What do you mean shrewd? You should say it is wise."
Using the surrounding environment was fundamental for military strategy. Elder Weger didn't seem to think poorly of my judgment, seeing how he laughed even while calling me shrewd.
Elder Weger and I launched sword auras at each other as we moved about on top of the rooftops. Our sword auras cut well-paved brick roads or smashed parts of the roofs. Still, the fact that two Crows were fighting and only caused this much damage was proof that they were heavily suppressing their strength.
In fact, if I hadn't suppressed Elder Weger's power in this way, I would have already been overwhelmed by him after growing exhausted from the battle with my grandfather. Furthermore, if his power had not been suppressed, half of the capital would have been destroyed, so it was vital to curb his power.
A tense war of nerves between Elder Weger and me continued, and when we entered the center of the capital, Elder Weger began to make a winning move. Elder Weger flew into the sky, gathered up his martial arts skill, and kicked the air to close the gap to me instantly.
"Here I come!" Elder Weger cut towards my neck, right arm, and left side at the same time.
I deflected Elder Weger's sword that was approaching from three places with my Holy Sword and kicked him in the abdomen. However, Elder Weger turned his body to avoid the kick and swung his sword towards my heart.
I pulled back my upper body, dodging Elder Weger's sword. I placed my hands on the ground, and with the kick aimed at his abdomen, I directed it upwards and targeted Elder Weger's chin. Elder Weger raised his arm to block my kick, and I proceeded to cut Elder Weger's thigh with my sword, aiming for a blind spot created by my foot and Elder Weger's arm.
Kang!
It was definitely a blind spot, but Elder Weger's somehow blocked my Holy Sword. I pushed off the ground, distancing myself from Elder Weger.
"Impressive. It's a better weapon than I initially thought. If it weren't for that sword, it would have been over in one strike."
Just as Elder Weger evaluated, it was largely thanks to the Holy Sword that I was able to deflect Elder Weger's attack in the confrontation just now. The divine power of the sword continued to speed up my physical abilities and reaction times.
"First, as your swordsmanship teacher, I advise you not to use that sword in normal situations. If you get too used to it, you won't be able to use another sword ever again. It's definitely a magic sword that eats away a tiny portion of the swordsman's skills."
Ooong! The Holy Sword felt wronged by Elder Weger's assessment and cried. I was sorry towards the Holy Sword, but I felt the same way.
"When I get home, as advised, I'll return to my normal sword."
Elder Weger smiled at my words."That home, of course, means Olympus, right?"
"Of course not." As soon as these words were spoken, Elder Weger and I attacked each other.
I swung the Holy Sword at Elder Weger's neck. Elder Weger blocked the Holy Sword, but instead of deflecting it, he followed down the sword's blade and penetrated my defense. Looking at the sword aiming for my shoulder, I quickly recovered the mana that I had put into the Holy Sword.
"Uh!"
The blade of the Holy Sword disappeared, and Elder Weger's sword weakly shook due to the force he was pushing on it. I created the blade of the Holy Sword once more and struck Elder Weger's sword outwards. Then, I aimed at the shoulder of the defenseless Elder Weger.
Kang!
Elder Weger covered the hem of his robe with a strong aura to block the Holy Sword. It was a common method that people back home used since they were ten years old. Elder Weger's martial aura spewed out like an explosion, and slightly twisting his body, he kicked me in the abdomen at a speed not visible to the eye.
"Uuk!"
I quickly stepped back to reduce the impact and blocked it with the barrier I always wore, but the heavy force hit my stomach and blew me back. As I flew away, I grabbed a magic street lamp, spun around, and landed on the roof of another building.
"Aigoo, it hurts."
Momentarily, I almost vomited the duck meat I had for dinner. But thanks to Elder Weger, I was able to distance myself from him again.
As the distance between us increased, one could see Elder Weger's regret at this mistake in his eyes. It must have been quite shocking to see that I absorbed a lot of the impact and used the kick to further the distance.
"I'm leaving." I turned around and started running away again.
1. Kind of like grunting sound.
| ← Ch. 220 | Ch. 222 → |