Everyone in Sky Winged Knights was outstanding. However, Leon was the only one among them who could be called a true genius. Rather than simply being a cut above the rest, Leon’s caliber as a Seeker itself was completely different.
In addition to being an excellent Knight, he performed the role of control tower precisely while serving as the tank. On top of that, he even acquired exceptional techniques that allowed him to accelerate from zero to top speed in an instant.
The『Sky Winged』part of Sky Winged Knights, which was the name a certain reporter had dubbed them, was in reference to Leon’s unique abilities.
It was often said that his Knight's sword was like wings that soared through the sky.
When all was said and done, Leon was the Sky Winged Knights. Even if the other three were replaced by anyone else, as long as Leon was there, they would be called Sky Winged Knights. However, even if the other three remained, if Leon wasn’t there, no one would call them Sky Winged Knights.
I wouldn’t have been able to endure being in a situation where no matter how much effort I put in, I would always be treated only as Leon's accompaniment. No, there's probably no one with proper sensibilities who would be able to endure it.
Understanding that Sky Winged Knights was warped, Kaim was trying to support it with his own self-sacrifice. Certainly, everyone in Sky Winged Knights had strong bonds with one another. But it was also true that those bonds were only barely connected because the three people other than Leon had averted their eyes from the『pus』called jealousy that kept on accumulating in their hearts.
If they looked squarely at it, they would definitely not be able to endure it. That was why they had continued running desperately, trying to be allies that were worthy of Leon. While they were running, they could get by without being conscious of the darkness in their own hearts. They were just like certain migratory fish that would die when they stopped swimming.
However, something like that was a lie. It was destined to inevitably collapse someday. At that time, the『pus』that had accumulated over the years would probably burst dramatically.
I made contact with the three of them and told them to betray the others. But that wasn’t my true intention. Even if the three of them could continue to deceive themselves, a time when Leon himself would be unable to trust in their abilities would come. In other words, he would no longer be able to treat them as allies of equal standing, and would push them away as a result. I portrayed that outcome as『Leon's Betrayal』and imprinted it inside their heads. Then, I made them aware of the escape route called『freedom』.
I had one aim.
In a battle with a powerful enemy called Dantalion, Sky Winged Knights would be forced into a desperate struggle where they would inevitably have to sacrifice someone. However, Leon would probably never allow a battle like that. At that time, inside the three of them who had realized their own powerlessness, the feelings they had avoided confronting would match with the words that I had imprinted inside them, and they would try to remove Leon as the traitor, which was my aim. Once that happened, Sky Winged Knights would have effectively dropped out of the test.
If they had thought about it calmly, it was a situation that could have been avoided. However, more often than not, the people involved wouldn't be able to keep their calm. It didn’t take a significant amount of effort to move people’s hearts. Just like the saying about a hole made by an ant, simply making a slight crack in the floodbank inside their hearts would be enough. *(see below)
After that, I merely had to wait for the floodbank to burst. The uncontainable pus would overflow in an instant and would probably change into hysteria. The only path left for those people who were seized with hysteria, and trying to escape from the suffering, was only to remove Leon, their leader who had turned traitor, and be freed from the『cage』called Sky Winged Knights.
In terms of who would actually put it into action, Kaim was my favorite, Ophelia was the runner-up, and Vlaclav was the dark horse. Well, it didn’t matter to me which one it was.
As the sounds of battle had stopped, I came to take a look, but it appeared that things had went as I expected after all. Dantalion was alive and well, and there was no sign of anyone from Sky Winged Knights anywhere. In all likelihood, they were probably hiding somewhere using a barrier that concealed them. In other words, they were in a state where it was impossible for them to continue the battle.
I surveyed the surroundings and found a place where the grass was bent unnaturally. I bowed politely towards it.
「Everyone from Sky Winged Knights, thank you for your hard work thus far in paving the way for us」
Indeed, it was thanks to Sky Winged Knights, who had wiped out the small fry, that I was able to reach Dantalion without any trouble. Of course, this was also part of my plan.
To begin with, this test was a contest, but I had no intention of fighting Sky Winged Knights head-on from the start. The rules of engagement that I had set up through Harold were merely for the sake of dragging Sky Winged Knights, who had an aversion to killing, onto the battlefield to compete with me, and also to speed up their defeat. Sky Winged Knights had jumped the gun and brilliantly accomplished their role of paving the way for us before dropping out.
The troublesome small fry were gone, and the members of Sky Winged Knights were no longer able to continue fighting. All that was left, was for me to devour the main dish without worrying about anyone getting in my way.
「TOy! toY! nEW, TOy!」
Dantalion had discovered me, and was happily clapping its hands over its head. Its appearance was just like a monkey’s, but I couldn’t let my guard down. From past battle records, I knew very well how cunning and troublesome this Beast was. Otherwise, Sky Winged Knights wouldn't have been defeated.
However, it was no match for me. From the bottom of my heart, I smiled light-heartedly.
「Nice to meet you, Dantalion. I'm Noel Stollen」
「noEL! NOel! my, TOy!」
「Unfortunately, I can't be your toy. Because you’ll be killed by me, you see? Then, everything from your fur, flesh, bones, internal organs, to the very last drop of your blood will be put to good use. I’m sorry, okay?」
「Kyakkyakkyak! IT is USeleSS, UseLEss! ONe to DIe, NOel! onE TO diE, noEL!」
「You think so? In that case, I’ll prove it to you. --Come on, let's fight to the death, damned monkey」
†
†
Dantalion, which had felt my killing intent, threw itself at me immediately. However, before it reached me, I issued an order.
「Kouga, do it」
Tactical Skill: Battle Voice
Tactical Skill: Deploy Tactics
As a result of ranking up and becoming a Tactician, a number of Talk Skills had changed into Tactical Skills. Both Battle Voice and Deploy Tactics had their buff values increased from 25 percent to 40 percent.
Strengthened by my buffs, Kouga launched an onslaught on Dantalion from an overhead tree branch. Dantalion, which had been unable to detect his presence at all, was surprised by the attack, and made a big leap backwards. Kouga's onslaught ended with just a graze on Dantalion’s nose.
「Gigi? BOth oF yoU…… WHy…… wHY?」
Dantalion was surprised because it couldn't read our minds. Of course, we couldn’t use the『Perfect Sky Winged』like Leon could. However, with the training we did of observing the thoughts in each other's mind using Link, it became possible for us to perform something that was extremely close to it. If it was about instantly taking action from a standstill, we could carry out a『Mock Sky Winged』.
「Kouga, Serene as Still Waters」
「Okay!」
When I issued the next order, Kouga closed his eyes.
Bladesman Skill: Serene as Still Waters
A Skill that could only be activated when his eyes were closed, it doubled all senses except sight. Furthermore, when activated, his attack power and attack speed were constantly tripled.
Dantalion's stout arm was swung downwards at us. However, Kouga's blade deflected the trajectory of that violent blow, causing Dantalion's blow to land wide of the mark.
Despite the fact that he's my ally, that was truly a frightful superhuman feat. It was even more frightening because he was still at C Rank.
「Gigigi!? Gigigi!!!」
Despite being bewildered, Dantalion launched a flurry of heavy blows, but they were all negated by Kouga's sword.
The reason this back-and-forth was possible, was not due to the『Mock Sky Winged』. It was because Kouga had prioritized countering rather than trying to attack. There were no clear thoughts in his mind as he was only responding reflexively to non-visual information.
Consequently, even if Dantalion read his mind, it wasn't able to use that to outdo Kouga.
However, in terms of physical abilities, Dantalion’s were significantly better. Instead of using a barrage of blows, Dantalion could break this stalemate if it launched one blow so powerful that Kouga could do nothing about it. Dantalion realized that, and raised its fist high into the air. At that moment, I dived into its chest, and drew Silver-chan--the Silver Flame.
Magic bullet--Garm Bullet.
Refined from the bone-marrow fluid of a Garm, a Beast of depth nine, it was a magic bullet that was made from a magically conductive material of ultra-high purity, and contained a non-attribute explosive magic Skill. Upon impact, the magically conductive material would absorb the target's magic power and cause an explosion. By its nature, the more magic power the target had, the greater its effect.
Garm Bullet, impact.
The instant the bullet hit Dantalion's abdomen, it exploded and blew away Dantalion's huge body. About to get caught up in that explosion, I was rescued out of the blast radius by Kouga.
「GIGYAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!」
Dantalion had collapsed in agony while frothy blood was foaming out of its mouth. The explosion had not penetrated all the way through its abdomen, but its flesh was exposed, and blood was gushing out.
「Haha, as expected from a magic bullet that costs 10 million Fil per bullet」
I had prepared two Garm Bullets for this battle. Seeing its overwhelming power, which was beyond my expectations, a smile spread across my face.
Keeping my eyes on Dantalion, which was writhing in pain, I considered whether we should pursue it or not. This was a great opportunity, but there was still the possibility of being hit with a crushing counter. Also, as I didn’t have any shooting modifier Skills, I couldn’t thoughtlessly fire my last remaining Garm Bullet.
「Kouga, can you do it?」
「It's impossible. That guy's extremely hard. My blade won't be able to make a dent on it」
Through the training we did, Kouga had thorough knowledge of all my Skills. Which meant that Kouga was saying that he wouldn't deal damage even when buffed with my strongest Skill, Assault Command.
「Okay. Let's follow the original strategy」
Dantalion had staggered to its feet at the same time I decided our plan going forward. Wounded animals were very violent, but wounded Beasts were the absolute worst. The savage killing intent seething inside Dantalion’s three eyes was filled with a frightful hatred of us.
「Trade secret, was what I was going to say, but I feel great today, so I'll give you a hint. You and me are very compatible. Yes, extremely so」
In the first place, I was the one who had decided on Dantalion. I had told Harold to hold the test using this Beast. In truth, undead-type Beasts would have been better, as I could make good use of Exorcism against them, but unfortunately, there were no suitable Beasts among the ones that had crossed over.
However, Dantalion was also a Beast that was easy for me to fight. The reason was simple. Because I could completely negate Dantalion's ability to read my mind.
The trick behind that was the ability to think at high speed that was granted by my Job. Even if Dantalion tried to read my mind, if I increased my thinking speed to a level that exceeded Dantalion’s capability to read my thoughts, it would probably be impossible for it to read anything meaningful. The reason why I was able to dive into Dantalion’s chest without difficulty, was also because I had sped up my thinking speed.
「Looks like the one who’s going to be a toy is you」
When I smiled and provoked Dantalion, it bristled with rage.
「KILLKILLKILLKILLKILL, I kiLL yOUuuuUUUuu!!!!」
Dantalion picked up the stones lying on the ground and wound up his arm in an exaggerated motion.
「Kouga, Rain of Cherry Petals」
Bladesman Skill: Rain of Cherry Petals
A Skill that could multiply one swing into countless slashes.
The stones that Dantalion threw collided with Kouga’s countless slashes in mid-air. The stones shattered into dust, which enveloped the surroundings. From within that curtain of dust, Dantalion closed the distance all at once, and was right before our eyes.
「Hmm, I’ve already predicted that」
I had already pointed the muzzle of Silver-chan at it. But if I shot at it now, it would be easily avoided. So I changed from high-speed thinking to high-speed parallel thinking.
「Gigiwaa!?」
Dantalion immediately grabbed its head in agony. For him, the current situation was like being surrounded by a large group of people who were shouting all at once into his ears. It probably could have withstood this if it was prepared for it, but there was no way it wouldn’t be shaken up by this completely unexpected attack.
「As expected, my compatibility with you is good」
I squeezed Silver-chan's trigger.
Garm Bullet, impact.
Dantalion tried to evade it at the last second, but the magic bullet still landed on its right arm. The exploding magic power severed Dantalion's right arm.
「GYAGYAAAA!!! MY ARMmmmMMMMmm!!!」
Dantalion had lost its arm, and blood was spraying out like a fountain from the wound. What a waste, that blood could have been sold at a high price.
「YOuUU…… won’T fORgiVE…… WOn’t ForGIVe!!!」
Spewing curses at me, Dantalion thrust its finger into the third eye on its forehead. Then, it gouged out that eye.
「WI, wiTH tHIS…… heaD, NO lonGEr, hURts…… Kikiki……」
「Oh, really?」
「DIEEEEeeee!!!」
Dantalion charged with tremendous force. Certainly, using my thoughts to attack it would no longer work because it had abandoned its ability to read minds. However, in exchange, Skills that couldn't be used when my mind was being read were now usable.
Talk Skill: Link
A Skill that shared thoughts telepathically among allies. There was a risk of causing damage to the other party if I was still using high-speed thinking, but there was no longer any need to fear that my mind--my strategy would be read.
『Preparations have been completed. Alma, shoot it dead』
I gave an order to Alma, who had been standing by at the entrance of Abyss.
「Accel--Duodecuple(12x)!」
There was no way I could have heard Alma's voice. But, surely, she must have said that.
Relying on the Link with me, a flying object that far exceeded the speed of sound came swooping down. Its momentum unabated, it was making a beeline for Dantalion.
The current Alma was a Scout, but also not a Scout. She had ranked up, and had become an Assassin.
Alma, who had told me that she wanted to become an Assassin, proposed a certain tactic to me. She said that while Assassin was a vanguard Job, if the conditions were met, she could launch a long-range attack that was superior to a rearguard’s. It was a tactic to launch a surprise attack, with Accel stacked to the limit, from outside the opponent's perceivable range. In other words, it’s a human cannonball.
I found it interesting, and approved of her becoming an Assassin. And, I judged that this tactic could be utilized in this battle.
Assassin Skill: Accel
Assassin Skill: Quick Attack
After becoming an Assassin, Alma was now able to stack Accel up to twelve times, and the effect of Quick Attack, a Skill that increased damage based on her speed, was further improved. From there, my buffs were added.
Tactical Skill: Deploy Tactics
And, Tactical Skill: Assault Command
Assault Command, which had become a Tactical Skill, increased the multiplication of the power of attack Skills from 10 times to 15 times. With these buffs, Alma’s blow would likely be able to definitively kill even Beasts of depth eight.
Dantalion had already noticed Alma. Changing the target of its attack from us to Alma, it tried to mow her down with its remaining arm, but that was a meaningless move.
Assassin Skill: Ghost
A Skill that would make her spiritualize and become unable to be touched by anyone for 5 seconds. Alma activated it with exquisite timing. That timing was derived from my prediction of the future through high-speed calculations. The conclusion arrived in an instant. It was within the bounds of my confirmed prediction of the future. Ghost was a skill that could only be used once every 24 hours, but the battle had already ended with this.
Alma, who had spiritualized to negate Dantalion’s attack, materialized in a flash and pierced its neck with her knife. Not just her knife, Alma’s entire body went through Dantalion’s neck and beheaded it.
Dantalion's head rolled onto the ground, and the huge body that had lost its head collapsed. The battle had ended with our victory.
「Battle, end」
When I issued that last order, Kouga and Alma sank down onto the ground. In particular, the fatigue that Alma was feeling from the rebound of Assault Command was huge. I wanted to praise them for their hard work, but there was something I needed to settle before that.
「Hey, you’re still alive, right?」
I approached Dantalion's head and called out to it.
「Gi, gigii…… hoW DAre…… YOu……」
Even with its head cut off, Dantalion was still alive. It would probably die before long, but its vitality was tremendous.
「There’s something that I want to ask you before you die. Do you know the Lord that has a man-made battle axe? It has two horns on its forehead」
「Hiii!!! ......D, do NOt, knOW…… aNYthinG…… aNY, THing……」
The light disappeared from Dantalion's eyes. It had denied it, but it seemed to me that it was afraid of the Lord that I had asked about, and had hastened its own death.
「Tch, I guess I should have asked it while it was still energetic……」
It was when I clicked my tongue. Kouga suddenly shouted in a loud voice.
「YYYYEEEESSSSS!!! With this, I’ve also ranked up!!!」
Kouga showed me the fingernail on his right hand. There, a sword-shaped pattern had emerged. Apparently, it appeared that his experience points had reached the required amount by defeating Dantalion, and it was now possible for him to rank up.
「Ohhh, you did it. Congrats」
「I DID IT!!!!」
Kouga was dancing a jig in delight. As expected, it seemed like it had been hard for Kouga to be the only one who was at C Rank, and feeling like he was the odd man out. Let's throw him a celebration after we returned to the imperial capital.
「Noel, you……」
The person who had called my name was Kaim. It appeared that the concealing barrier had been released, and everyone from Sky Winged Knights could now be seen. As expected, Leon was wounded.
「You, from the beginning…… everything……」
Because we had subjugated Dantalion with such ease, Kaim seemed to have finally realized that we were colluding with Harold.
「YOUUU!!!」
Enraged, Kaim rushed at me, but his fist didn't reach me.
A person fell from the sky right between Kaim and me. It was Harold, the inspector, who had been watching over the progress of the test the entire time from outside the dense forest.
「Both parties, thank you for your hard work. I’ve certainly witnessed the battle to its conclusion. Well then, I'll announce the results now」
Harold surveyed us and raised his voice.
「Winner, Blue Beyond! We will allow this party to create a clan! As for the loser, Sky Winged Knights will have to dissolve their party immediately according to their promise!」
At that result, Kaim moved his lips like he had something he wanted to say, but he hung his head without saying anything in the end. Certainly, I had colluded with Harold. We had prepared a battlefield that was advantageous to us. However, they also had a chance of winning. The onus was on them to make the most of that chance. The hearts of everyone from Sky Winged Knights were already completely broken. They also probably didn’t have the will left to take revenge on me.
「Noel」
Before I knew it, Alma was standing by my side.
「With this, we have the achievements. Next is fighting strength」
「I know. It’s included in my plan」
When I answered in a soft voice so that I won’t be overheard, Alma frowned.
「……You’re really going to make that man our ally?」
「If it’s about that, haven’t we already discussed enough about it?」
「I'm not complaining. If that man becomes our ally, we’ll become even stronger. But will he really become our ally? After a result like this?」
「Of course he will. In the first place, I didn’t target Sky Winged Knights simply because they were the strongest among the B Ranks. I targeted them because Leon Frederik, the Sky Winged, is there」
Giving Leon, who was breathing feebly, a sidelong glance, I smiled.
「That guy will become our ally. Most definitely」
The saying referenced there is: Even a floodbank a thousand leagues long will collapse because of a hole made by an ant. Its meaning is fairly easy to understand, as it’s fairly literal, but as a reference, an english equivalent would be: a small leak will sink a great ship. I tried using the english equivalent instead at first, but the imagery of a ship sinking didn’t quite fit the imagery about the pus bursting and overflowing so I chose to use the original saying in the end.
22 gold coins per bullet you said, Souya? Pfft, Noel’s got you beat, his Garm bullets cost 100 gold coins per bullet. Most people would have forgotten by now, since it was only mentioned in chapter 4, but 100,000 Fil = 1 gold coin.
Ilyr, you were so close with that prediction! What did you guys think of Alma’s human cannonball move? Wasn’t it cool? Was this what you had expected when you saw the title of the chapter? Btw, every single Skill required for that combo had been revealed back in chapter 12.
And so, after the long battle with Dantalion is finally over, comes a humongous reveal. Noel is looking for a Lord with a human's axe? Certain things were clearly missing in that scene, weren't they. Was this retroactive or something the author had set up all the way from chapter 1? I'll let you be the judge of that.
Anyways, I'm sure everyone realized by the end of this chapter that Part 2 is still following the formula of Part 1: one genius at a time. How will Noel recruit Leon despite the fallout from this test? 2 more chapters until the clan creation arc ends! Stay tuned! (ᵔᴥᵔ)
With your support, you can help make me release more chapters faster and stop the people taking my work without permission from making it so I can't continue! Thank you so much! Stay safe and healthy, everyone!!!
My other works: Talker Manga, Foreigner(Ihoujin) WN and UHT.
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