Survival Story of a Sword King - Chapter 95

Bloody Battle (4)

He put his worries away as their party packed their bags.

There was nothing left to do in Kaltan.

There was no reason to stay in such a dangerous place.

Before they went back, they also looted their opponents’ items.

The three dead Aliens had quite powerful Magic Tools.

The two Dragons also took off their clothes before transforming and then ran away, leaving their items intact.

They were quite expensive, so they had to take them as well.

However, upon attempting to collect them, they finally discovered the state the items were in.

Effir sighed.

“Oh, Han-bin broke everything…”

The weapons and armor used by the Aliens were no longer intact.

The items were also hit by Ryu Han-bin’s cross-impact, causing them to break.

Still, the small auxiliary ornaments were delicate.

The problem was that all of those magic items were above the level limit of 90.

Artis and Effir shook their heads, packing jewelry into their space compression pouch.

“I was delighted when I reached level 70 since I could finally use the regenerative items…”

“How much more do I need to level up to use this…”

Ryu Han-bin looked at Artis.

“Hey, Artis. That Saltus is a Green Dragon, isn’t he?

“Yes, why?”

“When he was a human, his hair was dark brown. If he was a green dragon, shouldn’t his hair be green, too?”

Artis, the red Dragon, had red hair, and the silver Dragon Alma was white-haired.

Why was the green Dragon the only one whose hair color differed from the color of his scales?

Han-bin’s question was nonsensical to Artis.

“You sometimes believe in strange, groundless beliefs, don’t you?”

Of course, Dragons decided their hair color according to their scale.

It was the color that they unconsciously liked.

“There’s no reason to choose a distinctive hair color. We’re trying to hide our real identities, after all.”

Latna was not a world where dyeing was standard.

Anyone with green hair would stand out far too much.

“So blue Dragons and green Dragons just chooses the most common hair color.”

It was said that sometimes they turned into a Nymph or an Elf.

The Nymphs’ hair color was blue, and Elves had green hair.

“But I didn’t really care about the Elves.”

Fairies were as visible as Dragons.

Moreover, most of their families were interconnected and were small in number.

If a Nymph or an Elf suddenly appeared, justifying their identities was hard.

“There are way more humans in Latna, making it easier to hide among them. Besides, the Elves are not much better than humans except that they live longer.”

“That’s quite a practical reason.”

They quickly finished collecting the items.

There were not as many magic items left by enemies as they expected.

It was certainly few when they considered the levels of their opponents.

In terms of number alone, the number of items carried by the five was less than how many Alejandro brought.

Effir tilted her head.

“These people are unexpectedly poor, yet their levels were quite high.”

Kibie gave a straightforward answer.

“They’re Akhtarun’s Aliens.”

She understood the situation through shadow-reading.

Alejandro and Akhtarun’s Aliens were different even if they were both underlings of the Thunder King.

The fake Great Earth, including Alejandro, was the Top Three’s people they commanded directly, but their number was small.

So they were able to prepare full sets of equipment for them.

But there were hundreds of Aliens in Akhtarun.

“Garhan doesn’t have the resources to take care of all of them.”

Even the normal provisions that were given to them only consisted of weapons, transportation, and space backpacks.

However, Arthur’s group were given an extra item each since they were being sent to Serkaltan, the most dangerous city on Latna.

After finishing the preparations, Ryu Han-bin looked at the tomb of the Sword King.

It had a round mound, a rugged tombstone, and a massive sword in front of it.

It was Gigant, the love of the Sword King.

“That is a very good-looking sword.”

The sword, Gigant, looked normal.

It had a simple gray blade with a standard shape.

There was no jewelry or decorations attached.

It was a weapon made with practicality in mind.

However, in a sense, it was a terrifyingly well-made sword.

Its blade was made of the bones of a Dragon that had lived for more than 500 years. It was mixed with all kinds of rare metals to enhance its ductility and durability.

The ratio of the combined materials was exquisite, so its grip and center of gravity were flawless.

Nevertheless, Gabe, the servant of the Sword King, left the ancient sword in his grave.

There was no one else in the world but Baotolt who could use such a sword.

It was too big and bulky.

The only advantage was that it was robust and easy to swing.

With that performance level, it was possible to recreate it with magic without pouring out all kinds of expensive materials.

It was made because of the Valtara warrior’s insistence that he would not use magic items even if he were nearing his death, but it was useless to other swordsmen.

But it was desirable to Ryu Han-bin.

He was also in a situation where he couldn’t use Magic Tools.

“Wow, my weapon is crude.”

As he swung Gigant in the air, Han-bin was amazed.

He had been using his greatsword without complaint so far, but the Sword King’s sword was better.

‘Well, I just sharpened the bones of a dog into a blade, but I don’t think I set the center of gravity properly.’

But if he carried such a sword without actually being related to the Sword King, he could find himself in trouble.

Ryu Han-bin returned the sword in front of the grave.

Kibie, though seemingly worried about something, talked to Han-bin.

“No, you should keep the sword.”

“Huh?”

Curiously, Ryu Han-bin looked back.

She continued in a calm tone.

“Baotolt is dead. And that ruined my plan.”

Since her best plan had gone down the drain, she had to go with the second-best solution.

Kibie stared at the ‘second-best solution’ in front of her.

Han-bin was surprisingly strong.

Compared to the Top Three, he was still far from perfect, but he was good enough.

“Ryu Han-bin!”

The Goddess called the name of the Earthling, whose destiny was free from the demon.

She declared her thoughts to him.

“Become the Sword King!”

Han-bin frowned, his face dumbfounded by the absurdity of her words.

“… What?”

* * *

The conditions for the ‘assistant’ that Kibie wanted were quite tricky.

He had to have a force that surpassed the Top Three and had enough influence not to be swayed by those in power.

No matter how strong he was, he wouldn’t be able to deal with a country alone.

“Baotolt was perfect in every way in terms of force, fame, and influence.”

Kibie muttered as she took a piece of steak into her mouth using a fork.

“But now that he’s gone, we need to find a new helper.”

Han-bin and his party had escaped from the Grand Maze and were currently staying at an inn in Serkaltan.

They were taking a rest and eating the first decent meal they’ve had in such a long time.

They didn’t fear that the conversation would leak out because the table had been secretly set up with a soundproof spell.

Kibie continued.

“The strongest’ human’ among all the people know is you, Han-bin.”

Compared to the Sword King Baotolt, Ryu Han-bin lacked in many respects.

He could never face the Top Three.

“Fortunately, I have a plan to make you stronger.”

Kibie pointed to Han-bin’s back.

His black weapon and the Sword King’s greatsword were behind him.

“Because you have Gigant.”

Gigant was the weapon that the Sword King Baotolt had been using all his life.

And the incarnation of Darkness had the Shadow-Reading skill, which was the ability to read others’ thoughts.

In other words, she could transfer the swordsmanship of the Sword King, Aura skills, and other skills to someone else!

“Of course, the rate at which you learn it depends on your talent and effort.”

Effir nodded in agreement.

“I’m sure no one but Han-bin can dare learn about it. It’s the Sword King’s complete swordsmanship, isn’t it?”

The Sword King’s swordsmanship was the origin of the Valtara race’s swordsmanship, and the physical ability required was incredibly high.

Commoners wouldn’t be able to master it with effort alone.

But it was possible for Ryu Han-bin.

That was why she asked Han-bin to be her assistant. He had the potential to master Baotolt’s sword and swordsmanship.

It was the real meaning of her earlier declaration for Han-bin to become the Sword King.

“Then talk to me properly.”

After sipping on his soup, Ryu Han-bin clicked his tongue.

“I thought you were asking me to pretend to be a fake Sword King.”

“After I said it, I thought there was something wrong with your reaction.”

With a bitter smile, Kibie drooped her shoulders.

“Well, if Baotolt were safe, I wouldn’t have had to go this far.”

She resented Gabe.

If Gabe had been a little stronger, wouldn’t Baotolt still be alive?

Artis’s face hardened.

“There’s something on my mind.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Kibie and Ryu Han-bin looked back at Artis with curious eyes.

“Something’s weird with Spiritist Gabe.”

It was when he heard about the death of the Sword King.

Artis felt awkward sharing it out loud.

At that time, he didn’t know what was weird, so he just forgot it. But as time went by, it became clearer.

“He said he couldn’t heal using spiritual arts because of the amount of residual energy left in the Sword King’s wound, right?”

It could happen.

According to Latna’s common knowledge, the residual energy in the wound weakened healing.

“But he was the Sword King. He can kill the demon alone.”

Even if Kruse Murg’s energy remained in the Sword King’s wound, most of the power would have been offset by his Aura.

“And a level 99 Spiritist couldn’t do anything?”

No matter how he calculated it, there couldn’t have been such powerful energy left in Baotolt’s wound.

Even if it was too much to heal Baotolt fully…

“Isn’t it suspicious that Baotolt didn’t get first aid at the very least?”

* * *

The scene was located at the royal palace of Allendia, the fairy kingdom.

Looking at the duo in front of him, Hollien smiled bitterly.

“So, that’s what happened?”

Saltus answered in a firm voice.

“Yes, they didn’t seem to know the demon’s death or the death of the Sword King.”

Almara bowed her head and begged for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Hollien. I never dreamed that the Goddess of Darkness would have such an ability…”

“Okay. You may leave.”

After letting the two Dragons out, Hollien smiled dejectedly.

‘Oh, my God, I was wondering why they were heading to the Grand Maze…’

She thought they had a plan.

But she didn’t expect that they didn’t know about the death of the Sword King.

If Baotolt was alive, the Top Three could’ve easily predicted the Goddess’s plan.

In that situation, it was apparent what the Goddess would do.

‘We didn’t have to release Akhtarun’s Aliens. I just had to wait for her in Serkaltan and catch her. Damn.’

However, the Top Three had already known that Baotolt was dead and inadvertently thought that even the Goddess would’ve known.

So she never thought Kibie would head to the Grand Maze.

‘I’ve just blown up a golden chance.’

Hollien abandoned her lingering affection.

Most things in the world didn’t just work out as planned anyway.

And they still had a chance.

She looked at the small glass bottle in her hand.

It was the ‘blood of the Darkness incarnation’ extracted by Saltus.

If a powerful Spiritist used it as a catalyst, they’d be able to trace Kibie wherever they went.

And she was the best Spiritist in Latna.

She had many useful beings under her command.

After a while, a Spiritist visited Hollien.

“Did you call me?”

“Yes, Gabe.”

She handed a glass bottle to the middle-aged man named Gabe.

“I’ll leave this to you.”

The man’s eyes shone as he politely accepted it.

“It’s an honor, Ms. Hollien.”