Chapter 176. The Strongest(2)
“Th, the clouds have been cut.”
Someone among the Imperial Army soldiers muttered in the silence.
At the same time,
Jjeok! Kuung!
The ground split open, and the soldiers in that straight line collapsed, spraying blood.
With sword wounds all over their bodies.
“Fall back! Fall back further!”
One of the Imperial Army commanders shouted belatedly.
Only then did the soldiers grasp the situation and move in confusion.
The disciplined appearance from earlier was nowhere to be seen.
In the chaos of the Imperial Army, Maxim slumped down to the ground a beat later.
Papat!
He didn't just collapse.
His armor was torn to shreds like pieces of cloth, spraying blood everywhere.
It was a scene that showed just how horribly Maxim had been defeated.
A stream of blood trickled down from the corner of Maxim's mouth as he sat on the ground.
And amidst that, a bitter smile bloomed.
Maxim left his last words within that smile.
“…So the strongest was you.”
Maxim, unable to endure any longer, closed his eyes.
Albrecht, who had been watching that figure, also collapsed on one knee.
“Heuk, heuk.”
He even panted uncharacteristically.
From this, one could tell how much strength Albrecht had poured into that last move.
‘As expected, the Heart Sword is not something to be used often.’
That was it.
What Albrecht and Maxim used at the final moment.
That was the ‘Heart Sword,’ the symbol of a 9-star knight.
This state where one could cut anything with just will.
It was a technique worthy of being called the strongest without lacking.
And this was the reason why there were no secret techniques for the 9-star stage in Glockner Swordsmanship.
The Heart Sword was so powerful that other secret techniques were unnecessary.
However, since the use of the Heart Sword required one's full heart and strength, it could not be unfolded often.
Once used, even a 9-star knight had to recuperate for three months.
So Albrecht and Maxim had postponed deciding the victory with the Heart Sword as much as possible.
But they could not postpone it any longer, and the one who won in the Heart Sword versus Heart Sword duel was ultimately Albrecht.
‘It was close. My will that I had to cut the opponent was just slightly stronger.’
If Maxim's will had been stronger, it would have been Albrecht collapsing while bleeding right now.
But Maxim had harbored doubt at the last moment.
That he might not be able to cut Albrecht.
On the other hand, Albrecht did not doubt even a bit.
That he was the strongest.
This difference in thought was what decided the victory and defeat of the two people.
“Attend to the Lord!”
“Everyone hurry!”
Unlike the Imperial Army, which stiffened in great shock at Maxim's collapse amidst confusion, the Glockner unit moved swiftly.
They didn't just stop at escorting Albrecht but even went on to attack the Imperial Army.
Because of that, the Imperial Army eventually had to take a huge hit and retreat.
***
With Maxim also collapsing, the Imperial Army could no longer hold out in the Andasia region.
They tried their best to hold out somehow, but it was not enough.
Like that, the 3rd Corps went on to occupy the remaining castles and cities of the Andasia region.
The 3rd Corps had to occupy all three castles and four cities.
It was unavoidable since Albrecht, who had to break the castle gates with sword blasts, had to recuperate for a while after using the Heart Sword.
However, the Imperial Army, whose strength had been completely drained, could be dealt with without difficulty by just the 3rd Corps.
Like that, Roden and Alexis took turns using sword blasts just as they did in the Davilar region, subjugating the castles and cities.
And finally, Roden was able to arrive at Vinchih.
“…….”
The tightly closed gates of Vinchih felt unfamiliar.
And Roden was not the only one feeling this emotion.
The Special Task Force Company was also looking at the Vinchih gates with the same emotion.
Roden, who came to his senses first, confirmed this expression and opened his mouth.
“The Special Task Force Company will take charge of rear support in today's battle.”
Then Nedhab hurriedly stepped forward.
“Please let us fight this time too. Did we not take charge of rear support in Alan, Gerna, and Julias as well?”
It couldn't be helped.
All three cities had too big a connection with the Special Task Force Company.
Especially as they got closer to the capital, the number of people who couldn't evacuate increased.
The entire Empire was engulfed in the flames of war, so there was nowhere left to go.
That meant the possibility of meeting familiar faces during the battle became increasingly higher.
Roden hadn't assigned rear support to the Special Task Force Company while occupying the three cities for no reason.
However, continuing to take charge of only rear support seemed to be a burden for the Special Task Force Company as well.
Roden read that heart and asked Nedhab.
“Will it be alright, Special Task Force Company Commander?”
“It would be a lie to say it is completely alright. But we also have a duty to fight as members of the Allied Forces. Please let us keep that duty.”
Not only Nedhab but the entire Special Task Force Company wore determined expressions.
Because of that, Roden had no choice but to nod his head.
“Understood. Then I will not place a separate rear support unit, and everyone will fight together.”
Like that, Roden made the decision.
At that time, Alexis approached Roden.
“Would it be right for you to use the sword blast and step back this time too?”
Alexis brought this up to be considerate of Roden.
But Roden shook his head.
“No. This time, I would like to ask the Corps Commander to use the sword blast.”
“…Will that be alright?”
“It is alright.”
In a situation where the Special Task Force Company decided to step forward to fulfill their duty, for him to just use a sword blast and step back.
It made no sense.
So Roden made up his mind to lead the troops himself this time.
“If that is your will, it can't be helped. Understood. All troops charge!”
Alexis issued the charge order and went ahead.
Piiiiiing! Kwaaaaaang!
Then he used a sword blast to break the castle gate.
As Roden passed by, Alexis, who was kneeling on one knee from exhaustion, left words of caution.
“…Do not overdo it.”
Roden nodded his head instead of answering and crossed the castle gate.
Then the familiar scenery of Vinchih came into view.
But he couldn't admire that scenery for long.
Because someone's sword was falling above his head.
Containing tremendous power.
Shuuuuuk! Kwajik!
Roden blocked that attack by using the Black Shield, a secret technique of Vayta Swordsmanship, with full power.
Normally he would have used a sword curtain, but he couldn't do so because of who the opponent was.
Kaaaaang!
As expected, the person who just used a secret technique on Roden was Vlad.
“We meet again.”
The 3rd Corps encountered Vlad throughout the siege of the three castles and four cities.
However, Vlad failed to stop the 3rd Corps' attack every time.
Because while Roden or Alexis dealt with Vlad, the 3rd Corps easily took care of the Imperial Army.
It was a natural result since the 3rd Corps' power overwhelmed the Imperial Army.
For that reason, Roden thought they would occupy Vinchih without difficulty this time as well.
It was natural since all he had to do was stall for time while saving his strength as much as possible without using a sword curtain or sword blast.
Yet for some reason, the expression of Vlad blocking Roden was different from usual.
It was a face that did not consider defeat at all.
‘What is it?’
It was when Roden harbored doubt.
Vlad took something out, and due to this, Roden could know why Vlad's expression was like that.
“!”
What Vlad took out.
It was a berserker-type crystal orb.
“If there is no Empire, there is no Tiaref…. I will hold onto your ankles here until the end!”
The berserker-type crystal orb emitted light with a whoosh sound.
After that, Vlad's expression changed terrifyingly.
Losing his reason and drooling, he looked completely like a berserker.
“…Damn it.”
Roden spat out a curse word uncommonly.
It was inevitable because he had never thought Vlad would use a berserker-type crystal orb.
According to what Roden experienced personally, Vlad had a calm and cautious personality in everything.
So he showed an appearance of not overdoing it greatly even when other castles and cities were occupied.
Yet to use a berserker-type crystal orb in this way.
Roden had no choice but to be surprised.
‘They say even a mouse bites a cat when cornered, is it that kind of feeling?’
Roden, who was surprised for a moment, regained his composure quickly with this thought.
Because staying surprised wouldn't create a way to stop Vlad.
Rather, it was important to grasp how strong Vlad had become after using the berserker-type crystal orb.
But,
‘Huh?’
The attacks poured out by Vlad, who became a berserker, were not as strong as thought.
They still remained exactly at the 8-star level.
At first, the momentum of wildly spraying sword blasts was formidable, so he thought Vlad had become stronger, but that wasn't it.
Like that, while dealing with Vlad for a long time, Roden was able to realize one fact.
‘As expected… is it like that?’
The berserker-type crystal orb that draws out the user's potential to the limit and raises the stage of aura by one level or more.
However, it seemed this item could not make an 8-star knight into a 9-star knight.
Certainly, it didn't make sense.
To raise the stage by one level or more, at least double the aura was needed compared to the original.
Because to go from 8-stars to 9-stars, much more aura than double was needed.
‘Above all, the stage of the person who made this crystal orb would be 9th circle at maximum.’
No matter if it was a 9th-circle mage, there was no way they could cast magic that could create a knight of a stage equal to themselves.
So for an 8-star knight to become a 9-star knight using a magic artifact was wrong from the very idea.
Like that, Roden was able to grasp that Vlad had only lost his reason, and his skill was the same as original.
And thanks to that, Roden rather became advantageous in the fight with Vlad.
Because he was wasting his strength too easily by wildly spraying sword blasts.
Woong. Pishut.
Eventually, Vlad, drained of strength, failed to gather aura anymore.
Roden did not miss that moment and pressured Vlad using the Decisive Killing Gate and Heavenly Chain Extreme.
And,
Seogeok.
Eventually, Roden succeeded in cutting Vlad's neck.
It was the moment the Allied Forces finally occupied the last city of the Andasia region.
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