Trampling

Chapter 20 - Trampling

"M-Malkien's dog!?"

"K-Kill him! Go kill him...!!!"

Maybe because the man named himself with their enemy country's name, or maybe to shake off the pressure that kept getting stronger with each step the man approached them.

The soldiers attacked the man all at once.

I'm sure that the reason why none of them ran away was only because the situation changed too quickly since the Red Dragon's appearance, but it is possible that everyone subconsciously felt that running away won't let them escape from this man.

I was no exception.

If this black-haired man became serious, it probably wouldn't take him ten seconds to kill everyone present.

The unbelievably refined quality of his battle aura that I saw through my demon eye.

The difference between us that I felt as a Sword Saint.

All of them tell me the worst possible outcome.

Ten seconds. In just ten seconds.

With such a short time, can I escape from this monster's range while carrying Mother and Father?

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

Adamantly impossible.

Begging for life would probably not work.

I have never met anyone who would let us go by doing so all the way here, and I've also killed dozens of people who came from the Malkien Mercenary State that the black-haired man is affiliated with.

There's no way he would let go of someone who killed his ally.

Because of that, I made up my mind.

There is only one chance.

Before the soldiers are annihilated, while these guys are attracting the black-haired man's attention, I will unleash a surprise attack using the Sword of Light under their cover.

To do so, I tried to hide my presence as much as possible and took advantage of my small stature to hide among the soldiers while guarding my parents against stray attacks.

Fortunately, the soldiers' attention was completely focused on the monster, so neither I nor my parents were targeted or attacked.

Then, the battle/trampling began.

"Sword God Style [Gale]!"

One of the Saint Rank swordsmen who I saw as the greatest enemy, a Sword Saint just like I am, attacked the black-haired man with consecutive slashes.

His proficiency is very high.

Although not as good as Ghislaine, he is far better than Master when it comes to Sword God Style.

Naturally, the Sword Saint's attack did not work against the black-haired man.

"Hoho! Quite some skill! You must be a Sword Saint! This speed that you have polished, splendid!"

"Don't look down on me!!"

The black-haired man manipulated the club in his hand in an ever-changing way, easily dealing with the Sword Saint's consecutive attack while speaking leisurely.

After that, the other soldiers charged.

As to support the Sword Saint, or maybe to smash him with the Sword Saint altogether, they attacked, taking advantage of huge numbers.

"Uraaaaaaaa!!"

"Dieeeeeeee!!"

"Let the great protection of fire be on the place thou seekest! I call the bold heat of a torch here and now! [Fireball]!"

"Answer my call, God of Obscurities, and shatter my enemies! [Stone Cannon]!"

In addition, the magicians also added support fire, launching massive attacks against the black-haired man that could easily crush me if I faced them head-on.

But the black-haired man trampled them while smiling.

"Wonderful! Such a skill that is rare around here! Are you elite troops from some country? This excites me more than dealing against an army full of weaklings!"

"Gugya!?"

"Gueeh!?"

"Gahha!?"

"Obbhu!?"

One by one, the soldiers fell prey to the black-haired man's club technique.

Parrying the swords, knocking off the magic spells, smashing the ground with his club to send it flying, even the magician who took some distance collapsed.

The number of more than 30 soldiers from each side decreased before the black-haired man appeared, but they were less than 10 in the short time after the black-haired man appeared.

The Sword Saint could still hold on, but the blunt attacks he received several times made him look to be in tatters.

All of them have yet to fall down.

I thought that everyone would be killed within ten seconds, but they could still hold on despite almost a minute having passed since the battle started.

The only reason why is because the black-haired man wasn't serious.

He does not show enough flaws to make it seem that he's playing around, but rather than crushing his enemies with overwhelming strength, it feels like he prioritizes testing his techniques on the soldiers.

In that case, there should be a flaw!

"Oh?"

It looks like I'm not the only one who thought so.

All of the soldiers other than the Sword Saint were defeated, and the instant the black-haired man focused on the remaining Sword Saint.

The other Saint Rank swordsman who was hiding threw something toward the black-haired man, and the instant the black-haired man knocked it off with his club, a cloud of black smoke started gushing out of the thing that was thrown.

Using that as a distraction, the Saint Rank swordsman, probably a North Saint who would use anything to attack, launched a surprise attack towards the black-haired man.

At the same time, the Sword Saint probably also saw this as a chance. Despite his vision being blocked by the smokescreen, relying on the positions he remembers earlier, he took the stance of the Sword God Style's Ultimate Technique [Sword of Light].

I could sense the situation of the fight through the light of battle aura that shines even inside the smokescreen that my right eye sees.

It was hard to see, but I could still somehow figure out what was happening.

And...

"What!?"

"Impossible...!?"

The Sword Saint and North Saint's attacks were blocked at the same time.

The Sword of Light was parried with the club's right side, while the left side stuck towards the North Saint's throat, blocking the surprise attack.

"Great actions! However, the unfortunate thing is that you are not cooperating but using each other. It cannot be helped since you are enemies, but if you are allies, even I might have..."

Now!

Hiding behind the Sword Saint, in a position that is hidden from the black-haired man's sight, hiding among the corpses of the defeated soldiers.

Praying that the black-haired man's consciousness was occupied by the two Saint Rank swordsmen after receiving their attacks, I released an attack using all of my strength from a position that should be unexpected.

Sword God Style Ultimate Technique [Sword of Light]!

"Nunu!?"

What I used is a Sword of Light combined with flying slashes.

It was released towards the backs of the two Saint Rank swordsmen in front of the black-haired man, chopping them into two, and continued to attack the black-haired man.

For a moment, I also thought of fighting with the two of them, but it is impossible for me to leave my back on the guys from the country that attacked us all the way, and what happened earlier clearly shows that loose cooperation in using each other would not work.

In the first place, if the black-haired man were serious, those two would be instantly killed.

Because of that, I used them as a luxurious decoy to create a flaw for an instant.

How about that!?

"What a powerful yet decisive blow... hm!? A child!?"

Ku!?

It didn't work!?

Did he block my Sword of Light in time? The black-haired man was unscathed.

But he looked surprised that the two Saint Rank swordsmen died, and I was the one who killed them.

His posture is a bit off, thanks to blocking my Sword of Light, so it's a good opportunity!

I have no choice but to kill him without giving him time to calm down!

"[Air Burst]!"

I charged towards the black-haired man by shooting a shockwave to my back and stepping on the ground with full strength.