The Swordmaster of the Frontier is Strong

Hesitating, Fenil and Zenoa quickly drew their swords.

Meanwhile, villagers rushed in.

Taken aback by the sudden attack, Helena fumbled, unable to draw her blade from its sheath.

I stepped in front of her, swinging my dagger.

“…Think you can block this?”

Seeing his colleague hit from behind, the Mein raised his guard toward his head, as if he had learned from the mistake.

He might look like a beast, but he’s cool-headed in battle.

I struck with my sword once more.

Feigning a head shake, I twisted my wrist to target the ribs, breaking his flow.

Bam!

The attack succeeded, but it lacked power.

The villager Mein soon rolled on the ground, growling in pain.

Getting up while clutching his ribs, he growled.

“Hmm… Breaking through magic isn’t easy.”

With magic being denser than physical force, more strength was needed in the wrist.

That said, I can’t kill it with one strike.

One must demonstrate a precise sword technique that delivers fatal wounds but keeps the victim alive.

Thus, hunting these creatures is relatively challenging.

“Thank you!”

Helena finally managed to draw her short blades with both hands.

I glanced at her and said, “Don’t try to kill it with the first strike. For a clean finish, wait until they show their horns.”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

Her response was full of energy.

However, Helena, being a novice knight at level 8, was inexperienced in all her actions.

In contrast, the other two moved with seasoned agility.

Especially, Zenoa’s movement was especially remarkable.

Swish!

The woman swung her rapier, which was designed more for thrusting than slashing. Yet, Zenoa used its disadvantage to inflict superficial wounds on enemies.

By lowering her stance, she targeted the enemies’ lower body, creating vulnerabilities.

“Zenoa! Bend your waist!”

Fenil lunged with a wide step.

After several feints, he swung his greatsword at the staggering foes.

Striking them with the broad side of the blade, the enemies tumbled like dominos.

“Master! We’ll break through their lines!”

But just as Fenil gained momentum, the surrounding mana erupted.

A chilling sensation.

Fenil staggered backward.

Suddenly, he found himself back-to-back with Zenoa, surveying the area.

“Shit…”

All the villagers grew horns from their heads and began emitting a dense, almost black magic from their nails.

Complete magification.

Although they can’t match the strength of the demon race boasting two horns, these creatures are driven purely by desire.

Sometimes, instincts are more terrifying than calculated moves.

“Every single person here transformed.”

“It’s my first time seeing this despite my years as a second-class knight.”

“Zenoa, stay close. Ensure we don’t have any blind spots.”

“Understood.”

Fenil and Zenoa readied their swords.

However, the previously confident Helena now hid behind the two, trembling at the tip of her blade.

“Hmm…”

Should I not have brought her?

It’s said that unless one becomes an elite knight, encounters with these beings are rare.

Senior knights like Fenil and Zenoa, even if they had countless training and battles as the empire’s regular forces, would naturally be fearful of creatures from another world, especially monstrous ones resembling humans.

When I first saw these creatures, I too felt eerie, as if I was watching a horror movie ghost.

“Helena. Your stance is compromised.”

“Ah…”

I swiftly adjusted her stance with my dagger.

“In times like this, it’s better to stay low. Whether to retreat or close the gap, decisions must be made quickly.”

“Thank you, Commander.”

“And don’t be too scared. Think of it as hunting beasts. Once they’ve consumed mana, they’re no longer humans.”

Do they appear human or demonic in Helena’s eyes?

What’s certain is that her current fear would make her an easy target.

“Well, on second thought, it’s good I brought you. Gaining experience in real situations is crucial.”

I tapped Helena all over with my dagger, from her lower body, waist, left scapula, and finally, her neck.

Helena collapsed onto the floor like a marionette with its strings cut.

I spoke to Helena, who was trying to get up again.

“Helena, it’s too much for you… Stay seated.”

“I can fight!”

“No. If you continue fighting like this, you’ll die.”

“…What?”

“The spot I just hit was a weak point that you failed to protect with a magic shield. Those parts are an easy target for them.”

Meins are sensitive to the flow of mana.

With their keen senses, they can detect gaps in magic shields like ghosts. Unless one is fully protected like Fenil and Zenoa, these gaps are easily hit.

I looked down at Helena, who was biting her lip.

“Don’t move. Understand?”

“……”

“Are you so scared that you can’t speak? I’d like a reply.”

“I’ll stay still…”

Knights are said to be stubborn.

It took three tries before she responded.

“You two, follow me.”

I hit the ground.

Jumping over Fenil and Zenoa, who were back-to-back, I ran towards the Meins exuding a menacing aura.

Meins with bloodshot eyes drooling continuously.

They looked terrifying every time I saw them.

* * *

Amazing.

That’s what Fenil always thought when following his master.

Whoosh!

Liorne held a faded wooden sword.

He deflected the approaching Mein’s arm.

In front of his swordsmanship, the Mein’s arm exploded like a bomb.

Before the Mein could feel the pain, it tried to grab Liorne’s head with its other arm, but its horn was cut off even quicker.

Whoosh!

Liorne’s wooden sword looked meager compared to Fenil’s sharp blade.

However, its swordsmanship was as refined as that of a grandmaster.

“Fenil, their weak point is their horns. Aim to cut them off.”

“Yes, Master!”

Cutting off.

One of the three basic techniques Liorne taught.

Unlike the ‘swing’, which uses sheer force, ‘cutting off’ is an attack that requires precision.

Liorne delved between the Meins.

The path he carved was covered in the Meins’ red blood.

Fenil swallowed.

To cleanly sever with a dull blade, and only aiming for the horns without making a sound.

「 While ‘swinging’ is a sword technique that uses force, ‘cutting off’ requires both strength and skill. 」

To not get obstructed by bone or flesh.

To perfectly cut in one strike without hindrance to the sword’s movement.

Fenil, recalling Liorne’s teachings, swung his own sword.

‘I see why he tried to leave us behind.’

Zenoa, following behind Liorne, also realized her own limitations.

Even if she tried her best to cut, her sword immediately got stuck halfway through a Mein’s horn.

Should she have exerted more force or withdrawn the sword?

While pondering this, another Mein grabbed her sword with both hands.

That’s how the battlefield is.

A momentary misjudgment can cost a life.

A smirk appeared on the face of the sneering Mein, sending chills down Zenoa’s spine.

There’s no excuse for holding back magic to conserve energy for the next opponent.

She needed to wrap her blade in mana and sever the horn now. With this determination ignited, 

“Loosen your grip.”

Suddenly, Liorne was beside Zenoa, swinging his wooden sword.

He slashed downwards, augmenting the force to Zenoa’s blade.

The horn was cleanly cut off.

“You made a good decision, but you exerted too much force. Even if you wrap your sword with mana, an imbalance will prevent you from using your full strength.”

The strucked Mein cried out while touching its severed horn.

A slight tremble ran through Liorne’s arm.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded in the Mein’s head, sending it flying.

“What…”

Zenoa blinked rapidly, alternating his gaze between the body of a Mein writhing on the ground and Liorne.

Did he just swing his blade that quickly? So fast it was barely visible?

“It’s challenging,” Liorne mused, “to see how strong their will to live is. Even with their horns cut off, they still struggle.”

Once their horns are cut off, they’re bound to die soon, but it’s a known fact that beasts show their strongest vitality just before death.

Liorne showcased his ‘swing’ to the Meins with severed horns.

As his blade grazed past, the Meins’ chests exploded one after another.

What Fenil and Zenoa couldn’t finish, Liorne dealt with a final blow.

All this, in just a little over 10 minutes.

By the time Helena, who was trembling with fear, readied her sword, there wasn’t a single Mein standing at the village entrance.

* * *

“…My shoulders feel heavy.”

I took out a cloth and wiped my blade.

Thanks to the coating, it wouldn’t absorb blood, but if the smell set in, it would be troublesome.

Whenever my disciples nagged me to keep my weapon clean, I would feel a little guilty.

‘I even cleaned it diligently, every day.’

Sanitation standards here are far below those of the modern era.

In contrast, I pride myself on being a clean person.

Looking at my shiny blade, I nodded in satisfaction.

“Have we dealt with all the Meins now?”

“No, there’s still one left.”

I pointed towards the inner part of the village at Fenil’s words.

The largest building.

Judging by the numerous barrels and food bins stacked near the entrance, it appeared to be a tavern.

“I can sense the flow of magic from within. Probably the child I’m looking for.”

“Really? Master, you can sense magic now?”

Fenil raised a brow in disbelief.

“I heard it’s difficult to detect magic unless one inherits demon blood. When did you reach such heights?”

“How is that even possible? Are you a Mein, Commander?”

“…Zenoa, there are things you should and shouldn’t say to the commander.”

Fenil slapped Zenoa’s back, but she still stared intently towards the tavern.

“Why would I sense magic? Especially when I can’t even detect mana properly?”

I pointed upwards.

The blue bird, Blue, was circling around us.

The party tilted their heads, not understanding what I was trying to convey.

“Whether it’s magic or mana, both carry a primordial energy called magical energy. Animals in tune with nature are adept at reading this flow.”

Though they might lack intelligence and the ability to concentrate mana compared to humans, they excel in sensing nature’s flow.

“So, Master, you’re saying you can communicate with that bird?”

“It’s more like understanding its intent. I just get a feeling.”

I started walking towards the tavern.

“And that feeling has never been wrong.”

The party followed me, but they kept looking around cautiously.

There’s no need to worry.

Blue had already informed me that aside from the one Mein in the tavern, there’s no other magical reaction.

“I heard there was no such capability in your innate skills, Master… yet now you even sense the flow of nature…”

“It’s not about skills. If you listen to nature’s whispers, anyone can do it.”

Both Fenil and Zenoa furrowed their brows at my words.

“Everyone can do it?”

“Such unbelievable talk…”

We reached the tavern entrance. They took deep breaths and checked their weapons.

Seeing them, I raised my hand.

“It seems our adversary has no intentions of fighting. Let’s just go in.”

The overwhelming outburst of magic from within.

It’s like a desperate scream, begging to be found.

I turned the rusty doorknob and entered.

Tables and chairs scattered messily everywhere.

Except for the storage behind the bar, the scene looked as if a burglar had just left.

“Of course, it was you who found this place, Master Liorne.”

A blonde woman with a long scar near her eye.

She took out a bottle of liquor from the storage.

Shuffling her feet, she came from behind the bar, set up a table, and placed chairs around it.

“After such a long time apart, shouldn’t I offer a drink to you, Master? Please, sit.”

Kashul, my former disciple who once declared her dream to become a knight of the empire, looked up at me with her sharp eyes.

“What are you doing? Won’t you sit?”