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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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I didn’t bother revealing my name to those I’m about to kill.
There was no one to warn, so why bother?
If their souls could linger and warn the living, I would gladly introduce myself, but reality wasn’t so accommodating.
I wasn’t planning to this time either, not until I saw the armor worn by the mercenaries through Gies’s telescope, and the burning village.
“That’s the same armor Delt was wearing.”
There was no need for debate.
The same drab, almost uniform armor Delt had worn was there.
Even the cloak design was identical.
I’d seen plenty of armor since then, but nothing similar, so these were undoubtedly Count Bosha’s privately trained mercenaries.
And, most infuriatingly, they were brazenly camped before the village shrine, having razed the rest to the ground.
Just like the demon army that had attacked our village.
I returned the telescope to Gies and asked.
“Gies, how low can you fly?”
I could feel Asirye, nestled in my arms, looking at me with a strange expression, but time was of the essence.
I squeezed her hand reassuringly.
I wasn’t suicidal, nor did I have a penchant for leaping from wyverns.
I only attempted what was feasible.
With a bit of nerve, it wasn’t difficult.
“For a brief moment near the ruins, about the height of a two-story building.”
“How brief?”
“Well… like skipping a stone across water…?”
“Understood. I’ll time the jump. After I’m off, drop Asirye somewhere suitable in the direction we came from.”
I’d been worried she might try to hold me back, but thankfully, she seemed to trust me.
As I stood, preparing to jump, Asirye asked, “Are you sure this is safe, Eldi?”
“Completely safe!”
Her anxiety remained, and I couldn’t alleviate it entirely, but my words were factual.
I knew precisely how much my mana-enhanced body could withstand and achieve.
From that height, I could land and move forward without delay.
Ready, I roared towards the burning ruins.
“Greetings, bastards!!”
My words were sincere.
They were welcome in the sense that they were Count Bosha’s mercenaries, precisely who I was looking for.
Bastards for burning and pillaging a peaceful village, right down to its shrine.
And, unintentionally, they had triggered my most volatile memories.
Because they had recreated, however inadvertently, the scene of my past powerlessness and loss.
So, even if unintentional, I had to declare:
“I am! Eldmia Egga!”
May they remember my name in hell.
I leaped from the diving wyvern.
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No one was caught off guard.
The approaching wyvern had been reported by the lookouts, and the mercenaries were armed and ready.
So, when the insults echoed down, they laughed.
The hero, a mere passenger behind the pilot, seemed agitated.
They watched the wyvern’s descent without concern.
Without a wyvern knight, he posed no threat.
Just empty bluster.
He’d even foolishly revealed himself, forfeiting the advantage of surprise.
At most, two others could be on board, hardly a match for them.
Their ‘logical’ assessment proved costly.
The foremost mercenary was suddenly crushed, torn apart before their eyes.
They couldn’t react.
Only after three more heads flew did they realize the attacker was human.
“Knight!”
No one had seriously considered a knight.
Knights didn’t announce their arrival with insults.
But the shout’s meaning was clear.
An Aura user.
A knight-level threat.
The earlier outburst was a concise summary.
“Form up around the squad leaders! Don’t try to capture him! He’s not someone you can underestimate!”
Eldmia Egga?
The commander racked his brain, trying to place the name, but it eluded him.
An adventurer? A knight? He couldn’t recall anyone by that name.
A dangerous luxury in this situation.
How could he not know a swordsman capable of leaping from a three-story height and instantly killing four, with precise decapitations after the first?
He wasn’t inconspicuous either.
They were sensitive to information.
Operating in secrecy against the royal family demanded it.
So, he wondered,
“The second unit, fall back! Bring the bows! You… damn it!”
The cost of pointless contemplation was steep.
The enemy exploited their slow movements, decapitating three more before they could form a proper defense.
“M-monster!”
“That’s you!”
Having performed a feat any swordsman would admire, the attacker closed the distance again, cutting down another group.
A painful loss, but the commander focused on survival, not denial.
Yet, the enemy’s skill was undeniable.
This wasn’t simply enhanced strength.
It was the result of relentless training, thousands, no, tens of thousands of repetitions, etching the act of ‘cutting’ into muscle memory.
Just a swing, honed to perfection.
If he weren’t the enemy, the commander would have applauded.
Having witnessed and understood this, the mercenaries, skilled but not yet Aura users, were terrified.
No tricks, no special techniques.
They could predict his next move, whether he feinted or attacked first.
But that was all.
If they waited, they’d be cut down before they could block.
If they attacked, they’d be countered and cut down.
Knowing, yet powerless.
“Where did this…!”
Those who had awakened their Aura, the veterans, reacted differently.
They sensed the attacker’s Aura was faint.
No matter how skilled, such a faint Aura couldn’t explain his movements.
A single person couldn’t lift a boulder ten could barely budge.
He was fundamentally different.
Like the enemy before them.
The commander understood the veteran’s suggestion was for the safety of the less experienced mercenaries, not himself.
“Commander, order the second unit to retreat…”
“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s reckless.”
“He’s strong, but just one. We’ll exploit his distraction with the second unit and strike together.”
Whether this attacker had a connection to the villagers or knew their true purpose was a question for later.
Someone among their noble backers would know the name Eldmia Egga… no, with that skill, they couldn’t not know.
“This concerns ‘us’.”
The commander had faced the King’s Ten Swords.
This attacker was nothing compared to them.
He lacked their overwhelming Aura.
His skill was undeniable, but he was weaker.
“Let’s go!”
Trusting their training and experience, they charged, forming a tight formation.
They would cut down this arrogant attacker, caught off guard, and regain control of this unplanned chaos.
“Second unit! Form…”
As he ordered the remaining mercenaries to stay back, the attacker, seemingly unconcerned with them, suddenly turned, meeting the commander’s gaze.
“Found you.”
He hadn’t heard the words.
His heightened senses had read the attacker’s lips in the flickering torchlight.
Yet, he felt he’d heard them.
He understood, a chill running down his spine, sensing the imminent danger, but it was too late.
The attacker, moving twice as fast as before, had reached him, the center of the veteran’s encirclement.
He felt the sword at his throat.
“You’re the leader.”
Whether he felt the cut or heard the words first, he didn’t know.
His head soared skyward.
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[Never underestimate eldmia egga]
This chapter was phenomenal
I can’t wait for the reunion, but the combat is too good to not enjoy.
Tyftc!