The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth-Chapter 411: Blood (1)

The first to strike was Suan Hazer.

Mana surged through Kalduan’s gauntlets, emitting a brilliant blue light. Tracing a radiant arc through the darkness, he swung at the oncoming Tarak.

Thud! Crash...!

Every time his punches landed, flames burst forth on impact.

“Not bad,” Aidan murmured as he nimbly slipped past Suan

Suan paid him no heed. He kept pushing forward, clearing a path through the enemy at the very front.

“...”

Watching Suan from behind, Aidan fell silent. He had caught a glimpse of Suan’s tense expression, and he knew it wasn’t just because of the intensity of the battle.

It was validation.

Aidan understood that, for Suan Hazer, this battlefield was a final chance to redeem himself for the past mistakes that had long weighed on his heart. That was why he was fighting harder than anyone else.

“Haaaahhh...!!”

Suan’s fierce punches whipped the air with razor gusts.

The 8th Form of Valvont: First Strike.

As he drew both arms back and punched with all his might, the Tarak lunging at him burst apart, as if struck by a point-blank blast.

“One more...!!”

With thunderous steps, Suan dashed over the shattered remains of the Tarak.

“Suan’s pushing himself,” Aidan muttered.

“Lord Karyl is watching, so he can’t help it. It’s only natural,” someone said beside him.

Karyl slashed with his sword and asked, “Are you saying he’s like that because of me?”

“I was the same,” Aidan replied. “Remember how I surpassed Simon Coden? You were there.”

“Yes, but you did that with your own strength,” Karyl said calmly.

“It’s not just that brute, either. When the king himself charges in at the front, how could the rest of them hold back?”

Miliana appeared behind him, stepping through the dark smoke. “I just hope he doesn’t get reckless.”

Though Suan had once served under Olivurn, Karyl remembered well how much he had accomplished in his past life.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Karyl reassured. “He’s just excited to show us what he’s truly capable of.”

Miliana wasn’t the only one stirred by Karyl. Back in the Celestial Fortress, the soldiers had all been uneasy—but now, they followed him without hesitation. It wasn’t because they had no choice, but because they had seen their lord leap into the enemy’s domain without fear. Witnessing Karyl’s valor, they felt reassured.

He hadn’t changed—whether monster or man, he was still the same lord they had always known. And with that realization came a strange surge of exhilaration, and a certainty that settled deep in their hearts: there was no defeat in any battle he took part in.

Their morale surged the moment Karyl had leapt from the Celestial Fortress.

Miliana glanced sideways at him and let out a faint chuckle. Then, she tied her long hair back tightly with a red ribbon.

“Look closely!” she shouted to the others. “Are these things human? Clearly not! Which means this isn’t a war, but a hunt! So show no mercy! Don’t forget who you are! Awaken your instincts! Remember what it means to be a hunter!”

“Waaaaahh...!!”

At her cry, Digon and the warriors from the southern lands erupted in cheers. Miliana kicked the fallen Tarak at her feet, its inky body crumbling to ash.

“It’s nice not having to clean up the corpses,” she murmured with a cold smile, shaking her sword as if dusting it off. “Don’t lag behind! Will you let anyone take the lead?”

“Hyah!”

“Charge!”

The warriors of Digon, inspired by her fierce presence, spurred their mounts to break into a wild charge.

“Don’t let them outdo you! Show them the spirit of the Great Plains!”

Kinu Mukari raised his bow high as he watched the Digons charge forward, rallying his own kin.

“Flying Bow Tribe! Ready your shots!!”

Fweeeeeeeep...!

Strangely, the moment he drew back his bowstring, the headwind that had been blowing in their faces shifted, turning into a gentle breeze that seemed to push their arrows forward instead of resisting them.

THWANG—!!

His arrow cut through the air with a sharp screech, hunting the Tarak. The creatures exploded the moment the arrowhead, made of Clear Distilled Water, struck.

[He really is blessed by the winds,] Ramine remarked as he watched Kinu Mukari unleash a hail of arrows, striking the enemy from an impossible distance. [And with Psammead nearby, that blessing seems even stronger.]

As Ramine’s voice reached her, Hwarin, who had been sprinting across the field, clutched the pendant hanging around her neck.

[You heard him, didn’t you?] he muttered. [I’d love nothing more than to release your seal, but I don’t have the time. This isn’t the moment for theatrics. Hwarin, just give it everything you’ve got.]

“Obviously.”

She bit her lip. This was the first time Psammead had ever responded like this, and what frustrated her was that it wasn’t she who had drawn that reaction, but Kinu Mukari. That meant her strength—her power as a lycanthrope—wasn’t enough to satisfy the Spirit King.

A northern warrior couldn’t possibly accept such a blow to their pride.

Crack—

Hwarin gripped the pendant tightly.

“That thing inside... it’s supposed to be the Wind Spirit King, right? Well, I can’t fly like Karyl, and I can’t control the winds like that archer.”

Crack!

Her body began to shift.

“But as long as my feet are on the ground, I’ll outrun anyone!”

Her beastly thighs swelled with power, and she leapt off the ground with a thunderous roar.

Voosh...!

She drew her arms back before slashing forward with her deadly claws, ripping apart the Tarak charging at her.

“Rhoaaaaah...!!”

After decimating several Tarak at once, Hwarin leapt from their corpses and caught another mid-air, slamming it into the ground below.

Crash...!!

She didn’t pause for even a breath. She stormed across the battlefield, decimating every Tarak that lunged at her.

Fweeeep... Whoooosh...!!

Where Kinu Mukari’s arrows bent the wind, the air around Hwarin surged upward like a rising gust, as though lifting her up. And everyone could tell it was the true power of Psammead, the Raging Gale.

“GHRAAAAH...!!” Hwarin let out a fearsome roar, her transformation complete.

It was getting difficult for the onlookers to say who the real monster was. Dead Tarak lay piled around the lycanthrope, her deadly claws slicing through the smoke rising from their corpses, whipping up dust into mini cyclones.

Tap... tap tap tap...!!

Even amid the chaos, a blur shot past her through the smoke. The figure stepped onto Hwarin’s shoulder and leapt into the air.

Crunch—!!

CRACK—!!

A massive spear, far too large for her small frame, tore through the wind. Each time it struck a Tarak, the creature froze solid on impact.

“Mikhail!”

At her sharp cry, a Wind Blade flew in from the side, piercing right through the frozen Tarak.

Woosh! Crack!

The Tarak burst into tiny ice fragments, scattering like snow and vanishing.

“Tch...”

Serica Lauren wrinkled her nose and waved her hand at the foul stench. The glimmering frost around her dissipated.

“Huff... huff...”

Mikhail finally reached her side, gasping for breath. He pulled back the hood of his robe and dropped to a crouch.

“You’re late,” Serica Lauren said flatly, barely sparing him a glance.

“I heard he used to be a mercenary, yet he’s winded worse than that little girl. Clearly, he still needs training.”

Hashir, who had been leading the northern immigrants in battle, watched from afar and shook his head. He had seen Karyl’s subordinates from the beginning, so he understood better than anyone what Suan and Mikhail were feeling.

“Maybe so, but those two were just at the frontlines a moment ago,” Lilliana replied. “He couldn’t keep up with her in speed, but Mikhail layered his Wind Blades at a range no arrow could reach, hitting the Tarak before she did. His aim and timing were perfect. I wonder how many sorcerers on the continent could manage that?”

A grin tugged at Hashir’s lips. “Fair enough. Considering he’s the only sorcerer on the continent who can use the spells created by Kaye Aesir, I suppose I shouldn’t be so harsh on him.”

He then raised his hand toward the Wolf-Fox tribe and shouted, “Move out!! Support those two!”

“Advance!”

The Wolf-Foxes charged in unison, and the warriors of the Jannabi tribe followed close behind at Lilliana’s command.

“This is a staggering victory,” Miliana murmured, watching the frontlines push forward from all directions with satisfaction.

“...”

But Karyl said nothing. His eyes remained fixed on the cave’s mouth. The Tarak spilling out hadn’t fully taken shape; they looked more like black sludge, incomplete and unstable. Compared to the ones he remembered, these were like half-formed clay dolls, breaking apart from one strike.

Aside from releasing a foul miasma after dying, they posed no threat.

They’re still incomplete.

Karyl knew his forces were strong, but even so, the Tarak were being pushed back far too easily. If they had been this easy to deal with in his past life, he wouldn’t have had to sacrifice as much as he had.

He turned his gaze toward the towering structure in the distance.

The Oracle must not have been prophesied properly. And by striking first before Pharel could be completed, we must have disrupted their process.

Looking back, no one had realized that the Tarak took form within the Blood Cave, all due to Pharel’s sudden emergence. That critical oversight had given the Tarak the time they needed to fully materialize.

But this time, Karyl hadn’t allowed that to happen. Now, he was certain his forces were one step ahead.

THWACK—!!

It came out of nowhere—a deep, heavy thud echoed across the battlefield, unlike anything they had previously heard.

Karyl and Aidan instantly turned their eyes toward Suan, who had been charging far ahead.

“Urgh...?!”

Suan, who had been tearing through Tarak without pause, suddenly stumbled backward. His punch had struck something hard, and he recoiled from the impact, clutching his numbed hand as he fell.

“Suan...!!” Aidan rushed toward him.

Ssssssshhh...

The moment Aidan reached Suan, a suffocating chill ran through his body. The dark smoke swirling around them resembled that of the Tarak—but this was different.

Behind the mist, two glowing red eyes came into view. Unlike the other Tarak they had faced so far, this one appeared humanoid in form.

Aidan narrowed his eyes, glaring at the figure. “What... is that?”

Half of its face exposed its skull; the other was severely decayed, looking like the rotting flesh of a corpse. The thing looked down on them with a twisted expression.

VOOSH...!

In that instant, the creature swung a massive scythe at their necks, its tremendous speed taking them by surprise.

THWACK—!!!

“...?!!!”

A sharp gust ripped through the air, and the shockwave released by the attack rippled across the battlefield.

“No way... It can’t be... That’s a Reaper. I’ve only read about them in ancient texts...” Allen murmured, stunned. “Did Yula... summon that thing?”

“No matter. It stands in my way, so I’ll cut it down,” Karyl declared calmly, though his brow was furrowed slightly as he stared at the monster that blocked the entrance to the cave.

“Come forth,” he commanded.

The Spirit Kings manifested behind him.

VOOSH...!

The Blazing King erupted in a surge of heat, while the Queen of Tides swept across the battlefield in a tide of ice. The Tarak caught in their path were incinerated or frozen, their bodies dissolving into smoke amidst a spectacular storm of fire and frost.

But it didn’t end there. Karyl charged forward, leaping with explosive force just as Rasis’s light and Duaat’s darkness surged forth to envelop him.

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