The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years-Chapter 102

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 102

—“The situation doesn’t look good.”

Kaylen observed the state of the fortress, arms crossed while riding atop the Drake.

The harpy assault had thrown the defensive lines into disarray.

Meanwhile, a massive horde of monsters, led by ogres, was steadily advancing toward the fortress walls.

The Meisters were doing their best to hold them back, but it was impossible to defend every part of the wall.

Except for the sections where elementalization-capable Meisters were stationed, monsters had already reached the ramparts.

This was simply because the Meisters lacked sufficient firepower.

And the knights who should have been supporting the magic casters…

—‘Shields instead of swords, huh.’

Kaylen watched as the knights formed defensive lines around the magic casters.

Right.

That was just how things were in this era.

Knights couldn’t compare to magic casters in terms of power.

So, it made sense for them to at least act as shields.

But…

—“Aaargh!”

Even as some knights were grabbed by harpies, they didn’t even think to draw their swords.

—“Ugh… Ugh… This place is hell…”

Others cowered behind their shields, trembling in fear.

Kaylen let out a short sigh.

The state of the knights was worse than he had expected.

—“Let’s go over there.”

—[Understood.]

Following Kaylen’s command, the Drake moved toward the most critical part of the battlefield.

The harpy swarm fearlessly rushed at the Drake.

—Kaaaah!

The ones in front were instantly incinerated by its breath, while those to the sides and rear were frozen solid and crashed to the ground.

Kaylen activated his Mana Suit Guardian.

His entire body transformed like a water spirit as he approached Eldir.

—“Eldir, does using Mana Suit Expert put a strain on your body?”

—“No. Compared to other mana suits, this one has far fewer side effects on elves. For me, it’s even less of an issue.”

Normally, when elves wore mana suits, severe aging was a common side effect…

But the attribute-free mana suit created by Myorn showed significantly reduced side effects.

—‘With further experiments, elves might be able to use mana suits without any drawbacks.’

For that, more data would be needed.

Eldir had already resolved to gather that data firsthand.

—“What about Alkas?”

—“The pressure from Mana Suit Expert is intense… but I can endure it.”

—“Good. Then we’ll deploy here.”

—“H-Here?!”

—“Yeah. Rather than having the Drake land and take off again, it’s better for us to jump down now.”

From atop the Drake, Alkas looked down at the fortress walls.

Even with the mana suit equipped, jumping from this height…

—‘This is way too high…’

He suddenly recalled how Roenna had tried to stop him earlier.

Dying in a glorious battle was one thing, but falling to his death?

That, he absolutely wanted to avoid.

Whoosh.

While Alkas hesitated for a moment, Eldir was the first to leap off the drake.

As he fell, he drew his wooden sword, Melvria.

Chizizik!

In an instant, the swarm of harpies around him was sliced apart.

Even if he couldn’t match Kaylen, Eldir was still a full-fledged Swordmaster.

A mere flock of harpies was no threat to him.

“Fly.”

Floating.

Alkas felt his body lift into the air.

“I was planning to use it while falling, but I guess it’s better to just activate it now.”

“Ah… my apologies.”

“It’s fine. Let’s go.”

Kaylen and Alkas descended slowly through the air.

The harpies, seeing their sluggish descent, rushed in, treating them as easy prey.

“Ice Arrow.”

However, even a simple first-circle spell from Kaylen was enough to take them down, sending them plummeting one by one.

Tap.

Easily brushing off the harpy attacks, Kaylen landed and surveyed the fortress walls.

The dead outnumbered the living.

The few survivors were barely holding on, desperately fending off the harpy assaults.

Crunch. Crack.

Beyond the walls, an ogre battalion was now within striking distance.

A horde of massive creatures trampling over corpses, preparing to breach the defenses at any moment.

Meisters positioned further away tried to suppress them, but their firepower was insufficient.

At this rate, this position would be the first to fall to the ground forces.

“Sir Stein, hold back the ground troops.”

Publicly, Kaylen addressed Eldir as Sir Stein.

At the same time—

[Wait a moment. I will grant you the seat of the Sword Throne.]

He secretly transmitted a message, instructing him to pause.

‘Sword Throne?’

Eldir, who had been about to charge at the ogres, hesitated.

Then—

Swords began to manifest behind him, one after another.

The first to appear was the Flame Sword (火劍).

A brilliant blade of fire illuminated the dark battlefield with a dazzling golden light.

At first, it was no different from an ordinary sword in size—

“L-look at that!”

“What is that? A sword of fire…?”

—but soon, it grew, soaring high enough to be visible from afar.

The scorching heat it emitted was intense enough to incinerate the harpies in the sky.

Yet, strangely, the humans near it felt only warmth, without any sense of threat from the blazing sword.

Next to appear was the Water Sword.

A blade formed of water, it surged upward, as if competing with the Flame Sword.

Then, the Light Sword and the Dark Sword followed, materializing one after another.

‘What is this…?’

Four swords had suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

The knights couldn't take their eyes off it.

It wasn’t just because of its sheer size.

They could instinctively sense the immense level of aura that composed those four swords.

"What… is that…?"

"Knights! Get a hold of yourselves! Protect the Meister! Where do you think you’re looking?!"

The commanders scolded the shield-bearing knights, but—

Even as they spoke, their own gazes kept drifting toward the four swords.

[Eldir. Relax your body. You must take your seat on the Sword Throne.]

Srrrkk.

Swords that had lost their masters on the battlefield began to rise into the air.

It didn’t matter if they were broken—

Or if they had never been drawn from their sheaths.

All of them converged toward the point where the four swords intersected and struck into the ground in unison.

‘This is…’

Swords piled up behind Eldir.

Soon, they took on a distinct shape.

The ground where Eldir stood was covered in blades, rising sharply beneath him.

Before him, steps of gleaming, razor-sharp swords began forming one by one.

Six Sword Path

Four Sword Formation

Sword Throne

A throne forged from swords.

Without realizing it, Eldir sat upon the bladed throne.

A chilling, razor-sharp aura coursed through his entire body.

‘So this… is the Sword Throne.’

Eldir looked down.

The throne had risen to a towering height.

It stood as tall as the fortress walls, and every blade that composed it was imbued with a deep, blue aura.

At first, he didn’t understand the meaning behind this throne.

He simply sat there, staring downward.

But as a Swordmaster, Eldir quickly sensed the change the throne was bringing about.

‘The Sword Domain… is expanding.’

A domain that only warriors who had reached the level of a Swordmaster could manifest—

The Sword Domain had its limits.

Even for a Swordmaster, interfering with the mana in the atmosphere and bringing it under one’s complete control was no easy feat.

But the moment the Sword Throne was formed—

Eldir could feel it, without a doubt.

Kaylen’s domain was growing—expanding on a massive scale.

‘H-how is this possible? No matter how powerful Lord Kaylen is, he should be exhausting his mana…’

Kaylen’s Sword Domain was far too vast.

It encompassed everything—

From the countless soldiers to the ogre battalion in the distance.

Kaylen’s Sword Domain now ruled over the entire battlefield.

If he willed it, he could wipe them all out in an instant.

‘No… wait.’

But then, Eldir realized something different about the domain extending from the Sword Throne.

‘The targets are limited.’

Aura.

Everyone within Kaylen’s domain—every single one—was a practitioner of aura.

It didn’t matter if they were knights, soldiers, or mercenaries.

The Sword Throne had brought all who cultivated aura under its rule.

Realizing this, Eldir suddenly wanted to rise from the throne.

‘This… is not a place I should dare to sit.’

***

"T-that…!"

Guntrian's eyes widened at the surreal sight.

"A throne… made of swords?"

Suddenly, a memory from his childhood surfaced—

A storybook he had once read, one that had left a deep impression on him.

The tale of Ernstine, the Grand Swordmaster and the first emperor of the Meier Empire.

—When Emperor Ernstine sat upon the throne of swords, knights awakened their aura and grew stronger.

—Those who stood before the emperor seated on the Sword Throne pledged their eternal loyalty to him.

The Sword Throne.

A seat upon which, if an emperor sat, knights would gain enlightenment in the way of the sword and swear unwavering fealty…

Even as a child, when Guntrian had admired the legendary Grand Swordmaster Ernstine, he had thought such claims were too far-fetched.

And yet—why?

Now, as a grown man,

Standing before that very sight, he couldn't suppress the pounding in his chest.

A part of him wanted to kneel before that throne on his own accord and follow the one who sat upon it.

The fact that he was the vice-commander of Elsalvar’s Civil Squad and the second son of a ducal house—

Had long since faded from his mind.

Right now, he simply wanted to submit to the King of Swords as one knight to another.

"Sir Guntrian! Sir Guntrian! Please, get a hold of yourself!"

"Ah… right. Thank you."

The Meister beside him shook him by the shoulder, snapping him back to reality.

'Tsk. What was I thinking…! I am—I am a commander of a ducal house. To be mesmerized by the sword like this…!'

Whoosh.

Guntrian quickly averted his gaze from the Sword Throne.

Once it was out of sight, the strange exhilaration subsided—if only slightly.

Now fully composed, Guntrian heard the Meister's aide speak in a grave tone.

"Sir Guntrian, something is wrong with the knights. They’ve drawn their swords instead of raising their shields."

"What? What the hell are they doing?!"

Knights were supposed to protect the Meister—yet they had drawn their blades?!

"Take your eyes off that throne and raise your shields! Knights! Have you lost your senses?!"

Guntrian roared in anger—

But what he witnessed next made him question his own eyes.

Fwoooosh!

Aura flared to life along the swords of knights who were far from being skilled enough to wield it.

And not only were they now emanating sword energy—

Their movements had become more fluid, allowing them to fend off the harpy assault with ease.

"My body feels so light!"

"Ah… so this is how you're supposed to use aura!"

If even the less skilled knights were experiencing this,

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Then the ones who were already Sword Experts were on a whole other level.

Their sword aura surged forth, cutting down harpies with effortless precision.

The difference was night and day—

Compared to when they had only been defending with their shields, the battlefield had completely shifted in their favor.

"Hmmm…"

Watching it all unfold, Guntrian felt an itch in his body.

As a commander, he couldn’t ignore his duty—

But right now, he wanted nothing more than to draw his own sword and charge in.

However, the command center was heavily fortified.

There were no flying monsters in the vicinity—meaning he had no justification to unsheathe his blade.

So instead, he turned his gaze back toward the Sword Throne.

"Tell the Meisters to focus only on the ground battle. I'm heading to where that Sword Throne is."

"Commander, but you still need to oversee the battlefield—"

"Ugh, just handle it yourself! Figuring out what’s happening over there is just as important!"

The Meister’s aide stared at Guntrian in disbelief.

Guntrian may have looked like the typical rough and burly knight, all muscle and power—

But despite his rugged appearance, he was known for making cold, rational decisions as a commander.

'Ever since that Sword Throne appeared, the knights have been acting like they're under some kind of spell.'

"Let's move toward the Sword Throne!"

"Yes, Sir Guntrian!"

Just as Guntrian and the command knights prepared to set out together—

Some of the swords forming the throne suddenly broke free and shot out in all directions at high speed.

Each blade flew toward the knights on the battlefield with the highest levels of aura.

Guntrian, naturally, was among them.

Whoosh.

One sword stopped right in front of him.

Its blade was engulfed in flames.

A powerful aura of fire completely enveloped the weapon, radiating an overwhelming energy.

'T-this…!'

Gulp.

Seeing the sword, Guntrian swallowed hard.

This was—

An Aura Sword, a weapon that only a Swordmaster could wield.

'Is… is this meant for me…?'

As Guntrian’s hand instinctively reached for the sword’s hilt—

Kaylen’s knight, Alkas, was desperately trying to look away from the four swords floating before him.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]