“Cough…!”
Grimolt Lowell, who had been sent tumbling across the ground by the shockwave, coughed up blood.
The strike Raykardi had just unleashed hadn’t even properly registered in his eyes. Had he let his guard down because he never imagined a girl in her mid-teens could be this strong? No. As a martial artist, he instinctively realized that even if he had been on full alert, he wouldn’t have been able to react properly.
‘So their fame wasn’t hollow after all…!’
Grimolt had been secretly looking down on the Blispiel Clan members.
He acknowledged that their victory in the knight battle was a respectable achievement, but after hearing that Aiden had massacred many Caracol executives, he had thought the rumors were exaggerated.
But at this moment, his opinion changed.
“These monsters!”
“Calling Raykardi a monster when she’s still such a young girl seems a bit rude, don’t you think? She might get hurt.”
“I don’t particularly mind, Sub-Master. If an enemy evaluates me that way, I should take it as high praise instead.”
“Fair enough.”
Seeing their conversation completely devoid of any sense of crisis, Grimolt let out a groan. However, that was as far as his impressions went—because the next moment, Aiden’s foot slammed into his head and knocked him unconscious.
The group soon arrived at the outdoor training ground.
Dozens of martial artists glared at them with open hostility. Aiden’s eyes were immediately drawn to the middle-aged man standing at the center.
<Nils Nordal> [Level: 49/51] [HP: 17][STR: 14][AGI: 14] [MP: 16][INT: 06][SENS: 12] [Divinity: 01] [Trait: Sword Reverence (S+), Analytic Mana Eye (A), Experienced Eye (A), and 2 others] [Skill: Dearside Strong Swordsmanship · Extreme (S), Dearside Dual Heart Method (A+), Dearside Blunt Swordsmanship (A), Bolestrom Mercenary Martial Arts (B), Qi Detection (B), and 3 others] [Description: 51 years old, human race. Current head of the Dearside Strong Swordsmanship school. Regarded as one of the greatest warriors in the Union Kingdom.]
It was Nils Nordal, the top disciple of the Sword Saint and the current head of the Dearside Strong Swordsmanship school.
“Ignoring the order to leave and forcing your way in—is that how guests behave in the central continent? The culture there must be quite unique, Sub-Master of Blispiel.”
“I am from the north, Duke Nordal.”
“I didn’t say that because I didn’t know.”
Nils, who possessed Analytic Mana Eye (A) and Experienced Eye (A), was assessing the opponent’s forces even at this very moment.
In terms of numbers, the Dearside school obviously held the advantage. However, the vast majority were close-range swordsmen, so the balance wasn’t great.
On the other hand, the Blispiel side was varied. Moreover, with the exception of the young Visanya, every member was at the executive level of a major clan. The purple-haired half-elf seemed slightly below that standard, but not enough to become a hole in their formation.
‘What incredible talent. They are all so ridiculously young, yet how on earth did he gather this much ability in one place?’
What was most mysterious was Aiden himself.
His Experienced Eye (A) was a trait that allowed him to grasp the number and types of skills the opponent had learned.
The variety and depth of the skills Aiden had mastered were unbelievably wide and profound. This was true even by absolute standards, regardless of age.
A complex mix of emotions swirled inside Nils—frustration, envy, regret, admiration… In the midst of that, Aiden spoke.
“Where is the Sword Saint Duke?”
“Do you really think I would tell you? To someone who has learned the vision of the hated variant sword faction?”
“I merely had the opportunity to indirectly obtain Dearside’s vision. I have never taken a master from the variant sword faction.”
At Aiden’s words, one of the elders pointed at the hilt of Ure hanging at his waist and sneered.
“Ha! Are you going to claim you have nothing to do with the Thousand-Man Slayer even while carrying a sword without a blade?”
Aiden made a slightly subtle expression.
The Thousand-Man Slayer was a martial artist who touched the pride of the strong sword faction simply by existing, so such an oversensitive reaction wasn’t all that strange.
But was that alone enough reason to go this far?
No.
His Sixth Sense (B) was screaming that this wasn’t right.
“Are you truly unwilling to tell me the Sword Saint Duke’s whereabouts?”
“What will you do if I don’t?”
“We visited this place after obtaining prior permission from the Sword Saint Duke. If you are doing this behind his back, I can only assume you are up to something shady.”
“No need to listen any further. Escort the guests from Blispiel outside.”
As soon as Nils gave the order with a light gesture, the Dearside disciples charged toward the group.
Aiden let out a small chuckle.
The numbers were certainly threatening, but these people were qualitatively no match for his side.
Even for a pure martial artist, dealing with a large group often took time no matter the skill gap. However, the current Aiden had an excellent means of massacring ordinary opponents.
“Chesa.”
At the signal, his fiancée swung her short staff without hesitation.
<Aqua Wave> <Infinity Shock>
Swoooosh!!
Chesa’s [MP] was a staggering 33.
With one water spell from her, the training ground instantly turned into a sea of water. Aiden’s lightning, amplified through his Elemental Dominance (A) trait, spread in all directions through the water.
Bzzzzzzzzzt!!
“Aaaaaargh!!”
The electrified martial artists were rendered combat-incapable in an instant. A few powerful individuals occasionally broke through the magical barrage to reach the group, but—
Clang! Crack!
[What did you think would happen if you got close, you idiots!]
Even they were struck by decisive blows from Raykardi or Epio and lost consciousness without exception.
Nils furrowed his brow slightly.
It seemed the brats before his eyes possessed far higher skill than what his Experienced Eye had initially assessed.
He stared intently at Aiden.
Contrary to what his eyes had told him, he had the feeling that this young man might be an opponent whose victory even he—the strongest person present—could not guarantee.
With a hardened expression, Nils stood up from his seat.
“I will handle this personally. Elders, lend me your strength as—”
“There is no need for that, Nils.”
“…?!”
A low voice echoed across the training ground. Nils and the Dearside martial artists turned their heads at the familiar yet unexpected voice.
“Senior Brother…?”
A middle-aged man with light brown hair and tanned skin.
Standing there was none other than Edval Heimfjord.
“Will you explain the situation to me?”
An uncharacteristically dark emotion was heavily suppressed on his face.
The moment Edval appeared, the Dearside martial artists withdrew as if their previous hostility had been a lie.
After suddenly dismissing the school’s elders and disciples, he spoke with a bitter expression.
“I am ashamed. You came as a guest invited in my name, yet while I was away, the members of my school committed a great discourtesy…”
“It was decent enough as a warm-up.”
“Hmm….”
Seeing Aiden’s nonchalant attitude, Edval awkwardly nodded.
It was something that could cause problems, but complaining in front of anyone other than Edval felt wrong. After all, he owed the man his life back in the Snowflower Swamp.
He could slowly repay this transgression later by putting Nils and the elders on his blacklist.
More importantly, a question came first.
Aiden asked him.
“So, what is the reason the head and the strong sword faction martial artists tried to drive us out?”
“Hmm… this will be a long story.”
Edval thought for a moment before speaking.
“After clashing with the Dragon Horse Cult in the Snowflower Swamp, I told my senior disciples that I had obtained clues regarding the Thousand-Man Slayer’s whereabouts. However, the reaction from Nils and the elders was quite strange.”
“…Strange, you say.”
“Yes. They did not seem very pleased at the prospect of me having a rematch with the Thousand-Man Slayer.”
“What?!”
The moment he heard that, Aiden unconsciously shot up from his seat. Chesa, who had been sitting and listening with him, tilted her head.
“Aiden, calm down.”
“Ah, right… Got it.”
He cleared his throat and sat back down.
Edval continued.
“It’s not entirely incomprehensible. They are probably worried about the high possibility of me losing to the Thousand-Man Slayer.”
Hearing those words, Aiden finally understood the full situation.
Edval was called the strongest swordsman of the current era, and that symbolism served as excellent propaganda.
The Dearside Strong Swordsmanship school feared damage to that image.
In fact, during Part 2 of the original work, Edval had been searching for the Thousand-Man Slayer alone while in conflict with the Dearside school. The exact circumstances hadn’t been revealed in the novel, but this seemed to be the background.
[MacGuffin No.455 / 『The Lone Sword Saint』 has been collected.]
[Achievement Points + 750]
The core of this incident was the rumor that Aiden was connected to the Thousand-Man Slayer.
Nils and the Dearside martial artists had been wary that their visit might accelerate a duel between the Sword Saint and the Thousand-Man Slayer. Their dislike of the variant sword faction had mostly been an excuse to drive him away.
The reason the upper echelons of the school were so obsessed with influence was probably…
“It must be because of the pressure from the Dayorbek Clan.”
“Correct.”
The Dayorbek Clan, which dominated the northwest of the Prima Continent, possessed the greatest power and influence among the four major clans.
Having a stranglehold on the economy of the Bolestrom Union Kingdom, they were currently monopolizing the specialties of the valuable Robe Territory and manipulating prices at will. The absurdly high price of the Robe tea powder they had bought today was a direct result of this.
Through this, they had gathered enormous wealth and were now applying economic pressure on the Dearside school as well, in order to absorb the prestigious school and greatly increase the clan’s manpower.
The proud Dearside school had no intention of submitting to them meekly.
Edval was a kind and altruistic person. He probably could not simply ignore his senior disciples’ request to remain as the symbol of the school.
It was good that he had stopped by here both to look after Edval and to handle this issue.
If he had left this problem alone, it could have affected the duel with Regenshauer.
Aiden asked him.
“Shall I resolve this problem for you?”
“…The Blispiel Clan? I have heard rumors that you have been amassing funds at an unbelievable rate recently, but are you comparable to Dayorbek?”
“Not yet.”
But they wouldn’t need to spend money separately.
The issue the Dearside school was facing was something Aiden could resolve with just a little effort.
The Dayorbek Clan was currently enjoying its greatest golden age since its founding.
Its current Clan Master, ‘Schuberker Lund,’ was a member of the Continent’s Twelve Heroes, and the previous Triple Star member ‘Olof Jonsson’ served as an advisor in the elders’ council.
Using that reputation, they had recruited all the wealthy farmers and merchants in Robe Territory.
Since then, the prices of Robe Mountain specialties had skyrocketed vertically. The increase in Robe tea powder price was actually on the cute side.
Among Robe Territory’s specialties, the true white rice of the bunch was a medicinal herb called Gulgangcho (B). Among them, the highest quality Supreme Gulgangcho (A) possessed efficacy comparable to the Yin-Yang Herb that their clan frequently used.
It was an item that prestigious martial families across the continent went crazy for. Many people were dissatisfied with Dayorbek’s monopoly over it.
Aiden held the seeds of that plant in his hand.
“So these are Gulgangcho seeds.”
“I obtained them. What do you plan to do with the seeds? Growing them into medicinal herbs requires nearly ten years of painstaking effort.”
Edval’s question.
Aiden smiled evasively.
He brought the seeds back to their lodging.
“Young Master, don’t tell me…!”
“Exactly what you’re thinking, Linia. Shall we start mass-producing them?”