SSS Rank Sword Mage: Awakening Starts with Weakest Mana Affinity-Chapter 117: The SS-Rank Sword Mage has arrived...2

Tobias coughed, a flush of color hitting his cheeks as he realized he had overstepped with a high-ranking royal. "Ah, no... no, that wasn’t exactly what I meant. My apologies." He quickly turned back to his shimmering info book, fingers dancing over the pages to hide his embarrassment. "But what exactly is this ’path animal’? I’m checking the archives now, and I see no mention of an evolving dragon on the high-tier bounty list."

Lord Zedd’s gaze went cold as he watched the creature in the clearing. "This one is special. Let’s just leave it at that. Some things are kept off the info books for a reason."

The conversation inside the barrier had shifted from immediate terror to the cold, calculating reality of global politics. The golden walls of Tobias’s bell-shield hummed, vibrating with the sheer pressure of the mana gathering outside, but inside, a darker truth was being unraveled.

"We received information on this creature long ago from Manyblood," Zedd replied, his eyes fixed on Bagu. "Personally, I was surprised he hadn’t been killed already." He stared hard at Tobias. Seeing a man of Taz’s caliber present, it was hard to believe he couldn’t have been deployed months ago. "Why take so long? I refuse to believe the Queen gave us that pass out of kindness."

Tobias adjusted his glasses, the glow of his ledger reflecting in the lenses. "I really don’t know much about the Task Force beyond the taxes," he admitted, "but take this with a grain of salt: there are rumors the Volkar Kingdom has been a bane to Manyblood’s sovereignty for quite some time. We have been trying our best to break through those chains."

"I assume they don’t share the same diplomatic standing with you as the other Great Kingdoms, then?" Zedd asked.

Tobias gave a low, solemn nod. It appeared Manyblood was losing the internal struggle to control its own borders but refused to let its citizens know the truth.

"From the way the Queen spoke to us, I can deduce the rest," Zedd said, piecing the political puzzle together. "Manyblood is well aware this creature originated from Aetherhall. And the reason you haven’t killed it until now is due to direct sanctions placed on you by the Volkar Kingdom. They wanted this threat to remain active."

"It is the only logical conclusion," Tobias sighed, a weary air about him. "In the past four years, Manyblood has spent a fortune hiring the best mercenaries we could find, testing the loyalty of anyone strong enough to swing a blade. Volkar has bullied us at every turn, keeping us weak. But unfortunately for them, that ends today. King Josephro has shifted the board. Taxes are involved now."

Zedd let out a sharp, cynical breath. "So Manyblood has finally reached the point of prioritizing money over lives."

"Great kingdoms don’t become great on empty stomachs, do they?" Tobias countered, his voice flat with the weight of reality.

I watched them as the chilling realization set in. Absolute power was corrupting Manyblood, but Volkar’s plan was more insidious. By forcing Manyblood to source out powerful mercenaries and grow desperate for military strength, Volkar was turning their neighbor into a pressurized keg. What exactly was Volkar planning to do once that keg finally exploded?

Zedd turned back to the clearing where the two titans were about to clash. "This man, Taz... is he a contracted warrior?"

"Yes," Tobi replied with a hint of pride. "Manyblood spends a fortune to keep him, and he practically burns through it all. But he is strong."

"I wonder where you guys found him," Zedd mused.

Tobias sighed. "He never speaks about his hometown or where he came from much. All he says is that there are mages there who are experts in sword and magery."

"Some kind of sword mage society? Those still exist?" Zedd’s voice was laced with genuine intrigue.

Tobias shrugged, his eyes never leaving the white-haired warrior. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, we wouldn’t have one standing right here if they didn’t, right?"

Zedd leaned back, a nostalgic, pained look crossing his face. "Sword mages. Who would have thought people still followed that path? How did the saying go in the books I read? Ah... ’The will of iron as my extension, and the will of magic as my devotion.’ A pity, really. Serving two masters—the blade and the spell—is rarely the best way to reach the pinnacle of either."

"Sword mages..." I repeated the words in my head. A mage who could fight with a sword. To some extent, they followed what Father always said was the most effective way of using magic—not as a distant tool, but as a physical extension of one’s own body.

"People like him don’t need to worry about their flaws; their overwhelming strength covers it all," Tobias continued, his eyes locked on Taz’s back. "Manyblood was once part of the G5 because of economic wealth, but that has all changed. What is wealth if you don’t have the power to protect it? So, we got ourselves a Sword Mage. The best around."

"Sorry," I asked, breaking the silence. "Ummm, what makes him different from a regular mage?"

Father replied calmly, "He is most likely an expert in physical combat, specifically with swords. Most mages focus on the mind and spells; he focuses on muscle and spell in a nut shell."

Tobias nodded but not completely agreeing with dad explanation. "Not just any swords. Draconic swords."

Greyjoy cut in, his ego still bruised and his voice dripping with skepticism. "And what’s so special about draconic swords?"

Tobias adjusted his glasses, his tone turning academic. "As the name suggests, the sword he carries has a draconic spirit or essence embedded within it. All I know is his sword, Vhaegon, is only usable by him. Anyone else who even touches that thing would die instantly."

Tobi stepped forward, the hand-bell in his grip ringing once with a clear, resonant tone. "All of you, step back," he commanded. "I will create a much stronger barrier. This won’t be enough to hold what’s coming."

Greyjoy scoffed, crossing his arms. "No matter what power he has, he will never be as strong as a Battle Mage. He should better take it down a notch."

"Battle Mage..." Those words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Yeah, Battle Mages," Greyjoy continued, a rare flash of reverence in his eyes. "The highest of all sorcery. Absolute mastery of all elements and forms, specifically suited and trained for war. Now that is true power."

Lord Zedd said nothing, but a faint, knowing smirk played on his lips. "Even I know that becoming a Battle Mage is no small feat it is simply legendary status —it required a level of genius like no other that most humans simply didn’t possess one needs to be natural talent for such levels.

"Yeah, no way Taz is on a Battle Mage level," Tobi admitted, though his confidence didn’t waver. "But for this dragon in his second stage of evolution? Taz should handle Lord Zedd’s eyes crinkled. "Cocky now. You believe in him that much?"

"Yes," Tobias replied simply.

Tobi stepped beyond the original shield, the bells beginning to glow with a blinding golden radiance as he took a firm, serious stance.

"Bells do not alert the ears alone, but warn against evil. For this, I cast a spell: O Bells of Fortitude, grant a never-ending shield with me as the bearer of the sound. RING!"

A massive manifestation of a bell appeared in the sky above us, descending like a cage of light. It settled over us, turning the barrier into a translucent golden marvel of high-level magic.

"Now that this is in place, you will be protected from Taz," Tobias said calmly.

"You mean... you made this to protect us from him?" Father asked, his confusion mounting. "Isn’t it supposed to protect us from the dragon?"

Tobias let out a small laugh. "You will understand once he begins."

Tobi yelled outward from inside his new barrier to Taz, "Everything set?"

Taz glanced over. Tobias nodded.

Taz didn’t immediately charge at Bagu; instead, he began walking sideways, his eyes searching the ground until they landed on a stray, gnarled tree branch.

"I have been patient enough, don’t you think, DEONTEY?" Bagu’s voice rumbled with growing irritation.

"Calm yourself," Taz replied without looking up. "But again, thanks for waiting. It’s not as if I’m going to take long anyway."

Bagu chuckled, his many eyes tracking the man. "You really are different from the rest I have faced today. Not only do you think you can win, but you talk in such a manner."

"Is that so? Well, I mean, if I groveled at your feet begging you to leave this town and spare these people, you would simply just laugh... and crush my skull. Isn’t that right?"

Bagu chuckled. ’absolutely.’

"And what’s the answer I know you will say?"

Bagu humored him. "Because I can."

"Exactly... because you can. That’s all someone needs to think before they take action against the weak. You see, people like you and me, we are quite similar in a way. Respecting each other as equals—isn’t that what getting power is all about? Being respected and not treated like trash. That’s why you treated those guys in that manner. You didn’t kill them even when you had the chance; you kept playing with your opponent. That is the disrespect many don’t want."

"Ah." Taz finally found what he was looking for.

He used the branch to draw a long, straight line in the dirt behind his massive sword—a weapon he still hadn’t touched since releasing it. He drew the boundary from one horizontal end to the other, marking the earth where he stood.

Finished, he pointed at Bagu. "I have created my own barrier. If you force me to cross this horizontal line—even by an inch—I will consider myself dead.

Greyjoy let out a smug, irritated scoff, his eyes burning with a mix of resentment and forced curiosity. "This guy is annoyingly arrogant. He would definitely piss off every royal he meets with that attitude."

"And that is exactly why he doesn’t stay inside of Manyblood proper," Tobias replied, his eyes fixed on the battlefield as the air began to ripple with the sheer weight of Taz’s presence. "Do not mistake this, Greyjoy Bearmount. He is indeed arrogant—but when someone that arrogant has the power to back it up, you simply have to accept it. I have come to accept it. I suggest you do the same."

Greyjoy’s eyes narrowed, his posture stiffening. "With the way you just used my full name, I assume you’ve already done your research on me in that cursed info book?"

"I have," Tobias said, his voice dropping to a cool, clinical tone. "And it looks like you’re almost finished completing your deeds... at least, the ones that matter to the ledger. Now, be silent and watch him. You could learn a lot."

A heavy, suffocating stillness descended over the clearing. Outside the golden safety of the bell, neither Taz nor Bagu had stirred. They were like two statues carved from different eras—one of scarred flesh and ancient cloth, the other of obsidian scales and shifting shadows.

"Why is he just standing there?" Father asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "They haven’t even moved."

"they are waiting," Tobias replied calmly, his eyes reflecting the amber glow of the barrier. "We can only assume this is simply what a predator does when he meets another of his kind. It’s the waiting game. The only thing that comes to mind is that ancient question: if a lion and a tiger meet, who wins?