The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years-Chapter 165

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 165

The dragon legion of Geysir soared along the northern coastline.

Emperor Caius erupted in anger.

"Melvria. Just what exactly did you investigate?"

"King Kaylen was never in the country to begin with. Other than that, there were only small fries—not even worth investigating."

"And yet, after infiltrating the capital, this is all the information you bring back...?"

The intelligence Melvria had gathered while undercover in Alzass, the capital of the Starn Empire, fell short of Caius’s expectations.

If this was all she could bring back, he might as well have had her command the dragon knights instead of sending her to Alzass.

However, Melvria had her own defense.

"Why do you say that? The capital, Alzass, houses the Grand Cathedral of the Celestial God. That alone proves their alliance with the Sanctuary. On top of that, the World Tree has taken root there. Meaning their ties with the elves are stronger than we expected. I don’t see why I should be blamed."

"But you failed to obtain the most crucial information—King Kaylen’s whereabouts!"

"I already told you, the king wasn’t there. How am I supposed to find information on someone who isn’t even present?"

Caius was at a loss for words.

Melvria’s argument was sound—he couldn’t refute it any further.

Still, his face turned red with frustration, barely able to contain his anger.

'At this rate, he'll start executing the elves again.'

Killing elves out of sheer rage.

He’d probably justify it by saying they were offerings to the Dragon God Meier anyway—whether he executed them now or sacrificed them later made no difference.

Letting out an internal sigh, Melvria softened her tone slightly.

"However, I did find traces of King Kaylen using the Six Sword Path."

"The Six Sword Path...?"

"Yes. The former name of Starn was Bormian. They say its royal castle was split cleanly in half—by an enormous sword stretching to the heavens."

"That means..."

"I'm speculating that it was the Colossal Sword, one of the Six Sword Path techniques."

"Speculation isn’t enough. You should have investigated thoroughly enough to turn that into solid intel."

Melvria frowned at Caius’s reprimand.

But she no longer wished to argue with him.

"...That was my shortcoming. I apologize."

"Good. In the first place, the Colossal Sword is ranked fourth among the Six Sword Path techniques. No one except my father could wield it. And yet, you assumed it was the Colossal Sword just because a castle was split apart?"

Even after Melvria apologized, Caius continued to berate her.

"Y-Your Majesty! Please, look ahead!"

"The Colossal Sword is not something mere descendants can wield. I won’t believe it unless I see it with my own eyes."

"Oh? You won’t believe it unless you see it for yourself? Then take a look at that."

"Trying to change the subject—"

Caius scowled and turned his gaze toward where Melvria was pointing.

What in the world could be ahead that even Helmeier’s elite were so shaken?

The moment Caius looked forward, his jaw dropped.

"So now, speculation has become reality?"

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—Ssssshhhhh—

The seawater shot up into the sky all at once.

And with it, a colossal sword rose high.

The very technique they had just been debating—

The Fourth Sword of the Six Sword Path.

The Colossal Sword.

"Deploy the shield!"

Caius shouted urgently.

—Whooosh!—

With a massive gust of wind, the Greatsword came crashing down on the vanguard of the Dragon Knights.

“Ugh…!”

“T-The barrier…!”

The Dragon Knights that Caius had personally brought with him—though they were the elite of the empire—could not withstand the Greatsword.

With a single strike, an entire division was obliterated. Melvria shouted urgently.

“Caius! Use the Six Demon Path!”

“Fine! Everyone, use Dragon Tongue!”

At Caius’ command, the Helmeier clan members at the rear of the Dragon Knights began chanting in unison.

“In the name of the Dragon, I command the mana.”

“Lend your power to His Majesty the Emperor.”

All except Caius channeled their strength into him.

Rather than casting individual Dragon Tongue magic, they pooled their power together for efficiency.

As the force of mana gathered, Caius felt his draconic authority expand.

“Six Demon Path: Dragon Scales.”

Above Caius’ head, three golden halos emerged, shimmering like stars.

They spun in place before merging into a single golden ring, then shot toward the Greatsword.

Chiiiiik!

The golden ring collided with the massive sword.

As its name suggested, "Dragon Scales" boasted an impenetrable defense.

Watching the clash, Melvria thought to herself,

‘The Greatsword barely pierced Dragonflame last time.’

Melvria had only used two magic circles when casting Dragonflame back then.

Now, Caius’ Dragon Scales had an additional power infused into it—making it incomparably stronger.

‘If it’s at the same level as before, there’s no way it can break through the Dragon Scales. Instead, it’ll be swallowed by them.’

It had only been a few months since their battle against Kaylen.

There was no way his power had surged so drastically.

The Greatsword wouldn’t be able to break through the Dragon Scales.

That was what Melvria believed…

“Kugh… W-What is this…?!”

Chiiiiik—

The scene before her was the complete opposite of what she had expected.

The golden ring was slowly cracking.

“Is it… really the Six Sword Path?! That’s impossible! It’s fake! Helmeier clan, reinforce it immediately!”

Caius, looking as if he had seen a ghost, screamed at the Helmeier clan.

‘If we use Dragon Tongue one more time, our bodies won’t hold out…’

The Helmeier clan grimaced at Caius’ order, but…

They understood the situation.

If the Dragon Scales were breached, they would die regardless.

“In the name of the Dragon, I command the mana.”

“Reinforce the Dragon Scales.”

Still mounted on their drakes, the Helmeier clan chanted once more to strengthen the spell.

“Gah…!”

“B-By the name of the Dragon…”

Some coughed up blood and collapsed.

However, their Dragon Tongue had an effect.

The cracking Dragon Scales rapidly regenerated.

“Hah… Haha! Yes! That’s more like it! Even if it is the Six Sword Path, it doesn’t matter! The Six Sword Path is outdated—a relic of the past! It cannot defy the Six Demon Path!”

“A relic of the past, huh?”

A calm voice echoed in Caius’ ears.

Even after all these years, it was a voice he longed to hear.

‘This voice…’

Caius’ eyes snapped open.

It was his father, Ernstine.

“Let’s see.”

The Greatsword seemed to fall away from the Dragon Scales and disappear—

“But even if those pitiful scales shatter…”

Whoosh.

The Greatsword reformed instantly and struck from below.

“Let’s hear you say that again.”

Boom! Boom!

The relentless barrage of sword strikes continued.

The Dragon Scales, which had previously only formed a circular barrier in one direction, shifted into a full spherical shield to defend against the onslaught from all sides.

“U-Uaaagh!”

With each strike of the Greatsword, the golden barrier shrank.

The vanguard and rear of the Dragon Knights had already been wiped out by its attacks.

Even the Helmeier clan, who had been at the core of their forces, coughed up blood and fell into the sea.

“Y-Your Majesty… please let us in…”

As the shrinking Dragon Scales left them exposed, the terrified Helmeier clan pleaded with desperate eyes.

Swish.

Caius turned his head away, ignoring their cries.

If he wavered now, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the Greatsword’s relentless assault.

“Gahhh…!”

Chiiiiik!

The Greatsword ruthlessly crushed the Helmeier clan members.

Their bodies burst like insects, spraying blood over the Dragon Scales.

‘He’s gotten even stronger…’

Melvria swallowed hard as she watched the Greatsword hammering against the barrier.

Last time, he had only managed a single strike.

But now, he was freely swinging it multiple times.

‘Even though Caius is giving it his all, it’s useless.’

The Dragon Scales, strengthened by the collective power of the demonized Helmeier clan—

If it were at the same level as the Kaylen she had seen before, there was no way he could have overcome it.

Yet the Greatsword moved with ease.

‘At this level… it’s like my father’s old mastery…’

Boom!

Melvria shuddered as she watched the Greatsword pressing down on the Dragon Scales.

If he could wield the Greatsword this freely, then—

‘He’s a Grand Swordmaster…’

Meanwhile, Caius, watching the Helmeier clan die one by one, fell into panic.

“This is impossible…!”

The Six Demon Path—

An absolute magic fueled by the power of Dragon Tongue.

When invoked, even a Demon Realm Count like Caius could rival a Demon Realm Marquis.

And that was when he cast it alone.

With the power of the Helmeier clan added to it, it should have been comparable to a Demon Realm Duke.

And yet…

Could they really be rendered powerless in less than ten minutes, caught in the storm-like strikes of the Greatsword?

If only this were a dream.

“Who… Who could possibly wield such power…? Who could possibly use the Six Sword Path…?”

Caius muttered blankly, staring at the Dragon Scales, now reduced to protecting only a few dozen individuals.

Then, the Greatsword that had been hammering down on the barrier suddenly disappeared.

“Who else could it be?”

Kaylen stood before him.

“…Father?”

“Caius. It’s unfortunate that we meet like this.”

“No… You… You can’t be my father.”

Caius’ eyes trembled as if he had seen a ghost.

Looking at Kaylen, who bore an uncanny resemblance to his father, Ernstine, he immediately rejected the thought.

“You still deny me, even after witnessing the Six Sword Path?”

“O-Of course! Father is destined to be reborn as the Dragon God. He abandoned that mere human shell long ago. You… How dare you disguise yourself in his former appearance?!”

“Heh. Do you think the Six Sword Path is a technique that can be faked, Caius? You should know better than anyone. Even when you begged me to teach you, you never managed to learn it.”

At Kaylen’s words, Caius gritted his teeth.

The Six Sword Path—an art only Emperor Ernstine had ever mastered.

Many of his children had tried to learn it, but all had failed.

Caius was no exception.

He had believed that mastering the Six Sword Path was essential to solidifying his authority as the next emperor.

That was why he had persistently begged his father to teach him.

“…No. No, that’s not true. You can’t be my father. You must have learned the Six Sword Path somewhere else…”

His mind knew the truth.

That the Six Sword Path before him was real.

That an opponent capable of wielding such a sword couldn’t possibly be just some descendant of the Meyer family.

And yet, Caius couldn’t accept it.

If he admitted it now, then everything he had done up until this moment—

The thousand years he had endured as a half-undead—

Would all be for nothing.

“There’s no way you’re my father…”

Like a broken record, Caius kept repeating the same words.

Watching him, Kaylen fully unleashed the Six Sword Path.

“Caius. Do you remember? The time when I established the Six Swords and created this style?”

“Ugh…”

“You were sitting on my shoulders back then.”

Caius, the eldest son.

When Ernstine was in his thirties, as he refined the Six Sword Path, young Caius had watched with curious eyes.

Recalling those memories, Kaylen moved his swords in front of the Dragon Scales.

Swish.

Among the six swords, the Water Sword and Light Sword fused before him.

“The dragon you serve is nothing more than a being sustained by black magic.”

“That stance… No way…”

“I’ve redefined my sword to match my enemy.”

The Helmeier Dragon.

A foe that had not existed a thousand years ago.

To fight it, a new form of the Six Sword Path was born.

With the Water Sword and Light Sword as its foundation, the Wind Sword and Earth Sword, which were unaffected by elemental attributes, joined in.

The four Aura Swords merged, revealing a new form.

The gleaming blue blade, jagged like serrated fangs, resembled the massive teeth of a great beast.

“This shall be called—Dragonslayer.”

Six Sword Path

Four Swords - Dragonslayer

“This is… real…”

Seeing Kaylen create a new sword style before his very eyes, Caius lost the will to fight.

“Watch closely.”

The Dragonslayer blade touched the Dragon Scales—

Chiiiiik.

The same barrier that had endured the Greatsword’s onslaught was sliced apart like paper in an instant.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]