LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 42
Chapter 42: The Crack (4)
Martin took a step forward.
At that moment, the space around him distorted, and his body vanished.
However, Christian did not panic even as he witnessed this.
Calmly, he twisted blue flames like spider webs and spread them in all directions.
‘He must not have gone far, since he has already drawn his sword.’
Christian was certain of this.
Martin wouldn’t attack from a distance.
The reason was simple.
Unless there was a considerable skill gap, both of them had reached the same level of mastery.
It was impossible to win by relying solely on long-range attacks.
Christian’s assumption soon became a reality.
Whirr.
Martin reappeared directly behind Christian.
In an instant, he had succeeded in trapping his opponent within his attack range.
Seizing the opportunity, Martin immediately thrust out his treasured sword, Kaizen.
A golden flash shot towards Christian’s back like a lightning bolt.
But Christian, already prepared, twisted his body right away.
Boom!
Christian’s greatsword collided with Martin’s treasured sword, Kaizen.
A loud explosion rang out as a blinding white light filled the surroundings.
Fragments of the shattered aura blades scattered like embers.
“Hyaah!”
Crash!
Christian stomped the ground roughly with his left foot and swung his greatsword.
The blue aura blade wrapped around his sword flared up as blue flames intensified, emitting a radiant light.
Along with that, an intense heat surged from the blade.
‘Ugh!’
Martin’s face twisted in pain.
Even though their blades were merely clashing, it felt as if his hands gripping the sword hilt were about to melt.
Moreover, the extreme heat maximized the cutting power of Christian’s aura blade.
The blue aura blade slowly but surely dug into the golden aura blade Martin had unleashed.
“Hyaah!”
Martin shouted as he pulled more mana, causing the light of his golden aura blade to shine even brighter.
Christian’s aura blade could no longer penetrate Martin’s.
‘Now!’
Martin quickly retracted his sword, twisted his body, and swung with all his might.
Boom!
This time, Christian’s aura blade wavered.
Martin had unleashed a spatial cut, slashing through the air itself.
Although he managed to regain the upper hand, Martin didn’t celebrate.
‘As expected, he’s a 7th-circle master.’
He had noticed that Christian could influence space to some extent after opening a subspace with his flames.
However, he hadn’t anticipated that Christian was skilled enough to completely block a spatial cut.
“The blade, heated to its limit, can even slice through space itself! You should give up trying to overwhelm me with abilities.”
“I never intended to do that from the beginning.”
Christian, brimming with confidence, shouted.
Martin quietly responded and swung his sword again.
The golden trajectory and the blue one clashed fiercely, as if trying to devour each other.
Light continuously flashed, and the shockwaves turned into a storm, tearing apart the surroundings.
At the heart of the destruction, Martin drew circles with Kaizen as he swung it.
Each time the golden arcs embroidered the air, the impact traveling along his sword dissipated into nothingness, and the trajectory of Christian’s greatsword twisted.
Not stopping there, Martin used that force to press Christian even harder.
However, that wasn’t the true core of his strategy.
‘I need to read him.’
Martin’s jet-black eyes gleamed intensely.
He had already defeated Valdemar von Rustal, a 7th-circle master, largely due to the experience of facing him multiple times before his return.
But the opponent in front of him was different.
This was the first time he had ever crossed swords with Christian.
To win decisively, he had to read his opponent’s flow.
The flow created by the man known as the Fire Dragon Sword.
‘If I’m not careful, I’ll lose everything here.’
Christian smirked bitterly, sensing Martin’s intent.
With each exchange of blows, he noticed that Martin’s responses were changing.
Christian had heard the rumors of Martin’s overwhelming talent for swordsmanship, which was said to transcend all of Cracian Continent’s history, but seeing it in person exceeded his wildest imagination.
‘Still, I can’t lose.’
He, too, had been praised as a genius since childhood.
Although he couldn’t prevent the annihilation of his family, he had managed to grow strong enough to seek a comeback, using his innate talents to their fullest.
For the sake of his pride, he absolutely had to win.
That’s why Christian made a vow to himself.
He would prove why the Adventurer’s Guild had bestowed upon him the title of Fire Dragon Sword.
“Hyaah!”
With a powerful cry, Christian shouted as he raised his greatsword, then brought it down with immense force, like someone wielding an axe.
Martin twisted Kaizen, trying to deflect the attack as much as possible, but this time, his attempt failed.
Boom!
When the blue aura blade and the golden one collided, a fiery explosion erupted.
The blue flames instantly expanded, swallowing Martin whole.
But Christian didn’t let his guard down.
‘It didn’t work.’
The flames had clearly reached Martin.
Yet Christian felt like he had struck a solid wall, not a person.
Whirr!
A dark layer appeared within the blue flames.
It powerfully sucked in all the flames, and then Martin reappeared.
His complexion had turned slightly pale, but that was all.
Not even a trace of soot marred his body.
‘To think he wouldn’t take any damage.’
Christian clicked his tongue in disbelief, but he wasn’t discouraged.
Instead, his heart pounded even faster.
“Here I come again!”
Before his words had even finished, Christian slashed his greatsword horizontally.
The blue aura blade, combined with flames, shot out from his blade and headed straight for Martin.
Martin was genuinely astonished.
The aura blade and flames morphed into the shape of a massive dragon.
‘So this is why they call him the Fire Dragon Sword.’
He finally understood the reason for the title.
But it wasn’t the time to be impressed.
As soon as the distance closed, the dragon opened its massive jaws.
Flash!
Just like a real dragon’s breath, a heat beam shot out, melting everything in its path.
The ground bubbled and simmered like lava, and the flames spread, rapidly increasing the surrounding temperature.
The most ridiculous part was that the fire dragon began firing heat beams wildly.
But Martin couldn’t focus solely on that.
“Uraaah!”
Christian was relentlessly attacking as well.
‘So he can control it separately.’
He was controlling the fire dragon while simultaneously moving himself. In the blink of an eye, Martin found himself in a two-on-one battle.
It was truly a remarkable skill.
But that didn’t mean Martin was at a disadvantage.
Martin slightly lifted his left foot and brought it down.
Swoosh!
Almost simultaneously, Christian’s greatsword slashed through the air, but it missed completely.
The fire dragon’s heat beams also missed their target.
Martin hadn’t dodged.
The Martin who had been standing right in front of them was now over 30 meters away.
“They say it’s impossible to relocate from a distance without a space ability. Am I mistaken?”
“There are a few exceptions, but you’re mostly right. I didn’t use spatial movement.”
“Then it’s another technique…?”
“You’ve got it.”
It was the unique ability of the Rustal family, Spatial Compression.
Martin applied this principle to extend the space, successfully widening the gap between himself and Christian in an instant.
“Figure the rest out on your own. There’s no reason to teach my secrets to someone who’s not yet one of my retainers.”
“For someone who’s a successor of one of the Empire’s top three noble families, you’re quite stingy.”
“If you don’t like it, then beat me.”
“You really have a knack for firing people up.”
Christian shook his head and grumbled.
“This is just basic stuff. But trust me, that’s not going to happen.”
Martin smirked.
Then, he thrust his sword, wrapped in an aura blade, into the air.
Boom!
Beams of light shot out from the aura blade and formed the shape of a cube.
Spatial Sword.
This was a technique that symbolized the Adalbert family, and it had now been deployed.
Martin, Christian, and Christian’s fire dragon were all trapped inside it.
“I don’t know what technique this is, but I’ll just break it with brute force.”
“We’ll see if you even get the chance to attack.”
Martin barely moved the now heavy sword, forcing it down ever so slightly.
That was all it took.
Swoosh!
The light from the aura blade, which had spread out translucently, all condensed into sharp blades that ruthlessly shredded the fire dragon.
Three seconds.
That was how long it took for the massive fire dragon to be annihilated.
‘It was worth passing the trial.’
Martin grinned at the results of his work.
He had fully utilized the insight he gained from mastering the Field of Wind during the sword strike, and the effect was excellent.
“W-What the hell?!”
The fire dragon exploded, and the shockwave hit Christian directly.
His mana surged out of control, turning his insides upside down, and he vomited blood.
However, the real sensation overwhelming Christian’s mind wasn’t the pain; it was pure shock.
‘The fire dragon… lost?’
The fire dragon wasn’t just a symbol of his family; it was practically their guardian deity.
Despite the fall of his family, Christian had clung to his bloodline’s pride and aimed for a comeback.
The source of that pride was the fire dragon.
Yet it had been shattered too easily.
However, Martin wasn’t unscathed either.
He had poured an enormous amount of mana into breaking the fire dragon, resulting in internal injuries.
“I can tell, Christian Havertz. You’ve fought mainly against monsters. You’re strong, but you’re still incomplete.”
Using large-scale techniques in fights between people was something to avoid.
First of all, using such techniques was complex.
The reason Martin restrained himself from using Spatial Sword often was due to that difficulty.
Moreover, if the technique failed or was blocked, the cost was immense.
But Christian had immediately brought out the fire dragon once he was slightly cornered, and that had been his downfall.
“Now, shall we end this?”
Whirr.
In order to finish the fight, Martin forcibly used spatial movement, appearing right in front of the hunched-over Christian.
At the same time, he kicked out with his right foot.
Christian, caught off guard, crossed his arms in a hurry, but Martin’s attack was faster.
Wham!
The tip of Martin’s right foot struck Christian’s chin with pinpoint accuracy.
Although he hadn’t used mana, the strike was infused with the subtleties of Rothar Martial Arts.
“Gah!”
Christian didn’t go down with just one hit.
However, his vision swam, and he couldn’t stop his body from stumbling.
His brain had been rattled.
“It’s over.”
Crack.
Martin’s fist landed squarely on Christian’s right cheek.
Christian literally floated into the air before crashing to the ground.
It was Martin’s victory.
—
“I’ve lost.”
After healing his internal injuries with a potion, Christian immediately acknowledged his defeat.
Then, with a playful grin, he added, “But, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to swear loyalty when I haven’t received anything in return. Don’t be surprised if I die of resentment.”
“Don’t worry. I have no qualms about using a corpse if it comes to that.”
“Ugh. Isn’t that a bit too cruel?”
“I believe in keeping promises, no matter what.”
“As do I.”
Swish.
Christian bent his right knee and bowed his head.
Martin placed the blade of his treasured sword, Kaizen, on Christian’s shoulder.
“Becoming a retainer of the Adalbert family means becoming a sword of Adalbert.”
The Adalbert family wasn’t just renowned in the Altaria Empire but was also recognized across the Cracian Continent as the premier swordsmanship family.
Everyone affiliated with the family held this fact with great pride.
“The sword of Adalbert must never break or bend under any circumstances. Can you swear to that, Christian Havertz?”
“Of course.”
“The sword of Adalbert must always grow stronger. Are you prepared?”
“I’ve been prepared ever since my family’s downfall. I resolved to grow to the point where I can surpass myself from yesterday.”
Christian’s voice was calm as he answered.
Martin nodded seriously, his expression grave.
“By the order of Martin Adalbert, successor of the Adalbert family, Christian Havertz, you are now a proud member of Adalbert. Rise with that pride in your heart.”
“I accept.”
With that, Christian stood.
His serious expression lasted only a moment before he broke into a smile and grumbled again.
“Now everyone around me is going to call me a fool. An A-rank adventurer who became a noble’s retainer without receiving anything in return.”
“That’s not entirely true. Tomorrow, it will be announced that not only members of the Adalbert family but also adventurers who shatter the core will be granted the Rustal family’s former territories.”
“Ah. So, you’re saying I’ll be part of that?”
“Precisely.”
“I don’t mind, but are you really okay with that? Someone who despises you could end up with the entire territory.”
“I care more about the stability of the residents than that.”
“Phew. If the residents knew that, they’d be shedding tears of gratitude.”
Christian’s eyes gleamed with admiration.
He was genuinely impressed by Martin’s mindset.
Martin chuckled inwardly.
It was true that he meant what he said.
But that wasn’t the whole story.
‘Since I already know the location of the core, it’s not like there’s going to be any real competition.’
It was no exaggeration to say he held a clear advantage in that regard.
So it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he already controlled the entire game board.
All that remained was to accomplish what he wanted.
“If you really want to become a lord, show outstanding performance during this monster wave.”
“I’ll fight hard, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find the core.”
“This is where you’re supposed to say, ‘I’ll do my best.’”
“An adventurer must face reality, not ideals. We need to be prepared for failure.”
“It seems I’ll have to make our roles as master and retainer very clear.”
“What? Wh-What do you mean…?”
“Just know this from now on: When the master gives an order, the retainer must obey without question.”
“That’s ridiculous! That’s tyranny! A retainer’s duty is to guide their master onto the right path!”
“I always make the right decisions, so it’s fine.”
“That’s absurd!”
Christian was horrified as he tried to flee.
Crack.
Watching Christian’s retreating figure, Martin cracked his neck from side to side.
“To think he’d try to run in front of a spatial ability user, he’s got guts.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Martin’s body vanished.
Moments later, a desperate scream echoed across the mountains.
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