"The situation has turned dicey…."
"Grandfather, why do you say that?" as I pondered after Rekka left, Alice who now addresses me as Grandfather asked me with a worried face. She really had grown up a lot. she looked like a fine young lady, but sometimes I think she was still the same little Alice I knew a few months ago. well it's not like you can grow your mind by fighting.
"The empire…. If Rekka found out about them, he would surely try to stop them… but it's backed by the dragons…. I don't know which dragon it is but at this point, where he is still growing, it is not good to engage in a battle with them."
"That's right, our economy just got stable… the people's lives have gotten easier after the peace negotiations… this is time for development, we can't wage war with others right now… it would make us lose valuable time." As Leila gave productive statements I nodded… not only Rekka but the country is growing too. and war with the empire wouldn't end with a single day.
I have to stop him from getting involved…. I am sure in the future we will develop further and then we can subdue the empire at will… if we plan skillfully no outer power can influence. Rekka had already united Stein with our country… what we couldn't do he had done it too easily…
Still…. We should not overestimate our abilities. In this case.. I don't want to overestimate my grandson's abilities… I was already too proud of him…
"For now I was able to get his attention off the subject… Leila, try harder so that this never happens again." this was a lucky break
"Yes Grandfather. I will see to it… that Pamela… she is an idiot among idiots." Leila looked angry. On the other hand… Acadia looked like she was pondering on something…
"I will stop trading with the Empire…. My gut is telling me to get all the dealings closed real quick!"
"Hmm… do that if you can… that country is not one to form good relationships with.. Rekka please don't do anything reckless..`` As everyone left one by one, I couldn't make myself calm… this feeling that was welling up… it was as if I was under someone else's control even if I wanted to. I couldn't think what to do… for now, I would just have to wait until this feeling get's off….
......…
Even though Merlin himself felt something was off because he was already in a scheme of Rekka, he couldn't find out what to do… sadly his feelings would only get stronger from here on out, until he finds out what had really happened. But by that time, the hand was already played and the game was already on the way. For Rekka, who only showed his kindness after he was brought to this world, was going to show what true despair and purge could be.
........
I was near the Empire Border of Treastein. The Stein kingdom also had a border with the empire nearby. I felt a lot of people further in the empire border. Since the empire was at war for a long time, this place seems to station their military there permanently.
As I got near their camps, I erased my presence and looked around. Many large tents were all over the place. After counting, I figured out there were at least 100 thousand soldiers here.
Are they preparing for a war? This many soldiers in one place…..
"Hey man, did you hear?"
"Yeah?"
"The supreme commander has made preparations to wage a big war after last year!"
"Oh ho ho! We are going to find some great materials!"
"Yeah with a preparation this big we can at least get some new lands!"
"Yeah!"
As I was hearing the gossip, my suspicion was right.
The supreme commander, in other words, the Prince was going to wage a big war very soon. No wonder there were so many soldiers here. But as the rumors say, these soldiers really were nothing but lowly trash… still their strength were soso but their weapons and armors were better than Stein I guess...
Not one of them had any pride, they just wanted land, money and women….. Since I could sense Miasma which reacts very well with humans with no character, I could see all the soldiers were like so….. Unlike the soldiers that I saw in Stein… These soldiers were full of thugs.
I wonder if the prince collected these men intentionally. or maybe he trained them to be like this...
[What's the plan?]
"We don't have much time…. In an hour or so my gramps would start searching for me… although it would take many days to find me… and even to get to this place… we would get these men slaughtered without anyone knowing…. I can't let men with such rotten characters live… the monsters are enough in this world…. We don't need posers…"
[Those are some daring words you are saying.]
"Why? Didn't you want me to slaughter humans like a beast?"
[Yeah…. That's right, show the world that Amanori is still here.]
"Let's find the center of the tent, have to make a prison so none can get out."
This would mark the day when the army from hell would be cut out like cattle in a cage. After this night, this encampment would look As if a wild beast had been let out to just get them out of their misery.
.....
I was now in the middle of their encampment. This was a huge territory. The soldiers were not the only ones here, I could feel other human presences too….. Maybe they were captives of our country or the Stein Kingdom..
System deploy Mass dimension.
{Mass Dimension deployed. Covering the entire enemy base. Time has slowed down 10 times in the real world.}
Good, now we have enough time and an inescapable prison of hell.
[Ha ha ha not one of them is gonna leave alive…!.]
Yeah…
This new Void spell was a much simpler version of the Lost dimension I made for my training. It's connected to the real world and also can be used to make a fake similar territory.
So I could say the soldiers were already in my prison. Even if I left them here, no one could get out of this place and soon losing all their food supplies, they would rot here and die. But since they were scum, I thought of punishing them as such.
If they like treating others like trash. I should show them how they can be treated like the livestock prepared for slaughtering too.
"Amanori? Do you have a way to incase the Sword in flame?"
[Hmm…. flame eh….. Yeah, long ago one of my wielders could do that… but if I do it, the flame would be cursed.]
That's not a problem, then do that….
As I said so, Amanori started to release dark murky flame from her sword. It kinda looked cool.
Whoa! This looks awesome!
[Really? The only thing this flame does is it burns your flesh slower then normal fire.]
Th-that's… really a good way to torture… that way it would take longer for them to die and they would feel more pain… man my predecessors were really messed up huh…
[oh? I didn't know that… then I guess the flame is quite good… we should use it more in the future.]
As I stopped my chat with Amanori, I took a sharp breath and readied myself. amanori was a great sword... if I used her to cut, no matter the human, I can slice them like tofu.
I was now standing in the middle of their camp and not erasing my presence, pretty quickly, the soldiers found me. As barbaric as they were, not one of them asked me who I was, they started to attack me one after the other.
"Boy they are impatient…. I at least thought that they would interrogate me first."
[They only see you dressed as an adventurer, so they believe you are not one to waste their time on.]
"Who! Who the hell are you!??" At last , after I had cut down several soldiers ruthlessly, one soldier before nearing me asked me who I was. Of Course it wasn't because he was intelligent, It was because seeing me cutting down soldiers one after the other was enough to frighten him.
"Me? I am here to slaughter you… now be a good livestock and inform others that the Cursed sword wielder is attacking.`` As I said so with a solid smile while my hands were draped with their comrades blood, the soldier dropped his sword and fell on his back…
I could see he had soiled his pants. My killing intent was enough for him to stay like this…. But as I had killed enough of them, blood was splattered over my hands and face too. I could only imagine the horror he felt when he saw me like that. Not to mention the flame encased Amanori is really scary...
"Enemy Attack! Get the soldiers! Everyone assemble at point 1!" Very soon the whole army was assembling around me. I thought they would try to run seeing the cursed sword wielder but I guess they had some pride in them.
Thousands of soldiers started to encircle me but I sliced every one of those soldiers' hands and legs. Legs from the knee joint and hands from the shoulder joint. Since my sword was releasing flames, the place that was slashed became scorched and stopped bleeding while it steadily began to burn, the fire won't go down until his life ended. the fire also stopped of blood loss, they wouldn't start dying. I wanted them to feel the suffering before dying. Pain worse than death… If I was going to kill... then I would kill the most ruthless way possible. of course even while they hang between life and death like that they still would be scared shitless.
Seeing this scene, many soldiers tried to run but I pursued them like a tiger and took them down. As this scene went on for some hours, I could see a lot more soldiers were gathering now. This must be their last ditch effort to save the supreme commander. They were in a cage after all.
......
After the battle had started, it took quite a while to get the news to the supreme commander. Anyone who was near the fight was getting his hands and legs cut; no one could relay the information. the headquarters had to move after hearing painful groans all around them.
"Supreme commander! It's an enemy attack!" the commander got bewildered at the sudden news. He was known as the commander from hell, who can attack his own encampment? And these soldiers were not common fodder. He himself had given these soldiers training to get them in shape. Although they were all scums who viewed humans nothing more than playthings they still were strong.
"How many are there?" The commander asked, composing himself.
"O-only one my lord.." the answering soldier said, looking frightened.
"Only one?"
"Yes he has a sword and is cutting down anyone near him."
"Oh ho! He is a gutsy fella, sending in more soldiers should get him exhausted after some time." the Prince didn't even think who this could be. He was so sure that they could win, he sent in more troops after the other. Only after an hour did he feel a bit distressed…
"M-my lord.. Camp 9 and 10 are down… camp 7 is now charging but looks like they are going to fail too…." the same soldier that had given him the information for the first time came in and gave dreadful news. He looked pale as if he was a zombie… just what had he seen to make his face that much pale?
Even if the soldier looked pale, he could hardly describe what seeing thousands of his comrades howling from the after effects of the fight would look like. In reality the only reason he said that the ones fighting were down since none of them had died… and the attacker was slicing apart humans and standing on their blood pool as if it wasn't even a bid deal, just how can a normal soldier like his describe a scene like that?
the soldiers here were not regarded as humans any longer… they were even more worse than death… they were now human wastes howling in pain.
......
By now the headquarters was full of high personnel. They all looked troubled. Close to 30 thousand soldiers were down. Camp 7 which had the most magic users and among the strongest was halfway down too. They could say their fire power lost quite a bit.
"We are in a full on war! Everyone! Assemble the whole army! Find out who the attacker is! And send a messenger to the capital for more troops." The Prince wasn't just a normal human, he was a cold hearted intelligent one, or else he couldn't corner the Holy city so easily. As he grasped the situation, he threw order after order swiftly.
"My lord! It's the Cursed sword wielder! He is the one attacking!" a soldier who got inside the HQ promptly said such harassing news.
"No wonder… My lord you should leave here…"
"What are you saying Zen!" the elderly man dressed in an army garb told the prince. He wasn't a typical underling; he was his advisor. But even after hearing from his advisor the prince looked bewildered.
"My lord… I am sure of it. The Cursed sword wielder has the power to rush through this army… after the fight is over, he will eventually die… or if we are stronger, then he will die mid battle… but I know my Lord, if the Cursed sword wielder has targeted you, he will not wait for finishing the army. He will come straight here… My lord, Every battle you live is a victory." As his advisor said, the others in the room nodded… the prince for the first time in his life felt pathetic and powerless…
He gritted his teeth and tried to sort out the things to leave this place with a small group of people but soon his idea was thwarted.
"My lord! The messenger can't leave the surroundings! It looks like we are surrounded by a barrier!" hearing that the headquarters that had gotten a bit laxed got chaotic again. The prince felt fear….
"Can't you break it? No barrier is unbreakable." The prince gave such a command but the answer was even more shocking.
"My lord we can't even find the barrier… the people who are trying to leave the encampment somehow come back here."
"What kind of magic is that?!" At last the prince couldn't hold his composure anymore. His advisor banged his hand on the table. Both of them looked pale.
The all powerful empire should never have felt this terror. Even if it was only a Cursed sword wielder... but this was their bad luck, the wielder this time was irregular. Commonsense was lacking in regards to Rekka.
Once he set his sights on a target, it was known that the target was halfway dead already. Sadly not the empire nor the world knew that was the case. Cursed sword wielder? Battle to death? None of that mattered to Rekka. Even if he wasn't who he was… he wouldn't have batted a single eye while taking this step.
As the time passed, the headquarters got even more chaotic. Outside, the remaining soldiers were being massacred like livestock. As the time passed, thousands of soldiers who were still feeling pain from getting cut and burned by the Cursed sword started groaning in pain.
the pool of blood around Rekka glowed a violet red as the human bodies acted as torches to light the place up. each of the flames looked so ominous that any who looked upon the display felt the presence of death upon them.
By now, half the army was already done in by the Cursed sword wielder. So the groaning was like the yells of hell itself… no matter how cold hearted the prince or his entourage was, they simply couldn't stay stable. the display was in another league entirely, looking upon the cursed sword wielder now, the ruthless soldiers that they were before thought just what kind of measly torture they had done to their captives until now... in the face of this judgement.... those times of pleasure felt wasted....
...............
Under the table his legs were shaking like jelly… his handsome face was pale and dripped in sweat. The HQ felt empty because many had tried to run and were now probably in the same state as the other victim soldiers… magic, physical force, not even tactics worked against this man. He was like a natural disaster mulling over humans as if reminding them of their place.
he deflected magic as if it vanished before it's lord, he took physical attack head on, no matter how many wounds they open up it all heals up, tactics? it was laughable to even try that, he moved at a speed none could follow, he slashed and pierced the humans like they were twigs. no matter how they deployed in what ever formation, be it long range or short range, nothing worked as his moves dismembered soldiers close and far.
"My Lord… The speed of the fight has fallen drastically…." the Advisor of the Prince felt a bit of light shining and tried to investigate the situation… soon the information came.
"Commander! The Cursed sword wielder is slower than the time he first started fighting." hearing the soldier. The Prince and his advisor looked like they had been given a boon.
"How many soldiers are left?" The Prince who had got some backbone after a long while started getting ready for another push.
"Commander! Camp 1,3,4,5,6 are still unscathed! Camp 2 is now in battle!" as the one in charge after the prince gave the information, hearing that the prince smiled coldly…
"We can do this! Assemble all of them to attack the Cursed sword wielder. Give him no time to rest! Whoever gets his head can have anything they want!"
Hearing the order, the HQ got to work for the last time. By now the day had already ended. It was deep in the night and since the injured soldiers were crying in pain and howling to be put out of their misery, this night felt like Armageddon even for the prince himself.
Since he couldn't leave this place, he had to survive. He will of course pay his dues after the battle. He vowed to make even the Cursed sword wielders' descendants pay for his humiliation.
As such things went on in the HQ, the Situation of Rekka was nothing like they thought. He wasn't even breaking a sweat. The reason that he had started to slow down was to make the prince feel his doom coming slowly. Rather than a quick judgement, he wanted to make his last moments filled with despair. And the Army right now was also frightened to death.
[Some soldiers are killing themselves…]
"Yeah.. they are lucky… I wish I knew how to bring back the dead…"
[For someone who never wanted to do something like this, you are doing it like a pro.]
"Well, If I have to do something then I'll do it thoroughly."
[Ha ha… Rekka is the best Cursed sword wielder.]
"Don't flatter me, I hate doing this…." as Rekka talked to Amanori like this while he was still fighting. his moved slowly but his arms blurred out from time to time, as a sign, here and there more limbs separated from their bodies.
It had been 3 to 4 hours since the fight had started and piles of injured soldiers were behind him howling in pain. And as the night came, his body emanated miasma like smoke.
Looking at him from a distance, the soldiers had various reactions. Some died in fright and some faced their fear and came forward to even be able to graze the Cursed sword wielder.
At this point, no one even cared to defeat him, since they realized that they were trapped. They came to the Cursed sword wielder with the will to kill or be killed, the Mass dimension was unbreakable, only a mage capable of calculating Reality itself could hope to break it.
As the fight progressed, It's not like Rekka was unscathed. There were so many soldiers attacking at once, some used spears, some used magic, some shot arrows at him, but the slashes of swords barely grazed his body and the grazes quickly healed away, the spears left gaping wounds in his body which also healed in a short time.
As soon as he pulled out the arrows from his body, the wounds would close up. Of Course after all these hours of battling, his body was draped in his enemies blood, he couldn't see his feet under the pool of darkened blood. So his healing wounds could hardly be seen.
To the soldiers Rekka looked more like a god unaffected by mortal wounds. He ripped apart any arrows that impaled his body. As he looked unaffected by any of his wounds, the soldiers' nightmares only worsened by the minutes.
It was a nightmare for the soldiers of the empire, and this nightmare would hardly be remembered by anyone, the ones going through it all would die. It was a chilling night, just how Rekka did all this in a single night would forever be unknown to the history of the world.
.....
"M-my lord only camp 1 is left…" A high ranking soldier came to the HQ and said the current situation of their army. His face was lifeless, he was only walking with the thought that his death would eventually come at some point.
"Just what is this wielder… it's nearly morning… how can he fight for so long?" as the Prince slumped in his chair, he looked over the table.
No low ranking officers were left; they were all stationed in the battle. Nearly 12 hours had passed since the fight had started. Although midway the Cursed sword wielder slowed down his slaughtering, he was still battling at a steady pace. As the people lessened in the room, the prince felt impending doom….
Despair was over him from long ago but now he felt like he was caught in a snake's den waiting for the snake to wake up and swallow him.
"The situation is hopeless… he isn't even hearing any of our words… he is clearly here to kill all of us.. And as I say... every single one of us…" Prince's advisor who was a top class schemer rivaling Even Merlin the Guru looked like he had given up.
When suddenly they felt a great tremor and their HQ was blown away like scrap of paper.
The night was fading away. 100 thousand soldiers were no more, only a pile of them were standing or rather they were already dead from seeing the frightening Cursed sword wielder.
The Prince who for the first time saw the Cursed sword wielder felt like the Grim reaper had come to snatch his soul away. He wanted to stand up and at least talk to the Cursed sword wielder but he felt like his throat was so dry he could barely speak a word. At that point, the Cursed sword wielder came from the piles of injured soldiers. his body was bathed in blood, so even when he walked ominous sloshing sound could be heard, he didn't even react to that though.
He looked as if he was looking at insects.
'We are not even humans in his eyes!' The prince thought as he felt his death coming near.
Until now he was thinking how he could get out of this predicament and then exact revenge but seeing the Man in front of him…. 'how could I even think of those things… I am.. Already sealed with this fate...'
He could see that all the others besides his advisor were pleading for their life. All these people were the empire's most ruthless nobles. Never in their life they regretted doing anything. They played with human lives like toys… but now they were in the same state as what their past victims were.
"Who is the prince?" as the Cursed sword wielder disregarding those pleading voiced his question. Everyone looked straight at the prince.
"I-.... I am the supreme commander.. I am the prince.." The prince wanted to introduce himself with all his might but seeing that the Cursed sword wielder wasn't even bothered in the name of the empire, he skipped it and just said he was the prince.
"Oh.. you actually are quite handsome… well all that aside… these people you gathered all were trash… so let me end them." not even giving the prince time to process the words. The ones that were pleading lost their heads.
The cursed sword that was black, was now glazed in warm blood. The Cursed sword wielder swung the blade to get rid of the dripping blood. By how easily he had done all this, the Advisor asked Rekka.
"Cursed sword wielder, why do you do this?"
"Hmm…. you guys annoy me.." the prince thought that as if they were an eyesore for Rekka.
"Th-that's why?" Still looking puzzled, the Advisor lost his head. Seeing that, the prince fell on his behind… there was no more pleading for him…
The advisor he had prided himself over was gone. His army was massacred, the nobles were dead and his own life was as valuable as an insect to the Cursed sword wielder.
"You will not die yet… I will make you a throne so high you could see your prideful army dying with you.`` As he said so, the Prince's legs were cut off with one swing.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!" releasing a painful howl, the prince looked at his doom. Rekka's face was emotionless. There was no pity, anger, sadness or happiness. He was being killed like livestock.
With another swing, his hands flew away… the already burning pain felt like it was doubled… but before he could howl in pain, a throne came out from under him. It reached higher than 10 feet and stopped.
As the prince got used to the pain he saw a scene from hell.. 100 thousand soldiers could be seen splattered, just like him, all of them lost their arms and legs and were laying on the ground, they were in the same state he was in. seeing this scene, the prince lost his mind for real and died on the spot. There was only fear left in his heart. The fear that ruled history in the name of Cursed Sword of Destruction - Amanori.