Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Bandit Extermination (3)

Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations

Happy Mother’s Day! Sorry about this being late, I was trying to post earlier but it looks like I messed something up. Then I went out with family for the day. Anywho, here’s the chapter!

A/N: The fighting ends here

This entire chapter is in Alec’s point of view.

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“That surprised me. You defeated Prokel?”

“Yeah, and I’m even more surprised that you caught up already. You’ve got some unusually fast legs.”

“It’s because I get daily exercise.”

Ivan caught up to me alone? So the other guys in the rear didn’t have enough stamina?

Bringing my bloodied sword into a stance, I prepare for his attack.

—This guy doesn’t look like he’d be able to find Marle, so I can take some comfort in that.

“You’re gonna fight to the bitter end?”

“If I ran, would you let me go?”

“Well no, I have no intention of letting you live.”

Then I have no choice but to fight.

I have no confidence that I’ll manage against a heavily armored opponent with this long sword, but… if I run, then Marle will probably be found by our other pursuers.

If they all get here, will I be able to hold out?

“… Nope, if that happens I won’t be able to survive.”

“Ah?”

“Talking to myself. Shall we then?”

“Yeah!”

The two-handed war hammer Ivan is carrying has a small attack area. And he has plate armor covering his whole body.

Diving in next to him and attacking the gaps in his armor is the only way I can…!

I lower my posture and jump straight towards him.

Ivan just stands there waiting, then swings his hammer’s head straight down in front of him.

I can’t deflect such a heavy attack like I did with Prokel’s. Making use of my agility, I strongly kick my left leg sideways, and successfully slide over to his flank.

“Got ya!”

Gagya, goes the sound of the collision.

However, the full body thrust to his side was stopped with a sound I didn’t want to hear.

“How many hits has that sword taken? The edge has gone dull.”

“Shut it! And why do you have chain mail on too? There’s only so much heavy armor you should be wearing!”

To think he had mail on under his plate armor. That’s the kind of heavy equipment used for jousting.

—This guy ran all that way under such weight? What a monster.

Fwoom, while we were having our exchange, the war hammer swings towards me.

I lower my head, and when I let it pass by, his sent his knee flying at me—the blood in my right eye made me react late.

Instantly I guarded my face with my left arm, but with his equipment, his legs themselves may as well be blunt weapons.

A horrible thud sound. And then with a crack, the sound of something jarring, as my left arm drops.

—Shit, that even reached my bones?

I don’t have anything past the elbow on that side anyway, so my fighting power hasn’t fallen, but I still use it for balance.

So now I won’t be able to fine tune my movements…?

However, because of Ivan sending his knee out, his body continued moving, and he left himself wide open.

If my blade is too dull to get through, then I’ll just have to put my whole body into running him through!

“DaryaAAaah!”

Rising into my next attack, I aimed my sword at the gap under his side. If I aim for a killing blow against this armor, then I won’t be able to do any damage.

Ivan read the attack and, twisting his arm, received the thrust with the plate armor part of his arm.

While that happened, I dodged to Ivan’s back side to prevent his war hammer’s counter attack.

The effective area of a two-handed war hammer’s attack is small, but the range is surprisingly long. If I disengage, then Ivan will end up taking the initiative.

I have to fight at this distance or else…

“HNGH!”

“Uwah?!”

After Ivan got himself fired up, amazingly he came at me with a backwards body blow.

Clumsily toppling over in the face of the unexpected attack, his back strikes me. The attack halts my breathing.

And then he followed the attack with his war hammer!

GOOM! Went the hammer head as it went into the ground. I barely rolled out of the way in time.

He even made a small crater… that was close.

“-Cough-, is your whole body a weapon? You bastard…”

“I’ve just got a lot more battle experience.”

Because of my rolling away, I’ve taken some distance from him again.

“In that case… I’ll just have to keep charging back in!”

Taking a stance, I once again step into his war hammer’s attack zone.

This time it’s a side swipe. I just have to lower my head and… when I let it pass, he sent me flying with a shoulder charge.

With my stance broken, he makes a follow-up attack again. I won’t be able to dodge from this posture, so inevitably I’ll have to block it with my sword.

Clang went the dull collision sound, as the sword shattered.

“It’s over, boy!”

“Not yet it isn’t!”

Seeing his opportunity with my sword broken, he immediately assaults me.

Aiming at Ivan’s face, I threw my broken sword as a counter.

When he reflexively protected his face, I saw my chance and, charging into his chest, this time I was the one giving a body blow.

Except with the overwhelming difference in weight, he didn’t even budge an inch… restoring my posture, I circled around behind Ivan.

—Just as I planned.

When Ivan turned around, what he saw was me picking up the fallen Prokel’s sword.

Shorter than a long sword, I took it in a reverse grip, and once again gave him a body blow.

Bracing his legs, Ivan prepared for the attack. And to those legs—

“GUOOooooh?!”

I clung onto his leg,and stabbed the sword into the back of his knee.

With a slice I could feel flesh tearing. Just as I thought, it looks like he’s not wearing chain armor on his lower half. Ivan slowly collapses, falling over.

Continuing to push the attack, I aimed at his unarmored head and… the moment I went to stab him with the sword, a familiar ball of light entered my field of vision.

And then there was a flash.

“AGHAAaaaaah!!!”

A [Light arrow] is sent into my broken left arm. Following its trajectory to its origin, Baram was there.

I suppose I’m lucky that it’s weaker than Yuuri’s… if it was her, then it would have gone through my arm.

Rather than pain, I could feel my thoughts clearing, but all I could think was that it doesn’t matter anymore. Is this what it means to run away from reality?

“Heeh, hii… you little brat… giving us such a hard time.”

“You guys don’t exercise enough… thanks to you I was in a real pinch. Hurry and heal me!”

“Heheh… you should treat us a little better… let me rest for a second.”

Baram and Mac were out of breath as they rushed on to the scene. They use attack spells and healing spells.

Mac really is very skilled. Unlike Bella, he’s using healing magic from a distance.

Baram is watching my position, and it looks like he’s molding enough magic power to send a spell towards me at any time.

—Ahh, this really is it.

I can’t come up with any brilliant plan for this.

But if Marle stays hidden, then at least she should be safe. Since I took down Prokel.

“A-Alec!”

“… Hey, hey.”

“Ah, so there’s another rodent over there?”

It looks like even those thoughts were in vain, as she called out in worry for me.

Ahh, jeez…

“—So I can’t even give up?”

I prepare myself for the end. Yeah, I had already prepared myself, but… that was different, and I renewed my preparedness to at least let Marle get away.

And for that, I have to take everyone in front of me down by any means necessary.

I halt my trembling legs, and stand firm.

I ignore the burning pain from my left arm.

I stare at my enemies through the blood in my right eye.

“OK, ready for one last battle…?”

“… You’ve got guts, boy. I won’t be so negligent this time.”

Baram and Mac falter in the face of my bloodlust. Opposite them, Ivan looks like he’s amused.

Like I thought, this guy’s a battle maniac too.

“I know this sounds a bit absurd, but this is our job. Forgive us.”

“As if. Come over here already so I can kill you.”

Actually I can’t take a step forward.

Ivan charges forward with a roar. I can let him break my left shoulder, and if I can hit his throat as a counter… then I can use Ivan’s body as a shield, and somehow get past the magic…

As if he read my intentions, Ivan switched to a side attack in a flash. Just how cool-headed is this guy?!

But if that’s the case, then if I can move forward just one step and at least dodge the hammer’s head…!

And then, turned away by something, the war hammer bounced back.

I didn’t even take that step forward to dodge a fatal blow.

A wind spear flew, and just barely skimmed past me. Is that what knocked the hammer away?

“Alec!”

“Master?!”

I called out. And a great sword flew towards me.

—I see, you made it just in time.

I grab the handle of the great sword with my right hand. It’s light. This thing has [Weight reduction] on it.

Ivan was stopped by the sudden movement, but he soon recovered his stance, moving forward with his attack. However—

“… You’re out of luck. I’m not the same now, alright?”

He once again makes a side attack with his war hammer.

Using his inertia and my wrists, I rotate the great sword, and slice both his wrists away from below.

Throwing all that mass and momentum into the picture, even his armor couldn’t stop it, and the war hammer danced through the air.

“… Ah?”

Suddenly without wrists, Ivan raised his voice in shock.

Next I converted the upward slashing momentum to a sideways movement. Following through, I brought the blade to his neck.

Shink, sounded out as I felt flesh and bone being crushed.

Sending my enemy’s head flying, I turn my attention towards Baram.

However, with tremendous speed and ferocity, as if a storm passed through, I saw my Master mowing down the enemies over there.

Baram and Mac couldn’t even react before they were taken down. He probably used [Body reinforcement].

“Haha, just what I’d expect… Master.”

I… guess the relief and sense of accomplishment drained me? Just like that I lost consciousness, it seems.

~*~

When I came to, I was resting on miss Bella’s lap, and Marle was taking care of me.

Master is giving me some kind of fishy look.

“You’re quite popular, aren’t you Alec?”

“Nonono, that’s not what’s happening!”

The blood on my head was wiped off, and the wounds on my body are closing up.

There’s still a pretty stiff feeling left, so it doesn’t look like I’m back in top form, but this is plenty.

“Miss Bella, thank you very much for the treatment.”

“The pleasure is mine. It’s an honor to be able to treat “The One-Armed Heavy Swordsman”.”

“Urgh, please don’t call me that! Seriously! Wait, did you tell her, Master?”

“You showed her when you used a great sword with one hand. Of course she’d figure it out.”

Now that he mentions it… in this world where healers are precious few, having one arm isn’t unusual… but I’m probably the only one who uses a great sword with that one arm.

“Right, Master. The Vultures—“

“They betrayed us, right?”

“Eh?”

“We beat down all the bandits on our end. At the end of the [Teleporter] there was no trace of battle, and instead there were the footprints of an immediate retreat. And the bandits weren’t chasing those. Then you were being attacked by our companions. It’s the obvious conclusion.”

“Then mister Elric is…”

“Yuuri is chasing after him. Well, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Uhh, this is Yuuri we’re talking about, you know? I’m worried.

“Based on the faces I see here, Elric is fleeing with Arim then?”

“Yeah, while we were being attacked, Arim ran away with him. Immediately after that is when Prokel cut me.”

“Thanks to that, it was easy to follow after you though.”

“Give me a break, it really hurt!”

I gave Master a wry look. Marle is clinging on to me where that wound is.

… It hurts just a bit.

“Anyway, we left Jack and Oreas with the carriage. If you can walk, then we should hurry back.”

“Right, Marle are you alright? Can you stand?”

“Yesh, I’m jush fine!”

She subtly fumbled her reply. I’m relieved that she seems well.

I’ve at least recovered enough that I can walk. Let’s hurry and meet up with the others.

“I captured these other two alive. Hey, if you run away I’ll kill you, got it?”

“I-I said I get it already…”

“There’s no way we can run from someone with that kinda speed!”

When Master uses [Body reinforcement], he’s a monster who can run 100 meters in under 4 seconds after all… I’m sure that would be terrifying.

In any case… we were saved by a hair’s breadth.

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Yuuri: “You know I’m the protagonist, right?”

Alec: “Hey, don’t look at me…”