It was a light-hearted, carefree voice, unbefitting for a place like a battlefield. The amount of confidence contained in this voice matched the speakerâs character and clearly expressed who the voice belonged to. It was the voice of Hans and Laraâs savior, whom even Glen welcomed at the moment.
âSir Zich!â Hans yelped in joy to see Zich, while Zich glanced at Hans to evaluate his condition.
âOh my. It looks like you received quite the beating.â
âNothing critical though, sir.â
âSeems like it. Still, back away for now and rest.â
âWith our lacking numbers, donât we need every person on board to fight?â Hans asked.
It didnât seem like Hans had any intention to leave the battlefield, and Zich smirked. âIs that so? Then, do as you wish.â
Zich didnât train his disciple so weakly that Hans would fuss over such âminorâ injuries anyways. Furthermore, Zich didnât only push his disciples to their limitsâhe also taught them to measure them too. Thus, Hans wasnât someone who would keep on floundering around and forcefully stay in the battle, because he was swept by his emotions.
âYou still have some potions left, right?â
âYes, but my injuries arenât at a level where I would need to use them. Donât we also need to save them right now?â The potions they had earned from previous achievements were disappearing now even though it was natural considering their harsh training with Zich and the intensity of their travels.
âUse them. You should use them when necessary. Plus, weâll be able to grab a whole bunch more if we win this war anyways.â In this war, Zich planned to wipe away the Pinne family while he was at it as the Bellidâs base, and if he did that, he would be able to secure a significant number of potions again as a reward.
âI understand.â There was no need for Hans to refuse when Zich was going that far. Hans nodded and backed away after taking out a potion. Then, he looked at Glen.
âBe careful, Sir Zich. Heâs not the same man as before. I donât know how I should describe it, butâ¦â
âYou think heâs stronger than me now?â
ââ¦Yes.â Hans looked warily at Zich, worried that Zich would feel offended by his honest answer. However, Zich showed no change in expression. Hans also knew that Zich wasnât the type of person who would be angry at such a statement, but he had only been worried because of the subject of their conversation: Glen. Hans was well aware of how much Zich hated Glen.
âI got it. You guys should quickly go ahead and help other guys.â
âYes!â Hans took Lara and moved to help the other knights. As if she was worried, Lara turned around to check on Zich multiple times, but Hans didnât look back even once. That was his display of trust in Zich.
âAre you done with your chit-chat?â Glen then asked. His usual polite speech was nowhere to be found, but Zich wasnât peeved by this and was actually relieved by it instead.
âThe fake, polite mask he used to wear was more horrifying,â Zich thought. Now, they could finally express their dislike of each other blatantly. This was only possible because of Glenâs change in attitude, and the fact that Glen showed this change after he wore a mask of a hero wherever he went showed the big change in heart he had recently experienced.
âAs I thought, what happened at Yuras must have been a huge shock to him.â However, Zich wondered how Glen could be so shocked by just that much when there were so many more fun things to come.
âYup, Iâm done.â Zich also took off his mask and replied bluntly. He felt so refreshed to no longer have to put up a polite face in front of Glen.
âHope you donât have any regrets since that would have been your last conversation,â Glen said.
âOh, that makes me so scared that my body is shuddering in fear.â Zich hugged his body tight and trembled like he was in a cold storm. Zichâs mocking didnât perturb Glen since his goal was clear anyway: Zichâs death.
Glen rushed to Zich. Claang! The two swords collided. As if the fights that had taken place before were all a joke, the sound of their collision was more fearsome than any other. Glenâs black sword created a silverish trajectory that flashed at Zich wildly.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Zich deflected Glenâs attacks, but that didnât mean Zich was fighting on even footing with Glen.
âAs I thought, itâs tough,â Zich thought while deflecting another attack flying his way. The current Glen had suddenly become much stronger with some mysterious method, and he was stronger than Zich right now. Furthermore, the difference in their swords was also a huge setback for Zich. Although he was using a high-quality sword, it was just an ordinary one that was incomparable to Tornium; Zich was especially aware of this as Torniumâs previous master.
âThis makes me miss Windur.â Zich wanted to see his peculiarly-shaped, fickle sword again.
Bam! Zichâs sword bounced off widely from Glenâs big attack, leaving his body open. Glen dashed forward with Tornium. Whoosh!
Zich darted backward, so Glenâs sword only grazed his chest slightly. However, Glen didnât look disappointed. Instead, he chased after Zich with gleeful eyes, he was overflowing with joy that Zich was bleeding.
Crunch! Although Zich had been protecting his swordâs outer layer with mana, it couldnât endure Torniumâs sharp and hard blade. There were dents all over Zichâs sword and a slight crack now.
âI can do it! I can do it!â Glen cheered. In the beginning, Zich used to be an existence like the clouds in the sky, a being that he could never reach and could only gaze at. Yet, these feelings gradually disappeared as he regressed again and again, and eventually, the great Zich swayed under his plans and fell from Brave to Moore. It was as if he had flung and wrapped a rope around the giant cloud floating in the sky and planted it in mud.
However, this timeline had been very different. Glen thought that Zich would remain stuck in the mud, but in this timeline, it felt as if Zich would free himself of the ropes binding him and fly high in the sky once again. The sense of inferiority and hopelessness he once felt appeared in his mind again. Glen thought there was no way he would lose with a perfect power like a regression, but these unpleasant memories kept vexing him.
Thus, he stubbornly continued this timeline. Glen now felt elated that he was pushing back someone like Zich with his power. Glen felt the thrill of throwing down a cloud floating in the sky to the hard ground once more.
âIâll definitely kill him this time!â He was going to kill Zich and search Zichâs surroundings to find the cause of this timelineâs variable. Then, heâd be able to follow an even more polished plan in the next timelineâall for his perfect life.
However, Glenâs expression grew worse the more he attacked. He was clearly leading the fight, but the fight that was supposed to end quickly showed no signs of ending.
âDamn it!â Glen couldnât help but curse after his swing toward Zichâs heart was blocked.
âWhy donât you just die!â Glen loudly yelled out in frustration and fiercely swung his sword down.
Bammmmm! However, his attack was blocked again.
âYour strength and speed have increased, but in exchange, you have a lot of openings in your movement. You didnât gain that strength naturally, right?â Zich had received various injuries but nothing serious enough to hinder his movements. He casually added, âI clearly see that your body is getting controlled by your new power. You should know better than to wear clothes that donât fit you. How high is your inferiority complex that you forcibly push your arms and legs into clothes that donât fit you?â
Zich mocked his opponent like usual. However, Zichâs words affected Glen more than even his expectations. The word âinferiority complexâ was the key to triggering Glenâs fury.
âDieeeee!â Glen indiscriminately attacked Zich with all of his might. His attacks were so ferocious that even Zich wasnât able to easily retaliate and had to focus on defense.
However, his swift tongue continued moving. âWhat theâ Why are you getting so mad? Perhaps, did I hit it right on the mark? Then, instead of getting so angry like this, why donât you reflect on your past actions? If you just get angry like this, youâll never be able to move forward.â
âSay those words only after beating me! You canât even properly retaliate against my attacks!â
âAh, I admit current skills definitely do surpass mine. Iâll humbly admit this since even though the clothes donât fit you at all, I have to agree they are really extravagant.â
However, Zichâs voice was as nonchalant as ever. âHowever, I learned something in the past. Thereâs no reason for me to fight by myself when facing a strong opponent. Am I right?â
âWhat nonseâ¦!â
Baaaam! Glen quickly moved to the side. An enormous shockwave hit the area where he used to be.
âUghhh!â Glen let out a groan. However, he was able to endure the attack by moving a few steps away.
âHmm, amazing.â
Glen heard the person who attacked him; he glared in the direction of the voice and was shocked to see the speaker. Glen knew this person very well. âTil?â
Til was the captain of the Wolfâs Canine. According to Glenâs plan, he should have become the Demon Lord of Disaster and eternally cause chaos in the world till the end. However, Til was rubbing his sword next to Zich, and he looked like Zichâs close comrade. Glenâs thoughts werenât far off either.
Zich said, âThatâs why I told you that it wonât be easy.â
âWhen I briefly saw him at Pialu, I thought he was fairly amazing, but I didnât think that he would be able to block a surprise attack like this.â
âSo youâre saying you donât want to fight?â
âHmm.â Til pointed his sword towards Glen. âTrust and performance are basically the symbols of the Wolfâs Canine.â
âThen, thereâs only one thing left to do.â Zich pulled out a new sword and looked at Glen.
Anyone could see that two people were going to join forces and fight; Glen stared at them with intense hatred. He didnât just lose the opportunity to defeat Zich. The sight of Zich and Til fighting together made Glen recall an extremely terrible memory.
âI canât believe those two bastards are joining hands. Itâs like when he was Brave!â The memories of when Zich used to be a hero lingered in his mind. âIf those guys are heroes, then, what am I?â
Glen thought that this couldnât happen; it should never happen. The only true hero had to be him. He had put so much effort to erase all traces of Brave. However, an unpleasant image was lingering in front of his eyes.
âI need to erase it!â Glen tightly clutched Tornium, and the sword let out an ominous resonance as if it could read its ownerâs heart.
âHuaaaaat!â Glen let out a cry and began fighting again. Their surroundings had already turned to waste due to Zich and Glenâs fight. Their fight had been so astounding that even the knights and soldiers around them couldnât even think about approaching them, and their fight became even more intense as Til also joined in.
Zich and Tilâs collaboration was extremely smooth. Glen became even more furious at this sight because they looked so similar to Zich Braveâs timeline.
âDiiiie!â Glen burst out with his mana and attacked Til and Zich. However, Glen couldnât recklessly attack as he did just recently since they were fighting him on almost equal footing.
âDamn it! If I had just a bit more time to get used to itâ¦!â Since he had forcibly infused a strong power into his body, Glen couldnât yet utilize all of his skills yet. He was extremely angry about this fact. Of course, it was his choice to forcibly increase his power, so he had no right to get angry. However, even then, Glen managed to hold onto his upper hand and that was also a testimony to how much he exponentially increased his power. Glen was able to take the offensive again with confidence.
However, a flying arrow shooting toward him shook his confidence.