Necromancer Of The Black Bible (131)

Verdin’s sword cleaved Gerhardt along with his shield.

‘So this is how it’s done.’

At first he thought it wouldn’t work.

Not only had he been blocked twice, but the shield’s material was unusual.

‘It was lined with mithril. Something like that can’t be easily cut by any weapon.’

But William shattered that notion for him.

-Everything can be cut. If you couldn’t, it’s because you were lacking.

[Why are there things that cannot be cut even when cut?]

-Because you couldn’t find the deficiency.

[Deficiency?]

Some time ago William had spoken about ‘deficiency.’

He said that everything in this world has weak points, and the line connecting those weak points is the deficiency.

-No matter how hard something is, a deficiency exists. If you find that deficiency, you can cut through anything.

The first time he heard it, he thought it was nonsense.

There are many things in this world harder than a sword.

From the rare mineral mithril to dragon scales, diamonds, ancient black iron, and so on.

In his days as a knight, he had seen many people injure their hands or break their swords trying to cut such hard materials.

Those memories had probably become a mental barrier.

‘Other people’s experiences are all illusions. In the end, the key is in my hands.’

That was the realization he gained from this incident.

Verdin finally looked down at Gerhardt, who was splitting and collapsing in two.

The shield he had held, overlaid with ancient black iron and mithril, also split in two and fell to the ground.

Thud-

He knew what Gerhardt’s defeat meant in this battle.

‘But it’s not over yet.’

Verdin turned around.

The one he killed was a powerful commander, but just one among five thousand soldiers lined up.

To win this battle he would have to take down the remaining 4,999.

‘The next target is…’

Verdin instinctively sought the next strong opponent.

As if sensing his killing intent, someone spurred their horse and charged out.

“How dare you!!!”

A gruff voice that shook the entire forest.

He was Reihardt Krause, the champion of Grovebern.

Hot-headed and quick-tempered, he was nevertheless fiercely loyal, earning him the title ‘Red Wolf.’

Alongside Gerhardt the Iron Wall, he was one of Viscount Grovebern’s most outstanding commanders.

Krause threw his shield aside, gripped his spear tightly, and charged.

A voice behind him told him to stop, but Krause only shouted back loudly.

“My Lord! I cannot obey that order! There’s my brother’s nemesis before me—how could I stop?!”

As he rode, Krause focused all his energy into the tip of his spear.

The spearblade heated red and then suddenly burst into flame.

Flames flared up around Krause and the red horse he rode.

Verdin stood still and watched the sight.

‘Is this a technique that raises aura to strengthen the body?’

At the Expert level such a thing would be impossible.

At least one would need to reach the outset of Master to even mimic it.

‘Surprising. This isn’t even a border region with barbarians, yet a Master-level knight is assigned here…’

It was astonishing that a Master-rank knight would be in a place that at most would handle bandit suppression.

Verdin drew his sword and waited for Krause.

The way he charged as one with his horse reminded Verdin of his former self.

Had they met in life, it would not have been easy.

‘However…’

Now Verdin had far surpassed that stage.

Surviving death had helped, but more than that his understanding of sword principles had deepened.

Thanks to William’s teachings, his very perspective on the sword had changed.

“Yaaaaah—!!!”

Krause was now quite close.

His sharp momentum and the speed of his charge were remarkable.

Verdin thought it almost a waste to cut him down in a single strike.

At that moment, William’s advice slipped into his consciousness.

-Never be careless on the battlefield, Verdin.

[I know. But isn’t handling an opponent like that without killing him also a way to gauge my own level?]

A warrior should not only understand the enemy. One must also know one’s own skill to be a true warrior.

You must accurately gauge your achieved skill to formulate truly meaningful tactics.

Krause was nearly upon him now.

The tip of his spear aimed for Verdin’s heart; the momentum was extremely sharp, but Verdin read it.

And then.

Cheangg-

With a hollow ringing, the Red Wolf Krause brushed past Verdin.

His spear was stopped by Verdin’s sword and bounced back; Krause’s right hand barely held on, enduring the impact as he gripped the spear.

But he saw something.

That Verdin’s sword could be swung at any moment.

Krause’s full-strength blow had been repelled, yet Verdin’s sword did not move an inch.

Moreover, it was held close to his body, able to be swung at a whim.

If the blade descended, Krause would surely be cut.

Gulp-

He swallowed dryly in tension, but nothing happened.

Verdin had let him pass.

Realizing this, Krause shouted from the opposite side.

“You dared to spare me!!”

Of course there was no reply from that side.

Instead, a strange voice echoed in Krause’s mind.

-So you noticed that?

“What?!”

Krause’s hair stood on end.

He looked around but saw nothing.

All he could see was the phantom knight standing astride his horse straight ahead.

Then the voice sounded again.

-Try a little harder. It’ll be more entertaining that way.

“You bastard…!!!”

Krause poured energy into the red spear he held off to the side once more.

Whoosh!

A fiercer flame aura wrapped the spear than before, and the tip blazed even redder.

At the same time, a fiery aura shimmered around him and his horse.

The flames began to singe the surrounding grass and trees.

Dry leaves crackled into flame, and a hot heat began to spread from him in all directions.

But the fire did not last long.

Rumble-

Patter-

With a roll of thunder, rain began to fall.

The downpour grew heavier until visibility ahead was nearly obscured.

Swoosh-

As the rain fell, a hazy steam began to rise around Krause.

It was due to the heat from the flame aura.

Krause lifted the red spear with both hands and thrust it with all his might.

The red energy gathered at the spear tip shot sharply toward Verdin.

Whuung-

It was a fairly potent force, but Verdin lightly swung his sword and scattered it.

As if expecting it, Krause continued firing his energy.

Firing energy dozens of times, he increased the speed at which he wielded the spear, and soon he spun the spear and charged at Verdin.

Krause’s Severing Flame Wheel.

It was a terrifying technique that had once incinerated an entire notorious bandit gang in the area to ashes.

The soldiers who remembered that day clicked their tongues in disbelief.

“The captain is using that…!”

“He’s going all out.”

“To think we’d see this technique twice.”

“Even if the opponent is some ghost knight, he won’t be able to withstand that.”

“He probably won’t even be able to pull himself together afterwards.”

The soldiers were certain of Krause’s victory.

And rightfully so—their praise came from Krause’s overwhelmingly dominant performance so far.

Krause always served Gerhardt the Iron Wall as his elder brother and praised him as the best, but the soldiers knew.

That in truth Krause’s skill far surpassed him.

However, Chief of Staff Konrad, who had been observing the situation, judged differently.

‘This won’t do.’

That phantom knight was strong.

Even Gerhardt the Iron Wall had fallen in just three exchanges.

Krause may be stronger than him, but he would likely fail against the phantom knight.

‘Then…’

Konrad began forming hand seals. He quietly chanted a spell, and as Krause began his charge at the ghost knight, he activated it.

<Flame Shield!>

At that moment, a large shield was overlaid upon Krause.

The flame aura flowing from that shield strengthened the rotating spear energy Krause wielded, and Krause fired it straight at the ghost knight.

Hwaaak-

A potent flame aura whirled rapidly and hurtled toward Verdin.

Verdin saw that this energy was different in nature from the ones Krause had fired before.

It was denser and more powerful.

Verdin instinctively knew he couldn’t disperse it the same way as before.

‘Then…’

Verdin fixed his gaze on the flame energy.

Then the rapidly rotating energy began to appear more closely detailed.

The flickering flames and the solid aura they were anchored to.

And the core that composed that aura.

Verdin discovered a small fissure in that core.

A crack formed when the core first coalesced.

Verdin swung his sword at a pace neither too fast nor too slow, and the blade split that fissure.

Slash-!

Once again, the flame energy dispersed in an instant.

‘Indeed…’

Verdin admired William’s teaching.

He had thought that energy could only be dispelled by stronger energy.

But even energy could have fissures.

As one attempt after another succeeded, Verdin’s momentum rose.

Krause continued to launch flame energy from the front, but it was merely entertainment.

Pop! Papapap!

Having dispersed the energies one by one, Verdin began to move.

-Enough tricks, show me your true skill.

“You damn bastard!!!”

Krause shouted loudly and swung his spear horizontally.

Verdin ducked to avoid it and then brushed past his side.

Krause immediately turned his horse to pursue Verdin, and Verdin turned his own horse to meet him.

‘How will he come at me this time?’

Krause’s gaze was fixed on Verdin’s chest.

At the same time a sharp killing intent pressed at his core.

‘Thrust?’

Sure enough, Krause thrust his spear forward.

His thrust was no ordinary one.

As he thrust, he subtly let go of the shaft, causing the spear to lunge forward as if lengthening, driving toward Verdin’s chest.

The charge’s momentum, the heavy spear’s weight, and the potent aura on it made the thrust tremendously powerful.

‘This will be hard to avoid.’

That doesn’t mean there’s no way.

Verdin aimed a part of the spear tip with his sword’s back.

The side of the point where the most force was concentrated.

Since Krause had let go of the shaft, the farthest part—the spear tip—could change its striking point with a slight impact.

Tap-

The subtle impact altered the strike point, and realizing it late, Krause hastily grabbed the shaft.

But it was too late.

The attack had already missed, and Verdin had slipped into his chest.

-There are no second chances.

Those were the last words Krause heard.