STM 123

Why? I pointed with my chin toward the direction of the noise.

“The scouts who left days ago still haven’t returned, and now they even send reinforcements. It must be quite serious if they have to pull soldiers from this post.”

“Oh, um…”

My guess hit the mark. Rick looked at me with a mix of flustered confusion.

“I am only like this because I nearly died,” I added.

“Ah, yes…”

Rick still appeared nervous, but I felt no desire to play the role of Lu just to reassure him. The state of the Crystal Lake was partly my fault. It was uncomfortable to sit here in the distance and listen to the news while I did nothing.

The habit of jumping out of bed at the first warning of a monster was ingrained into me. My body urged me to go. I felt that I should be there, perhaps even just to swing my club, to ease this weight of debt. Instead, I was stuck here with nothing to perform but rest.

“As long as the rift at the Crystal Lake remains open, these incidents will happen often,” Rick said.

Open, he said. A key that could close that rift hung around my neck alongside my club. However, this blue crystal had not reacted to a single word since I returned from the lake. It felt as though the power of the Borhumi divine beast was insufficient.

I couldn’t forget the sight of that tiny puddle in the corner of the dried lake. It felt like a reflection of the beast’s own state. Is it recovering now that it has returned home? Will it take a long time? My heart grew heavy because there was nothing I could do.

“So, Lord Lu, you do not need to worry about this anymore.”

Rick continued to draw a line between us. I knew I should back off, but a question pushed against the tip of my tongue.

What if I went with them?

The idea would only invite ridicule. I swallowed the words I wanted to say and asked a random question instead.

“Are the other divine beast families not sending help?”

“No.”

His blunt answer surprised me, and I stared at him.

“Wasn’t the Montaine Ducal House supposed to support us? Even if it was just for show?”

“That show ended with the White Branch meeting. I actually expected the greedy Sarne to move against the Borhumi lands, but they haven’t stirred.”

Sarne. I remembered an elderly man from the White Branch meeting who looked fastidious. He had been moved when I confirmed their divine beast had not perished.

A sudden doubt occurred to me. The Sarne family had not seen a divine beast for generations. How did they maintain their power? Mo answered my question.

[The Sarne family possessed two Sword Masters.]

Two people like Tairok? But why did Mo use the past tense? Just then, Rick mentioned the Sword Masters.

“Sarne seems to be hoarding their remaining Sword Masters. They have hardly sent them to hunt monsters in recent years.”

I recalled a conversation about Sword Masters I heard back at the resort when I first arrived in Tubain.

‘Ah, the Sword Master of the Kroll region passed away recently. Only three remain now. But one has been shrouded in mystery for so long that it is more accurate to say there are only two.’

“The Sword Master of the Kroll region…”

“He finally succumbed to his injuries early this year.”

“Injuries? From a monster?”

Rick looked around and lowered his voice.

“That is the public story. The truth is different. It appears he fought someone and lost.”

“Who? Who could possibly defeat a Sword Master?”

Could it be someone who uses the power of a divine beast? My initial thought was wrong.

“We suspect it was another Sword Master.”

It wasn’t Tairok, and the other one belonged to Sarne, which left… the unknown Sword Master. This time, I was right. Rick’s hushed voice made his theory more plausible.

“Sarne has been hunting someone for a long time. We believe that person is a Sword Master. That would explain how the one from Kroll was defeated.”

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“Thank you for coming all this way.”

Kilu greeted the guest in the reception room with a polite bow. However, the elderly man with the stern face ignored him and sat down. Kilu was used to such reactions. He smiled and spoke in his usually friendly voice.

“Was your journey comfortable, Grand Duke Sarne?”

“Cut the useless chatter, Duke Kilu.”

Grand Duke Sarne went straight to the point, annoyed by the formalities.

“Tell me about the Borhumi Crystal Lake. You told me to leave it alone? That clever Kun has now occupied Borhumi Castle!”

In the past, Kilu would have tried to soothe the man’s temper first. Things were different now. Montaine was now the only family with a divine beast.

Kilu calmly took a sip of his tea. Grand Duke Sarne’s eyebrows twitched at the sight. Before the old man could shout, Kilu spoke.

“It does not matter. Without a divine beast, it is nothing but an empty shell.”

Grand Duke Sarne, whose family also lacked a divine beast, glared at him. Kilu offered a smile and a smooth apology, as if he had made a simple mistake.

“Of course, the Sarne family will reclaim your divine beast once you receive Salvation’s aid.”

Since that Salvation was in Kilu’s hands, the unspoken message was clear: Listen to me. But Grand Duke Sarne could not bring himself to bow like a common subordinate.

“So you expect me to just stand by and watch with my hands tied?”

“Yes, for just two months.”

“Give me a proper reason. What exactly are you plotting?”

“If the world learns that Kun took responsibility for Borhumi, then he will fall even faster when a disaster strikes. The weight of that failure will crush him.”

“You speak as if you know a disaster will strike in two months.”

Kilu only smiled and withheld the details. Grand Duke Sarne stared at him coldly before he mentioned a certain name.

“Did Salvation offer you some kind of prophecy?”

“I will only tell you this: a monster that no one can handle will emerge from the Crystal Lake.”

Kilu’s smile vanished, and his voice turned acerbic.

“No matter how strong a Sword Master Tairok is, he will only dig his own grave if he tries to stand against it.”

This should have been good news, but the Grand Duke’s expression hardened instead.

“That implies the damage from the monster will be immense.”

“There will be small sacrifices. But we need the monsters regardless, and there have always been sacrifices. Is that not so?”

Kilu acted as if it were a trivial matter, but the Grand Duke still looked dissatisfied. However, he had no intention of stopping a plan that might eliminate Tairok.

“You seem quite confident. Perhaps you have already taken an oath with Hoiga?”

“I will accept your congratulations later, once we watch Kun Tairok fall.”

“Do not underestimate the power of a Sword Master,” the Grand Duke warned.

Kilu laughed again.

“A Sword Master is not invincible. They are human. Unlike the practitioners who receive endless power from a divine beast, those warriors have a limit. They can lose a fight, and they can die.”

When the Grand Duke’s expression turned grim, Kilu immediately offered a hollow apology.

“Ah, I recall one of Sarne’s Sword Masters passed away early this year. I heard it was due to a severe wound from a monster three years ago. However, I have one question.”

“Kilu. You are mistaken if you think I will answer you just because you are curious.”

The Grand Duke stood up, finished with the conversation. Kilu rose as well and insisted.

“My question is not about the identity of that monster. Can you be certain that the creature is no longer a threat?”

The Grand Duke paused mid-turn.

“I told you already. Mind your own business.”

“No, I cannot. If a being on the level of a Sword Master still survives, it could become a major variable. Whether it is a monster or a person.”

“A variable?” The Grand Duke let out a short, dry laugh and turned away. “Even if they miraculously survived that wound three years ago, they would be useless now. Whether it is a monster or a human.”

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Ha, ha, haa…

Black Bear had swung her greatsword since dawn without a break. Her breath was ragged and she looked exhausted, but her arms did not stop.

The repetitive strikes were the sort of basic drill a beginner might perform. However, Black Bear put her heart into every single motion with absolute sincerity.

One last one. Just one more. And one more.

Only after she finished the set training and added several extra strikes did she finally lower the greatsword. Heat radiated from her body like steam, and her arms trembled.

She desperately wanted to pass out, but she grabbed her flask instead and poured wayer over her head.

The cold water snapped her back to her senses. She pulled off her top, wrung the water out, and threw it onto a rock. She wore only a vest-like undergarment now, but she immediately picked up the greatsword again.

As she moved, the garment shifted, and a long scar became visible. It ran diagonally from her shoulder across her chest. The scar moved with her chest as she struggled for breath.

“Ha, just a little more.”

She had reached her goal for the day, but it was not enough. She had to push past her limits every single day. This persistence had allowed her to reach the rank of Sword Master even without a teacher.

She had achieved it in middle age, but because of that success, she had cast off the limitations of her years.

She believed this training would make her stronger once again. Only then could she face even more powerful enemies.

Training was the only thing she could do to reach that goal. Fortunately, it seemed it would take some time for Adeye Lu to arrive. This gave her the perfect window to focus on her skills.

She liked this forest. Since she had been granted such precious time, she wanted to make the most of it. The sound of her sword cutting through the wind echoed through the quiet woods until the break of dawn.