Volume 1, Chapter 42: Earl Aubock ?
As if he was not bound by the laws of gravity, Hector’s body swayed from left to right. His sword was aimed square at Lambert.
This footwork was created to make his opponent show an opening, 『Flickering Shadow』.
Hector had dedicated his life to the way of the sword. Although it was a basic skill, Hector’s 『Flickering Shadow』 wasn’t something that could be easily broken through.
As he swayed from one edge of the field of view to the other, any normal opponent would have become disoriented and confused.
Naturally, he knew that his footwork wouldn’t be enough to confuse Lambert.
He just needed a moment, a moment in which Lambert showed an opening in his seamless stance.
However, it didn’t mean that he wanted to kill Lambert in one hit.
All he needed was for Lambert to raise his greatsword to defend against his attack in order to unleash 『Forty Nine’s Swordrain?Revise』.
As long as he could do this, victory was within reach. It required every strike, from the first to the 49th, to be precise. There was no room for error, but it was possible.This idea had been engraved in Hector’s mind.
There was a saying that the victor of a duel between swordmasters was the one who made the least failures in executing their sword skills. To this end, special moves were created for one purpose: victory.
「Here I come, LAMBERT!」
Hector’s feet stomping on the ground.
At the same time, he gathered his mana at the tip of his sword, drawing a circle in midair.
The circle then turned into a magic formation.
「Wind, Carry Me!」
A gust of wind suddenly erupted, propelling Hector forward.
Lambert wasn’t confused in the least seeing Hector’s figure suddenly vanished from his field of vision. He simply raised his sword overhead.
His sword easily blocked Hector’s strike that came from behind, in his blind spot.
「This is fu*cking crazy. You must have eyes on your back! I went so far as to attack in midair to avoid you hearing my footsteps, and yet you’re just fu*cking crazy!」
Ignoring Hector’s remark, Lambert swung his sword to bisect Hector’s body in midair; he had no intention of allowing Hector to use his footwork.
「But victory is mine, Lambert de la Croix! I gotta say, your combat prowess is far above mine! But VICTORY IS MINE!」
Hector’s sword had already parried Lambert’s greatsword right at the start of the latter’s swing.
Hector’s onslaught was relentless, laying out an endless barrage of attacks on Lambert’s greatsword. Hector wasted no time between each parry, going in for another attack without blinking an eye.
As Hector’s two hands kept moving, Lambert began to fall behind.
Hector stabbed the joint of Lambert’s helmet. That attack forced Lambert to enter a defensive stance to protect himself from Hector’s sword.
Hector’s 『Forty Nine’s Swordrain?Revise』took full advantage of his dual-blade swordplay. Breaking through the highest theoretical limit of the skill pressured even someone of Lambert’s caliber.
「… Humph.」
「How’s that! This must be the first time you’ve been cornered like this, right? Let’s see how you dodge the other 46 strikes!」
Hector sprung up as he shouted.
They were standing at point blank range from each other, a range that was too close to cross swords, even for someone like Lambert.
Even so, Lambert raised his greatsword and swung it down to the floor, not giving Hector the chance to unleash his sword skill.
The floor caved in, and Lambert stood at the epicenter. His strike sent forth a shockwave, shaking the walls of the passage.
「GUH!」
That shockwave killed Hector’s jumping force, forcing him to land on the ground.
At the same time, his instincts rang loudly, informing him death was imminent. In the next moment, the image of his body sliced in half appeared in his mind.
He stomped hard on the ground, jumping back to avoid the fast-approaching death and making full use of the residual force of the shockwave from before.
However, his previous stance was not optimal for dodging.
By the time he realized this fact, Lambert’s greatsword had arrived right in front of him. Hector leaped back even farther to protect his body and field of vision.
Hector landed on the ground and readied his sword again.
Lambert took the initiative to open the distance between them.
Did he manage to dodge that attack or not? He knew the answer to that question after he saw the fresh blood at the edge of his field of vision.
He hadn’t felt the pain at first, but then, there was a tingling pain in his abdomen. Even so, his sense of pain was cut off under the influence of his adrenaline.
Normally, that kind of pain was serious enough to make him fall on his knees.
However, under the influence of excessive adrenaline, Hector’s brain rejected the pain signals from that fatal wound.
The current Hector cut off his sense of pain to swing his sword even a second longer.
After he saw the single bloody line on his abdomen, he looked at Lambert again, completely ignoring his wound.
「The first time being cornered like this, is it? That is wrong. I’ve lost count of how many times I suffered loss in my life. In addition, it’s already common knowledge that the one who defeated me was Glyph, right?」
「… Hah! Ain’t gonna buy that lie! My life wouldn’t be so boring if everyone else was as strong as you!」
Hector smiled from ear to ear.
Even though he received a stab wound in his abdomen, critical enough to kill him, his appearance didn’t seem to be perturbed at all.
Perhaps the reason for this was because, from the very beginning, he was prepared to die.
Even if the other party didn’t believe him, Lambert had stated an undeniable truth.
It was an undeniable fact that Lambert was one of the Four Demon Generals of Regios Kingdom. However, it was also the fact that there were many swordsmen more powerful than Lambert before he got appointed as one of the Four Demon Generals.
But many of them died in the war.
「I never expected for you to rip through 『Forty Nine’s Swordrain?Revise』 with brute force. HAHAHA, it seems I made a huge mistake in the method to defeat you.」
「Though your sword skill is a good one… It’s boring.」
Lambert muttered as he readied his greatsword.
Hector’s eyes opened wide in hearing that, and then he burst into laughter.
「Indeed! I think so too!」
From the very beginning, after Hector mastered 『Forty Nine’s Swordrain』 and used it in live combat, he thought such a boring sword skill was only for a child.
Even though he knew that there was a huge gap between his and Lambert’s strength, using that boring sword skill wasn’t Hector’s preference.
Hector readied his sword and rushed at Lambert while raising a war cry.
Hector received a deadly wound in his abdomen during their previous exchange.
He knew that he was running out of time.
But he didn’t feel burdened nor did he care about that. His entire being was focused into this one, supreme sword skill.
There was no doubt about it, this was Hector’s fastest―no, the fastest sword in his life.
Hector and Lambert’s bodies intersected.
Both stood with their backs facing each other.
Hector’s right arm fell on the ground.
Even dismembered, that hand still gripped his sword.
「You can stand despite such a grievous wound, huh.」
「… Cause I know. You lost by this sword skill!」
As soon as he turned around, Hector stomped hard on the ground, jumping into the air.
He focused his entire weight on the sword in his remaining left hand and swooped down toward Lambert from above.
It was Hero Glyph’s signature sword skill―『Lunar Wings』.
It was a skill in which the user jumped high in the air, then using their weight and accompanying gravity, they plummeted to the ground.
Although it wasn’t the kind of skill that could be reproduced easily, it wasn’t impossible for someone as skilled as Hector.
In truth, Lambert hadn’t been defeated by this skill, but it had injured his shoulder.
However, there was nothing he could do about established history.
And he wasn’t going to bother correcting Hector.
But there was one thing he had to say.
「My friend Glyph can jump higher than you while wearing Organ.」
Lambert swung his greatsword upward, bisecting Hector’s body from his left waist to right shoulder.
Hector’s body was blown back, sending a spray of blood as his body was nailed to the wall behind him.
Hector maintained his smile. For a moment, his feet hung loosely, they suddenly straightened and bent to kick the wall behind him again.
Hector’s grip loosened, and his sword fell from his hand.
Hector’s expression was one of disbelief.
However, from the perspectives of Almel and Earl Aubock, it was a miracle that Hector could still fight until this point with such a grievous wound on his chest.
Hector—who suffered from a deep stab wound in his abdomen, lost his whole right arm, and had a deep gash running from his left waist to right shoulder—died in the battle.
Just moments ago, they were still crossing swords, and now, he couldn’t bring himself to believe the result.
「―Ha~h, it’s ended, huh.」
When he muttered this, his upper body shook, and his body collapsed on the ground.
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