Chapter 41
A piercing scream cut through the night.
The rampaging Black Ogre was two times more powerful than normal under the influence of the Blood Moon. As for its normal state, it was rumored to be invulnerable to anything less than an expert knight under normal circumstances. Yet, this virtually invincible monster slowly parted down the middle. The two halves of the corpse were engulfed in pure white currents of electricity.
"He, he, he—!" Viscount Vig pointed a trembling finger at the boy who stood before the Ogre.
It was Joshua. He had descended from the sky like an angel bathed in the blood of the Black Ogre.
‘Did–Did he just do that?’?Viscount Vig was certain that the boy was indeed Joshua. Yet the Black Ogre was over five meters tall. Even if one considered the boy’s lineage, how was it possible for a child to split something several times his size in a single blow? Based on common sense, that was definitely impossible.
‘It has to be impossible… Yes… clearly impossible.’ Viscount Vig looked around and saw that the reactions of the knights were not that different from his.
Joshua was examined by untrusting eyes.
‘This trashy kid… He hid it until now so he could use this situation to flex. What kind of attitude is that?’?A glint flashed across Viscount Vig’s eyes and he shouted.
"The Duke even defeated the ferocious Black Ogre in one blow! What are the men of Locke doing? Help the Duke, quickly!"
The knights heard his voice and nodded to themselves as if saying, "As expected."
"No matter how talented Young Master Joshua is, a C-Class Knight is not able to defeat a Black Ogre. Everyone knows even a B-Class Knight would struggle."
"It was just convenient timing."
"Everyone, help the Duke! Wipe out the rest of the monsters!"
"Chaaaaaaaaaaarge!"
Joshua giggled as he watched the knights advance—he'd heard everything they'd said.
‘It’s not a good thing if they see me in this light from the start.’?Joshua thought as he turned and met eyes with someone.
His father, Duke Aden von Agnus, locked eyes with him from across the battlefield. His father was looking at him too.
‘You're hurting my self-esteem…’?Joshua had expected his father to show a little surprise, but it seemed like his father had totally expected it, that monster. Joshua felt somewhat unhappy about it.
‘The synergy between Bronto and I seems to be good enough for me to use all of its powers soon. But Thundering Strike is a Spear Arts 1st Form’s technique. It must have been inadequate to leave a strong enough impression on them.’
"Let me surprise you a little." Joshua gripped Lugia, still in its rod form, and twisted his waist. His mana gathered once more. A child's body definitely couldn't handle this technique twice in a row, but, with a portion of Bronto's power, he would be able to pull through.
‘Even if I fall, that monster will save me.’
Even with all the thoughts running through his head, Joshua was still very much focused. The key to this technique was "perfect balance." Unlike Thundering Strike, which concentrates every iota of mana to a single point, this skill spreads its power evenly throughout the length of the spear. The skill instantly failed if mana ever concentrated more on any one side.
Bzzt—
The sensation of the spear in his hand was significantly different.
Joshua smiled savagely as pure white sparks spewed off of him.
"Thunderstorm," he whispered, and swung Lugia from left to right.
Laser-straight lines of crystalline lightning stitched across the air with a flash of white, one after the other. They fanned out in all directions, embroidering the air in crackling electricity.
‘Is this what a falling star looks like?’ The lovely lights left the audience agape, but the result was anything but.
The horrific howling of the monsters curdled the air. Winds of lighting-like force ripped them apart, leaving them scorched, shredded, and scattered by its passing.
Whoaaa, heeheehee heeheehee.
It was a mad, mad wind that struck with a life of its own.
When the winds settled, only one person was left standing in the storm's path: Joshua, a boy a mere fraction the size of the slain monsters.
"My god… This is absurd…" Viscount Vig fell to the ground, shaking all over. He didn't have the courage to stay standing in the face of such frightening power. Even the knights had similar reactions.
"Hey… humor me here… This is the skill of a beginner C-Class Knight, right?"
"No! I've never seen or heard of any mana user that can use elemental attributes like that!"
"You mean it was Young Master Joshua who actually took out the Black Ogre? Its skin shouldn't even be scratched unless it's attacked by a B-Class Knight."
The knights were abuzz with speculation. It was just then when one knight threw out a interesting thought.
"I wonder if Young Master Joshua is a magic swordsman…"
"Wha— A magic swordsman?"
Under the known theories of mana, a magic swordsman was something regarded as impossible on a conceptual level, but how else could they explain Joshua's feat?
"Kill the rest of the monsters!" Chiffon clenched his teeth and infused his voice with mana to drag the knights back to reality.
"Assist Young Master Joshua!"
"Wipe them out!"
“Chargeeee!”
Now, no more than half of the monsters remained. The rest, already taken by fear, fell under the knights' swords in droves.
Duke Agnus's low, sunken eyes gazed steadily at Joshua, unperturbed by the chaos around him. Just then, a man approached him from the side.
"What do you think, Armand?" The Duke asked before the man could announce his presence.
Armand was the strongest mage in the Agnus Duchy, and yet, he could not swiftly give an answer to the Duke’s question. Even as a Class 4 mage, he had never encountered such a thing in his long experience. It took him a long time to gather an answer.
"Mages believe that only one in ten thousand is thus blessed; only the truly chosen can use this gift from the gods." Armand paused. "…We call it "Double Casting", the power to wield two spells at the same time. It requires one to know the intricate formulas by memory. Most high-ranking mages Class 5 or higher can do it, but that kind of talent is a blessing from the gods in its own way.
Armand then turned his gaze onto Joshua.
"In terms of power alone, the power Young Master Joshua just demonstrated is similar to the 3rd Circle magic Chain Lightning—no, not even Chain Lightning is so complex. I don't know if you could achieve the same results with several casts of Wind Cutter and Chain Lightning at the same time…"
"What are you trying to say?" the Duke retracted his gaze from Joshua and looked toward Armand instead.
It was easy to deal with the monsters that had lost their fighting spirit out of fear, and the knights had managed to exterminate most of the monsters already. Thus, there was no need for Duke Agnus or Armand to join the fight, which explained their availability to be having this conversation outside the battlefield.
After a long silence, Armand answered with a hardened expression.
"…As a mage, I can roughly understand the different knight classes, but I can't understand their true abilities. Or rather, in these times of peace, most mages who never had the chance to fight with a knight could only gauge their abilities by comparing it to their own. Young Master Joshua, however…”
As Armand hesitated to phrase his thoughts again, Duke Agnus turned his gaze back onto Joshua. Joshua was standing proud and tall at the heart of the battlefield, but, from his perspective, Joshua’s position was perilous—both of his legs trembled and threatened to collapse.
‘So, you don't want to reveal your frail side…’?
Duke Agnus let out a soft chuckle and Armand continued.
“If he's a magic swordsman, as the knights say, he must be equivalent to a Class 3 Mage at least. A genius C-Class Knight that can use Double Casting.
Armand took another deep breath before he made his concluding statement.
"He would be a monster. A monster that could single-handedly rewrite the history of the country, or rather, of the continent."
"I see what you're saying." Duke Agnus muttered and then disappeared from his spot. Armand could only stare in confusion at the Duke’s sudden disappearance.
Duke Agnus then re-appeared behind Joshua, supporting his small body.
"Blood doesn't lie," Armand muttered as he watched the young master collapse into his father's arms.
‘To be gifted in such a way… I honestly didn't think it was possible.’
A trump card to finally fulfil the master's deepest wish.
"Duke—!"
The Blood Moon, rising high over the carnage, shone brighter than ever before.
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