Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 262
261: Engagement – Confinement
There are times when slow movements are terrifying. The indifferent eyes of Count Herman Forte fixed upon Leo with a deliberate, almost languid gaze, as if time itself had slowed. The chilling intent in the air forced Leo to adjust his stance as well. But as much as the Count wanted to kill him, Leo also harbored a fierce desire to kill the Count.
He could never forget the moment when his head was severed by this man. His head had floated in the air, spinning, as his vision swirled until he locked eyes with Lena. Her face had been etched with horror, her voice trembling as she cried out, "Le... o...!" The world had moved in slow motion, and he had felt the Aura Blade slicing through the air, brushing past his ear.
Lena, run.
But he couldn’t even warn her to flee before he died—unable to tell his beloved to escape from the Swordmaster who had taken everything from him.
How could he ever forgive Herman Forte? Even if it had never happened, what of it? The helplessness of that day still made his hands tremble.
Through the exchanges they had so far, one thing became clear—back then, killing them had been as easy as crushing a snail underfoot for the Count.
Hahaha! Then let’s dance.
Today, it’s your turn to die, and my final chance to exact my revenge. Leo leaped high into the air, screaming, “Aaaaaargh!!”
---
‘What’s wrong with Leo?’
Though he was their enemy, Leo had hurled insults at a man who deserved respect.
This wasn’t like him.
Leo, always courteous and upholding the chivalric code, was acting out of character. Lena couldn’t understand why. Perhaps she never would, but she too charged at Count Forte.
-
Clang!
Leo struck down with all his might. As he and the Count locked eyes, ready to kill each other, Lena felt something odd.
This isn’t the right place.
She had sensed it before; to synchronize with Leo’s movements, she shouldn’t be standing here. It seemed like she should strike the Count now, but her instincts told her to move, and she quickly realized why.
-
Swoosh!
The Count deflected Leo’s sword.
The Aura Blade narrowly missed slicing Lena’s back. She realized then that the Count had been ready to cut her down and that Leo had predicted this, shifting his weight to press the Count’s sword down. Lena was deeply impressed.
Not because Leo had saved her from getting slashed. But because, by interfering in the duel between the Swordmaster and Leo, she had begun to understand the significance of their every movement.
{Synergy} guided her toward the right actions.
Reveling in this newfound clarity, Lena took her position. She pretended to circle behind the Swordmaster, but suddenly spun and slashed at the Count.
The Swordmaster dodged.
She had expected that.
Lena immediately took a thrusting stance to prevent the Count from retreating. Wow! The Count tried to use Leo as a shield, but Leo had already moved to the right, striking down with his sword, clearing the way for Lena’s thrust while also hindering the Count’s movements.
Lena stabbed the Count. Herman Forte inhaled sharply and countered with a diagonal slash.
The force of the slash created a wind that barely stirred her hair.
Clang! Clang!
The Count deflected both Leo’s and Lena’s swords in quick succession, spinning with the momentum.
-
Vwoooom—
The sound of his blade cutting through the air was terrifying. Something massive was coming. Lena froze, momentarily paralyzed by fear. But Leo threw himself into the fray before the Count’s spin could fully complete, and Lena understood what she had to do.
Leo would block it. Trust him.
If she hesitated, that devastating strike could take them both down. Instead of defending, Lena chose to attack. She spun her sword around, aiming for the Swordmaster’s waist.
-
Clang!!
Even though she struck him mid-spin, Leo was forced back five steps. Lena’s strike only managed to graze the Count’s side. The Count had kicked off the ground just as he flung Leo away.
Count Forte retreated, touching his side. His hand came away bloody. He stared at the blood on his palm with a strange expression, then cracked his neck and resumed his stance.
He’d found a new target.
That annoying girl had become a real threat. Her eyes sparkled with determination, and even the Count could see that she was growing stronger with every moment.
Her swordplay was becoming increasingly precise.
That last attack was actually somewhat dangerous.
In a life-or-death battle, it was a beautiful sight to see a knight shine brightly as they grew. If she had been just an ordinary young man or a pretty young lady, he would have laughed in delight, even if she were an enemy.
But not now.
Now, the Count was cold with rage as he charged.
Boom. Boom.
His feet pounded the earth in quick succession, and in a flash, he closed the distance. This was a technique the Count used when he intended to end his opponent’s life as quickly as possible.
No one who knew of this technique lived to tell about it. This girl was going to join that number...
“Chaaap!!”
Leo braced his sword’s hilt against his right palm and delivered a long, powerful thrust. The blade shot into the path of Count Forte, who was rapidly closing in on Lena, forcing him to halt.
It wasn’t going to work a third time.
The first time they encountered Count Forte, he had suddenly appeared in front of them while they were on guard duty. All they noticed was a shadow flickering in the dark before an overwhelming force was right in front of them. With Lena’s help and a stroke of luck, Leo had barely managed to block the attack. His own sword had nicked his nose and lips in the process.
At the time, they hadn’t known about the Count’s powerful charge attack. They had merely thought the skill gap was insurmountable. Later, during their fifteenth attempt, Lean de Yeriel had confirmed the existence of the Count’s charging technique.
Thanks to that, Leo had managed to block it.
Grateful to Lean, Leo calmly engaged the now-dismayed Count alongside Lena. They had long prepared for this moment to take their revenge on the Count.
Even so, Leo was careful not to press Herman Forte too hard.
Though Lena seemed confident now and unlikely to abandon her sword as she had in the past, Leo still wanted to keep some of his strength hidden. He had been meticulously laying the groundwork for this.
[Leo, you have engaged in a fierce battle with a Swordmaster. As a result, you have unlocked {Swordsmanship.4v: Jacob Style}.]
-
Clang!
As the fierce battle dragged on, Count Herman Forte’s expression darkened. His sword, though not as extraordinary as the one held by the impudent youth, had been forged by Orville’s greatest blacksmith. And now, it was beginning to crack.
A weapon-destroying technique.
The Swordsmanship of Count Jacob Mordred, the Swordmaster of the Kingdom of Aster. Although Leo's sword wasn't a specialized weapon for destroying other weapons, like a Sword Breaker, he steadily hammered Count Forte's sword with relentless force.
The results were evident. With a sharp
clang
, the count's sword finally shattered, and the Aura Blade that had been enveloping it fizzled out.
"What?!"
Lena faltered when the count was disarmed. What should she do? After a moment's hesitation, she concluded, "This is an accident," and decided to offer her respect, thinking it was a matter of honor for both swordsmen.
"Count Herman Forte, it seems the heavens do not favor you today. Surrender."
Count Forte examined the remaining hilt of his sword. Life, he mused, was indeed fickle. It was fitting, considering that the symbol of the Forte family was a 'broken sword.'
Long ago, his ancestor fought valiantly to protect the king. Even when the sword broke, that knight continued to fight with the broken blade until the end. The king, unable to forget his loyalty, honored his son by bestowing the family name 'Forte,' after the lower part of the sword.
The broken sword of the Forte family was not a mark of disgrace but a symbol of unwavering loyalty and bravery. Count Herman Forte burst into laughter.
"Your Majesty! Please take good care of my son. Though he is lacking..."
The count raised the broken sword. The soldiers and knights around him gasped in shock.
In the dark night, the Aura Blade illuminated the chaotic camp. An aura burst forth from Count Forte's sword, not in the shape of a blade but something else. Though shorter and more disheveled than the Aura Blade once wielded by Rev, the apostle of Barbatos, it flared up boldly.
The count surveyed the scene. Distracted by the battle, the 2nd Knight Division was surrounded and annihilated by soldiers, and the 1st Knight Division was nowhere to be seen.
"Right. I should have been prepared for death once I entered the enemy camp. I let my guard down because Baron Albacete wasn't here."
Count Forte spun the hilt of his sword in one hand. Despite the massive aura attached, it seemed light as the fan-shaped Aura Blade sliced into the ground.
The count declared, "I will continue fighting here. I will kill all of you, and if I still live, I will return. Young man, even now, do you call me a coward?"
"...Your tongue is long."
"Haha! Finally, you use honorifics. Very well... let us continue."
Count Herman Forte pushed off the ground. Like an ancient hero, the towering knight brought his blazing fan-shaped sword down from the heavens with tremendous force. Leo Dexter, shrouded in relative darkness, swung upward with his never-breaking sword, whose Aura Blade had been extinguished.
Lena Ainar watched in awe as the spectacle unfolded. She darted around, picking up techniques from their swordplay as if she had a responsibility to grow quickly.
*
In the end, Count Herman Forte fell in battle. His Aura Blade was magnificent, but it was the final blaze of a Swordmaster's life.
The mana stored in his body was not infinite.
The fan-shaped Aura Blade gradually diminished, and even if it hadn't, his fate was sealed, trapped within the enemy lines.
The soldiers who had fled across the river, alarmed by the Bellita Kingdom's army's movements, returned, crossing the pontoon bridge. As the knights who had been repelling the rear ambush returned, Count Forte found himself in a situation where he couldn't escape even if he wanted to.
Of course, he did not flee.
Even when Jensen, the 3rd Knight Commander, joined the fight with dozens of knights, Forte fought fiercely with his half-shattered sword. In the end, he met his glorious end, mutilated by the blunt sword of Jensen.
He will go down in history as the foolish knight commander who led two knight divisions to their deaths and chose to die himself.
But even the most meticulous historians will have to append, "Nevertheless, he fought bravely."
"Where is the prince?"
Jensen asked. Lena and Leo didn't know what had become of the prince, but a soldier behind them answered.
"He is safe. I saw him cross the pontoon bridge."
"That's a relief. Phew. Herman Forte... what a monster he was. Hahaha! But more importantly, Leo Dexter! You've achieved an impressive feat. As expected of Senior Noel's son. Ah, Lena Ainar, you did a remarkable job as well. The prince is safe, and we captured the count, all thanks to you."
"...I was lucky. If the count's sword hadn't broken, I wouldn't have held out."
"Is that so? Hahaha. Great warriors are always accompanied by luck. Otherwise, they die before they can grow. I almost died during the Nine Days' War myself... Ah, there's the prince. Let's go. You must that it was thanks to you that we subdued the Swordmaster."
Jensen patted Leo on the back with approval. However, Leo's expression remained grim.
He might as well have begged for his life before dying... Despite avenging himself, it left a sour taste in his mouth.
Sigh.
Still, it's over. Lena is safe, and we've both accomplished enough to become knights. With the Swordmaster dead, this war will end in a victory for the Kingdom of Astin.
Now, all that remains is to be knighted by the prince and, at the same time, marry Lena.
Surely, this would be the true ending. Lena had even cried out of overwhelming emotion; if that wasn't the true ending, then nothing in this world could be.
"This marks the end of my story."
After my childhood friend.
There's a 'clear' for the beggar siblings' scenario too, but that's not something Leo needed to worry about. No matter how many times Minseo repeated the beggar siblings' scenario, it wouldn't change what he did in this round.
Finally... it's over.
An indescribable swirl of emotions surged within him. His heart ached, and even breathing felt insufficient. The joy of finally finishing, of reaching a happy ending, was so overwhelming that it made him shiver. He could only think that he and Lena would return to Avril Castle, where they would live happily ever after as knights protecting their homeland.
That’s how it should have been.
But Prince Arnulf de Klaus was staring at the mutilated corpse of Count Herman Forte. He pointed at Leo and spoke.
"Seize him."
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Chapter 262
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