Chapter 96: Tainted Crown (2)

Zing! Javier’s three circles rotated at varying speeds. At times, they amplified the spin of one another, and at other times, they slowed only to burst forward again. As the circles crisscrossed together, Javier freely discharged mana and harnessed it into the candlestick that stabbed and slashed through everything in front of it.

Clang! The candlestick hit the sword, igniting fiery sparks in the air, and one of the sticks was slashed in half. The sword shot upward only to then aim for Javier’s neck. Javier responded by tilting his head to the side by an inch.

Slash. The sword brushed an inch away from Javier’s nose, and Sir Kyle’s attack failed to warrant a single hair strand of damage. Javier’s icy eyes traveled over to the enemy, and Sir Kyle’s eyes widened in surprise.

What in the world was that?

Sir Kyle, the commander of the royal guards, gazed at Javier with evident astonishment in his eyes.

He avoided that?

Sir Kyle believed he had aimed his sword correctly. The timing, the sword trajectory, and the silver-haired stripling’s staggering balance assured him so. Not a single enemy ever managed to avoid his sword under such conditions. But today was an exception. This youth avoided his perfect blow with nothing but a simple tilt of his head!

Has he been reading my sword’s trajectory?

A shiver ran down his spine, but he instantly shook it off with a scoff. Who was he anyway? One of the two sword masters in the kingdom! There was no chance that he would get beaten by this young novice.

“You are nothing but a baby!”

Bam! Sir Kyle stomped the ground hard, and a cloud of shockwaves shifted the balance of his weight. He tugged his sword at lightning speed and wielded it with the force of his weight and mana.

Fwoosh! The sword laterally swayed to burst through the air, and Javier wasn’t allowed another second to avoid the incoming blow after escaping the previous one.

“Argh…!”

This time, Javier grimaced from the shockwaves produced by the ripple of air. Their force hit him all over his body, so there was only one way he could respond.

Slash! Slash! Clang!

Javier brandished the candlestick at a speed faster than the wind, and as his motion created more ripples of air, it created a shockwave as well.

Kaboom! Javier’s shockwave collided against Sir Kyle’s, and they shoved and wrestled until they disappeared in thin air. Fright rushed through Sir Kyle’s eyes.

“Where did this boy come from… Eh?”

Crackle! Sir Kyle wasn’t spared a second to finish his sentence as he noticed that Javier was charging at him. Javier hurtled toward the sword master, penetrating the vanishing shockwave. He hooked, pointed, stabbed, and jabbed upward, cornering Sir Kyle at a breathtaking speed.

Corner him. Don’t give him any time to breathe.

Javier objectively judged the situation and calculated his moves. The flow of victory formed so clearly inside him. His eyes sank coldly.

It is beyond me why the commander of the royal guard attempted to assassinate Her Highness. No matter, it is irrelevant to this duel. There’s only one thing I should remember, and it’s that I must corner and question him.

Javier laser-focused on the person standing in front of him. He tried to get a read of the man’s fighting tactics and style.

Sir Kyle is a sword master. As soon as I spare him a second, he’s going to create an aura sword. I’d be back against a wall if that were to happen. So come hell or high water, I must prevent him from creating an aura sword and drag this fight out as long as possible.

Javier stole his glance at the queen and Lloyd.

Poison.

He could vaguely paint a picture of what was happening. The queen had been poisoned, and Lloyd was trying to get it out of her system using the Asrahan Core Technique. That left Javier with only one job, and it was to buy time for Lloyd to resuscitate the queen”

“The sword! Over here!” shouted Javier”

Clang! At that instant, the candlestick broke into pieces, leaving Javier empty-handed. Sir Kyle didn’t waste the opportunity. He rushed toward Javier.

Swish! Clack! Slash!

The incoming sword aimed at Javier’s heart, arms, and legs. Javier stepped back and twisted his body, changing his step. Then, he stretched out his hand backward.

“Take this!”

Javier heard Lloyd shouting, and he noticed a sword flying in his direction. It was the queen’s sword that Lloyd hurled toward him. Javier gripped the sword.

Clang! The two swords clashed. Javier’s blue eyes. Sir Kyle’s furrowed eyes. The two glared at each other ferociously between the two swords. Balance of powers. Search and identification. Confrontation. Silent but fierce. Their breaths were even. Each of them read the slight movement of their eyes, which were mixed with a thirst for blood and lies. Sir Kyle spoke to Javier, his words much like his schemes.

“So, the rumors of what you did back at Cremo against the Gigatitan weren’t exaggerated,” said Sir Kyle.

“…”

“But it is strange. You don’t look to be at the level of a sword master. How are you dodging my sword?” he continued.

“…”

“Ha. Are you not going to answer me? Or are you just so busy that you can’t talk?”

“…”

Clang! Javier shoved Sir Kyle’s sword with force, bouncing it away and giving him a split second of time that he used to look back at Lloyd. He spoke to the young master with his gaze…

I’ll make you some time.

All right, but be careful.

The two gazed locked for a split second, only to tear away right after. Javier started to corner Sir Kyle.

Ziiing! Lloyd made two circles collide, and the blast created a massive force, which jetted out an explosion.

Thwack! The fierce mana blast shot toward Sir Kyle. His eyes widened.

“…!”

Slam! Sir Kyle clumsily brandished his sword and narrowly avoided the blow. He was sent almost seven yards away and smashed against the wall outside the rest area of the queen.

Thwack!

“Argh!”

The force from the blow made his shoulder, arm, and sword sting.

This is such a brutish attack…

Kaboom!

The second mana blast fired at him. Sir Kyle dared not block it this time again. He simply ducked down in a hurry and avoided the blow.

Crash! The blast hit the ground he was just standing on, but now it bore a hole that was about 20 inches deep.

“…”

Sir Kyle had never heard of or experienced this type of attack, and never in his wildest imagination did he think that a sword could enable it.

He’s a dangerous one.

Sir Kyle sharpened his senses in alarm. He no longer thought of him as a novice. Making things worse, the fighting location had grown more unfavorable for him.

Kaboom! Boom!

“Argh!”

The mana blast came in strings. Sir Kyle closely avoided each one.

It’s too narrow here!

They were in a long, narrow corridor, and the mana blast that stretched dozens of steps came flying at him, leaving him no chance to fight back. There was too much distance to do so. Standing on the ground already took a heavy toll on him, let alone allow him to counterattack. He wished he could conjure an aura sword. It would’ve made slicing through these blows a piece of cake. But the silver-haired boy didn’t give him the time he needed to focus and create the aura. Sir Kyle started to grow anxious.

I was on the fence about slaying the queen with my aura because it’d leave a trace. Never thought that it’d come back to bite me”

Grit! Sir Kyle recalled his mission to make sure that the queen was dead. So, he had to return to the rest area. But first, he had to deal with the silver-haired novice who appeared out of nowhere and confronted him with abilities that rivaled his own. No, he was instead winning against him using a powerful technique Sir Kyle had never seen before.

Is he trying to make me keep far away from the queen?

Sir Kyle furrowed his brows. Javier charged forward as he kept shooting his mana blast down the long, narrow corridor. Sir Kyle drew back against his will. Javier pushed ahead while Sir Kyle got pushed back. Javier fired the mana blast while Sir Kyle barely avoided it. Javier grew tired, while Sir Kyle became tenacious. After much shoving and pushing, Sir Kyle, who continued to jump back, was finally pushed out of the corridor.

Boom! Sir Kyle leaped back to avoid the mana blast once again, landing on the red carpet of the vast banquet hall. Glasses clanked, tables thudded, and people screamed. The chandelier dropped from the ceiling. Another scream. And Javier stood firmly on the ground at the entrance of the corridor, like a gatekeeper.

Swish. The queen’s sword in Javier’s hand glinted. Its shining glimmer held a clear message: No one could set foot in the corridor. No one.

“Ha! You insolent fool.”

A ferocious smile spread across Sir Kyle’s face, his skin wet and dripping with sweat. Now he understood. It became clear to him why Javier had cornered him this far.

He’s trying to buy time.

There was no exit in the corridor. The young sword fighter just needed to protect one end of the hall. And should he get pushed deeper…

Did he decide that he’d be able to buy some time if he pushed me out of the corridor without dying?

The corners of his lips rolled upward as he finally shed light on Javier’s plan. A counterplan came to his mind just then.

Well, I have my own plan too.

Sir Kyle quickly scanned every corner of the banquet hall that was now deathly quiet without the music and conversation. Groups of sharp-eyed men had their hands on their waists. They were all familiar faces. They were the royal knights he commanded over. They were waiting for his order.

They are oblivious to my betrayal and what happened back in the rest area. So, they’ll listen to my words since I’m still their commander”

The smile on his face deepened.

“Hear my knights!” said Sir Kyle, his voice dripping with dignity. He then held up his sword high and pointed at Javier standing at the entrance.

“That man over there dared to plot treason in the capital. He has tried to assassinate Her Majesty with his accomplice, and now he has taken Her Highness hostage, attempting to take over the corridor. My dear knights! Raise your swords for the protection of Her Majesty!”

Right after his order was made…

Clang! Dozens of swords were pulled out of their hilts. They moved in unison and formed a crescent around the entrance to the corridor”

Crackle…!

Each knight was at least a mid to high-level sword expert. Their swords all contained sword auras and made menacing sounds. The knights glared at Javier without an iota of mercy. They had blinding trust in their commander, Sir Kyle.

I knew it. It’s because of this sword.

Javier smiled bitterly as he had seen this coming. He was actually prepared for this from the time he began to corner Sir Kyle at the end of the corridor. The sword in his hands belonged to the queen, and it didn’t look good in front of others.

Though it’s just pure chance that I have her sword…

But no one would trust him. They would rather place more trust in Sir Kyle’s words since they were unaware of his betrayal.

But I don’t care. The commander has already tried to kill the queen. It’s likely that some of them may be on it with him. From now on, no one shall set foot here.

Javier positioned himself like a mountain. Iciness rolled off his body. His gaze was like that of a ferocious predator.

“I, Javier Asrahan, inquire by the entitlement granted to the knights. Come forth, those who are ready to abandon the vow made to Her Highness.”

“What…?”

The knights flinched at Javier’s words. Their faces turned dark. They couldn’t believe what was coming out of the man who attempted to assassinate the queen and took over the corridor that led to the rest area.

“Do not listen to the traitor’s nonsensical words. Strike him!”

Just then, Sir Kyle commanded aloud. This jostled the knights out of their confusion and got them to hurtle toward Javier.

“Ah!!!!”

The knights brandished their swords to protect the queen, aiming at the silver-haired assassin. But Javier remained wordless. He didn’t even utter an excuse when unreasonable and irrational attacks showered him. Instead of confronting them with words, Javier decided to respond with this sword to clear the doubt, misunderstanding, and anger against him.

Crackle! Clang! Clang! Clang!

There were three knights charging at him together. Javier defended, kicked, and shoved the swords that flew at him in unison. He received head-on their wishes for death against him. Amid them, Javier coldly lifted his gaze and fixed it on one person. Sir Kyle. And Javier spoke with his eyes: Don’t send these underdogs and fight for yourself. I have no intention of being subdued by these men. Javier’s gaze made Sir Kyle’s heart burn with emotion.

Fine. If that’s what you want

Sir Kyle grinned. For the first time since the fight began, he had been granted the time to breathe and relax. A few breaths were all it took for him to restore his force, and his mana circulated in a manner distinct to sword masters. The sword in his hand glimmered until it finally started to burn.

Whoosh! An eerie radiance enveloped the silver blade. It was the ultimate weapon only a sword master could employ. Though it took a long time for it to get activated, nothing could stop it from slaying anything once it appeared. The aura sword emitted a ferocious glint like a predator’s fang.

If you have decided this ground to be your grave, then I shall grant your wish.

Sir Kyle trudged in Javier’s direction, his eyes loaded with icy animosity. He then lifted the blade charged with evil and jumped high, narrowing the distance between the two. Leap!

“…!”

The speed was incomparable to the previous one. A second was all it took for Sir Kyle to be two steps away from Javier. Sir Kyle flashed a grin as he spotted Javier’s flaw.

“Got you.”

Swooosh! The force of the strong aura sword swept over Javier like a tsunami. Javier held out his sword at the same time and shot the mana blast. It clashed with the aura sword. Then, the tsunami split the blast.

“…!”

Swish! The aura sword that split the blast in half shredded Javier’s heart.