The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

Chapter 158

Though Audrey had been the one to decide that Leonard would teach the Black Dragon Knights, it wasn’t something she did impulsively and without thinking it through.

It would be a bad idea to just brush aside the techniques the boy had shown her when they were about to go to war with a Corps Commander Demoniac, and if someone caused a fit over Leonard’s age and position, she would punish and make an example out of them.

Teaching techniques that would heavily benefit the Black Dragon Knights would also enhance Leonard’s reputation.

And even still, the outcome was far beyond what Audrey imagined.

“Your sword and mana are still not moving correctly! If your timing is off, you cannot deal a major blow to the Demoniac! Aren’t you supposed to be learning this because speed and strength are still not enough?” Leonard shouted, pointing out the flaws in one of the Transcendence Tier knights’ attempts.

Even though the knight was at least three times older and had at least three times more years of experience, the boy’s words and attitude were scathing. The Black Dragon Knight’s response was just as strange.

“Yes, sir! That’s correct!” The knight addressed Leonard as if he were their direct superior, and stood up straight.

“I like your spirit,” the boy said shortly. “Repeat this a hundred more times until you are no longer adding excess strength, and keep an eye on the movement of your mana. Otherwise, your stance is perfect.”

“Yes, sir!”

“You will know you are successful when you start feeling an unusual repulsive force from your Aura Blade. Once that happens, you may move on to the next form.”

After explaining Skanda’s Demon Felling Sword’s second form, Evil-Dispelling Protector of Justice, Leonard returned to the dais. It would take up too much time to instruct the 330 knights individually, so he had no choice but to teach them with more expedient methods.

He would explain the forms and the mana channeling once in detail and make them repeat the movement. It would be impossible for normal people to learn the technique in the time they had, and even those who were gifted would have trouble. But every single knight was a member of the Cardenas bloodline and had the qualities of a genius, so they were successful.

Most importantly though, they had a whole thirty Transcendence Tier knights. Those who reached the peak of their learning speed through the idea that “all rivers run into the sea” didn’t take long to reach the fifth stage of Skanda’s Demon Felling Sword.

They’re halfway through fully mastering the art, which is more than enough. Other than exceptions such as Dame Audrey, it takes a while for people to get to the second half.

Even though Skanda’s Demon Felling Sword was not a hidden cultivation method, it originated from one of the Nine Great Sects and was considered a first-class art even among their other ones. It was extremely impressive that these knights had reached the fifth stage without knowing a thing about Daoist philosophy and just by receiving some surface-level teaching.

There were even some reserve troops who reached that stage even though they had yet to reach the Transcendence Tier. It showed just how much a blessing having Cardenas blood was.

While Leonard was basking in the satisfaction of the outcome of his efforts, Audrey watched from some distance away, looking content.

“Just as I thought. He will fully bloom in the Order of the Black Dragon. Not only is he a pioneer, but he was also born with the qualities of a leader,” she muttered to herself.

Of course, Demian disagreed. “The Black Dragon! The boy will be worth a hundred men no matter where he goes. Just be honest and say you want him instead of making excuses.”

Audrey didn’t rebuke his harsh, presumptuous words. “It’s just as you say. I do want him. Very much so.”

“Then why don’t you stop being greedy and trying to have him all for yourself and join us instead? If the four of us join together, not even the higher-ups will be able to touch us,” he said out of nowhere.

“Hm? What are you talking about?” she asked.

Demian pointed his index finger upward and scowled. “You’ve had plenty more free time than me, so why are you playing dumb? If the Order of the Golden Dragon wants to take him, we have no right to say no. The Light Dragon doesn’t particularly seem to want to join in, but with you, we’ll have four commanders. If all of us make a complaint, don’t you think that would do something?”

“...I see. Knowing you, I knew that you wouldn’t want to share. So this is your plan.”

He nodded. “We all know how important the Order of the Golden Dragon is. But I’m telling you, Leonard is a diamond in the rough who can end up being even more important.”

At that, Audrey fell into deep contemplation, which she rarely did. Then she let out a long sigh.

Though no one else knew, the Knight Commanders all felt a shared bitterness when the Golden Dragon Knights were brought up.

They were the ones who were meant to carry out Ancestor Cardenas’ final, unfulfilled wish.

“Fine. I’ll join you.”

“Good.” Demian smiled. He’d successfully pulled Audrey into his plan. He didn’t know that he would be able to convince her this fast, but either way, this was a good outcome. It had only been possible because Leonard had proved his worth.

Audrey had always been a strict follower of the family’s rules and principles, so there was a high likelihood that she would have become an obstacle.

But the arrogant woman was so impressed by the kid that she came over to my side.

Not only did Leonard have the potential to awaken most of the dragon’s traits, he had invented mana techniques and swordplay that could easily kill Demoniacs. And on top of that, he taught them well.

It was such a ridiculous notion that Demian would have actually lost his temper and called it nonsense had he not seen it with his own eyes.

...And we can’t say for sure, but maybe Leonard will fulfill the Golden Dragon’s long-awaited wish in the far future. Then there will come a day when the Arcadian Empire and the Three Noble Houses will finally be able to lay down the burden of their mission.

It seemed so far-fetched even to him that Demian had to hold back a wry smile.

There was less than an hour until the Hellgate opened.

“Let’s go. Everyone will be waiting,” he said.

“Mm.”

It was time for the strategy meeting.

* * *

The preparations that the Cardenas and the Wickelines made to suppress the Hellgate were very simple and instinctive. It was obvious just from looking at the mechanics laid out across the massive underground cavern.

There’s a spell that prevents the Demoniacs from breaking through the ceiling or the floor and running away, and they’ve set spells that can distinguish between enemies and allies and weaken or strengthen them. They fight with the expectation that the fight will be a full-frontal battle from the beginning to the end, Leonard observed.

However, that strategy contradicted the Cardenas family’s fundamental mission of minimizing human casualties. If they set up traps and explosives near the Hellgate and stayed at a safe distance, it could do a large amount of damage to the Demoniacs.

When he pointed this out, Audrey looked at him with an admiring look for a moment before responding.

“While this may not be the case for the lower-ranking Demoniacs, the mid- and high-ranking Demoniacs are exceptional learners. If they’re subject to a strategy or tactic even a single time, they will always come up with a countermeasure,” she explained. “We’ve tried out all the traditional stratagems, of course, and even all the niche ones, but we have reached the point where we think it would be better to focus on a full-frontal battle.

“We’ve attempted to set up turrets and magical weapons ahead of time so that we can kill them from a distance. We’ve even laid out explosives that had enough power to destroy a fortress. Some of them resulted in great success, while others resulted in great failure. After we used magical weapons, they sent Demoniacs that could absorb the magical energy, and after we used turrets, they sent Demoniacs who could reflect projectiles. After we had great success with the explosives, they sent in suicide bombers first to also explode and set them all off before the others came through.”

And just like that, they went through ten failures, then a hundred, and then there were no more tactics they could use.

After that, the Cardenas and Wickeline families decided that they would have to force the Demoniacs into a head-on fight and create a battlefield that was advantageous for the troops, instead of relying on schemes.

Demoniacs, who were inherent outsiders to the Middle Realm, became significantly weaker when they ascended to the human world, and if Class 9 spells amplified that effect, the impact became brutal.

“It affects Corps Commanders too. But outside this cavern, it will take both me and Demian teaming up to be on equal footing with them. Every time we fail to contain their initial assault, there are hundreds of casualties,” she said gravely.

It was no small number. Every single Black Dragon Knight was a seasoned warrior, and they were hard to raise and train.

I’m sure the reserve troops are included in that number... but either way, the Demoniacs can inflict enormous casualties, Leonard thought.

The reserve troops were made up of people who were one step away from reaching the Transcendence Tier, and they only needed a little more growth to become official members of the Order of the Black Dragon.

It would take at least twenty or thirty years to train another candidate.

There was a reason that the majority of the Cardenas family’s fighting force was absorbed into the Seven Orders. What did it matter to produce a Transcendence Tier knight every year when the same number or even more died within that timespan?

“With the help of the Wickeline family, we can stabilize the cost of each battle as we do now, but there is still no small number of fatal casualties,” Audrey said as she suddenly started to pet his hair. “But the techniques you’ve invented could revolutionize the Black Dragon once more.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re not very modest, are you? I like your confidence.” She retracted her hand and stood. “Demian and I are going to go into hiding now so that we can prepare for the entrance of the Corps Commander. You will join the front lines with the Black Dragon Knights just as you wanted, and I trust that you will not make any rash decisions.”

Just as she said, Leonard wasn’t just another knight. He had become a wild card that could change the entire outcome of the battle.

He was too valuable to lose in a mere skirmish that happened several times a year. In her heart, she very much wanted to send him back to the base, but that was not a decision she could make as a leader.

“I will do everything I can as a descendant of the Cardenas,” he promised.

There was no point in entering a battlefield if he was going to hide behind someone else the whole time.

When Audrey sensed his fighting spirit, the sliver of concern in her disappeared. As one fellow warrior to another, she could not order him to not fight with all he had.

Once they parted ways, the Black Dragon Knights who had been lined up nearby cautiously joined him.

I don’t know why they’re so scared of Dame Audrey.

If the other knights heard his thoughts, they would cause a stir, but Leonard didn’t share his thoughts and kept his eyes fixed forward.

Unlike the knights, who were lined up in an orderly manner, all the mages were scattered about in several groups. Leonard sensed the mana mastery of over ten Archmages, and that told him that the Wickeline family had also sent over a significant fighting force.

The man who looked like their leader was an Archmage who was approaching Class 9.

He’s strong. Gordon Haywood can’t even compete with him.

Leonard saw with his Dragon Eyes that there were more than ten magic arrays activated around that man alone. The man was almost done perfecting them, and they were so flawless that not even Leonard’s Dragon Heart could make any improvements. He was several steps above the Class 8 Archmage whom Leonard had met at Atlantis.

Leonard spotted Meliora, who had made her way to her proper spot as the base’s active-duty mage, then immediately spotted Calantha, who had unwittingly found himself on the battlefield. Even though Calantha didn’t specialize in offensive magic, it would be idiotic to bench an Archmage.

Riiiiiiing!!

The same alarm that Leonard had heard in Meliora’s laboratory went off, echoing loudly across the tavern and putting everyone on edge.

It signaled that it was almost time for the Hellgate to burst.

As soon as the sound went off, the Black Dragon Knights drew their weapons in unison, and the Wickeline mages simultaneously gave orders. At the signal of a few Archmages, light began to rage, heavily distorting natural laws.

They summoned so much power that it could raze several mountains if used for destruction. Chills shot down Leonard’s spine, and he watched the writhing Hellgate, which was so far off that it looked like the horizon.

It’s about to burst!

And then, with his Dragon Eyes, he just barely managed to see time and space reach their limit. The fabric of the world was about to rip.

Simply witnessing the rupturing of a dimensional boundary was enough to take his Visualization to the next level. He was watching something that the human mind could not comprehend, essentially experiencing something that was beyond human.

Before he could process this small realization, the boundary between the Middle Realm and the Demonic Realm collapsed, making a sound that resembled a giant glacier breaking in half.

Crack.

He wasn’t even sure he could call it a sound. It wasn’t something he felt through the vibrations of his eardrums but something he felt in his very soul. The three hundred thirty knights and the fifty-plus mages braced themselves.

■■■■■■■■■——!!

A roar exploded. It sounded as if something were crawling out from a deep, muggy abyss, and the pitch alone immediately inspired disgust.

The Hellgate had opened.

Hundreds of Demoniacs called “bombers” poured out from the ragged dimensional rift, signaling the start of the battle. They were the suicide bombers. Their bodies were jet-black and round, making them look like balls of flesh covered in tar. As soon as they touched the ground, they caused a huge chain of explosions.

Boooooom! Boom! Boooom!

The explosions shook the earth’s core even though it was several kilometers below them. The destructive power surpassed that of a Class 5 fire spell.

According to Audrey, bombers were created for the sole purpose of getting rid of traps. They were gruesomely designed to be more like living weapons than living beings with egos.

Only then did Leonard finally begin to understand the true, ugly nature of Demoniacs.

“Dispel the mist as soon as the explosions stop! Once we see what other Demoniacs come forward, proceed according to the corresponding plan!” ordered an Archmage whose name Leonard didn’t know. The mages immediately prepared a wind spell.

While the bombers’ explosions couldn’t split cavern walls protected by Class 9 spells, their bodies released a gas, creating a cloud of poison that melted the lungs after a few breaths. The cloud was so thick that no one could see through it, even if they enhanced their sight with either aura or magic. This thick poison was one of those very peculiar physical traits possessed by certain types of Demoniacs.

A few minutes later, the sound of explosions stopped.

Elvegust

Tens of mages cast the large-scale spell as one, and it began to emanate with power. A freezing cold tempest flooded out from a magic array with a diameter of over a hundred meters.

The air and ground were burning hot from the colossal explosions and the heat they emitted, to the point that no human could survive it. The mages had chosen their massive spell to cool down the battlefield.

Fwooooo——!!

Elvegust pushed away the green mist, and the lumps of flesh that had snuck inside the cloud froze into ice.

They were a vanguard of flesh demons meant to be used as meat shields.

This was the greeting the two Realms always exchanged.

Even if the knights killed hundreds or even thousands of the weakest Demoniacs, it would not be considered a loss. The Demoniac’s strategy had been obvious.

The second wave of Demoniacs began to seep in like pus from an infected wound. Tens of monsters looked like patchwork made of rags, while the others had bodies made up of white bones.

“The mages will take care of the hide! The knights must hold the line against the bone Demoniacs!”

With their defenses and toughness outperforming even that of mid-ranking Demoniacs, the bone Demoniacs were the worst matchup for mages, not the knights. They had no elemental weaknesses like the flesh and blood Demoniacs, nor did they have weak spots like the hide and claw Demoniacs. The bone Demoniacs weren’t particularly strong, so they could be entombed with earth magic or restrained with ice, but that wasn’t possible during a chaotic fight.

Only an Aura Blade condensed with the peak amount of power could swiftly take down bone Demoniacs.

“Black Dragon Knights! Forward!” The captain in charge of the Seventh Division gave the order, and the knights marched in.

Above them, hide Demoniacs made their bodies wide and thin like stingrays and flew in, while bone Demoniacs transformed into rhinos on the ground and charged, shaking the ground.

An all-out fight.

The impending skirmish would simultaneously signal the beginning of the battle to defend their base and decide its outcome.

“Remember the commander’s orders! You must use Demon’s Bane!”

The knights tried their best to meditate on the movements they had learned only an hour ago so that they wouldn’t instinctively resort to the techniques they were used to.

Rrrrrrrrr...!

Less than ten seconds later, the bone Demoniacs advanced. The rumble of the ground made it sound as if the cavern would collapse, but the knights firmly stood their ground as they raised their blades.

Leonard instinctively sensed that the monsters would hit them in three breaths. He automatically began to count. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

One.

Two.

Three.

His processing speed accelerated while the knights, arranged in a straight line, went into the first form of the Skanda’s Demon Felling Sword.

Skanda’s Demon Felling Sword

First Form

Black-and-White Distinction

Light flashed on their swords as they made an almost simplistic diagonal slash.

Claaaang!

No matter how strong Aura Blades were, the same spot had to be attacked several times to cut a bone Demoniac in two. But it wasn’t easy to make such an attack against a monster that could swiftly repair its body. Even a Transcendence Tier knight had to waste anywhere from tens of seconds to several minutes to defeat them.

At least, that was how it was supposed to be.

“...Huh?”

“Wait, why are they so squishy?

“It can’t even regenerate!”

With just one attack, they cut the Demoniacs in two. The monsters flailed, unable to put their bodies back together. Though the knights hadn’t fully killed them, the monsters could no longer fight.

Even the Black Dragon Knights who had gone through all sorts of experiences were shocked for a moment, but once they realized what was happening, the look in their eyes changed.

“We might even be able to push them back, not just survive.”

“Let’s do this.”

Demon’s Bane, was it? That was exactly how one would describe the technique: the bane of demons.

Their blades, imbued with a new type of energy, began to move more vigorously, shattering the bone Demoniacs. Usually, the first line would mostly have to endure the assault while the second and third lines launched counterattacks, but on the contrary, the first line was actually starting to push the enemy back.

“For the glory of the Cardenas family! The Black Dragon will be victorious!”

After more than one hundred years of stalemate, the front line began to warp.