kscans

Chapter 278 - The End of the Battle

The surroundings were already growing dim. Two-thirds of the sun had sunk below the sea, and soon it would disappear completely.

In this setting, Simon and the man who had been the leader of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords were fighting. Twenty minutes had passed since they first cut each other, but the battle was still undecided.

The ferry, sensing the abnormality of the fight on the pier, did not approach the port and was on standby a short distance away. And around the pier, the residents of Azuma had gathered.

The ones fighting were Simon and the leader of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords. At first, the residents were puzzled, but as the situation became known, only voices cheering for Simon echoed.

However, it was as if the two of them could not hear such voices, as they had been tirelessly exchanging sword blows.

It was not one-sided, but anyone who had been watching the fight for a while would understand. Simon was deliberately making attacks that resulted in a mutual exchange of blows. The moment she was cut, she would cut her opponent, and she had been repeating this over and over.

The man recovered HP and his sword’s durability with the Yatagarasu’s performance. Simon recovered her HP by drinking potions and managed her swords’ durability by rotating them and having Hayato repair them.

Considering the situation, Simon had the advantage.

Due to the Blood Weapon performance of the Meitou Yatagarasu, his HP and durability recovered, but it was not enough to fully recover by cutting Simon just once. He would have to cut her at least three times to fully recover his HP and durability.

Even if he cut her once, Simon would counterattack. Since Simon aimed for the opening right after his attack, it was difficult to dodge that and cut her again.

The Yatagarasu’s durability was also gradually decreasing. It was impossible to dodge all of Simon’s slashes, so he had to block them with his sword while looking for an opening to attack.

Therefore, although his HP and durability were recovering, they were not fully recovering, and damage was gradually accumulating.

What would happen if they continued this? It was something Hayato, who was watching from the outside, could understand, so the man must have understood it as well.

"...How long do you intend to continue this?"

"Until your spirit and the Yatagarasu break. You had better not think you will be defeated easily."

Simon smiled viciously. It was as if it was a manifestation of her will to cut him as many times as it took.

Then, Simon moved towards the man at high speed and swung the sword Hayato had made.

The man blocked Simon’s attack with the Yatagarasu, but his face was clearly pained. Even if he continued to block the attacks, the Yatagarasu’s durability would decrease and it would break. If he attacked at an opening, he would be cut in the next moment.

The pier was narrow, and it was impossible to get past Simon to Hayato. If he tried to run through, Simon would cut him.

He could not escape by jumping into the sea. Even if he could swim, without the Diving Skill, his HP would gradually decrease underwater.

In other words, he was cornered. Since he could not overwhelm her with strength, if he continued to fight like this, he would eventually lose.

The man lightly jumped backwards to create distance from Simon. He sheathed his sword and placed it on the wooden pier. Then he retreated further and lightly raised both hands.

"I lose. I will leave the Yatagarasu there. Do as you please."

"How graceful. Have you resigned yourself to the fact that you cannot win no matter what?"

"It was unexpected that Simon had become that strong. Both sending you to the western countries and the Demon Lord’s Army coming, it seems I was out of luck."

"You say losing to me is being out of luck? That is why you lose."

"Say what you will. So, what should I do? Will you tie me up with a rope?"

"There is no other way. Hayato, do you have a rope?"

"I have one, yes. Just a moment."

Hayato took a rope out of his item bag and handed it to Simon.

Simon took it, put the Yatagarasu that was placed on the pier into her item bag, and then approached the man.

"Oops, first, a confirmation. Princess, can you hear me?"

It seemed she was talking to Benitsuru via voice chat.

"...What? Hayato’s companions are all insane? That is what I told you. You should regret a little your own shallowness in trying to pick a fight with such opponents. In any case, you have secured the castle... I see. It seems you managed well without me. But it is not over yet. Princess, please stand by there."

Simon showed Hayato a smile.

"As expected of Hayato’s companions. It seems they defeated all the Ten Swords and ninjas with almost no injuries. They have captured all of them at the resurrection point, the castle. They said they are in the dungeon now."

"That’s good. Well, with the Demon Lord Lunaria-san and the people from the Demon Lord’s Army there, I suppose."

"That is also true, but it seems the most insane one was Esha. She shot down the Ten Swords who were trying to escape from a high place in the castle. The Princess was excitedly telling me that."

So Benitsuru-san now recognizes Esha as more insane than the Demon Lord Lunaria-san...?

Hayato did not know what the result of that would be, but he was relieved that the commotion at the eastern port had ended.

The man, who seemed to have been listening to the conversation, laughed.

"So we still cannot win against those who were in the Demon Lord’s Army or the Hero’s clan. Since we had the Yatagarasu, I thought we would put up a better fight."

"You would have been better off acquiring strength that does not rely on weapons or strategies, but you try to take shortcuts, so this is what happens. Well, enough of that. You can think about that in the dungeon."

Saying that, Simon approached the man.

"Don’t tie me too tightly, okay?"

At the man’s words, Simon smirked.

"How naive of you to think you would be treated so politely. Besides, I did not think you would admit defeat."

"What?"

Simon attacked the man without hesitation.

The man probably intended to block it with the sword he had somehow produced, but it was too late, and he was hit by Simon’s Kesa-giri and staggered.

"To cut an unarmed opponent...!"

"Where are you unarmed? I did not think you would let go of your beloved cursed blade even if you obtained the Yatagarasu. Besides, you are a criminal. I would cut you down even if you were unarmed."

Simon’s high-speed slashes assaulted the man.

The man barely blocked the attacks with the sword he was holding, but perhaps due to the shock of Simon’s slash, he could not block them completely and was cut several times by Simon.

The man’s HP bar was already down to a sliver.

"You are not worthy of holding a sword. You will learn about samurai from scratch in the dungeon."

Simon swung her sword down, aiming for the man’s cursed blade. The slash did not stop and cut both the cursed blade and the man. The cursed blade broke in two, and the tip flew into the air before falling into the sea.

And the man’s HP bar disappeared.

"D-damn... it...!"

The man said that as he fell backwards onto the pier, spreadeagled. Then he immediately disappeared.

"Princess! One is headed your way! Do not let him escape under any circumstances!"

Simon shouted. She had sent a voice chat message to have the man, who would be resurrecting at the castle, apprehended.

"Hayato, let’s hurry to the castle. I think it will be fine, but I am worried."

Seeing Simon start to run, Hayato followed suit. And as he ran, he asked Simon a question.

"Could it be that you were prolonging the fight for this reason? At first, I thought you were doing it out of a personal grudge, to cut him repeatedly."

"That is right. I also wanted to buy time for the Princess to secure the castle, and it would be a problem if that man resurrected in the castle with a sword, so it was necessary to defeat him after he had let go of both the Yatagarasu and the cursed blade. But it was a relief. I did not think a man with his pride would be able to silently let me cut him while he was holding a sword, but it went well."

"To think that far ahead is amazing."

"...It just happened to go well, so do not praise me too much. It is not that I dislike it, but I am not used to it. Besides, he might still be hiding a sword. I think it will be fine since the Princess and Hayato’s companions are there, but I cannot be at ease until he is in the dungeon."

"You’re right. Okay, let’s hurry."

"Umu... However, running through the cheers of the residents is embarrassing. It would still be better to be fighting."

The main street of the capital, Azuma. The two of them were running along it towards the castle, but on both sides of the road were residents cheering. They might have just wanted to make a fuss, but it seemed they knew the situation and were happy about Simon’s success.

"Good grief, the shame of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords committing rebellion, I wanted to settle the matter in secret."

"You could say Simon solved everything, so isn’t it okay? Why don’t you create a new Ten Holy Demonic Swords with Simon as the leader? Like, the True Ten Holy Demonic Swords."

"Oh, that is a good idea. By the way, how about you, Hayato? Will you become a member of the new Ten Holy Demonic Swords and live in the Eastern Country? I will not let anyone complain."

"I’m a production class, not a samurai."

"Rejected, am I? Your craftsman-like nature is like a samurai’s, though. If you change your mind, let me know anytime. I will keep a spot open for you, Hayato."

"No, that’s not what I—"

"We will talk about that later. First, let’s hurry to the castle."

The two of them continued their conversation as they headed for the castle.