The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Leaving a Record. (5)

The sky and earth screamed in unison.

The moment the Adversary set foot upon the land, the earth split apart and the sky twisted black, unleashing a tempest.

Kwaaaang!

Julien’s sword clashed against the Adversary’s fist. That shockwave was no mere collision.

The world itself cracked, day and night entangled and trembled. As if this realm could not bear the fight between these two beings and was being turned upside down.

The light flowing from the sword tore through the dark sky, and the darkness pouring from the fist swallowed that light again.

With every clash of light and darkness, the atmosphere split, and lightning exploded. Everything around them crumbled like a sandcastle.

Kwaaaang!

When the Adversary swung his hand once more, a black storm surged forth.

At that moment, Deneb’s prayer resounded. A silver holy radiance descended from the sky and extinguished the storm.

Julien did not miss that gap. As he raised his sword high, countless spirits' energies surged toward him.

Paaaaah!

When the sword was swung, the surroundings were engulfed in light. Beams of light pierced toward the Adversary.

Then, the Adversary let out a laugh.

“So impressive… That you, who were once just a mere mercenary, have grown this much…”

Darkness erupted from his body. It was no simple storm of mana.

It was a wave of despair that could extinguish even the starlight of the heavens.

Kwaaaang!

But Julien endured the darkness. Deneb’s divine power, wrapping around his body, radiated with noble brilliance.

Together, they withstood the Adversary’s power. No, as time passed, they gradually began to push the Adversary back.

The battle shaking the world wasn’t one fought only by the Hero, the Saintess, and the Adversary.

Kwaaaaaang!

When one of the Apostles swung a black spear, the land split deep. But Lionel endured the attack and pressed forward.

He no longer needed to guard Deneb. Julien and Deneb were confronting the Adversary brilliantly.

Rather, taking on the Apostle himself was a far greater contribution to the allied forces.

Kuuung!

Lionel’s heavy sword struck down upon the Apostle. His movements were now so steady, they could be considered a model for all knights.

The Apostle wavered like a ghost, seeking an opening in Lionel’s defense. But Lionel stood firm like a fortress, facing the Apostle head-on.

No matter how unorthodox the attack, it could not break through Lionel’s defense.

As time went on, the Apostle began to show signs of impatience. In contrast, Lionel calmly pressed him back.

Another Apostle was fighting against Ereneth. The Apostle soared into the sky and rained down darkness like a storm.

Kwakwakwakwakwakwa-kwaang!

However, the massive Fire Spirit summoned by Ereneth burned away all the darkness. The Wind Spirit transformed into a whirlwind, wrapping around the Apostle and slamming him into the ground.

The darkness released by the Apostle was blocked time and again by Ereneth’s spirits. Overwhelmed by Ereneth’s intricate spirit arts, the Apostle found himself desperately defending against her attacks.

Paaaaaah!

When the Fire Spirit and Wind Spirit joined forces, a massive flaming tempest surged forth.

The Apostle tried to block it by casting the Curtain of Darkness, but the flames incinerated the darkness entirely.

And as Ereneth dashed in through the blaze and extended her hand, a radiant emerald energy struck the Apostle with immense force.

Kwaaaang!

The Apostle had no choice but to retreat. But he realized that if this continued, he would inevitably be defeated.

‘The divine power…’

Before he knew it, a massive crack had opened in the sky, pouring down radiant light.

The miracle the Saintess had invoked was gradually banishing the darkness. And as it did, the priests of the Salvation Church grew weaker.

The situation of the other Apostles wasn’t looking good either.

Paaaaaah!

At Marika’s gesture, hundreds of daggers rose into the air, slicing through the void.

The shining daggers, imbued with divine power, mercilessly tore through the surrounding darkness.

The glowing trails carved into the air targeted the Apostle relentlessly. The Apostle rapidly deflected the storm of daggers as they came at him like a whirlwind.

Pabababababak!

Their movements were so fast that no one else could even follow them with their eyes. All they could see were the glowing traces left behind by Marika’s daggers.

At first, the balance between them held steady. But as time passed, the Apostle began to falter under the relentless barrage of daggers and was slowly pushed back.

Everyone was fending off the Apostles admirably. But the one who was driving his Apostle with the most explosive force was Kyle.

Kwaaaang!

Each time Kyle’s sword flashed, a powerful shockwave burst forth. At the same time, the Apostle facing him reeled from the impact.

Having brushed with death countless times over the past ten years, Kyle had changed completely.

His hair was a tangled mess, he wore nothing more than rags draped loosely over him, and he wielded a rough, crude iron sword.

To anyone who saw him, he looked like a mercenary who’d been living on the streets. But the swordsmanship he displayed was powerful enough to send shivers down one’s spine.

Kyle’s sword was utterly unpredictable. It followed no form or rule, moving solely on instinct like a wild beast.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

At a glance, it looked like a child wildly swinging a sword at random. And yet, that sword perfectly parried every one of the Apostle’s attacks.

Kyle’s sword, moving with such reckless abandon appeared chaotic, relentlessly drove the Apostle back again and again.

The Apostle couldn’t believe it. If it came down to swordsmanship alone, his opponent could genuinely be called the strongest on the continent.

But there was something even more difficult to endure.

“Ah… I feel like I’m stronger than Julien, but no one seems to acknowledge it. Once the war’s over, I’ll have to properly go up against him. Well, Julien is my true rival, after all.”

“What do you think? How does it feel going up against my sword? Pretty hard to handle, right? You can feel the difference in power, can’t you? Makes you want to run away, doesn’t it?”

“At this point, I think even Ghislain would lose to me in swordsmanship. Don’t you agree? Oh, right, you probably don’t know who Ghislain is. Want me to tell you?”

Kyle kept muttering something constantly as he fought. Honestly, anyone who didn’t know him would probably think he’d gone insane from overtraining.

In truth, Kyle had lived completely consumed by battle. Over time, his personality had become quite twisted.

He cared about nothing else, focusing solely on growing stronger. Eventually, he reached a level where he melted the world into his sword and became one with it.

“I am the Kingdom’s Strongest Swordsman and the King of the Sword!”

Suddenly, in the middle of the fight, Kyle roared loudly.

Perhaps due to the side effects of his training, he’d become strange in all ways except the sword. There were even rumors that his obsession with the sword had dulled his mind.

But no one dared laugh at him. Because Kyle had become monstrously strong.

As expected, the Apostle could barely hold out against Kyle’s onslaught, unable to even counterattack properly.

From the rear, Astion observed the entire situation with a smile.

“Good, they’re doing well. At this rate, victory is ours.”

Though he himself didn’t realize it, in the original timeline, the Hero’s party and the Apostles had been evenly matched.

But thanks to Ghislain, they had grown stronger much faster, and now they had the upper hand even against the Apostles.

Furthermore, unlike the original history, Astion didn’t need to engage an Apostle directly. Ereneth was already taking care of one.

That hadn’t been possible in the original timeline, where Ilaniel had died. Back then, Ereneth had to lead the elves and hold one flank of the formation.

But now, Ilaniel is alive. Which meant Ereneth could still fight as part of Julien’s mercenary corps and take on an Apostle.

Thanks to that, Astion was free to provide tremendous support from the rear.

Soaring high into the sky, he pointed his staff in one direction.

“Lightning Rod.”

Kwaaaang!

In that instant, a flash of light burst from the tip of his staff, unleashing a massive lightning spell.

The blast swept through the Riftspawn and struck a high priest of the Salvation Church with full force.

The high priest, who had been battling a Transcendent of the allied forces, had half his body blown apart by the intense shock. Seizing the opportunity, the allied Transcendent decapitated the high priest.

Astion shifted his gaze again. He spotted another high priest fighting against a different Transcendent.

Kwaaaang!

This time, flames erupted from the ground, engulfing the high priest in fire. The allied Transcendent easily finished him off.

Astion continued supporting his allies this way—wiping out Riftspawn and sniping the high priests of the Salvation Church.

‘I’ll leave the Apostles to my friends.’

Since his comrades already had the upper hand, there was no need for him to interfere and potentially get in the way.

On the contrary, methodically thinning the Salvation Church’s forces this way was far more efficient.

In war, a 9th-Circle Mage moving freely was nothing short of a disaster for the enemy.

Because of this strategy, the Salvation Church kept losing and could do nothing as their forces steadily diminished.

[At last, we had secured a definitive advantage. We considered the possibility that the Adversary might flee, but as long as we could seal the Demonic Abyss, it didn’t matter. No matter how powerful he was, if he ended up alone, he would eventually fall. We had already planned out exactly how we’d pursue and eliminate any remnants.]

[Having dealt with most of the high priests, I turned to support the dragons who were fighting lesser foreign deities along the outer perimeter. My power had reached a level where I could now deal significant damage to them, and the lesser deities of the foreign realm began to fall, one by one, turning to dust.]

[Even though this was the heart of the Demonic Abyss, the Riftspawn were no longer being replenished as quickly. The once vast number of Riftspawn had finally been nearly exhausted. The rate at which they emerged from the inner rift couldn’t keep up with how fast we were wiping them out.]

[The Adversary could no longer open any more rifts. He had to endure Deneb’s divine power while also fighting Julien.]

[The Great War that had lasted ten long years was nearing its end. My heart began to race with excitement. But I couldn’t let my guard down until the Demonic Abyss was safely sealed. I kept steadying my mind, again and again.]

Kwaaaang!

The battle between Julien and the Adversary had reached its climax. No one dared approach the area around them.

Within that vast space, only Julien and Deneb were fighting the Adversary.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaang!

Each time light and darkness clashed, the sky split open, clouds ignited, and storms wrapped the battlefield in chaos.

A stroke of the Adversary’s darkness grazed Julien’s shoulder. Instantly, crimson blood burst from his body.

Yet even that blood transformed into light, purified by Deneb’s divine power.

Julien’s steps did not falter. He raised his sword once more.

Amidst the countless clashes, the Adversary finally spoke.

“You must have felt it too—the vast current of fate…”

“…”

“It’s as if all of this were part of a perfectly written play. No matter how we struggle, we cannot escape destiny…”

“…”

“This Ghislain you mentioned… still nowhere to be seen… A man strong enough to have nurtured you, someone with vast knowledge…”

“…”

“Then… is he the one interfering with our destiny right now?”

Julien still gave no reply. It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand the Adversary’s words.

He simply had no intention of trying to understand them. He desired only one thing—

To eliminate the Adversary and protect Deneb.

The Adversary’s crimson eyes flared as he continued.

“But still, I believe without doubt… that I will succeed…”

The tide of war had already turned to the Salvation Church’s defeat. No matter how powerful the Adversary was, it was an outcome that could no longer be changed.

Even the remaining dragons were now converging on him.

Yet knowing this, the Adversary laughed heartily.

“Because this is the fate that was decided!”

Kwaaaaaaang!

At that moment, an explosion erupted as though heaven and earth were collapsing.

Light and darkness twisted together, swallowing the battlefield. Even the advancing dragons flinched and halted at the overwhelming force.

Julien was swept into that darkness. If it continued like this, his body would be torn apart and vanish into nothing.

At the moment when all seemed lost and crumbling—

Deneb’s divine power enveloped Julien once again.

Paaaaaah!

Particles of light spread outward from Julien’s body. He, now fully healed, tore through the darkness and shot toward the Adversary.

Julien’s sword flashed.

That light was no mere flash of steel.

It bore the grace of divinity, the breath of spirits, the hopes of humankind, and the will of the world—all infused into his blade.

The sword vibrated like a beast’s wail, splitting sky and earth. At the same time, a wave of light burst forth like a tempest.

This was no longer a sword swung by a mere human.

It was as if all the life in the world had poured its final strength into his hands.

Julien took it all in and thrust his sword forward.

The trail of light reached for the Adversary, and even the darkness parted before it.

The Adversary showed no reaction. He simply gazed upon it with those glowing crimson eyes.

Kwaaaaaaang!

At last, Julien’s sword pierced the Adversary’s chest.

In that moment, the battlefield fell silent, as if time itself had come to a halt.

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