ocean-life Chapter 345: Bread and Dagger (43)
Chapter 345: Bread and Dagger (43)
Chapter 345: Bread and Dagger (43)
Metal danced with metal.
With each spark that flew, blood and screams joined the symphony. The spurting blood gradually stained the cold snowfield a deep red.
The elven soldiers couldn’t put up any resistance against me.
Even if they somehow deflected my first strike, they usually fell to the follow-up attack. In fact, many couldn’t even exchange a single blow with me.
It was because of the poor quality of their weapons.
Some elves lost their lives when their swords were completely cut through. As there were plenty of soldiers wielding equipment made of wood rather than metal.
Their gear was closer to that of a militia than a formal army representing their race.
Even calling them an ‘army’ felt like a stretch since they looked more like a group of bandits.
Still, seemingly using equipment looted from humans, there were a few relatively skilled elves who stepped up to block my path.
But even they could only delay me by a few seconds.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
My sword hammered against an elf’s blade in rapid succession. It only took three exchanges, but with each strike, the elf visibly staggered.
The outcome was obvious.
Finding an opening, I pierced the elf’s heart with a swift thrust.
As I withdrew my blade, a gush of blood spewed forth. The elf tried to resist, clutching at my blade to the bitter end, but its flesh was far too frail against my aura.
I must have killed over a dozen by now.
It was a better result than I’d expected. If I could achieve this much on my own, the hundreds of elven raiders would be dealt with in no time.
More importantly, my companions had begun to actively join the fray.
“O’Light, engulf!”
Crackle—white electric currents began to surge.
As they began to flood the area, the elves screamed and convulsed. The elf mages belatedly tried to counter, but Senior Elsie was among the top-tier mages.
Taking advantage of the moment they were paralyzed, Yuren and I swept through the battlefield.
The elves with contracted muscles were, ironically, trickier to cut through, their rigid stiffness making them harder to cleave. Of course, even that posed no obstacle for experts like Yuren and me.
Meanwhile, the princess was also making a steady contribution.
“O stars, O light, paths of truth emerging from beyond hazy dreams... become a torrential downpour and strike the world. Banquet of Stars!”
Her voice trembled as she spoke, but she managed to complete the incantation somehow.
The impact it brought was immense.
Like candles being lit, blue mana orbs began to align in the sky. Their numbers grew one by one, until there were dozens in total.
Some elves sensed something was amiss, but it was already too late by then.
The light bombs rained down like a torrential storm.
Each time one of them exploded, a deafening boom erupted,the ground overturned and a few nearby elves screamed and collapsed.
Among them, there were those who even had one or two limbs torn off.
I could see the Princess in the distance, her face pale as a sheet. She was staggering, almost retching.
It must have been because the horrific scene she created was too much for her to bear.
And it was understandable.
It wasn’t just snow and dirt that scattered.
Flesh, blood, dismembered limbs without owners, and heads that glared at me as if cursing me to their very last moment.
Is this hell?
For a moment, I recalled Venetta’s forceful argument—her maddened voice proclaiming that life was a prison and death the only liberation.
I could sympathize a little.
Just a very little, though.
Gritting my teeth, I plunged deeper into the elf’s formation, aiming to entirely break their front line.
That’s when I noticed a shift in the atmosphere.
The moment I took a step forward, I felt the elves retreat in perfect unison.
Before long, the area around me became empty. The soldiers who were supposed to hold the line had stepped back, leaving me no choice but to halt.
No, actually, there was another reason I stopped.
A few figures were approaching with peculiar strides.
Though they were clearly walking, no footprints were left in the snow-covered ground.
Their footwork was very unusual, one that I’d never seen, even at the academy. I stood there blankly, facing three or four elves coming my way.
Before I knew it, Yuren had caught up to me.
He seemed to sense the same unease I did.
He briefly paused, observing the elven swordsmen’s gait with an intrigued gaze.
“What do you think? Any idea what’s going on?”
“Not exactly sure, but I think I’ve heard about this. Back when we were in full-scale war with the elves, there were those who could roll over puddles without leaving a ripple.”
Even hearing it casually, it didn’t sound like an ordinary feat.
Hah, I let out a half-hearted laugh.
“Sounds like they’ll be a bit of a hassle to deal with?”
He scratched his head irritably.
“Ah, using the hatchet is cheating...”
“If you’ve got a problem with it, why don’t you get one yourself?”
We were bantering, but I still didn’t feel good.
It was the first time I’d taken so many lives.
Not of monsters, but of sentient beings.
Honestly, I just wanted to drown myself in alcohol and pass out.
But there’s no time for grief on the battlefield.
I could feel new presences approaching—more elven swordfighters.
Just how many of them were there?
As I felt a throbbing headache coming on,
“Go on ahead.”
Yuren nonchalantly told me.
I glanced over at him. My friend let out a short chuckle.
“We made a bet, didn’t we? So while I keep these guys busy, as always, go take care of their strongest.”
I looked back.
A few soldiers were cautiously approaching Yuren and me. But behind them, Sir Alex led the Yurdina soldiers in a relentless charge.
They’d be swept away by that overwhelming force before long.
All Yuren needed to do was hold out for a bit.
We had a chance.
Instead of replying, I gave a single nod. Yuren silently stood there, holding his sword.
It was now time to kick off the ground and dash forward.
Perhaps because I’d already dug my way deep into their ranks, there were no soldiers blocking my path.
Archers and mages tried to be a nuisance, but the battle was as good as over the moment they allowed a swordsman to reach their rear lines.
It wasn’t long before I came face to face with an old man.
The elves were a race that remained eternally young.
They didn’t age until right before death.
So who is this old man?
Could he be a corpse on the verge of death?
With his hunched back and frail frame, he certainly looked the part. His joints were twisted from malnutrition.
He probably couldn’t even move without the cane he was leaning on
As I hesitated for a moment, the old man gave a gentle smile.
It was a cheerful grin.
“Welcome, young one... I was fully prepared, but I never anticipated a variable like this.”
“Bread for bread, dagger for dagger.”
At the proverb I threw out, the old man’s eyes grew curious.
He waited for my next words as if amused. Taking a deep breath, I pointed my sword at him.
“I’ve heard it’s an old elven saying... Looks like it’s my turn to return the dagger, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
At that moment, the old man tossed his cane to the ground.
The staff rolled away with a pitiful clatter. I looked at the elven elder with confusion.
Wasn’t he a mage?
“Bread for bread, dagger for dagger... It’s an old saying of ours. But consider it from a different perspective—consider how many daggers we’ve been forced to endure.”
That’s when I noticed something strange.
With a crack, the old man’s hunched back straightened.
Crunch, snap, crackle.
With each sound of bones realigning, his frame grew larger. The clothes that once seemed loose on him now looked uncomfortably tight.
And then, rip—they burst apart.
It was because his muscles continued to swell.
In no time, the once small and frail old man transformed into a muscular giant over two meters tall.
I’d seen something like this before.
As white fur began to grow over his body and his once lucid eyes turned blood-red with a feral gleam.
An involuntary curse slipped from my lips.
“Oh, for fuck’s sak...”
A demonic human.
I couldn’t help but recall memories from the orphanage.
Those were some seriously messed-up memories.
And today, it seemed another scar would be etched onto that wound.