Chapter 72: Enemy of the Kingdom (3)
Aster Vaberin.
A woman hailed as the strongest sword of the esteemed Vaberin Family.
Had she been born a man, she would have inherited the position of family head at the age of 19, such was her genius.
But because she was a woman,
she was not bound by the constraints of the family head’s role and could ascend to even greater heights.
Thus, leaving her family, she became an Executor, tasked with judging the kingdom’s enemies.
And now, she stood firmly in front of me, intent on stopping me.
This gust is caused by the Ritual of Bloodstorm. But while the principle is the same, the level is on a completely different plane.
It felt as though a mage had artificially conjured a typhoon.
The power was worlds apart from the aftershocks of Jaina’s sword.
Moreover, the winds blowing now were not merely currents of air.
Each ferocious gust was a tangible sword strike.
She’s amplifying the power with the wind force contained in Venus. If I didn’t have this sword, my body would’ve been torn to shreds.
Faced with such overwhelming power, I absorbed the wind’s force with my own Venus while staying wary of Aster, who had vanished from sight.
She’s not hiding. She’s just moving at high speed, riding the wind.
As a result, the center of the chaos shifted constantly, and an even more unpredictable storm of sword strikes assaulted me fiercely.
To refine swordsmanship like this, she must be quite the hard worker. If I get the chance, I should tell Jaina about this. Or maybe she already knows?
Contrary to my expectations, the current Vaberin Family, including Jaina, had not fully inherited Aster’s swordsmanship.
Aster was a once-in-a-generation genius within the family.
Her swordsmanship was too advanced for ordinary talents to wield.
It wasn’t just a matter of technique—she possessed a physique worthy of being called a born martial prodigy.
A storm-like swordsmanship, interpreted in her own unique way.
It was a one-of-a-kind style, lost to the present era, that could be called her exclusive sword art.
Though I blocked her attacks, fine cuts were accumulating on my body.
Even with Venus, it was a sword, not a shield, so blocking in all directions was impossible.
I can’t just keep defending.
And since I was the one short on time,
I charged toward Aster’s afterimage first.
I acted as if I were a lesser fighter,
and she fell for my ruse, thrusting her sword toward my chin.
“Go.”
From her perspective, it was a perfect sword trajectory.
Dodging would get me torn by the wind, and there was no angle to block the sword.
But my opponent was a warrior who had faced such crises hundreds, thousands of times.
She let go of her sword?
More precisely, I laid the sword flat against my body.
Then, I let my body fall with the sword under gravity’s pull.
Clang!
With Aster’s upward slash, both my sword and I were sent flying.
Using that force, I flipped backward, grabbed my sword, and swung it in a counterattack.
Not a small fry, huh.
In a moment of quick thinking, I perfectly read her attack.
This was possible because I trusted in Venus' durability and my own skill.
For someone so young, she’s got the experience of a veteran. Maybe even more than me, but definitely not less. She’s no easy opponent.
I could clearly feel that my aura was overpowering hers.
But why was it, then?
The way she countered my attack in an unexpected manner
made her seem like a seasoned veteran who had been through countless battles.
If I can just land one clean hit, it’s over. I’ll have to draw out more power.
A rare sense of competitive spirit.
As someone tasked with protecting the king, Aster could not leave the palace.
Paradoxically, this meant she rarely had the chance to face strong opponents.
And now, with Gaiard storming right up to the palace in an unexpected turn of events,
all the Executors except her had gone to capture him.
Just when she was feeling frustrated at being left behind,
an opponent capable of somewhat alleviating that frustration had appeared before her.
On the other hand, I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the situation.
Fighting is fine, but… this woman is already a powerhouse on the verge of becoming a Sword Master. She’s at a level where she’d face off against Bryden.
But I wasn’t a pushover either.
I, too, had reached the pinnacle through sheer martial skill at the aura stage.
And now, I had power to back it up.
Alright, let’s shake her up a bit. If it’s the Vaberin Family I know…
I assumed a stance.
The same preparatory stance for the Ritual of Bloodstorm as hers.
Seeing this, Aster’s eyes widened for a moment.
As expected.
I employed the Vaberin Family’s swordsmanship.
In a way that, like Aster, deviated from the orthodox with my own variations.
Unpredictable rotations and tempo control.
Wielding a transformed yet true storm-like sword, I faced Aster head-on.
Clang clang!
Naturally, this piqued Aster’s interest.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I’ll tell you if you just let me pass. I’ll just go in and come back out.”
“Nonsense!”
I was sincere, but Aster pushed me back.
“You can’t get past me to go inside!”
And with that, she prepared to unleash her ultimate, lethal technique, “Tempest,” the culmination of her life’s essence.
“So try blocking it. If you can!”
A single strike condensed from countless blade energies.
The ground where the sword aura passed was carved as if hacked by a butcher.
A sword aura that would cause fatal wounds on contact—it was rational to dodge.
Normally, I would’ve definitely dodged.
But I chose to meet it head-on.
It’s already too late. I wasted too much time getting lost.
So, I threw caution to the wind and drew up all my strength.
Tap!
I rushed forward and swung my sword.
At that moment, my vision went black.
***
Damn, I didn’t even get to settle the fight.
When my vision darkened, I initially thought I’d lost.
But that wasn’t it.
Gaiard had died first, triggering a regression.
As a result, I couldn’t finish the fight and found myself back at the mansion, facing Gaiard again.
“You couldn’t have died a little later? I was just about to settle the score.”
“You think that’s easy? The kingdom’s top fighters were all gathered there. Even that sneaky Viper was involved. If you’re so eager to fight them, trade places with me.”
“Even so, that place is a bit…”
Even without seeing it, Gaiard’s side was clearly a mess.
It felt like all the natural disasters of the world were concentrated in one place.
“We have less time than I thought. Part of it was me getting lost, but still.”
“Didn’t I tell you? Your plan to infiltrate deep into the palace is far from easy. It might even be near impossible.”
Gaiard said this without a hint of regret.
There seemed to be a lingering reluctance in him to meet the queen.
But I felt entirely different.
“Let’s go. Time’s still ticking.”
“Alright.”
Just as we were about to move, I stopped him.
“Wait a sec. Almost forgot. Tell me about the capital and palace’s layout first.”
“What?”
“I’m new here. You have no idea how much I wandered trying to get to the palace.”
“Hm… I suppose you would.”
Nodding at my words, Gaiard scattered blood to create a projection of the city in the air.
“Here’s the direction we flew in. And the point where we crashed is here.”
“I think I fell around here.”
We discussed while looking at the blood map.
“Then head to the market district on the left. From there, go through the alley with the red-roofed mansion…”
Gaiard explained the route I needed to take in as much detail as possible.
“This way, you can reach the palace’s outer wall in ten minutes.”
“That’s a huge time saver. Nice. But this time, don’t get hit by lightning. Can’t you avoid it?”
“I can. This time, I’ll drop you off without getting struck. When I cause a commotion in the plaza, you head straight for the palace.”
“But even getting in is a problem. Do you know Aster Vaberin? She was guarding the inner castle’s entrance.”
At the mention of her name, Gaiard tapped his chin with interest.
“Ah, of course you’d meet her. The King’s Sword, Aster.”
“Yeah, I met her. Her skills were impressive.”
“She’s out of your league for now. Well, you’d know better than I do.”
Gaiard spoke as if looking down on me.
But I didn’t think that way at all.
I judged that, given enough time and no other objectives, I could win.
Of course, that wasn’t what I wanted.
“You’re right. I need to avoid Aster. She’d take too much time. Is there a hidden passage or something?”
“Hm…”
Gaiard closed his eyes, deep in thought, then snapped his fingers.
“Ah! Go this way.”
This time, he drew the palace’s layout with blood.
“This is the kitchen where food is prepared for servants and soldiers. And behind it, there’s a well.”
“Don’t tell me you mean to go inside…”
“Exactly. I’ve heard rumors of monsters in the waterworks, but that’s no big deal, right?”
Before I could respond, he continued.
“Follow the waterworks north, and you’ll find a well with a sealed ceiling and a ladder. It leads to a garden in the inner castle. It’s an abandoned well, so no one pays attention to it.”
“What should I watch out for?”
“Well, there might be traps, but that’s no big deal either, right?”
“…”
For a moment, I considered swapping roles with Gaiard.
“If that’s the only way, I’ll go there. What’s next?”
“If you’re lucky and the queen is in the garden, great, but she probably won’t be. Then head to the study. She used to go there all the time.”
“Got it. Any other threats besides Aster I should watch out for? There were those shield-wielding twins, but they weren’t a big deal.”
Now that I knew the way, it was time to watch out for people.
I wanted to know about any potential powerhouses.
“Hmm… Aster is tasked with protecting the king, so you won’t see her in the garden or study. But the Iris unit guarding the queen might be a nuisance.”
“Iris?”
“Yes. That’s the name of the queen’s guard unit. They’re not on Aster’s level, but each one is a high-level powerhouse. Think stronger than that Viper executive you fought. Five of them will be protecting the queen.”
Five Sword Expert-level powerhouses.
Just hearing about it gave me a headache.
“That’s a problem. Breaking through five to meet the queen? If a commotion starts, that woman might show up too.”
“Don’t expect me to join you. I’ve got my hands full.”
“I’m not expecting it. Just drawing attention is enough.”
“Then let’s go again.”
We left the mansion once more to meet the queen.
“By the way, how do you know so much about the palace’s inner workings? Even secret passages.”
“…I just do.”
It seemed like there was a story behind it, but I didn’t pry further.
It’s obviously related to the queen.
I wasn’t particularly curious about what secrets he held.
The only thing that mattered was breaking free from this recurring nightmare.