Chapter 4: Crisis (1)

Why is the Messiah Empire called an “empire”?

There are several reasons, but the summary is simple it has the largest territory, an enormous amount of money, and overwhelming military power.

Within that military power, the individual strength of certain people weighs enormously, and the empire possesses something few can match Swordmasters.

Who is a Swordmaster?

It is the pinnacle of the sword, a monster treated not only as a tactical weapon, but as a strategic weapon.

It is said that with a single slash they can split the earth, and with another, cut a mountain.

That is the reason why no country dares to challenge the empire lightly.

***

Title) Were Swordmasters always this rare?

They say that before they were everywhere.

ㄴYes, it used to be like that.

ㄴAnd why not now?

ㄴBecause Ash blocks them all. She says that if they are weaker than her, they should not dare call themselves Swordmaster hahaha.

ㄴFuck, is she some kind of power ceiling or what?

ㄴHahahaha.

ㄴThe former Sword Saints = the current Swordmasters.

ㄴCan only humans be Swordmasters?

ㄴThere are some from other races, yes. But Ash crushed them all.

ㄴAre you sure she’s human? Hahaha.

That’s right. In reality, the rank of Swordmaster does not exist only in the empire.

The difference is that the empire’s Swordmaster is, by far, the strongest.

And that Swordmaster was Ash Menesil, the most powerful swordswoman of the era.

She was not only strong she was also famous for her beauty, with hair as white as snow and blue eyes.

Since childhood, her beauty blossomed dazzlingly, stealing the hearts of countless men.

Because of that, even at a young age, it was not strange that she received innumerable marriage proposals.

“I will marry a man stronger than me!”

Ash declared it at barely fifteen years old. No one questioned it.

If someone wanted that beauty and that power, he had to defeat her. Of course, after she became an adult.

Three years passed.

She reached adulthood with expectations but no man could defeat her.

Five years passed.

She was already at full marriageable age and began to grow restless, but decided to wait patiently.

Ten years passed.

At home they began to beg her to get married.

That was when she felt that something was wrong.

Title) ???: “I will marry a man stronger than me”

Fifteen more years passed.

No man managed to defeat her.

ㄴShe’s already a full ajumma hahaha.

ㄴThere’s only coldness left in the comments.

ㄴWhat happens if you call her ajumma to her face?

ㄴA kid did it once when he heard her age and mocked her hahaha.

ㄴCan’t an elf or a demon take her?

ㄴThere is no one clearly stronger than Ash.

ㄴAnd even so, humans are surprisingly strong. The minimum is very low, but the maximum is absurd.

ㄴIs she that strong?

Fifteen years passed.

Her power kept growing, but no one defeated her.

Although she had undergone a physical rebirth and retained the beauty of her twenties, she was already in her thirties.

Having long passed the ideal age to marry, few men approached her.

Of course, there were those who courted her for her appearance but they were all weaker than her.

She did not want to break her last conviction nor her pride. So she endured. And endured.

The men, for their part, also felt intimidated by a woman stronger than them, so they understood her stance.

“This can’t go on.”

Waiting forever was useless.

Ash decided to train disciples with her own hands.

If she trained promising youths, one would emerge, right?

None emerged.

They were all defeated by her and ended up marrying another woman.

Since they all usually married early, they fled before even approaching her level.

“I will share all my knowledge in the gallery.”

Feeling the urgency, she began to meticulously upload her sword techniques to the gallery, hoping for a virtuous cycle.

And, in fact, it worked the average level of fighters on the continent rose noticeably.

At that rate, in some kingdom someone stronger than her should appear.

Would that cause diplomatic problems?

To hell with it. Her path to marriage was completely blocked.

But even so, no man managed to defeat her.

Instead, only generic Swordmasters appeared in droves.

To make matters worse, even if she only breathed, Ash kept getting stronger.

“Why? Why is there no one? Why?!”

She did not understand.

After analyzing everything, she reached a belated conclusion.

“Do I get stronger just by breathing? Is this a joke?”

That was right.

The genius admired by all was, in another sense, a natural disaster.

Mana accumulated in her body just by breathing, and she channeled it into the sword naturally.

If she had not been obsessed with getting married and had devoted herself to training consistently, she would have reached the rank of Grand Swordmaster at an early age.

But she was already considered one of the strongest on the continent.

She did not need more power.

“Damn life.”

Reality hit her all at once.

Finally, Ash abandoned all her positions and withdrew from the world.

The emperor of the empire begged her to stay, but she rejected everything.

Although she allowed them to continue using her name, she was nothing more than a decorative figure.

The fact that the empire could waver solely because of her absence proved how imposing her existence was.

And so, after twenty years, Ash, secluded.

“Uhehehe.”

She was lying on the bed eating a banana, laughing like an idiot.

Her white hair was tied up in a messy bun, she wore comfortable unemployed clothes, and even round glasses.

She was the perfect image of a slacker.

She spent her days spying on the gallery and enjoying her life.

Smack!

“Ow!”

“Is this useless piece of shit!! Didn’t I tell you to go out of the house a little?!”

A direct hit to her back.

Although Ash’s body was as hard as steel, the pain was real.

“Look at your sister! At thirty she already has another child, and that makes five! Five! She was captain of the imperial guard! And why don’t you get married?!”

“Ah… mom…”

It was a blow full of love.

Ash rubbed her back and looked at her mother.

Wrinkled, but with features similar to hers, a beauty that in her youth would have been overwhelming.

Ash was already over thirty, but her mother had had her at nineteen. For the time, that was normal.

“There is no man that I like…”

“Then lower your standards! Where are you going to find a man stronger than you?!”

“……”

Ash could not respond.

Half of what her mother was saying was true.

Ash was exceptionally strong, even compared to elves and demons.

Surely somewhere in the world there existed a man stronger than her.

She simply had not found him yet.

“Oh, this mother is going to die of stress. What’s the use of being a Swordmaster or whatever if at thirty-five you’re still single? This mother is already past fifty, listen to me!”

“But… my sister married well, didn’t she? Mom, we are nobles. Nobles.”

Originally, Ash’s family had been commoners.

Their social rise happened when she became the best swordswoman on the continent.

The title she received was nothing less than count.

Considering that frontier marquises were usually the limit, the emperor had granted her an exceptional rank.

Moreover, her younger sister, also beautiful, had married very well.

With five children, it was clear that her marriage was happy.

Unlike Ash, her sister had found her destined partner.

How envious.

“And what’s the use of that then!? If the eldest daughter is a mess! At least go outside and get some exercise!”

“But I get stronger just by breathing……”

“And you expect me to believe such nonsense?! Get out right now!”

“Yeeees!!”

Even if children grow up, to their parents they remain children.

At her mother’s shouting, Ash shot up from the bed.

Then she grabbed a practice sword and left the mansion.

She pretended she was going to train and as soon as she turned her back, she returned.

Training was a nuisance.

With a constitution that made her stronger just by breathing, she felt no need at all.

‘Better upload something to the gallery.’

She returned to bed and logged into the gallery.

What she did there was simple.

Title) You can do it too! Advanced fencing class 15

SwordTasteMaster

Today’s advanced class is about the parry.

What is parry? Well, basically……

Uploading fencing knowledge to the gallery.

That was her daily routine.

At first she did it to raise the overall level of the continent.

Now, it had practically become a job.

In truth, before she was not so hooked on the gallery.

She only entered from time to time to look around.

But after belatedly realizing her constitution, she fell into a kind of existential frustration, as if the world had deceived her.

ㄴAnd what do you think about instant unsheathing?

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) Instead of wasting time with that, learn the basics properly.

ㄴBut it looks cool

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) Do it when you’re a Swordmaster.

ㄴBut if you’re a Swordmaster anything works hahaha

From time to time idiots appeared, but Ash always responded calmly.

Why so much courtesy in a gallery where everyone shamelessly displays their desires?

‘That way they don’t get suspicious.’

It was part of her character.

Ash was actually quite straightforward and rough.

Thanks to that, even though she was of commoner origin, she got along well with nobles.

But now all that did not matter.

Besides, she had been in the gallery too long.

Although compared to the true veterans she still fell short, her activity time was long.

A constant user for years.

And when she began uploading fencing knowledge, it even raised suspicions.

‘Better die of embarrassment than let them discover me.’

Just in case, she deliberately began using a polite tone.

That was why she never uploaded photos or videos when posting techniques.

She was a genius among geniuses, and also had incredible talent for writing, so there were no problems.

“Ah… I want to get married.”

Ash muttered as she scratched her firm abs.

Although she had long passed the ideal age, she did not give up.

If a challenger appeared, she was willing to accept him.

She was secluded, so the empire simply did not know.

The gallery was her window to the world, so she was unaware of many things.

‘Will this one be strong?’

While browsing the gallery, promising people or those who talked about strength always appeared.

She even wanted to meet some of them in person, but almost all of them quickly proved to be without foundation.

ㄴFuck, how do you dodge that? Is this a joke?

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) Why wouldn’t you be able to? Flexibility is basic. What a pathetic loudmouth.

ㄴWhat a direct hit hahaha

More or less like that.

Most theories were garbage. Or incomplete.

But not everyone was an idiot.

There was one name that caught her attention.

‘How strong will this Heavenly Demon be?’

Heavenly Demon, the one who posted garbage as if it were diarrhea.

Most saw her as just another user.

Ash thought so too at first.

But from time to time, among her posts, there were phrases deeply related to martial arts.

The others mocked her.

Ash did not.

In fact, she hated her more than anyone.

‘Because of this bastard I became even stronger……’

A genius recognizes another genius.

Heavenly Demon’s texts affected Ash considerably.

It was like a forced injection of enlightenment.

Every time she read her posts, the mana in her body increased visibly.

It was not once or twice.

At first she thought it was coincidence, but after it happened several times, she understood.

That woman was distributing her enlightenment without thinking.

The funny thing was that most did not realize her true value.

‘From the way she speaks, she must surely be a woman……’

If she were a man, she would have gone to find him by force.

With that level of enlightenment, she had to be absurdly strong.

But she referred to herself as this and from her way of speaking it was obvious.

Besides, she seemed quite older.

‘……I’m not one to talk.’

Ash also distributed fencing knowledge without holding anything back.

Originally, fencing was extremely closed off.

But by spreading easy-to-learn techniques, everyone improved.

The country that benefited the most was the empire’s eternal rival the Kingdom of Iris.

Originally, Iris was a country where mages surpassed knights, but thanks to Ash’s “trolling,” they reached the average.

— Bring this SwordTasteMaster immediately!

— Your Majesty, it is not possible to identify the real identity of gallery users.

— I… ii…! Agh…!

— Y-Your Majesty!

The emperor of the empire exploded in rage, but there was no one to catch.

That was one of the reasons Ash left her position as captain of the guard.

She could not do anything without raising suspicion.

If any problem arose, the emperor would have to come personally, so Ash was able to enjoy a peaceful life.

Title) Heavenly Demon is a god
WildGrills

(Photo of dead dogs on the ground and a sword firmly gripped)

This sword is invincible.

“Hm?”

She was browsing the gallery secretly from her mother when an interesting nickname appeared.

The guy who claimed to have woken up in a forest.

She thought it was just another garbage post.

But when he obtained an herb called something like New Moon Herb, the gallery became chaotic.

Since then, she paid him some attention.

‘Is that herb that good?’

To clarify Ash did not know what the New Moon Herb was.

Her body did not need elixirs.

Then he ran into some mad dogs the size of a bull, and she thought he was done for but he killed two.

‘The cut…… is too clean.’

Ash frowned with interest.

Behind the round glasses, her blue eyes shone.

Even in the photo, the cut was perfect.

No matter how good a sword is, most cannot even cut tofu straight.

There was no vibration.

He claimed to be a normal civilian, which made it even more interesting.

And above all…

ㄴSwordTasteMaster) If you have nothing to do, would you be interested in learning fencing? You seem to have talent.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Idiot! I will train this one personally! Who do you think you are?

Heavenly Demon was showing interest.

That Heavenly Demon who only posted garbage!

She was protecting him as if saying do not touch him, I already marked him.

Without realizing that this only drew more attention.

‘But what’s wrong with this woman?’

Ash smiled, baring her teeth.

That only made her want to bother her more.

For someone so carefree to react like that was too tempting.

Besides, it was convenient to learn more about WildGrills.

Ash waited for the next post.

Title) I found a cave, should I go in?
WildGrills

(Photo of the dark entrance of a cave)

It’s getting dark and I need a place to rest. Should I go in? What if there’s a bear?

ㄴYou’d better hope it’s a bear, it could be a dungeon hahaha

ㄴWildGrills) And what comes out in a dungeon?

ㄴNo idea haha

ㄴWildGrills) Son of a bitch

ㄴA real-life lootbox hahaha

At first she thought it was an act.

But it seemed he was really surviving in the wild.

There were adventurers who posted things like that, but none went so bare.

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) If there’s no torch, it’s not a dungeon. Even so, just in case, throw a stone.

ㄴWildGrills) What if a monster comes out?

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Then you fight!

ㄴWildGrills) The moderator is strong and talks without thinking;; I’ll try

Five minutes later.

Title) This cave is mine now
WildGrills

(Photo of the comfortable interior of the cave and a thumbs up)

Now I can use it however I want.

ㄴWasn’t there anyone?

ㄴWildGrills) Yes, it’s empty, but a bit damp

ㄴHeroDontThrowAway) Be careful! The owner might come back later

ㄴWildGrills) I’m tired, I’m going to sleep

Apparently he managed to get a place to spend at least one day.

Ash smiled.

It was curiously entertaining.

Much more than watching repetitive garbage all day.

But if he died, nothing would matter.

Later she would make him read her own posts.

‘What will he need to survive?’

She did not know.

If WildGrills needed something, she would give it to him then.

After that, he did not post again, as if he had truly fallen asleep.

Ash continued browsing the gallery.

For WildGrills it was night, but in the empire it was still day.

Plenty of time.

When the sun was already setting and it was almost night…

[Someone help me. Urgent.]

“Huh?”

A post from WildGrills.

Just the title was already a bad sign.

Ash opened the top post.

“Hieek!?”

And she got a tremendous scare.

***

Title) Someone help me. Urgent.

(Photo of the right arm with multiple bleeding holes)

(Photo of the mad dog boss dead, with its neck cut)

Fuck, this bastard was the boss. The cave was his. I’m losing a lot of blood, can someone help?

WildGrills’s right arm was destroyed.

And not a little the bone was exposed.

More than infection, the problem was massive hemorrhage.

ㄴAh fuck, put a content warning

ㄴWildGrills) Fuck, I’m dying and you say that shit

ㄴAnd what about me? Haha

ㄴBut this is serious, right?

A critical situation had erupted.