Chapter 106: Engagement Ceremony (1)
GTsL8Giants.VzR00PE
GU3These entities were one of the strongest demi-humans, that would be at least semi-Grade 1 as soon as they became an adult. Even though they weren’t as intelligent as humans, their innate physical capabilities and magic resistance were incredibly high and were difficult foes for both knights and mages.fMxwJas
eVk9Up7Fifty giants. Each and every one of them was semi-Grade 1 or above, and the captain was a monster who was definitely of semi-Unique Grade.X7y
wNNCZFWhile holding off against the bombardment of large-scale spells from the Unique Grade demi-human, Marie, the captain relied on tools to also somewhat fend off Hua Ran’s fists.oMtp
xmCD7u– Slam!JI5xQ
TwKuHP“Kuhuk…!”2IXb
OFjT9The giant fell back after allowing a fist from Hua Ran to its jaws. After readjusting its jaws back into place, the giant let out an infuriated roar.CQrq
ztN“…”WZQ2k
tENXIt was rare for Hua Ran to see enemies that survived after receiving a direct hit from her. She even wondered if she unconsciously held herself back or something.ZAaap7P
E0pQHWhile Hua Ran was gathering the eyes of the giants, Marie activated a grand spell to support her from the back. Countless arrows appeared in the air, and they were so densely packed that it looked like each of the giants would have to tank a few dozen of arrows with their bodies.D2wC
AHCE“Kuum…!”Q2dO9Kz
TGunThe giants relied on their innate magic resistance, shields, and the corpses of their fallen comrades to block the downpour of arrows.tRd9dc
akSIy“Die!”gp7Q
O1qIt was then. One of the giants threw a harpoon at Marie without caring about the arrows landing on its body.73HL
CJe8jN– Kwang!QtHde6
xtijkkDThe harpoon flew forward, leaving behind a terrifying aftershock in its trajectory.Rkgtl
OGLx1OH“Woof!”2Az
ztEvDoggo jumped towards the flying harpoon. He crashed into the harpoon and flew it away.Umut
mTWZN0D“Huu… It’s not easy. One or two would have been alright but it’s my first time going against so many of them at once.”jrP0
KZtIoMarie, Hua Ran, and Doggo still couldn’t break through the wall of giants.7l4Vt8
bo0TIt had already been 5 minutes since Korin had been dragged away by the oxen monster. The consecutive deafening roars had died down but that made the girls even more worried than before.44F
yJrvg3CThey were incredibly frustrated, and decided to break through even if it meant pushing themselves.q5mq
XiP“Hua Ran. Doggo and I will create a path… You…”CUu
AtJnGOOOOOOO—!!!!VflMnre
SiFxEThat was when everyone in the area noticed the appearance of something foreign.dLp
sLnf1TAn intense heat was threatening to melt their backs, and a dazzling light was breaking through the shadows of the Solar Eclipse.far9v
8Dh7IThe overwhelming presence of that thing made everyone turn around.P83
boARK2G“…Hot.”8nN
6s55QF“Wahh…”d3msOe
vjYEFvEven the living jiangshi with an Unbreakable Vajra Body was affected by the heat while the vampire, who should have overcome her weakness to sunlight, instinctively flinched from that radiant light.5GGUAQ
JqA9“This…”MSEreu
GsW3kIn the blink of an eye, the ground started to boil and evaporate, and the giants were appalled by seeing the light and heat of the great Sun.boxcRU
KMco4That was the pinnacle of untouchable greatness. Walking out of the crumbling and half-demolished castle of giants was the Champion of the Sun.UZJGj
I4Q7HzVLike a god descending onto the ground, the knight walked with the Sun manifested behind his back, which entranced the giants, let alone the jiangshi and the vampire.KgKiVEF
byXD“Ughh… Ooohhhh…”sVEU
MAtlupVThere was no mistaking it. That was the materialization of the myth and stories told down to the giants from times immemorial; and was the fundamental reason why they were locked up in the sky.F3BQ
NUzpHBGThat was the proof of the magnificent Divinity belonging to the god, Airgetlam; the light which had been shining upon Paradise a long time ago.Uu7gyFY
1FRkWf7The captain of the giants fell on its knees.qIMM1
d54E2“B, boss!”EmKi8
mpLE“That… is the divinity of the Sun. We cannot fight against it.”kObLo1s
LmkUThe scene of the omnipotent being cleansing the world of its former wickedness was deeply engraved into their blood.Blpuc8U
cd26FT2Despite the humiliation and their hatred, they couldn’t help but bow before the Sun. Feeling the humiliating memory rising up inside its blood, the boss of the giants obeyed just like its forefathers.9gvb
1VQJcs8Following that, the rest of the giants kneeled at the same time. They trembled in fear, watching the Sun approaching them.EIR3r9X
YNtzAfter putting the Sun in front of the giants to intimidate them, Korin leisurely walked towards the girls while locking his hands behind his back.exvYbq
jBlZB“Korin!”wCaN78
TnS9g“…You.”e39Fxpd
OZ7QMarie dashed forward and gave him a hug, but Hua Ran didn’t tell him she was worried because she was too embarrassed to say that.TAWUt
tbCubEK“Why are you in tatters again!? Every! Single time!”yzTx
BJL“Are you guys alright?”dAo
aYEl“Un… But what happened to you, Korin? And what is that thing that looks like the Sun?”2SKq
5HdXXqh“It’s a long story. Let’s… go down first.”AsI7oEF
Squr“Okay okay…!”HQI3
vDkW9kbThey were done with everything they had to do on the floating island. All that was left was to go back.rOioYx
nt7“What about the giants?”KXp9
DmW“They won’t be able to attack us as long as the Sun is here. It’s linked to their racial trauma.”sAiu
aHcjfV– Pajijik!b8dl1y
enHfoIt was then. As soon as he said that, the Sun that had been threatening the giants got extinguished.iS0Sk
q1eHjTU“…”pUe75Sr
TRs5jR“…”rSHv
mFk“Huu…”Ewq
phUBovX“Korin? Umm…”9Ll
4IsgLx0“Aiya~. That was a lot earlier than I thought.”8ZZCpO1
IrQUvNzIn the last iteration, there was a time when Korin had acquired the power of the Sun after overcoming it in a battle, and the same thing had happened back then.rtWwh
uyuThis item was limited to boss fights. It was like a finisher attack that couldn’t be activated for long even with the ridiculous mana regeneration ability giving him a lot more mana than a normal player.mVUN
ywT“…Should we kill him?”wQdxrsB
Vp2HeAs expected, the giants started a frightening discussion as soon as the Sun disappeared.0X8xSW
Qfa3“Yeah. Let’s go.”3GQx
VbxWyM6“Now’s the chance. We have to kill him now.”DOTz
YbsDj“K, Korin?”BPiGdoM
I1ot4fu“Run!”4cbCWly
hyuvThey were quick at coming to a decision. Korin and the rest of his group immediately started sprinting to the oak tree that Dumnorix and Dun Scaith had used to climb up! They had to get down first and cut down the oak trees.glbfB
7aNt‘Hopefully we’ll be able to make it.’OIWTrd
nv1Unless they were to jump down the oak tree, there was no guarantee that they would be able to run faster than the giants. Hua Ran and Marie might be able to outrun the giants, but there were two injured people on their side and Korin wasn’t well off either.oLa
K5VIt was when they were desperately running to the tree.V4i
yKp“Hoho. Looks like this old man was a bit late to the party.”amI92C
8lD2h————?5Xj
3T2hSEveryone halted their feet. For some reason, the group of giants, which weighed more than a thousand tonnes in total, couldn’t move their feet.UQs1Fvy
HoxDTheir eyes turned towards one person.vCr
y3EHis unkempt hair was extremely messy, and his martial uniform was so rugged that he appeared like a savage man living in the wild.qRZ4pdc
ql2dhAXThe strange old swordsman was carrying a massive sword that was much longer than his own height in his hand. The Twin Dragon Blades, that he had retrieved before anyone realized, was hanging on his waist along with two other demonic swords.PNST1np
pQQ“…Don’t you think you are a bit too late, sir?”uDVb
haDJwf“It was not easy climbing a tree with this old body of mine.”TqIk
RdHszSword Emperor, Garrand Arden.XG5LoHH
8KjmThe previous head of the Arden Family; the one sitting at the pinnacle of the generation.5mH9h
hhq“It had quite a nice echo, the fight between my granddaughter and the Sword Fiend.”brUZ
Yjc97ZFHe hadn’t witnessed the life-and-death fight between Alicia and the Sword Fiend, but just from hearing the echoes of the fight, he knew what kind of battle the two had gone through.7OUu
bNR“Go, young man. I shall protect my granddaughter and will protect you as well while I am it.”5A0Q
rhuS“Sure. Good luck.”clU
gEAKorin accepted his help without any hesitation and started climbing down the oak tree.QPlaVO
nIlQThe giants couldn’t do anything but blankly stand there watching them leave. They instinctively realized that the old monster in front of them wouldn’t let them go past him.hCne
JkyRiYb“A shame that I missed that fabulous sight. But I guess witnessing a world higher than Mt. Tai is worth the trouble.”p2pVR
jNNMVAfter a discussion, the giants came to a decision. Whoever it was that was trying to stop them didn’t matter. They had finally been freed from the restrictions of the Sun and were eager to advance into the wider world beneath.4Fry
byKJT5That was why they slowly approached the one in front of them, despite the alarm bells of their instincts. The only future they could imagine was defeat but the slim chance that they might be able to come out on top pushed their feet further toward their aspiration for freedom.ojevGN
XbU9“So. Although the Sword Fiend was still a bit inexperienced… she killed him, huh.”kQSLg6V
jxtTThe old man didn’t move, nor did the 5-meter-long greatsword he was holding with one of his hands. As if the giants in front of him weren’t even there, Garrand remained there looking at the traces of the fight between the two swordsmen.1XXNkKV
xF7M8aF“Guhaha. Guhahahaha…!”CxTBU
hpRtGjMHe let out a hearty laughter which made the giants flinch. His laugh soon turned into an explosive laughter of utmost joy.HhvrK
vD7nZV“I have surely slayed more than a hundred thousand beasts! Protected lands going far beyond the horizon! Saved millions of humans!fqzV
9Ev“Through all those battles, I had never ever seen anyone use the Heavenly Sword and yet here I am, seeing two of them in one day!jBA2z
lYnV6“Right. So my granddaughter was the one who survived, huh. Very good. Very good indeed…! Finally, a swordsman who can stand with me shoulder-to-shoulder has been born from my bloodline. How can this not be a pleasant surprise!”s3mn
x0A4CHis remarks were followed by a childish laughter that didn’t suit his age. None of the ones present could guess the types of emotions embedded in his rejoice.k0nkTxR
zT5x“Go away you peasants. The path behind me is the staircase of the young ones heading to the future. How dare you filthy demons try to trespass with your dirty feet?”QGs
in3XJRThe Sword Emperor’s arrogant declaration was met with a strong retaliation from the giants.LS2vY
rpo“I see. If you so desire to die to my sword… I will not stop you. Try your best though. I hope you can last half an hour.”3AXjKJ
b0AThe mountain-crushing greatsword slashed through the air. It destroyed the ground and left a wound on the clouds.CYDuP5
6LIFVK1With that came the end of the story of the floating island.gTpheM9
P5heczThe desperate struggles of the unrelenting residents would soon breathe its last and the old man would leisurely climb down the tree…VWjH0v
1kM“Senior. Cut the tree down please.”ZwLMv3
0yn“N, nn? Korin… Isn’t there someone still up there?”niMr0x
idxksW0“It’s fine. It’s fine. He’s totally useless and beyond help. Let him stay up there for about a year.”RMJ
eP4“Umm… If you say so.”BJzB0
QbgLI– Kugugugugung! Kwang!ezy
CInPwUnfortunately, not everything in the world had an elegant ending that some people might hope for.bQcZMBo
tqQj****TmJ
SksQMoonlight shone gently through the leaves as Alicia slowly opened her eyes.kTOm1m
49LobKF“Ughh…”7zn5yk7
PtKHer entire body was in pain as if all of her bones had been crushed. The fact that she was alive like this… probably meant that she had returned alive from the floating island.hbfumk
LJdNEQ“Sister…”0b4Gz0H
khEgAfter coming to herself, she started wandering through the village of druids, looking for her older sister from a different mother who had blocked the blades of the Sword Fiend with her body to save her.QHJw8lS
AAy3OpJThat was when she came across someone else.6o3uTse
wU2“Ah…”5xRO
klllvFcOn top of a large and ancient tree in the middle of the city of trees, a boy was gazing down at the world with a wide smile on his face.IWmqJK
JhB7She started climbing the tree to get to the boy, who casually asked a question after noticing her presence.cgdceVT
FjFVKJ“Are you feeling alright?”Wmv34H
UlMsFyg“No. Not really.”EVN1
fj1G“Same here.”GjwrBIP
lzWIAlicia had been looking only at the Sword Fiend and missed Korin’s fight despite it happening right in front of her, but could still assume that Korin must have had a hard fight as well.EPVe7
cUe1M5“Looks like we both did okay,” said Alicia.tMkC
oRJ30IV“We did great. Ugh…”zeo
plIMWaT“Aht. Are you oka… Uahkk!”MUGpR
D5sh1xShe tried to support Korin, who was falling to the side, but ended up being pushed back by his weight. She was still standing on her feet, but was barely holding on.AnQMxo
NWnQH“Y, you’re heavy.”PZUBI93
yRewef“I’m dead tired…”mkeIW0
rX6RpOn top of the moonlit tree, the boy and the girl supported each other to finally return to their original positions.Ze0
KpJ6qyt“Miss Lunia should be healed back up very soon. She’s a strong person and she also had an elixir so she should be okay.”OxzmDh
ZFv“Haa… that’s good.”qzgb0q
8Qla“Everything’s fine.”0A17
5eFShWith this, Alicia realized firsthand just how dangerous and scary a life-and-death battle was. Seeing the unperturbed Korin, she wondered how many of these battles he must have gone through.dVOezPO
PaOHkPHow big was the burden on his wide shoulders? All of his enemies were wicked and evil, and the weight weighing down on the shoulders of the boy her age appeared to be ridiculously heavy.7XATWIV
iMz“What about you?” he asked.CBAoYKe
dm4X“Umm…”vDg0GC5
VhZAlicia nervously explained everything she went through.Xhu3O
PIKShe talked about how she felt joy at the fight against the Sword Fiend, as well as how she swallowed the monster as a sacrifice. She also talked about the strange experience of crossing the Domain inside the Domain.BVZ3l
fI1V“Must have been rough.”0ePgzqZ
GF7CCg“…I’m scared of me as a person.”b5g5sv8
XTdWuhkAlicia was a civilized human. She knew that cutting people was wrong. She also knew that smiling while cutting people was even more wrong.NfMAYZ
ocrctfAfter noticing her ‘true nature’, she had been busy trying to suppress and turn away from it.Eek
vx22Bu6But the fight against the Sword Fiend ended up releasing the beast lying dormant inside her. She was made to face her true nature and her instincts.RD9CxZW
GB4“I wanted to be normal though…”eCL0
g6IHearing her grumble about her wish to be normal, Korin scratched his cheek and opened his mouth with a nonchalant voice, as if her concerns were unwarranted.3DRNw
iCnm“There are a bunch of strange people in the world. What is important is the choice you make.”zJcs9N1
tUjQvD“But…”KXYfrYp
GDN“Have a look at Senior Marie and Hua Ran. There are plenty of people that say they are dangerous, but what have they done wrong?”TsY1TN
5tqa4cl“But… it’s true that I get bewitched by the sword, and the act of cutting people.”22p8xp
W7yopWm“And what’s wrong with that?”dLOk
NemPdVF“Sorry?”vpA7pA
3tY“Your mind and your conviction are much more important. You need to have more pride in the power you have.”Nq5
OH3KWhile aligning his hand with hers, Korin gave her a smile.GpiE
a1nno“If you really can’t handle it, you have me by your side. I can listen to you if you have concerns, and if you can’t fall asleep, we can have a little chat until you do. And if you’re feeling down, we can go grab some meat.”0t8YAyR
byPfH“Haha…”lFNST7
zWexDespite the playfulness of his tone of voice, the firm grip of his large hands was so reassuring to the girl that it was even hard to believe.TapVWXo
GqkS“Actually, when I first came to the Academy, I was planning on enjoying my campus life.”rzgTRqY
Yek“You looked like it.”q6S4
N5fr“But I have no time for that when I’m going around with you, Mr. Korin.”j2qvz1L
jm4“I’m sorry.”7bFc9J
Gf3PL“Nn… I wanted to pull an all-nighter playing around, take a nap during lessons, spend time on the roof for no reason, think about whether I should have tonkatsu or udon… Or you know, go to the city on the weekends, buy snacks, watch the recent shows, go shopping, have desserts at a nice cafe and go on a walk. All those normal things.”JvUw
pBET“I can do that with you.”kNc
J02“Hehe… That sounds good.”sJTXeZ
MZwPtKorin wasn’t sure why she was so happy, but she leaned her head on his shoulder with a bright smile on her face.leL9J
SK7HZ“It’ll be… very fun if we do that together.”wx5Gs3
LPyvw“Yeah.”anGOxw
nxYN“It’s a promise okay? I’m… a strange person, so you need to look after me. You never know what will happen…”DiaK
j24XHc“You’ll handle it well. I know it.”Gmy9
vz6“Hmph… You’re all talk every time.”SWcS
fjKabve“If you can’t trust yourself, trust me. I can assure you. You won’t go the wrong way, and you’ll do everything fine. Everything will be okay.”y9EOIJV
sdzm6“Alright… I trust you.”i7tl
DBgThe night went on.HK7L
wHqDrRealizing that the boy’s shoulders were very hard and wide, Alicia felt good, because it felt like she had gotten herself a very reliable ally.OZOQlUf
FqjWhile hoping… that he wouldn’t pick up her heartbeat that was going on a rampage for some reason, she continued watching the stars with him over the night.dN6
Yn34………zMu
CENjr……GWcl
hIIFAjt…iAiN
HfWv“Ah.”mNM
8lFVf4bThat was when she suddenly remembered something.4IR12zy
VLOqD4W‘It’s going to be… the engagement ceremony of Sister and Mr. Korin soon.’HrpV
y0BAAfter remembering that, she felt strange again.Z1g
VJzCCgTIt was a very unpleasant and annoying emotion. The identity of that emotion which tended to climb up time after time was…FCAXDB
jYt8J“Aht. Ahh…”WRJL
PeFShe felt goosebumps appearing on her skin.cQZsT
rKitThe scenes that she had seen during her illusion soared back up in piles.DHZZr6p
XAbsrYQAlthough the great turmoil of Findias was over, not everything was over just yet.p1rslD7
6BGEktAn earthquake was bound to be followed with an aftermath, and the great turmoil of the winter holiday was still just around the corner.mFXAFU
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