Turning Chapter 1139

Chapter 1139

"-Kiaaaaa!"

The monster that came down last after holding out to the end was nearly twice the size of the other individuals. Highly excited as if it had smelled the blood of its kind rising from the ground, it rushed at Nathan Zuckerman in one breath, unlike before.

"Sir Zuckerman!"

"Senior Nathan!"

The watching knights shouted in their own ways, but Nathan himself wasn't surprised at all. He faced the monster with its mouth wide open, loosely holding his sword dripping with the monsters' black blood.

At the moment when it looked like the monster would bite off Nathan Zuckerman's head.

The knights saw a blue light flash in the blink of an eye.

"---!"

The light that pierced straight through from the monster's mouth to its back rose unhindered into the clear sky, drawing a straight pillar.

It looked not like a sword but like a spear so long and huge that it could never be wielded by human power. That spear silently and smoothly cut the pierced monster from top to bottom, then faded away.

A moment later, black blood and bodily fluids burst out with a loud noise from the pierced monster's mouth and the back of its head. The huge body split in two and collapsed in front of Nathan Zuckerman.

Thud. A ground tremor, much less impressive than before, shook their feet.

The knights only came to their senses when Nathan Zuckerman shook his sword and sheathed it, turning around.

"Ah...!"

The wonderful knight from stories everyone grows up hearing in childhood.

The very image of a knight who could cut anything with just one sword and feared no enemy was alive and breathing before their eyes. Who in the world wouldn't be excited seeing that?

They all rushed to surround Nathan Zuckerman. However, no one dared to open their mouths easily. As fellow knights of the same order, they had long known that Nathan's skills were extraordinarily excellent, but it was the first time they truly realized he possessed such overwhelming and tremendous power.

The dimension of the emotion they felt now, shocked, was different from the vague surprise and pride they had felt when they learned he had been recognized as a swordmaster by the Emperor.

What moved the knights who were hesitating between emotion, shock, and a newfound unfamiliarity that made it difficult to approach, was a single word from Nathan Zuckerman himself.

"Is anyone injured?"

It was what he always said when a battle ended. At his utterly calm tone even while soaked in black blood, the knights momentarily almost forgot even the shock they had just felt and reflexively checked their own bodies.

"Uh, um. W-we're fine."

"No one is injur... No, no one!"

"Good. Then gather the by-products, mark them, and come back."

It was a very Peletta Knights-like statement, where collecting monster by-products that could be sold was more important than anything. The knights' gazes unconsciously turned to the monster corpses strewn around, then back.

"Gather the by-products... you say? After cutting them all in half?"

"We still need to gather what we can. Since these are creatures we've never seen before, there might be something good."

"That's true, but."

"Also collect samples to deliver to Lady Hellem. She'll like that."

"Of course we would do that without you telling us..."

The knights who had been speaking as usual suddenly looked at each other blankly as if by agreement. After a moment, they let out short breaths and then burst into laughter, holding their stomachs, without anyone leading.

"...Hahaha!"

"Uhuhuhuhu."

"What's this. We were so nervous for nothing."

They seemed to realize anew that the person before them was not an unfamiliar swordmaster, but the 'Nathan Zuckerman' they had been with all along. It was the moment when the overwhelming battle that had seemed unreal even while seeing it with their own eyes finally felt real.

"Thank you, Sir Zuckerman! Thanks to you, no one was injured!"

"I'm grateful too! I owe you my life once again this time!"

The atmosphere melted gently like snow in an instant. Amidst the knights whose tension had eased and who were full of laughter, Nathan Zuckerman quietly turned his head towards somewhere.

It was none other than the direction where Peletta Castle would be.

'The number of monsters initially identified was seventeen. But there are sixteen corpses here.'

What that meant was simple. One had not come down to the basin and had escaped somewhere.

'Probably... it went towards where the light that attacked them came from.'

It wasn't surprising. Since monsters can't all be considered the same even if they're the same species, one might not have been blinded by the light.

'It might have already reached the castle.'

Being winged, it could go much faster than riding a horse. However, Nathan Zuckerman neither bothered to tell the knights about this fact, nor felt impatient to chase after it even now.

What need was there to worry when he knew who was guarding that castle?

"Sir Zuckerman! These creatures' claws are extremely hard and difficult to dismantle! Please help us!"

Nathan Zuckerman lowered his gaze again. He walked unhesitatingly towards where the knights were. There was no worry or lingering attachment on his back.

***

At the same time, at the eastern tower of Peletta Castle.

The Northern Branch Cavalry members were lying down, panting heavily, drenched in sweat.

"Is... is it all over now?"

"We don't need to make more light... right?"

Among them, the only person standing without showing any signs of fatigue, Yuder Aile, looked over the members and clicked his tongue softly inside.

'To be exhausted already from just this much.'

Still, it was impressive that they had endured this far, considering they were doing something for the first time and must have been tense. Power used in a tense state was several times harder to control than usual. Naturally, stamina would be consumed faster.

Yuder nodded towards those who were breathing heavily as if dying.

"That's enough. The battle over there should be finished now, so rest."

"Ah...! Thank goodness."

The members all collapsed on the tower floor. They looked at each other's faces, completely messed up and soaked, and grinned.

"I thought I was going to die from tension, worried the bead might burst in the middle."

"Hey! I thought I was going blind several times because of your light. Can't you control it properly?"

"I really thought we might not be able to make such a thing when I first heard Yuder's words..."

When Yuder said he would combine their abilities to create and shoot light beads, no one confidently guaranteed success. It was natural since it was something they had never done before.

Nevertheless, what made them take on the challenge was their faith in Yuder Aile.

If he said it could be done, then it could be done.

Because he had succeeded in seemingly impossible tasks several times before, when he said 'it's certainly possible', the members tried without complaint and created a proper bead on the first try without practice.

They thought they would never forget the sight of the light bead they had created flying on an arrow, and the scene of it bursting brilliantly, dyeing the entire sky.

"I really couldn't imagine that the explosive power could make even the fragments keep bursting like that...?"

"Don't even mention it. I couldn't believe it even as I was making it explode!"

"Ha... This is definitely something other guys could never do."

"Thinking about how envious everyone else would be if they heard about this... feels great."

"Hehe, hihihit."

The Northern Branch members who had secretly envied the legendary achievements of their fellow members dispatched to the South became very happy with what they had accomplished.

"Once Yuder leaves, we probably won't be able to use this amazing finishing move twice... but that's okay."

"Why do you think you can't use it?"

"Huh?"

Isias, who had been muttering happily, turned her gaze in surprise at Yuder Aile's low voice.

"Well... because there's no one else among us who can accurately shoot arrows far away using wind like you...?"

Yuder opened his mouth, looking around at his five companions.

"I'm disappointed. You haven't already forgotten who your leader is who's not here, have you?"

"Uh..."

The five people simultaneously recalled their leader who had gone to the capital leading the new recruits, another Northern Branch member.

"...Phieny!"

"Ah right! We have Phieny!"

Phieny Moffle. If she, an awakener who could shoot wind arrows, were with them, there would be no problem recreating the same type of combined attack, even if not at the same level of power as just now.

The members' faces brightened instantly.

"That's right! When Phieny comes back, we'll practice this again!"

"If we can use this freely, our branch could become the best!"

Yuder nodded slightly as he watched the enthusiastic members. They seemed to have realized exactly what Yuder had hoped for.

'If they weren't in a tense state, they could easily endure about twice as much as now, so with practice, they'll improve much more.'

Well, time would solve that in the future.

'Anyway...'

"It seems I need to shoot the arrow one more time."

"Huh?"