Mobuseka Volume 13 Chapter 10

This is MTL. So, I cannot guarantee that the translation 100% contextually accurate or appropriate.

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Chapter 10 "The Master Swordsman of the Kingdom"

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Part 1

The sky of the battlefield where the Empire and Kingdom armies fight.

The beautiful blue sky was stained black by the smoke from the explosion.

In the midst of the battlefield, where both armies were fighting for their lives, the laughter of a single magic knight echoed.

"Yes, this is the fiftieth one. Weak, too weak. They make me laugh when they say they're serious about this."

Leenhardt, clad in magic armor, was fighting with two sabers.

The sabers were too large to wield with one hand, but Leenhardt's magic armor handled them with ease.

Instead of handling the sabers by brute force, he wields it with skill and fluidity.

Then, the armors of the kingdom's army around him was easily cut to pieces.

Lienhardt's magic armor spread its wings and moved swiftly across the battlefield in the wind.

Some armors appear to run away from the sheer strength of the armor.

"H-Help—"

"You can't show your back to the enemy. It's like asking them to kill you."

He attacked the fleeing armors and thrust his saber into their back.

The sight of Leenhardt enjoying the fight made him look as if he was hunting alone.

In fact, he probably feels like he is on the hunt.

"It's no fun unless there's someone stronger."

Even though the Empire's forces were gaining the upper hand in the battle, the performance of the Magic Knights stood out.

The performance of the top ranks was particularly impressive, forcing the kingdom's army into a difficult position.

"Oya?"

Perhaps judging Leenhardt to be a threat, the old human's Destroyer (ship) was closing in.

They are firing optical weapons and launching drones to surround Leenhardt.

He probably intends to slap the sack in the corral, but Lienhardt doesn't panic.

"Do you have any idea how to resist?"

Leenhardt's magic armor spread its demonic wings wide.

The wings catch the wind and as they flap, he approaches the Destroyer at incredible speed.

Leenhardt swung his saber and a slash flew from the blade and sliced through the Destroyer.

The slashed Destroyer explodes.

"Haha! Isn't it too weak?"

Leenhardt laughed as he watched the destroyer explode and sink.

The sight of him enjoying the battlefield with all his heart terrified the kingdom's army.

Even his allies reacted with a slight drawback to Leenhardt's fighting style.

"That's the youngest Magic Knight!"

"The empire's genius swordsman and current sword saint, huh"

"Is he enjoying the war?"

Leenhardt ignores the voices of his allies and moves his gaze to look for his next prey.

"Now, where is my next prey? If possible, I'd like to fight the Kingdom's Sword Saint or the Fiendish Knight, who is my big favorite."

All Leenhardt wanted was to fight the enemy heroes.

He loved to fight and win against the strong.

Like an innocent child, he seeks the strong on the battlefield.

Then Leenhardt was suddenly approached by the armors of the kingdom's army.

"I'm not going to let you run wild any more!"

The voice coming from the external microphone seems to be a middle-aged knight.

In Leenhardt's judgment, he is an experienced knight with a lot of experience in the field.

The armors he is leading also look like veterans of many battles.

Most of all, he liked the guts they had to come at him.

"There are still some lively people left."

The armors of the oncoming enemies, they had scratches that suggested they had fought their way here.

Judging from the situation, it seemed that a lot of his allies had been defeated.

This knight is strong, Leenhardt's senses tell him.

But it was not to Leenhardt's liking.

"But you have no sense of how to fight. Is this some kind of outdated chivalry? You should consider the difference in ability before charging in like a fool."

Leenhardt approached the enemy machine rapidly and kicked him in the head.

"Guh!?"

After kicking away the armor flying in the lead, the others followed behind.

"Barkas-sama!"

They must have been his retainers.

Leenhardt's magic equipment wields his saber as he watches the beautiful master-servant relationship.

"Aha!"

Vassals who tried to help Barkas were cut to pieces by Leenhardt and fell.

" How dare you, to my friends!"

When a furious Barkas slashed at him, he parried the blow with his saber.

"It's your own fault if you die at this level. Now, you should just disap——"

As he was about to finish him off, he heard a loud explosion from behind him.

"What is it?"

Leenhardt slashed off both arms of the armor that Barkas was riding in order to turn around.

As it was, he thrust the blade into the cockpit, but his aim was slightly off as he turned around.

The side of the cockpit was pierced, and Barkas was left skewered and unable to move.

"Kuh! What a guy."

Ignoring the rampaging Barkas's armor, Leenhardt looked at Arcadia.

Something was charging into Arcadia and smoke was rising from it.

"Did they break through that Arcadia shield?"

The magic knights approach the surprised Leenhardt.

"Leenhardt-sama! His Majesty Moritz has ordered us to deal with the enemy who has invaded the interior of Arcadia!"

When it came to the Emperor's orders, Leenhardt had no choice but to obey.

When he pulls his sword out of the rampaging enemy's armor, Barkas' armor falls.

He pointed the tip of his saber at Barkas' armor.

"You've been buzzing since a while ago."

What was fired from the saber was a bullet made of compressed air.

When it hit Barkas' armor, it was blown away as if it had exploded.

At the end, Barkas's scream can be heard.

"Uooooh! Nix! Leon! Take care——every——"

Uninterested in the exploding, falling armor, Leenhardt spread his magic wings and headed for Arcadia.

Behind him, the Magic Knights followed.

Leenhardt licked his lips and muttered.

"The guys who broke in might be more interesting."

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Part 2

"Did the main body of Arcadia let the enemy in?"

Standing on the deck of the Kingdom's flying battleship, which was ablaze, was a magic knight with flames spewing from the discharge port of a backpack on his back.

Accompanied by many magical knights —— Gunther saw the spectacle of the kingdom's destroyed flying battleships and falling armors all around him.

It was Reimer, another magic knight, who brought the news.

"Apparently the order is to bring back all the Magic Knights."

Since Reimer heard about it through word of mouth, it seems he doesn't have detailed information either.

Gunther frowned as he looked at the Kingdom's army.

"If we'd had a little more time, we could have dealt those kingdom bastards a big blow."

Gunther took off from the deck, followed by his subordinate magic knights.

Reimer follows behind Gunther.

"They say the Fiendish Knight has invaded. If we don't hurry, the headquarters will be destroyed."

Reimer, who was still young, seemed impatient with the situation.

But Gunther doesn't panic.

To his dismay, the only one left in Arcadia is the first seat, Finn.

Although he intends to eventually regain his first-seat position, Gunther recognizes Finn's ability.

"Calm down. Finn is the one protecting Arcadia. His Majesty the Emperor and others will not be defeated so easily"

"A-Aa, right."

"More importantly, what about Hubert?"

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Part 3

Hubert's magic armor was slimmer and taller than the others.

The head is T-shaped, and a disk is attached to the top of the head.

Despite that, Hubert's fighting style placed emphasis on group battles.

"Hubert-sama! The 1st to 3rd platoons have destroyed the enemy's pursuing force!"

"It's a hassle."

An order was given to all the magic knights to return, but Hubert's Magic Knight Corps, which had advanced deep into the enemy lines, was having difficulty returning.

Because if they turn their backs, the kingdom's army will attack them.

If they fight, they can win, but it's too troublesome to ignore.

Additionally, Hubert's Magic Knight Corps consisted of eight platoons made up of three units each.

Hubert's magic knight is highly suited to be a commander.

In order to make the most of his abilities, he was authorized to lead as many as 24 Magic Knights.

One of his subordinates approaches.

"It seems that Gunther-sama returned to Arcadia first."

"I guess he beat me there. This means that Finn or Gunther is going to get the head of the Fiendish Knight."

He laughed lightly, saying that a great achievement had been stolen.

Just then, Reimer's magic armor approached Hubert.

"Oya? Didn't you get back with Gunther?"

"I'm under your command, after all. But if you don't get back soon, Finn's going to take the credit."

"You're right. Let's hurry."

Hubert returned to Arcadia after shaking off the Kingdom's army, but there was something that bothered him a little.

(Finn is there, but he's calling us back——maybe the situation is more dangerous than we thought.)

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Part 4

The passages in Arcadia were wide.

The passageway leading to the power reactor was designed to be wide enough to allow new humans clad in magic armor to pass through.

The ones guarding that passageway were not magic knights, but the Imperial garrison.

Some armors had machine guns and bazookas on their armor, and some had shields.

They had likely been preparing for a battle inside the passage.

"Are there no enemies that can attack with swords? That completely destroys the worldview"

When I muttered something in the cockpit of the Arroganz, Luxion replied seriously.

[I guess the design philosophy is not as chivalrous as in the Kingdom. I judge it to be pragmatic and excellent, but I have mixed feelings when I think of Arcadia and the other magic creatures involved.]

It seems that the Empire's armor was designed to win and not about knighthood like in the Kingdom.

But——.

"But it has nothing to do with us!"

[Yes, Master.]

——Arroganz glided across the floor and severed the shield-wielding enemy with the battle-axe he held in its right hand.

As it is, the rifle in its left hand shoots the armor of the enemy with the firearm.

Although we were hit by some bullets as we pushed forward recklessly, Arroganz's armor repelled all of them.

"This is a special product made by Luxion. ——Don't take it personally."

After taking a quick glance at the enemy machine I had defeated, I moved forward, and Julius' armor approached me from behind.

"Leon, don't get too far ahead!"

"We need to bring down the power reactor of this fortress as soon as possible!"

Our objective is to destroy Arcadia's power reactor.

Arcadia's power reactor produces energy as well as magic elements.

Once the power reactor is destroyed, the production of magic elements cannot take place.

And Arcadia will also cease to function.

I went all the way aboard because there was a higher chance of destroying it that way.

"Luxion, how are the drones doing?"

[We are currently looking for a route to the power reactor while preventing enemy reinforcements. Due to the high concentration of magical elements, radar is unreliable. Please give us a little more time.]

The drones we brought with us are searching the route to the power reactor.

However, since a considerable amount of military forces were stationed within Arcadia, it was not easy to find it.

"It's a place that's like a source of magic elements. It won't be easy to find"

Thanks to the placement of several communication relays during the break-in, data from the drones had been received.

Thanks to it, we are able to communicate, but not enough to find the power reactor.

As she was talking lightly, Luxion's red eyes lit up.

"What's wrong?"

[——One of the drone units has been destroyed. I have verified the last data transmitted. The enemy was a magic knight.]

"Is it a place where the Magic Knights are stationed——"

I decided that if the place was deliberately guarded by magic knights, it was most likely a route that would lead to the power reactor.

"Lead me there."

[This way.]

As Arroganz accelerated, Julius and the others behind me also accelerated.

Julius speaks to me.

"Finn's magic knight drew with Arroganz, right? Are the others equally strong?"

Jilk, perhaps having the same question as Julius, joined the conversation.

"That's a frightening story. I've also strengthened my armor, but I wonder how effective it will be."

Brad seems optimistic.

"There's no need to be scared of someone as strong as Arroganz. Because we have worked so hard to defeat him."

Greg agrees, perhaps because he likes Brad's opinion.

"Right. We will prove that our three years were not in vain!"

To be precise, it wasn't three years.

More importantly, have you been trying your hardest all this time to beat me? Should I say they are gutsy or persistent?

I was surprised that they decided to put up a fight and not give up.

While I was thinking about such pointless things, the drones that were ahead of me were blown away.

The wall was torn to shreds, and it was the Magic Knight who came out of it.

"Fou~und youu~. You guys have some nerve coming all the way out here."

The magic knight, who seemed to be clad in wind, gave off a dangerous vibe.

His voice still has a childish tone to it, but his words and actions seem to underestimate us.

"It's not Finn."

With a sense of relief in my mind, I had Arroganz ready its weapon.

The enemy seems to be excited to see me.

"I didn't expect the Grand Duke himself to come on board? The actions of that rumored Fiendish Knight are truly out of the ordinary! Just as senpai said!"

I was fed up with the innocent, joyful, childlike reaction.

Behind him, two mage knights can be seen, entering through a hole in the slashed wall.

"Three——should we all do it?"

I was going to keep trying to push through with the numbers, but Chris's blue armor came forward.

He gave off an unusually serious atmosphere.

"Leon, sorry, but I want you to leave this place to me."

"What are you talking about? We should all just hit him."

Chris was ready to fight in front of the magic armors that had appeared.

"Can you see the emblem on the armor of the Magic Armor? It's the Sword Saint of the Empire."

An opponent who used a dual-wielding saber style showed interest in Chris.

"He~e, you know me?"

It seems that Chris intends to stay alone to deal with the three magic armors.

"I'm better suited to deal with this guy. Leon, you guys go ahead. Don't waste your time here."

Don't worry about me, just go ahead, huh.

It's like a death flag, isn't it?

Don't think I'll allow you.

"Are you an idiot! It would be better if we all just beat the crap out of them and move on!"

"It's a waste of time. You guys move on while I stay behind."

Chris doesn't seem to be planning on changing his mind.

Even Luxion agrees with Chris' decision.

[Master, let's hurry up.]

"——You fool."

Giving up on persuading him, knowing that it was a waste of time, I muttered bitterly.

Chris, on the contrary, is smiling.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to die here. I'll catch up with you later."

"I'm counting on you, Master Swordsman-sama."

"Aa, you can count on me."

Leaving Chris behind, we moved on.

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Part 5

Before the Empire's Sword Saint, Chris announces his name.

"I am Chris Fia Arkwright."

The magic knight with his saber lowered lazily also identifies himself.

"I'm Leenhardt. By the way, Arkwright was the surname of the Sword Saint, wasn't it?"

"The Sword Saint is my father."

"What, it's the son? I had heard he was a great swordsman"

"He is not here on the battlefield for a reason. I stand here as acting head of the Arkwright family."

The truth is that Chris beat him up in a match, so he couldn't join the war.

There was no need to tell him that, so Chris kept it quiet.

But Leenhardt seems dissatisfied.

"Can I ask you one question?"

"What?"

As Chris readied his weapon, Lienhardt vented his frustration at him.

"Why is your weapon the firearm!?"

Chris is wearing blue armor, but the weapon he is carrying is a firearm.

He carried a submachine gun in his right hand and a Gatling gun in his left.

He carried a container full of bullets in his backpack, and a missile pod was carried on his right shoulder.

Chris, who was supposed to be a master swordsman, was wearing armor designed for long-distance use, armed like a gunpowder magazine.

Chris retorts boldly.

"Because guns are better on the battlefield!"

When he said it as a matter of course, Leenhardt looked disappointed.

He said, sounding genuinely dismayed.

"I was expecting to hear that a swordsman from the kingdom had defeated a black knight, but I'm really dismayed to hear that he's equipped with firearms. Or rather, I wish he wouldn't call himself a swordsman"

Leenhardt held up his saber, and Chris pulled the trigger without question.

"It wasn't me who defeated the Black Knight. It was Leon."

As the Gatling gun fired, wind formed around Lienhardt's magic armor.

The bullet was deflected by the wind and missed Lienhardt.

However, the magic knights behind Leenhardt were caught off guard and took several Gatling gun bullets.

They probably thought that it wouldn't do much damage, but the bullets, which were adjusted for use with magic armor, mercilessly blew the magic knights away.

"Tch, idiots. Did you forget that we were briefed beforehand to be careful?"

Leenhardt clicked his tongue at his allies who were defeated.

Chris continues to fire bullets and missiles at Leenhardt.

"Missiles won't work either, huh."

The bullet was blocked by the wind that protected the magic armor, and the missile was slashed by Leenhardt's saber.

No matter how much he attacks, he cannot inflict a fatal wound.

However, the other magic knights were hit by a missile.

The magic knights are engulfed in the explosion and burned.

Two of his allies were killed, but Leenhardt's reaction was faint.

"A~Ah, they have been defeated. Well, since they die at this level, they don't have the talent as magic knights. I guess it can't be helped if they die."

The words made Chris angry.

"What a cold-hearted guy, to have such a reaction when your ally was killed."

"Ally? I don't care about those guys whose names I don't even know. Even if I knew their names, I wouldn't care. In the first place, I'm only interested in the strong guys. Strong guys are the best. They entertain me and I get the credit for it."

"I don't like it."

Chris uses a Gatling gun.

Firearms have the advantage in narrow passages, but if they get too close, Leenhardt with his saber has the advantage.

To keep Leenhardt from getting too close, he kept up a constant stream of attacks.

Leenhardt is dismayed by a fighting style of Chris.

"It's no good for a master swordsman to use a gun."

"Sorry, but I've given up on the pride of being so obsessed with swords. I was taught that it's foolish to be obsessed with swords on the battlefield."

(If I could beat Leon with something like that, then I wouldn't have any trouble.)

Chris learned a lot from meeting Leon.

One of them is about his own major weaknesses.

Chris, who only uses swords in battle, is extremely vulnerable to enemies at long range.

Still, it didn't matter as long as he got close enough for the sword to reach.

I only needed to master the sword —— That's what he thought, but that day when he dueled with Leon, he realized that his thinking was wrong.

In a duel, a sword would be enough, but on the battlefield, it was fatal.

There is no battlefield where you can always fight with only a sword.

"Then shouldn't you not even call yourself a master swordsman?"

Leenhardt's single hit was so sharp and so talented that even Chris was envious.

When the distance is closed, Leenhardt swings his saber as if dancing.

A wind blade was generated from the slash, and it struck from outside his range.

"So strong!? But!"

Chris acknowledged that Leenhardt's abilities were beyond his own.

Chris, who keeps his distance while throwing his Gatling gun and taking cover, attacks with missiles and submachine guns.

While moving backward and gliding across the floor.

Leenhardt was flying dexterously through the narrow passageway, but he seemed to be having a lot of trouble.

Not only is it difficult to fly, but he seems irritated by being bombarded with bullets and missiles one after another.

Chris purged the missile container he had emptied and threw it at Leenhardt.

Slicing it apart, Leenhardt approaches.

"You can't win with a sword? That's because you're weak. I can tell by the way you fight. You have no sense. It's pitiful that the son of a sword saint has no talent."

Chris was unfazed when Leenhardt provoked him.

Instead, he put on an assertive smile.

"You are wearing magic armor and sending out slashes, can you say that you are fighting purely with your swordsmanship? It seems to me that you are only fighting thanks to the performance of your magic armor."

——He calmly stirred him back.

In the meantime, Chris's aircraft is getting lighter, discarding its armament one after another.

The additional armor is also cut into pieces by Leenhardt's wind blade.

"As I thought, it was a hasty preparation."

He also started practicing how to handle a gun, but he wasn't as good as the other four.

So, rather than aiming and hitting the target, he chose to scatter the pieces and drop the enemy by numbers.

And yet, even with a large amount of ammunition, he cannot defeat Leenhardt.

"I guess I need to keep practicing."

Leenhardt was quietly enraged by Chris' statement that he still had a future ahead of him.

"You don't have to worry about the future, because I'm going to kill you right here."

As he said in a cold voice, Leenhardt's attack, accelerating his magic armor and closing in on Chris at once, chipped away his armor.

As it is, he passes Chris's armor and Leenhardt slows down to look back at him.

"It seems it was shallow. But I'll finish you next time"

Chris grips the control stick and glares at Lienhardt's armor on the monitor.

"——Come!"

Leenhardt's magic equipment, which accelerated at once, was right in front of Chris' eyes.

"This is the end!"

"!"

As soon as the two of them passed each other, Chris's armor stabbed his unsheathed sword into the floor as a walking stick.

The front part of the cockpit had a large crack and pieces of armor were scattered throughout the cockpit.

He was slashed by Lienhardt.

However——.

"A lie. This is a lie."

As Chris breathed painfully, he stood up his armor and looked back.

There, crawling on the ground, was the magic armor of Leenhardt, who had been cut down by Chris as they passed each other.

He threw down his saber and held his abdomen as the liquid poured out.

"Blood, there is blood——in my stomach!? If I don't treat it quickly——Kofuu!"

As they passed each other, Chris swung his sword and sliced through the abdomen of the magic armor.

Chris breathes heavily and adjusts his glasses.

"I never said I threw away my sword. It's your loss for inadvertently jumping into my range."

Leenhardt assumed that Chris would not use his sword and jumped in carelessly.

But even that careless attack would have ended in a slash if it had not been for Chris.

Leenhardt, unable to accept reality, says with tears in his eyes.

"I don't want to die. This is wrong. Because I'm a sword saint. I'm one of the best knights in the empire."

Chris closed his eyes as he stood over Leenhardt, who had stubbornly clung to his sword and underestimated the battlefield.

"There are no absolutes on the battlefield. You who thought you wouldn't die didn't deserve to be here in the first place. ——You're just like the old me."

Chris approached Leenhardt and could tell from his injuries that he was not going to survive.

"I'll make it easy for you now."

After finishing off Leenhardt, Chris's armor sat down on the spot.

Chris clutched his hips with trembling hands.

One of the sharp shards that scattered when he was cut by Leenhardt had pierced through his pilot suit.

"What a mess. I told them I would definitely catch them up —— But now —— my promise will——"