An Old Man from the Countryside Becomes a Swords Saint: I Was Just a Rural Sword Teacher, But My Successful Students Won't Leave Me Alone! Chapter 92

Published at 9th of August 2022 07:02:19 AM

“Shi!”

“–!”

A lethal strike falls on me. The attacker's number is 5.

I deflect the dagger to the side, shaken by the falling momentum behind it.

If this were an ordinary user, this is the end as you'd let go of your weapon from the shock. However, the black figure that came down resisted the sideways force, and when he turned himself in the air then and there, he landed on his feet at a slight distance away from me.

These guys are skilled!

I can't measure my opponent's abilities by this brief offense and defense. Does that mean they're not just trying to assassinate the royals? I don't know who these people are, but they're pretty good blades.

“Hah!”

Each member of the escort detail handle the 5 attackers that fell from the rooftops, one after the other.

Alexia and Henblitz each deflect the daggers with their longswords, as I did. Gatoga is parrying and locking blades with them instead. Rose had a firm defense with her pure white kite shield.

Alright. Is there no damage to the royals for the time being?

“Prince Glen!” Gatoga yelled. “Into the theater!”

“… Don't!” Alexia yelled. “We don't know if it's safe there!”

However, we can't be too relaxed.

Gatoga's idea to evacuate Prince Glen into the theater is normally sound, but the people who suddenly pounced on us came from its rooftop, and the possibility that more thugs are lurking inside the theater cannot be ruled out.

“Let's fight them here!” Alexia said. “Surround the Prince and Princess!”

“Tch! Damn it all!” Gatoga spat as he held up his estoc.

I don't know how the two attendants match up. They may be stronger than the thugs, and these thugs may be stronger. I don't know which is which. Considering the uncertainties, it's not good to quickly reduce their number and let the rest flee.

The sure answer is to wipe out the threat so far as we could see.

All of the escort detail surrounds the royals. Their facial expressions were curious and astonished, and they were perhaps worried that they could defend themselves just as well by fleeing the scene. 1 It seems we've got no choice but to end this attack here and now.

“Fuh!”

After a brief pause, the dagger deflecting continues, and they strike out in rapid succession.

These guys are pretty good after all. I wondered if the best move would be to parry them as they leaped down, but they know how to redirect force.

From the perspective of our opponent's blade handling, it was more of an assassin's than a swordsman's technique.

They have a different speed than Selena and Alexia. Unlike our training, they mercilessly aim at the vital points, so if you make a mistake, it will immediately be a fatal stroke.

And as the blades pass in front of my eyes, I can see a suspicious glint in them.

“…! Poisoned! The blades are poisoned!”

“Fucking hell!” Gatoga yelled. “What a pain in the ass!”

An unnaturally wet blade. I haven't been attacked directly nor have they drawn blood. There are few alternative explanations, as to why their blades would be wet.

Aaah, damn, this is a hassle. I don't wear armor, and it's dangerous to even be struck once. It may be a deadly poison since they're gunning for the royal family.

It's a pain to defeat such opponents without taking a single blow.

Well, it can't be helped, if I don't do it here, the royals will die. Since I was part of the escort detail, this is the time to go full-tilt.

“Kono…!”

I saw an opening and struck, but dodged as the assassin struck back.

I already expected it, but they're much faster than my sword handling. Were these professional assassins? It seems difficult to take capture them alive.

If possible, I would like to arrest them and then interrogate them. However, if I'm not careful, my neck will fly. And, there is a high possibility of death with each strike taken.

It's a little difficult in these circumstances, to win without killing your opponent and being hurt yourself. The story would have been different if these were wooden swords, but all I have is a lethal sword with outstanding sharpness. It may be good to put it in a scabbard and strike with that, but I can't afford the time to put the sword back in it.

It can not be helped. I'm not intending to kill them, but I will look at them with a bit of annoyance in my eyes. In the first place, you wouldn't expect to be able to withdraw safely, since you were going to attack in a place like this.

“Sei!”

“…!”

I deflect a dagger thrust sideways and make one revolution with the momentum.

My peak of body conditioning is definitely here. I understand intuitively that I don't have much room left for growing my physical capabilities.

However, there are still many ways to learn how to use the sword. This rotating slash is one of them.

This is my best shot.

If you can prevent it, try to prevent it.

I'm at the point where my arm has made a full revolution.

Angled slash, then:

I clearly feel the sensation of cutting deep into the muscle.

“UGYAAAAAHHH…!”

The assassin that had been silent since the start of the attack screams in agony.

His weapon hand had been lopped off at the wrist after he tried to deflect my sword.

This Xeno Glaive sword, already boasting an outstanding sharpness, was rotated as much as possible to put centrifugal force behind it. It was a blow that couldn't have been defended against with a halfhearted try.

If you want to catch your opponent unharmed, you should never use this, but in this situation, I didn't have the luxury of choosing options.

Anyway, this one is neutralized. What about the others?

“Haaaahhh…!”

If I look in the direction of roaring, I can see Henblitz swinging his sword down with all his might. His armor had some scratches, but his body isn't injured at first glance.

However, I think he couldn't afford to try to capture his opponent alive. A deep cut runs down from the assassin's shoulder to his flank, he wordlessly collapses into a pool of his blood.

“Fuh!”

Alexia then stabbed another assassin's shoulder with a momentum that did not sully her title, “God Speed.”

If I look closely, there are already marks of sword thrusts on the assassin's right thigh and left flank. As expected, Alexia was capturing them alive while avoiding striking their vitals. That elegant sword handling is a technique that I can call a masterpiece that even I can't imitate.

“Guh, guuhh…!”

“Woops, I'm not letting you go,” I said.

As I took my eyes off him for a moment, the assassin whose hand I lopped off was trying to escape while holding the stump in his remaining hand. He seems in surprisingly good shape for someone who just had his hand cut off. There's a lot of blood, though.

I grab the thug who was trying to flee. I'll take him alive, I'll staunch the bleeding, but you're going to tell me what you know, okay?”

“This one's done, too~!”

And while I attempted the arrest, a familiar voice pipes up from the side.

I turn to look, Rose was wielding her estoc with her kite shield, the latter bathed in blood and now dyed red.

The assassin who was attacking her was clearly dead, having been stabbed in the head and through to his brain.

… Hmm.

Rose's strength and equipment should have let her capture the assailants, at the minimum, if not completely unharmed.

I wonder if she was nervous or her hand was forced, something feels a little out of place. Well, it's definitely better than losing.

“I'm sorry, I couldn't arrest them~…” Rose says apologetically.

“No, you can't help it because our opponents were also quite strong,” I said as I stem the bleeding from the assassin's severed stump.

These people were high-level assassins. It's no wonder she killed them. I may have to praise her for the swift victory.

“I was too busy defeating them myself… I'm ashamed of my immaturity as a soldier,” Henblitz said.

He seemed to be guilty of his killing his opponent in a single stroke.

Hmm. Isn't it fine if none of us lost to the thugs? With the royals protected, I'd call that a win.

“Princess Salacia, Prince Glen,” Alexia asked. “Are either of you injured?”

“N-No,” Salacia replied. “We're fine. Thank you so much…”

Behind Alexia and in her other hand is a crippled assassin who's been stabbed in multiple places on their body.

I can't say that the royals were able to respond properly to the ambush attempt, but that's unavoidable. The royal families were to be protected. And it was the knights' duty to protect them from hostile forces.

However, with all that happened, it is no longer possible to watch a play. A major review of the schedule is needed. Even if it is an unsuccessful attempt, as long as an assassination of the royal family has occurred, it is quite possible that the rest of the tour will be canceled immediately.

Either way, it's not good to stay here.

A crowd in a panic is dangerous. While I was confronting the thugs, I was so focused I didn't hear it, but now the screams and crying are pouring in from outside the guard's human wall.

“Captain~… Captain?” Rose asked Gatoga.

By the way, did Gatoga successfully repel his assassin? He shouldn't have been defeated, since he's still standing, but I can't see the black-clad figure he was facing against.

Did they get away?

Gatoga, on the other hand, was standing stunned, as if he wasn't even aware of where he was.

That's strange. I don't know much about him, but he shouldn't be so vulnerable in this situation.

He didn't seem to hear Rose's question, and he stared at a certain point. Beyond that is an alley, probably the way the assassin fled through.

He didn't chase after them, but he didn't kill them, either. He had a faraway look as he held his estoc in hand.

“… Hinnis …?” Gatoga whispered.

That name, I think I heard it somewhere recently.

Chapter end