Peerless Elf Magic Swordsman Volume 10 Chapter 5 (Patreon)

Chapter 5 – S-Class Battle

“Hurry up and escape! We assure you we’ll defeat him…her, or whatever that thing is!”

Ludwig shouted as he appeased and directed the panicking mob.

Indeed, they didn’t know the other party; they don’t even know what entity they were dealing with.

And as S-Class Adventurers, they shouldn’t be lagging behind in responding to such a dangerous monster either.

However, thinking there is still the possibility of collateral damage, they chose to assist everyone in escaping the place first.

“Yes, yes, go this way. Beautiful women go first. Men come after that.”

Serun obnoxiously said as he looked around at the crowd.

(This guy. I can’t believe it. Even at this time he’s still looking for women to pick up.)

“Please fall in line and take shelter in that proper order. Ah, and for those beauties that have fallen for me, you can always notify me later. I’m always open, even to more than one person at a time.”

“……Oi, Serun.”

“What? It is the order of the universe to give priority to beautiful women.”

“Man, you’re such a…….”

Even in the face of an unidentified demon, he never forgets to pick up women.

This is the embodiment of a man named Serun Keithhound.

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

Serun asked flatly.

Sighing once more, Ludwig said to the man.

“Never mind. Let’s take this thing down for now. I’ll be the vanguard; you’ll be the rearguard…… you got it?”

Their battle strategy is quite simple.

Ludwig, being the swordsman, will engage the enemy in close combat, while Serun will cast a powerful spell that requires a long chant.

Once the spell is complete, Ludwig moves away, and Serun shoots.

It was one of the most basic combinations in a swordsman and a mage teaming up.

“As per usual, eh. Well, I’d feel a lot better if you were the one out front.” Serun couldn’t help but chuckle as he reminisced the days they teamed up in the past.

“In that case, let’s fire off a few high-intensity spells, shall we? Just hang in there until I finish casting it.”

“Got it.”

The instant they finished that conversation, Ludwig kicked the ground.

His movements turned into a gust of black wind.

He moved so fast that it was hard to believe he was wearing heavy armor, and in an instant, he closed the gap between him and the “Sweeper”.

Putting his sword in the scabbard he had removed from his back, from there, he unleashed a slash in the manner of a drawing stance.

“Raging Flame(Rekka) Overlord Style(Hakenryuu) ── Great Emperor Blaze Flash(Goutei Ka Sen)!”

Due to the frictional heat of the scabbard running and a very special and volatile oil applied to the blade, the instant the sword was drawn, it exploded into massive flames.

A double attack with the power of bursting flames together with a slash, resulting in a red-hot slashing energy slamming into the black cone shape, this was Ludwig’s prized technique.

“What ──!?”

However, the Sweeper did not falter nor dodge and even took the blow head-on.

“What a strong armor…….”

“No, that’s not it, Ludwig.”

Serun rebuked him from behind.

“Look.”

The moment he pointed out, Ludwig saw it.

A pale, shining wall of sorts had appeared in front of the Sweeper. Rather, it was a wall of shining octagons that spread out like ripples.

“It seems to be a warding created by materializing mana to its highest density.”

“Damn.”

Ludwig couldn’t help but groan.

The next moment, an octagonal ripple spread out, and almost simultaneously, a powerful shock wave burst forth from the other side of the barrier.

“Agh!”

“Guoh!”

Ludwig and Serun were caught off guard, and both were blown away at the same time.

“To think it also has the ability to fire back our attacks with a shockwave……a being with an annoying attack and defense capabilities……this is gonna get tricky.”

Serun clicks his tongue as he got up.

“Moreover, based on what I have observed, on that attack just now, it used the energy that came from your slash. If you unleash a strong attack, it will be counterattacked with equal force.”

“So the higher the attack power, the more damage you do to yourself?””

Ludwig stood up and readied his sword.

“ ──interesting.”

But instead of getting discouraged, the edges of his mouth lifted and formed a fierce grin.

(The other party is strong. As strong as SS-class or SSS-class even.)

If you are not careful, you might get yourself killed.

But… that’s why I’m fired up.

As a genuine warrior, I couldn’t help but feel my blood boiling.

“It’s all about timing.”

If you fail, it will be you who will be cut in two.

“In the end, it’s a do-or-die game.”

With a short announcement, Ludwig flashes his sword.

“Raging Flame(Rekka) Overlord Style(Hakenryuu) - Phantom Wind Slash(Gen Fuusen).”

Just like its namesake, it was a horizontal slash akin to a gust of wind.

A strong shockwave that ran from Ludwig’s GoldBreaker(Mountain Splitting Hard Blade) struck the Sweeper with a powerful impact.

But at the same time, an octagonal ripple spread out again from where the sword had hit, and the shock wave of counterattack came again.

“Too naïve!”

With a burst of energy, Ludwig turned his body around.

With his inhuman reflexes, he unleashed the second blow just about when it was preparing its counterattack.

Through the shockwave, Ludwig’s treasured sword sliced through, and together with that momentum, he slashed at the Sweeper.

It wasn’t able to put up a barrier at this time, and because of this, he was able to cut through its surface armor properly.

The Sweeper was cut in two like butter and fell.

“Whew. That was a lot easier than I thought it would be.”

The black knight took a breather as he sheathes his sword.

“──Wait, not yet!”

But Serun all of a sudden exclaimed from his back.

“What?”

The moment Ludwig turned around, he saw thin tubes of some sort growing out of each section of the Sweeper that had been cut in half. These tubes then joined together like some sort of coupling mechanism, and soon after, the  Unique “demon” came to life again.

Moreover,

“It changed shape……?”

Ludwig raised an eyebrow.

Before, it was just a simple cone, but now it had snarly protrusions coming out of it everywhere.

“Was it just a mere bluff, or have its abilities changed?”

But Ludwig immediately decided it was the latter.

While remaining vigilant, he gradually closed the distance between them, but,

“……!?”

All of a sudden, the protrusions on the Sweeper’s entire body shot out towards him like bullets.

“Tsk.”

But using his sword accompanied by his superhuman reflexes, Ludwig shot off every last projectile that came in his way.

“You better do something better if you want to take me by surprise!”

He approached once again and struck the Sweeper with his signature sword.

But protrusions grew all over the Sweeper’s body once again, and this time it fired all of them in a closer range where there was no way for Ludwig to dodge.

“Even with that……is nothing!!”

But Ludwig just swung his treasure sword, this time in all directions.

An average swordsman would not have been able to avoid or even react to the timing of the projectiles of this mass and speed – but for Ludwig, he was able to saw with his keen eyes all the trajectories of these projectiles and even was able to strike them down one by one with ease.

However, because of this, he was stalled, and the Sweeper was able to retreat significantly.

Its cone-shaped body trembled, and countless projectiles sprouted from it once again. This time it was twice as many as they were the last time.

“Are you kidding me……”

Ludwig couldn’t help but groan.

The swarm of projectiles fired by the Sweeper was also faster than before.

“–!?”

Even with Ludwig’s superhuman reflex speed, it was too fast to counter them all.

While he knocked most of them away with his sword, a few inevitable shots still made it through and grazed his arms and legs.

His solid armor was torn apart like paper, which also meant the same for his flesh underneath, and every time he was hit, a splash of blood oozes out from all over his body.

“It’s getting faster and more skilled……and every time you clash with it, its attacks get stronger and harder to deal with…….”

Ludwig grunted, biting his lip in pain.

──The battle quickly turned into a war of attrition.

In addition to the protrusions on the surface of the Sweeper, tentacles and even cannon-like objects also appeared from it.

It also kept on changing its armor and form rapidly, making it difficult for Ludwig and Serun to adapt, and before they knew it, the two were being overwhelmed by its on-stop powerful attacks.

“Ludwig……Serun……Analysis of combat power finished……results: Not worthy of being Lord Redone’s opponent……Proceeding to eliminate personally…….”

The Sweeper mumbled in a flat voice.

They didn’t know what it was, nor they had the time to worry about it.

“What are we going to do? If we don’t do something, we’re both going to get killed……!”

Serun murmured from behind.

“There’s nothing we can do about it. Stall as long as you can.”

Ludwig answered as if it was obvious.

When he looked around, he saw that there were still a few people who had failed to escape.

(It’s a crowded street, after all.)

“It would take a little while for them to finish evacuating. In the meantime, we’re the only ones who can hold him off.”

“……Well, I knew you’d say that.”

“If you want to run, best you do it now.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Even for a joke, That’s not cool.”

With a grin, Serun comes to his side.

Ludwig knew this would be his partner’s answer, that he never intended to run away from the very beginning.

He also knew that this series of light-hearted remarks was also his way of easing the tension and boosting the morale for the both of them.

“But not for too long. If he gets any more powerful, even we won’t be able to stop him.”

“In that case, let’s do it. That.”

“Hmm, you and I have been working together for… what, two years? The last time I used it, it was against an army of SSS-class demons.”

“Yeah. It was such a fierce battle that I was amazed that I made it out alive. Well, considering this time we have a much more difficult opponent, I say it’s best if we try.”

“We were both so reckless back then.”

Serun readied his wand.

“If we get through this in one piece, let’s have another drink. Your tab.”

“All right. I’ll buy you a drink. But one-time only.”

“Stingy.”

And so began the S-Class fight to the death between the Sweeper, Ludwig, and Serun.

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