The Sword Genius of the Magic Empire - Chapter 74



Only Noblemtl

Sirocco took a step towards Enoch.

“Do you have any guts?”

She smiled provocatively and asked back.

“Me, to your clan?”

But the end of Sirocco’s words were instantly swallowed up by the cries of the other water people.

“No! Your Majesty the Patriarch!”

Some of the people were strongly opposed.

The warriors of the Suin tribe tried to suppress the commotion. Nevertheless, some Suin continued to cry out desperately.

“That’s nonsense! As a direct descendant of Elseid, you’re taking the heir to the tribe’s chief!”

“That’s right! What does that mean? You, the main family of the Empire, know best!”

Their reaction wasn’t unreasonable.

Because swearing your allegiance to someone in the Atlas Empire is a very serious matter.

The Chajong family is another word for ‘community of destiny’.

The essence of ‘following a family’ is a firm pledge and declaration of intent to share the same will and actions as the person you have chosen to serve, and to share responsibility for the results.

Even if you enjoy the highest honor, you do so with a following of followers.

Even if you fall to the lowest level, you will be with your followers.

As such, the following families share in the reputation and fame of those they serve, and also accept the consequences of their actions in the empire.

But if you say it the other way around… .

‘It means accepting all the bad reputations and even the responsibility for the sins of the person who is at the center of the clan.’

Moreover, Sirocco is the legitimate descendant and successor of the chieftain’s family who will be responsible for the future of the Suin tribe.

The fact that she, who is like that, will enter the Enoch clan, a direct descendant of the Elseid clan… .

“Aren’t you saying that the future and fate of the entire Suin tribe are entrusted to the reputation and position of Enoch Elseid, the direct descendant?”

Sirocco is the one who will become their leader in the future.

So, that kind of reaction isn’t unreasonable.

“We already vaguely know about it! It’s the black-haired direct descendant who was imprisoned in Elseid for his incompetence!”

Enoch chuckled inwardly at the words he had expected.

I guess he really is a famous person in his own right.

A reputation that even the people who have little contact with the modern empire know a little about.

one side.

The conflict of opinions among the people was becoming more intense as the confrontation between those who appeared to be in favor and those who were against became more intense.

“Do we have any other options? If we miss this opportunity, we will…!”

“One wrong choice could lead to the destruction of the tribe! Decisions must be made carefully!”

One of the people who opposed Sirocco’s entry into the clan became so angry that he openly swore at Enoch.

“How can we trust and grab onto a rope that was already on the verge of breaking!”

Clearly insulting remarks directed at the immediate family of the stock owner.

One of the family wizards couldn’t stand it any longer and let out a loud voice.

“How insolent. How dare you!”

However, the expression on the face of the wizard belonging to Elseid changed from anger to shock in an instant.

WHEEK!

Sirocco, which had lightly kicked the ground and closed the distance in an instant, was already right in front of his nose.

“what…!”

He was surprised by Sirocco’s closing distance in an instant, and quickly lifted his horse.

But before he knew it, Sirocco was holding his modern metal staff in one hand.

Shiroko looked at him with cold eyes.

“In a place called Jugamun, do individual members act before the leader’s wishes?”

She added calmly, her ruby ​​red eyes shining.

“If that’s really the case, I don’t really want to join hands with that ragtag bunch.”

Completely arbitrary speech and behavior.

Enoch, who was watching that, smiled slightly without realizing it. That sight was so Sirocco-like.

Meanwhile, the wizard tried to shake off her grip on the horse, but Shiroko did not budge.

“What, I was expecting something because you said it was the Elseid Stock House.”

widely.

She let go of the hand that was holding the horse.

Only then did the wizard of Elseid hastily withdraw his horsemanship. Seeing him like that, Sirocco covered her mouth slightly and smiled as if trying to cheer him up.

“Isn’t this so crappy?”

A clear provocation from Sirocco, the representative of the Suin tribe.

However, most of the wizards of Elseid who were waiting calmly also noticed what her real intention was in behaving like that.

Someone muttered quietly next to Enoch.

“… Even though he’s young, he’s quite good at handling crowds.”

Sirocco deliberately provoked the magicians of the family in order to control the people, thus quelling the discontent of those who were hostile to Elseid.

Having suppressed the surrounding noise in an instant, she continued speaking to Enoch in a clear voice.

“I asked him.”

Sirocco spoke, still looking straight at Enoch, as if he had no regard for anyone else.

“Only the head of the family I asked about will answer. Don’t involve anyone else. Even if they are my clansmen, if you interfere from now on, I won’t forgive you.”

At her firm words, the cries of several people who had been raising their voices also died down.

“You know.”

Among such a quiet crowd.

Sirocco approached Enoch alone.

“I thought about it for a while, and it seems like this is the only way.”

“what?”

She stood before Enoch, looking up at him.

“You said you wanted to take me in as a follower? Honestly, I think it’s not a bad offer.”

Sirocco spoke in a brazen and blunt voice.

“You and Elseid, the group you belong to, are strong. I saw it with my own eyes this time. I think that receiving help from such a strong group of you is absolutely necessary for our tribe at the moment.”

Shiroko turned her head slightly and looked around.

“But that’s my judgment. Not the opinion of the other tribesmen. Since our future depends on it, there’s no proper basis for the entire tribe to blindly trust you.”

Enoch nodded his head as he faced her.

Sirocco’s words were not only honest but also reasonable.

“So, I have a suggestion for you too.”

In the middle of a wide square, under the high midday sun, Sirocco stretched out one hand and pointed at Enoch.

And then he smiled cheekily.

“You. Fight me!”

***

Silence fell among the crowd.

In a silence filled with bewilderment.

Sirocco opened his mouth alone, staring at Enoch.

“I told you before, didn’t I?”

She wagged her tail once.

“I am the strongest warrior among our tribe. So, if you can beat me in a duel, the suspicions of our tribesmen that they cannot trust you will disappear in an instant.”

Sirocco spoke quietly.

“Besides, at least I have no intention of becoming a follower of someone weaker than me. I have no intention of building the future of my tribe together with someone like that!”

At her words, some of the Suin tribe, who had been dissatisfied until now, seemed to be somewhat convinced and stepped back.

The current chieftain also simply nodded without saying anything when Shiroko glanced away.

Enoch, who confirmed that, asked briefly.

“What are the rules of sparring?”

“Until one side is clearly overpowered by the other. Without any consideration for each other!”

But the first person to respond to Sirocco’s suggestion was a rather unexpected person.

“… … That is a ridiculous proposal.”

Theano, the second-in-command of the Nemesis Knights.

Before she knew it, she was next to Enoch.

“The opponent is a level 10 wizard of the Suin tribe. The duel could be extremely dangerous.”

She glanced at Enoch through the shadow of her hat and spoke in a cold voice.

“We cannot stop you from making the choices you make directly, but it is our job to remind you of any potential dangers.”

Common sense tells us that Theano was right.

Enoch wasn’t the only one to witness Sirocco’s level 10 combat prowess in this mission.

Askle, who was listening to the story from the side, also opened his mouth with a rather worried expression.

“Master Enoch. That girl from the water tribe is a user of powerful physical strengthening magic.”

He glanced at her nervously.

“You know, right? She may look delicate on the outside, but in reality, that girl is the successor to the chieftain of a dangerous tribe. If by any chance she doesn’t know how to behave properly and harms the master in the duel… .”

At Askle’s words, Enoch looked around.

The opinions of the magicians belonging to Elseid who were listening to the story did not seem to be all that different.

It was clear that the members of Elseid, including him, also regarded the Suin as a dangerous race.

The deep-rooted distrust between each other is not limited to the Suin tribe.

‘It’s obvious why everyone reacts like that.’

For centuries, the image of the ‘dangerous race’ has been branded upon the people due to the side effects of past experiments.

The truth about the ‘Masuhwa’ that once made the empire hate the people was forgotten by everyone due to the empire’s concealment of the truth and the ravages of time.

But now the people of the empire naturally regarded the beasts cut off from society as a ‘powerful, uncontrollable and dangerous race’, and continued the hatred of the past.

The people also still distrusted the empire and were still struggling to survive in this barren land.

In this way, their conflict continued through the years.

… … And so, it has come to this point.

Enoch raised his head for a moment, feeling strange.

Is it because they know that Elseid, Geomseong, and the Suin tribe lived together in the distant past?

In the past, when the last swordsman of the empire was alive and active, they were the ones who fought each other’s backs.

But as the time of separation piled up, a high wall of conflict was built between them.

A solid wall that will never collapse easily.

“…What will you do, Enoch?”

Next to him, Theano asked Enoch quietly.

She finished her warning out of duty. However, since this is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Nemesis Knights, I guess that means that she respects your choice.

The atmosphere in the middle of the huge square was suddenly calm and composed, unlike before.

There Enoch opened his mouth calmly and alone.

“Okay, let’s do that.”

Declaration of acceptance of sparring with Shiroko.

There were subtle changes in facial expressions among the Elseid wizards and the Suin tribe who were watching this.

Enoch added with a calm expression.

“But there is a condition.”

“Huh? Conditions?”

“Yeah. Two things.”

Enoch said this and took a step forward.

“One. Let’s have the duel now without dragging it out. Everyone is gathered in the square right now.”

Shiroko looked slightly embarrassed at those words.

“Huh? Right now? But didn’t you faint earlier?”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Enoch raised his empty hands slightly.

“And two. I won’t use the horse harness in this match.”

For a moment, the surroundings became quiet as if cold water had been poured over them. Sirocco looked at Enoch with wide eyes.

“… Are you serious?”

“Yes. And if you can land a single attack on me, it will be my defeat.”

Sirocco’s eyes widened at Enoch’s words.

It was an absurd condition no matter who looked at it.

The successor of the chieftain of the Suin tribe, who is skilled in battle. He even sparred with a 10th-grade magician, and even gave himself such a handicap.

Naturally, the expressions on the faces of the magicians of the family who were hearing those words also hardened.

Next to me, I could hear Askle muttering with a worried expression.

“Surely not, when the young master fainted and collapsed earlier, he must have hit his head… … .”

Of course not.

Since it is a public duel, I can’t swing my sword openly in front of the clan magicians.

‘And anyway, there’s no need to take up the sword.’

Meanwhile, Shiroko stared at me and laughed as if she found it funny.

“Huh, you’re not bluffing?”

She placed her hands on her slender waist.

“I know you’re strong because I saw you earlier. But even so, you can’t dodge all of my attacks with your bare hands, not even with the magic you were using earlier.”

Sirocco added, sounding a little bewildered.

“Do you really want to win?”

Enoch answered succinctly.

“… …if proof is needed.”

He spoke, feeling the gazes of the crowd surrounding the square.

“At least we need to prove it with these conditions so that there won’t be any other complaints later.”

After finishing his speech, Enoch left empty-handed without saying a word.

The central square of the Suin tribe village was wide and large.

A stone platform located in the middle of the vast expanse.

Around the square, with many people watching from the town’s tall buildings and even from the top of the rocky cliffs.

Enoch climbed the stairs leading to the stage.

“Hehe, you say that as if it’s obvious that you’ll win?”

Sirocco, who was watching him come up in front of her, slowly shook her lovely red tail and then suddenly stopped.

“No matter what happens later, don’t regret it.”

She declared in a low voice, her red eyes shining.

“I really won’t watch it!”

“regret?”

Enoch stood facing Sirocco calmly.

“who?”

“Huh, good!”

Sirocco lifted one leg high.

A bright red mana wrapped around the ankles of her bare white legs, revealed beneath her short pants.

Kwaaaaang!

The girl with wolf ears charged forward, kicking her legs straight into the ground.

The next moment. Sirocco’s eyes, dyed in the bright red light of mana, and Enoch’s eyes were looking at each other at such a close distance that they could feel each other’s breath.

But in that moment.

Wheein-

Sirocco’s dash, which had come flying in with such momentum, only cut through the air and powerlessly passed by Enoch.

Enoch had already tilted his body slightly to the side.

“ah?”

Seeing that, Shiroko looked slightly surprised.

As soon as she landed on the ground, she pushed the ground back and kicked it with a powerful roundhouse kick in the direction behind where Enoch was.

grasp!

The attack was so powerful that it seemed as if it ignored even inertia.

The kick that nimbly cut through space made a cracking sound that seemed to crush eardrums.

Swish

But this time Enoch tilted his head back and watched with an expressionless expression as her bare legs passed in front of his nose.

Phew!

The piercing sound of a kick that rattles the eardrums.

But this time, Enoch’s body was just slightly off the path of her attack.

“…!”

Sirocco’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw Enoch evading again.

As soon as she landed on the ground, she quickly dashed towards Enoch.

Sirocco, who had been closing the distance with Enoch without stopping, threw a kick, but as soon as he confirmed that Enoch had pulled his upper body backward, he changed the trajectory of the kick in the middle.

Whirik-

During a quick overhead kick, the direction of the force changes abruptly around the knee.

At that moment, Siroc thrust his leg down, aiming for the lower part that Enoch had not expected.

Kuuuung!

But even with such an incredible kick, Enoch was able to dodge it by stepping to the side briefly.

The kick of her conversion only shattered the stone pavement on the square floor.

Shiroko opened her eyes wide and shouted.

“Wait, how are you…?”

It wasn’t just her.

The expressions of those watching the two’s duel were filled with shock and disbelief.

Enoch, as he had declared, continued to evade all of Sirocco’s attacks with his bare hands.

“You said earlier, ‘You can never avoid it with bare hands.’”

Enoch held his empty hands out low as if he were offering them to God.

“Isn’t that so?”

Sirocco glared at Enoch, baring his small fangs at his returned provocation.

Enoch also faced her calmly.

Sirocco’s attacks are clearly fast and threatening.

However, in the world of nothing, they were already accustomed to even more intense sword attacks than this.

Moreover, he is able to read her attack trajectories in advance with the ‘Mana Sense’ inherited from the last swordsman of the empire.

‘And an even more fundamental reason is….’

The reason why Enoch was able to fight Siroc with his bare body, without even using a sword.

The reason why he never gets hit by Sirocco’s attacks that surpass the 10th level wall.

The very, very fundamental cause was something else.

─Phew!

‘also.’

Watching Siroc’s attack pass by him again, Enoch smiled inwardly with a feeling of nostalgia.

‘These are all familiar movements.’

How many times did the original veterans watch the battle scenes of the characters they played as main characters?

The attack patterns and aggressive fighting styles used by Sirocco. The timing of the connections between movements, and even the slightest movements.

Even though she is now the same person as she was five years ago, her basic behavioral patterns have not changed.

‘Rather, the movements are a bit immature compared to the Sirocco seen in the original.’

That is to say, the next actions are all predictable.

Of course, now that it’s become reality, not all of Sirocco’s attacks and moves are exactly the same as those seen in the game.

But it was more than enough for Mana’s senses to figure out her next move.

If he could predict the path and the next actions in his head like this, it would have been easy to dodge the rest with just Enoch’s reflexes.

“Huh, it’s not over yet!”

Sirocco seemed to have been provoked by Enoch’s continued evasion of attacks, and lowered his body deeply.

Immediately, intense mana concentrated on her ankles.

Taang!

And in the next moment, Sirocco’s form disappeared.

She leaped at a speed that left a lasting impression, and before she knew it, she was in the air right in front of Enoch’s nose.

Sirocco leaped with all his might towards Enoch at a speed that would be difficult for an average person to follow, let alone react, even with their eyes.

however.

Turup!

Enoch grabbed the entire small jaw of the Sirocco that was rushing at him with one hand.

“… … !”

Shiroko’s ruby ​​eyes widened for a moment at the unexpected turn of events.

When she glanced down at Enoch’s hand that was wrapped around her tiny chin in midair.

Enoch then slammed Sirocco into the ground.

Kuuuuung!

A loud impact sounded along with the vibrations of the ground.

A violent explosion of sand and dust erupted from the square, billowing in all directions.

Those who were watching the duel were all just blankly staring at the scene, completely oblivious to the reaction.

A development and ending that no one expected.

At a time when everyone was silent about something out of the ordinary.

“…I guess you understand.”

Enoch quietly opened his mouth, still gently grasping Sirocco’s chin.

“What you worry about won’t happen.”

Enoch spoke softly.

“Trust me and follow me.”

At Enoch’s words, a smile spread across Sirocco’s soft cheek between his clasped fingers.

And the girl who was the successor to the chieftain of the Suin tribe smiled brightly and shouted.

“gladly!”

Beyond Enoch’s back, slowly getting up.

The last of the Empire’s beastmen, who had surrounded the square and watched the results of the duel, slowly knelt on one knee and bowed their heads in silence.

Towards a new future they will follow.