Battle Race in the Fantasy World

EP.126 We Decided to Call This a Disaster

The lord of Pardal Island couldn’t stop Arcane, who was showing intense anger.

Because he knew about the concern for himself, loyalty, and hostility towards the Empire.

No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like he came here to assassinate.

But if he tries to stop the anger expressed out of concern for himself, wouldn’t that be strange?

In the end, while hesitating, their battle began.

‘This shouldn’t have escalated to this point. This is maddening!’

The most representative figures when thinking of ‘the strong’, the Empire’s Top 10.

Compared to those Top 10, these two men wouldn’t be much different.

Now, such individuals are about to clash. This is not a simple duel.

Surely something will crumble, shatter, and the possibility of that happening is high.

Nevertheless, the lord of Pardal Island didn’t seem to be greatly disturbed.

It was said that battles between strong individuals rarely occur.

First, there’s the issue of damage to the surroundings.

Second, the faction possessing such strong individuals avoids the situation out of concern.

Unless they’re thinking of completely destroying one another in war.

Otherwise, situations like this where they clash with full force wouldn’t happen.

‘I hope they stop after fighting moderately.’

He had heard something like this from Arcane before.

Because the strong are strong, even a brief clash is enough.

In that momentary collision, they sense who is stronger and back down.

The lord of Pardal Island hoped that the fight unfolding now would end up like that.

Kwaaaaang!!-

And the next scene he witnessed was a part of the castle wall crumbling down.

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**

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Cough, cough!-

The Wave Tamer, Arcane, who coughed thickly, staggers to his feet.

He clearly remembers that he had taken the initiative to attack first.

And it seemed that the opponent hadn’t been able to react to his attack…

‘Why, why am I in this state?’

This can’t be. No matter who the opponent is, it was still an attack with full force.

It was countered too easily, like an adult twisting a child’s wrist.

Could it be that he had prepared something in advance to ambush?

Yes. That must be it. As expected, those Empire bastards are as vicious as they say!

He had seen the behavior of the Empire’s people since his days as a pirate.

As if they were the only humans, treating people from other regions like barbarians!

It was truly disgusting and infuriating. It made him want to vomit!

Swish!-

Arcane, catching his breath, slowly raises his mana.

A completely different appearance and energy from Mathieu, the other Three Heroes, and the Empire’s Top 10.

‘Oh?’

Thanks to this, Kyle, who had been wearing a sullen expression, inadvertently let out an exclamation of admiration.

What is this? What? A new fighting style?! This is quite exciting!

“Torrent!”

Is he even shouting the technique name in such an old-fashioned way? Ah, this is a bit disappointing! Just as he thought that.

He felt something incredibly sharp and cold rushing in.

It’s too widespread to dodge. It’s like trying to avoid waves in the middle of the ocean.

Kwajak!-

Something extremely vague to describe in words sweeps past his body.

Immediately after, Kyle slightly withdrew his smile and checked his body’s condition.

A throbbing sensation creeps up from various parts of his body.

‘My body feels heavier. As if soaked in water.’

It’s not just surface damage. The inside is also in turmoil.

Princess Ulrika, Commander Priscilla, and even Mathieu Philibert.

He had fought quite a variety of strong opponents, but this feeling was truly a first.

It’s not a simple sword strike. Nor is it a sword aura.

It’s completely different from what Commander Priscilla used or the techniques Mathieu unleashed.

If I had to say, those were extremely focused on a single point.

In contrast, the strike that just came was in a form that spread and scattered in all directions.

‘What on earth is this? This is a first for me.’

As he tilted his head in confusion, the Wave Tamer’s attack came rushing in again.

This time, it was a much larger wave than the one that came first.

After a moment of consideration, Kyle stretched out his hand as before.

Just like when he faced Commander Priscilla’s sword aura and Mathieu’s sword techniques.

This time too, he intended to shatter the incoming attack with pure physical force.

Chwaaak!!-

“….”

Failure. It can’t be shattered. Once again, the wave crashed directly into Kyle’s body.

With an even heavier impact than before, his insides were shaken, and his body felt heavier.

Even a fairly skilled person would have immediately fallen to their knees and writhed in pain at this level.

‘I really don’t get it. What is this? What could it be?’

But the pain was secondary. What mattered to Kyle now was figuring out what kind of power this was.

How could one deliver such a sharp yet heavy blow in this way?

He wanted to know. He wanted to know so he could break through it head-on, showing off.

He could dodge, or attack first, those were options too.

But after taking one hit properly, he really wanted to face it head-on.

He wanted to utterly defeat the opponent who was attacking so enthusiastically in front of him.

“Tidal current!”

Perhaps sensing something dangerous in Kyle’s eyes?

The Wave Tamer’s attack pattern changed. The wave that had swept past once came back.

Kuung!-

Kyle’s body staggered as he took a direct hit to his back.

Seeing this, Arcane smiled and muttered, ‘As expected.’

‘Having a good body isn’t everything. That mere flesh, if I break it from the inside, that’s all it takes.’

The difference in strength between the Empire and the southern islands is overwhelming. It’s incomparable.

Yet, the reason the Empire can’t treat these southern islands carelessly:

First, there are forces that can harass them from all directions at any time.

Next, the strength here can force considerable bleeding from the Empire.

The essential element for controlling each island and sea, the navy.

This side possessed as many skilled sailors and well-maintained ships as the Empire.

Plus, there’s himself, who could definitely tie up at least one of the Empire’s Top 10.

“Ocean current!”

The waves that had been raging in all directions now converged to crash upon the opponent.

It would have been difficult to dodge, but not entirely impossible, yet Kyle was silently taking the hits.

Arcane inwardly sneered at Kyle, a scornful smile playing on his lips.

This is why the strong are both strong and weak.

Because of their pride, their ego, they don’t dodge what they should.

Believing they’re stronger than others, that they can endure, they look for opportunities.

Stupid fools. Utterly ignorant humans.

No matter how strong one is, there are things you can face and things you can’t.

Arcane had made this very aspect his strength and his ultimate weapon.

Seemingly insignificant at first glance, but once you face it, you’re swept away.

Even if you barely make it to shore, your body is already in tatters.

That’s what waves are. And he’s the one who raises those waves.

‘Not just once, but three times he’s taken my waves head-on. He might look fine on the outside, but he must be wrecked inside.’

Arcane, gripping his sword anew, waited for the ocean current to return.

Finally, as the waves calmed and the view cleared, he set his eyes on his target.

It would be a big deal if he harmed someone from the Empire, but it doesn’t matter.

He could claim that the man was an Empire spy, or even if he wasn’t, that they had no choice but to misunderstand.

If he explained it that way, even the Empire wouldn’t be able to find a proper justification.

This is not the Empire’s sea. Nor is it their territory.

This is the new home they’ve barely managed to establish after all sorts of hardships.

There’s no way they’ll allow the Empire’s footprints to be left here again!

He thrusts his sword, aiming for the chest.

Becoming a sharp wave, it rushes in.

No matter what stands before it, the wave surges forward. And ultimately shatters everything.

“…Aha!”

Kwajik!!-

But sometimes, there exist things in this world that defy ‘common sense’.

“Wh-What?!”

Kyle caught the sword that had flown right up to him with his bare hand.

His eyes were brimming with the joy of finally figuring it out.

“Don’t tell me, you’re a magic swordsman?”

I see. I was really confused about what this could be, but it’s magic.

It’s not sword energy. It’s not the exterior that takes damage, but the interior.

Once that thought occurred to him, naturally, his prediction narrowed down to one thing.

It’s magic. Right now, that swordsman is using magic.

Now I understand why his alias is Wave Tamer. It’s not just a metaphor.

He’s really using magic that surges fiercely like waves, or more precisely, waves themselves.

An opponent who doesn’t know this and thinks it’s just sword energy, or some kind of visual trick.

They’d literally be swept away by the waves and instantly suffer severe internal injuries.

‘Wow. To think a real magic swordsman actually exists!’

The reason Kyle is so amazed:

The mana usage for magic and the mana usage for sword energy are completely different.

While using mana is the same, the process afterward diverges drastically.

Hence, it’s considered impossible to use both simultaneously.

Even in the Empire, filled with skilled individuals, magic swordsmen known by name can be counted on one’s fingers.

Or so he remembered reading in a book while waiting for Tisha.

“It was worth taking all those hits.”

Yeah. If I had dodged, I probably wouldn’t have figured it out.

Kyle nodded repeatedly with a satisfied expression.

Thanks to this, Arcane had to stare at the young man gripping his sword with an astounded face.

‘What… D-Don’t tell me he was deliberately colliding with my waves?’

When one faces his waves head-on, their insides are shaken.

The pathways for handling mana are damaged and disrupted, ultimately rendering one unable to do anything.

There’s nothing in this world that can withstand waves to the very end.

That’s the natural order. An inviolable principle.

Yet why on earth is this man reacting as if such principles and order are beneath him?

“No, but… Hey. Is this supposed to be a wave? This is ridiculous. It’s too bland.”

That’s right. It can’t help but be bland. It can’t help but be dull.

Arcane. The waves conjured by the Wave Tamer of the southern islands are, after all, from the southern sea.

Even when strong winds blow and cause rough seas, the essence is still the warm and calm southern sea.

In contrast, what Kyle had faced was the dark northern glacial sea.

It’s a terrible place completely different from this area filled with blue energy.

A place filled with nothing but glaciers. A hell where you freeze to death the moment you fall in.

For Kyle, who had faced hundreds, no, thousands of waves there.

The waves surging here were too dull. They were just, ‘meh’.

‘I guess I’ll have to show you properly. What waves really are.’

He says he’ll show what real waves are, but well.

I wonder if to others, it might not be waves, but rather a calamity.