The Return of the Limited-Time Sword Master

Chapter 32: Dreams and Bubbles (2)

Aura, magic, and unique abilities.

The moment a person learns or manifests even one of these, they surpass the limits of being human and are called superhuman.

Even those who have barely reached the 1st Circle can easily handle dozens of ordinary adult men.

As such, on the Cracian Continent, battles are centered around a small number of superhumans.

Though the continuous advancement of magical engineering has ushered in a new era where ordinary people can operate powerful weapons, it still wasn’t enough to overshadow the overwhelming presence of superhumans.

“Still, the terror that comes with overwhelming numbers can’t be ignored.”

“If you’re going to say that, at least try changing your expression. Saying that with a grin on your face just kills all the credibility.”

As Sien teased him, Martin chuckled.

Then he turned his gaze forward.

At the base of Mount Cheloti, thousands of troops had gathered.

At the front were the 200 knights of the Green Dragon Order and Valdemar von Rustal himself.

It was the combined might of the entire Rustal family, and their show of force was certainly impressive.

In contrast, the White Dragon and Golden Dragon Orders each only had 200 knights, making them vastly outnumbered in terms of manpower.

However, the knights of both Orders maintained their calm composure.

Despite their different affiliations, they all shared a deep sense of pride.

After all, they served the Adalbert family, recognized as the pinnacle among the three great houses.

There was no way they would feel fear over something as trivial as a difference in numbers. Anyone who did would never have been selected as a knight in the first place.

“Valdemar von Rustal.”

Martin’s eyes flashed sharply.

He could see that Valdemar von Rustal’s gaze was fixed on him as well.

Although his expression seemed calm, an intense aura radiated from his entire body.

His anger was palpable.

But Sien scoffed.

“How ridiculous. He’s the one who started all of this, yet he’s the one acting like he’s furious at us?”

“Isn’t that always the way with people who do bad things? You have to be shameless to get away with it.”

“True. If he had any sense of shame, he’d be on his knees begging for forgiveness right now, not bringing troops to this place.”

“Well, expecting that kind of behavior from him is foolish. Anyway, I’m off.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come along?”

“Thanks for the thought, but you wouldn’t be able to keep up, Sien. You still can’t fly, after all.”

Grit.

Sien clenched her teeth in frustration at Martin’s teasing.

She suppressed her anger as she responded.

“I swear, I’m going to reach the 7th Circle soon just out of spite.”

“If it’s you, I’m sure you can reach it within ten years.”

“Ten years? I can do it in five.”

“Well, that might be a bit…”

“Just wait. I’ll hit the 7th Circle within three years.”

Sien’s determined expression showed her resolve.

Martin smiled gently at the sight.

‘She might grow stronger faster than before.’

In the previous timeline, Sien had reached the 7th Circle at the age of 28. Even though she had been slower than him, it was still an incredible feat.

After all, aside from him, there were only a handful of people in the history of the Cracian Continent who had reached the 7th Circle in their twenties.

After silently cheering her on, Martin focused on drawing mana from the cores in his abdomen and head.

Mana gathered in his palm, and using Omni Distortion, he manipulated the wind.

Whirr.

With the wind swirling around him, Martin’s body lifted off the ground.

It was time to have a proper conversation with Valdemar von Rustal.

Woong.

As Martin stepped through the air and descended toward him, Valdemar activated his unique ability, Spatial Compression.

His body floated into the sky, and the distance between the two shrank rapidly.

When they were about 100 meters apart, both of them came to a stop as if by mutual agreement.

“It’s been a while, Young Master.”

“You’re mistaken, Valdemar von Rustal. It’s not ‘Young Master,’ it’s ‘Young Lord’ now.”

“That’s a title you gave yourself without anyone’s recognition, isn’t it?”

“The Elders have recognized it.”

“What’s said in private carries no meaning. Whether it’s Young Lord or Head of House, those titles are only decided at the Grand Assembly. So, for now, I won’t call you the Young Lord.”

“Well, feel free to say whatever you want. I never needed your recognition anyway.”

“My, how rude. Speaking so carelessly to the head of a branch family.”

“Head of a branch family? I don’t see one here. All I see is a traitor to the Empire.”

“A traitor, you say…”

Despite Martin’s sharp words, Valdemar remained unfazed.

As long as he could subdue the man before him, he could change his circumstances.

Thus, he focused solely on achieving that goal.

Undeterred by Valdemar’s lack of reaction, Martin continued speaking.

“You knew that the Rustal family has been embezzling dungeon byproducts to create a secret fund for generations, yet you turned a blind eye to it. In fact, you even used it to grow your wealth. As you’re well aware, according to Imperial law, this is considered treason. And treason is punishable by death.”

“That’s not all. Instead of severing ties with the Blood Sword Guild, you used them to attempt to assassinate me, the only direct descendant of the main family. You’ve killed many political opponents. If it’s revealed that you’ve tried to assassinate or actually murdered a fellow noble, the Noble Code dictates that you be sentenced to death.”

“In other words, you’re as good as dead, Valdemar von Rustal.”

Not only that, but the Rustal family was also destined for complete annihilation.

Martin hammered the final nail in the coffin with his declaration.

“I doubt you’ll be able to accomplish that, Young Master.”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

“There are things in life that don’t need to be confirmed to be known.”

“That’s just you mistaking your senility for wisdom.”

Woong.

Mocking Valdemar, Martin casually waved his right hand.

The space near his right waist distorted, and the hilt of a sword emerged. Grasping it with his right hand, Martin smoothly drew it out.

“Do you know the name of this sword?”

“I have no interest.”

“The name of this sword is Kaizen. It’s a precious sword that has been resting beneath this mountain.”

At Martin’s words, Valdemar’s face contorted.

He had been trying his best to maintain his composure, but those words shattered his patience. It was clear that Martin had openly intended to mock him.

“You’re inviting your own death.”

“Are you saying you’ll kill me? That’s absurd. You need me alive for your purposes, don’t you?”

“I only need your mouth. The rest of you are useless. If I cut off your limbs, you might learn some manners.”

“Not with your abilities.”

Rather than responding with words, Valdemar drew his sword from the scabbard at his waist.

Martin straightened his posture as he observed Valdemar’s movements.

Then, the two of them charged toward each other, swords swinging.

—

Before the regression, Martin had already defeated Valdemar von Rustal once.

However, that didn’t mean he could underestimate his strength.

Valdemar wielded 4th-Circle swordsmanship and had a 3rd-Circle unique ability.

In terms of levels alone, he was evenly matched with Martin.

Boom!

The golden aura blade and the orange aura blade clashed, sending out a powerful shockwave in all directions.

The trees around them snapped under the impact, and a cloud of dust surged into the air.

But Martin didn’t pay attention to his surroundings.

All of his senses were focused on Valdemar.

Just because he had defeated him in the past didn’t guarantee the same outcome this time.

Whir.

The moment Martin felt a distortion in the space around him, Valdemar was suddenly right in front of him.

It wasn’t a simple spatial movement.

The space between them had compressed, shrinking the distance. This was Valdemar’s main technique, using his ability, Spatial Compression.

But simply perceiving the movement wasn’t enough to celebrate.

As soon as the distance between them closed, Valdemar swung his sword, wrapped in an orange aura blade, straight down.

The blade struck with enough force to slice a hill in half.

Boom!

Martin raised the precious sword Kaizen with both hands, meeting Valdemar’s strike head-on.

Once again, a deafening explosion rang out as the terrifying force swept through the area.

However, neither Martin nor Valdemar flinched or retreated.

For those who wield spatial abilities, recoil and inertia meant little.

They could support themselves by stepping on fragments of space, keeping their bodies steady in midair.

Proving this, the two men continued swinging their swords with ease.

They weren’t just fighting with swords alone.

Valdemar flicked his left hand.

Almost instantly, the space around Martin warped, unleashing a series of powerful shockwaves.

Martin, anticipating the attack, used spatial movement to evade, and the shockwaves crashed into Mount Cheloti.

Boom!

A large crater formed on the ground, toppling more than ten trees. Even the massive rocks embedded in the earth were shattered, scattering debris everywhere.

Without sparing a glance at the destruction, Valdemar turned his body. Martin had already closed in, thrusting his sword with full force.

But the attack didn’t land.

Valdemar twisted his sword, deflecting Martin’s strike.

At the same time, he took a small step forward, sending a wedge-shaped shockwave directly at Martin from point-blank range.

‘There’s no way he can block or dodge at this range…’

Valdemar’s hopes were quickly dashed.

The shockwave dissipated the moment it reached Martin.

It had been blocked by the spatial barrier Martin had prepared in advance.

Seeing his decisive attack thwarted so easily left Valdemar disappointed.

But despite his disappointment, he didn’t stop moving.

Immediately, he flicked his left hand again.

Rumble!

The space above Martin’s head rippled, and a rain of debris—trees, rocks, and fragments—began to fall down like a storm.

‘A spatial barrier alone won’t be able to block that much mass.’

Valdemar concluded that Martin would have to swing his sword to fend off the falling debris.

He planned to exploit the opening that would create.

Valdemar observed Martin, ready to strike.

However, his prediction was only half correct.

While it was true that Martin dismissed his spatial barrier, he didn’t swing his sword.

Without even glancing at the debris, Martin raised his left hand toward the sky.

Boom!

With a single strike enhanced by Omni Distortion and the Rothar Martial Art, all the debris was instantly pulverized.

That wasn’t the end.

At the moment of his counterattack, Martin used spatial movement, appearing right in front of Valdemar.

A brilliant golden aura blade gleamed as it streaked toward Valdemar’s heart.

Clang!

Valdemar swung his sword horizontally to parry Martin’s strike.

But then, the real problem arose.

As Kaizen’s blade bounced upward, Martin closed in even further.

Valdemar, frowning, quickly tried to bring his sword down, but Martin was faster.

Crunch.

Martin’s left palm slammed into Valdemar’s chest, and a sickening sound echoed in the air.

“Get lost!”

Enduring the pain, Valdemar swung his sword again, but Martin simply put more distance between them using spatial movement. Valdemar sensed his retreat and was about to continue his attack.

But he couldn’t.

“Ugh!”

Blood, dark red and tinged with black, spurted from Valdemar’s mouth as he coughed violently.

‘What… is this?’

He couldn’t believe it.

He had only allowed a single attack, yet it had caused such severe internal damage.

“I refuse to believe this is the best you can do. Everything you’ve shown so far—I can do all of it too.”

Martin’s taunt rang out once again.

Grit.

Valdemar ground his teeth without realizing it.

“I’ll make you regret spewing such nonsense!”

“Ah, no. You’re not capable of that with your current abilities.”

Even at the end, Martin refused to lose in the war of words.

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