「UOOOOOOOOOOH-!」
A shout reverberated out.
However, rather than a threat to the enemy facing him, the shout seemed to be an attempt at wiping away the fear inside him.
It was a matter of course. The person in front of him was wielding a giant scythe. About a week ago, in a secret battle with the punitive force, he had demonstrated the strength to almost single-handedly defeat 6,000 soldiers.
It was all the more so as the man had been there to see it.
To be precise, he had taken aim with his bow, targeting the soldiers of the punitive force as they emerged from the exits to their camp, killing them.
As a soldier in the guerrilla force, the man understood how great Rei’s strength truly was.
Fortunately, Rei wasn’t using that skill that covered his body in something strange, which would have frozen everyone that looked at him, like he had before.
That was part of the reason he was able to attack Rei with just a simple shout, largely to suppress the feelings of awe and fear that dwelt within him.
His long sword struck.
No matter how much he feared or was awed by Rei, he was still a soldier in the guerrilla force. He had the skills to be considered one of the elites in the rebel army.
And so, even though the sword he swung was a long sword used in mock battles, it carried enough strength behind it to deal a fatal blow to ordinary opponents.
However……the long sword’s strike was easily deflected by the shaft of the Death Scythe.
The man probably expected this to happen. He used the momentum from the Death Scythe to spin around and deliver a horizontal slash to Rei’s right side.
It was an attack that would undoubtedly break bones if it connected with the torso, but the next moment, the man realised that the long sword he was supposed to be holding was no longer in his hands and that there was a huge blade pointed at his neck.
「T-That’s it!」
The soldier who was acting as the referee shouted loudly, causing a commotion all around.
「Eh? What? Where’s my long sword……」
The soldier murmured out loud, not understanding what had happened, before a crunching sound was heard the next moment.
The soldier turned to face the direction where the sound had come from and saw his long sword stuck in the ground, a few meters away from where he was.
He immediately knew that it was the long sword that had been in his hand.
He understood that much, but he still had no idea how it had happened.
「What the hell happened?」
The soldier muttered out loud again as he looked at his own hand and at the long sword that had been in his hands just a moment ago.
Rei looked at the man before glancing over at a nearby soldier.
Being silently told to explain, the soldier spoke to the still stunned man.
「You used the momentum of Captain Rei’s scythe to rotate your body and deliver a horizontal slash. You remember that, right?」
「Ah, yeah. Of course I remember it, I did that myself. I don’t understand what happened after that though.」
The soldier who had been ordered by Rei to explain nodded in agreement at the man’s words.
He only understood what had happened because he had been watching from the outside. If he had been on the receiving end of the attacks, he wouldn’t have known what had happened either.
「The part that caught your horizontal slash was the butt of Captain Rei’s scythe. To be precise, it didn’t catch it……rather it entangled it. He then flicked your long sword into the air……no, that’s not the right word. He threw it? Or twisted it away? I’m not sure how to describe it, but he sent your long sword into the air and used the same movement to point the blade at your neck.」
After hearing the explanation, the man seemed to understand how he had been defeated. He looked at his long sword, which didn’t have an edge but was still stuck in the ground from the force of it’s fall before turning back to Rei.
The look in his eyes was filled with even more awe.
Hearing the other soldier’s explanation, he could understand how he had lost.
However……what was more frightening that that he hadn’t felt a thing when the long sword was swept out of his hands.
He hadn’t even realised when it had disappeared.
Disarming someone without them even noticing. What kind of skill did it take to do something like that.
He was known as an elite within the rebel army, and to prove that, he had been sent to the guerrilla force. But, even then, there was no way he could do something like that himself.
The difference in their abilities was so great that it would be presumptuous to even compare himself to Rei. That was what he had been shown.
Rei spoke to the soldier, who had started to lose confidence, without seeming particularly concerned.
「Your first attack was sharp and good. It was smart to use the impact from the collision of the Death Scythe and your long sword. But……even if you can use the momentum, it isn’t good to spin around. If you do that, you end up taking your eyes off your opponent, even if only for a moment. It would be fine if you could sense their movements from their presence, but since you don’t have that skill, you need to think it through a little more.」
「Yes……」
While happy to be praised, the soldier started to consider how to fix the parts that had been criticised.
Thinking about that, the soldier returned to where the rest were standing.
Today’s training for the guerrilla force was to spar with Rei, but most had lost without lasting several rounds.
There would be no point to sparring if they lost without being able to do anything.
So Rei explained what they had done well and what needed more work in a few words.
This was where his training with Luzi and the others from Wind Dragon’s Fang came in handy.
「Okay, next……before that, it seems we have a guest.」
A soldier, who had been about to step forward, thinking it was their turn, stopped, as if taken by surprise.
The soldiers had learned from their interactions with Rei that even though they were elite soldiers, they were still considered among the rank and file in the rebel army with those above them. However, they continued to seek strength without giving up.
In that sense, Rei was probably the best leader they could have asked for.
So when they heard that someone had come and interrupted their training, they all turned to look with displeasure……and saw Widele, the unit leader of the White Rose Knights.
There were other members of the White Rose Knights around besides Widele, but Widele was the one that Rei and the soldiers were looking at.
She was clad in white metal armour with a long sword sheathed at her waist. She looked serious……or rather, somewhat troubled.
The soldiers seemed to notice the expression on Widele’s face and quietly made way for her without saying anything.
「Sorry.」
With a brief apology, Widele walked straight to Rei and gave a slight bow.
「Sorry to interrupt your training. But……Rei-dono, would you be willing to fight against me?」
「Why would you suddenly ask? Judging from your state, it’s not like you want to participate in the mock battles, right?」
「Yes. I know how strong you are. You actually saved me, so there’s no doubt regarding your strength. But……considering the plan regarding Princess Frizione, I cannot be convinced just by seeing your strength. I can only understand it by experiencing it with my own body.」
That was why she wanted to fight against him. Widele said that to Rei and Rei thought for a moment……before nodding.
「I understand. Watching is also a form of training for the soldiers.」
It wasn’t fun for Widele to have their fight treated as a spectacle……or rather, as training material. But, she wouldn’t miss this golden opportunity to actually fight against Rei and feel his strength.
With a quick nod of approval, she pulled her long sword from its sheath and readied it.
Since Widele had brought her own sword, it was obviously not a training sword. No, on the contrary, it had strange magnetic attraction to Rei’s eyes, a familiar sensation.
It was the same feeling he got when he saw a magic item.
(A magic sword, huh. ……The first time we met, they were in the middle of a battle and I had just thought it was an ordinary long sword.)
While a little puzzled internally, he shook his head towards Set, who was lying on the ground a short distance away and looking in his direction.
It was to tell Set to leave this to him.
Set seemed to understand Rei’s intentions and closed his eyes again as he returned to a sleeping position.
「This is a mock battle. You understand that, right」
「……You mean not to kill you? I understand that. It would be a shame to kill you here, Rei-dono, as Mercurio-sama’s trump card.」
Snorts could be heard as the soldiers of the guerrilla force uttered voices of surprise at Widele’s words.
It was a matter of course. They had all seen the scene of the punitive force’s camp being burned to the ground along with everyone inside.
Some of them had even started to reach the point of having full trust in Rei.
It seemed insane to them that someone would say it would be a shame to kill Rei.
「Hmph, you’re going to kill me with the same strength that nearly got yourself killed? You should have a little more humility.」
The words that came out of Rei’s mouth were just as provocative as Widele’s.
But while they were provocative, they were also undeniably true.
The members of the White Rose Knights, led by Widele, had been on the losing end of the fight against an opponent that Rei could wipe the floor with.
「Fufu, no more nonsense. Now……show us the power deserving of Crimson!」
With those words, Widele dashed forward as she closed the distance to Rei.
It seemed like she had activated the power of her magic sword as several streaks of lightning wrapped themselves around her blade.
「Tch, a lightning magic sword. Another troublesome one.」
Rei spat those words out as he turned to avoid the thrust aimed at him before using the same movement to sweep Widele’s feet using the shaft of the Death Scythe.
With her feet swept out from under her, Widele used the hand that wasn’t holding her sword to push against the ground and avoid falling over as she swung her sword again at Rei’s feet.
「Oh.」
The blow aimed at his feet was blocked as Rei stabbed the shaft of the Death Scythe into the ground.
The moment the shaft of the Death Scythe came in contact with her magic sword, Widele’s mouth formed a smile……but the next moment, she was shocked by a voice that came from above her.
「What’s wrong? Did something good happen?」
Widele looked at Rei, who seemed like nothing had happened.
Normally, if a blow from Widele’s magic sword were to be blocked by a metal weapon or armour, an electric shock would flow through, paralyzing her opponent for a few seconds.
Even if it was only a few seconds, it was a big deal in battle.
Widele’s winning strategy had been to land a blow at that moment……
「How can you move!?」
She let out a cry of shock but didn’t stop moving. She immediately leapt back from a crouching position, as expected of someone from the White Rose Knights.
「Well, I wonder why.」
As Rei replied, he used Nebula’s Eye, attached at his waist, to create an arrowhead before throwing it with a flick of his wrist.
Since it was a mock battle, he didn’t aim the arrowhead at Widele’s face, which would have been fatal, but at her white armour instead. Specifically her shoulder.
A metallic clang echoed out.
Natrually, the attack hit Widele’s armour, so it didn’t inflict much damage.
However, it was still enough to impact her movement as she tried to regain her balance.
If it had been anyone else throwing the arrowhead, it would have only been an annoyance but little else.
However, the attack Rei used, even though he held back, was still far too powerful for an ordinary human and Widele lost her balance.
She regained it in an instant……yes, it only took her a split second, but it was more than enough time for Rei.
The next moment, after throwing the arrowhead, he dashed forward in pursuit.
「What!?」
By the time Widele regained her balance, the blade of the Death Scythe was already at her neck. If Rei felt like it and move his arm even a little, Widele’s head would be shortly separated from her torso……followed by a large amount of blood.
With the blade pointed at her so clearly, Widele had no choice but to admit defeat……
「I give up. I’ve lost.」
Despite her shock at how easily she had lost, Widele still declared her loss.