A Wish to Grab Happiness

Volume 9, Chapter 232: A Long, Long Distance

I saw a long, long distance, way too far away. My eyes saw a distorted and twisted road, a place where I wouldn’t even call as road anymore. Sometimes even the disconnections were repeated, but the road was still there.

The journey I’ve walked felt both dazzling and daunting. I was completely exhausted. If this was a performance, then the audience would be foolish enough to witness a play without performers.

My throat was dry, my hands and feet were exhausted and worn out. And now, I was certainly at the end of that road.

…Five seconds had passed. The surroundings lost the peculiar noise of the battlefield, and only silence remained as if time had stopped.

The sensation of my left shoulder, no, of the left side of my body became dull as if it got numb. Blood splattered and tainted the sky, as if it had crawled out of the body in search of freedom. My nose, which no longer worked on the battlefield, even caught the smell of blood.

Both my left and right eyes opened with convulsions, exposing my hard eyelids to the ongoing heavy air. The air that I had accumulated in the depths of my lungs leaked from my lips in a single breath. At that moment, an acute pain ran through my entire left arm.

Richard Permilis’ black sword was shining on my left shoulder, tearing its flesh. A huge amount of unstoppable blood blew up from my shoulder like a raging wave. It was as if a dead man screamed at the end. My appearance looked terrible. However, even though the vitality of my body was sweeping away, it was surely a better result.

Originally, the blow of the black sword was supposed to eat my heart. It should have torn my body in half right from the shoulder bone that had no muscle resistance.

My opponent was Richard Permilis. My devilish teacher. That degree of impact had to be achieved no matter what. Nonetheless, there was a reason why it did not happen.

Even though my vision was painted in both red and black, the purple light flashed before my eyes and showed his figure.

The treasure sword, the sword with the inscription of Hero Killer, was tearing Richard Permilis’ intestines. It was as if the blade was tearing the left-side of his belly apart.

A clot of blood fell from Richard Permilis’ flank, making an unpleasant noise. My eyes narrowed.

「For the first time, I received your sword properly, old man. And it seems your strike was far away from its target. What a terrible aim.」

I spoke, spitting out a pool of blood from my mouth. Strangely, even though my left shoulder was torn, I could move my body. There was no such thing as power coming out of my limbs. On the contrary, my limbs felt deeply alive.

In front of me, the old man’s face with deep wrinkles became greatly distorted. His aged-looking lips slowly opened.

「…Is it an elf’s curse or a sorcerer’s technique? Are you walking down the foolish road? 」

Richard Permilis threw those words at me. I didn’t know what those words meant. However, I was able to guess to some extent.

Normally, no matter how great was the will of a human body, even if the whole body was squeezed, its body would become rigid on the spot if it was hit by a life-threatening attack.

Even if I swore that I’d cut the enemy by risking my life, if the blade of the enemy struck my body first and foremost, my hands would become numb and my thoughts would be blown away. I would not be able to counterattack.

Yet, Richard Permilis’ blow, which was supposed to go through my heart, ended up hurting my shoulder at most because I took my sword’s blade into his belly.

That said, I was hit by the black sword on my left shoulder and still wielded the treasure sword against Richard Permilis. I was able to shake it off. On the contrary, my left hand, which would have lost its power, was holding the handle of the treasure sword quite powerfully.

Obviously, something was wrong. There was a sign that the reason of this world was terribly misaligned.

Was this was an elf’s curse or a sorcerer’s technique? It may be true, but I didn’t care now.

I stiffened my eyes and forcibly moved my body while feeling the blood dripping from my lips. I pulled out the treasure sword. I sensed an unpleasant feeling spreading in my hands. At the same time, Richard Permilis also picked up the black sword from my left shoulder.

Our blood splattered again and tainted the earth. In front of me, the old man’s wrinkled lips groaned while being distorted.

The surroundings were wrapped in a strange silence. Both the Great Holy Church soldiers and the Heraldic soldiers were blinking their eyes while swallowing each other’s spit.

「I thank you for all you’ve done for me in the past. I’ll let you die easily. 」

With blood overflowing from my left shoulder, I raised the treasure sword with my right hand and said those words.

Richard Permilis did no longer have the power to wield the black sword. Even though he had a strong body, he was a man of old age. He should’ve been deprived of his strength just by swinging his sword on the battlefield.

Besides, I cut his belly. The more force I put into it, the more pain he’d feel. He could no longer move on his own. Therefore, if I hit his head with the treasure sword, everything would be over.

However, the old man did not show any signs of exhaustion, and said with a grin on his face.

「Gah, ah, ah…Why are you, and them…Why are you idiots always trying to get the best of me? Do you have time to care about aesthetics? 」

He spit out those words while holding his belly with his own hand. For a moment, I distorted my eyelids, thinking about what those words meant.

The next moment. The barbaric voices that had been lost from the surroundings were roaring from the enemy’s main unit. An unmistakable mass of soldiers signaled the start of an assault. It felt like the pulsation of the army’s existence. Moreover, the voices were strangely full of life. It looked like new soldiers raised their spears on the battlefield.

At this instant, the soldiers who gave birth to the new voices did not belong to the main unit.

It was an ambush. I didn’t know who was commanding the Great Holy Church army at this time, but that person chose to raise the face of the ambush. Perhaps, its purpose was to save Richard Permilis from his predicament.

But, there was no way. Was such a thing possible?

The battle between me and Richard Permilis should have been quick. I did not think there were people who could detect the situation instantly, much less make decisions that could immediately put an ambush on this scene.

Was there anyone other than the old general in front of me who could handle soldiers like that? To be honest, it was better to think there was a person who accidentally put in an ambush.

The angry voices of those in the ambush echoed high. The breathless soldiers regained their posture in the momentary battle between me and Richard Permilis.

However, the turmoil, which the soldiers felt after hurting their general, still remained in their hearts. Their hips were showing signs of weakness. This served my purpose. Now I could join the main army.

I squinted in front of my teacher, who was crouching while holding the black sword. For a moment, several thoughts swirled around in my head. I distorted my lips and said.

「I’ll be the one to grab victory this time, old man… 」

I spoke just like the time when we exchanged words in a tavern. I found that my voice was strangely resonating through the battlefield.

「…I’ll give it to you, damn kid. 」

Yes, just like that. He gently raised his shoulders and responded, echoing his voice. The wound surely hurt, but Richard, no, the old man even managed to throw a bottle of ale at me.

…The purpose was fulfilled. I could join the army now. I must survive.

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