/

Chapter 76




SMH 76
Swordmaster Healer – Episode 76
Chapter 25: Item Get! (3)
“Advance! Lay down your lives for the Emperor!”
“The enemy’s not tired!”
“Our forces are taking more and more damage!”
The commander had attempted to induce a battle of attrition, but Sung Joon, who was capable of utilizing Mana Absorption, fought continuously against the Imperial Army.
Whenever Sung Joon killed a soldier, he would absorb more mana and stamina than he had consumed.
“H-He’s a monster!”
He might’ve seemed like a monster, though compared to the Knight Brigade*, which had firmly stayed their position, the Empire’s normal soldiers were shaken with fear and had started to flee. (*The Knight Brigade isn’t here right now; he’s just talking about how they behaved before.)
“Run away!”
“We can’t win!”
When the combined amount of deserters and casualties crossed three hundred, the knights and the non-com officers also gave up and fled.
At the start, more than two hundred soldiers had surrounded them, and had joined forces with the reinforcing troops, thereby making their force over five hundred strong. This force of over five hundred fought against Sung Joon, but right now, there was no one left there.
He absorbed the mana from the countless corpses.
“Your synchronization rate has raised by 1%, making it 31%,” Rishubalt said, reporting his synchronization rate.
The enemies were weak and didn’t have much mana, but perhaps because he had absorbed mana from so many of them, his synchronization rate had increased by 1%.
“Is there anything like a new skill or something?” Sung Joon asked.
Rishubalt bowed his head and replied, “I cannot feel any changes.”
“I see.”
Sung Joon put his disappointment behind him, and started walking.
Now there were no soldiers or knights blocking his path. He walked without any impediments until he suddenly stumbled upon an idea, and lifted his head.
“Rishubalt,” Sung Joon called.
“Please give me the order,” the ever loyal spirit aide replied, who had been following silently behind Sung Joon.
“This is definitely the dimension that I had lived in, right?”
“Everything matches. Although I am no Mage, I’m absolutely positive.”
“Then if I leave this fortress, can I return to my original dimension?”
He didn’t originally have much of a desire to return to his dimension. It was just an idea that had ran past him. Rishubalt responded to Sung Joon’s question with a calm expression.
“You cannot leave. As I had explained the other day, this is a broken-off space, and the time outside is frozen.”
Rishubalt was originally a knight, but since he had the related knowledge imprinted into him, he was able to give Sung Joon a definite answer.
He still didn’t know how a knight would have been imprinted with this kind of knowledge.
“Really? Then it can’t be helped…”
Regret couldn’t be found in Sung Joon’s voice. That’s because he had simply asked something that had suddenly popped up into his head.
“Then our enemies shouldn’t be able to get out of here, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then it’ll be fine to just leisurely annihilate them.”
Sung Joon smiled icily. He didn’t recognize mercy as one of his choices.
“I’ll go scout out for the Boss’s location.”
“Good.”
Sung Joon nodded his head and Rishubalt concealed himself. And after ten minutes, he reappeared.
“I’ve confirmed the location of the base commander.”
“Where is he?”
“Although you would have to walk about twenty minutes to get there, it seems like you would be able to get there immediately, my lord.”
“Lead me there.”
Rishubalt began to take the lead and Sung Joon followed behind him. They moved at an incredible speed for around three minutes and then Sung Joon was able to detect several presences.
“It seems like there are about six hundred of them…”
“There are also several Mages. It seems as though the base commander has gathered all the surviving soldiers.”
“The base commander is supposed to strategically mobilize the soldiers to defend the fortress, yet he gathered the soldiers in order to safeguard his own life? What an idiot…”
Sung Joon shook his head.
He walked a little bit more before encountering his enemies. A man who looked to be the leader was commanding hundreds of soldiers in the vast space.
They had set up their battle positions so well, it was as if he was witnessing a small battlefield.
“We’ve been detected!”
Because Sung Joon hadn’t attempted to hide his presence, he was detected immediately. As soon as Rishubalt’s warning ended, they shot a barrage of offensive magic and arrows at him.
“Bombard him! Don’t hold back on the firepower, so that he can’t advance!”
The non-com officer’s voice rang out across the small battlefield. Yet Sung Joon was still calm, despite the barrage of arrows raining down upon him.
He was confident that he’d be able to dodge all of them and mere arrows wouldn’t be able to pierce through his vestments.
“We can’t allow him to approach! Don’t let up on your casting!”
Following the base commander’s order, the Mages shot their conjured magic at Sung Joon.
“It is time for you to show them your dignity, my lord,” Rishubalt said.
Sung Joon smiled coldly and nodded his head. He then used his high-speed movement technique.
“He disappeared!”
“Find him!”
“Guard all around!”
Though the soldiers defended from all sides, they couldn’t find Sung Joon. Even the knights couldn’t find him. It was because Sung Joon had simultaneously closed the distance whilst using his stealth item, so there was no way they’d be able to find him.
“Mage unit, use your Searching Magic!” the commander yelled, and at the moment that his message was about to be transmitted to the Mage unit… An aura slash flew towards them, shaking things up.
“AH!”
“Ugh!”
The Mages yelled in agony and spurted blood. They weren’t skilled enough to notice Sung Joon’s ambush and also protect themselves with defensive magic.
Out of the fifteen Mages, six had become unable to fight. The base commander, who had been watching over the situation, paled.
The Mage unit’s location was close to command. In other words, it meant that Sung Joon could immediately aim for command.
“This message is top priority! Gather at command!”
Ultimately, he was a man who valued his safety so he disregarded the battle formation and made the wrong call, ordering his men to reassemble at command.
“This is the base commander’s order! Gather at command immediately!”
“Defend command to the last!”
As the soldiers moved, Sung Joon used the gap in their crumbled formation and infiltrated it using his high-speed movement.
If they had maintained their formation, he would’ve had to fight his way through.
The base commander had ordered his soldiers to reassemble at command in order to protect it, but as a result, that order that been like a flare which signaled their demise.
“S-Stop him…! AH!”
“He’s too strong!”
Sung Joon had instantly infiltrated to a place close to command. The knights moved hurriedly in order to stop him, but they were nowhere near enough. Whenever Sung Joon swung his sword, the knights’ blood would spread into the air.
“Y-You must stop him!”
“We’re the knights of the Empire! Cast away your fear!”
The knights fought fiercely, but they were no match for him. They died in vain upon Sung Joon’s blade.
“Shit!”
The case commander saw the knights’ inability to resist, falling like scarecrows, and cursed, drawing his sword.
A faint aura gleamed upon his sword.
Although he looked like a coward, he was amongst the Empire’s elites, and was part of the Silver Lion knights.
“I-I can’t see him…”
He had drawn his sword, but he couldn’t track Sung Joon’s movements. The fear of being unable to oppose him made his hands shake. While he was hesitating, the knights that were protecting command were annihilated and Sung Joon had passed through.
“Die!”
The knight that was closely protecting the base commander drew his sword and rushed at Sung Joon, but Sung Joon didn’t move.
It was only when the knight’s sword closed in on Sung Joon’s neck did Sung Joon’s feet move, and he opened his mouth.
“Sorry, but…” he began.
He stepped to the side, avoiding the sword.
“To me, it feels like you’re not even moving.”
Those were the last words that the knight heard in this world. By the time Sung Joon had finished talking, his sword had already cut and passed through the knight’s neck.
“Stop him!” the base commander ordered, and the members of command altogether drew and raised their weapons, rushing at Sung Joon.
That wasn’t much different from suicide.
“AH!”
“Ugh!”
Sung Joon’s sword felled three commanders, five officers, and eleven non-com officers. Eventually, the base commander was the only one left remaining and the other soldiers couldn’t easily approach.
“L-Long live the Emperor!”
In order to cast away his fear, he cried out to the Emperor and rushed Sung Joon. Seeing that, Sung Joon smiled coldly and said, “Then die for that great Emperor.”
His sword moved as if it were a flash and his sword pierced through the base commander’s skull.
“You’ve defeated the Boss. You can proceed, or you can end it here,” Rishubalt said.
Sung Joon pondered briefly and mused, “I shouldn’t leave any witnesses, right?”
“You are correct,” Rishubalt said, nodding at Sung Joon’s opinion.
“Long live the Emperor!”
“For the Empire’s glorious victory!”
In order to forget their fear, the soldiers and the remaining few knights cried out to the Emperor and charged Sung Joon. Sung Joon aimed his sword at them and moved busily.
“Ugh!”
“AH!”
The soldiers fell weakly and after a short time, the final resisting knight wasn’t even able to block a single blow, and died.
Rishubalt declared, “You’ve cleared the Awakening Dungeon. Your synchronization rate increased by 1% and it’s at 32% now.”
The surrounding landscape melted away and he returned to the dungeon Boss Room that he had finished attacking.
Sung Joon inspected his dimensional pouch that contained his magic stones, then looked at Rishubalt and asked, “Is there anything that’s changed?”
He asked just to be sure.
“As you have reached a 32% synchronization rate, it’s become possible for you to use a restricted Gale Sword.”
“Gale Sword, you say… tell me what’s been restricted,” Sung Joon asked.
He remembered the Gale Sword. He was just curious about how much the Gale Sword was restricted.
Rishubalt seemed to ponder briefly, before opening his mouth and saying, “Your charging speed and the distance have been dramatically reduced. I also do not know exactly. It seems like there’s nothing you can do besides using it for yourself.”
“That’s plenty. Thanks.”
They finished their conversation and as Sung Joon was about to start walking…
– Verifying the existence of a new item.
The measuring tool belatedly responded.
“Is it Roel…?”
Sung Joon was able to guess immediately. He drew his sword, Roel, and brought it in front of his measuring tool. And he used the measuring tool’s appraisal feature.
B-rank.
Verifying Transform effect.
Verifying Lightweight effect.
Verifying Bleeding Curse effect.
Verifying Dormant Abilities effect.
Verifying Past Life Awakening effect.
The name had changed from ‘Awakened Roel’ to ‘Awakened Roel +1’ and it had gained the Transform effect. Sung Joon raised Roel in order to utilize the additional effect.
“Transform.”
Sung Joon recited the activation words and his sword, Roel, became smaller and turned into a black ring.
“Not bad.”
Read Latest Chapters at wuxiaworld.eu
Though Hunters were permitted to carry weapons, carrying a sword around was normally really uncomfortable. It would be easier to carry around now, so that was a relief.
“Let’s go,” Sung Joon said, looking at Rishubalt, and started walking. Eventually, he left the dungeon and checked his phone, confirming that he had gotten a message.
It was a message from Eun Joo.