BBYW Vol. 1 Interlude 8
Interlude 8 – The Old Hero Swings his Spear
“Bjorc Zagann…as heroic as the rumors…!!”
He had not introduced himself, nor had I ever met him before. But I couldn’t imagine there being another man brimming with such a gallant aura and fighting spirit in the empire.
“You are the leader of this group? So young…no, a child.”
Zagann spoke while looking at me. His tone was calm, but each one of the words he uttered was full of a chilling killing intent.
His intimidating aura felt like it made the very air tremble. There was no better proof of his heroism.
“It pains to take the life of promising youth, but you surely do not expect to receive any mercy after all you have done.”
“Mercy, huh? Well, I don’t think it would hurt for you to hold back a little against a child.”
“Do not make me laugh! You attacked the very moment when our guard was the lowest and our exhaustion was at its peak! You have noticed our presence here! Prepared such rare weapons in great quantity! How could I ever treat someone so talented as a child!?”
Zagann swung his spear, ripping through the air and shaking the trees violently.
His lance had an axe-shaped blade on the tip: it was a “halberd”, which allowed him to perform bludgeoning, slashing, and thrust attacks as well.
“My troops have fallen already. We cannot advance any further! I thus shall take your head in exchange for such a failure!”
The old general thrusted the hilt of his halberd on the ground and howled.
To face the full brunt of the killing intent of the empire’s strongest general right from my first battle…it looked like I was destined for great things.
“Old man!! You better not get too arrogant!!”
Ladd, who had managed to escape the landslide, jumped at Zagann, weapon in hand.
The broadsword, which he swung with power much greater than the other boys his age, was probably on par with Zagann’s halberd in terms of mass.
“Mmngh!”
“Whoah!?”
Zagann swung his halberd too fast for the eye to follow, clashing with Ladd’s broadsword. The latter was blown backwards, weapon and all.
“Ladd…kh!?”
Salm quickly jumped in to catch Ladd, but couldn’t suppress the momentum.
They were thus both blown away and disappeared in the nearby thicket.
“Stay out of my way, you brats!!”
“…hey now, what’s up with that weapon? Can it change its weight or something? Seriously.”
I glanced at my friends being blown away and whispered, my eyes narrowed.
Shattering rock and blowing them away like that wasn’t something possible through muscular strength alone. That halberd seemed to be over 100 kilos.
The old man before me was indeed very muscular, but there was no way he could swing such a heavy weapon around so lightly.
He definitely couldn’t have run up the cliff carrying it either.
It was impossible to explain the events I witnessed, unless the halberd’s weight could be manipulated freely.
“Ooh, you have seen through my halberd’s true nature in such a short time?”
Zagann’s eyes opened a little wider, then he started speaking proudly.
“My halberd, 【Seiten Taisei】, possesses the ability to manipulate weight. It can render objects light as a feather or heavy as boulders. It is a magic tool bestowed upon me for my loyalty by His Highness the Emperor!!”
“I see…that’s how you could climb up the cliff so easily.”
I felt sweat drip down my back after Zagann’s words.
The halberd’s ability explained how Ladd could have been blown away like that.
The weapon was made lighter to swing it quickly, then the axe part was turned over 100 kilos heavier right before the impact. The great momentum thanks to the weapon’s light weight and the weight of the axe combined to create a force greater than a charging boar.
But the most fearsome part was that the old man before me knew how to use the halberd’s abilities perfectly.
I could have figured out a plan against a beginner who only relied on the weapon to fight, but the man before me was a master of his art even without such a weapon. Even if Zagann had come armed with a normal spear, I would have very slim chances of victory.
(Damn…this is really bad…I got too cocky!)
I shouldn’t have come here with just my men. I should have reported the ambush to father and let him deal with it.
I should have never even thought of trying to make exploits for myself to show him what I could do…!!
“Haaaaaaahhh!!!”
“Gh! This is bad…!”
Zagann swung his halberd and charged at me.
Ladd and Salm disappeared into the woods.
The other soldiers fell down the cliff because of the landslide and could not fight again immediately.
(I completely overestimated my strength! I’m going to die here!)
I regretted my recklessness as I faced such a desperate battle.
I put up the steel blade received as celebration for my first battle to protect myself against the halberd approaching me at fearsome speed.