The Paladin of the Sacred Kingdom Part I, стр. 67

Why had the King of Darkness chosen to fight with a sword?

Is it because he used up so much mana on his way here? That’s really bad… The whole point of him coming was to fight Jaldabaoth…

He had cast Fireball several times, plus frozen a lot of enemies in their tracks using magic, not to mention summoned a ton of undead; that all took mana, so it was possible he was running low.

It must cost a lot to summon those undead…

She had no idea how strong high wraiths were, but they had to be much stronger than regular wraiths. Summoning a bunch of them had to require an awful lot of mana.

For example, when a priest summoned an angel, one spell summoned a single being. Or several weaker ones. With that in mind, he must have been using quite the high-tier spell—maybe a six.

A tier-six spell…

Neia swallowed hard.

Tier six was an unprecedented realm. The Holy Lady could use up to only tier four. This was two levels up from that.

It was simply unthinkable, but for the King of Darkness, perhaps it was possible.

If he used a tier-six spell to summon high wraiths, I get why it would use up so much mana. But if that’s the case, shouldn’t I be helping him?

Neia looked at the king from behind as he confronted the subhuman. His opponent, whom she could see over his shoulder, looked strong; Neia didn’t feel like she or any number of people like her could help at all. But the King of Darkness exuded a proud sovereign attitude; it was clear he had no intention of starting a fight he couldn’t win.

Maybe he’s a magic swordsman–type arcane caster?

There were pros and cons to raising one’s skills in both sword fighting and casting. The main pro was the diversity of tactics that became available, while the main con was the risk of failing to be truly proficient at either skill set.

So what was the King of Darkness’s case?

The two combatants watched each other closely as they slowly began to move.

The distance between them closed until their weapons were within clashing distance. Buser was the first to attack.

“Shield Rush.” Holding his shield out in front of him, he charged.

The King of Darkness blocked it head-on with his sword.

It appeared that absorbing the entire impact of someone so large charging at full speed was impossible—the king was knocked quite a ways back. Well, it was hard to tell since he landed so neatly on both feet, but it seemed like he had been sent flying.

It was surprising to see the King of Darkness, who had crushed a bufolk’s skull with his bare hands, get knocked back, but being made of bones must have rendered a full block impossible. Neia had heard of the advanced martial art called Fortress, which could completely neutralize all impacts, but only especially strong warriors could acquire it.

Both of them charged at once, and their swords clashed.

The pace of their exchange was so furious, even Neia couldn’t follow it. Her vision could only register the slight pause as the blades collided.

If she joined the fight, she had no doubt she would be cut down with a single blow.

The rapid clashing of steel on steel created a metallic racket.

Their skills were well matched, and with each collision of blades, they were performing both offense and defense.

Should she be astounded at Buser swinging his mighty sword with a single hand? Or should she be in awe of the King of Darkness swinging a huge sword with two hands despite being a caster?

She had never seen a fight at this high of a level, and she was sure there was no opening for her to get involved.

She slowly moved behind some cover, so as not to be in the way. She had to at least avoid being taken hostage.

They’re swinging like crazy, but neither of them are injured… And like, the King of Darkness is just…too amazing…

The idea that a caster could be this skilled with a sword blew her mind.

Is he using some kind of awesome spell?

All she could think was that he was using some incredible spell she had never heard of.

But still—

At this rate, His Majesty will definitely win. Or is that his plan? To prolong the fight?

Undead didn’t get tired. And being in combat probably didn’t stress them out. Everything worked to Buser’s disadvantage.

Buser seemed to realize that, too, and his expression gradually twisted.

If he has an ace move, he’d better—

Neia was stunned. The King of Darkness had suddenly hurled his giant sword at Buser.

Then a dome of light encircled Buser as a countermeasure.

The barrier of light subsided immediately, but the flying sword only grazed Buser’s body as a result.

Oh no!

Neia was about to leap out from behind her cover. The king was unarmed, and—

“Huh?”

Before she knew it, he was gripping a black halberd.

Buser must have felt the same way as Neia. His eyes were huge.

“You didn’t even cast a spell, so how…? And where did the sword you threw go…?”

“It was merely a silent cast. Don’t worry about it… Now then, my subordinate taught me how to use this thing, but I’m not very confident. Sorry in advance for sucking.”

The king shifted nimbly into a fighting stance with the halberd, creating indescribable tension.

Warriors usually specialized in a single type of weapon, such as swords, axes, or hammers.

The king employed centrifugal force to swing the halberd. He slipped his hand down the shaft to aim for Buser’s feet, which would be hard to defend. It was an attack he could have only pulled off with a long-handled weapon.

Just as Buser lowered his sword to block it, the halberd jerked up.

It was a feint.

He had put quite a lot of strength behind it, but Buser managed to raise his sword instantaneously to defend.

It seemed the King of Darkness really was better with a sword than a halberd. That is, his attacks flowed with the beauty of martial art, but the motions were slightly awkward, and even Neia