What can a sword change?
In fairy tales, it's the whole world.
It is endowed with magical power. Ever since humans created this beautiful weapon with a slender cutting edge, they have often been entrusted with various ideas and become some kind of incarnation.
But reality is not so innocent, a sword ends in the end.
Maybe nothing can be changed, nothing can be saved.
Even the only person who had agreed to protect him could not be saved.
Kill the tyrant, he said. He had believed that killing the tyrant would end all this chaos.
But Xigsumund I died. Although he did not do it himself, the relationship was inseparable. After that, the East Coast fell into greater chaos because it had no owner.
"The root of evil does not come from the tyrant himself, but from the people who nourished the tyrant."
"Corrupt officials and tyrannical nobles are detestable, but they are not born out of nothing. It is the people's silence and resignation that encourage such behavior."
This is what she said at the time: "Peasant uprisings and small countries rebelling against big countries have their own tragic inevitable laws. Most of the time, we do not pray for any changes, but just resist the person or group in power, hoping that there will be more Promising people stay in that position.”
"This is just changing from a slave owner to a kinder slave owner." She said at that time: "What we need is a complete awakening of the people, a top-to-bottom ideological change, no longer lazy and indifferent No longer will I be silent and submissive."
"It's going to take a lot of time. I don't even know if it will be possible in hundreds of years. After all, there are too many obstacles."
"The class of people in power who do not want to see this happen will do everything they can to hinder the ideological development of the people, not only the nobility, but also other powerful classes. But the most important thing is human nature itself. of laziness."
"We always tend to give up independent thinking and leave everything to a superior being. Life will be much easier if we obey orders and act."
"This is the natural servility of human nature."
"To change all this will be an extremely long and arduous process."
"But why not be the first stepping stone -" she said, smiling.
That was the last conversation between them.
Her ideals were shattered.
With that short life of only 23 years, it ended carelessly, casually, as if it was a joke played by the gods.
Like countless others who have had the ambition to change the world.
But unlike many people, there is something about Sania.
That is.
He is so stubborn that he refuses to give in even in the face of death.
will.
It resonated with something, something creeping above the bloody chaos of the battlefield.
then.
Even death was overcome.
But is this what she expected?
"Is this what your ideal looks like?" Holding Kramer tightly in his hand, Haimirning looked directly at the ruins of Parnilla with his gray-blue eyes.
There were dead bodies everywhere.
The vast majority are ghouls with black cuticle shells, and a few are heavily armed elite troops of elves, dwarves, gnomes, and orcs.
Elite troops mobilized by druids.
If it weren't for their existence, this empire growing in the dark would have spread to the entire east coast.
The high-level magic that magicians are flocking to is everywhere on this battlefield, and powerful flames, frost, and thunder and lightning flash in mid-air.
The humans mixed in here are very powerless, like children watching giants quarreling. It is very difficult to even understand what is happening in front of them. Even these great swordsmen, who have experienced hundreds of battles, appear weak in the face of a conflict of this scale.
But just like humble children under the fighting giants, they also have their own advantages.
"Ghouls have no intelligence, only instinct. Their five senses have actually been greatly degraded, but they have new senses in their brains that can detect the strength of an individual - in other words, the amount of magic power."
"Whenever a Druid member appears, it will be like dropping a piece of bloody fish into a group of sharks, but you are different."
"Because of the low magic power, you can get very close without causing a large-scale chain reaction."
"In other words, they cannot detect you with such keen senses. They can only detect you with the same bad eyesight and the same bad hearing and smell as mice."
"The plan is to split into two armies. The large army of druids will lead away most of the ghouls in front. And you will rely on your almost invisible advantage to kill key areas without causing a chain reaction. The remaining ghouls. Clear a safe passage for us to approach without causing alarm - it sounds stupid and is painful to do, but it is our only option."
"In this case, wouldn't it be the right answer to mobilize a larger army?"
"Young man, if a large number of people gather in one place, even if the individual magic power is very low, if the total number exceeds the threshold, it will attract attention."
"This is an all-or-nothing approach. If any link goes wrong, it will be like poking a hornet's nest, and we will be unable to withstand a group attack. So the only thing we can be thankful for is that they don't have a strong enough organization. capabilities, in order to further ensure this advantage.”
"We must face the only existence that can command all ghouls and make their actions unified and divided by their own will."
"If that existence is eliminated, the remaining ghouls will be just headless flies. They will easily fall into the trap due to their instinct to be attracted by magic. They can be easily eliminated."
"Just for this."
"We have to go and confront her."
"Things may get out of hand. If you want to withdraw, it's not too late." Erica glanced at Haimirning and said, and the latter hesitated for a moment, shook his head, and nodded again.
"lets go--"
"Clang——!!" Kramer swung it, and the hard cuticle tried its best to block the sharp edge of the sword, but the ghoul's head still rose into the sky.
Black bodily fluids spilled onto the ground, but were immediately burned as soon as they were sprayed into the air by the elf magician's large-scale spell.
Not only that, the ground seems to be hot for these ugly monsters, and they can often be seen looking miserable.
Without the support of the magician, I'm afraid all this would be much more difficult.
"Crack-Boom--" Thunder and lightning and other magical sounds are already close at hand. Heat waves come from the ruins of dilapidated houses. The static electricity in the air makes everyone's hair stand up. If they are not careful, their clothes may even be involved in their actions. Everyone will be shocked. But in the midst of a fierce battle, even if they felt it, they would choose to ignore it.
"Let's go." The central square of Parnilla's town was in front of him. There were only more than 130 great swordsmen left in the team, Gedo, who turned his head and took a deep look at Haimirning.
He should walk the next road alone, while everyone else should try their best to stop these ghouls outside and prevent them from approaching.
The advantage of being invisible can only last until now, when the "queen bee" as the center point, the leader of these ghouls like "worker bees", is attacked.
they.
They will immediately unite and return to defense.
So before that, they had to get rid of her. The purpose of the large armies of great swordsmen and druids on the periphery is to desperately prevent the return of these ghouls.
It can be expected that this will be a bloody battle, both inside and outside.
"Bang—Boom!!!" Electric lights and fires rang out one after another from the outside. Stepping on the ruins of the square, a total of thirteen high-level Druid elite members walked in.
They are the thirteen people walking in human society as red card mercenaries, the most elite and youngest promising members selected from all races.
But those Druid members, including Erica, who were incredibly powerful in the eyes of Haimirning and others, were all disgraced at this moment. "Roar——" The white dragon that fell to the ground in the distance roared again. Lumiqi, who was obviously injured and fell, was still fighting the ghoul at this time.
But this is not something they should be concerned about. If they really want to help their companions who are fighting, the most important thing to do is to end the battle as soon as possible.
"...."
A total of fourteen people silently surrounded the entire square.
Sania was sitting under a tree in the center of the square, reading an unknown book. The sun was about to set, and after entering Parnilla, it took them another whole day to reach her.
"..." Erica began to wink at the surroundings.
The setting sun fell on Sania.
For a moment, Hemelning hesitated.
That peaceful and beautiful face in this scene with a strong sense of déjà vu is just like the sunset many, many years ago.
It was as if she had never changed since that day.
"Maybe we can talk to her-" The moment he said this, he sighed because of his own stupidity.
"If you want to retreat, it's not too late. Take a boat to the east or west. You can always escape from all this." Erica looked at him coldly.
"..." Haimirning tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.
He thought he had moved on and was determined to end it all with his own hands. But the moment he saw her, his determination was like a castle made of sand in front of the tide - it had an indestructible majestic appearance, but was actually vulnerable.
"Listen. You don't know what the witch can do, and your inner vacillation will become her tool. If you can't make up your mind, Haymelin, you'd better leave, otherwise you will become our enemy. ——" The next part of Erica's emphasis was interrupted by someone: "Astraea, she——" A dwarf engineering magician shouted to Erica, but what she called This name is unfamiliar to Haimirning.
"She's moved! La', Xi', you two suppress the magic power. Yufenrik Sumu and Asu maintain the barrier, and the rest of the people follow me. Haimirning - what are you planning to do." Erica She turned back to him and shouted.
"I-" Haimelning hesitated briefly, then looked at the sword in his hand.
"Ahhhh - I told you before that your indecisiveness will kill you sooner or later!" Erica was so angry that she stamped her feet and then turned around with a spear, the electric light flashed "crackling", and then Two short dwarf engineering magicians with pointed ears and golden hair who looked like miniature elves installed some kind of equipment on the ground. In conjunction with the use of magic by the two elves, magic so powerful that even the air was stagnant was raised.
Some kind of powerful shock wave surrounded Sania in the center of the field in the form of chains. The elves and dwarf druid warriors maintained the confinement circle, while others used their own unique skills to prepare to fight against those who had been beaten. Taking control, she fought.
This looked like bullying. The astonishingly powerful elite of the thirteen druids had the upper hand. Haymelning had no part in interfering at all. Sania, who was surrounded by them, looked so weak and so weak. The ground is pitiful.
Chu Chu is pitiful, but she is not surprised at all.
With a "pop-" sound, she closed the textbook, and then raised her eyes with long, curly eyelashes.
A smile appeared.
That was the last sight Hemelning saw.
"Oh my God -" The magic chain shattered, and then the equipment exploded and the engineering magician was also involved. The elf magician vomited blood and fell to the ground. The orc warrior roared and jumped up holding a giant ax that Hemelning could not move, and was then hit by something transparent. A second before the strong wind was about to arrive, Haimirning heard Erica's slightly trembling voice: "The attack that knocked down Bai Xue (Rumiqi) was not a coincidence, she was already——"
"Complete body——"
"Bang boom!!!!"
The world before my eyes was erased.
The trees, houses, ground, and all the surrounding druids no longer existed.
"Boom——!!" Haimelning's back hit the wall of the surrounding ruins hard. He immediately felt a burst of pain, and then his consciousness began to blur.
"Dang Qiang——" The great sword Claymer fell to the ground, before his vision gradually blurred and fell into darkness.
He sees her.
Walked over slowly.
————
————
The wind came from far, far away.
The straw pole then gently flapped his face.
The not-so-strong autumn sunlight shone on my body, leaving only a warm feeling after passing through the linen top and leggings.
"Haimirnin——"
"Haimernin!" A female voice sounded next to him. He opened his eyes, and a face with beautiful emerald green eyes came very close. There was a mole in the corner of her left eye, and her face was in darkness because she was wearing a sunhat, but he could still see her frown.
"Ah——" Haimirning trembled.
"Have you forgotten what day it is?"
"Ah!" He sat up with a "Whoosh!" "Oops, what time is it now!"
"There's only one hour left." The woman said this with her hands on her hips, and Haimirning hurriedly climbed up from the ground: "Then I'm leaving!"
"Be careful on the road!" She shouted loudly from behind, and Haimirning turned around and waved his hand vigorously: "Okay--" He said in a longer tone: "Mom-Mom!"
She lowered her straw hat and shook her head in annoyance and amusement.
[This is fake] A voice filled with pain and reluctance sounded hoarsely.
"Eh-" He stopped, but there was nothing behind him.
"Are you sleepy?" Haimirning shook his head and continued to focus on the urgent matters at hand.
"Oh oh oh oh, it's little Haimirning." "Hello, aunt, hello, aunt." The young man running through the town roads like the wind greeted the adults around him with a very energetic voice, while facing the little boy. Run towards the entrance of the town.
"Dad!" "Oh, are you ready to go?" The secretary in the distance, who was holding a book and instructing the townspeople, waved his hands towards this side. His gray-blue eyes were full of smiles, and Haimirning When he turned around to shout, he didn't stop. Because he didn't look at the road while doing this, he bumped into someone——
"Uh, it hurts -" He fell to the ground, and when he raised his head, he saw a majestic face with a pair of sharp eyebrows and a serious smile.
"Lord Sigsumund—" Haimirning trembled, and the other party's serious face came closer.
"..." The young man swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and just when he was worried about what kind of punishment he was about to receive, the other party suddenly smiled.
"You kid, I won't punish you for copying because today is a special day. But other punishments are still indispensable, such as this!" He hugged Haimirning with his strong hands under his armpits. stand up. "Stop, Grandpa, it's so embarrassing. I'm already 11 years old!" The red-faced boy struggled, but the old man just laughed and came over to deliberately rub his face with his beard.
"I forgot the title again. It's Lord Sigsumund, or Lord Principal. My dear first-year student, Haymelning!"
"Okay, I really can't catch up, Grandpa." He was still struggling, and the townspeople who gathered around looked at him with smiles.
"Okay, okay." The other party put him down, and Haimelning started running as soon as he stepped on the ground. As he ran forward, he turned back and waved: "I'm leaving!"
"My precious grandson is about to grow up." The old man behind him wiped the corners of his eyes, and Haymills, who also came over and looked at the back, patted his shoulder: "It's still a long time, we can There are still many things to teach him, Dad."
Haymelin could no longer hear what they said. He just ran forward and continued to greet everyone along the way.
"The pronunciation of the letters that we are going to do today——" "Hello, nun!" "Ah, little Haimirning, are you about to go——!" The nun in the convent was teaching the children knowledge, and she also gave Haimirning her blessing, It made him feel a little stronger in his feet.
He stepped on the stone slabs and walked forward, panting, and finally ran towards the entrance of the town.
"Ha-ha-ha-eh? The carriage hasn't come yet?"
"Everyone..." Heimielning, holding his knees and panting, turned around and looked around, but found that no one was there.
"You were deceived by your aunt, Haymelin Enricon." A crisp voice sounded from behind: "She knew that you would definitely oversleep when you went to take a nap, so she woke you up early."
"Ah, mother is really mean." Haimirning walked over and listlessly raised his hand to the person coming behind him: "Hello, Sania."
"Yes." Sania nodded, then sat on the long stone bench at the entrance of the village with Haimirning with the book tucked under her arm.
"Really, everyone is so leisurely." "After all, today is the first day of school, where is your luggage?" Before the carriage came, Sania and Hemelning, who had opened their books, chatted about each other.
"Senior Tolicado helped us bring him here. Their eighth grade class started early. It was grandpa's idea. After all, you know, I always miss things..." Haimirning sighed with some unconfidence: "Thanks to my father, I was given the second-generation name Anrikon, but I am not reliable or stable at all..."
"There's nothing wrong with it." Sania smiled slightly: "It won't be a big problem if you take it easy and forget about it."
[That's not the case] "Huh?" He looked at Sania with confusion on his face, but the voice just now was obviously not from her - the other party continued the topic above: "Anyway, peace has been going on for I don't know how long. It will continue from now on. All we do is enjoy every day."
"Um - yes -" Haimelning seemed a little absent-minded. He rubbed his temples, feeling that something was wrong.
"?" Sania clearly had doubts.
"What's wrong with you?" She came closer, and the confusion in Haimirning's heart was all replaced by the delicious rose fragrance on her body in an instant. He sniffed his nostrils, then turned his head away with a flushed face.
"Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever, or have you been in the sun too much? Are you okay? I'll find some water for you to drink." "Feed Sania." Haimirning said in a trembling voice: "That's right, that."
"Huh?" Her voice was gentle.
"Can you come with me -" He turned around and was about to speak with a blush on his face, when something suddenly fell to the ground on the side of the road.
"Dang Cang——!!" The clear and reverberating metal sound was like a thunder, making Haimirning stand up with a "咻——" and subconsciously stretched his hands to his back.
"What are you doing, Haimirning." "Uh-" "Hey! New here, I told you to tie things up tightly. What if the pot breaks?" "I'm sorry, sorry!" There was a sound of scolding from the freight carriage on the roadside.
[Yes, this is what you should do] The voice sounded again, and Haimirning maintained this action in a daze. Looking into Sania's pure blue eyes, she was speechless.
"What's wrong with you?" In a daze, he seemed to see the snowy scene in her eyes.
[Your second section name is not Anrikong. 】
But this is clearly in the northern part of the empire in autumn.
"Really, Haimirning, you are too timid. You were frightened by this little voice." Sania sighed helplessly, and then opened the book in her hand again.
[Think back. 】
"It's not like that..." At first he just wanted to defend himself, but after saying these words, he felt something had changed.
【You remember. 】
"That's not the case..." he emphasized again.
[Yes, that’s not the case. 】
"No, that's it." Then the voice became calmer the third time.
【yes. 】
【"Live leisurely and enjoy every day."】
[How could she say such a thing? 】
[How could that Sania say such unambitious words? 】
"She is a flower born in the storm. Even if the wind blows and rains, she will just walk on with her head held high." The young man lowered his head and said this as if talking to himself. Sania's expression turned cold, and the originally vibrant world came to a standstill.
"I always firmly believe that no matter what fate we face, human beings will always be able to survive through it all."
"She will not be willing to sink into this false peace——"
"Haimilin Enricon, what's wrong with you?" she asked, her voice no longer gentle, full of suspicion and vigilance. And he lowered his head and looked at his hands.
It was a pair of scarred and calloused hands.
It was the imprint left by a lone wolf covered in scars, groping and growing alone in his life.
Rather than the tender white hands of a young man who grew up in a small town and was loved by everyone.
"No," he said.
"my name is."
"Himmelning Heinzwom."
"Captain of the Silver Guard Knights, Marshal Suomir." He waved his hand to clear away the fog in front of him, and at the same time distanced himself from her.
"End this fantasy, Sania." The voice changed from a boy to a young man: "This is an insult to both you and me."
"..." She was silent, but the surrounding environment had definitely changed.
"No, it's not. It's another life that you can possibly live, that you expect to live." After a long time, she spoke, and said in a steady voice: "I have the ability to make it a reality, Haimirning." ."
"You still don't understand?"
"Those who don't deserve to die will live well, Haymelin. The pain that you shouldn't have to endure will disappear, and you can live the good life of your dreams."
"Your hands are not meant to hold swords. You are too kind, Haymelin. Even when facing cultists, you cannot be sure that they are completely evil. You will have doubts about your legitimacy. If you hesitate, you will want to find out the truth, and you will want to change everything."
"You always try to change everything, but the world is full of holes, why not just tear it down and start over?"
"You really......"
"It's not her." He gritted his teeth, his voice trembling, but he struggled forward desperately.
"...There is nothing wrong with me." Her voice became cold.
"Sania... won't deny this."
"Won't escape..."
"She won't dwell on the past."
"Always only look to the future."
"It's this world that shapes us like this. Yes, it would be great if we could do it all over again, erase all our mistakes, and indulge in the good old times."
"But that's the reality."
"Her gentleness and strength did not come from carefree leisure time, but grew up in the flames of war."
"She is not a flower in a greenhouse. She keeps her head high even in the storm, ice and snow."
"Suomir's——"
"Snow lotus!"
"Sanya is unyielding."
"So," he said, "you are not her."
Then, he tightened his grip on Kramer's sword hilt.
"Ahem——" Due to the damage inside due to the impact, Haimelning felt his feet were unsteady as soon as he stood up. He spit out a mouthful of blood, his eyes were dizzy but he still stood up with the help of the sword.
"No matter how cruel the reality is, I will not escape. I will not want to go back to the past and make all the pain completely non-existent from the beginning. Instead, I will accept these, overcome these, and carry them with me to tomorrow."
"Without all of this, I wouldn't have met so many respectable and amiable people."
"But the tomorrow you love doesn't exist at all!" She waved her arm angrily: "Bang——!!!" A gust of wind came, and Haimirning barely stayed in place with his big sword inserted.
The sky was dark blue, and the radiance of magic in the night sky, the sound of swords clashing, and the roars of his companions sounded outside, which entered his ears again.
Under the bright moonlight, with her eyes flashing red, she spoke again: "Human beings will only repeat the same mistakes forever, because of greed, misunderstanding, and malice. So what if this war is over? Then A few decades of brief peace and everything will go on."
"The death of a tyrant only brings about a new tyrant. The injustice that disappears here will reappear elsewhere."
"Isn't it enough that everyone can be at peace? Why do you want to stop me? Why can't you understand me?" She gradually began to go crazy, and the overflowing black magic power crackled in the air.
"Why is that, Knight Commander Heimiren Heinzwom, why don't you accept all this——!!" "Bang!!!!" The light of magic flickered again, and after the dust settled, the shaky Heimir Ning still supported Kramer and stood up.
"I'm not...Knight Hymelning, ahem-" He coughed up a mouthful of blood again and said in a hoarse voice.
"From the day you died, I lost this qualification."
"I am now."
"Just a stupid man."
"You can't possibly understand that protecting something like this doesn't just mean material things."
"I still want her."
"Guard the wise person Sa Ni Ya's will and will."
"Go and inherit it!!!" Kramer raised his head high and slashed straight towards her face, but was blocked by a shock wave before he reached it. Haymelin was pushed back several steps, and two marks were left on the ground, but he still stood.
Although the wounds all over his body ached, he still stood.
"What is that sword...?" Her eyes on the opposite side were red and she was on guard: "Why did I almost fail to block it?"
"Ahh——"
"This." Haimelning re-arranged his stance, this time with the sword tip pointing down.
"This is a handful." His hair fell to cover his eyes that were emitting blue light, and he spoke with his lips that were full of dirt, broken and bleeding.
She spoke the name she had given her.
"Klemmer."
Immediately afterwards.
One step forward.
