The Swordmaster Who Returned After 1,000 Years

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 161

King Lahendra spoke with a grim expression.

“That’s right. The lands of four great nobles have already been devastated by the Geysir Empire. They feed humans to their drakes, leaving no survivors. Right now… even if we must raise Starn’s banner, survival must come first.”

The western territories had been ravaged by the invasion of the Order of Dragon Knights.

The king had no choice but to set aside the pride of the royal family.

No matter how weakened the monarchy had become, the highest authority in the Kingdom of Lahendra was still the king.

And now, he was the first to bow before Kaylen.

'If even His Majesty is saying this… we have no choice.'

'We can only hope that the King of Starn keeps his word.'

The other great nobles came to the same reluctant conclusion.

However—

“I simply cannot believe this. No matter what the Saintess says, an invasion of drakes? And the idea that the king fought them off alone… isn’t that completely absurd?”

Duke Rizer, the most influential of the great nobles, scoffed.

Even though his limbs were beyond his control, his determination not to surrender was evident.

“You don’t believe it?”

“That’s right. No matter how strong you are, how could a single person possibly fight off drakes alone?”

Kaylen let out a small laugh before turning to the King of Lahendra.

“Your Majesty. Don’t you find the royal castle a bit too small for a kingdom?”

“What? Well, that is true, but…”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, the king hesitated.

The previous capital had boasted a grand palace, but the newly relocated castle had been hastily built on a tight budget. It was far too modest for a monarch.

“I’ll provide the funds. Build a new one.”

“…Understood.”

—Ssssshhk.

From behind Kaylen, six swords materialized.

One of them, a green-bladed wind sword, settled into his hand.

“If you’re going to rebuild, demolition is necessary.”

—Swish.

With a casual swing of his sword—

For a moment, the entire castle seemed to tremble.

Then, its walls were completely blown away.

Only the structural pillars and the floor remained.

The walls and ceiling soared into the sky, vanishing without a trace.

“W-what…?”

A single swing.

With just one slash, the royal castle had been dismantled.

Duke Rizer’s mouth hung open in shock.

'This is insane… He’s even more of a monster than I thought!'

Who had he just dared to defy?

With trembling eyes, Duke Rizer gazed at the sky.

How could any human possess such power?

It was so utterly surreal that the entire scene felt like a dream.

“Ah. But now there’s nowhere to stay until the new castle is built.”

However—

“Instead, I’ll grant you the castle of a noble who refuses to swear loyalty to me. What is that man’s name?”

As Kaylen turned his gaze toward him—

A chilling sensation ran down Duke Rizer’s spine.

No matter how unreal the scene before him seemed, this was not a dream. It was reality.

And if he gave the wrong answer here, his family’s castle would be taken by this transcendent being.

“I, Duke Rizer, swear loyalty to His Majesty, the Emperor of Starn!”

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t believe it? Your words have changed quite a bit.”

His earlier defiance had vanished completely.

Kaylen smirked as he watched Duke Rizer now fervently pledging allegiance to the emperor.

“Then, what about the rest of you? Personally, I wouldn’t mind if at least one of you refused to swear loyalty…”

“The House of Ksanta also pledges loyalty to His Majesty, the Emperor!”

But led by Marquis Ksanta, whose forehead bore the crest of Starn—

The other great nobles, reading the situation quickly, rushed to swear their allegiance as well.

“This is troublesome. Now there’s nowhere for the king to stay…”

Kaylen glanced around at the nobles, then returned the wind sword to its place and drew another blade—a brown-hued Earth Sword.

“It seems I have no choice but to restore the castle for now.”

—Thunk.

As the Earth Sword was driven into the ground,

The debris of the castle, which had been scattered into the sky, began to gather again.

Like time rewinding itself, the fallen walls and ceiling returned to their original places.

The broken structures reassembled, reforging themselves with the sword’s power—

And in an instant, the castle was completely restored.

“Then, I’ll take that as your agreement to raise the banner.”

“Y-yes… Your Majesty, the Emperor…”

The King of Lahendra nodded repeatedly as he answered.

He had no doubts now—resisting this ‘transcendent being’ was simply not an option.

'He… he is no different from a god.'

With a single swing of his sword, the castle had been obliterated.

And with another, it had been rebuilt.

To perform such feats so effortlessly—this was nothing short of divine miracles.

“Other regions are still under attack. I should get going.”

With that, Kaylen concluded his overwhelming display of power and disappeared into a radiant path of light, leaving behind the stunned king and nobles.

Those who remained could only stare blankly at one another.

Their entire kingdom had been conquered in a single day—a situation so unprecedented that they struggled to process it.

“…For now, let us raise the banners as the Emperor commanded.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Following the king, who had at least managed to compose himself,

The castles of every noble in the Kingdom of Lahendra began to hoist a new banner—

The flag of Starn, the empire they were now destined to become.

Imperial Palace of the Geysir Empire

“…What did you just say?”

Emperor Kaius’s voice was dangerously low.

“The Order of Dragon Knights… has been annihilated.”

“…Ha…”

Kaius stroked his beard, his expression dark.

Annihilated? The Order of Dragon Knights?

They had dispatched a total of twenty knight orders to conquer the eastern regions of the empire.

Among them, five had marched toward the Kingdom of Lahendra, while the rest had spread across other regions to seize control.

And yet—

How could so many have been completely wiped out?

“There were five hundred drake knights, were there not?”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”

“Among all the kingdoms in the Middle Realm, not a single one could possibly withstand five hundred drakes… Even if one could, there is no way the Order of Dragon Knights would have been completely wiped out. Am I wrong?”

“…No, Your Majesty.”

"Am I supposed to believe this report?"

Caius's eyes gleamed sharply.

Black flames erupted from the servant who had entered to deliver the damage report.

"Aaargh… Y-Your Majesty… Spare me…!"

Before he could even finish his plea, his body turned to ashes in an instant.

Caius tapped his bony lower body with his fingers, lost in thought.

'There is no way the Dragon Knights were defeated and annihilated by mere humans.'

Five hundred drakes inscribed with anti-magic formations.

Combined with the Dragon Knights, even a single unit of the Dragon Knights was enough to subjugate an entire kingdom.

If the advance had merely been stalled in one or two regions, that would be understandable.

But for all twenty Dragon Knight divisions to vanish so suddenly?

It was unthinkable.

Unless some overwhelming "external force" had intervened.

'Ederna, that woman…'

Caius suspected that Ederna, the Marquise, was that external force.

'Not content with being granted the territory of the Starn Kingdom, she dares to obstruct the expansion of the Geysir Empire?'

She only held the title of Marquise thanks to the prestige of being the child of the previous Demon King.

Compared to the true power wielded by the Counts of the Demon Realm, she was nothing special.

She should have been satisfied with her mere position as the head of an observation outpost, yet she dared to interfere with House Helmeier’s affairs?

'Once Father awakens, she will be nothing…'

Caius tried to suppress his rage for now.

The ritual to awaken his father, Ernstine, was nearing its final stages.

Even if Ederna’s interference was irritating, he intended to prioritize the more important matter.

However, just a few days later—

"Y-Your Majesty, I bring a report! The lands we targeted… they all bear new flags—"

"Flags? What flags are you talking about?"

"They are said to be the flags of the Starn Empire… Bearing an emblem of six swords piercing a dragon…"

"What?!"

At the servant’s report, Caius lost his composure.

"Say that again. What does the emblem depict?"

"Six swords piercing the dragon’s head…"

"Those wretches… They’ve truly lost their minds!"

A symbol whose meaning was obvious to anyone.

And to make matters worse, the fact that it was specifically "six swords piercing a dragon" only further enraged Caius.

'They dare use such an emblem? Those ingrates. They begged for their lives and even changed their name back then…!'

When the Kingdom of Meier changed its name to Starn in a desperate attempt to survive, they groveled.

And now, they dared to raise such a blatant declaration of war?

Seething with fury, Caius reached out toward the unfortunate servant.

"Aaaargh…!"

Fwoosh!

Once again, flames erupted mercilessly, reducing the servant to ashes.

Caius, his gaze now cold and unreadable, stared at the empty space before him before rising abruptly from the throne.

"I must go to the Demon Realm."

He had intended to wait until his father, Ernstine, fully awakened.

But this had gone far beyond what he could tolerate.

At this point, even a direct conflict with Marquise Ederna was inevitable.

With that, he set out for the observation outpost in the Demon Realm.

Meanwhile, at the colonial observation outpost—

'Kaylen… has grown too strong.'

Even Ederna, the head of the observation outpost, was troubled.

Now a Grand Sword Master, Kaylen was acting in a way completely opposite to the cautious approach he had shown until now.

At one point, he had even accepted changing his nation's name to fend off the Geysir Empire’s invasion.

But now, he was taking matters into his own hands, displaying aggressive action.

'If not for the non-aggression treaty, he would have invaded himself.'

She had supported Kaylen as a countermeasure against the White Demon King…

But now that he had become a Grand Sword Master, continuing to assist him might drag her into trouble as well.

As she was lost in thought—

"Director, Count Caius has arrived."

Hearing that Caius had come, Ederna, in her serpent form, flicked her tongue.

—Let him in.

It was likely a visit to protest the current situation.

With that, she gave the order to her subordinate and prepared to receive Count Caius.

"Marquise Ederna, are you aware of the unfortunate incident in the colony?"

Caius glared at Ederna, making no effort to hide his anger.

He maintained a formal level of courtesy only because of their difference in rank.

But his attitude was far ruder than before.

—I don’t know what you’re talking about.

"Heh… Does the head of the colonial observation outpost truly not know what she is observing? Our Geysir Empire’s Dragon Knight division has been annihilated."

—And why should I be concerned? It’s merely a minor conflict in the colony.

"Heh… A minor conflict? From now on, you will have no choice but to care. Unless you wish to face the wrath of House Helmeier!"

Caius raised his voice at Ederna, who was feigning ignorance.

A threat made possible only because Ederna’s power was clearly inferior to that of House Helmeier.

The moment his rudeness made Ederna’s gaze turn icy cold—

"I never thought the hierarchy of the Demon Realm would be shaken like this."

A pure white glow appeared at the entrance of the director’s office.

Light mana—something rarely seen in the Demon Realm.

There was only one being in the Demon Realm who possessed it.

"L-Lord Demon King…!"

It was none other than the White Demon King, Deimos.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]