In front of the southern base.
Godorfun stepped forward from the company, his face calm as serene water, and addressed Leo.
"I need not explain the situation, right? Release the prisoners right now if you treasure your life.”
Leo responded in a clear voice.
"We have given our word, they'll all be released with not even one of their hair touched— after you give up your invasion and return to your country."
Godorfun raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Bold words for a chick. You really think you can beat me?”
Leo smirked confidently.
"No knight steps into the battlefield with the intention of losing. Today, I’ll challenge you with all my strength, Sir ‘Indomitable’ Godorfun Von Wangyush."
"Oh? Are you saying you’ve been cutting me some slack in our earlier bouts? It sounds as though you haven't been giving it your all in our previous spars. What about the buff magic of Jeuri Levarance?"
Leo shrugged.
"Buff magic is convenient for saving magic power and stamina, but I'm still not skilled enough to control it at full power. I can actually fight better without it for now. Of course, I've always challenged you with everything I’ve got, but until now, our lessons in magic and swordsmanship have been separate. I've only recently reached the level where I can use both in actual combat— see!"
With that, Leo swung his double-edged longsword.
In an instant, a crimson flame ignited on Leo's sword.
Everyone in the company who had been watching with bated breath widened their eyes in surprise.
"......What in the world is that?"
"This... is magic sword. Coach (Read: Allen) insisted that I learn it, saying that it's common knowledge. Honestly, I thought it was just a waste of magic power..."
Leo said as he held the sword covered with flames.
But, as for why his coach insisted on it? There was no other reason— it was just simply too cool!
"Hohoho. I see... You've trained your external magic manipulation to the point where you can treat your sword as an extension of your body, and you control the magic through the mithril blade. I can almost picture the blood, sweat, and tears that went into mastering it, but such parlor tricks—"
Godorfun said as he drew his sword from his large magic staff, assuming an unconventional stance, dual-wielding the staff and sword.
"—won't work on me!"
Continuing his words, Godorfun struck the ground with his staff, causing the earth beneath Leo's feet to rise sharply and attack him. Leo swiftly leaped back at an angle, narrowly evading the assault.
Godorfun pursued him relentlessly, unleashing his earth magic two, three, four times in quick succession.
"If you keep retreating like this, you'll never beat me!"
As Leo continued to retreat, he assumed a stance for a thrust. Then, from a distance of nearly 10 meters, he unleashed a powerful thrust.
The flames that had enveloped the blade of his sword shot out straight toward Godorfun, mirroring the sharpness of Leo's thrust, and struck him directly.
"Ugh!"
Facing a never before seen attack, it wasn’t a surprise that Godorfun fell short in taking necessary measures.
No matter how skilled a mage was, casting a spell required a certain buildup— a process of gathering mana, converting its attribute, and then releasing it in a controlled sense.
However, Leo's magic sword had already cleared that requirement, meaning with the magic already in a constant ready state, he could release it without any telltale signs.
Of course, this technique had its drawbacks. The continuous activation of the magic on the sword consumed an enormous amount of mana. Only someone like Leo, who had vast mana reserves, could elevate it to a usable level in real combat. If an ordinary mage tried to replicate this, they would quickly deplete their mana and be unable to use it effectively.
Without pausing, Leo then swung his flaming sword downward in a vertical slash. Godorfun, rolling on the ground, avoided the attack with a paper-thin margin.
However, even that was a fleeting respite since Godorfun knew Leo would immediately follow up with a sweeping slash, and this time, he had no leeway to dodge.
This had been a carefully planned attack. Normally, a longer blade would be heavier, but stronger in power. Though it might have decreased speed and maneuverability.
However, the flaming sword only had the weight of a regular two-handed sword. Plus, Leo was handling his 10 m longsword like he would at close range, so Godorfun was stuck with no way out after getting caught up in his pace.
The sword lacked the cutting edge of a normal blade and its impact wasn't as deadly as Godorfun blocked the slashes and tried to mitigate the damage with a magic guard. However, he was still relentlessly struck by the flurry of attacks. He tried to close the distance, moving his feet while crossing his arms defensively, but Leo maintained the 10-meter distance, keeping him at bay.
"Guooohhh!"
"Haaaaaa!"
The two warriors' battle cries clashed, the acrid fumes spreading as the surroundings burned.
Godorfun feigned an advance, but then suddenly leaped back, putting himself just outside the range of Leo's reach.
Seizing the moment when Leo hastily tried to close the distance, Godorfun conjured a wall of earth and sent it surging toward Leo like a wave. By the time Leo kicked through the earthen barrier, Godorfun had already maneuvered behind a natural rock wall.
"...What about that screams common sense?"
Godorfun muttered to himself, his nose wrinkling at the smell of his beloved, but now charred robe.
Like Godorfun, all mages combined physical weapons with magic in combat. However, typically, swordsmanship and magic were independent of each other, used interchangeably or interwoven strategically during battle.
But Leo's magic sword was a complete fusion of sword and magic. The sword was magic itself, and the magic was the sword. Training in either aspect would exponentially increase the power of the technique due to their synergy.
This wasn’t something that could be achieved through logical thinking. No one would consider it viable because of the extreme mana consumption involved— it simply wouldn’t be cost-effective. In this world, where managing one's mana reserves was crucial for everything from combat to marching and other physical activities, the importance of mana management cannot be overstated.
However, Allen had shown a new possibility that defied this "common sense".
Surpassing an insurmountable wall — giant killing — required a trump card, a decisive move that could beat anyone. In that context, a single, explosive move was priceless.
Even Leo himself hadn't initially expected his abilities to evolve in this way. But if Allen insisted on it so strongly, there had to be a reason, or so Leo naturally thought, given Allen’s track record of producing overwhelming “results”.
On a side note, Allen didn't expect that it would turn out like this. Leo hadn’t been expecting it to work out, and Allen had always been upfront about his reason being ‘because it looks cool’.
If he had any talent for attribute conversion, he would have pursued the way of the magic sword— something he longed for regardless of its practicality or feasibility.
Alas, this is taxing on one’s mana, but I hope to see it in action live no matter what!
Hey, Leo. You definitely have what it takes to make this magic work. Will you do it? I’m sure you can do it!
Acting on an impromptu decision, he prattled the ‘Final Order of Coach No.26’ to Leo, discussing with him the concept of magic sword. And then, together, they trained.
When the magic sword had begun to show results, ‘Holy crap. This guy is a freaking cheat!’ had been Allen’s thought.
"Magnificent, Leo Zatstinger. What I said about it before — a parlor trick — I take it back."
Godorfun emerged from behind the rock and addressed Leo.
He likely understood that Leo, even with his prowess, could only unleash the magic sword one more time. If this were a real battle, Godorfun knew that he could simply avoid Leo until his magic was depleted, securing a victory by attrition. The moment Leo failed to finish him off on the first strike, considering the difference in skill, the outcome was nearly decided.
However, Leo still needed to face a wall that he couldn't overcome, even if he gave ‘everything’ he could. Godorfun recognized this and chose to confront Leo head-on.
Godorfun sheathed his concealed sword back into his staff.
"Let's settle this with a head-on confrontation."
Leo grinned.
"I appreciate it, Sir."
The crimson flames once again ignited on Leo's sword. Godorfun raised his staff and struck the ground with a fist-sized magic stone in his hand.
In an instant, the earth around Leo surged upwards like a prison, closing in on him from all sides.
"Haaahhh!!!"
With a powerful shout, Leo channeled all his mana into the flames on his sword, increasing its intensity. He burned through the encroaching earthen walls with the flaming mithril blade and burst through them with a charge.
The distance between him and Godorfun was now reduced to just five meters. Leo adjusted the flaming blade to a length of three meters, pouring all his remaining magic into a diagonal downward slash aimed at Godorfun.
Godorfun narrowly dodged the flaming sword by moving to the left and took another step forward, placing his staff on the ground.
Leo quickly reversed his grip and swung the sword in a leftward diagonal slash. However, just before the strike, the ground beneath Leo's right foot subtly shifted, throwing off the trajectory of his blade, hence it merely grazed Godorfun's head.
Realizing that his sword wouldn't reach in time, Leo released his weapon and forcefully stepped down with his destabilized right foot, launching a kick with his left.
But Godorfun blocked the kick with his staff, causing Leo to momentarily lose his balance and float in midair. In that brief moment, Godorfun drew the hidden sword from his staff and pressed it against Leo's neck.
"Game over, Leo Zatsinger."
"...It’s my loss.”
◆◆◆
"I had thought you all would be protecting the southern base with everything on the line… but it's all deafening silence here. They presumably scattered after witnessing Leo Zatsinger's defeat. All the prisoners seem to be safe. There were some injured, but the worst cases have been treated by Jeuri Levarance.”
Godorfun nodded in response to Jipro’s report, who had charged inside the southern base while he and Leo clashed.
"...So, they abandoned the south. That means the real target is likely the east. Send one squad each to the enemy bases in the east and west, and have them report on the situation. Send two men to the northern base to deliver news of the fall of the southern base. Jipro, reorganize the prisoners. The rest of you, fortify this southern base."
"Yes, sir!"
But soon after, the reports they received left Godorfun and his men perplexed.
"...The east and west are also deserted? This means all the bases have fallen... Jipro! How’s the reorganization of the army going?"
Jipro reported bitterly to Godorfun.
"That's the issue... There isn't a single commander left. Not even the squad leaders, let alone the platoon commanders... According to the prisoners, their target had been random, but they clearly had a goal, and they only singled out the leader class members. Reorganizing the troops on the spot is impossible."
"...They had this planned out from the beginning, down to the smallest detail. I was lured out then. We must return to the northern headquarters immediately!"
Just then, the soldiers who had been separated from Jipro's battalion and were managing the supplies hidden in the forest, along with those who had been sent as messengers to the north, rushed in with urgent news.
"Urgent report! The Gar Squadron, which was guarding half of our supplies and was separated from the main force, has been annihilated by a force of about ten enemies! We’ve lost all our supplies! At the same time, the other company under the command of Saree guarding our supplies hidden elsewhere has also been raided and wiped out! We’ve instructed the survivors to head south, but... we don’t know how many will make it..."
"W-what did you say!? What is Tim doing? Didn't the headquarters send reinforcements?"
Pressed by Godorfun, the messenger who had gone to the headquarters to deliver the news paled and trembled as he reported.
"R-reporting! Lord Tim has been eliminated! T-the northern headquarters guarded by one and a half battalion... has been completely wiped out by Allen Rovenne..."
“ "Wh-what the—?!" “
◆
About an hour earlier—
While Godorfun and Leo were engaged in their fierce battle, I stood with a perplexed expression in front of the northern base.
"Heh... heh... ha... hyahahahaha!"
...Crap, I think I overdid it...
T/N - Leo: top in his grade, top in mana capacity, top in strength. ...Holy, so the real title of the novel was Sword, magic and academic society—the real protagonist was Leo all along. Well, lolz aside, it's more about showing each character's strength I guess. Rip Allen though, couldn’t pursue his dream himself. It’s exciting to see how he's gonna take down Godorfun now.
E/N - This arc has been my favorite so far. Leo's magic was pretty cool, not gonna lie. It suits him too with his large mana pool. I think earlier chapters mention he had like 50k when Allen in comparison only had about 5k. And lol at T/N. Leo really acts more of an MC than the actual MC, Allen.