At this moment, as Riezel and the others boarded the carriage once again, they had no idea that the battle between Euryale and Yanivette had been witnessed from beginning to end by an unexpected observer.
Standing atop a steep, snow-covered slope was a middle-aged knight.
A flame-shaped sword hung at his waist, and he wore a suit of knight attire designed for mobility. Although he was neither particularly tall nor imposing in build, he carried himself with an unmistakably commanding presence.
Yet at this very moment, the knight who had witnessed the entire battle between Euryale and Yanivette was trembling uncontrollably.
"H-How... was... that... possible...?"
He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white and gritted his jaw, as though desperately trying to suppress the disbelief and fear welling up inside him. Even so, his entire body continued to tremble.
"What kind of power was that?"
"How could anyone possibly be that strong?"
"Those two women..."
Relying on his exceptional eyesight, the middle-aged knight carefully recalled the appearances of the two women.
Both possessed extraordinary beauty at a level far beyond that of any woman he had seen in his entire life. Even the princesses of the royal family paled in comparison. Only that detestable Valkyrie could barely measure up to them.
Of the two, the woman wielding the pitch-black magic sword and unleashing a strike that had seemed capable of splitting the sky and the earth apart was someone he had never seen before.
As for the woman wielding the ice sword while clad in icy armor, unless he was mistaken, she had to be the true body of the 'doll.'
"Has that one already awakened?"
"So... this is that one's true power?"
"What overwhelming strength..."
Muttering softly, the middle-aged knight's face gradually turned pale.
Recalling the confidence he had possessed before setting out, along with the pride he had always taken in his own strength throughout his life, he suddenly felt as though his entire worldview were collapsing.
What kind of existence were they actually planning to oppose?
With power like this, how could the awakened doll possibly be stopped by people like them?
In his eyes, that was already a level of power that far surpassed even that detestable Valkyrie, despite her possession of the national artifact.
"And then there were the others... especially that unfamiliar woman..."
By now, the middle-aged knight was almost completely certain that the people who had saved the border city of Mitte and defeated the countless attackers sent by various factions had come from Jinas.
And that young man who had remained standing calmly and motionless even amid the aftermath of power comparable to a natural disaster had to be the legendary Riezel Brynhart.
In other words, the people accompanying him had to include the two female Sword Saints whose names had only recently begun spreading across the continent.
Both female Sword Saints were his attendants, and they had actually accompanied him all the way to Theresis.
And the female Sword Saint mentioned in the intelligence reports—the one who had crushed Lukais's army outside the city of Mitte—was one of those attendants.
As for the other one, she was probably the magic sword-wielding girl who had just fought against that one.
But why was she so powerful?
Why was she so young?
With such strength and such astonishing potential, why would she willingly become his attendant?
Riezel Brynhart, the prodigy hailed as the youngest and most gifted genius in the history of the continent, had entered Theresis accompanied by such an overwhelmingly powerful group of experts while somehow becoming involved with the doll.
Could all of this really just be a coincidence?
Just what was his objective?
In the end, the more the middle-aged knight thought about it, the more confused he became, and the paler his face grew.
"Tch, the situation has completely gone beyond our expectations. This is no longer something that can simply be described as troublesome."
"What's worse, that one awakened ahead of schedule and is now standing alongside someone like Riezel Brynhart—a figure capable of influencing the future of the entire continent."
"If this continues, one wrong move could truly cause Theresis to fall apart."
Suppressing the turbulent emotions surging within him, the middle-aged knight forced his mind into a state of calm analysis.
"By myself, it's already impossible to stop them from entering Urvashi as we originally planned."
"This is a terrifying force capable of wiping out every Sword Saint in Theresis in a single battle."
"If they have any ill intentions..."
As he imagined the possibility, the mere thought was enough to make the knight unable to remain where he stood.
"No. I have to bring this information back immediately."
Just as those words left his mouth, an unexpected voice responded from behind him.
"Before that, how about you tell me everything you know first?"
As soon as the voice sounded behind him, the middle-aged knight's pupils instantly contracted.
*Schwing!*
Without the slightest hesitation, he drew his sword in one swift motion. A chilling radiance emerged from the flame-shaped blade, flickering like ghostly fire slowly burning through the darkness.
*Swish!*
As he slashed forward, the surrounding air temperature plummeted dramatically.
"Body of Effulgent Heliodor."
At the same time, the earlier voice rang out again as brilliant golden magical energy shimmered across the speaker's body.
*BOOM!*
As the middle-aged knight's full-powered strike crashed down with tremendous force, a deafening explosion erupted, sending countless snowflakes soaring into the air. Everywhere the attack passed, both the falling snow and the shattered rocks were instantly frozen solid.
Clearly, the swordsmanship employed by the middle-aged knight was the same ice attribute Special Swordsmanship once used by Ice Maiden and now wielded by Yanivette.
Within Theresis—or rather, throughout the northern regions of the continent—such swordsmanship was by no means uncommon.
Because of the local environment, this polar land, locked in perpetual winter throughout all four seasons, had never experienced temperatures above freezing.
Under such conditions, practitioners of ice attribute swordsmanship naturally enjoyed a certain increase in combat power.
As a result, throughout Theresis and the many northern nations of the continent, swordsmen specializing in ice attribute swordsmanship vastly outnumbered practitioners of every other attribute. Even the majority of Transformation Magicians specialized in ice-element magic.
The same pattern could also be observed in Volcarion, located in the southern part of the continent.
Volcarion was the only nation on the entire Akasha Continent that bordered the sea.
Consequently, the country possessed exceptionally high humidity, resulting in an unusually large number of people who practiced water-attribute swordsmanship and magic.
By contrast, in the central kingdoms of Jinas and Reiburg, people practiced every conceivable variety of swordsmanship and magic.
Although the swordsmanship used by the middle-aged knight differed from that of Yanivette and Ice Maiden, it was undoubtedly another form of ice-attribute Special Swordsmanship.
Unfortunately...
"Slash attacks don't work on me. I've also got frost resistance, so no matter how strong your attack is, it's not gonna threaten me."
A hand slowly—but in reality, astonishingly quickly—extended through the swirling snow. Two fingers caught the blade of the flame-shaped sword where it had struck the ground and effortlessly lifted it.
"What?"
Seeing the scene, the middle-aged knight's expression changed drastically.
Instinctively, he tried to pull back his weapon, only to discover with horror that, despite possessing the physique of a Sword Saint, he could not overpower the strength of the two fingers gripping his blade.
*BOOM!*
Without the slightest hesitation, the middle-aged knight activated the frigid radiance covering the flame-shaped sword, triggering an icy explosion that blasted countless chunks of ice into the air.
Only then did the two fingers release the blade, and the middle-aged knight immediately retrieved his sword and flashed backward, opening a safe distance between himself and the newcomer.
In that moment, he finally saw the other person's appearance clearly.
"It's you..."
Seeing that it was the familiar young man, the middle-aged knight's grip on his sword tightened involuntarily.
"Oh, you know who I am."
As he spoke, the young man, who was none other than Riezel, casually brushed aside the falling snow and smiled at the knight.
"Y-You... how are you here?"
While asking, the middle-aged knight instinctively turned his gaze toward the carriage.
By now, it had already resumed its journey toward Urvashi, and less than a minute earlier, the young man standing before him had still been over there.
"Teleportation?"
A moment later, the middle-aged knight finally realized the truth and couldn't help asking once again.
"But how did you discover me?"
In response, Riezel merely chuckled.
"Your guys have been sending wave after wave after us, and you're seriously asking how I found you?"
It was, admittedly, a rather foolish question.
Knowing that people intended to ambush him, there was no way Riezel would neglect to keep detection magic or sensory magic active.
Not to mention that although the Four-Winged Beast was not particularly suited for flying through heavy snowstorms, it had remained above the carriage the entire time, constantly watching the surrounding area on his behalf.
With the Four-Winged Beast's extraordinary eyesight, as long as the snowstorm wasn't too severe, spotting anyone hiding nearby was a simple task.
"Now then, let me take a guess who you are."
Riezel looked at the middle-aged knight with an interested smile.
"The strength you showed is on a whole different level compared to the people who came after me before. Looks like whoever's backing you couldn't sit around anymore and finally sent a Sword Saint."
"So, which Sword Saint of Theresis are you? Or are you one of the Sword Saints from the alliance of smaller nations?"
"Or maybe... you're from somewhere else entirely?"
Faced with Riezel's curious questioning, the middle-aged knight's grip on his sword tightened even further, while an intense surge of negative emotions welled up inside him.
It couldn't be helped.
The young man before him was not even eighteen years old, yet he stood there as though victory over him was already guaranteed, showing not the slightest hint of regarding him as a threat.
That fact alone was enough to infuriate him.
To make matters worse, Riezel's attitude bore an uncanny resemblance to that detestable Valkyrie.
The middle-aged knight still vividly remembered their last battle, when that woman had looked at him with the exact same calm expression, without the slightest trace of seriousness in her eyes, as though he simply wasn't worth her attention.
And both of them were equally young.
Remembering that, his frustration only grew even stronger.
Even so, despite the turmoil raging within him, the middle-aged knight did not lose his composure.
"...I am Krauser Augman."
In the end, he forced himself to calm down and stated his name.
"Krauser Augman?"
Riezel raised an eyebrow slightly, looking somewhat surprised, as he had heard that name before.
"You were one of Theresis's Seven Great Sword Saints who started out as nothing more than an ordinary soldier in the Queen's Army?"
"Twenty years ago, you accidentally wandered into a dangerous forbidden zone with your unit, somehow survived through pure luck, found a rare Special Swordsmanship along with a mystical artifact that matched it perfectly, spent the next ten years mastering both, then finally broke through to the Sword Saint realm before the royal family recruited you and made you a count?"
Among the Sword Saints of Theresis, Krauser was quite famous throughout the northern nations.
After all, he was the very embodiment of an ordinary man whose fate had been transformed by an extraordinary opportunity, allowing him to rise above his humble origins and walk an exceptional path.
Twenty years ago, he had barely escaped death in that forbidden land. Out of the several hundred soldiers who had entered alongside him, he alone had survived. Not only that, but he had also obtained the hidden treasures concealed within the forbidden area, forever changing his destiny.
Even today, his story remained the envy of countless commoners across the northern nations who dreamed of making something of themselves. It had become a legendary tale that had been passed down for twenty years without ever losing its popularity.
It was practically the classic protagonist story—a fantasy world's version of a martial arts hero falling off a cliff, surviving by chance, discovering a peerless martial arts manual, mastering unrivaled techniques, and emerging as a legendary master.
Who wouldn't envy a story like that?
Because of this famous tale, Krauser enjoyed tremendous prestige throughout Theresis and the surrounding northern nations, ranking among the most renowned of the queendom's Seven Great Sword Saints.
However...
"Wasn't it said that after losing to Valkyrie, you locked yourself away and focused on nothing but your swordsmanship? So what're you doing here now?"
Riezel's teasing remark mercilessly tore open Krauser's old wound, causing his expression to twist.
In fact, that was another story that had spread throughout Theresis like wildfire.
It concerned a Sword Saint who had risen to prominence only within the last few years.
According to the rumors, several years ago, an extraordinarily gifted swordswoman had appeared in Theresis. She had advanced to the realm of Sword Saint at only twenty-two years old, earning the title of the most talented individual in the queendom's history.
Although she was the youngest and least experienced Sword Saint in the queendom, within only three years of her breakthrough, she had accomplished feat after feat that bordered on miracles.
Two years ago, only one year after becoming a Sword Saint, she publicly challenged one of the queendom's veteran Sword Saints and defeated him before everyone's eyes.
One year ago, she issued another challenge to the queendom's veteran Sword Saints, and this time she challenged two of them simultaneously.
In the end, she still emerged victorious.
She had also repeatedly driven back Sword Saints from foreign nations, utterly dominating two separate wars.
Wherever she fought, she was invincible.
No one had been able to threaten her, much less leave even a single wound upon her skin, which was as flawless as freshly fallen snow.
Gradually, this female Sword Saint—only twenty-five years old this year—not only came to be regarded as the strongest Sword Saint in the queendom, but also earned the revered title of 'Valkyrie,' gaining countless admirers.
Because of her inhuman rate of growth and astonishing accomplishments, she was appointed captain-commander of the Queen Knight Order and now commanded every knight and soldier under Theresis. Her authority had become so great that even the princes and princesses of the royal family treated her with caution.
More recently, rumors had even begun circulating that the royal family's national artifact—passed down through generations—had acknowledged her and allowed her to draw it. As a result, many believed that she might possess royal blood herself.
Riezel had only learned of her existence afterward.
And the man standing before him—the 'fortunate' Krauser Augman—had been one of the two Sword Saints defeated by her a year ago.
"Instead of staying home, training in seclusion, and figuring out how to get back at that Valkyrie, why'd you come after me?"
As he spoke, Riezel still wore that faint smile, but the warmth had disappeared from his eyes.
"Or are you here to come after us too?"
===
[A bonus chapter for reaching 400 Power Stones]
[Support and get early access to upcoming chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]