Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 136

[ 136. Come Spring (1) ]

#136

“Welcome to Rodolan.”

Karaka, who showed an eerie smile, entered the fortress. The party, who alternately looked at each other’s faces, entered after him.

thud. The moment I closed the door, the warmth mixed with the sea breeze disappeared without leaving a trace. With each exhalation, white steam crumbled. Ronan swears at the biting chill.

“I was hoping the fuck was better.”

“You’ll feel better if you wear this.”

The cabinet next to the door was crammed with the overcoats worn by the guards and interrogators. Karaka, who was searching through the cabinet, turned to Asher and said.

“Hmm, I don’t know if there are clothes that fit the lady’s physique.”

“Ah ah, I’m not a lady…!”

Asher gritted his teeth and protested. Fortunately, I was able to find clothes that fit. The four people, wearing fur hats and even gloves, moved their steps again.

“There are no people inside than I thought.”

“The entry and exit is controlled, but I can’t stand it. On average, they spend three times as much time warming up as they do facing witches. It would be a little better if you had prepared a separate defense plan, but there is no such thing, so it doesn’t look like it.”

“I see…Damn, but isn’t this too thick?”

Ronan muttered annoyedly as he descended the stairs. His clothes were so thick that it was difficult to see under his feet.

“I bet you will think that even that is too thin after a while. Close your collar tightly.”

Karaka said confidently. It seemed that the Winter Witch was amazing. He said that many changes have taken place since the witch was sent to Rodolan.

“It’s a little annoying to keep the prisoners from freezing to death, but it’s not bad. There are a lot of new torture… no, interrogation methods.”

“What is it?”

“It’s simple. Just strip her of her clothes and throw her in the prison near the witch. After just a few repetitions, the body and mind of even the most steadfast prisoner breaks down.”

Karaka described in detail the feeling of cutting through frozen limbs with scissors. The story of a prisoner whose tongue stuck to the ground and had to be cut off.

“We call it ‘frozen.’ Haha, isn’t it fun?”

Karaka shrugged and giggled. So no one laughed. Only Ronan, who was used to it by now, responded in a calm voice.

“Why don’t you warm up the top and take off your pants and throw them on? Even if the bridge is broken, you can still hear the answer.”

“Huh… You seem to have a talent for being an interrogator. Didn’t I tell you before?”

Elizabeth and Asher looked at them as if they were devils from hell. They entered the depths of Rodolan, listening to the screams of the prisoners.

As I descended the stairs, I felt the temperature drop rapidly. Blue-lipped people passed by crossing them.

“Damn it…! Go quickly!”

“It’s impossible to break that thing… Cursed, cursed witch…!”

As Karaka said, they were people who escaped to warm up. Footsteps echoed incessantly. After walking for about thirty minutes, they stopped in front of a huge gate.

“Now we are all here. In front of this is the deepest abyss Giudecca in Rodolan.”

It seemed to have descended to the root of the reef. My ears were deaf because it was under the sea outside. The all-black door seemed to block even the shapeless ghosts from entering.

“It took three years of Rodolan’s budget to make this door. If you look in the corner over there, the names of the artisans who worked hard for the security of the empire are engraved.”

Karaka, who had laid out trivial information, inserted the key into the hole in the door. Kururureung…! The door opened with a sound like thunder vomiting. A chill never experienced before hit the four of them.

“Huh!”

“This much…”

Asher screamed. Elizabeth’s face, which had been maintaining her composure, was distorted for the first time. Ronan, who pressed his fur hat on even harder, sighed.

“Damn it…!”

“Heh heh. Isn’t it huge? Thanks to that, all the vicious criminals imprisoned in Giudecca had to be moved upstairs.”

Ronan gritted it. As Karaka said, the coat was meaningless. The cold air that had turned into a knife seemed to tear through the skin and tear through the intestines.

It was a level of cold similar to what he felt when he caught a witch in his previous life. The party moved forward along the long corridor. A blue halo shimmered in the distance ahead.

A buzzing sound was coming from there. Soon, an open space appeared. The group’s eyes widened.

“This is…”

It wasn’t as wide as I thought. Fifteen or so people gathered in groups of twos and threes and were looking around.

Most seemed very accustomed to coming here. It was impressive that each of them had prepared their own defenses to withstand the murderous chill even a little longer.

“Damn, if I knew it would be like this, I’d bring something too…”

There was a woman holding a magic tool that generated heat, and an old man wearing the skin of a beast he had never seen before. They were staring at Ronan, who was only wearing thick clothes, like a strange animal. Karaka extended her index finger and pointed at the people behind her.

“That’s the girl in question.”

A huge ice pillar stood in the middle of Juteca. A bluish glow oozes from the surface of the ice.

Although it was colored, it was basically transparent, allowing a clear look inside. Elizabeth, who opened her axe eye, muttered as she caressed the scar on her neck.

“Ibelin…”

Evelyn Droza, the Witch of Winter, was curled up inside like a fetus. She was an ordinary girl on the skinny side. His face was buried in his lap, so he couldn’t see his face.

As it was floating in the air, the hardened hair was white. It was eerily white, like dead coral, a far cry from Erill’s beautiful white hair.

“Damn it… it’s filthy cold. Hurry up and finish it!”

At that time, a knight in fancy armor and a man who appeared to be his attendant walked out of the crowd. In the hand of a knight as gigantic as a bear, a battle hammer was clenched so violently that it would be believed to be a street light. he shouted, looking around at the people around him.

“I am Baron Bunta, a knight of the Hmatu Kingdom! By breaking the skin of the wicked witch, I will save the empire from collapse!”

It was a loud shout like a bluff. The servant next to him clenched his fists and shouted.

“You can do it, Mr. Bunta! You will become a hero who saved the empire!”

“Of course not!”

A knight called Bunta raised his arms above his head. The hammer fell in a huge arc and struck the ice.

Wow! A roar rang out and the hammer head exploded at the same time. Bunta, whose face was as hot as lava, fell on his butt.

“Quaaaaagh! Your hand, my hand…!”

The metal armor shattered. A hammer with only a stick fell to the floor. There wasn’t even a small scratch on the ice that wrapped around the witch. Bunta, who was about to get up, screamed.

“Huh! The cow’s hand is stuck to the floor…!”

“Joe, hang on! I’ll take it off!”

The servant ran hurriedly, but his hand was not released. Bunta was finally freed only after he dedicated some of his palm hides to Rodolan. He escaped from Juteca as if he were running away, hiding his blood-frozen hands that had turned into gloves.

“I’m sorry for the country that says it’s Hmatu or something. A guy like that is a baron.”

Ronan laughed in amazement. Seeing that there were so many handprints left on the floor, it seemed that Bunta was not the first idiot like him. Karaka looked at him and sighed.

“These days, most idiots are like that. wanting to be a hero.”

“Can I just go and play?”

“Waiting for your turn comes first. Everyone here is here to break the shell.”

Karaka looked around at the people and said. Indeed, before Bunta’s sobbing went away, another person came out and stood in front of the ice.

The middle-aged woman was wearing a robe with the pattern of the Full Moon Magic Tower engraved on it. she said in a husky voice.

“I am Urslow, a mage belonging to the Full Moon Magic Tower. let’s begin.”

It seems to be customary to reveal the name and affiliation. A low voice flowed from the woman’s mouth. Whoa…! Nine huge magic circles were created surrounding the witch, and then nine huge rock pillars shot out.

Wow! The sound nine times louder than Bunta’s hammer rang out, but the ice pillars revealed as the dust settled were still there. She licked her lips and turned her back.

“Excuse me.”

“It’s better that way.”

It wasn’t bad to calmly accept failure. Even after Bunta and Uslo, attempts continued. People have tried to break the ice in their own way, and all have failed.

Among the challengers, there were especially many wizards, and among the magic they used, there were some that were good even to Ronan, an outsider. Whenever that happened, Asher and Elizabeth enjoyed the magic with their eyes shining.

“To draw the mana circuit like that…! As expected, there are a lot of outstanding talents coming.”

“Yes. I think it can be applied elsewhere.”

I couldn’t understand what he was talking about, but it sure seemed to have a positive effect. You did well to bring me too. It was a car that I spent time thinking about. Ronan noticed that the new person wasn’t stepping out.

“Oh, it’s my turn.”

“Ro Ronan…! cheer up!”

“I could.”

Asher clenched his fists and said. Elizabeth also gave plain encouragement. Ronan strode forward and stood in front of the ice pillar. The witch was still asleep curled up.

‘also.’

Seeing the ice, Ronan twitched his lips. His vague reasoning coincided to some extent. The shell covering the witch gave off a feeling similar to the crystal covering her body.

‘…a bit different.’

But if you ask if it’s completely the same, it wasn’t again. It seemed similar, but the feeling was quite different.

Should I say the difference between a shield and a prison? If Ronan’s crystal was made to protect something, it seemed to be made to contain it. I put my finger on it lightly, but the ice didn’t melt or crack.

‘I don’t have a choice.’

Now I had no choice but to destroy it. Ronan tugged at the hilt. Sureureung! The reddish body of La Mancha appeared.

“This is Ronan from Phileon.”

He fixed his eyes on the witch and opened his mouth. There was no need to delay. Standing up, Ronan swung his sword. Kaaaang! A belated crash rang out.

“It’s a surprise!”

“What is it? When did you swing it?”

Surprised, people shrugged their shoulders. No one on the scene saw his sword attack. Ronan frowned as he felt his bones roar.

“…So hard.”

The ice was healthy. Although about 30% of the blade had dug inward, it was far from the ‘complete destruction’ he was aiming for. The bewildered people let out a sigh.

“So it is.”

“Wait a minute, isn’t that a blade embedded in the ice right now?”

“It can’t be. You must have seen it wrong.”

As if they hadn’t expected it in the first place, they all reacted indifferently. Either way, Ronan had no intention of giving up.

‘If it’s cut off even a little bit, it will break someday.’

Even huge boulders are eventually chipped away by raindrops. He was about to withdraw his knife to try again. Something strange caught my eye.

‘hmm?’

Ronan narrowed his eyes and examined the ice. Sharp scars were dizzyingly engraved on the bluish surface. It was a faint trace that I couldn’t help but miss if I didn’t really look closely.

‘I saw this shape… somewhere.’

Ronan tilted his head. It seemed to be drawn randomly, but it had a sense of balance. It was unnatural because it happened by accident. After thinking for a while, Ronan switched his core.

‘Maybe…’

From here on, it was purely an act of intuition. Ronan raised his hand and placed it on the pole. Then, sparkling mana flowed over the surface of the ice. Suaa… The flickering mana began to fill the scars like water flowing along a ditch.

“What are you doing?”

“Hey, if you’ve seen the ball, get out of the way. We have to destroy that dragon before it comes.”

People waiting for their turn began to grumble. It was unavoidable because the sparkling mana was invisible to the eyes of others. The mana that spread along the scar stopped expanding. Ronan’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“This…!”

It wasn’t a coincidence either. The scratches that dug shallowly into the ice were drawing familiar pictures. It was as if a voice came into my head.

-【Funny sound. Do you think the lives of my servants and your bugs are equally valuable?]

– At least it is for me.

The scenes I saw during Haeju passed quickly before my eyes. Ronan still remembered the world he saw through his eyes. Ronan stretched out his hand as if possessed and touched the shining scar.

‘What the hell…what is the intention?’

It was only a few times I had seen it, but I could never forget it. It was the sword of swordsmanship used by the savior of Nebula Klagie, who kicked the sky and slashed dragons.