Book 5: Chapter 15

Ten days had passed since Sally recovered.

The Martial God’s Warrior Tournament, which would determine the strongest in this country, would be held today and tomorrow. I was not strong enough to participate yet, so this time, I’m helping with the event’s management. I hoped I’d be able to participate in the tournament someday, so I could show off my strength, too.

By the way, Sally would appear in the tournament. She had just been assigned to the National Army, yet she was suddenly appointed as the platoon’s deputy captain. She had that ability, so wouldn’t she advance to a good place?

Oh, just as I thought, she actually passed the preliminaries!

Even if you couldn’t destroy the target, if you damaged it above a certain extent, you would be recognized, and you could participate in the main battle.

Amazing!

My friend is so amazing!

Apparently, after being healed by Halt, the right arm and feet’s conditions were really great.

Afterward, the preliminaries proceeded without a hitch.

The target I was in charge with was pretty much tattered by now, but no one managed to knock it down.

I glanced at the register of participant numbers.

Ah, my shift was over with the next person.

“Next, number 997, please come up!”

I called the next participant.

After number 900, the chances of a participant’s appearance with the potential to knock the target down increases, so I was also a bit excited.

What kind of power, weapon, or technique would be used to destroy the target?

However, I already witnessed a person who was at the pinnacle of martial arts destroying the Unbeatable Target the other day, so I shouldn’t expect more than that, I suppose.

The pinnacle of martial arts was, of course, that person.

“We meet again. Please take care of me.”

Halt appeared before my eyes with a sword as large as he was on his back.

“H, Halt!?”

“Yes, I’m Halt Ernol.”

I knew now that Halt’s surname was Ernol.

Lilia Ernol.

Sounds good…

Huh!? W, what on earth was I thinking of?”

The image of happily sitting around the dining table with Halt floated to my mind.

However, I was currently in the middle of work.

Unfortunately, I had to erase that blissful image and focus on the work at hand.

Now, I’d been curious about the sword on Halt’s back.

Halt wasn’t holding a sword this huge during the entry inspection.

Where on earth did he get it? It was hard to think that he had it made in this country.

It was very beautiful, and it looked like the treasure sword that was handed down in the Elf Kingdom.

In fact, I was a weapon aficionado.

I remember almost all of the treasured swords and treasured tools of the various countries as long as there were pictures of them.

The huge sword that Halt brought looked extremely similar to the Alheim’s treasured sword.

As if… right?

While those thoughts ran through my mind, Halt swung the long sword upward with one hand and held it in an overhead position.

As I thought, it looked similar, but it was a different sword.

It was written in the book that Hakoku was awfully heavy.

Apparently, a few soldiers were required to carry it.

There’s no way such a sword could be held with only one hand.

Nevertheless, Halt’s every movement was too gorgeous, so I couldn’t keep my eyes off him.

“Is it okay to have a go at it now?”

While I was preoccupied gazing at Halt, he verified with me whether he could attack the target.

“Eh, Ah! Yes, it’s okay,” I answered in a fluster.

However, even if I said it’s okay, Halt was currently standing at a spot 5 meters away from the target.

What would he do posing at that place? Not only that, he had an overhead stance.

Don’t tell me, he planned to go on a 5-meter dash while still clutching the sword overhead, building up momentum before slashing the target?

Even if it’s Halt, that would be totally uncool…

Halt swung the long sword downward.

Right. There.

“Y, yes?”

I did not understand.

The target, which was standing 5 meters away, was cleaved in half; it split into left and right pieces from the center.

Though broken, the target was still standing.

Halt’s movements didn’t stop, either. He then swung his sword from lower left to upper right. Afterward, he knocked it to the right, diagonal slash, knocked it to the left—I could only follow until here.

Halt’s movements became faster.

I had been proud that my dynamic visual acuity excelled among the beastkin, but I couldn’t see Halt’s long sword halfway through.

I couldn’t see the sword itself, but I began to see something flying toward the target from where Halt was standing.

That something flew straight toward the target, and as if being swallowed by the target, it shredded it.

It was just like a flying slash attack.

Now that I thought about it, a hero of yore also possessed the skill of slashing enemies that were a few meters away using Hakoku.

A slashing attack that would cut the skies—it was the legendary technique called Sky Ripping Slash.

It might also be called a secret of the art of war.

Basically, martial arts shone in close-quarters-combat.

Since the beastkin race was already inherently suited for occupations with physical attacks, many of them cultivated close-combat systems.

What would happen if a beastkin with a high status within the race had an overwhelming physical attack power and speed, and he attacked from a distance? Yes, that’s right.

He would definitely be recognized as strong.

However, there was only one beastkin in the past who could make physical attacks from a distance without the help of any flying tools.

That person was the Martial God, who had been the beastkin king prior to his death, and he attained divinity after.

The secret technique that only the Martial God could do was being executed out one after another right before my eyes.

Only 10 seconds had passed since his first attack.

Halt’s movements suddenly stopped.

Afterward, just when I thought he stabbed Hakoku— I could only believe that this sword was Hakoku—on the competition stage, Halt suddenly charged toward the target with lightning speed.

He did that stance in front of the Unbeatable Target.

He blasted that target with that at the testing grounds.

The target was hewn, and steel sand came pouring from inside it.

If he let it run loose, it would crumble down after a few seconds; he faced the Unbeatable Target—

“Haa!”

His fist hit the target.

I didn’t understand it either.

It was already lopped off into pieces? That scattered target was a lump of steel sand weighing a few tons.

For an unknown reason, he blasted it off with a single punch.

It was blasted toward the trash area of the dome arena.

Most of the debris from the Unbeatable Target flew neatly in there.

“Yes, perfect!’

Halt was satisfied.

He then turned towards me with a smile.

“It’ll be easier to clean with this, right?’