Chapter 452. The Beginning of a Hegemon
「The next day, after leading Setsuna and the others back to the demi-human village, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka calculated that there was a over a ninety percent probability that the army would raid this place tonight.」
「Thus, he bid farewell to the demi-humans, claiming he needed to find an assistant... although some felt he intended to desert them, Setsuna—who had been thoroughly conquered by his "rod"—stepped forward to defend his reputation, allowing Ayanokouji to depart in peace.」
「"The tracks along the way cut off here... Damn it, where did that imposter run off to!?"」
「When Ayanokouji Kiyotaka made his way back to the resting spot from the previous day, Kureha had finally pursued him to this location, gnashing her teeth in hatred.」
「"Are you looking for me?"」
「The voice coming from behind caused Kureha to jump in terror. She drew her sword and spun around to see the masked Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. She was immediately overjoyed: "I've finally caught you! Don't think of escaping again, you bastard! To impersonate me and murder such loyal soldiers is an unpardonable sin!"」
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka said: "Then, come with me."」
「"What?" Kureha furrowed her brows in surprise. "You bastard, what are you plotting? Do you intend to lead me into a trap?"」
「"Come with me and watch a performance. After watching it, if you still decide to kill me, I will not resist and will allow you to do as you wish."」
「Kureha laughed: "Am I really that stupid? Such an obvious trap!"」
「"We have exchanged blows no less than five times along the way. You should be clear that our strength is roughly equal. Now that you have such a good opportunity, do you not wish to take it?"」
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka calmly utilized a simple provocation: "Or is it that one of the Three Legends, the famous Sword Saint, is actually afraid of a trap set by a nobody like me?"」
「Upon hearing this, Kureha's brows rose and she became agitated. She pointed her sword toward the sky to express her bravery and said boldly: "Wh—how dare you look down on me like that, looking down on me, the Sword Saint! Fine, I'll go. I'm not afraid even if it is a trap. Lead the way, you imposter!"」
"The level of gullibility of this Sword Saint is almost catching up to little Emilia, isn't it?"
Gathered in the Sword Saint's estate, Theresia twitched the corner of her mouth. While holding her forehead and sighing, she suddenly—smack—struck her worthless son (the father of Reinhard from the Watergate City incident).
Back when she was a Corpse Soldier and saw her son mistreating her dear grandson Reinhard and her husband Wilhelm, Theresia had already wanted to "educate" him. Just like now, hanging him up and beating him.
"Ow, ow... I was wrong, Mom! I know I was wrong! I'll go apologize to Reinhard... Ow!"
Not a single person present paid attention to the guy howling in pain. Fortuna, who was visiting, also shook her head in disagreement: "The current Emilia isn't that easy to fool anymore, you know? After Hachiman's 'guidance,' Emilia has grown quite a lot."
"True," Theresia nodded. "Not just in wisdom, but even in combat power, this Sword Saint Kureha can't even match the level of the weakest of our ancestral Sword Saints."
Wilhelm suddenly interjected: "But she is indeed a talent worth molding."
"I know. Her talent is clearly excellent; she has already trained up some measure of strength, and her values are upright. In that case..."
Theresia stopped halfway through her sentence. She was willing to take Kureha as a disciple and teach her diligently, but the prerequisite was that Kureha would not follow Ayanokouji Kiyotaka to cause trouble for Hikigaya Hachiman. If that were the case, it would be absolutely unacceptable.
In any case, they would watch how things developed.
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka led Kureha all the way back, finally returning to the outskirts of the Ice Wolf village at nightfall.」
「At this time, the mercenaries disguised as bandits had already arrived and were engaged in a bloody battle with the Ice Wolf Clan. Seeing this, Kureha was shocked: "Bandits? No, I must hurry—"」
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was noncommittal: "Bandits? Hmph~ you might want to look a bit closer."」
「"Eh?" Kureha knitted her brows, but she subconsciously followed his words. Her eyes then widened, and she stumbled back three steps, her face full of disbelief as she spoke tremulously: "No, this is impossible!"」
「"What is impossible? Could it be that the Sword Saint's eyesight is poor and she is seeing things wrong?" Ayanokouji Kiyotaka provoked her on purpose, forcing Kureha to admit reality.」
「Those were not bandits, but the army; some of the people within were known to Kureha. Kureha had once believed these people were loyal souls who upheld justice, yet now—」
「"Now that you've seen them, do you want to see who I am?"」
「Ayanokouji Kiyotaka removed the black cloth. The face belonging to Keyaru was revealed, leaving the already troubled Kureha even more stunned.」
「"Shh~ do not speak. Be quiet, and I will show you something good." Ayanokouji Kiyotaka crouched down, placed his hand on Kureha's face, and through the skills obtained via "Heal," transmitted certain memories and scenes to her.」
「Naturally, these were not the images of him being ravaged by women and men for several months. Such things would only evoke Kureha's sympathy for him, rather than establishing his authority—that would run counter to his goal.」
「What he transmitted were memories belonging to the First Princess Flare. The filthy parts within acted as a catalyst to shatter Kureha's loyalty to the Kingdom.」
「Immediately following this, without forcing Kureha to defect right away, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka left her to her own thoughts and space. He turned and leaped out, acting as the savior of the Ice Wolf Clan.」
「Complex and diverse skills—the strength ceiling and magnitude of each individual skill was not high. A normal person would find it difficult to use these things to forge themselves into a high-level powerhouse; they would instead be clumsy, just tossing out ordinary skills.」
「But Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was different.」
「As the Masterpiece of the White Room, his wisdom, his memory, and his real-time strategy—these excellent qualities supported him, allowing him to flexibly employ those dozens or hundreds of complex skills, combining and using them at the most appropriate moments.」
「And by doing so, could he successfully resolve an army?」
「...Absolutely! Easily!」
「If he could not achieve this, then he would certainly not be the unshakeable King of the White Room, and he would certainly not be that Masterpiece, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka!」
「"Ah..."」
「Everyone in the Ice Wolf Clan froze in shock, staring blankly at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's solo performance.」
「Rather than a display of martial arts, it was more like a dance. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka seemed to effortlessly speed-run through an elite army of the Kingdom without taking a scratch, as if he were dancing.」
「This display of strength was firmly branded into their hearts, becoming the foundation for their submission to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, as they bowed down in deep reverence.」
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