SWNOVELXO Chapter 334
Chapter 335. The Enemy of My Enemy is My Ally (1)
Lord of the East, Dayal.
Outwardly, he looked like a middle-aged farmer, and he didn’t even have an imposing aura. If they had met in a village, one might have just passed him by, thinking, “Oh, just a farmer.”
But at his appearance, Eslow froze. The recovery of his completely severed shoulder was incredibly slow.
Meanwhile, Keter subtly picked up Eslow’s severed arm and began to back away.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Dayal called out to Keter.
Though his gaze and sword tip were still directed at Eslow, Keter felt as if a blade was pointed at his own neck.
Keter answered nonchalantly.
“The bathroom.”
“Wait a moment. It’ll be over soon.”
At Dayal’s words, Eslow let out a scoffing laugh.
“Over soon, you say? Surely you’re not talking about me, Dayal. You, who lost to me 100 times out of 100.”
Eslow and Dayal had fought. A hundred times, no less. And Eslow claimed to have won every single time.
Dayal nodded obediently.
“Yes. I admit it. I fought you 100 times and lost 100 times. But, you know what they say.”
A gentle breeze blew by. Just as Dayal’s ponytail swayed slightly—
Dayal’s sword tip disappeared—
And Eslow’s right arm was stretched out long.
“……!”
Henya, who had been watching this, felt her eyes tremble. She could intuitively sense that the two had clashed, but she couldn’t fathom the process or the outcome.
‘I thought I had surpassed the wall too.’
Henya had considered herself to be in the upper-middle tier, even by world standards. But at this moment, that confidence shattered completely.
As Henya, realizing she was a frog in a well, was still reeling from the shock, Keter was stroking his chin.
‘As expected, in my past life, they were just going easy on me.’
Dayal’s thrust aimed at Eslow’s neck from an impossible angle.
Of course, Eslow, who reacted by trying to slash upward, was impressive too—
‘But he was a hair too late.’
Splat.
Blood poured from Eslow’s neck, a stark contrast to the previous bleeding.
The wounds inflicted by Keter or the Demon Sword hadn’t bled much. But the stab from Dayal caused blood to gush out like a box with a hole in the bottom.
“…Why are you helping Keter?”
Eslow, clutching his neck, glared at Dayal and asked.
Dayal answered in a reproachful tone.
“I’m not helping Keter. You defied the royal family’s orders, didn’t you? Did you think you’d get away with that?”
“…….”
“You refused the order to pacify the Southern Region for some absurd reason, and you didn’t even respond to the command to return to the royal family. Crown Prince Rukan was convinced you had ulterior motives.”
“…….”
“The prince gave you many chances. Your response was to ignore him, and that’s clear treason. That’s why the order for your execution was issued.”
“You were just waiting for an opportunity like a rat.”
Even at Eslow’s harsh words, Dayal lightly nodded in agreement.
“In your domain, the palace, I had no way of winning. At best, it would’ve been mutual destruction. So I waited without a clear plan….”
Glancing over.
Keter, noticing Dayal’s gaze turning toward him, waved Eslow’s severed arm he had just picked up as a greeting.
“Honestly, it’s hard to believe. That you lost to that young man.”
“…….”
“You’re not even denying it. I was worried you’d show an ugly side, but thanks for admitting it. Well then….”
Dayal, gripping his sword with both hands, tilted it slightly.
Eslow sensed his impending end. If he were in perfect condition, he could have at least avoided death. But after dying once and being resurrected by Keter, his divine power had greatly diminished.
Immortality is eternal. But he wouldn’t be able to resurrect immediately like before, and even if he did, Dayal could kill him ‘infinitely.’
“Huu.”
Eslow let his left arm hang loose. Then, a dagger appeared in his hand. To an ordinary knight, it would be a famous sword, but to Eslow, it was like a mere twig.
He couldn’t help but feel regret.
‘If only I had at least my five great weapons.’
Henya had taken them all. Some he had even given away himself.
‘If this were my domain. Even if it weren’t….’
Eslow turned to look at Keter. Keter raised his middle finger as if he had been waiting.
It was all because of Keter. Henya’s trap wasn’t the main issue. But Keter had created this situation.
“You knew you couldn’t beat me, so you called Dayal. Clever, yet foolish.”
Keter was also Dayal’s enemy. Would Dayal, after executing Eslow, just let Keter go?
“Don’t you know the saying, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my ally’?”
“Hmph. I wonder if that trick will work on Dayal too.”
Eslow, realizing that talking to Keter was pointless, turned back to face Dayal.
Then, Keter shouted.
“You don’t seem to understand. The enemy of my enemy is my ally, right?”
“…You lunatic.”
Eslow muttered without looking back and lunged toward Dayal, who had been waiting for him.
*
A bead the size of a fist was now in Dayal’s hand. It was Eslow’s heart. No matter how many times he had been killed, the bead remained silent.
Dayal’s expression as he looked down at the bead was complicated.
“Huu.”
After letting out a short sigh, Dayal pocketed the bead. His gaze then turned to Keter.
Keter was already in perfect condition. His severed arm had reattached itself.
Dayal’s sword tip was now pointed at Keter.
“Keter. You were on the execution list even before Eslow. The reason I didn’t act sooner was because I didn’t know how Eslow would turn out. I understand why you wanted to deal with Eslow, but you made a mistake.”
Dayal had no intention of conversing with Keter. After a one-sided announcement, he immediately prepared to behead him.
‘This guy is more dangerous than Eslow.’
Though he had finished off Eslow, it was ultimately Keter who had led to that outcome. That fact was crucial.
But Keter’s mouth was faster than Dayal’s sword swing.
“If I block your strike, just let me go.”
It was an absurd proposal.
But Dayal couldn’t easily dismiss it.
Honestly, Dayal wanted to fight Keter once. As a martial artist, his blood boiled at the thought of how Keter had defeated Eslow with archery.
But Dayal was here on the prince’s orders, and the prince had commanded that Keter must be killed no matter what.
As a martial artist, he wanted to fight Keter properly, but taking the life of Keter, who was already on the brink of death, didn’t sit well with him.
‘The prince’s orders are important… but so is my pride as a martial artist.’
If it had been Queen Lilian’s order, he wouldn’t have had such thoughts. But since Dayal wasn’t truly loyal to the prince, these conflicting feelings arose naturally.
Thus, Keter’s proposal sounded quite tempting. Because, after all, it was impossible for Keter to block his strike.
“Are you saying you’ll block my strike right here, right now?”
“More accurately, ‘if I survive.’ That’s cleaner.”
“I’m not like Eslow. I don’t underestimate you. In fact, I’m wary of you. If you’re planning some half-baked trick, forget it.”
“I feel the same way. You’re stronger and more troublesome than Eslow.”
Keter, barely holding back the urge to say, ‘I felt that deeply in my past life,’ began his warm-up.
“30 minutes. Can you wait that long? As you can see, my body’s a mess.”
“Giving you that much time makes me uneasy. So I’ll give you 5 minutes.”
“Huff, puff.”
Keter made noises as he stretched his body. It looked almost comical, but Dayal’s expression remained deadly serious, his eyes never leaving Keter.
That gaze was filled with the determination, ‘If you try any tricks, I’ll cut you down immediately, without waiting 5 minutes.’
“Lord Dayal….”
At that moment, Henya, staggering, called out to Dayal.
Without turning his head, Dayal said.
“Step back.”
“…Thank you so much. Thanks to your swordsmanship, I survived.”
Dayal had taught Henya and Wid swordsmanship. Though it was only for a short time and just one technique, without it, they wouldn’t have been able to land a blow on Eslow.
Despite Dayal’s warning to step back, Henya stubbornly spoke up.
“Did the prince order my death as well?”
“He didn’t say that. But if you defy the royal family like Eslow did… you’ll meet the same end.”
It was a warning. Don’t help Keter.
“Do you think the current royal family is normal, Lord Dayal? Something is clearly wrong. You can’t possibly not know that….”
“A swordsman only wields a sword. And I have sworn loyalty to the Lilian royal family. There’s nothing else for me to think about.”
“Then why are you sparing Keter? Why not kill him immediately as the royal family ordered?”
At Henya’s sharp question, Dayal fell silent for a moment before answering.
“It’s just the curiosity of a martial artist. Can Keter really block my strike? Without a doubt, it’s impossible. That’s why I want to see it. Keter isn’t a man who lies.”
Keter blocking Dayal’s strike.
Even Henya thought it was absurd. Even if Keter were in perfect condition, it would be impossible.
But now, he was in the worst possible state.
‘Lord Dayal won’t hold back like Eslow did. He’ll strike with full force.’
Henya knew how strong Keter was. He was the one who had killed the mighty Eslow.
But wasn’t that only in archery?
‘I can’t imagine any scenario where Keter could block Lord Dayal’s strike.’
Even if Keter could use “Milky Way Goodnight,” the technique that finished off Eslow, it wouldn’t work on Dayal.
Yet, for some reason, Keter’s expression remained confident. Keter, who had already shown dozens of miracles. Could he do it again? Did he still have strength left?
Henya stepped back. Though she was worried about whether Wid and Lyze were alive, Keter had assured her they were.
For now, she had to watch over Keter. At the very least, she should stay and cheer him on.
“30 seconds left, Keter.”
Dayal took his stance. A relaxed posture, sword tilted diagonally. It was the same stance he had used to finish off Eslow.
Mugu (無極).
A technique that even Wid, who had never held a sword in his life, had used to injure Eslow.
Keter’s response to this was…….
“Hmm, okay. Tonight’s dinner is fried food.”
He was casually deciding on the evening’s menu.
‘What on earth is he relying on…?’
As an archer, he wasn’t even holding a bow, nor had he prepared any arrows. He was just standing there, not even looking at Dayal.
30 seconds passed quickly, and before Henya could even feel anxious, it was over.
Swoosh—
The moment she felt the sound of a calm wave crashing—
“……!”
Henya didn’t even blink, yet the world had changed.
Dayal and Keter, who had been 30 paces apart, were now face to face. Or rather, Keter had charged at Dayal.
Dayal’s sword had cut through Keter’s shoulder and was heading toward his heart. To anyone, it looked like a fatal wound. Keter’s defeat seemed certain, but…….
‘…The atmosphere feels off.’
Keter was smiling, black blood dripping from his mouth—
And Dayal’s eyes were wide open, his expression one of disbelief.