REAPER SCANS
The Reincarnated Martial God Brings Down the Heavens
[Translator – San]
[Proofreader – Abstract]
Chapter 170 - Escape (4)
Marquis Foltaine narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the border. Perhaps one of his knights read his expression as he murmured worriedly.
“My lord, the Empire’s troops are gradually increasing.”
It was true.
The number of imperial forces stationed at the border with the remote Hart Kingdom was known to be around a thousand.
Yet, over the past few days, that number had grown to at least five times as many. It seemed they had hastily gathered nearby troops.
Even now, their numbers were still increasing.
“Did I not already say this?”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t be afraid. In the end, those bastards are human—just like us.”
“...!”
Only then did the knight quickly bow his head.
‘Heheheh. Thanks to you, I might just gain some fame this time around.’
Marquis Foltaine had lived his life as nothing more than a merchant. One who had strategically used his position as an unofficial Master.
Thus, he had no title and had yet to be officially recognized as a master. Besides, wasn’t the continent in a supposed time of peace?
With no opportunities to earn merit, the only way to gain recognition was by participating in the Master Tournament.
But…
‘They say heroes are born in times of crisis… Let’s see if they can still refuse to acknowledge me after I take down a Master.’
Yes.
If push came to shove, Marquis Foltaine was prepared to kill a Master of the Empire.
Of course, it wasn’t out of some sudden hunger for fame.
‘Whoever it may be, I’ll cut them down… So don’t die. Just make it here.’
***
“...”
I quietly opened my eyes.
Rumble!
A new surge of energy boiled inside of me like the roar of thunder, but I no longer paid any attention to such things.
“…Raven.”
He didn’t move an inch before me.
Even in death, his eyes remained wide open, watching me until his very last moment.
“...”
I silently closed his eyes. Then, after a deep breath…
Hummm!
I immediately began channeling my energy. I couldn’t let the immense mana he had entrusted to me go to waste.
“...Master!”
“...”
“Master!”
How much time had passed like that?
“...”
I slowly opened my eyes. A new scene entered my vision.
“Aaah...”
Nella, clutching Raven’s corpse, was sobbing uncontrollably.
“We came because you were taking too long.”
Next to her stood Count Kaiman, watching me with an unreadable expression as I quietly gathered my mana.
“...How long has it been?”
“Well over ten minutes. Probably around an hour.”
“My apologies.”
At my response, Count Kaiman shrugged.
“It’s fine. At least now, we’ve definitely lost the trackers.”
He was referring to the tracking magic bound by Raven’s curse.
Swish!
At the same time, Nella shot a glare at Count Kaiman, eyes burning with rage.
“Do you even hear yourself right now…?!”
“Well, since we’ve already lost some time, we might as well wait a little longer.”
“…!”
Nella fell silent. Count Kaiman also tilted his head, watching me curiously.
Shiiing.
I slowly drew my sword. Scanning my surroundings, I soon found a suitable rock.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Using my sword aura, I carefully carved it.
A perfect square. Its interior was cleanly hollowed out. Soon, its shape became apparent.
“Th-That’s…?”
It was a stone coffin. A new means of transportation for Raven.
“...I can’t just leave him here in this foreign land.”
I slowly approached Nella.
“Please.”
“...”
Nella, still holding onto Raven’s body, trembled. Her teary eyes glared at me.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have time for this. Are you going to let your Master’s sacrifice be in vain?”
“...You…”
Choking on her sobs, Nella turned her head away.
“…Haa.”
She seemed to barely suppress her anger, but she still refused to let go.
‘I’m sorry, Raven.’
I sighed quietly toward the sky. It seemed I wouldn’t be able to grant his final request.
“…I will avenge your Master. Without fail.”
“…!”
Nella flinched and finally turned to look at me.
“So let your Master… no, let your father go.”
“...”
“He deserves rest, after everything he’s been through.”
Tears welled up in Nella’s eyes.
“Waaaahhh!”
Once more, she buried her face in Raven’s chest and wept. I quietly took him from her arms.
Thankfully, she didn’t resist.
Fwooosh!
A crimson flame flickered in my hands. It slowly, gently spread to Raven’s body. Using my mana, I shielded myself from the heat but refused to let go of him.
‘Farewell, my friend.’
Memories flashed through my mind, reflected in the flames.
The first time we met, when he scowled like everything in the world was a bother.
The first time we drank together, with him grumbling about the awful taste.
That socially awkward man who, despite everything, followed his only friend into battle.
The countless times he saved my life from what should have been fatal wounds.
All of it burned away with the fire.
‘...Someone once said that to move forward, you must bury memories in your heart and let go of the past.’
But Raven,
I don’t think I can.
Only by deeply engraving this boiling emotion within me and resolving my old feelings will I truly be able to move forward.
So.
‘I will not give up on revenge. That is my happiness.’
As I muttered internally.
-You stubborn bastard. Then again, you never listened to a damn word I said.
It was as if Raven’s voice echoed in my ears. A faint smile crept onto my lips.
Yes.
‘Thanks for everything, my friend.’
At the very least, I wanted to say this to him.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – San]
[Proofreader – Abstract]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
I quietly swept Raven’s remains into the stone coffin and made my way down the mountain path.
Of course, I carried the stone coffin myself.
“If we circle around the mountain, it will take a little longer… but it’s much better than running into an ambush.”
Count Kaiman walked ahead, continuing his explanation.
“We’ve already lost quite a bit of time. From now on, we’ll push through to the border without rest—”
At that moment, Count Kaiman fell silent. At the same time, I halted my steps.
“...Why did you both suddenly stop?”
Only Nella, who was less attuned to sensing the presence of others, voiced her confusion.
“This can’t be right… The tracking magic circle should have disappeared.”
From the path ahead of us, an overwhelming number of presences made themselves known.
Before long—
“I thought it might be worth checking this way… and it turns out I was right.”
Familiar faces stood at the forefront.
“Sir Breed… and even Sir McGree.”
Count Kaiman’s expression hardened completely. These were the Knight of Flames and the Knight of Embers, whom we had previously fought.
Only this time, they were accompanied by at least fifty Imperial Knights.
“Sir Breed, what did I tell you? I told you that you’d regret it if we turned back.”
“…You’re right. If we returned like this, I wouldn’t have been able to face my lord.”
“It was a stroke of fortune to pay attention to the movements of the imperial family.”
Breed looked pleased with himself. In truth, he had even abandoned his duty of protecting his lord just to come here.
“…Fortunately, the one I was most concerned about seems to have left.”
After scanning the enemy forces for a while, Count Kaiman finally let out a sigh.
“If Sir Theorg had also been here… this place would have become our grave. Looks like Leo did his job well.”
“That’s possible. But I think they also had a backup plan.”
“What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“It seems they were tracking the officials who placed the restriction spell on us to guide their movements... If word got out that they were secretly monitoring the Imperial Palace, they’d be in trouble too.”
At last, Count Kaiman made a face of understanding.
“Ah… I see. If Sir Theorg had been here and run into those officials, it would have caused an even bigger political disaster.”
At that moment, McGree, the Knight of Embers, stepped forward.
“Come along quietly.”
“Please hold onto this for a bit.”
I quietly handed the stone coffin to Nella.
“I’m really not in a good mood right now. But I suppose you won’t just step aside, will you?”
“Oh, dear! Are you in a bad mood, Your Highness? What a coincidence—I feel the same way.”
McGree put on a shameless grin.
“How would you like to go with us on friendly terms, without hurting each other’s feelings?”
At the same time, the corner of my mouth curled up. There was no reasoning with them from the start.
“I owe you quite a bit from our last encounter, Your Highness.”
“Was there something like that? I don’t recall.”
“Oh, but I do. Word of our fight got around, and I lost quite a bit of face with my comrades. They mocked me for struggling against a mere child.”
“How unfortunate.”
I responded calmly, and moved my hands toward the hilt of my sword.
“Because that reputation of yours is about to sink even lower.”
At that murmur.
“Pfft.”
A few of the knights couldn’t hold back their laughter.
“Hahahaha! Sir McGree. Just what happened in your last fight for this brat… no, the Prince of the Meeke Principality to be so confident?”
“Oh, what a disaster! How humiliating for our dear Sir McGree.”
“If anyone asks, just don’t mention you’re affiliated with our lord, Theorg!”
The fifty knights burst into raucous laughter. Meanwhile, McGree’s expression slowly contorted.
“…Did you hear that? I’m really not in a good mood today, so I might not be able to control my strength. Consider that your warning.”
That was my line.
“...”
Without another word, I prepared to strike.
‘I’ll finish this in one move.’
The rough texture of my sword’s grip pressed firmly against my palm. I lowered my stance as much as possible.
I planned on condensing my strength and mana, and unleashing it all in a single, explosive moment.
‘…Raven, you’ve saved me at least a few decades worth of effort.’
Gathering mana takes time—absolute time. But even in his final moments, Raven had drastically shortened that process for me.
And now—
Fwoosh!
“Things are about to get very hot!”
Before I could even complete my thoughts, a massive inferno rushed toward me.
A roaring sea of crimson flames surged forth, unrelenting.
“Oh! It’s the Ember Wave!”
“Haha. Sir McGree must be furious. To use his most destructive technique right from the start…”
That sight brought back a certain memory.
‘…The true meaning of a sword of fire.’
Back when I rescued the enslaved children—
I had set fire to the place and tested a certain technique. A sword that could even control flames.
At the time, all I managed was splitting the fire into two streams.
But now—
Flash!
My blade moved at an overwhelming speed.
Sla-ash!
A crescent-shaped slash flickered for a brief moment before vanishing. Most of those present hadn’t even realized what had happened.
Plop!
“…?”
A beat later, an unfamiliar sound rang out.
Like a pebble dropping into a still lake, a quiet sense of confusion spread through the crowd.
“What… just happened?”
“There was a ‘plop’ sound, and suddenly, Sir McGree’s technique disappeared.”
The overwhelming presence of the fiery wave had vanished completely. But that wasn’t all.
“…You…?”
McGree’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
He was the only one who had felt it. The sharp energy that had just brushed past a part of his body.
“How… did you…?”
Thud. Roll.
“…!”
Before he could finish his sentence, his head fell to the ground.
A draw so swift it seemed to surpass speed itself.
And beyond that lay the ultimate mastery of the fire sword.
“Begone now, Ember.”
Yes.
That was my own way of mourning the fallen Raven.
* * *
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