Thanks to the Duke’s Daughter’s healing, I had recovered enough to move after three weeks.
Without hesitation, I grasped my sword.
This world was like a ticking time bomb, uncertain of when it would perish.
I could not afford to idle away, staring blankly, as I didn’t know when the end would come.
I had to learn how to use the visible wave as quickly as possible.
I swung my sword aimlessly following the wave.
As I swung the sword along the wave, I felt an unknown vibration throughout my body.
It was not just a simple vibration.
The moment I swung the sword along the wave, the tip of the sword trembled, and its power surged dramatically.
The amplification rate of the power was almost close to double.
The slow swing of my sword clashed with Sir Dolphin’s sword.
A clear and bright sound resonated, not what one would expect from a clash of iron swords.
Clank-!
Immediately, it was Sir Dolphin’s sword that was knocked back.
In a daze, Sir Dolphin asked me incredulously.
“Ian, what did you just do with that sword strike?”
“I don’t know yet. Since the Bephardt incident, I feel like I’ve gained some insight, but I’m not exactly sure what it is…”
“I’m always amazed by your talent.”
The sword swung along the wave amplified its power regardless of speed or strength.
I continued to spar with other knights to understand what the wave was.
With each training session, the vibrations I had felt when facing Bephardt deepened gradually.
At first, it was in my muscles, then expanded into my bones, nerves, and sensory organs.
Every time that happened, the wave began to become clearer.
Now, what had once looked like paint dropped on a canvas appeared as lines.
I decided to name this phenomenon “wave.”
***
After fully recovering, I returned to the Special Forces Unit and began my duties as team leader.
With Cream’s death, I had naturally become the next senior member to take the role of team leader.
Moreover, everyone in the Special Forces Unit, except for me, had died in the battle against Bephardt, so their place was filled with newcomers.
Though I felt melancholic about the absence of Yulren and Cream, I shook off my emotions.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Ian. What’s your name?”
A light-hearted blonde woman responded, saluting me.
Her healthy brown skin was impressive, something one wouldn’t see in the North.
“I’m Rie. I’ve heard the rumors. They say you’re the charming man who captivated the Duke’s Daughter and the Knights Order Commander. Is that true?”
“…?”
“Huh, why do you seem unsure? Could it possibly not be true?”
“I don’t know why those rumors keep spreading. But for now, no.”
“Isn’t it true that the Duke’s Daughter visited you daily in the hospital?”
Freya Nordelheim.
Under another name, the Duke’s Daughter had visited me every day, bringing a bundle of herbs.
Thanks to that, I was able to recover quickly, but more rumors spread apart from my engagement.
“That’s… true.”
“What are you denying? You were enchanted, right?”
“…”
I led the Special Forces Unit in hunting monsters and demon beasts.
Meanwhile, I trained with the wave diligently every day.
At some point, I started to focus more on training the wave than on energy.
Unless it involved aura, training the wave proved to be more efficient than focusing on energy.
Perhaps the effort bore fruit, as I was now able to project the wave onto my weapon.
The sword imbued with the wave pierced the armor of the demon beast.
The beast, shaped like a wearwolf in armor, had a hole pierced through its chest.
A destructive force impossible to achieve with energy alone.
It was this strike, possible only after harnessing the wave, that instantly killed the demon beast.
Through the hole in the demon beast, part of the devastated snow mountain came into view.
My teammate, Rie, and Nazar looked at me with expressions of surprise.
“Ian, what was that just now?”
“Support came out—Whoa! Don’t we not need help anymore?”
***
As I trained with the wave, I gradually grew stronger and began to perceive more things.
Now, it was no longer just about amplifying power; I had learned to anticipate my opponent’s attacks in advance.
I became able to read the wave, which changed according to the opponent’s thoughts and feelings.
I could even hold my ground against the knights of the Knights Order.
“I lost.”
The training sword shattered, and its pieces scattered across the training ground.
This marked my eleventh victory already.
It was the result of detecting attacks using the wave and amplifying the power.
Before, my win rate was 20%; now, it was approaching 80%.
“How did you just do that, Ian?”
“It’s a phenomenon called wave that I discovered by accident. It’s still hard to explain, but using this I can read the opponent’s attacks in advance or amplify my power.”
“What? That sounds like cheating.”
I created various techniques using the wave.
These were techniques that allowed me to predict attacks in advance or to imbue the wave into my weapon while attacking.
I named all of them “wave techniques.”
Once I had reached a certain level, I decided to pass on the wave techniques to my teammates.
I had to pass on the wave techniques in order to replace the Energy Technique.
Transmitting the wave technique was a series of challenges from the very start.
Rie and Nazar, along with the other team members, couldn’t even feel the wave, let alone learn it.
Since I had awakened by chance, I didn’t even know how to teach others to feel the wave.
“There’s no way you can see paint or lines. Didn’t the captain say he could only see it right before he died?”
“I-I can’t see it either.”
If I could not pass this on, it would ultimately become my personal technique.
But that’s not how it should be.
This is not a battlefield meant for me alone.
It was a war that everyone had to advance together.
Time passed without me finding my way, and the second Greater Demon Beast extermination began.
***
Rikoris Radiata.
This Greater Demon Beast, which began to appear six years ago, revealed its bare face unlike other entities that wore helmets to conceal their faces.
It had a face stained with the agony of humans as it swept through the front lines.
This extermination was conducted by enclosing Radiata with troops and deploying special forces.
After surrounding it to prevent its escape, the plan was to exterminate it solely with elite forces.
There were a total of 8 special forces participating in the extermination, including Irene and me.
Since it recovered through the blood of its victims, we had to proceed with a small, elite group.
“Encirclement successful…!!”
Irene shouted while planting a massive imperial flag.
“Let’s begin the extermination!!”
As soon as we heard the signal, the eight of us, hidden among the encircling troops, charged at Radiata.
We dashed, dodging blood spikes and stabs that swept over a wide area.
Six of us reached close after breaking through the obstacles of hardened blood and iron.
The other two, Senric Veilheart and Rowenfall, died during the attempt to break through the barriers.
With Radiata in the center, everyone pressed down with their weapons.
Frost spears, medium-sized hammers, dual-edged axes, halberds, swords, and sickles.
Veterans who had traveled through numerous battlefields, as diverse as the weapons themselves.
The experience gained from coordinating before the extermination shone through.
From their respective positions, they attacked, creating openings and rotating turns to continue the assault.
After dozens of exchanges between Radiata, renowned for its multi-target combat, and the remaining six, the man wielding the medium-sized hammer, Lunet Carewin, lost his head.
Ignoring the fallen corpse, a sickle cleaved through the gap in Radiata’s shoulder.
In that brief moment, movement in its right arm stopped.
Frost spear and steel sword pierced its gauntlets, slicing through the flesh beyond.
“Kill it!!”
“Galbard!!”
As the finishing touch, the dual-edged axe struck down as if to behead Radiata—
-Thunk!!
Galbard, wielding the dual-edged axe, lost his head and fell to the ground.
Without a dying breath, the corpse of Galbard thudded down.
A semi-transparent Greater Demon Beast appeared, trampling over his body.
“What the hell is that?!”
“Shit…!”
Death cries echoed from the encircling troops.
Another Greater Demon Beast had begun an offensive against the front line, leading the demon beasts.
Radiata recovered by absorbing the blood of Carewin and Galbard.
Irene bit her lip and turned around.
I grasped my sword and took my stance, blocking her path.
“…Commander, please help the others. I will handle this.”
There was turmoil in her gaze once again.
I could see the heavy guilt that she might cause another comrade to die.
I smirked and added words of comfort.
“It’s alright. I will survive.”
This was reassurance.
For her, and for myself.
Irene muttered briefly, almost as if chanting.
“…Please.”
There was no answer.
The moment Irene dashed out to save the other soldiers, I charged at the two Greater Demon Beasts.
This time was different from when I soloed Bephardt after my comrades had died.
This time, I would not just stall; I would exterminate them.
