Academy’s Barbarian

The ambush by Damien and Milia, taking advantage of the gap created by my provocation, severed one Fairy Guardian’s arm and tore off another’s shoulder.

It was a perfectly coordinated combo, clean and precise like a painting… but honestly, the results were a bit disappointing.

Even with such a flawless ambush, they couldn’t land a fatal blow, only managing to inflict a superficial injury by cutting off an arm.

Sure, the bleeding and pain might have drained some stamina, but losing an arm is nothing compared to decapitation or losing an ear. It’s barely worth calling an injury.

“Damn short-lived race! You’ve become even more vicious than centuries ago!”

As expected, the Fairy Guardians, having lost their arms and shoulders, tore off parts of the Rock Spirit they summoned and used their mana to replace the damaged areas, angrily cursing as they did so.

It was similar to how I replaced my lost left arm with a prosthetic.

Just as I freely move my prosthetic arm using the Life Force Technique, they manipulated their rock prosthetics with their mana, making it practically no different from being unharmed.

I let out a shallow sigh as I watched the scene.

For all the effort I put into provoking them, the results were underwhelming… but what can you do?

I’ll just have to be satisfied with landing the first blow against an opponent of equal or greater strength and move on to the real swordplay.

—

“By the honor of the Guardians, we will capture you and turn you into fertilizer for Mother World Tree!”

Whatever their names were—Disgel or Ibel or something—they tore off parts of their spirit bodies to replace their injuries, then climbed onto the shoulders of the raging Rock Spirit and began firing Spirit Arrows wildly.

The arrows flew toward Damien and Milia, who were darting through the air in complex, dazzling trajectories as if they’d found their true calling.

Whether it was due to anger or pain, their faces were twisted, but true to their centuries of military experience, their attacks remained precise and relentless.

– KWA-BOOM!

Explosions and roars mixed into a dissonant cacophony.

The heavy rock fists slammed into the ground, causing small earthquakes, while arrows of fire, ice, and lightning exploded incessantly, scattering spirit debris everywhere. It was like a full-scale artillery barrage.

“This much…!”

However, Damien and his group fought fiercely against the two Guardians without retreating an inch.

Jin’s greatsword hacked away at the High-Level Spirit’s body, while Milia’s arrows targeted the Guardians riding on top.

“The Heaven’s Sword Order’s Paladin, Ja-han, is here!”

“Spirit Energy or whatever, it’s just soul mana, right? Not much different from Soul Extraction Technique.”

Ja-han, wielding the Red Scale Saber I lent him, absorbed the Fire Spirit Arrow into the blade, while shadowy hands emerging from Ophelia’s feet grabbed and destroyed the Ice Spirit Arrow.

…That looks like Isabella’s magic.

Seems like she’s learned a lot from Isabella, even mastering the witch’s magical formulas. She’s adapted—or restored—them to use mana instead of dark magic.

“Die, die, die! I’ll avenge our ancestors, you long-eared freaks!”

Asha, instead of directly engaging the Guardians, rampaged through the fairy patrol units supporting them, wreaking havoc.

“It’s a crazy dwarf! Everyone, spread out! Don’t let him get close—AAAAH!”

Every time the Pile Bunker embedded in her massive lance roared, fairy bodies were either blown apart or their heads exploded like watermelons.

“Where do you think you’re running? Boost charge—AAAAH!”

Even the fairies trying to distance themselves were caught in the barrage of bullets from the machine guns mounted on Asha’s shoulders, only to be impaled by her lance the next moment.

Objectively, Asha’s strength was only enough to handle a few patrol units, but the fairies facing her were too panicked to mount a proper defense.

Unlike other dwarves who rely on overwhelming firepower, Asha’s combat style—charging into the midst of the fairies with a jetpack and swinging her lance—was something they’d never encountered before.

One of the fairies’ weaknesses.

Their long lifespans made them complacent, and when faced with an unfamiliar situation, they panicked and couldn’t respond effectively.

—

Leaving the others to their fierce battles, I engaged in a full-scale frontal assault against the two oldest-looking Guardians.

The same ambush wouldn’t work twice.

If it were Valenstein, that old man, he might use his Ghost Sword technique to conceal his presence and attempt another ambush…

But that’s a trick only someone born with a natural knack for cowardice could pull off. It’s not something a straightforward and honorable warrior like me would do.

So instead of dodging, I charged straight at them.

I tossed aside the remaining flesh of Aurel-whatever and drew the Red Scale Saber with my now-empty left hand.

“KYAAAAH!”

“What the hell is that?”

“That devilish woman!”

As I soared through the air, spewing flames, the two Guardians fired Spirit Arrows at me.

Five arrows per draw, ten in total, raining down like a storm.

Each arrow followed a different trajectory, closing in from all directions.

Truly, the Fairy Guardians.

Unlike that Aurel-whatever who got taken out by a sudden ambush, these two showcased the archery skills honed over centuries in Alvheim.

If this were half a year ago, I’d have been helplessly pummeled.

“Is this all you’ve got?”

I didn’t even need to activate Reversed Heaven.

I spewed flames in all directions, extinguishing and reigniting them repeatedly while performing rapid evasive maneuvers. At the same time, I swung the Red Scale Saber and Durandal like a storm, slicing through the Spirit Arrows.

The blue blade of Durandal and the red blade of the Red Scale Saber, forged from the Reverse Scale of the Fire Dragon, drew dozens of arcs. Anything caught in their path was torn apart, regardless of what it was.

Endless explosions pounded my eardrums.

Unlike Durandal, which fundamentally dismantled and destroyed the Spirit Arrows, the Red Scale Saber relied on brute force to smash through them. Each time I deflected an arrow, an explosion occurred, sending shocks through my shoulders…

But that much was manageable.

“Pathetic, pathetic! Is this all the combat power of Guardians who’ve trained for centuries? What a waste of time!”

As I broke through the smoke created by the explosions, I finally closed in on the Fairy Guardians’ faces.

“Looks like you’ve been clinging to trees and fooling around for centuries!”

I swung Durandal in a reverse grip, aiming for their heads.

“How utterly vulgar!”

The male Guardian with blond hair drew a one-handed sword from his waist and countered, enhancing his physical abilities by absorbing low-level spirits with his mana.

– KAAAAANG!

A deafening clash. Durandal, swung vertically, collided with his blade, sending sparks flying.

Judging by how he held his ground against Durandal, his sword was a fine weapon despite its crude appearance.

“Khh… Your strength… is no less than the Twelve Knights. But—!”

The Guardian, who had one knee bent from the impact, gritted his teeth and twisted his blade, aiming to stab my throat.

“Hah, you think you can match me in swordsmanship?”

A fairy?

I pulled out a Life Force tentacle to hand off the Red Scale Saber, then gripped Durandal’s blade with my prosthetic arm and twisted, deflecting his sword.

The armor on my shoulder creaked as his blade grazed it.

“KYAAAAH!”

A counterattack followed. I thrust the blade, switched my grip to the hilt, swung it wide, and slammed my elbow into his shoulder while smashing the hilt into his head.

Four rapid strikes in one breath, each carrying enough force to shatter even black iron.

Yet, astonishingly, he managed to block and deflect all of them.

“HAAAAH!”

He drew a circle with his sword, dodging my thrust, leaned back to deflect my slash, and summoned low-level spirits to block my elbow and hilt strikes.

It seemed like he was forcing his body to move using mana instead of muscles to keep up with my speed and strength… but his swordsmanship was surprisingly agile and fluid.

“A short-lived race that’s only lived a few decades dares to lecture a Guardian on swordsmanship!”

His counterattack was equally fierce.

[Hoh. So this is the martial art of the fairies. Light but incredibly fast swordsmanship.]

Even Hersela murmured in admiration.

“HAAAAH!”

Utilizing his overwhelmingly light weight compared to a human, he executed extreme speed swordsmanship. He bounced around me like a rubber ball, darting in and out.

It felt like six Guardians were surrounding me, attacking in a wheel formation.

And on top of that, the Spirit Arrows from other Guardians and the spirits he summoned kept attacking. It was utterly overwhelming.

“You’re not bad, huh?”

Hmm, swordsmanship alone won’t cut it.

I guess centuries of experience give them the upper hand in skill. Well, in that case—

“You’re better than that guy earlier. What was his name? Abivassios or something? That idiot.”

I grinned as I locked blades with the Guardian who had just charged at me.

Unlike before, where he would retreat immediately after clashing, he pushed forward this time. Probably because my taunt clouded his judgment.

“I’ll shut that mouth of yours…!”

His reaction was exactly as I expected, and I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

If swordsmanship alone isn’t enough to subdue them, then I’ll just use my specialty and fight seriously.

It’s unfortunate for them, but I have more than enough tricks up my sleeve besides swordsmanship.

I also know a lot about the fairies’ weaknesses.

For example—

“By the way, what’s your name?”

Things like their tradition of always announcing their names before combat.

---