The Story of Hero Among Heroes ~The Founding Chronicles of Arestia Chapter 77

Bonus chapter from sponsored chapter.

I won't leave you with cliffhanger chapter~

Enjoy~

Translator: Raizu
Editor: s.h.i.+rayuki

Chapter 77 – Magic Sword Gram

Sigurd was surprised to see Ares managing to unlock a new sword from the『Seven Heavenly Swords』

(No way… Ares-sama succeeded in pulling out a new sword…)

Sigurd tried to remember the condition Ares had mentioned to unlock a new sword out of the Seven Heavenly Swords.

[That said …it means that Lord Darius is truly an opponent to be reckoned with]

Sigurd was struck with complex emotions.

Someone else is actually comparable to his lord, Ares… He didn't really want to admit it.

And one more thing.

He also wants to fight. Fight to the best he could.

Watching the duel unfolded… Sigurd could only think so.

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[What the? That sword….?]

Darius looked curiously at Ares' sword.

It was truly a mysterious thing, Darius thought as he looked at the Seven Heavenly Swords.

A blue magical sword that could produce invisible slashes. A sword with white aura that clearly improves all parameters.

And then this…

[A sword with red magic aura..huh?]

Ares said after confirming the sword and tightening his grip on it.

[Now then, you showed me yet another ace in the hole… I'll enjoy it then!]

Darius wielded his great iron spear, charging straight at Ares.

At that moment… looking at the incoming Darius, Ares swung Gram.

What followed was a terrible roar and a strong storm.

[What?!]

Darius involuntarily stopped his charge.

Looking at the situation, Ares muttered.

[Magic Sword Gram… its special characteristic is improving my attack power immensely… shall we call it『Herculean Strength』then….?]

That said, Ares held Gram with both hands and brandished it towards Darius.

[Well, thank you for waiting, lord Darius. It appears that the real battle starts here. Here I go!]

And with that, Ares ran toward Darius.

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Ares' Gram and Darius' great iron spear had clashed for more than 50 exchanges. Magic power and fighting spirit collides, but the stalemate remained unbroken.
The both of them had started to get out of breath. They're no longer capable of reserving their energy for exchanging words.

Ares infused even more magic unto Gram, dyeing the blade with a blood-red glow.
The goal is to destroy Darius' spear. Ares had already given up on beating Darius by himself. His endurance did not allow him to. So to ensure victory… he had no other choice but to destroy Darius' weapon, rendering him unable to continue fighting.
However, Darius' iron spear was custom made using the rare material called the [Black Iron], considered as the [King of Iron] for its durability and lightweight.

But everything will eventually deteriorate.
Unlike other swords Ares currently has, Gram's blow caused acc.u.mulating damage to the great iron spear.

(I'll smash that spear by combining both magic power and fighting spirit on the next blow!)

Ares thought in a hurry while avoiding Darius' onslaught.
And when Darius slammed his spear down, he had sprang the trap.

[There!!]

After some deliberation, Ares swung Gram vertically.

Clank!

The black iron spear let out a dull sound.
At the same time, it broke apart into two pieces.

[!? Impossible!]

Ares' Magic Sword Gram smashed at Darius' spear with so much momentum it broke the spear in half. Darius managed to back away the moment the spear was broken.

However, Darius' breastplate, touched by Gram's tip as it swung down, was cleaved. Fresh blood trickled out from Darius' chest.

Darius who still managed to jump back to safety looked at his broken spear in disbelief.

[No way…this custom made spear is actually broken…]

[Well then…what will you do now?]

Ares asked Darius.

[Kuh!]

Darius' face turned sour for a moment….

[Ku…kuhahahahahahahahahahahahaha.]

Then he laughed loudly.

[I never thought that this spear would ever be broken… I guess I lost this duel…]

Darius threw away the two halves of the iron spear.

He had the grace to admit defeat. Ares also smiled and then laughed in response. As if the previous battle was just an illusion.

At that point…the entire Land of Demons was rumbling

Ares and Darius noticed this, thus moved their gaze towards the source…. And there they found.

Dozens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands…

A countless amount of demons and magic beasts were heading to the capital Heinz.. From within the forest, the underground, the river, the swamp…they overflowed from everywhere.
If one looked closely, they'll notice that a demon lord must be among this horde. Even from a distance, it's obvious to see that both the demons and the magic beasts have been rendered senseless and insane.

[What is this…? This has never happened before?]

Darius was perplexed. Ares muttered to himself quietly.

[All of them act like they are insane… Is this due to…the influence of『Demon King Galgain's Artifact』?]

On the other hand, the soldiers are making a ruckus. Especially… the Grants soldiers as it was their hometown that got attacked.

Seeing the upset soldiers and the advancing horde of demons and magic beasts, Ares spoke to the confused Darius.

[Lord Darius. If this goes on, they'll soon trample over us and breach Heinz.]

[You don't say… We, along with Heinz, will be overwhelmed by such a large amount of enemies… it's over…]

Darius replied in a bitter tone.

Instead of responding to Darius, Ares spoke to another direction instead.

[Zekka!]

[Yes! I'm here.]

When Ares called out to him, Zecca appeared as if out of thin air.

[How far has the Arcadia main forces marched in?]

[That is….]

Zecca seemed to hesitate as though it's very difficult for him to convey the news.

[The Arcadia main forces was trapped by a sudden flood coming from the Depay river… and is currently temporarily retreating back toward Redgear.]

[……….I see……]

Ares muttered quietly.
The flood that caused the Arcadia main forces to retreat coincided with this invasion of demons and magic beasts.

[It's been arranged no matter how I think. Scion, did you actually join hands with the force of darkness….? This is completely beyond my expectations…]

Deciding something, Ares spoke to Darius.

[Lord Darius! Do you have a way for us to get out of this predicament!?]

[I could manage somehow if I were alone… but I won't be able to protect my compatriots and Heinz.]

Ares then turned his attention back to the incoming horde of demons and magic beasts.

[If that's the case…. please follow my instructions.]

Ares spoke quietly, but oddly intimidating.

[The Arcadia main forces cannot be counted on. I've been abandoned here as well. I'm going to save my troops and Heinz as well… but I'm going to need your help.]

Darius turned to Ares, whose tone had become somewhat grimmer than before.

Ares kept his gaze towards the horde, merely waiting for Darius to reply.

[………..can you really save us all?]

[If you are willing to help me, then I'll definitely save us all.]

[………….then it's a deal. Interesting.]

Darius then called out to Dirk who was nearby.

[From now on our entire forces will follow the instruction of this Ares Schwarzer. I'll take full responsibility. Tell that to the whole army.]

[Are you sure, Boss?]

[Is there any other way?]

Darius turned to Ares again.

[This man told me that he can save Heinz when I can't. So let us bear witness to how he'll do it.]

Darius then continued.

[Moreover…. I understand everything through my spear. He's not someone who would tell a lie. Right, Ares Schwarzer-dono?]

Ares responded to that remark…was just a grin.

And just like that, the Black Legion and the army of Heinz who were previously enemies joined hands and retreated back to Heinz.

And from there… began the battle between Ares and the horde of demons and magic beasts, which would later be known in history as the [Miracle of Heinz].

Author's Note:

It's a bit confusing to summarize….

Improving parameters through either magic power or fighting spirit incurs +1~3 modifier.

Magic Sword Style + value is additive in nature (Magic Strengthening +2, Fighting Spirit +2 making a total of +4)

Alflex's body strengthening has +2~3, while Excalibur's gives +3~5

Gram's『G.o.dly Force』gives +10 to only attack power.

It can be said that Gram's characteristic vastly improves attack power at the cost of neglecting other parameters.

In any case, the Holy Sword and Magic Sword's power depends mostly on its wielder's capability.