“The barrier won’t hold for that long,” the exasperated elven mage said to the heavily armored warrior – a rare Path for elves, but some had to take the frontline in these wars. The warrior was lacking an arm, and a healer was desperately trying to heal him enough for the man to be able to engage in combat again. For now, he would be stuck in this tent for a little while, though.
“It will have to,” the armored warrior said. “A small temporary reinforcement force should arrive by the end of tomorrow. The attacks on the eastern borders were more extensive than the general first predicted.”
“Even if we manage to hold on till tomorrow, how many are even coming? A few hundred fighters? Commander, we need to seriously consider evacuation,” the mage said in a stern voice.
“Evacuation would mean the fall of the entire northern border, and what about the civilians?” the commander shot back. “It’s not an option. Our potion supply should be enough to tide us over until the main force can arrive, it-“
“It won’t!” the mage slammed his hand on the table. “Eleven Primas are baring down on us, more than ten thousand beasts at their side! The barrier will not hold for more than half a day if this keeps up.”
“The strain will be lessened once I move out again,” the commander tried to argue.
“So you can extend the barrier’s lifetime by half an hour if you get lucky… it’s still not enough. We underestimated the Primas and how many would attack, pure and simple. Take the loss, and let’s get out of here while we still can. If we bunker down in the capital,” the mage argued.
“Have faith. We should be able to survive and hold on until the Prima Guardian Alliance comes and helps us,” the commander tried.
The mage just looked at the commander for a moment before he sighed and shook his head. “We both know they aren’t coming.”
“Stop… just stop,” the commander said, as the healer at his side looked confused at the mage’s words.
“How long are you going to keep pretending?” the mage scoffed. “Her majesty, in all her wisdom, rejected the leader of the alliance quite openly. Talked about mental manipulation or some shit. We are last on the list of planets that’ll get a hand. The most they’ll give us is a memorial.”
The commander clenched his fist as the silence hung in the air. He knew the mage was speaking the truth. Their planet had never been particularly powerful, and things had only gotten worse after two large factions emerged post-Tutorials. A war broke out soon after, leaving most of those with talent either dead or displaced. Many of the talented ones had even left the universe for good to join divine factions. Nevermore had been the killing blow, as most of those who went just never came back home.
When the Prima Guardian Alliance was proposed, they saw hope… but the queen was wary. She spoke of manipulation from the leader of the alliance and refused to work closely with the largest coalition. In the eyes of the mage, she was a moron, and usually, the commander would punish the man for treason… but what even was the point?
“No matter what you say, we will fight. We must fight, there is no other choice,” the commander said with a resolute voice. “However, I will allow you to begin initial preparations for retreat. Attempt to at least get most of the mages who run out of energy back to the capital… they will need them there.”
“Thank you for seeing reason,” the mage said, relieved. “We have enough materials to teleport at least a few hundred back to safety. Not like we’re gonna use the crystals to receive any reinforcements.”
“I already told you to begin preparations; don’t waste your time being a-“
“Commander!” a young-looking elven woman wearing a cloak said as she rushed into the tent. “A report has arrived that help is coming from the Prima Guardian Alliance!”
The commander’s eyes opened wide. “Truly?”
Equally surprised, the mage also couldn’t help but quickly ask for details. “How many? Where are they from, and what made them change their mind?”
“They are from a planet that hasn’t taken part in any of the prior Alliance meetings,” the scout said. “As for the numbers, I’m only being told now that… that…”
“What’s happening?” the commander asked in a stern tone.
“One… I… they say they’re sending one person…” the scout stammered out.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” the mage practically screamed before he began laughing. “What a joke…”
“Why would they even…” the commander muttered with a downcast expression.
It felt like a dumb prank had been played on them. To give them the hope of reinforcements only to take it away mere moments after. Even if someone at the level of the general arrived, what could they do? They faced nearly a dozen Primas on this battlefield. Even the general could at most handle three of them at once, and even that assumed they weren’t the most powerful variants.
“I don’t know… but he’s arriving now,” the scout said, looking as confused and deflated as the mage and commander.
“Great! Just great… let’s go see our great savior, then,” the mage said in a mocking tone as he walked out of the tent. The commander also stood up despite the healer’s protests as he went toward the middle of the camp where the teleporter stood.
Looking over the cliffside to the battlefield, the commander frowned even more deeply. A constant battle was ongoing, with the only reprieve that the elven side had a large barrier to hide behind when things got too tough. However, with nearly a dozen Primas attacking the barrier and fewer and fewer fighters to keep them occupied, things were rapidly going downhill.
It was all just one cruel joke to send a single person to this lost battlefield.
Arriving at the teleporter, it soon spun to life. The runes began to glow as the commander saw far more of the mana gems break than he expected. The more powerful the person using the teleporter was, the more would break… but this was far more than he could have anticipated. The mage also seemed to notice this, as a figure soon appeared on the platform.
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The first thing that struck the commander was how small he looked. As elves, they tended to be naturally skinnier than humans… yet the human that had just appeared looked even thinner than them. What’s more was the sparse gray hair on his head and his simple-looking robe. Having been part of one of the Prima Guardian Alliance meetings, the commander had seen many humans before but never one that looked this positively ancient. He looked almost halfway to being undead.
“You must be the commander,” the newly arrived human said in a calm yet strong tone.
“Yes, I’m in charge of this battlefield,” the commander said as he stood straight.
“I would ask you about the situation, but I’ve already gotten a good grasp myself,” the human said, and only now did the commander notice the sword at his waist. That’s when the swordsman asked something preposterous. “Could you have all your soldiers retreat behind the barrier? Oh, and make sure to keep it empowered; it may be struck during the battle.”
“If they all retreat and those monsters are allowed to roam free, the barrier won’t even last an hour,” the mage spoke up in protest.
“That’s fine; it won’t need to,” the swordsman said with a calm smile. “I don’t intend on spending that long here. I have other places to be later today, so please do not delay me any further than absolutely necessary.”
“Are you serious?” the barrier mage questioned loudly. “Other places to be? There are eleven Primas out there!”
“Yes, only eleven,” the old swordsman kept his casual demeanor. “And they all appear quite a bit weaker than the ones on my planet.”
“I will make the soldiers retreat,” the commander said, not thinking about the matter any further. He had been on many battlefields, both now and during the civil war… and standing before this man, he felt like he stood before someone even the general would only salute in respect. A true man of the battlefield.
“You are listening to this madman?” the mage exclaimed.
The commander just ignored the mage as he quickly sent the order. He got many confused answers from the squad leaders, but they all did as they were told. As they all retreated, the Primas and thousands of monsters began moving to attack the barrier.
At the same time, the swordsman moved. He gave a thankful nod to the commander before he disappeared from where he stood, only to appear close to the barrier soon after. Already impressed by such speed… the commander wasn’t ready for what came next.
Raindrops began to fall from a cloudless sky. Yet when the commander looked up, he now saw large rainclouds covering everything as far as the eye could see. The old swordsman walked through the barrier as if he was out on a stroll, and not just the commander but thousands of soldiers looked on, confused as the solitary man faced an army.
“He’s going to die like a moron,” the mage said with his arms crossed.
“Just shut up already,” the commander said annoyedly.
Being outside the barrier, the swordsman naturally attracted some attention. Several large four-legged monsters with large maws and scaled bodies attacked him right away, these beasts serving as the vanguard due to their high durability.
All the commander saw was a flash before the swordsman now held his blade in his hand, and the four monsters that were upon him split in two. Another flash later, and crescent waves of water shot out, cutting through the battlefield and killing dozens on their path.
The mage had finally shut up as he just looked on while the swordsman went on a rampage amidst the falling rain. All of the monsters attacking the barrier soon began to gather around him as the eleven Primas, who usually took a more careful approach, also made their way over when it looked as if the old human couldn’t keep up with the onslaught.
It was then the commander realized… the swordsman had been baiting them in. Once they were all soaked by the rain, the human suddenly stopped as he took a step back. He lowered his blade, and for a moment, time itself seemed to freeze as he spoke:
“Rain of Time: Reversal.”
With that, the commander saw power beyond what a C-grade should be capable of displaying. With a single raised blade, the world was torn asunder. The follow-up attacks only further cemented this sentiment as the elven Primas were slaughtered one by one, two of them already falling in the opening move.
Less than ten minutes later, the rainfall stopped, and the old human walked back through the barrier, not even looking tired as he returned to the commander.
“That should be this area dealt with… I believe you should be able to hold on should any stragglers arrive,” the swordsman said in his usual relaxed tone.
“Why… why are you even helping us?” the barrier mage said, his tone of arrogance entirely gone by now, having been replaced by pure confusion.
“Due to an agreement. Once I’ve dealt with the most troubled battlefields, your queen has promised me the Prima Guardian,” the man said. “That will make life for you easier, too. Once the Guardian dies, all the regular Primas are weakened.”
“How do you know that? Wait, have you already…?” the mage continued.
“Yes, but not alone. Not to fret, based on what I’ve seen here thus far, the Prima Guardian should be something I can handle on my own,” the swordsman said with confidence.
The mage looked like he wanted to comment, but he just shut up and kept silent, as the commander couldn’t help but ask:
“I cannot even begin to express but gratitude… if possible, may I know what our savior is called?”
The swordsman looked at the commander for a moment before answering. “I usually go by the name of Sword Saint.”
“Sword Saint… what does such a title mean?” the commander asked in awe.
The man who called himself the Sword Saint smiled as he looked upon the battlefield one final time. “It’s an oath and a Path. What I strive to be… and in my arrogance, a name I have dared to claim before I am worthy.”
They were all silent for a moment after he said this before the Sword Saint spoke again. “I should get moving. I have a few other places to stop by before it’s time to tackle the Guardian.”
“I wish you godspeed, Sword Saint,” the commander saluted the human who’d saved them. Who it appeared was on a quest to save their entire planet.
After he stepped onto the teleporter, the commander noticed the mage looked deep in thought, and the commander couldn’t help himself but ask:
“What? No objections when he said he planned on beating the Prima Guardian?”
The mage continued to look like he was thinking before he suddenly seemed to realize as he pulled out a list from his spatial storage. He quickly looked at it as his eyes opened wide. “I was right…”
“What?” the commander asked.
“The Nevermore Leaderboards,” the mage muttered.
Frowning, the commander wondered what the guy was talking about. As someone who had gone to Nevermore, he knew about these Leaderboards, but it hadn’t been something he had really looked at or cared about. Why would he? He wasn’t someone that would ever appear on it. That list was reserved for the absolute pinnacle of their entire universe. Complete monsters that couldn’t be compared to people like… wait…
“You don’t mean he-“
The mage turned the list around, with the name Sword Saint written right there on the top ten for the entire universe. That’s when the commander realized something else as he recalled things he heard while at Nevermore…
This Sword Saint had been from a party with the one who took the top spot - from the same planet as many others who had placed toward the top. That meant… this was the galaxy that housed the Chosen of the Malefic Viper… how had he never realized?
He’d known about Ell’Hakan, but it had never been anything publicly advertised that the Chosen of Yip of Yore and the Chosen of the Malefic Viper hailed from even the same galaxy. Realizing this, the commander felt a shiver run down his spine... questioning if their small planet would truly be fine when caught in such a massive conflict.
Yet, at the same time, he couldn’t help but question what kind of monsters could even compare to the swordsman they had just seen… because the commander just couldn’t imagine how anyone could rival such an entity.
He also began to question what was going on elsewhere in the galaxy and just how much change those from the planet of the Sword Saint could enact upon the galaxy.