The Strongest Villain Sets Out: Reincarnated into a Merit-Based Clan, I Become the World's Strongest Swordsman - Chapter 8: Evil vs. Evil

I circulated a small amount of aura throughout my entire body.

My physical abilities were enhanced, and in that state I kicked off the ground with my sword in one hand.

I approached the bandits swarming before my eyes.

“Fast!”

I launched an attack at the man, who seemed like the leader, standing at the front. As expected, my first strike was blocked. It clashed with the man’s sword, producing a high-pitched sound.

“Not bad for a brat. I mean, for a brat, that is!”

CLANG!

I was repelled by the man. Even using aura, my physical strength was inferior. It seemed my output was losing out. Compared to Norn-nee-san, we were both complete amateurs though.

“You’re not bad yourself. I thought I could win more easily.”

“Don’t get cocky, you damn brat!”

This time the man kicked off the ground and closed in on me. He skillfully attacked while wrapping his weapon in aura.

By doing that, the enhancement characteristics would also dwell in the weapon. It couldn’t be broken easily.

I read the opponent’s movements while gracefully dodging left and right. Though the opponent was superior in physical strength and aura technique, I was winning in swordsmanship. It wasn’t a speed that couldn’t be avoided.

“Tch! Hey, you bastards! Hurry up and surround this guy and kill him!”

“Multiple against one? That’s cowardly.”

“Got a problem with that?”

“I do. But it doesn’t matter.”

“Hah?”

“As a member of the Salvatore ducal family—defeat is not permitted.”

Turning from retreat, I also moved forward to match the man’s advance. Caught off guard, the man’s movement was slightly delayed. I dodged the strike that had gone off course to the side and drove a full-force knee kick into him.

“Gah?!”

Even if he was protecting his body with aura, if I hit him with the same aura, some damage should get through, right?

Spitting saliva, the man rolled backward.

“Leader!”

The female companion who had deployed to the side shouted.

What, there was a woman too? Gender doesn’t matter when it comes to killing though.

“Perfect timing, you’re next.”

Ignoring the man who had fallen to the ground, I turned to face sideways. In my line of sight was the woman who had raised her voice.

I made a wickedly evil smile and changed my target to that woman. I readied my sword and kicked off the ground.

“!”

The woman’s body stiffened at my approach.

I wonder if she doesn’t have much real combat experience? That’s no good—becoming a bandit’s companion without the resolve to kill people. You’ll lose your life quickly.

“There we go.”

I slashed at her neck. Because she backed away slightly, the wound was shallow.

“You have hesitation in your movements. How did you even manage to come here?”

In a fight to the death, kindness and hesitation should be discarded. Those who don’t discard them die first. As you can see.

She pressed her neck and backed away. Blood was flowing steadily. From the look of it, she’d die in less than ten minutes. I immediately returned my gaze to the side.

“You bastard! How dare you hurt my companion!”

In my line of sight was the man, who seemed like the leader, who had stood up. The man was coming toward me. He readied his sword, fully intent on killing me.

Yeah, that’s good. What pleasant bloodlust.

I sometimes dodged and sometimes deflected and defended against the man’s sword as it swung around wildly. He had lost himself to anger. That way he can’t hit me.

“Haha! A mere bandit, getting angry because your companion was hurt?! While turning your eyes away from all the people you’ve killed, violated, and kidnapped until now?!”

“Shut up! We were just desperate to survive! What’s wrong with that?!”

“Nothing’s wrong with it. Nothing at all. That’s human nature, society’s nature. In the end, people can only live selfishly.”

Everyone does that. Those who think it’s natural not to do bad things suffer the most and can’t live properly.

“I’ll affirm it for you. You’re not wrong. Nobody’s wrong. Since you’re not wrong—please die. Because I’m not wrong either.”

I delivered a strike wrapped in maximum aura to the man, who seemed like the leader, who was carelessly charging in.

The man, whose defense was delayed and who couldn’t avoid it, received my blade and suffered a large slash wound.

The wound extended from his left shoulder to his right hip. A fatal injury. Spilling an overflow of blood, the man’s sword fell to the ground with a thud.

Next, the man with an agonized expression also collapsed to the ground.

“L-Leader…”

The man’s subordinates who had been surrounding me were shaken, having their head crushed.

What happened to their bloodlust from before? It’s no fun cutting down spineless weaklings. Well, whatever.

“I’m going to kill everyone anyway, but if you tell me about your client, maybe I’ll let one person escape?”

Tap tap, I tapped my shoulder with the flat of my sword. Come on, hurry up.

However, to my proposal, the companions answered by readying their swords. Would they rather resist to the end than be killed?

“Hehe. Nice. That’s how it should be.”

[You’re so harsh on others, Luka.]

“That’s not true.”

I was actually quite a tolerant type. I rarely get angry, and I respect others’ wills.

I was just giving criminals appropriate punishment.

“No matter how they try to dress it up, those guys are criminals. Even if they haven’t committed murder before, right now they’re trying to kill me. For people in the position of killers to not even be prepared to be killed—that’s the height of selfishness.”

If you ready your sword, then die. If you try to kill, then I’ll kill. That’s my value system, a kind of rule.

Conscience? Law? Extenuating circumstances? What’s that? Reality was always unreasonable. It doesn’t concern me.

[Hmm. I agree with that thinking too, but… hehe. Luka, you’re not very childlike.]

“Shut up. I’m still only eight years old.”

Conversation aside, I readied my sword. The other side seemed to have finished their preparations too. They were waiting for my movement, ready at any moment.

—However.

“Hm?”

Before I could kick off the ground, a loud sound came from somewhat far away. A dull sound. Probably this is…

“Footsteps?”

The moment I muttered that, a giant bear came running up the mountain path from deep in the blizzard toward us. A monster. The largest one I’d seen so far.

“GROAAAAAR!”

“A m-monster!”

Seeing the giant bear monster that was twice the size of a human, the bandits unanimously chose to retreat.

Screaming, they dragged the bodies of their companions and leader as they withdrew. However, the bear monster was extremely fast.

In an instant it closed in on the bandits, opened its vicious mouth and—chomp. The bandits were eaten one by one.

Some were torn apart by claws. Others were directly devoured whole. A hellscape of screaming agony was unfolding before my eyes. As I leisurely watched this,

[Luka, Luka. Shouldn’t you run? That thing is strong.]

Lilith said beside me.

I lifted the corner of my mouth and smiled.

“I won’t run. As a member of the Salvatore ducal family, flight is not permitted.”

[What’s that?]

“A family motto. Sounds stupid, right? But it’s the truth. If I ran here, I wouldn’t be able to grow at all.”

I advanced one step, then another step forward.

I headed toward the monster that was munching on the bandits it had killed and readied my sword.

“I’ll kill you. No matter who gets in my way.”

Our gazes met—mine and the bear’s.