Reborn As Noble

Chapter 722: Specter of Corruption ( 722 )

The general snarled. ”SHUT UP, BRAT!!”

He charged, swinging the massive blade down with a roar. A tremor shook the battlefield as his power lashed out in a dark shockwave, splitting rocks and cracking trees in a vicious arc.

Javier didn’t move.

Only lifted his hand again, blocking the blow with his bare palm.

The ground shattered beneath him, dust kicking up in all directions. But Javier stood unharmed, only wincing slightly.

Then he sighed.

”Not only is it gross,” he said, tilting his head lazily and pushing the sword aside with the back of his wrist, ”but your technique has zero finesse.”

He looked up at the general, smirking.

”You know what finesse is? No?”

He clicked his tongue and shook his head.

”Of course not. I was going to offer a lesson, but nah. That sword? It’s... tacky. The kind of weapon a tryhard villain would carry.”

He leaned in slightly, whispering with a smug grin.

”Clearly... you’re not a cool guy.”

”And with that disgusting weapon... eww,” Javier added, casually sidestepping another slash with one hand in his pocket. ”I don’t know why you like this kind of junk. There are so many smarter, cooler, more elegant designs out there.”

He flicked the blade away with two fingers, wrinkling his nose.

”And this is what you pick? Something with a freakin’ eye in the middle? Clearly no taste.”

The general growled through gritted teeth, his aura spiking with fury.

”FIGHT ME SERIOUSLY, YOU SHITTY BRAT!!!”

Javier tilted his head, blinking like the man just asked if water was wet.

”Hmm? I am fighting you seriously,” he replied coolly. ”With Marita-level close combat.”

The general froze mid-swing.

”...What?”

Javier raised a finger and tapped the side of his head, like a teacher reminding a student.

”You didn’t know? Marita doesn’t use magic. Not even once. All she does is eat and train her body. Despite being, well... overly blessed—” he made a sweeping gesture at his waist, ”—her raw strength is terrifying.”

He cracked his knuckles again and smirked.

”And right now, I’m only using her level of power. No magic.”

”Wha—!?”

”You can’t even match that,” Javier continued, his tone steady. ”And you’re here barking about defeating Hesbeirn? My father’s strongest berserker?”

He held up another finger.

”Or Erinnette? Armand’s strongest battle maid, period.”

”Or Alf? Her husband? The man who can cut shadows?”

He shot the general a flat look.

”Dream on, old man.”

The general roared, fury distorting his face. His entire body surged with dark mana. In an instant, he vanished.

One blink and he reappeared behind Liana and Gloria.

Javier’s eyes widened.

”—!!!!!!”

But Gloria didn’t flinch.

With a calm, measured breath, she gently lifted her white ore warhammer, glowing faintly with divine light, and adjusted her glasses with two fingers.

The incoming black sword met the pristine head of her hammer. The collision rang like a bell across the battlefield, but Gloria didn’t even blink.

”Oh dear,” she said softly, a gentle smile curling at her lips.

”We apologize, young master,” Gloria added, pushing the blade back with surprising force. ”For taking away your fun...”

She stepped forward, white mana surging along her arms, and finished with a polite smile that instantly turned dangerous.

”...from this man.”

And then she swung.

”Gwargh!!!”

The general coughed out blood midair, his body hurling backward like a broken doll, smashing through trees and dirt before tumbling across the ground like a rag thrown by fate.

He finally skidded to a stop, mud-caked, bloodied, armor dented and used his trembling sword to push himself upright. His breath came in ragged gasps. His arms shook.

What... was that?

His mind raced, lips twitching with disbelief.

That strike... it felt like I was hit by a Divine-class relic...

He spat more blood. The taste was metallic, bitter.

Damn it...! Was our intel that outdated? Couldn’t even get a proper scout through the Armand border, huh?

He glared across the battlefield, his vision hazy, but he could still see that damn brat standing there, arms crossed, calm as ever.

”And that boy... said something about a maid named Marita...? Fighting with that kind of strength....without even using magic!?”

His gaze flicked toward Gloria, now standing beside Liana again, both glowing faintly with white mana, unscathed, elegant, like untouchable sentinels.

He clenched his teeth.

This is insane... What kind of region breeds monsters like this?!

His grip on the sword tightened. Veins bulged across his forearms. His dark-enhanced mana spiked again, desperate and furious.

If that’s the maid power... what about the rest?

A cold chill ran down his spine.

He looked up at Javier.

And for the first time... fear began to settle behind his rage.

Inside the general’s mind.

Shit.

I have to get out of here.

Screw this.

I can’t fight these monsters... and I don’t want to die here like some worthless pawn.

Blood dripped from his lips as the man pulled a small orb from his waist pouch, a compact escape tool laced with forbidden shadow enchantments.

Without hesitation, he slammed it to the ground.

A loud crack erupted.

Thick black smoke exploded outward, coating the forest clearing in choking darkness. The swirling fog hissed with dark mana, clouding vision, sound, even scent.

Liana and Gloria reacted instantly.

Without needing words, they leapt behind Javier, flanking him again with practiced ease, guarding his sides.

Javier didn’t even blink.

He simply waited.

And when the smoke finally thinned.

The general was gone.

Only the battered ground, broken trees, and hundreds of lifeless modified corpses remained in his wake.

Liana narrowed her eyes. ”Should we pursue him, young master?”

Javier exhaled slowly and shook his head. ”No. Let him go.”

Gloria tilted her head, adjusting her glasses. ”That’s unlike you. Why?”

Javier glanced down at the footprints in the soil, then toward the direction the general had fled.

His voice was calm, almost indifferent.

”Because he’s already dead.”

Liana blinked. ”You mean...?”

Javier nodded once.

”That thing he swallowed to amplify his power. It’s not a blessing. It’s poison. That surge he got? Temporary. Brutal. And entirely unstable.”

He crouched, picking up a fragment of the blackened sword, the blade cracked and twitching like a dying creature.

”The corruption has already begun. That kind of mana eats from the inside out. Bone. Nerves. Even the soul.”

Gloria raised a brow. ”Then why use it at all?”

Javier stood again, flicking the shard aside. ”Because they don’t know any better. Edmund gives them power, stripped from dead heroes, twisted into something grotesque, and dangles it in front of them like salvation.”

His voice dropped to a cold murmur.

”They think they’re being saved.”

”But they’re just being thrown away slower.”

Liana and Gloria both stood in silence, staring at their young master.

Only the sounds of wind rustling through scorched leaves, and the distant cries of dying modified soldiers echoing deeper in the woods.

Javier looked back toward the horizon, toward Edmund’s far-flung force.

His voice was steady.

”Let him crawl. Let him rot.”

”We have bigger things to deal with.”

( End Of Chapter )