The Tribal Wars

On the third day, before the central gate, the Second Battalion, led by Heisen, stood at the front line. Facing them was the cavalry commanded by General Gizar.

It was just as predicted.

By the end of the second day, the enemy's main forces had been depleted, leaving the possibility of a prolonged battle. Naturally, facing them head-on seemed like the best strategy. That was Heisen's plan.

And then...

General Gizar chose to confront them of his own accord.

Heisen also decided to face him directly.

Just like the previous day, Gizar approached alone, and Heisen did the same, defenselessly. They were within the range of Heisen's magic wand, "Thunder Sword."

Neither of them wavered or hesitated; they simply stared each other down.

If Heisen were to activate Thunder Sword here, Gizar could have easily taken Heisen’s head. However, Heisen made a different judgment.

At this distance, Gizar had never been defeated. He held an absolute advantage.

By giving him the choice to live or die, Heisen took away any chance of escape. That was Heisen’s approach to one-on-one situations.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Heisen Heim."

"I am General Gizar of the Diolde Principality."

"If you don’t mind, would you like to settle this with a one-on-one duel?"

"Very well."

"Good. By the way, would you care to make a wager?"

"A wager?"

"If I win, General Gizar, you will become my subordinate."

"...Haha! And if I win, you will become my subordinate."

"Of course."

"You have quite the confidence."

"It’s not confidence, it’s conviction."

When Heisen spoke with such certainty, Gizar’s expression changed.

"...Very well. I accept the wager. How shall we begin the duel?"

"A simple method would be best... When this coin hits the ground, we fight until one of us surrenders."

Heisen held up the coin.

"Understood. That works."

General Gizar took a combat stance, and Heisen smiled in return.

A contract was now in place. No matter how much preparation they had done, Gizar wouldn’t attack from the sidelines.

Heisen confidently summoned eight magic wands behind him.

"I’ve heard about it, but it’s true. Controlling eight wands"

"In a single battle, it’s rare that I use this many. But adapting to the opponent is advantageous."

Heisen gripped a wand in each hand.

"The name is Rai Setsu Kujaku."

"I see. A splendid wand. No wonder it shattered Kakuzu's formidable armor."

"He’s a remarkable warrior."

"He’s my pride."

Against Gizar, who specialized in speed, the hardness of Kakuzu’s armor proved effective. In that sense, Heisen had brilliantly thwarted their plans.

"Do you have a means to defend against my thunder sword?"

"Well, I can think of a few, but I have no intention of using them."

"What do you mean?"

"General Gizar, I want you to know. So I plan to show the difference in our strengths fairly and squarely."

...

"To overwhelm your speed. That’s my plan to win."

Heisen boldly declared. With a wand of level ten, he aimed to display a skill surpassing a level four or higher genuine wand of a general.

"I’ve changed my mind. If you’re boring, I’ll just chop off your head."

"Hehe... Please do. The winner holds the right to live or die."

"Let me ask. What is the name of your wand?"

"The name... Unfortunately, I don’t have high-quality gemstones. I’ve given them all to Kakuzu."

"Are you mocking me?"

"No. But if you want names... This one is called Jirai. It’s a wand that will shatter your thunder sword."

With that, Heisen flicked the coin into the air. It spiraled before landing on the ground.

In an instant, Heisen and General Gizar vanished from the soldiers' sight.

Gizar activated Thunder Sword and swiftly moved towards Heisen. Meanwhile, Heisen used the Jirai ability to relocate to another spot.

At that moment, Gizar felt confident in his victory.

Slow.

The claim of having a level ten gemstone was likely a bluff. It could be level seven or six. Given Heisen’s unfathomable strength, maybe around level eight. Certainly, it seemed to be a lightning-type wand, but it was only about a tenth of the speed of the Thunder Sword.

Thunder Sword not only increased his own speed; his entire body during movement became capable of enduring it all.

In other words, it was said to respond to ultra-high-speed visual and cognitive processes.

Heisen's reaction was faster when the coin landed. However, despite his overwhelming speed, Heisen had disappeared. Gizar could catch up in the next move, but he couldn’t alter his judgment in just one move.

But that confidence... If there was such a difference in ability, there had to be a chance to win. Heisen Heim also gave the impression of a strategist, so there might be traps ahead.

After reaching the destination, Gizar decided to head towards Heisen's location by setting a midpoint.

However...

Immediately upon activating Thunder Sword, Gizar noticed a clear anomaly. Heisen wasn’t at the expected location. When he widened his field of view, he saw that Heisen had already begun moving from another position.

Why? Despite having superior speed, Heisen had vanished. And now, the speed at which he was moving seemed sluggish. With this, there was no risk of making a mistake regarding the destination.

The moment Gizar reached his destination, he activated Thunder Sword once more and headed towards Heisen.

"Damn..."

He’s not there. Heisen had already started moving slowly from about ten meters to the right. The speed was indeed slow. However, Thunder Sword couldn’t change its destination mid-journey. To do so, it must activate Thunder Sword once more.

As if anticipating Gizar's reaction, Heisen smiled slowly.

"Kuh..."

Don’t fall for the provocation. Gizar told himself repeatedly and then withdrew to a far rear position. While moving quickly, he monitored Heisen’s movements. Still, the movement was sluggish. And when he stopped at his destination, Heisen’s movements came to a complete halt. There wasn’t even the slightest movement.

In an instant, Gizar smiled. If he could capture the moment of stopping, victory was as good as assured. He simply had to activate Thunder Sword as usual to capture him.

"It’s over."

The moment he arrived at his destination, he activated Thunder Sword without hesitation.

"Why... whyyyyy!"

Despite moving, Gizar yelled frantically. Heisen wasn’t there. He wasn’t. He wasn’t even in sight now.

That shouldn’t have happened.

Had he misjudged the speed? No, Thunder Sword was a level four gemstone object of lightning. It’s hard to imagine a second lieutenant having a wand that surpasses it.

Indeed, the visible movement speed seemed sluggish. Of course, once he stopped, it would be the next move for ordinary people. There should be a definite capture if he aimed for it.

What.

What was happening?

Upon reaching his destination and looking around, he sensed something from behind.

"Do you understand?"

The voice echoed low in Gizar’s stomach.

In an instant, Gizar activated Thunder Sword and swung his sword around. However, Heisen wasn’t there. He had already moved to another place.

He didn’t understand what was happening anymore.

What he understood was that he was definitely caught from behind now. It was a fatal defeat. He realized he was being mocked, but Gizar couldn’t accept it.

This wasn’t a contest over Heisen’s speed. He was doing something strange. Gizar told himself this and continued the fight.

Then, Gizar activated Thunder Sword repeatedly. Indeed, it was several hundred times. However, he couldn’t catch Heisen even once.

"Hah... hah... why?"

Eventually, Gizar stopped activating Thunder Sword.

"Do you understand? You’re slow."

Heisen’s voice came from behind. Gizar couldn’t gauge the distance, but he was definitely caught from behind. For a lightning-type person, being caught from behind meant immediate defeat. He should have been killed already.

"Slow? Is Thunder Sword slower than your wand?"

"No, it’s not. I said'slow' to you, General Gizar."

"Me..."

It was then that Gizar realized.

He had realized this.

It wasn’t Thunder Sword’s own speed that was slow, but the speed of magic activation.

"Do you understand?"

Heisen spoke from behind him. Gizar gritted his teeth in frustration, thinking he was already in the position of the winner.

"Thunder Sword’s ability is to move at super speed up to a certain distance. It continues until the series of movements is completed. And your magnetic lightning is similar, right?"

"It’s a little different, but more or less."

"How is it different?"

Even in the middle of the battle, Gizar couldn’t help but ask. He himself couldn’t understand what was happening.

"You can channel two types of magical power into the tip of the magnetic lightning. For convenience, I call them Ying and Yang and use them differently."

"...And?"

"And these Ying and Yang can mark various points. I predicted that you would choose this place as the battlefield. That’s why I prepared it in advance."

"..."

So it was all part of Heisen’s plan. He had set a trap for him with great care. However, Gizar didn’t feel discomfort. Instead, he felt an awe-inspiring strength in the fact that this situation was no mere coincidence.

"Hidden and light share a property; they are attracted to each other. By manipulating the hidden and light properties of the magnetic lightning, I can move to the marked location at high speed."

"That’s... quite complex."

"Restrictions increase power. Without these restrictions, it wouldn’t be possible to achieve such speeds. After all, it's a rank 9 jewel."

Upon hearing this, Gizar felt his pride shatter. To think that a lower-grade jewel could achieve such feats.

"Heisen Heim, where I fall short compared to you is in the speed of thought between actions, correct?"

"That's right."

"..."

"After arriving at your destination, you channel magical power into the action of moving toward me. For you, General Gizar, this takes about 0.3 seconds. I've confirmed this in my battles with Kakuzu. However, my average thought speed is 0.04 seconds. This is possible because Jirai specializes in very simple Yin and Yang manipulation."

"..."

At that moment, Gizar felt an overwhelming gap between himself and Heisen.

"No matter how fast Thunder Sword boasts, the difference in our speeds is only about one tenth of a second. Even if the difference is tenfold, it doesn’t change the outcome. In such a case, the one who thinks faster will prevail."

"I have one question. How can you think so fast, even though you’re human?"

"It’s training based on assumptions. I anticipate every possible enemy and prepare accordingly. It’s natural preparation for battle."

"I see..."

Gizar couldn’t recall ever being overwhelmed by the power of a magic wand. He had always been confident in a fair one-on-one fight.

However, Heisen had prepared as if a stronger opponent would inevitably appear. He had accounted for every possible countermeasure and put it into practice.

"So... are you still not ready to admit defeat?"

"...Ah."

Gizar sheathed the Thunder Sword and prepared to draw his sword. "I see. So that's how it goes. Impressive. If there's one chance to defeat me, that would be it."

"With the speed of your magnetic lightning, I'll hit you in one strike. Especially me."

Gizar abandoned Thunder Sword's speed specialization. He wrapped it around his body and transformed it into a counter-attack type, focusing solely on his vision and discarding everything else. It was the same strategy he used against Kakuzu, but this time Kakuzu's role was played by General Gizar. He assumed Heisen lacked the ability to draw his sword as quickly as Thunder Sword could, so he planned to take the initiative and strike if an opening appeared.

"Your tactical flexibility is impressive. I like it even more. Well then, I’ll give it my all."

"...Come."

Heisen began to move. His previous slowness seemed like a lie; all Gizar could see was an afterimage, a flash of light dancing around him.

Since Heisen normally didn't use this ability, Gizar’s weakened Thunder Sword could barely keep up. Even though Thunder Sword was able to see Heisen momentarily, Gizar's attempts to stop him were futile. Each time he tried to refocus, he failed to catch Heisen's movements.

Is it really this different?

He lost sight of Heisen again, and suddenly, a large hole opened in the ground, with rocks flying through the air.

"Guh... Where!?"

Desperately looking around, Gizar couldn’t find Heisen. A shadow caught his attention, but it was impossible.

"You fool..."

There was Heisen, upside down in the sky, riding on shattered rocks. The black-haired youth smirked defiantly and swung down the other wand with all his might.

In an instant, General Gizar was forced into the ground, unable to move, and a shocking force, unlike anything he had ever experienced, overwhelmed his entire body.

"Guaaaaaah!"

"Heh... hah... hah..."

Heisen landed on the ground, out of breath, and walked over to General Gizar.

"Guh... Gah..."

"Heh... heh... So, is this the end of the match?"

Heisen lay beside General Gizar, looking up at the sky. Despite the fierce battle, he threw himself next to the enemy general, his own body battered and broken, with Gizar barely able to speak.

"Finally... why were you in the air?"

"The wand is 'Floating Feather.' It reduces my own weight to zero. I used it to ride the shattered rocks into the air. Naturally, the rocks were pre-marked."

"What wand attacked me?"

"The 'Earth Burden' wand. Its effective range is about 30 meters, and it can apply three times the gravity. Although the jewel is rank 10 and its output is limited, concentrating the effect to an extreme can apply about 30 times the normal gravity. That’s why I disappeared from your sight."

"..."

Until then, Heisen had meticulously maneuvered in a plane—forward, backward, left, and right—to make Gizar believe there was no upward movement. This level of meticulous calculation was characteristic of the magician Heisen Heim.

General Gizar’s expression brightened with respect.

"Impressive... I concede."

"Then you belong to me, General Gizar."

Heisen chuckled.

General Gizar closed his eyes with a smile and nodded.

"...Aah. There were truly amazing monsters."

"It’s your defeat."

"Heh, okay, break’s over."

Heisen immediately stood up and began stretching.

"Are you going to attack the Diolde Duchy?"

"Of course. It's war."

"I’ll tell you, but I won’t stop attacking the Diolde Duchy."

"No, it will stop."

"What are you talking about? There’s a difference in military strength. Even if the soldiers of the Diolde Duchy are cut off, there are still Captain Langton and Captain Zonan. They’re formidable."

Despite Heisen’s exhaustion from the battle, he remained resolute.

"Really. Then I’ll ask you to be a prisoner."

"What do you mean?"

Before General Gizar could respond, Buz hurried over to Heisen.

"This is a prisoner. Handle him with care."

"Understood. Uh, uh. The enemy army is advancing without withdrawing here."

"..."

As expected, General Gizar’s prediction was accurate, and Heisen’s expectation was off. However, the black-haired youth showed no regret.

"I see... a bit off. Well, I’m not a god. From here on, it’s just a matter of enduring a simple war of attrition. Hold out for a few more hours."

"Uh, uh. I understand."

Buz replied, leaning on General Gizar.

"This attack won’t stop for a few days. I think the shock to the soldiers was minimal because I arrived at the fortress recently."

"Well, you’ll see."

Heisen muttered, and the next moment, another messenger arrived.

"Hah... hah... Ensign Heisen. The soldiers of the Diolde Duchy are retreating as a whole."

"...Idiot."

General Gizar muttered in disbelief.

"I see. I was a bit late, but I made it in time. Well, send a chase squad out to bring them back."

"A separate team?"

General Gizar murmured, and Heisen nodded triumphantly.