Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 396: The Banes’ army vanished

"Is this what you call Sword Aura?" Aruma muttered, disappointment etched across his face.

Without waiting for an answer, he began attacking me again.

I didn't know what was happening, what this place was, or how I was being revived after having my head severed and my heart pierced.

The only thing I knew was that Aruma was doing this to train me. Putting all those thoughts aside, I focused on Aruma's blade before me.

Our swords clashed with a loud clang, sparks erupting from the collision.

The moment our blades met, he twisted his wrist, sliding the katana all the way to the hilt of my sword.

His blade reached my hand and was about to slice it off.

"Shit, I need to retreat," I thought, activating Blink.

Nothing happened. The skill didn't activate, and Aruma sliced off my hand.

Gritting my teeth to suppress the pain, I launched my other hand toward him in a punch.

Again, lightning didn't materialize on my arm, and Aruma sliced that limb off as well.

"You aren't allowed to use anything besides sword techniques," Aruma said before slicing my torso in a diagonal slash.

---

"Oh, you didn't jump off this time," Hana said as I opened my eyes, staring at the abyssal sky.

"Why can't I use my abilities?" I asked, my voice calmer now.

"Of course, because I sealed them," Hana replied. "Except for your sword skills, I have sealed all of your abilities."

"Is that even possible—" I stopped mid-sentence as I remembered who she was.

She was the one who taught illusion, arrays, and sealing arts to Ume.

Now that I looked at myself carefully, instead of the armor I had been wearing before I activated the mark, I was dressed in a plain robe.

"He didn't immediately launch at me this time?" I asked, my eyes narrowing at Aruma, who was standing a few feet away with furrowed brows.

"Because he got scolded," Hana said, her face expressionless.

"Th-this woman is scary," I murmured inwardly, rising to my feet.

"You are already twenty-four years old. Why are you still at the Advanced Sword stage?" Aruma asked. "Do you spend your life fooling around?"

"Twenty-four? Oh right, this physical body is twenty-four years old even though I'm twenty-three because of the time gap that happened when I was on Earth," I thought inwardly before replying, "But Father-in-law, I'm the youngest Sword Aura user of my nation. And I'm confident that I'm also the youngest Sword Aura user on the entire continent."

"Hah! First of all who gave you the write to call me Father-in-law and secondly, you think I would believe such a blatant lie?" Aruma scoffed.

"He is speaking the truth," Hana said, already sitting on the rock.

"You are really serious?" Aruma asked, turning to me.

I nodded.

"How far has the world really fallen in the thousand years Ume was sealed in the forest," Aruma sighed, facepalming.

"You know Ume was sealed in the forest?" I asked, shocked.

"Of course I do. We were with her the entire time in soul form."

"Ughh... that's creepy," I said, making a disgusted face. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Brat!!! We didn't pry into her personal life! We only observed her life in the outside world," Aruma shouted, his face turning red with embarrassment.

"W-wait a minute, does that mean you also know everything I have been doing since the two of you possessed me?" I asked nervously.

"P-possessed?" Aruma gasped, obviously offended by my choice of words. "We were in an unconscious state after saving Ume from the Death Energy. We only awakened after you activated the mark I left on your palm."

"Thank heavens," I let out a sigh of relief.

His eyes narrowed, his brows furrowing as he asked, "You haven't tried anything funny with my daughter, have you?"

"H-how did he reach that conclusion? Is this what they call a father's protective instinct toward his daughter?" I gasped inwardly, slightly taken aback.

"Of course not!" I aggressively denied, my face turning crimson.

"He is lying," Hana replied, raising an eyebrow.

"What the hell!? How can she tell?"

"Oy brat! What did you do?" Aruma asked, veins bulging on his forehead.

"I'm not telling you shit!" I retorted, holding my sword tightly.

"Look at this disrespectful brat," Aruma muttered. "You will be dying a slow death from now on."

In an instant, he vanished from his position and brought his katana down upon me with the blunt side.

"Fuck, I shouldn't have activated the mark."

---

At the Thornwall Fortress

"Something isn't right," Brandon muttered, sitting at the head of the meeting table. "From last two day, the Banes have significantly reduced the intensity with which they were fighting before."

The table was filled with the high officials of House Thornwall, discussing the next course of action they should take in the war against the Banes.

"You are overthinking it, Duke Brandon," Erik said, sitting on the other side. "They must have exhausted themselves after the aggressive way in which they fought earlier. Those animals from the mountains don't know how to fight a war. It was bound to happen."

Erik's words were logical, but Brandon still couldn't shake off the restless feeling he had.

The major reason for his unease was the absence of the two most dangerous people from the enemy's army—

the Demi-God Aurelion and the Lightning God Taranis.

"What could that monster be plotting?" Brandon muttered inwardly.

Suddenly, the door of the meeting room shot open, and a knight carrying a worried expression rushed inside.

"How dare you enter the meeting hall without permission?" one of the nobles at the table shouted.

"F-forgive me, my lord. But it was an emergency," said the knight, covered in sweat.

"What is it?" Brandon asked.

"D-Duke, the Banes' army is gone."

Brandon's eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "What do you mean gone?"

"It is as I said, my lord. Until last night they were still in their camps, but by morning the camps were abandoned. The Banes' army has completely vanished."

A restless gasp rippled through the meeting room upon hearing the strange revelation.

"Have you checked the nearby territories?" Brandon asked.

"Yes, sir. We have searched everywhere. They are no longer in the territory of House Thornwall."

"Where could they have suddenly vanished?" Brandon thought inwardly.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as realisation struck him.

"Lord Erik, where has Duke Astrid's army reached?"

"It's been two days since they left, so they will arrive by tomo—"

His words stopped mid-sentence as he realised something

"N-no way! Did they really leave to attack the army of House Ironvale?"