I Reincarnated as a Villainous Noble, Nothing More Than the Hero’s Foil: Since the Hero Can Only Bring Misery to My Favorite Heroine, I’ll Use My Game Knowledge and Over-the-Top Effort to Rewrite the Scenario and Make Her Happy. - Chapter 32

“Make me your slave? Don’t get ahead of yourself, mere swordsman. Do you even realize who you’re talking to?”

Angela scoffed in irritation, and from her hands, countless black birds took flight.

“Feast upon their souls—[Infernal Crows]!”

The birds spiraled through the air in intricate patterns, darting toward Cain at an astonishing speed.

“If they hit you, your soul will be destroyed instantly. Let’s see if you can dodge them all.”

“An instant death spell!?”

“Brother Cain!”

Lancelot paled in shock, while Lady Selvia let out a worried cry.

This was an advanced magic spell—a homing type attack that couldn’t be easily avoided. It was one of Angela’s trump cards.

However, for Cain, who had reached the heights of [Swordsmanship Level 5], this was no longer a threat.

[Arrow Deflection] × [Swordsmanship Level 5] × [Black Moon Sword]

The [Arrow Deflection] skill increased the chance of repelling projectiles by 50%.

With [Swordsmanship Level 5], the accuracy bonus further stacked, making Cain’s precision with his sword against incoming projectiles effectively 100%.

On top of that, the Black Moon Sword had dark attribute magic that could destroy spells outright.

“Haaaaaaah—!”

Cain swung his sword with immense force, slicing through every single [Infernal Crow] before they could reach him.

“W-what… You… You just cut through my instant death magic!?”

Angela’s eyes widened in horror.

Cutting through magic was already unheard of, but attempting it when failure meant instant death was beyond reckless.

Of course, Cain wouldn’t have attempted it unless his success rate was 100%.

“Surprised? Magic is useless against Brother Cain.”

Lady Selvia placed her hands on her hips, adopting a smug expression.

However, a bead of cold sweat ran down her forehead—she had clearly been terrified on the inside.

“Guh…!”

Angela clenched her teeth in frustration.

Neither her undead army nor her instant death magic were working—this was humiliation at its peak.

“Angela, why don’t you just surrender?”

In the main storyline of the game, Angela suffered defeat after defeat, ultimately being abandoned by her father and executed.

Cain didn’t want to see that future.

“If you agree to a slave contract under me and join the Schwarz Brigade, I promise you won’t regret it. I’ll even reunite you with your mother. Serving the Emperor will only lead to your ruin.”

“Hahahaha! Lord Cain, you’re unbelievable! Recruiting a princess of a great empire into the brigade!?”

Cain’s soldiers, locked in battle with the Death Knights, laughed heartily.

“Wait a moment! Turning a girl into a slave—don’t you think that’s a bit much, Brother Cain?”

Lady Selvia’s piercing gaze made Cain flinch.

“No, listen! If Angela became our ally, we’d gain an incredible asset. She could help protect you, and besides, I could farm boss fights using her abilities!”

“You’re doing it for my sake…? Well, in that case, I suppose…”

Lady Selvia squinted at him, clearly skeptical.

“Worry not, Lady Selvia! If there’s anyone who would never have any disgraceful intentions, it’s Lord Cain!”

Lancelot shouted while clashing swords with the Dullahan.

“…That’s true. Just the other day, he fainted from a nosebleed just by seeing my bare skin.”

Lady Selvia muttered, strangely convinced.

“Don’t mock me! My magic power is a special gift from my mother! I refuse to lose to a mere swordsman!”

Angela roared in fury.

“No matter how skilled a swordsman may be, a sword has its limits. Let’s see how long you can last against my [Infernal Crow] storm!”

Angela raised both hands, unleashing another wave of countless Infernal Crows, filling the entire sky.

She was clearly pouring every last drop of her magic power into this attack.

“Everyone, retreat! You’ll be caught in the blast!”

“Hyaaaah!? That’s an insane amount of magic power!”

Gordon scrambled away in terror.

Cain, meanwhile, charged straight toward Angela, cutting down every [Infernal Crow] in his path.

Angela truly understood a swordsman’s weaknesses—she wasn’t leading Death Knights for nothing.

Even with a 100% success rate in countering projectiles, a sword had a limit to its swing speed. If she overwhelmed him with sheer numbers, he would eventually falter.

Cain had no choice but to take her down before he was completely overwhelmed.

“Hehe… Do you really think you can catch me at that speed?”

Angela smirked, gracefully dodging his approach.

She was faster than Cain, constantly retreating while maintaining her distance.

She had cast [Levitation], freeing herself from gravity and moving as if she had wings.

To make things worse, she summoned another wave of Skeleton Warriors, forming a barrier of undead soldiers between them.

“Cain Schwarz, you were more entertaining than I expected. As a reward, I’ll turn you into an Undead Knight who will guard me for eternity. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Angela’s smirk returned.

She was a prodigy, the daughter of an Elven chieftess and an Emperor.

She had never encountered an opponent stronger than herself before.

That led to complacency and arrogance.

“Sorry, but I’m Lady Selvia’s knight.”

Cain activated a new skill he had learned from the Dullahan General.

“[Dark Skill: Death Bringer]!”

A sacrifice-type ability—it halved Cain’s HP but doubled his attack power for five minutes.

Simultaneously, it triggered [Giant Slayer], another skill that boosted his power against stronger enemies.

[Giant Killing]

When fighting enemies of a higher level, if your HP drops below half, both your attack power and agility increase by 100%.

[Death Bringer] × [Giant Killing]

As a result, my attack power increases fourfold, and my agility doubles.

“Sonic Sword!”

I charged forward, unleashing a sword strike wrapped in shockwaves.

The skeletal warrior guarding Angela and the Inferno Phoenixes filling the sky were instantly obliterated.

With my attack power greatly enhanced and shockwaves covering a wide area, the darkness attribute further boosts the power, allowing me to even destroy magic. This was the strongest blow I could deliver.

“Wh—what!?”

Angela had a look of shock on her face. She tried to defend herself, but her signature weapon, the Death Scythe, was knocked away.

Seizing the opportunity, I closed in on Angela in an instant. I struck her neck with a precise palm strike.

Angela collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

The next moment—

“WOOOOOOOH! Lord Cain has emerged victorious!!”

The roar of cheers shook the earth.

With Angela’s unconsciousness, the Necromancer Knights dissolved into the night, vanishing as if they had melted into the shadows. They had come at Angela’s summons from the underworld.

“Lord Cain! I am deeply moved! You won with the technique I taught you! You’ve proven that mastering the sword can even surpass magic! You’ve shown this truth with your own body!!”

Lancelot, crying tears of joy, applauded.

Angela’s remark about “mere swordsmen” seemed to have secretly wounded Lancelot’s heart.

“Brother Cain!”

Selvia, overcome with emotion, threw herself at me. Her eyes were filled with tears of joy.

“I’m so glad. I really thought this time it was over! When Princess Angela launched her final attack, I thought you were going to be killed for sure…!”

“It’s okay. I won’t die. Not leaving Selvia behind, I’ll never die.”

I gently stroked Selvia’s head to reassure her.

The morning sun rose, and the sky began to lighten. The dark time of the undead running rampant had come to an end.

[Gordon’s POV]

“Hehehe! As expected from Lord Cain, that was your true goal, wasn’t it?”

I’m Gordon, the future head of the Orcheval family, and the right hand of the great Cain Schwarz.

I was carrying the unconscious Princess Angela to the tent, reveling in my delight.

Escort duty for nobility is a job that only someone of my caliber can handle. Heh! This feels so good.

“Lord Cain had said, ‘My goal is to overthrow the Albion Kingdom with the help of the World Tree Saintess Selvia!’ That is his true intention! Yes, Lord Cain is aiming to become king!!”

Just possessing the Mithril mines could make him the greatest noble in the kingdom in due time.

On top of that, having World Tree Saintess Selvia as his fiancée and boasting overwhelming martial prowess…

“Not only that, but he also plans to make a princess of the Atlas Empire his slave…! If this succeeds… this is huge, this is monumental!”

Lord Cain’s ambition might not stop at the throne of the Albion Kingdom.

I’m sure he’s planning to conquer the Atlas Empire as well.

“Yesss! This is a big chance for me to rise! Hehehe! I need to move on this right away!”

Among Lord Cain’s current allies, I might be the only one who fully understands his true intentions.

If I make a significant contribution now, I’ll gain immense power in the world where Lord Cain reigns supreme.

That way, Elise will fall for me again, and we’ll get married for sure.

Thinking about it made me more excited than ever.

I no longer need to be a lapdog to Prince Leon. Being able to serve Lord Cain is the greatest stroke of luck in my life!

I’ve decided to secretly work behind the scenes to help realize Lord Cain’s ambitions.