The Villain's Reincarnation – Tired of Working Hard, I'm Slacking Off! The Peacefully Oblivious Slacker Avoids Ruin! - Chapter 36

A massive man swung his great sword at a speed imperceptible to the eye, and at that very moment, a blazing arc of flames came hurtling toward them.

It all happened in an instant. The young knight, sensing death, reflexively shut his eyes.

Yet, the pain he had braced for never came. Instead, he felt something searingly hot pass just above him.

Trembling, he cautiously opened his eyes to understand what had occurred.

“C-Captain…?”

What met his eyes was a horrifying sight: the upper half of his captain’s body had vanished, and the trees on either side had been cleaved diagonally, scorched black.

“To think he would sacrifice himself and divert the arc of the slash ever so slightly… all to protect his subordinate. Remarkable!”

From the man’s words, the young knight grasped what had transpired in that fleeting moment.

That man had launched the fiery slash toward them by swinging his greatsword. It was a blazing arc of destruction, moving so fast that most wouldn’t have had time to react. Yet the captain had thrown himself in its path, unwavering, using his own body to slightly redirect the slash and save his subordinate at the cost of his own life.

“All units, fall back!! Anyone—anyone, go and report to headquarters! Tell them we’ve been ambushed by Robert the Inferno!!”

Unshaken by the captain’s death, the vice-captain issued immediate orders to the remaining soldiers, then charged straight at Robert.

“Too predictable!”

Robert swung his massive blade at the perfect moment, aiming for the rapidly approaching vice-captain.

The timing was flawless. The greatsword, unleashed with deadly force, left the vice-captain—who had closed the distance at full speed—with no room to halt. It was a surefire, inescapable blow.

And the vice-captain should have perished right then.

“Hoh…”

Yet he stopped. Just at the edge of the greatsword’s range, the vice-captain froze in place as though time itself had ceased.

It was a movement that completely defied the laws of physics.

(Got you.)

The swing, which had not accounted for a physically impossible halt, failed to reach him. The blade passed just before his eyes.

This was the very technique that had propelled him to the position of vice-captain: the ability to violate the laws of physics through sheer magical control.

The vice-captain’s magical prowess ranked among the top even when compared to professional mages. He excelled particularly in mana control and manipulation, allowing him to cast multiple spells simultaneously—even in the midst of high-speed, close-quarters combat.

In melee, the vice-captain wielded a diverse arsenal—enhancement, support, healing, offense, and defense magic—and executed them all with finesse.

Moreover, he was a highly skilled swordsman. It was by combining his swordsmanship with advanced magic that he had developed his most unique technique: movements that ignored physical limitations.

By utilizing spells that interfered with the laws of force and movement, he could, even at full speed, stop exactly where he intended. This granted him a distinct advantage in close-range combat—akin to having the right to react after his opponent. This overwhelming and seemingly unfair edge was the very foundation of his strength.

(As I thought—if I can bring him into close quarters, I can fight Robert the Inferno!)

Robert the Inferno—his frame towering over two meters tall, wielded a demonic greatsword known as Volcano, which brimmed with immense flame-based power. His overwhelming firepower allowed him to annihilate enemies with sheer destructive force.

His massive, far-reaching attacks were so devastating that even elite troops couldn’t engage him directly. Most were obliterated before their blades could even touch him.

As such, it was rare for Robert to engage in close combat, and his true melee capabilities remained largely unknown.

However, the vice-captain had once glimpsed him on the battlefield.

And from that brief encounter, he had seen through it.

The massive frame and greatsword Robert wielded produced high-speed, lethal strikes. But each attack was a broad sweep—lacking in finesse and poorly suited for precision or agile movement.

Therefore, if one could survive or avoid his wide-range, high-powered attacks, all that remained were the raw slashes delivered at high speed—and those, the vice-captain believed, he could counter with his own movement technique that defied natural laws.

(For the sake of my men… and for the captain who gave his life… I’ll see this through, Robert the Inferno!)

The vice-captain’s unnatural halt rendered Robert’s deadly strike useless. And due to the sheer momentum of his massive body and blade, Robert was unable to follow up with finer movements, leaving himself open.

(I’ll take one of your legs first!)

Targeting Robert’s head or heart would take a beat longer due to their height difference, and his arms could still intercept a sudden strike.

Thus, the vice-captain prioritized crippling his mobility—ensuring that Robert could neither pursue the retreating soldiers nor the main force.

Just as he was about to swing his sword at Robert’s leg—

Robert’s grip on his greatsword shifted, turning with fluidity and swiftness to counterattack.

(He’s rushing…)

Robert’s attacks were immensely powerful and fast, but that very power made it impossible to quickly reverse direction mid-swing.

Unless he had magical assistance like the vice-captain, Robert should not have been capable of such a maneuver. And as far as anyone knew, Robert was no mage.

Trying to reverse the swing midway would only result in devastating recoil, leaving him even more vulnerable.

(Is he even worse at close combat than I imagined? If so, I might be able to take him down right here!)

Hope surged through the vice-captain at this unexpected revelation.

But just as he moved to sever Robert’s leg— A powerful, chilling sensation of wrongness swept over him.

(My strength… it’s leaving me… my vision… is shifting… What—?)

What the vice-captain saw was the impossible: the greatsword, which he had believed was far out of reach, was now cleaving through his body, bisecting him at the waist.

“Vice-Captain——!!!”

“H-How… could this…”

Without understanding a thing, the vice-captain vanished—his life extinguished.

“V-Vice… Captain…”

The young knight, who had witnessed the entire sequence of events, stood in stunned silence.

Then came the flame.

As if to declare that it would not let its prey escape, a concentrated torrent of fire erupted from the great sword—aimed precisely at the vice-captain, who had evaded the previous blow and stepped in to strike at the leg.

The intense blaze, densely packed with overwhelming heat, generated an immense propulsion force—nullifying the recoil that should have been impossible to overcome—and allowed the wielder to perform an instantaneous counter-swing at incredible speed.

The red streak formed by that jet of compressed flame sliced cleanly through the vice-captain.

“There’s… no way we can win against this…”

That man—Robert the Inferno—was not formidable merely because he could unleash overwhelming firepower.

His true strength lay in close-quarters combat: the ability to unleash superheated, supersonic slashes at will, crushing even those who possessed the advantage of reactive movement. He trampled over the very concept of “waiting for your opponent” with sheer force and speed.

The once-reliable captain… the ever-unshakable vice-captain… both were slain with absurd ease.

There was no one left in the advance unit capable of fighting Robert.

“For the Captain and the Vice-Captain—revenge!!”

“Aaaaaaaaahhhh!!”

Someone cried out and, giving in to raw emotion, charged at Robert.

One after another, the surrounding knights followed suit, swept up in the surge of grief and rage.

The young knight, too, started to dash forward—but—

“Run.”

The voice of the vice-captain echoed in his mind, halting his steps.

And yet… that was all it did. He froze, unable to go forward, yet unable to retreat.

“I admire your courage to charge… but that’s not bravery. It’s recklessness.”

Robert swung his massive blade in a wide arc, unleashing a sea of flames so vast it seemed to swallow the entire world.

(Ah…)

None could escape the inferno that surged forth at blinding speed. The advance unit was consumed entirely—reduced to ashes within the flames.

The Cursed Sword Volcano—a magic blade that held within it the wrath of a living volcano.

Its power was the ability to overwhelm any obstacle with raw, unrelenting firepower.

Yet for many years, no wielder had been capable of mastering the chaotic torrent of energy it produced. None had the strength to withstand its backlash—until he appeared.

He, who had taken up the cursed sword, fully mastered the flow of its immense power, and wielded it as naturally as his own limbs.

He, who possessed a body blessed with extraordinary size, strength, and resistance to any and all recoil.

His physique was honed to perfection, combining flexibility, balance, and the capacity to redirect force with precision and ease.

Understanding his own physical uniqueness, he forged himself into a warrior capable of wielding the Volcano as if it were an extension of his own will—unleashing volcanic flames to obliterate entire armies.

He controlled overwhelming force, elevated it into flawless swordsmanship, and swung with terrifying speed and precision from any stance, in any moment, and at any angle.

This man had transformed the brute force that subdued all resistance into a refined technique, using his gifts to cut down every obstacle that stood in the way of those he had sworn to protect.

One of the Four Blades who wielded swords infused with devastating flames—cutting down all threats with the Volcano in hand.

His name was—

Robert the Inferno.

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“Well then… looks like I’ve completed the bare minimum.”

Robert confirmed that the advance unit escorting his comrade had been completely annihilated.

“Now then, what to do next—hm?”

Turning his gaze far ahead to the sky above the rear of the main escort force, Robert spotted trees and carriages being flung into the air. A colossal whirlwind was beginning to form.

“Hmph. Just as Alan said, Henry and I aren’t meant to be part of the rescue.”

Seeing the even more dramatic spectacle than his own, Robert nodded deeply to himself.

“For now, I suppose I’ll play the role of the lid, keeping a portion of the main force occupied so Alan can handle things more easily.”

With that, Robert began advancing toward the main unit—where his comrades awaited—making sure not to let a single escaping enemy slip past him.