Chapter 81
Chapter 81
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Great Moving Operation (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lamancha cleaved straight through the Star's Blessing as it traced an arc. Slash! A red line appeared across the wrinkled neck. The moment Ronan landed a kick to his chest, the old man's head shot up into the air.
"Old timer?!"
The young man cried out in shock. The head bounced away like a ball and vanished into the clouds. For a powerhouse once called Aden's Bloodstorm, it was an unbelievably pathetic end.
"Phew... Thought I was fucked for a second there."
Ronan let out another sigh of relief. What the shriveled old geezer had activated was undoubtedly the Star's Blessing—the same power Brigia had used to tear Sarante in half.
'If this bastard had even half that woman's strength... Just thinking about it gives me chills.'
A shiver ran up his spine. What was supposed to be a simple move had nearly spiraled out of control. Possessing the Star's Blessing was proof he was a top-tier powerhouse within Nebula Klazie.
But the fight was already over. The old man's corpse twitched atop the wyvern's back. Ronan twisted his lips at the sight of blood gushing from the stump.
"Well, too bad. Can't be helped."
No matter how strong you were, death was the end. Ronan ruthlessly kicked the corpse away. It snagged on the saddle, dangling for a moment before the wind swept it off.
Even with its rider dead, the wyvern showed no reaction. Ronan tapped its back with his heel and grinned.
"Nice ride. Well-trained, huh?"
"Damn it, Fire Arrow!"
The young man raised his left hand, aiming at Ronan. Combat wasn't his specialty, but he had no choice. With a short incantation, a fiery arrow shot toward Ronan. Ronan spun his sword once and chuckled.
"Good thing I took out the old guy first."
It was amateur-level magic at best. Ronan twisted his shoulder to dodge, then swung his sword vertically. Whoosh! The sword beam flew straight, slicing the young man's left arm lengthwise.
"Gaaahhh!!"
The young man clutched his arm and collapsed. Ronan leaped onto his wyvern and struck at the same moment. Slash! The mangled left arm came clean off.
"Hngh...!"
Overwhelmed by pain, the young man's consciousness faded. As the handler lost power, the madness clouding the wyverns' eyes dissipated. The wyvern carrying the young man suddenly twisted violently.
"Kieek!"
"Shit."
Ronan urgently stabbed Lamancha into the wyvern's back. The beast bucked wildly, roaring in agony. That's when the young man, who had lost his grip on the reins, was flung outward.
"No!"
Ronan reached out desperately, but missed by a hair. Just as the clouds were about to swallow him, the falling man's body halted abruptly. Realizing what happened, Ronan cheered.
"That's it, Asel! Keep it up!"
"I-I got him!"
Invisible hands had seized the young man—Asel's Invisible Hand spell. He was still plastered to the other wyvern's head, trembling violently. Ronan shouted.
"Good job! Reel him in!"
"O-Okay!"
Asel raised his clenched fist. He laid the limp body atop the yellow wyvern.
For some reason, the yellow wyvern the old man had ridden maintained a steady flight path even with its handler unconscious. The red wyvern carrying Ronan roared again.
"Kih aaaak!"
"I don't like you either, pal."
Ronan yanked Lamancha free and leaped. He landed perfectly on the yellow wyvern's back below.
The red wyvern fled beyond the clouds the moment it shook him off. Ronan caught his breath and muttered down at the young man.
"Fuck... What a pain."
The young man, minus his left arm, remained unconscious. Ronan plunged Lamancha into his right thigh.
"Urghhh...!"
"Shut it."
As the young man bolted upright, Ronan clamped a hand over his mouth. Crouching close, Ronan growled in his face.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
"Remove my hand, and spill everything honestly. Lie, and you'll regret it every time you take a shit. Nod if you get me."
Tears streamed from the young man's bloodshot eyes. After a silent pause, he nodded. The instant Ronan's hand lifted...
"Fuck you! You come out of nowhere and think you can—"
Ronan silently twisted Lamancha in the thigh. Slash. The leg sheared off like tofu and vanished into the clouds. The young man's curses turned to agonized screams.
"Haaaahhh!!"
"Told you it'd get boring."
Good call not cutting off the right arm. He bent the young man's index finger backward.
Crack! The bone snapped, snapping him awake. Ronan muffled his mouth again and broke two more fingers. Then he removed his hand.
"I-I'll talk...! Just let me talk, p-please...!"
The unprompted politeness rang sincere. Maybe Karaka was right—he had a knack for interrogation.
Ronan dripped a few drops of potion from his pocket onto the wounds. Just enough to prevent fatal bleeding.
"Tell me everything. Fuck around, and you'll be wiping your own ass with stumps."
"Y-Yes, hngh... I'll tell you. Everything...!"
Sobbing, the young man continued. His name was Cardion, a Nebula Klazie monster tamer. He'd been on mission with the two who'd died earlier.
"O-Originally, the girl was supposed to control the wyverns... Hngh! But some bastard spread rotten fish stink everywhere..."
"Skip the bullshit."
He explained the mission. He and the woman handled the wyverns and monsters, while the old man with the Star's Blessing provided escort. As Ronan suspected, the ground monsters were a decoy.
"Y-You're right. The monsters rampaging was all a ruse. Hic, who knew it'd be spotted..."
Cardion kept stressing the monsters were fake. The real goal: strike the Romaira mountain road from the wyverns. He bowed repeatedly, sobbing.
"Th-That's... hic... all of it... P-Please, just spare me..."
Nebula Klazie's mission had failed—at least by Cardion's words.
But Ronan's brow remained furrowed. Something felt off. Then he recalled an item from the chaos.
"H-How did you know...? It was years in the making..."
"Hey."
"...Yes?"
"You're hiding something."
Cardion's pupils shook. He shook his head frantically. Ronan pressed Lamancha's tip to his throat.
"How exactly were you gonna destroy it?"
"Eek... D-Distract with monsters, then wyverns hit the road..."
"Then what's this wyvern holding?"
"Wh-What do you mean..."
"Asel! Grab what's in the wyvern's talons!"
"O-Okay...! Urp!"
Asel turned carefully, glimpsed Cardion's state, and gagged. He'd been facing away since the torture started.
Asel telekinetically extracted the orb from the wyvern's claw. Seeing it float before him, Cardion's eyes widened. Ronan said.
"What is this?"
"Th-That's... um..."
Cardion trailed off. Asel, inspecting it, screamed. He recognized most of the engraved spells.
"Eeeek... It's an explosion spell, Ronan! Thirty mid-tier magics inscribed!"
"Fuck."
"It detonates on impact or timer!"
Lamancha danced. Cardion's right arm detached. Ronan stomped his neck, growling.
"Did I say no bullshit?"
"Damn it! It was almost done!"
Cardion writhed. Ronan kicked his gut to silence him. Suddenly, the clouds parted, revealing the Romaira Mountains. Ronan grimaced.
"Damn it."
About five minutes to the mountain road. Below, alarm bells tolled from Marbas—they'd spotted the wyverns.
"Uhahaha! Still good enough! We all die, idiots!"
Cardion laughed maniacally. He'd stalled enough to reach here. He knew the orb's power: enough to obliterate Marbas nearby, even if not the whole road.
"N-No...!"
The runes on the orb pulsed, ready to blow. Asel's face paled. Stroking his chin, Ronan spoke.
"Asel. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is magic inscribed here, right?"
"Y-Y-Yeah...?"
"Good."
Ronan swung Lamancha. Slash! The orb split cleanly. Asel shrieked like a girl.
"Kyaaah! Wh-What did you... uh?"
But nothing happened. The runes faded.
Ronan slashed it to pieces. The shards crumbled. Cardion's eyes bulged.
"H-How...?!"
"My constitution."
Ronan scratched his head. From his past life, he knew his power worked on magic circles too. Despair twisted Cardion's face. Suddenly, a massive shadow blocked the wyvern.
"Wondered where you'd gone. Here you are."
"Eek!"
A familiar baritone echoed. Asel nearly fell backward but caught himself. Ronan waved lazily.
"You made it."
Zaifa was drenched in blood. He'd grabbed a wyvern's neck mid-fall. Overburdened, it plummeted. Ronan hoisted Cardion by the hair and quipped.
"Told you I'd catch him."
"Would've anyway."
"Anyway my ass—you'd be wyvern chow exploded into a furry carpet. Be grateful."
"Exploded?"
Zaifa tilted his head. Ronan started to explain but stopped—too annoying. Seeing Zaifa, Cardion sighed.
"Z-Zaifa!"
The hulking were tiger crushed all hope. Zaifa glanced at Cardion and tsked.
"Tch. Disgusting."
"Cut off the last leg?"
"Leave it to Rodolan. We're heading back."
Zaifa scooped them under his arms and leaped off. The freed wyvern flapped away. The bells in Marbas fell silent.
Those below would never know how close disaster came, living on blissfully. Ronan sighed deeply.
"...Moving's this tough, huh."
Zaifa bounded back the way they'd come, just like on arrival. The fur poking his eyes annoyed him, but it beat dangling by the tail by miles. Midway...
"Oh. Want something as a reward?"
"Reward? For what?"
"Emperor's decree."
Zaifa explained the emperor's order: reward those contributing to capturing or eliminating Nebula Klazie members at discretion. His tone softened.
"Thanks to you, fewer wyverns died. You qualify."
"Reward... huh."
Ronan shrugged. An unexpected windfall. After pondering, he spoke.
"Then... you're pretty strong, right?"