Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Suspicious Movements (3)
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Chapter 128
Chapter 25
Suspicious Movements (3)
'What is this?'
The Dragon Demon Hybrid was stunned. He hadn't given Azel even a moment to concentrate his Mana Force for a powerful strike. Yet the sword that had parried his attack held terrifying power. The clash of their blades left him momentarily paralyzed.
Soon, the Dragon Demon Hybrid realized what Azel had done. While crossing swords, he had subtly infused Mana Force into the enemy's blade before detonating it in one go.
"Urk!"
To do such a thing amid fierce exchanges without being noticed was mind-boggling. If he had been alone, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
But thanks to the mage's support, Azel couldn't exploit any openings or escape the attack range. He had merely corrected his disrupted stance.
The Dragon Demon Hybrid immediately lunged for a follow-up strike. That was when it happened.
"You've researched countermeasures quite thoroughly. I should commend you."
"What?"
Just as he assumed their clashing swords would produce repulsive force, Azel's blade slipped away like an illusion. And the orbs of light shot their attacks into empty air.
'Flash Step? While in contact?'
Had he prepared Flash Step in that split second of paralysis? Azel's figure vanished from his sight.
Boom!
Blocking the follow-up attack was pure luck. He had instinctively hunched and guarded his upper body, and Azel's sword strike happened to hit there.
"Grk!"
But the impact pierced his guard, shaking his innards. The Dragon Demon Hybrid kicked off the ground and used Flash Step. He needed to disengage and get Azel back in his sights first.
Fwoosh!
But at that moment, he heard the mage linked to his mind cry out in shock. Azel had attacked the mage right after striking him.
'He had figured out our position after all!'
Though hidden, he hadn't expected to go undetected while unleashing a barrage of magic. The Dragon Demon Hybrid gritted his teeth and kicked off the ground...
Crack!
He heard the sound of his own body being bisected.
"...Huh?"
For a fleeting moment, he caught sight of a fluttering cloak in his vision. Only then did he realize he had fallen into a trap.
'Incarnation...!'
He didn't know which was the real body. But Azel had targeted this exact moment when his attention turned to his comrade.
'Ha! To think such an absurd monster exists... Why must we face trials like this...?'
In his final despair, the Dragon Demon Hybrid heard the death cry from his mind-linked comrade.
"...Truly, wherever they go, they're the type to claim a top spot with their skills. Does that mean they see this operation as that important?"
Azel muttered after felling the Dragon Demon Hybrid and the mage.
According to the information from Laura, Yuren, and Leticia, the Dragon Demon Hybrid he had just defeated was an executive dispatched from the Dark Frozen Wastes. An operation deploying such personnel had to be highly significant. And the reason the Dragon Demon Worshippers had raided this village was obvious.
The war between the Bizes Kingdom and the Ieros Kingdom.
They had likely planned to massacre the villagers and frame the Ieros Kingdom's army. A simple but effective wedge-driving tactic.
'Damn them. Even knowing this, I can't do much about it. Can the Guardian Shadows handle it?'
This matter could only be entrusted to the Guardian Shadows, whose actions might influence the entire continent. But given their organization's nature, they were restricted in what they could do without revealing themselves, weren't they?
Dillon asked Azel.
"Who in the world are you? And what... exactly is going on here?"
"These are Dragon Demon Worshippers from the Dark Frozen Wastes."
"Dragon Demon Worshippers?"
"You can tell they're not from the Ieros Kingdom's army. They're doing this in hopes that Bizes and Ieros go to war. I pray it doesn't escalate that far."
With that, Azel leaped away. The situation wasn't conducive to a calm explanation. If the group had to reveal their identities, it could get awkward. The best course was to save the people, share the info, and slip away.
Soon, after eliminating all the Dragon Demon Worshippers, the group gathered at the village outskirts. Azel asked.
"Why didn't you use the Guardian Shadows?"
"There were too many witnesses."
Balsel answered. He had been following at a distance but joined the fight alongside the group. Yet he hadn't summoned the Guardian Shadows and fought solo.
'I wanted to gauge his strength...'
Surprisingly, no one in the group had seen Balsel fight. He had moved like a ghost, striking down orcs in blind spots.
"Then I'll take my leave."
Ignoring the group's gazes, Balsel turned and walked away. Even after fighting together, he maintained his distance.
Kairen grumbled.
"What a creepy guy."
"Tell me about it. Let's get out of here for now."
Confirming the signal flare had been fired and the Bizes Kingdom's army was moving in from afar, the group slipped out of the village.
Kairen suddenly said.
"Still... they gave us a bit of trouble."
"Those guys seemed to have analyzed my combat data and prepared countermeasures. It took time to pry out what they were."
Old memories surfaced. During the Dragon Demon War, Azel had been a prime target for the Dragon Demon King's army, who tried every method to stop him. They had even formed special units trained in tactics specialized against him.
Kairen showed interest.
"How were they?"
"Impressive. They coped efficiently even though encountering me was unexpected. We'll need to stay vigilant from now on."
Azel gave an honest assessment. Kairen pondered briefly before saying.
"We wiped them out, but they likely grasped our movements."
"Probably. There's one watching us right now."
He sensed gazes observing them from afar. The Dragon Demon Worshippers likely had separate spotters operating apart from the strike team.
"Shall we grab him?"
"No point. They're pretty far, scattered at safe distances. Let's shake them up first and feed them some false info."
"Good thing we have two capable mages."
Azel had spotted five enemy spotters. The nearest was over 500 meters away, and they were spaced out, making it hard to pursue and capture them all at once.
At this range, the mages' skills shone over swordsmen. Soon, Yuren and Laura cast spells toward the spots Azel and Kairen indicated. The distance allowed only brief distractions, but that was enough. The group immediately concealed themselves with stealth magic, while identical illusions of them headed off in a wrong direction.
Kairen said.
"They won't easily predict our destination anyway, so this should throw off their eyes again."
The group had come here solely based on Yuren's info from the Guide. Since they had taken a detour not in the original plan, even if the Dark Frozen Wastes knew their current position, pinpointing the goal wouldn't be easy.
Azel said.
"As Balsel said, we'll be tracked anyway."
"Whether he's right or wrong, we'll see. These things always turn out for the worse."
Kairen grumbled discontentedly.
5
The great magical legacy left by Dragon Demon King Atein: the Void Path.
This heritage, allowing instant travel from the Dark Frozen Wastes to various parts of the continent, was invaluable. As no one had yet replicated the magic, the Dark Frozen Wastes guarded its hubs with utmost importance. They hid them thoroughly from outsiders and maintained sufficient forces there at all times.
But the Dark Frozen Wastes suffered chronic manpower shortages. Spreading insidious schemes across the continent left them no choice. Thus, they sought to use their limited resources efficiently.
[If I said these guys make me want to puke, would that be funny? As expected?]
A skeleton knight in black metal armor, streaked with ominous crimson lines like veins along its surface, spoke. If Azel had seen this armor brimming with powerful magic, he would have thought of Delta and Zeta.
This Undying resembled Zeta at a glance, sharing the skeleton knight form and armor design. But closer inspection revealed a horn-like ornament on the left side of the helmet, and its voice was entirely different.
[Indeed.]
The one responding in a listless tone was another nearly identical Undying. Lacking the horn, it looked just like Zeta aside from voice and weapons. It wielded a flail in its right hand and a round shield in its left—both magical armaments infused with sinister Mana Force, gleaming pitch-black.
The enemies blocking the winding passage were all Undying. Not just reanimated corpses, but grotesque monsters pieced from various body parts, shrieking horrifically as they barred the way.
Yet the two Undying shattered them with ease. Their Mana Force, skill in wielding it, and gear were overwhelmingly potent, like localized typhoons. After they swept through, faint whispers like children's murmurs echoed, and white Guardian Shadows finished the job.
Their momentum was so fierce that the woman following leisurely never once paused her steps. The cold-faced blonde woman said.
"Get to work. Lambda, Mu."
The Dragon Demon Hybrid Undying called Lambda grumbled.
[Iota, why don't you do some work?]
"It seems about time for me to step in."
The blonde woman was Iota, the Guardian Shadow's Prophecy Guardian. Having trailed the two until now, she eyed the approaching enemies from down the passage.
[These bastards!]
They were sentient Undying. Unlike the Guardian Shadows, however, all were mages.
Spirit Order practitioners and Dragon Spirit Art cultivators rarely exceeded their living prowess as Undying. Mages, by contrast, suffered little loss upon undeath. Most even grew stronger.
The undead mages unleashed a barrage of spells. Iota stepped forward.
"Ah, even undead mages are puppets... Quite the rational recycling. I love it. Love it so much I want to kill you all."
She grinned twistedly while deploying defensive magic.
Typical undead mages opened forbidden doors for immortality or greater power. But these were not.
A malevolent will had turned them into Undying to reuse their lifetime abilities. High mage Iota instantly saw they lacked true egos. They existed mindlessly like other Undying until combat activated artificial, simplistic battle instincts.
Thus, despite being undead mages, their skills paled far below their living days. High power, but simplistic deployment. A nightmare for average foes, but easy prey for Iota.
Kaboom! Boom!
With Iota's support, the Guardian Shadow unit pierced the Undying encirclement in moments. Iota said.
"Perhaps the administrator should show himself now? I don't know how many there are."