Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Warrior, Hears Welcoming News
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Ballack stretched his body upon seeing the elves finally assume their battle stances.
Now that preparations seemed complete, he levitated his weapons into the air and spoke.
"Your first impression was the worst, but you're still strong. No need for a test."
"………."
The elves knew their Sword Saint had lost to Ballack dozens of times.
Plus, one of their ten guards had already been effortlessly slain by Ophelia.
They kept their composure even under Ballack's killing intent.
The only sound was the wind rustling the blue grasslands, as silence enveloped the space.
"Your resolve passes. Here I go."
Boom!!
In an instant, Ballack's form blurred, and a massive greatsword cleaved through the air.
Yet the ferocious strike halted right before one guard.
Elfriede had used her mysterious power to stop the greatsword.
In that split-second window while Ballack was pinned, the guards swiftly closed in from all sides.
But having already shaken off Elfriede's power on his own before,
Ballack gripped a spear in his empty hand and swung it with mighty force.
The wind from that blow sent the guards flying back.
Still, for their queen, the guards kept colliding with Ballack.
Soon, their coordinated assault drew admiration from him.
"You're leagues above those old knights who came before."
"...You mean the human knights' commanders?"
"Think guys who trained with swords for a mere fifty years can surpass us who've wielded them for centuries?"
The queen's guards were elite forces even among the elves.
Having honed their teamwork over centuries, their joint attacks were flawless.
With Elfriede constantly disrupting Ballack's movements,
they achieved a perfect rotation of combat impossible for humans.
Yet despite the storm-like onslaught from all directions, plus Elfriede's magic and swordplay, Ballack blocked everything with ease.
Finally...
"The mana isn't moving, so psychokinesis? Psychic? Psionic energy? The Force? Whatever it is, it feels like powerful telekinesis manipulating physical force."
Ballack had lived in an information age flooded with data and countless media.
Having faced Aletia, a vastly superior version of Elfriede, he decided on an experiment.
This time, as Elfriede swung her sword to pin him again,
she frowned at the completely different resistance.
Watching her, Ballack spoke.
"Does that power come with all its usual drawbacks too?"
"……!!"
Kwarrr rumble!!
"As expected, this world is fascinating."
No sooner had he spoken than one of the floating weapons around him moved.
It brazenly shifted to the opposite side of Elfriede's view—
Fweeeeng!!!
—and launched like a massive projectile.
Elfriede whipped her head around and halted it just in time, freeing Ballack from the invisible grip.
"Hmm... In a mana-filled world like this, psychokinesis is nice to have but not essential, huh?"
Having her power fully seen through, Elfriede broke out in cold sweat.
To physically hinder someone as strong as Ballack with her ability, they had to be in her line of sight.
Now grasping her power, Ballack gestured, and the airborne weapons began swimming freely.
********
The battle entered phase two, and surprisingly, the elves were holding their own fiercely.
They had truly polished their training and teamwork over centuries.
The guards pressed their backs together, deflecting the steel beasts charging from every direction.
Elfriede lent her power to give them a bit more freedom of movement.
Growing excited by their relentless coordination, Ballack stomped the ground hard.
Kuuuung!!!
The shockwave shook the vast plain, briefly breaking the elves' stances.
They supported each other to defend against follow-ups.
But Ballack dashed to one side, and the weapons in his hand and in the air began glowing faintly like red stars.
The renewed clash with Ballack left the elves in panic.
Kwarrr rumble!
"Th-the swords?!"
Their own weapons were starting to shatter!
These were masterpieces forged by the elves' finest artisans.
They'd clashed with Ballack's weapons fine until now.
But with the embedded magic disrupted, blocking became impossible, and the elves' formation crumbled rapidly.
Ballack's personally wielded weapons were even worse; Elfriede tried to deflect the massive spear heading her way.
Her movement was flawless, embodying the principle of the soft overcoming the hard, like yielding silk overpowering steel.
Yet the moment that soft "silk" touched Ballack's spear, it tore apart.
Clang!!
Metal shards burst into the air, and Elfriede's eyes widened at the incoming blade.
She poured everything into stopping it, but it wasn't enough.
Her guards were there, though.
Thud!!!
Pooook!!!
One shoved her aside swiftly, his upper body ripped open.
Two more sacrificed themselves to block Ballack's heart-piercing follow-up.
In moments, three were dead.
With Elfriede's weapon shattered, the star beasts rampaged even more.
Worse—
"Damn!! He's only targeting the queen!!"
"Block him!!!"
The guards existed to protect their queen, after all.
Ignoring them outright, Ballack shattered their formation completely.
The guards threw themselves at him to buy time, their numbers dwindling steadily.
Watching, Ballack taunted Elfriede.
"Transferring lives to shift fate—destiny indeed."
"Kh?!"
He mocked her for barely clinging on with her guards' lives.
Weaponless, she was powerless.
Soon, the guards were annihilated, and Elfriede lay battered, gasping raggedly.
Impressed they'd lasted this long, Ballack clenched his fist.
"Truly a shame. In a place like this, you couldn't fully use your power."
"What... did you say?"
"Your ability clearly maximizes with lots of objects around. But this is just an empty field?"
As he said, it was a barren plain.
Dead guards meant their weapons vanished too, leaving her only able to halt foes with telekinesis.
As he prepared to finish, seeing her dull eyes, he offered advice.
"Don't be so bound by the past."
"...!"
Without giving her time to react, Ballack closed in instantly and drove a powerful fist into her gut.
"Guhk?!"
Kwaaaaaang!!
A dimension-shaking boom cracked the grassland, and Elfriede dissolved in blue light.
*************
Having dealt with Elfriede, Ballack summoned Cariann—the boss room was wrecked from poor power control.
"Uh... Lord Ballack, the boss rooms keep getting destroyed lately, don't they?"
"I'm troubled by it too."
Always calling him made him feel terribly sorry!
And as he grew stronger, this place couldn't hold up anymore.
Time to reinforce the boss rooms?
Time flies.
"What's the concept for the next boss room?"
"We used blue skies and green fields this time... How about a reed field under moonlight?"
"O~ A boss room with soft moonlight and swaying yellow reeds—sounds perfect. But regular reed height won't do, right?"
"Up to waist height should work."
No issue for his tall frame, of course.
With Kannf powerhouses entering now, smaller races like dwarves needed adjusted reed sizes.
Pop!
"How's this?"
"O~ Done in one shot! You're the best, skeleton merchant."
"Hahaha... Thank you."
Cariann had gotten to know him well and handled things perfectly now.
Then he asked about the new Kannf queen.
"Why do you ask?"
"Elves have such elitist views, so I wondered if they said anything rude to you."
"Nothing to me, but one badmouthed my daughter-in-law."
"Ooh... Got shredded, huh."
From what the daughter-in-law heard, and their subtle human-bashing mid-fight, Kannfs were arrogant.
But this was a medieval era valuing rank and honor!
Such behavior was average for high-status folk here.
Plus, these Kannfs outclassed those old knights.
The queen's special power meant little thought crossed his mind.
More excitingly, watching them sparked one big anticipation!
"Skeleton merchant! Aren't you curious who'll be the first on the blacklist?!"
"No, that's more impor—"
Cariann pondered his words.
"Hmm... Now that you mention it, I am curious."
"Hahaha!! You think so too!"
Who'd be the first fool etched in dungeon history?!
Thrilling days ahead.
Mid-chitchat with Cariann, the long-awaited news arrived!
"The invitations activate in three days."
"Really?!"
"Of course."
Finally, the party!
If not end-of-year, New Year's was right!
Cariann also upgraded the magic invitations he'd given.
"Not closing after twelve hours, but a full three days like before?"
"Better to rest properly when resting, no?"
"True."
Ooh, proper prep for this party.
Time for his own preparations.
Ferguson would handle notifying the main dungeon staff, no worries.
The issue was the mini-dungeon.
Its massive scale made minding newbies there tough.
But Cariann stepped up.
"Pull spirits from Sky Island, have sea undead come up temporarily?"
"Yes. Undead like us detect lifeforms anyway."
"Feels like I'm always imposing..."
"That's what friends do. Plus, my friends want to see Sky Island."
Newbies inside could go to Cariann's friends!
Then, to share the joyous news, he gathered the family.
Episode 10: New Winds. END.