Chapter 122: Queen Maker (20)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 122: Queen Maker (20)
Lorian's phase two pattern is incredibly simple.
He summons lion minions to split your aggro, then stacks defense buffs on himself and uses an ultimate that deals damage proportional to his defense.
That's it.
The problem is, even knowing that, you can't break through it.
Each of his lion summons has stats on par with an ogre. Even in the late game, those aren't stats you can just ignore.
So I figured it was better to kill the summons first and then fuck Lorian up. After going through all that bullshit to kill them, what do you know? He just re-summons them.
Ah, so I got the order wrong.
Right, the golden rule is to always fuck up the summoner first.
So you go to hit Lorian, and... you do no damage.
His defense is too high.
What if you get an armor penetration build and slowly chip away his health?
Wow...
He chugs a potion.
And what's the potion's name?
A Full Potion?
Wow... he's back to full health...?
All the health I spent forty painstaking minutes chipping away is back.
‘That was so fucking annoying.’
I think I tried about ten times before giving up. No matter how stubborn I was, it was just a game, after all.
‘But I never expected to see that armor now.’
Why would something that only appears late in the game show up now?
I've only taken down one of the Four Heavenly Kings. The Lich and the Succubus Queen are still around.
Did I screw with the game's story too much?
Did provoking Lorian so much speed up his growth timeline?
I wondered about it, but after fighting him, I get it.
"You begged your daddy for this, didn't you?"
This bastard used the daddy card.
"...What?"
"This is your family heirloom, isn't it? Ugh, why force yourself to wear something you can't even use properly?"
Unlike in the game, the white lion Lorian summoned now was too pathetic to be called ogre-level.
Maybe he didn't have enough buffs, because his ultimate was ridiculously weak, and his control seemed lacking too.
Why else would he resort to such cheap tricks?
"I think this is still too much for you. I'll give it back when you can actually use it properly. Until then, it's confiscated."
While Lorian was stunned, I snatched the lion shield. The idiot only snapped out of it after I'd already taken it.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Hey! I said it's confiscated."
He reached out, demanding it back, so I quickly hid the shield behind my back. Lorian's eyes widened. Seeing them tremble, I could tell he was pissed.
"Cut the crap and give it back now!"
Lorian swung his sword, demanding the shield.
I didn't notice while we were fighting, but now that I look, his sword is so ornate it must be something special too.
Should I confiscate that too?
‘Nah, that's too much of a thug move.’
Besides, I don't even know what kind of sword it is.
Let's just cleanly take what I know.
With that thought, I blocked Lorian's strike with Lorian's shield.
"Hey! Take it easy. You'll scratch the shield!"
"Why is a filthy bastard like you even touching my shield?!"
"No, fuck, I said it'll get scratched! I'm not talking about you!"
His sword, imbued with sword aura, descended in a blue arc. I swung the shield perpendicular to its path. Ting! The impact knocked his sword hand away, breaking his stance.
I set aside my sword and clenched my fist.
"You should thank Lorraine later."
She's the only reason I'm leaving your limbs intact.
<Ogre's Crest>
[Active]
-Temporarily doubles Strength
-50% Armor Penetration
I swung my fist hard at Lorian's abdomen. He had a mocking expression, as if calling me a fool. That expression twisted the moment my fist connected.
"Keoheok...!"
Lorian staggered back, his face contorted in pain, and looked down at his abdomen. His eyes widened when he saw his armor was perfectly fine.
"How is this..."
"Got time to be distracted?"
Startled by my words, Lorian looked up.
Too late, you bastard.
I hooked my leg behind his and slammed him to the ground by his neck.
"Gack...!"
The back of Lorian's head and his back slammed hard against the floor.
He tried to get up immediately, but I mounted his chest, grabbing the hand holding his sword and his wrist. I tried to break it, but it wouldn't bend easily.
As expected, the guy's tough as hell.
I took a deep breath and put all my strength into it at once.
-Crack!
"Kuaaaargh!"
With a crisp sound and a scream from Lorian, his wrist snapped. Naturally, a wrist bent halfway back couldn't hold a sword, and his weapon fell to the ground with a clear clang.
I casually kicked the fallen sword away.
"Kngh...!"
He then swung at me with his good left hand. I caught it and twisted it just like his right.
-Crack.
"Gnnngh...!"
Lorian grit his teeth, enduring the pain. But the light in his eyes was still there; it seemed he hadn't given up yet.
He thrashed his body, trying to get away from me.
I slammed my fist into Lorian's face. I don't know if it was because it was a bare fist or because Lorian's skin and bones were just that tough, but one punch didn't seem to do much.
"Get off!"
If anything, it just provoked him. He started struggling like a slippery eel to throw me off.
That's fine.
"A guy like you—"
Smack!
If one punch isn't enough, I'll just keep hitting until it is.
"A guy like..."
Smack!
"...you..."
Smack!
"...looking down..."
Smack! Smack! Smack!
.
.
.
.
.
How long had it been since the dull thuds, like hitting a rock, had started?
Lorian's defiant shouts had long since fallen silent.
I broke Lorian's ankles before getting up. I grabbed him by his ridiculously long hair. The nearby citizens had already been evacuated, so there was no need to worry about appearances.
I dragged Lorian along the ground all the way back to the inn.
As I opened the inn door and stepped inside, countless eyes fixed on me.
The gazes, which had started with confusion, soon changed to reflect different emotions.
"S-Sir Hero Lorian!"
Shock. Despair. Concern.
"Sir Cloud...!"
Relief. Trust.
Taking in all those emotions, I threw Lorian inside. Thump. As he hit the floor, all eyes that had been on me shifted to him.
"B-Brother...!"
Lorraine dropped her sword and rushed frantically to the fallen Lorian. She knelt and checked his pulse with a trembling finger. After checking a few more spots, she let out a sigh of relief.
"He's just unconscious..."
At her words, the air, which had been as heavy as lead, lightened slightly.
Though not completely.
I scanned the inside of the inn.
My companions and Lorian's party.
The two groups were armed and facing off against each other. My arrival with an unconscious Lorian had doubled the tension.
Before the nobles who saw Lorian's injuries could say anything, I spoke first.
"Who was it?"
"...Pardon?"
"Who told you lot you could draw your weapons?"
-...
Silence fell.
But I could practically hear the gears turning in their heads. They were probably trying to figure out how to get out of this situation.
I wasn't going to give them the chance, but someone stepped forward.
"It was me. I gave the order, Sir Hero."
He was a dignified-looking middle-aged man.
"An order? Who are you to be giving orders?"
I asked as I approached him. Instead of bowing, he answered with his head held high.
"Reltor Artos. I am the current head of the Artos Ducal Family. In Sir Hero Lorian's absence, I am to assume command."
"You? Not Lorraine?"
"That is correct."
I glanced over and saw Lorraine flinch at Reltor's words. I turned my gaze back to the noble before me.
"You said you gave the order, right? Then the responsibility for their actions falls entirely on you. Should I hold you accountable?"
"That is so."
"I see..."
I crossed my arms and thought for a moment, then drew my sword. A murmur went through the nobles' side. Ignoring it, I faced the man before me and asked one last question.
"Do you have a son?"
"I do. He is a fine young man, more than I deserve."
"That's a relief."
I stabbed Reltor through the chest with my sword. As he staggered, bleeding, I caught him with my shoulder. I spoke in a low voice, just loud enough for him to hear.
"The Artos Ducal Family. I'll remember it."
"In a... good sense...?"
I slowly nodded.
"Of course, your son will hate me."
"It is only natural, as I am his father's killer... But do not worry... He is not the type to be so swayed by emotion that he loses his judgment..."
"It would be nice if our kingdom had a family like the Artos. It's a real shame."
The man gave a low laugh.
That was the end.
Reltor's body went limp, and his escort knights approached me.
I gave them a nod, and the two knights shouldered Reltor's body.
‘Their master just died, but they're not showing any emotion.’
It was as if they expected this to happen from the moment I walked in.
‘Reltor Artos.’
Another name to remember.
Even if he wasn't an ally.
As I scratched the back of my neck, the commotion inside the inn finally registered.
"To harm Lord Reltor..."
"And without any due process! Hero! Even for you, this has crossed a line!"
The nobles, agitated by Reltor's death, began to hurl accusations.
I addressed the loudest noble among them.
"So I crossed a line? What are you going to do about it? File a formal complaint with the Empire and the Church?"
The man, who had an impressive black mustache, shook his head with a solemn expression.
"There's no need to go that far. Let us out of this godforsaken city at once. Otherwise, I will order our forces outside to launch an all-out attack!"
"You know that's bullshit, right? You're all about to be detained, so how are you going to give any orders? And while Rufus may be shattered, the walls are still standing. I have no intention of letting you go, so do you really think your leaderless rabble can get over those high walls?"
"Ha! Hero, you're the one spouting bullshit. Did you really think we'd come here without a failsafe? If we are detained, our hidden agents will inform the army outside the city. High walls? What good are they when there's no army to defend them?"
The mustached man urged me to stop talking nonsense and let them go immediately, for the sake of the citizens of Rufus.
As if inspired by his confident demeanor, the other nobles also began clamoring to be let go.
Ugh, so noisy.
"...How dare they—"
Unable to watch any longer, Leslie began to emit a chilling aura, but I stopped her with a raised hand.
Instead, I called for our party's mascot.
"Shedia. Take it out."
"Which one?"
Shedia asked, peeking her head out from Katarina's shadow.
"H-Heok?!"
"A-A person from a shadow?!"
Ignoring the startled nobles, I raised my index finger toward her. She nodded and threw something oval-shaped out onto the floor.
The object that landed on the floor with a dull thud was...
"Uh... uhh...?!"
A human head.
Seeing it, the nobles began to show visible signs of panic.
And for good reason.
"This is him, right? The agent you were talking about. And don't bother lying that there are more. I've already checked."
"..."
The mustached man was silent for a moment before speaking again, his voice faltering slightly.
"S-So what? Even without him, the army outside will grow suspicious if they don't hear from us. Eventually, they'll attack Rufus to rescue us. In the end, it's just an extension of what I said before!"
His loud voice echoed through the inn. At the same time, the door burst open, and knights in full armor filed inside.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the knights, the mustached man fell silent.
He had no choice.
If he had eyes in his head, he would have realized those weren't knights from Rufus.
Among the nobles, some recognized the knights' identities and were horrified.
Regardless, I waited for all the knights to enter.
The knights who entered first formed two lines, creating a path. Down that path walked an old man and a middle-aged man, side-by-side, clad in magnificent armor.
The old man and the middle-aged man knelt before me on one knee.
"The House of Count Lopez answers the summons of the Hero and Her Majesty the Queen."
"The House of Duke Collins answers the summons of the Hero and Her Majesty the Queen."