Chapter 206: The Land That Flows Like a River - 8
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 206: The Land That Flows Like a River - 8
The General's Combat Arm: the Gunblades.
A weapon the Military State had poured its heart and soul into creating, just for Historia.
They were a pair of pistols, their grips connected by a steel chain. Sharp blades protruded from the edges of the black gun frames, honed to a fine point, making them effective for both stabbing and slashing.
The blades didn't render the guns or the chain useless. Inside each muzzle, a heavy, specially crafted bullet lay in wait for its target, and the chains connecting the pistols had their own purpose.
The gun Historia threw clattered through the air on its chain, flying right for the Regressor’s face.
Not a bullet, but the gun itself.
That damn gun. It’s not a gun or a sword…!
The Regressor spun Jizan and thrust it forward, attempting to ensnare the chain.
Sensing the move, Historia aimed her other gun and pulled the trigger. The Regressor reacted with Heavenly Counter Domain, blocking the bullet, but Historia used that opening to yank the chain and charge forward.
Bang, bang. Two shots to keep her pinned. As the Regressor’s movements were restricted, the gunblade fell toward her head. She swung Jizan up to meet it.
CLANG! The General's Combat Arm and Jizan collided. Historia’s eyes narrowed at the heavy impact.
A black, heavy sword. Hmm, I guess I can think of it as the opposite of an invisible sword. No need to meet it head-on…
Her decision was swift. Historia’s wrist rotated smoothly. Releasing her grip and hooking only her fingers around the handle, she let the gunblade pivot on Jizan. In an instant, the weapon spun free and pointed its muzzle at the Regressor.
“Tch!”
The heavy Jizan was slow to react. Instead, the Regressor swung Chun-aeng. Just before a deafening BANG erupted, she managed to knock the muzzle upward. The violent gunshot grazed past them, leaving both their ears ringing.
It was too minor an injury to stop the fight. The Regressor and Historia clashed again.
A brief struggle for dominance. Chun-aeng was longer than the short gunblade. Just as the Regressor was about to bat the weapon aside and slice open the Gunmaster’s face…
A combat boot swept across the floor below her line of sight. With a sickening thud, the kick landed on her thigh, and the Regressor grunted as she lost her balance.
“Dammit…!”
A momentary distraction, a muzzle and a gunshot to overwhelm the eyes and ears, and then a low attack from an unstable posture. For the one on the receiving end, it was infuriating.
Historia, however, just muttered calmly.
“Sorry, my legs are a bit long.”
“Really? How about I shorten them for you!”
As Chun-aeng was about to descend like a bolt of lightning, the steel chain rattled, getting in the way. Enraged, the Regressor put her strength into her swing, intending to slice through the chain and all. The edge of Chun-aeng struck precisely between two links.
“Whew. Took the bait.”
The moment Historia whistled…
Chrrrrk.
The chain suddenly went slack, gently wrapping around Chun-aeng. At the same time, Historia drew a small circle with the tip of her boot, lightly coiling the chain before flinging it out.
In the Regressor’s vision, it looked as if dozens of chains were surging toward her from every direction.
Heavenly Counter Domain isn’t reacting…! Does that mean this is an unforeseen attack, something that never happened in any previous timeline?! How does she come up with such bizarre attacks every single time!
But Heavenly Counter Domain had a defensive form for just such an occasion. The Regressor shouted urgently.
“Chun-aeng!”
She released the space compressed within the sword. Space swelled like a bubble, forcing the Gunmaster and the Regressor apart.
The safest shield in the world is distance. No matter how fierce an attack, it’s meaningless if it can’t connect. If the recoilless Jizan was the ultimate shield that could block anything, then Chun-aeng was the supreme shield that could nullify an attack entirely.
However, against the Gunmaster, it was useless.
Explosive Discharge Domain, Zero In.
BANG. A bullet guaranteed to hit its mark tore through space.
“Hoh.”
Her coat was ripped along the bullet’s trajectory, and the blood that seeped through the tear scattered in the wind.
The bullet had grazed the Regressor’s right arm. To call it a graze was an understatement—a chunk of flesh had been torn from her arm, and blood was flowing freely—but for a result produced by a Qi Art that had reached the Axiom, it was a pathetic outcome.
“Nice weapon, nice clothes, nice reaction. If you were missing any one of the three, you’d have lost a limb…”
Gunsmoke mixed with Qi drifted into the air. Historia blew on the muzzle of her gun. The smoke scattered, flowing behind her on the wind.
“Of course, the biggest factor was that I had to fire in a hurry, weakening my gun’s power. In any case, you’re pretty tough. Not what I expected from your looks.”
The Regressor ignored the searing pain in her right arm and gritted her teeth.
“You’re a tricky one…!”
“My, what a thing to say to your big sis.”
Tugging the chain with the tip of her boot, Historia spun the gunblade. The Regressor began to slowly treat her wound with Bloodcraft as she raised Chun-aeng.
A gun is just a gun, no matter how strong. It’s tricky, but that’s all! I just have to figure out how to counter it…!
But even without the gun, Historia was simply strong.
She was young. She had plenty of Qi. Her movements were like acrobatics, and her strength was considerable. Above all, she used her innate combat sense to make the most of any given situation and weapon.
She played mind games with the wavering muzzle, responding perfectly at both long and close range. If you focused on that, a gleaming blade would rush you. If you swung your weapon to block it, you’d have no way to deal with the bullet that followed. If you tried to control the distance, she would close in with martial arts or use her chain to pursue you at mid-range.
Should I open my Eyes of Fate? But these sense-types are so difficult to deal with…. Tch, I really don’t get it. To think this woman, who’s closer to the Military State than anyone, would become a key figure in the New Kingdom…!
The Regressor was confident in her own Qi, but if the fight dragged on, it was impossible to say who would win.
Still, the Regressor wasn't worried. The longer they fought, the more the odds would be in her favor.
*
“Keuk…!”
It was a single blow.
A general was sent flying through the air. Just as he managed to endure the strike that had come down on his weapon and was about to dig his gunblade into the ground to stop his slide, his body was pulled toward the pale girl.
Not a single piece of her clothing, not a single strand of her hair, fluttered in the strong wind. Tilting her black parasol toward the sun, Tyr, who walked as if time had stopped for her alone, extended a hand.
“Controlling my strength is difficult, so do try to survive on your own.”
The darkness that permeated the area flowed toward its master. The general, unable to escape the current, flailed his arms. It was a meaningless resistance.
With a motion that could be called leisurely, Tyr pushed the general away with her open palm.
It looked like the petulant gesture of a noble lady, but the man on the receiving end didn't think so. He felt as if gravity had suddenly changed direction, slamming him into the ground.
His back folded, and his body was thrown into the air. His crumpled form tumbled over and over across the flowing earth.
A general, a figure like a god to his soldiers, was knocked away without being able to put up any real resistance.
An officer rallying his troops shouted, his face pale.
“Unstoppable! She’s unstoppable!!”
It was a pitiful scream, an urgent report, and the simplest way to describe the situation.
Tyr advanced, pushing each and every person aside, ensuring no one could stand behind her.
“Major General! We must request support! We can’t…! We can’t stop her!”
Historia herself was tied up with one person and couldn't answer. She let out a dry laugh.
“…I’ll give you this, your defense is solid. You’re not easy to break through.”
The Regressor, panting heavily, retorted.
“So confident, aren’t you!”
“Sorry, Cutie. No time to play around.”
Historia pointed her gun to the sky and pulled the trigger.
TAAANG.
A flash of light shot into the sky. It was a signal flare. Holstering her weapon, Historia muttered in a tone of regret.
“I wanted to stall for time until the main force arrived, if possible…. But I have no choice. I have to call them.”
“They must be far away. You think they’ll come all the way here just because you fired a flare?”
“Of course, it’s possible. How do you think I got ahead of you? No, I suppose the first question should be, did you really think I came alone?”
She was right.
This was the Military State, a nation where ‘tactical retreat’ was an official part of the military doctrine. They might avoid engagement, but once they decided to fight, it was unthinkable that they would choose a half-baked method.
The Military State’s way was to initiate a battle only after securing, at the very least, a tactical advantage.
That raised a question. What, exactly, did the Military State consider a strategic advantage?
Even for the Military State, it would be difficult to face Tyrkanzyaka without high-level mages or priests…. There’s no way the State has priests. Don’t tell me…
The moment the Regressor, as if realizing something, turned her gaze with a sense of foreboding, she heard the voice.
“Beginning the spell.”
A powerful voice calling upon mana spread low across the Meta Conveyor Belt. Guessing who its owner was, the Regressor’s expression grew urgent.
No! This must be…!
“So. Still think time is on your side?”
This time, it was Historia who charged. The Regressor couldn't disengage and was forced to continue the fight.
Meanwhile, the magic began.
“Set.”
How does a person reach the peak of a mountain?
“Re.”
They might run up with all their might, or perhaps leap to the top in a single bound. Some might climb the sheer cliffs, while others might fly and land gently.
Or, they might be born at the peak from the very beginning, never even knowing that a world below exists.
But the most ordinary method is to climb one step at a time.
Stubbornly, diligently.
Those who overcome an untrodden path in an extraordinary way, presenting a new route for those who follow, are called pioneers. People shower them with admiration and praise.
And they laugh at those who walk one step at a time toward the distant summit, calling them foolish. After all, there is no wonder or inspiration in climbing stairs one by one, a method anyone could use.
The foolish only earn ridicule.
『This is State Signaller Piyu, in charge of the Meta Conveyor Belt. A warning to all soldiers of the Military State.』
Between the continuing chants, a golem shouted at the top of its lungs.
『In a moment, Marshal Prelvior’s magic will be cast. All soldiers are to employ the maximum possible self-defense measures.』
It is foolish and inefficient. Life is short and the path is long, and one’s limits are clear. They will surely fall before even reaching the halfway point, let alone the peak.
However.
The great nature that humans admire is also but a mountain formed from specks of dust. The water droplet that carves away rock over steadfast ages inspires awe, and one is moved by the sight of a river carved by the current.
Even if the path is one of folly, when it is built up over and over, it can move mountains.
She gathered and gathered specks of mana. While others were creating worlds, she used only the magic that anyone could. Using only Standard Magic, she steadily built her foundation. She always ate what was good for mana, trained, and increased her mana capacity and affinity.
Days, weeks, months, years, decades… After repeating this training and research, she became one of the Six Generals.
She still cannot use high-dimensional magic. She has no talent for it.
But the Mage Marshal’s magic, in terms of sheer quantity, had developed to a point that was beyond compare.
『Otherwise, you will die.』
Even before the signaller’s warning was finished, the soldiers were already huddled in their trenches, wrapped in layers of waterproof and fireproof tarps.
The preparations were complete.
“Check.”
Unique Magic, the Magic of Magnitude.
A world-enveloping torrent of mana converged on a single point in an instant.
A low voice was heard. It was the powerful ‘spell’ that only a great person who had stubbornly carved a single path could utter, the voice of one who had truly achieved a great feat.
“Fahrenheit, Millionaire.”
The sun descended.