Chapter 334: The Song of Wither And Fireblast - 2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 334: The Song of Wither And Fireblast - 2
In the Fallen Dominion, the nation of alchemy, the strong are usually wealthy. Surprisingly, however, the Fireblastarch, one of the most powerful figures, was not particularly rich.
His abilities were related to heat and explosions—all products of immense volatility. If demand were high, he would be rolling in money, but unfortunately, explosives didn't sell well in the Fallen Dominion. They were difficult to aim, hard to store, and their effectiveness diminished against stronger opponents. The fact that such an attack method was single-use made the dholes hesitate to buy them.
Nevertheless, many followed the Fireblastarch, even for meager pay. There was one reason for this.
“Ahahahaha! This is fun! So much fun!”
Primal pleasure.
To fly through the sky with propulsion units strapped to your back. To soar freely amidst the wind, looking down on others. To hunt the vermin crawling on the ground and fill your belly.
Though he was nothing more than a lowly creature on the ground, by becoming a ‘Feather’ of the Winged Assault Squad, he could experience this thrill anytime.
“This freedom! This liberation! You who crawl on the ground could never understand!”
What blessed creatures birds were, born with freedom in their very bodies.
Victor, a Feather of the Fourth Wing, drew his blade with that thought and searched for his next prey.
Just then, a fine target came into view. It was a young woman on a two-wheeled vehicle with a cargo cart, speeding away. Her hat must have flown off, as her long hair fluttered in the wind. Even in the dead of night, he could see her clearly as she fled.
He had made his decision. Victor licked his lips and shouted.
“Alright. I can afford to grab one woman for myself!”
Tilting his wings, he dove straight for her.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
The woman let out a piercing scream, but to Victor, it was merely an embellishment to the hunt. He landed lightly on the cargo cart and laughed.
“Kekeke. Stay still.”
“Wh-who are you people! ‘I’ am on my way to the Military State! Don’t touch me!”
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Not all of you need to go to the Military State, you know? A few of you can stay right here.”
“Aaaah! Don’t come near me! Go away!”
She jerked the handlebars left and right, trying to throw him off, but to a member of the Winged Assault Squad, such shaking was as gentle as a summer breeze. Victor easily approached from behind her.
“Feisty, aren’t we? Well, I like this way better!”
All he had to do was grab her shoulders and fly into the sky. Dangling helplessly in the empty air, she wouldn’t be able to resist…
Just as Victor grinned from ear to ear and snatched at her shoulders, he felt something was wrong.
She didn’t move. She was solid.
He had intended to grab her and lift her straight up, but it felt as firm as gripping a rock.
“…Her hair…?”
“I’m pretty sure ‘I’ told you not to come any closer~.”
Strange. No, it was beyond strange now, bordering on bizarre.
Just a moment ago, she had been a woman with long hair. It was an unmistakably female form, hard to mistake even in the darkness… but now, she was different.
No, she was changing. From a woman with a cheerful air… to someone with a slightly gloomy impression, someone he didn’t see often but whose face was familiar.
Without understanding why, Victor called out the name of the face’s owner.
“…Me?”
‘Victor’ grinned from ear to ear and replied.
“Nice to meet you, ‘me’.”
A moment later, a corpse tumbled to the ground.
But for some reason, the number of soldiers in the Winged Assault Squad remained the same.
*
A pitch-black shadow raced across the ground. Hidden in the darkness, it was nearly invisible to the naked eye. However, the Winged Assault Squad flew with lights attached to their tails, and the light from a leading soldier illuminated the path for the one following.
One of the squad members spotted the shadow in the light and scoffed.
“Ha! Did you really think you could get away just by wearing black and running for it?”
It was so black it seemed to have merged with the darkness. Still, by widening his eyes and focusing, he could make out its shape. A ‘Feather’ folded his wings and went into a rapid dive.
“A clever attempt! But this is where it ends!”
He shouted gallantly, thrusting out the blades attached to his feet. The blades, sharpened by his velocity, pierced the black figure’s body…
But there was no sound.
No sound of splattering blood. No human scream. No sound of life escaping, no whimpering… nothing. Instead, the black figure moved its arm and gripped his leg tightly. Darkness coiled around his talons and crept up his leg.
“Wh-what the—!”
All members of the Winged Assault Squad were skilled practitioners who had mastered Geon Qi Art. He used his Qi to shake off the darkness and pull himself free. But his relief was short-lived; something leaped onto his back, causing him to lose his balance.
He gunned the propulsion units, but it was useless when he couldn't even tell up from down. After crashing into the ground once, he skidded for a long stretch across the dirt before finally coming to a stop. All the while, more black shadows swarmed in, surrounding him.
He grunted and yelled.
“Y-you crazy bastards! You’re trying to stop me by throwing your bodies at me?! Are you trying to take me down with you?!”
It made no sense. Of course, humans could attempt to take their enemies with them when driven to despair, but that required an emotion so intense that one no longer cared about dying. Most humans struggled to survive until the very last moment before finally succumbing to death.
But for dozens of them to throw themselves at him just to catch one person… This inhuman response was clearly strange.
Inhuman. Only then did he realize something.
“Wait… you’re not human, are you?!”
The ones surrounding him. The ones pinning him down. Even the one his feet had pierced. They all looked like malevolent spirits clad in pitch-black armor.
They weren’t wearing black clothes. They were retainers made of darkness, which was why they had been so hard to see.
“Darkness…?! Vampires?! But how can there be so many retainers…?!”
He had heard the rumors.
Beyond the Mistveil Range, in the land untouched by sunlight, lived vampires. They were said to raise humans like livestock, feeding on their blood and blaspheming all gods. They disliked the sun and thus never crossed the mountains, but it was said they occasionally appeared in the perpetually overcast Claudia.
As he was frozen in terror, someone with color approached him.
“Hoo. Finally caught one. You were as quick as a fly; it was a bit of a hassle.”
Pale skin under the moonlight. Eyes that seemed to glow crimson even in the dark. A beauty so sharp it was chilling.
Every aspect of him screamed vampire. The blood-drinking race known to rule over humans beyond the Mistveil Range.
“I will ask you one thing.”
The vampire had his dark knights force the man to his knees, then asked.
“Who was it that fired this at me?”
His head forced up, he saw the object the vampire held out. It was a long cylinder with a burnt-out fuse. Though slightly dented, it was unmistakably one of the Fireblastarch’s rockets. It had probably… scored a direct hit on the vampire.
As he trembled in fear, the vampire urged him on in an unhurried tone, as if he was the one in a rush.
“It would be in your best interest to speak quickly. If you refuse to answer, I will simply have to ask another one of your friends.”
Behind the vampire, dozens of flames were plummeting from the sky like meteors.
*
See? I knew it.
I didn’t even have to lift a finger. All around, members of the Winged Assault Squad were plummeting to the ground. No one had ordered them to, but everyone was actively joining the offensive.
Hilde and Tyr were both hunting in their respective positions, but… in a fight like this, neither could compare to the Regressor.
The Regressor was currently standing on a cloud. Poised on a Stepping Cloud, she assumed a stance for the Skyblade Art and swung Chun-aeng in a wide arc.
“Skyblade Art. Sundered Sky.”
Fwoosh. The wind vanished.
Even with a blade like Chun-aeng, she couldn’t possibly cut a space this large. Even if it was only air, the longer the blade, the heavier it becomes.
So, instead of cutting with the blade, the Regressor changed the very properties of the wind.
The wind stopped. The air solidified. Within a certain space, the air became inert; fires would not ignite, and smells would not spread.
When the Winged Assault Squad unknowingly passed through this severed space, the propulsion units that had been pushing them forward all died at once.
“Wh-what! The thrusters!”
“Ignite them!”
Those who spread their wings to glide and quickly reignited their propulsion units survived. But those who failed crashed to the ground. Their wings barely saved their lives, but it was only a temporary reprieve.
A bird that falls to the ground becomes prey for beasts. A few dholes, seeing the members of the Winged Assault Squad, went into a frenzy. Hooks, blades, spear tips, and modified front wheels all turned toward them.
The Winged Assault Squad, who had dominated their enemies with speed from the sky, lost their advantages of velocity and altitude and fell, becoming prey for the dholes.
I didn’t even need to get involved. The Winged Assault Squad is dropping like flies. It’s great having such strong allies.
Feeling much more relaxed, I hung onto the cart as we rode. Someone riding next to me saw the spectacle and shouted.
“Wh-what in the world are those things?! What’s happening?”
He was probably talking to himself, but for today, I’ll make an exception and answer. I pulled up alongside him and kindly informed him.
“We’re a passing peace envoy.”
At my words, he jumped in surprise and looked over at me.
“And who are you?! How are you keeping up with me?!”
“Can’t you tell? It’s a dogsled. This dog is incredibly fast.”
“Woof woof!”
Azzy, holding a pole in her mouth, barked as if in agreement. She must have taken it as a compliment.
My explanation didn’t seem to satisfy him, however, as he suddenly grew angry and yelled.
“Stop spouting nonsense! A mere dog beastkin! I’m asking how you’re keeping up with my speed! It’s obviously strange!”
“You stop spouting nonsense. As if a few rocket boosters could ever outrun Azzy. Have some common sense, Fireblastarch.”
Azzy is the Dog King. There’s no way a dogsled pulled by the Dog King would be slower than some toy. Does this guy have any common sense at all?
I gave him my sincere advice, but his face suddenly turned beet red. Looking like he was about to explode, he shrieked.
“Don’t call me Fireblastarch!”