Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Armored Swordmaster (4)
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Kwarung! Kwaang!
Kururung! Kuguung!
Flash! Flash!
The knights plunged their aura-clad swords into various spots on the massive field boss's body.
Each time the blades pierced its enormous rocky form imbued with earth attributes, they transformed into lightning rods that drew thunderbolts from the sky.
"Kuhuk!"
"Kraah! H-Hold on!"
"We have to endure!"
A simple stab wouldn't penetrate.
Only by coating their swords with aura could they barely pierce the rock scales, activating the lightning rod effect.
The searing pain from vertically descending lightning bolts.
The knights gritted their teeth and bore it.
One knight, braver than any other in unleashing aura lightning rod attacks, suddenly shouted.
"You bastard! Even you don't know that lightning doesn't strike well without aura on the sword... There's no way Duke Windeler wouldn't know that. C-Could it be some invisible internal injury...?"
"Be grateful for the thunder. I spared your family."
"Th-Thank... Khek!"
The knight's head fell clean off as he unwittingly bowed.
Windeler cautiously checked that no one was watching, then completely crushed the severed head, erasing it.
To anyone watching, it would look like his head had been blasted off by a blind rocky mass.
"Foolish wretch. Still, I won't touch your family."
Windeler coated his sword with faint aura.
Not the stamina-draining aura blade.
And just before the sword dug into the rocky body, the aura vanished.
The lightning veered toward the other lightning rods around him, not Windeler.
To conserve stamina and avoid pain, he was withdrawing the aura right before penetration, opting for plain sword strikes.
'I don't know why, but the weather is on our side.'
"Strike down the enemy with the light of the heavens!"
"Strike down the enemy with the light of the heavens!"
From the sky, lightning mages relentlessly dropped bolts.
Lightning had weaker attack power compared to fire or ice.
But under thunderclouds brimming with lightning, it was a different story.
Beneath thunderclouds, lightning mages overwhelmed all classes with their might.
Kieeeek! Kieeek!
The field boss trembled uncontrollably amid the barrage of lightning spells every second—dozens of times over—plus the sky's own bolts.
Knight deaths occurred sporadically amid the aimless thrashing.
But...
'Damage is accumulating. We can take it down!'
Windeler sharpened his focus.
At the final moment, he had to sever all twelve heads with aura blade in succession, concentrating lightning and lightning spells on the cuts.
Windeler imagined subjugating this colossal field boss and basking in the empire's acclaim.
The immense subjugation merits, plus his rarity as the empire's sole swordmaster.
Even that scheming, vile emperor would have to watch his step now.
Kieeeeeeek!
The twelve heads roared in unison, convulsing.
An ear-shattering boom.
Windeler instinctively knew his awaited moment had arrived.
Kuwooung!
The massive body finally collapsed.
Unable to withstand the cumulative electrocution damage, it shook the earth as if the crust had ruptured.
More casualties ensued.
One-third of the knights dead or wounded.
"Now! Pour attacks on its heads!"
"Yes, milord!"
The knights swarmed the fallen heads, unleashing lightning rod strikes wildly.
The lightning mages rained spells nonstop.
Kururung! Flash! Kwaaaang!
Windeler sliced the nearest head with his aura blade.
The moment the aura-infused blade connected, a bolt of immense power struck.
'Kuh! It hurts!'
Enduring the qi-churning agony, he beheaded it.
"Keep dropping lightning and lightning spells on the stump!"
"Understood!"
Windeler moved to the next head.
Second, third...
Finally, the twelfth.
In less than thirty seconds.
Perfectly, the twelfth head writhed, attempting to regrow onto the first severed stump.
'Huh?'
Sensing the swift approach, he dodged instinctively.
Shwang! Puk!
A dagger from nowhere grazed his cheek and embedded in the twelfth head.
'Who dares?'
He raged.
Who dared steal his kill and the subjugation credit?
Then, a bolt struck the dagger.
'What? It feels familiar...'
He couldn't think further.
The lightning in the dagger chained to him,
and an incomparably massive bolt from the thunderclouds descended.
'Ah...!'
No voice emerged.
That familiar lightning spell spread to nearby targets and even drew the thunderclouds' full fury.
'Damn lightning mages...!'
Who had backstabbed him on the battlefield?
Too many faces came to mind; Windeler couldn't pinpoint one.
That was when it happened.
"We did it! We slew it!"
"Lord Windeler, hurray! Hurray!"
"Uahaha! We did it! We slew it!"
Through blurring vision, the field boss's colossal form dissolved into sand.
Clouds parted, sunlight poured down.
Surviving knights collapsed or sprawled, laughing in exhaustion.
Only then did the electrocuted, fallen Windeler sigh in relief.
'I survived...!'
He didn't know who struck his back,
but amid the melee's end, no one would attack now.
Suddenly, hands seized his immobile body.
'Wh-Who?!'
No voice came.
Someone carried him boldly across the battlefield in flight, yet no one noticed.
'You bastards! I'm being captured! Don't just ignore it!'
Power-leveling always hits different.
Last-hit steals make it even sweeter.
Nice, just over halfway to max level.
No level gap XP penalties, so it shoots up smoothly.
"Professor, capturing Windeler and withdrawing. He's still alive."
"Understood."
Flight magic, cloaked in stealth, delivered the three of us to the fallen Windeler.
Canelian snatched him up, and we swiftly retreated west.
No one noticed Windeler's disappearance.
They were all too exhausted.
The teleportation circle Object had set up near the border was gone without a trace.
Erased and withdrawn on my orders.
'Designate Windeler as my slave gladiator. Equip.'
The full-body armor moved on its own, enveloping the unconscious Windeler completely.
Both stared at me in shock.
"Your Highness? Isn't this an artifact?"
"Why equip him with something like this? What if he wakes and attacks?"
"This is armor, but also slave shackles. Without my permission, he can't move, see, or hear."
Not for nothing is 'slave gladiator' in the name.
He's bound tight in mythic-grade full-body chains.
Vision and hearing sealed off.
"Let's rest now."
"Yes."
The three of us leaned against a tree stump.
Canelian and Object kept eyes on Windeler even then.
A rash guard swimsuit materialized before me, glowing faintly.
Both women recoiled in horror.
"Wow, Your Highness."
"What is that weird pajamas?"
"Ah, this is an artifact. Canelian, it's armor for the duchess."
"Pardon? How is this armor? Your legs would be completely exposed! And it looks like it'd slice right off under a normal iron sword—it's just cloth scraps!"
It might seem that way at a glance, like a rash guard.
But for close-range beauty heroine characters, defense scales with exposure.
No such details in the devs' reveal.
Not in the devs' intro either.
But that's even better?
'Canelian can't swap it to rash guard on her own. I can enjoy whatever form I want anytime.'
Tempted to slap on the 99% defense final form right now.
But seeing their faces recoil even at leg-baring exposure, they won't bite easily.
'In this world, noble ladies can't imagine baring legs before strange men.'
Cleavage is out too.
Collarbone, shoulders, arms—that's the exposure limit.
"Duchess, try it on."
"H-How can I wear something so shameful? And is this really armor?"
"It's armor, I swear. Try it. You'll see."
"What if Duke Windeler wakes while I'm wearing it?"
"He's still out. And the slave gladiator armor blocks sight and sound, so even if he wakes, no issue."
"..."
"Duchess, just once?"
"..."
Canelian glared at the rash guard, trembling.
Object cautiously raised her hand.
"Th-Then I'll try it first to confirm it's real armor."
"P-Professor?"
"You can equip after, Duchess."
Object's a keeper.
I offered her the bikini armor (rash guard).
"Good, Professor first, then..."
Flick!
Canelian snatched the bikini armor.
Face beet red, arms shaking.
"If you're pranking me after I wear it, I won't let you off!"
"Once you feel its power, you'll beg to wear it forever."
Canelian vanished briefly, returned in the bikini armor.
Black base splashed with vibrant red and white—a rash guard.
Her sleek, long legs stretched elegantly; no medieval fantasy swordmaster genius, but a Nordic model on a photoshoot.
"Th-This is indecent. H-How can I fight in front of people like this?"
"Duchess, incoming attack."
'Thunder Chain!'
Lightning shot from my hand, slamming Canelian.
We all saw it.
A transparent barrier coated her instantly, resisting the lightning.
Canelian gasped, hand over mouth.
"Ah..."
"See?"
Canelian had tanked my Thunder Chains countless times.
She'd feel the 50% defense reduction.
"I-It hurts less for sure. And a transparent shield appeared, cutting the damage."
"I saw it clearly too. Mythic-grade armor effect."
"Your Highness wasn't lying. Sorry, I thought it was another mean prank."
All those points from 20 levels twinkling to be spent.
Who cares right now?
My heroine's in bikini armor.
"Duchess, that was the lowest defense—50% reduction. There's a 99% version."
"99% reduction? Impossible! How?"
I spread my arms, holding back a grin.
"I don't know how it changes. Shall I set it to 99% damage reduction?"
"Yes! Please transform it!"
"You agreed, Duchess."
"Yes!"
Canelian thought to herself.
'99% means it'll cover everything but the eyes, right?'