Chapter 713: Each Their Own Fight (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 713: Each Their Own Fight (3)
Anne swung her twin swords, loosing arcs of sword energy. She intended to brush aside the charging Tona brothers and go straight for Mary.
However, the Tona brothers showed unexpected strength, dodging her sword energy before instantly collapsing the section of the outer wall where Myu and Anne stood.
As the wall crumbled, Myu and Anne were forced to leap for new footing, losing sight of Mary in the process.
Mary was already charging toward the inner castle, momentarily obscured by a cloud of dust and debris.
[These insects…!]
“Kyahaha! You missed her, didn't you?”
“Did you really think we’d just be swatted away in one go?”
[Anne, you handle those two. I’ll take Mary.]
As Myu spoke, she flinched and looked ahead.
Before she could react, Daytona’s greatsword was pointed at her.
“We’re your opponents, Myu. Are you looking down on us a bit too much? Well, I suppose it makes sense… since you have no idea how much effort we’ve put into catching up to you two.”
“Yeah, look at her, still worrying about Sister Mary without even grasping the situation. Hey, Anne. Wake up. You almost lost your head just now. Or what? Do you think you can just stick it back on if it gets cut off?”
A trickle of Chaos, like black blood, oozed down Anne’s neck.
Heitona instinctively moved to lick the Chaos from his chain sword, but upon realizing it wasn't blood, he spat on the ground in disgust.
Myu whipped up a gust of sword wind to clear the dust.
Mary was nowhere to be seen.
A surge of irritation flared within her, but the sisters quickly gave up on chasing Mary and turned to face the Tona brothers.
With Ilina at the inner castle, there was no urgent need to pursue her.
Still, the fact that the Tona brothers—insects they had always looked down on—had engineered this situation made their blood boil with unbearable rage.
[Mary would have been better off dying by our hands… You two are as clueless as ever. Fine. I’ve changed my mind. I’ll entertain you for a while. And I’ll even let you live, just so you can witness the end of every traitor who dared to oppose Mother.]
“Blah, blah, blah! You’re so noisy! Take this! The family’s Eleventh Decisive Technique!”
The eleventh?
There are only ten Decisive Techniques in Runcandel. For a split second, the Myu sisters wondered if a technique they didn't know about actually existed.
In other words, they were caught off guard. In that brief opening, the Tona brothers unleashed their own ‘combined technique.’
— I have witnessed countless sword styles in my time, but never have I seen a combined attack so messy, disjointed, and utterly low-class. To think that members of Runcandel, the world’s greatest sword clan, would show me this and call it a new Decisive Technique…
— Ah… is it really that bad, Sir Hedo?
— It's utter trash. I couldn't have even imagined a sword style so foul.
— Is there no room for improvement at all?
— None… However, it's not a sword style you should discard. It's so disorganized that it might actually be effective. Unless they're a supreme master, anyone facing this for the first time is bound to be flustered. It should be quite effective against opponents who lack depth. Hmm, have you given it a name?
— We called it the Tona Dance.
— Names like ‘Tona Mess,’ ‘Tona-style Free-for-all,’ or ‘Brawl’ seem more appropriate… but ‘Dance,’ I see. Since you’re calling it a Decisive Technique, I suppose the name should be somewhat dignified. Use it only to fluster your opponent, then look for an opening to finish the fight.
The reason the Tona brothers shouted that it was the family’s Eleventh Secret Technique while unleashing their combined move, the ‘Tona Dance,’ was because they had received that very advice from Hedo right after completing the technique.
This… is the family’s Eleventh Decisive Technique?
There was no way.
The moment the ‘Dance’ began, the Myu sisters’ faces contorted in disgust.
True to the name ‘Dance,’ the Tona brothers were already tearing through everything in sight.
When the greatsword split the ground, the chain sword raked through the opening. The brothers’ rampage didn't stop for a single second.
The problem was that none of their numerous attacks were actually reaching the Myu sisters.
The sisters let out hollow laughs, swatting away the occasional flying stone fragment.
“Next is the Third Decisive Technique, Meteor Shower!”
“Fifth Secret Technique, Light Speed Thrust!”
Whenever the Tona brothers added more nonsense in the middle of their rampage, the sisters flinched. Eventually, the Myu sisters gathered their Chaos, intending to crush them with sheer power. There was no better way to deal with such a rootless sword style.
But, as if they had anticipated it, the Tona brothers unleashed actual Decisive Techniques the moment the sisters gathered their energy.
Lightning Flash and Falling Petals—Runcandel’s Fourth and Sixth Decisive Techniques. Daytona unleashed Falling Petals while Heitona used Lightning Flash, bursting out from within the chaotic ‘Dance.’
Screeeech—! Clang!
The swords of the brothers and sisters clashed, sending out a shockwave.
The Tona brothers were pushed back, but they immediately resumed their ‘Dance,’ driving the Myu sisters to the brink of madness.
“Kekeke.”
“Fooled you again!”
Myu and Anne met all the conditions Hedo had described.
They were facing this absurd technique for the first time, and despite growing stronger through Chaos, they still lacked true depth as martial artists.
[Wow, that really is a technique fit for insects.]
Anne snorted, but the sisters were clearly struggling to deal with the Tona Dance effectively.
The ‘one shot’ the Tona brothers had promised Mary was now effectively pressuring the sisters.
However, the ‘Dance’ had a fatal flaw.
It consumed an extreme amount of stamina.
At this rate, the Tona brothers could only maintain the ‘Dance’ for ten minutes at most.
They had to either finish the fight within that time or survive until allies arrived. Once those ten minutes were up, they wouldn't even have the strength left to flee.
*
While the fight between the Tona brothers and the Myu sisters continued…
New enemies were appearing on the battlefield behind them, in the fields of Licalton Castle.
“Juchen, are you alright!” Luton shouted. The former Runcandel Enforcement Knight was leading the Youngest's Division in a mission to rescue prisoners.
Debris from the Colossal Divine Tree’s fists striking the ground rained down incessantly upon Luton and the Youngest's Division.
Thanks to Hedo, they were rarely targeted directly, but dangerous moments still arose.
“I’m fine!”
“Stick close to Scut and rest for a moment! You can't continue the mission if you're that exhausted. Mesa, take over Juchen's sector for now.”
“Yes, Sir Luton!”
The fields were riddled with massive fissures created by the Colossal Divine Trees.
While Luton was saving a ‘fruit’ from falling into a fissure, he discovered that the crack led to an underground tunnel.
This is what Lord Jin mentioned…!
Flash—!
The moment Luton realized it, a streak of sword energy surged from the ground, grazing his cheek.
As Luton retreated and swung his sword, the eyes of the Youngest's Division fixed on him.
Knights clad in black robes emerged from the tunnel. Luton recognized their attire as the old-style robes of the Black Sword Council, which he remembered from his time as an Enforcement Knight.
[Luton… so you really were alive.]
“Beks. So it was you. Then the ones beside you must be Line, Rihanna, and Sinatra.”
[We are honored that you remember our names, former Enforcement Knight Luton Perman.]
— Black Sword Council, suppress Joshua Runcandel.
— Understood!
— Line, Beks, Rihanna… even Sinatra. You all… were part of the Black Sword Council…!
Beks, Line, Rihanna, and Sinatra.
They were the knights who had suppressed Joshua when Rosa brought him down.
Before joining the Black Sword Council, they had even performed missions alongside Luton as fellow Enforcement Knights.
“I heard from Lord Jin that you were still acting as Rosa’s dogs. I didn't think you’d still be here, not after the family has fallen into this state. If you had a shred of pride, you would have chosen to die fighting with the resistance when Rosa fell. Yet here you are, crawling out from the dirt.”
[A stray dog, discarded and luckily picked up by the 12th Flagbearer, sure talks big. How about it? Will you swear loyalty to the Matriarch again, even now? If you do, you might be able to become a Runcandel Enforcement Knight once more.]
“Cut the crap and come at me. My dead comrades are waiting for you in the afterlife… Youngest's Division! Retreat immediately and move to another sector! If possible, fall back to Sir Hedo’s position!”
Four Chaos-corrupted knights stood before Luton. Though few in number, their power was far beyond what the Youngest's Division could handle.
Luton was trying to buy time for the division to escape, even if he had to do it alone.
However, three more black-robed figures were already emerging from the fissures near the Youngest's Division.
[It’s been a while, Jin Runcandel’s little curs.]
[You haven't forgotten our voices, have you?]
“Kajin Romero… the Haas brothers…!?”
Kajin Romero, Mile Haas, and Lima Haas.
They were intermediate cadets from Myu and Anne’s faction who had been abandoned by the sisters during a mission with Jin, and subsequently kicked out of the family.
When the three were expelled, none of the other intermediate cadets felt sorry for them. It was because of the evil deeds they had committed under the protection of Myu and Anne.
— You might find me pathetic now. But soon, you’ll all end up just like me. We’re different from the purebloods. No matter how hard we try, we’re just hunting dogs, and this is how it ends… Hehe, farewell.
Those were the words Kajin Romero had left as he departed the Garden of Swords.
“Wow, I didn't expect to run into these bastards here.”
“I guess you crawled back into the Garden of Swords after being thrown away by Myu and Anne? Well, the current Garden of Swords is the perfect stage for trash like you.”
The Youngest's Division straightened their ranks and glared at Kajin’s group.
However, Mesa judged that Luton’s orders took priority.
“Vellop, Scut, and I will stay to deal with them. The rest of you, retreat and report the situation to the rear! If you don't, we won't be able to save Sir Luton.”
A battle between those who defiled Runcandel and those who sought to reclaim it.
The former held an overwhelming advantage.
The Youngest's Division retreated under Mesa’s command, while those who remained formed a sword formation to block the enemy's pursuit.
And so, new battles were breaking out all across the battlefield.
Most were clashes between Runcandel and a corrupted Runcandel, much like the fights between Jin and Dipus, Mary and the Prophet, the Tona brothers and the Myu sisters, and the Youngest's Division and the Chaos knights.
However, on the opposite side of the field from the Youngest's Division, a confrontation between the former and current Special Task Forces of the Empire was beginning.
“Gah!”
Alisa screamed as a powerful blow sent her flying.
“Alisa Badger, former Special Task Force Unit 2, and traitor to the Empire. In the name of the great Viment Imperial Family, I shall execute you.”
Code name Latz, the leader of Viment Special Task Force Unit 3. He had slipped onto the battlefield unnoticed and was now pointing his sword at the fallen Alisa.