Chapter 716: Their Respective Battles (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 716: Their Respective Battles (6)
“Strawberry Meat—no, Strawberry Pie! Are you alright?”
Oul immediately checked on Gilly. The mana backflow was severe, but not immediately fatal. He quickly pulled various poisons and antidotes from his robes to stabilize her chaotic energy.
“Purification... a purification ritual. Dox's aura...”
“Lord Oul, she absolutely cannot die. Our Jin will be so sad. For now, I should probably just kill this thing!”
“Yona, stop. He can still be saved through a purification ritual.”
“Can’t I just kill him?”
“Dox is a Black Knight whom Jin personally sent here on a mission. Even if his corruption was voluntary rather than forced, it is only right that he pays for his crimes with a clear mind.”
“Hee, what a boring story. Strawberry Pie, what do you want to do? I think it’s better to ignore Lord Oul’s orders and go with your opinion. It’s better to kill him, right? Since he tried to kill you.”
“No... Lord... Murakan...”
Gilly squeezed out an answer with the last of her strength. Her consciousness was fading rapidly, and hearing the nickname 'Strawberry Pie' made her momentarily mistake Yona for Murakan.
The intense pain and agony only made her miss him even more.
“Hehe, I’m Yona, though.”
Yona reluctantly pulled 'Death' from where it was embedded in Dox’s body. Dox twitched, showing signs of trying to regenerate, but Oul carefully poured poison into the wounds to suppress any physical mutations during the process.
“Bizen, transport Gilly and the Black Knight to the Zipple fleet. Gilly, in particular, needs urgent treatment.”
“Understood.”
As soon as she heard those words, Gilly lost consciousness. The last thing she saw in the sky behind the battlefield was the Zipple fleet approaching in full force.
Finally, the members of the temporary alliance were arriving one by one. Kinzelo had yet to appear, but the arrival of the Zipple fleet alone shifted the atmosphere of the battlefield in an instant.
“The 3rd and 4th Fleets are to prioritize securing prisoners. The 5th Fleet will transport the prisoners gathered at the assembly point to the Cosmos fleet. Everyone else, focus on wiping out the giant monsters, but bombardment is strictly forbidden in areas where many prisoners remain. Use the Crushing Cannons only on monsters that do not have prisoners attached to them.”
“Yes, Young Master!”
“Wraith Squad 1 and the contract mages of the 1st Magic Tower will coordinate with the dragons to assist the Black King Commander and Julian in rescuing the prisoners hanging from the monsters' heads.”
Under Veradin’s command, the fleet began to disperse. The Colossal Divine Trees, which had been focused solely on Hedo’s attacks, began to falter as the fleet’s heavy assault was added to the fray.
The rescue operation was finally taking the shape the temporary alliance had originally planned.
The winds of change began to sweep across the individual skirmishes scattered throughout the battlefield.
Swoosh—!
A massive flash of light plummeted into one side of the battlefield like a giant’s spear.
The Hairan Imperial Sword Secret Technique: Sky Piercing Slash.
It landed right where Alisa and Kuzan were fighting. The earth shook as a violent shockwave spread, and Alisa and Kuzan soon saw the broad back of Dante standing before them.
“Queen Alisa, Kuzan. Are you alright?”
“A most impeccable entrance, Sir Dante. We were just reaching our limits.”
Standing before them was not the Viment Special Task Force that had been relentlessly attacking them, but the true First Sword of the Empire, Dante Hairan.
He glared at Latz, the other task force section leaders, and the demon unit as if he would tear them apart right then and there. The task force members couldn't even bring themselves to properly aim their swords at Dante.
Though the task force members who had become demons were certainly powerful, Dante was a martial artist on a completely different level.
Numerical superiority held no meaning before the man who inherited the title of 'Sword Emperor.' Dozens of demons who had charged into the Sky Piercing Slash had already been scattered into mere chunks of meat.
“First, you turned a blind eye while the citizens of the Empire died. Second, you attempted to assassinate the Queen of Tikan. Third, you abandoned the Empire and humanity to become lapdogs for the Imperial Family and the Evil God. The penalty for these crimes is death, and I shall carry out the execution personally...”
The moment killing intent flickered in Dante’s eyes, V’s head fell to the ground. The task force section leaders couldn't even perceive the moment Dante’s sword moved.
Simultaneously, blue streaks of the Sky Piercing Slash swirled in all directions, massacring the demon unit. Chris’s limbs were severed in an instant, leaving him rolling helplessly on the ground.
Latz managed to dodge the sword energy spreading from Rashid a few times, but that was all.
Slice, clang!
Suddenly, Latz’s right hand, still clutching his scimitar, fell to the floor.
‘I didn't see it at all... Could this be!’
The Invisible Sword—the ultimate technique of the Hairan Sword Emperor, the symbol of Ron.
“I will be sending your masters to hell soon enough, so go on ahead and wait for them.”
Dante’s sword had already reached that realm. Alongside the Sky Piercing Slash, a gruesome scene unfolded as the Invisible Sword slaughtered the demons like a localized storm of death.
No matter how exceptional the demons' regenerative powers were, they meant nothing against Dante.
*
Meanwhile, the battlefield of Luton and the Youngest’s Division was being covered in pure white frost.
The Little Palace Master of the Secret Palace, Siris Endorma, was unleashing the power of Ten Thousand Ice while leading the 7 Swords of the Secret Palace.
“Sir Luton Perman.”
Siris reached out a hand to Luton, who was kneeling on one knee, driven into a desperate defensive position.
For a moment, Luton mistook that hand for Talaris’s.
In the past, Luton and the enforcement knights would often challenge Talaris only to be utterly suppressed, and every time, she would reach out a hand to help them up, just as Siris was doing now.
“Whew, pant... Little Palace Master.”
“After you joined Tikan, my mother often looked bitter. She said that even though you didn't seek out the Secret Palace when you were being purged, she should have checked on you first.”
— Yeah, you know it well. You shouldn't resent me. It would be one thing if you had at least come to the Secret Palace to ask for help after surviving.
— You're right. We didn't seek you out because we believed you had nothing to do with this matter. Since my team and I lived lives without many people by our sides, you were the closest to us, but objectively, it wasn't to a special degree. To you, we would have just been a passing connection.
This was the conversation Luton had with Talaris after being suppressed by Jin during his raid on Tikan.
Since that day, Talaris had regretted not looking after Luton’s group. That was why she occasionally spoke of them to Siris.
“...Is that so.”
“Since we are currently in the middle of an operation, it is only natural that I support you, Sir Luton. However, our Secret Palace would have stepped forward to help even if you were in trouble due to personal matters. You held a deep connection with my mother.”
Luton looked up and gazed at Siris’s profile. The friendship Talaris had felt for Luton’s group in her youth was reflected in that face.
“So, once Mother’s treatment is finished, please tell her yourself to forget about what happened back then. It’s quite annoying how she brings it up every time she has a drink.”
“I understand, Little Palace Master.”
With Siris’s appearance, the Black Sword Council could not easily continue their attack. Though she couldn't compare to Talaris in her prime, the transcendent chill she emitted heavily suppressed the Black Sword Council.
“Ryu, you go over there and help Jin’s knights... No, there’s no need for that.”
Vellop, Mesa, and Scut approached Luton’s side. They had just defeated Kajin Romero and the Haas brothers and come to assist Luton.
Furthermore, behind them, a one-armed martial artist and the rest of the Youngest’s Division, who had retreated to the rear, were seen returning.
The one-armed martial artist was the Black Knight Mon. While Mesa’s group was fighting, they had requested support from Mon, who had been rescuing prisoners nearby.
Suddenly finding themselves at a severe disadvantage, the four members of the Black Sword Council nervously scanned their surroundings. It was burdensome enough with Siris and the 7 Swords of the Secret Palace there, but with Mon joining as well, there was no hope.
“Sir Mon, I think it would be best if you go with Jin’s knights to support the outer castle area.”
When Siris spoke, Mon immediately left the area, taking Luton and the Youngest’s Division with him. The Black Sword Council visibly relaxed at this, and Siris let out a smirk.
“What? Did you think you could somehow handle the 7 Swords of the Secret Palace without Sir Mon? You lackeys of the Evil God.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the chill emanating from the Ten Thousand Ice began to amplify.
The members of the Black Sword Council opened their mouths to shout, 'How dare a mere Little Palace Master!' but snapped them shut. The freezing air was instantly choking their windpipes.
“What it’s like to die shivering in hellish cold... I shall personally show you from now on.”
As the chill completely consumed the area like a thick fog, the eight swords of the Secret Palace silently pierced their lungs alongside the frost.
*
“Keke... Kekekek, kek! Heehee, ah, I didn't die...!”
Near the outer castle, the Tona brothers were staggering to their feet. Myu and Anne grimaced as they saw the Tona brothers, who should have collapsed ten times over by now, rising once again.
“Phew, you guys are really something. Myu, Anne. Even after being strengthened by chaos, you can't finish us off at all. Aren't you embarrassed? If it weren't for the chaos, you would have already died by our hands. You're definitely below us.”
“I don't even know why I was scared of you before, hic, hahaha!”
The Myu sisters gnashed their teeth. Their pride was utterly wounded by the Tona brothers' unexpected struggle.
However, the Tona brothers were truly at their limit now. If the Myu sisters launched their next strike, they had no strength left to counter it.
But the Myu sisters' strike never came.
“Flagbearers, we have arrived!”
“Vellop, Mesa... you guys.”
“10th Flagbearer, 11th Flagbearer. You held out well.”
It was thanks to the Youngest’s Division and Mon joining the fight just in time. Even while staggering, the Tona brothers showed their respect to Mon.
[That one-armed bastard is putting on airs just because he used to be a Black Knight.]
[Actually, this is better. All of you, come at us together. I’ll send every last one of you to the afterlife. I was just about to burst with rage anyway.]
The Myu sisters hurled venomous insults at Mon.
“The 10th and 11th Flagbearers here are the real deal, those who resisted until the end as true Runcandels when the Evil God rebelled. However, you two, who were once the 8th and 9th Flagbearers, were the first to betray Runcandel.”
Mon pointed his sword at Myu and Anne.
Myu and Anne felt an unexpected pressure from that simple motion alone. The black helmet of a true Black Knight carried a weight that the likes of them could not handle—even if he had lost an arm.
“Do you know why the family set the rank of Black Knight higher than that of a Flagbearer?”
[You’re bringing up old laws that are now meaningless. The world has changed. Mother’s Runcandel no longer gives special treatment to Black Knights.]
“It is not merely because of merit. It is to give us the authority to guide Flagbearers who are lacking, like yourselves, and to eliminate them if they ultimately fail to improve. Therefore, I shall kill you both here and now.”
Not as Rosa’s knight, but as a Black Knight loyal to Patriarch Cyron Runcandel and Jin Runcandel.
As Mon finished his sentence, a cold light gleamed from within his black helmet.