Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Immortal Lich
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"Not a single one of you will escape. I'll send you all straight to that damned god's side!!"
KRRRRUMBLE!
A storm-like surge of mana erupted from the old man—Jenos's Po.
Even as a half-being, torn between soul and corporeal soul, it exuded this much pressure.
'At this level... he'd be somewhere between the Four Marquises and the Three Dukes.'
Truly, the title of the continent's strongest archmage was well-deserved.
Even without the supreme enlightenment of the Hun, the natural accumulation in the Po alone allowed it to display such divine might.
Perhaps the complete Jenos, with Hun and Po united, had reached a realm even higher than those who ascended to the jade throne.
If it had just been us alone, even with the Hun's help, it would've been a grueling fight.
But now...
'Threatening, yes... but not impossible.'
The lightning swirling around the Po's hand devoured its mana, growing to a monstrous size.
"Giga Thunder!"
BZZZZZCRACK!
As the Po unleashed its spell, a bolt of lightning shot toward Marquis Crank at the speed of light itself.
Its velocity rivaled light itself, yet...
"Hmph!"
Surprisingly, Marquis Crank seemed to anticipate it. He shifted his legs with precise movement, dodging the bolt cleanly.
It wasn't some elaborate footwork from ancient history. Just the most 'efficient' motion, executed with foreknowledge.
That unique movement was the superhuman senses that Beast Sword Marquis Crank prided himself on.
KRUMBLE! KRUMBLE!
That was why he evaded every indiscriminately flying bolt without taking a single hit.
"Slippery as an eel, aren't you? Let's see you dodge this one."
Fwoosh!
The space behind the Po filled with Magic Missiles.
A lightweight 2nd-circle spell that any decent mage could cast, but...
When wielded by a mage of the Po's caliber, it was no mere low-circle magic.
Each projectile packed the destructive force of an iron arrow.
Whiiiiiish!
Hundreds of Magic Missiles homed in on Marquis Crank.
No matter how superior his superhuman senses, there was no evading an omnidirectional barrage that left no escape.
"Heh, sorry, but no dice. Holy Armor."
Virgin Palace Luna cast a holy spell toward Marquis Crank.
A silvery armor phantom briefly enveloped his front.
Tingtingtingtingting!
Like beans popping in a pan, the Po's Magic Missiles bounced off Luna's holy magic.
"Chaha!"
In that opening, Treasure Palace Dingo—the monk who'd mastered fist arts to their limit—and Beskin, his sword sheathed in icy aura, closed in on the defenseless Po in an instant.
Their strikes were vicious enough to threaten the Po's breath directly, but...
"Great Shield."
The prepared Po swiftly erected a defensive spell.
CRASH!
Dingo and Beskin's attacks merely shattered his barrier—nothing more.
If it had only been Marquis Crank's group, the assault might've ended there.
But from the Po's perspective, regrettably, we still had numbers left.
"We've got you too!"
Set and Aria's flames and fire spells slipped through the crack in the Po's broken barrier.
"...You damn whelps!"
Jenos's Po blinked back in irritation, voice dripping with annoyance.
Recasting inside the shattered shield would've been inefficient; repositioning was better.
But the Po made a mistake.
For in this place was someone with senses so sharp, rumors swirled that he could glimpse moments into the future.
"Running short on hands, are we?"
Where the Po blinked to, Marquis Crank had already arrived, having predicted the move through his senses.
Whiiish!
The marquis's scimitar savagely tore into the old man's exposed back as he retreated defenselessly.
"Grk!"
Not a mere cut—it was a brutal gash like fangs ripping flesh.
Flesh torn, blood spraying in a single strike.
The Po unleashed a barrage of spells at Marquis Crank before blinking again to widen the gap.
"...You lot are trickier than that rapier-wielding pest from earlier."
"...What happened to him?"
Marquis Crank urgently cut in, perhaps trying to obscure the man's identity from the Po's words, but I'd already guessed who the imperial swordsman was.
'Marquis Schopf.'
With the First Prince deploying a heavy hitter like Marquis Crank, the Second Prince wouldn't send anyone lesser to match.
And among the Second Prince's Four Marquises, only Schopf wielded a rapier.
"Hmph! Worried about your fellow countrymen, eh? Rest easy. I sent that fool packing to your precious god's side, nice and cozy with those repulsive priests he brought."
'Priests'—plural.'
More intel dropped.
The Second Prince's base was mostly merchants and lesser nobles.
Not many archbishops followed him, so pinpointing the dead ones wasn't hard.
'...Gott and Boer.'
The Second Prince's combat archbishops.
The Po and Marquis Crank exchanged only brief words, yet we'd gleaned plenty.
'Situation's looking good.'
From the Po's words, the Holy Empire's forces here were down to just this one.
'Then... let's finish them off while we're at it.'
As my eyes gleamed, Marquis Crank raised his scimitar once more.
"Then, to keep them from getting lonely, we'll send this old coot along next."
Before the Po could spout more, Crank and Dingo lunged again, resuming the fight.
"Think the same trick will work twice?"
Ignoring Set and Aria's minor attacks, the Po focused solely on Crank and Dingo, adjusting distance carefully.
It had learned Crank's danger from the previous strike.
KRRRRUMBLE!
Spells crackling with lightning poured down on Crank and Dingo amid thunderous roars.
Each casually flung bolt matched the full power of Aria's best efforts.
'Monsters are monsters, alright.'
I sent telepathy to Set upon witnessing the Po's magic.
His battle with Set or Aria's help seemed unlikely.
-Young Master Set, Lady Aria—fall back. This Po is your perfect superior in every way.
-...Got it.
Set must've felt it from his earlier flames.
Their wide-area, multi-target style didn't suit this fight.
Here, better to let the close-combat specialists shine.
-Get ready.
Saladin nodded at my telepathy, maneuvering Mimi and Nene.
After sending it to him, I slowly stirred the energy within me.
WHOOOOSH!
Golden light gradually rose from my body.
Golden Vajra Warrior.
Clad in aura over a body harder than steel, I charged the Po.
Saladin directed his threads, having Mimi and Nene support from my rear.
Avoiding the front and left occupied by charging Crank and Dingo through the Po's spells, Saladin's puppets and I surrounded from above, right, and behind.
Perhaps from battling imperial elites, Jenos's Po hadn't even considered us—until fierce auras poured from an unexpected direction. Its eyes bulged.
"You whelps?!"
I struck the flustered Po's side hard, exploiting its blind spot from the rear.
CRACK!
My kick bent its waist at a right angle; it crashed into the ground.
BOOM! Crash! Crash!
Its body flew inward, snapping massive trees grown deep in the mountain wilds.
"...Impressive. That must've nearly killed it."
Dingo muttered in surprise at my strike. Fair enough—from his view, it was unnatural power for my age.
"No, not yet."
But fact was fact; I firmly corrected Dingo's admiration.
A normal human—especially a frail mage's body—would've died instantly from that.
Regrettably, our foe was no human: a lich. An ultra-high-rank one at that.
CRACK! Snap!
Its bent waist straightened, returning to place. Wounds from trees, rocks, and Crank's scimitar healed in real time.
"...You vermin have some bite."
Grinding its teeth from the hit, Jenos's Po returned to pristine condition as if nothing happened.
"A lich... I see. That's why they lost."
Marquis Crank swallowed hard, troubled, as the Po regenerated.
But I brightened at its reaction.
'This guy's fighting style is ridiculously simple.'
Easy to get mesmerized by its absurdly destructive spells and immortality, but its basics were amateurish for its realm.
In a mage-knight duel, who wins?
Whoever controls distance.
Letting knights close in with swords was begging to be carved up.
Thus, elite mages never yield their range easily.
But the Po, relying on immortality, was sloppy at maintaining it.
Sure, it checked Crank and Dingo, but at its level, it should've blocked us too.
I fiddled lightly with the potion vial in my bosom.
'Too soon or too late, and either Crank's stamina holds out too long, or we fail to drop the Po.'
Unaware of our potion, Crank kept eyes locked on the Po and extended his scimitar sideways.
"Bishop, holy power."
"Sure thing~ As if you'd need it."
Luna smirked at Crank's curt request, light glowing from her hand.
Hum!
Soon, bright light enveloped Crank's scimitar and Dingo's knuckles. Crank raised his glowing blade.
"Alright, round two."
Crank and Dingo charged the recovered Po.
"Pathetic."
RUMMMMBLE!
A massive earth wall erupted before the Po.
Crank and Dingo smashed through with scimitar and knuckles, but the mana-infused wall slowed them enough.
"This body is an immortal lich. No matter how you struggle, nothing changes."
As if to prove it, the Po unleashed even fiercer spells at us, looking utterly fresh.
The fight settled into a test of endurance.
Whenever Saladin's puppets, Crank, Dingo, and I pressed in...
The Po blinked away or raised earth walls to keep distance.
How much time passed?
KRUMBLE!
As Crank dodged a lightning spell aimed at his right leg, slightly widening the gap...
The Po's eyes flashed. In a blink, it scattered spells at Luna.
Whiiiiiish!
Magic coalesced and sped toward her at breakneck speed.
"!"
"Tch!"
Luna wasn't a combat bishop; she had no way to block it.
But for moments like this, I'd kept one person out of the fray until now.
CLANG!
Ice Knight Beskin intercepted the Po's attack.
"Hah. Blocking that..."
Even with its ambush foiled, Jenos's Po reacted calmly.
Just a matter of time. All here would die.
They endured now, but they were living beings.
Eventually, stamina would fail them.
"...That's what you think!"
"!"
The Po realized its error and whipped around to the rear.
Too late.
It wasn't the only one hunting openings.
Click!
Seizing the lapse, I uncorked the potion and splashed it on the Po's back. A translucent something on its surface melted away.
"W-What is this?!"
For the first time, genuine panic spilled from the Po's mouth.
"Immortality's off the table now."
I taunted, then slammed my fist into its stunned back with all my might.
THWACK!
"Guhk!"
The Po's body rocketed away in an instant.