Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Duel with the Queen's Escort
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Spirits.
Mysterious souls that dwell not in the mid realms where the creatures of Cardia Continent live, but in legendary realms like the celestial heavens or demonic domains.
While chosen humans wield various elements through the scholarly pursuit of magic, spirits handle them as naturally as breathing.
Thus, imagine how invaluable they would be in war if one could command such spirits.
Since the dawn of continental history, humans have relentlessly researched ways to control spirits.
And the conclusion they reached was this.
-Humans cannot control spirits.
This stemmed from the human trait of building civilizations by destroying nature, making it impossible to forge bonds with spirits who embody nature's power.
However, there was one exception.
One race alone could command spirits—nearly all of them.
That race was the elves.
This made elves stronger than ordinary humans, preventing humans from recklessly invading their territories.
But not all elves wielded this power equally, even if every elf could do so.
Naturally, higher-ranking elves commanded nobler spirits.
Lena was the daughter of Paulo Minerva, the pinnacle of such elves.
Thus, the spirit empowering her arrow was far from ordinary.
It was Ifrit, an upper fire spirit.
-That human endured your arrow? Without a single scratch?
Ifrit asked Lena in disbelief.
Her contractor, Lena, bore the blood of the noblest elf.
If her own combat prowess were lacking, she never would have held the position of queen's escort to begin with.
With her arrow infused with his flames, her foe should have been reduced to ashes without a trace.
"Well then, my turn now."
The human cracked his knuckles and neck, baring his teeth in a grin as he approached.
To bring them down.
'That was fairly dangerous.'
It seemed he needed to revise his assessment of the elves' strength upward.
He hadn't anticipated that an arrow from an escort elf—not even Paulo Minerva or the secluded elders—would be this ferocious.
But.
'Still, no dice.'
Since the Spring Festival ended, his Steel achievement had advanced to the early stages of level 3.
In other words, he could now deploy the rudimentary level 3 technique, Iron Organ.
Though not fully mastered, it still made lethal strikes against him exceedingly difficult unless infused with substantial aura.
He'd thought someone on par with his brother or sister wouldn't be too tough, but who knew they'd hide such techniques.
'Maybe Brother or Sister are holding back more than they show.'
They were vying for the Shield Family heir position, after all. It wouldn't be surprising if they concealed a move or two.
But that was for later. Right now.
'Ending this fight comes first.'
"Watch out. I won't hold back."
Paht!
With light steps, he closed the distance to Lena in an instant.
Paht!
With light steps, he closed the distance to Lena in an instant.
Pankration's footwork, Moon Step.
Like the lofty moonlight illuminating the entire sky at full moon, or plunging the whole night into darkness when obscured.
His footsteps silent, yet his fists brimming with devastating power, he rapidly closed in on Lena.
"I'll show you the difference in our levels."
He unleashed an Iron Fist without mercy straight at Lena.
"Hmph!"
Lena snorted, raising her bow to block his fist.
Craaaang!
Using the impact from his fist, Lena swiftly created distance and nocked another arrow, aiming at him.
"Still don't get it? Your arrows are useless against me."
Tat!
Though he narrowed the gap again with Moon Step.
"You block one arrow and get all cocky!"
-You monster! Get lost!
Lena's shout and the spirit's intent echoed in his mind together.
And with that intent.
Roooaaar!
An arrow wreathed in scorching flames bore down on him.
Flames wielded by an upper spirit—far from mild in heat.
Hotter even than the dwarf mage's fire from the Holy Empire not long ago.
No attack to take lightly.
If it were him before reaching level 3.
"Useless!"
He activated Iron Organ, tanking Ifrit's flames with his body and ignoring them.
Whoosh!
He chopped at Lena's shoulder with a raised hand blade.
His steel-hardened hand was a true hand sword now.
If it landed undefended, a broken shoulder would be the least of it.
"Don't... underestimate me!"
Lena gritted her teeth at the sight of him charging foolishly into her arrow and flames.
She blocked his hand blade with her bow and swept a kick at his abdomen.
Using the force, she flipped backward into the air, nocked an arrow, and took dead aim at him.
"Winds, heed me!"
Ifrit had vanished from her side, replaced by Shuriel, the upper wind spirit, who infused her arrow.
The arrowhead now pulsed not with heat, but amplified sharpness.
No doubt its piercing power dwarfed a normal arrow.
'Planning to pierce my Steel?'
A counter to his Steel's fire resistance and physical arrow defense.
Nothing short of top-tier expert aura could wound his body now.
Lena hovered at the cusp of top-tier expert.
Realizing she couldn't breach his Steel alone, she'd instinctively devised a strategy on the fly.
"Impressive. Guess winning you in a card game wasn't luck."
"You monster! Try blocking this one!"
Kiririririk!
The wind-charged arrow spiraled toward him, intent on impaling his torso.
Thud!
The sequence seemed long, but it unfolded in a blink.
He could have dodged with Moon Step and subdued her.
But to convince this stubborn elf, he needed overwhelming proof.
Thump!
Planting both feet firmly, he thrust out both hands and caught Lena's wind-infused arrow head-on.
Kiririririririk!
Sparks flew from the friction between his palms and the arrow.
Kiri... rik...
But only for a moment.
Soon, the arrow halted its spin and settled quietly in his grasp.
Clang!
He tossed the pacified arrow aside and charged straight at Lena.
"Damn it!"
Lena hurriedly nocked another to widen the gap, but.
"Playtime's over."
She couldn't match his speed now that he'd mastered Moon Step.
Wham!
"Guh!"
Closing in instantly, he hammered her abdomen. As she reeled from the shock, unable to recover.
He lightly struck her neck; unable to withstand his hardened wrist, she blacked out.
"Whew."
Shouldering the unconscious Lena, he walked to Millia and said,
"She's got real talent. Cocky, but earned."
After his brief assessment, he started toward Lena's home, but.
Millia's take on the fight differed.
"How did you subdue Lena so quickly... Young Master Jerome, you've grown even stronger since we met."
He'd still been at level 2 when they first met, so it made sense.
"Just a bit of progress. Nothing special."
To him, it was retracing a familiar path from his past life, but Millia couldn't know that.
"...I suggested beating up my sister partly because she's so headstrong."
Millia eyed him like a fascinating creature.
"I figured subduing her unscathed was impossible. With the elders in seclusion, aside from Mother, she's the tribe's top young warrior."
"Haha, no. My power's just a good matchup against bow-using elves."
In truth, he'd have scrapped fiercely with his brother or sister, but he couldn't say that.
Regardless of circumstances, she was the elf queen's other daughter—and a potential ally.
Needlessly antagonizing her would breed resentment.
He considered it a mild end and lucky, but to Millia, he'd crushed Lena effortlessly.
Ignoring Millia's odd gaze boring into his nape, he headed to Lena's home.
"Ugh..."
Lena awoke with a groan, rubbing her throbbing nape.
It must smart like a club to the head.
"Awake?"
"!"
At his voice, Lena shot up, face twisted like she'd devour him.
But upon seeing Millia—her sister of noble blood—her fury drained away like a lie.
"...I see. I lost."
Millia's eyes lit with faint hope at Lena's surprisingly calm acceptance.
"Then, Lena. To Mother..."
"No."
Lena crushed that hope with firm resolve.
"I'll concede that human isn't weak like average ones. However."
Her eyes brimmed with conviction.
"She's incomparable to the Queen. An orc lord's level is unknown, but I can't imagine Her Majesty losing to orcs."
"Lena, but..."
"Yeah, I admit it."
I cut in before Millia could.
"Forest Queen Paulo Minerva. Legendary leader who's ruled elves for decades—no, centuries. Always ranked in the Throne's upper echelons. Hard to believe she'd fall to an orc."
I met Lena's gaze squarely.
"But what about the elves?"
The question I'd asked Millia before Lena fainted.
Post-duel, my words carried more weight. Lena's expression grew graver.
"The Queen's level ascent. The elves' elite refinement. All good. Long-term, elves might thrive even more."
I respected Minerva's approach to a degree.
Without her now that elders secluded themselves, elven forces would weaken irreparably.
Minerva always ranked high on the Throne, but conversely.
She'd never once topped it in centuries.
In peaceful times, it might have armed a complacent tribe's spirit and boosted unity against external foes.
She might have even claimed the Throne's peak and led prosperity.
Though blood inevitably accompanied it, a leader guiding not one person but an entire race's fate couldn't fear it.
But these weren't peaceful times.
"But if that 'long-term' premise is wrong from the start?"
"...What do you mean?"
"The reason the Queen obsesses over levels. Wasn't Millia's kidnapping the trigger?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Minerva's thinking was flawed from the foundation.
"The Holy Empire kidnapped Millia to forcibly subjugate the elves. Do you think those guys will just sit idly by while weakened elves war with orcs?"
"...!!"
Lena's face blanched as if struck by a mace.
Shockingly, I was more stunned.
"...What? You hadn't even considered it?"
"You dare claim humans target Elunheim? Protected by the Forest Queen?"
Lena seemed genuinely shocked. She truly believed Paulo Minerva the continent's strongest.
"Listen, Lena. Forest Queen's top-tier among the 11 superhumans, sure. Trusting your leader is right. But."
Time to broaden this frog-in-the-well's view.
"Conversely, that means ten others could rival her."
I held up three fingers to Lena.
"...?"
"Three of them belong to the single empire beyond the mountains."
To her puzzled frown, I delivered the world's harsh truth calmly.
"The world's changing fast. I don't know the orc lord's current level, but he's uniting the orcs of these savage Dragon Mountains."
Red Axe, Blue Sword, Black Scythe. Even great village chieftains matched top experts.
Meaning their level equaled Lena's. Excluding Paulo Minerva, elven forces already paled against orcs.
Thus, King Hatan's level was at least his equal—or higher.
"Forces rejecting change will surely perish."
This was fact. In past great wars, those ignoring cold reality were crushed under the empire.
"I hope the elves don't meet that fate."
Lena fell silent at my earnest words.
After brief deliberation, she spoke.