Chapter 210
Chapter 210
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: Part 2 Chapter 4: Trash (3)
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"Where the hell did these bastards come from?"
The man named Hawks was scattering nails and swinging his hammer to smash the enemies while fleeing from the followers of the Driann Faith.
He had been dealing with Harmonia's soldiers at first, but then these weirdos joined in, making things a real headache.
'The others are too much to handle.'
They were all battle-hardened types, not easy opponents by any means.
Fortunately, thanks to over twenty years as a carpenter, his nails and hammer could accurately pulverize enemy skulls.
That was all thanks to the intense combat training he'd received in the Frontier.
"This is getting annoying, you fucks!"
Thwack—
One swing of the hammer was enough to shatter a human head with ease.
Hawks felt his breath growing ragged as he realized the situation was deteriorating.
At this rate, he'd tire out first and get taken down for sure.
'What the hell is Jin doing?'
Jin, the Sword Master from the Frontier and the key to this operation.
To distract the forces, seven selected operatives were causing chaos throughout the capital, while Jin was supposed to sneak into the royal palace and assassinate the king. That was the mission.
Yet there was no word of success.
'Something unexpected happened.'
The intel from Neo Fatal, the planner of this operation, had all been wrong.
Could he have betrayed them?
After all that self-righteous posturing, was he trying to drag them into the pit of despair?
He didn't want to believe it, but the current situation made suspicion inevitable.
"Damn it all!"
He infused five nails with aura and hurled them with all his might.
It was nothing compared to a master's, but still potent enough to kill a few people.
Even so, the encirclement was tightening.
That was when it happened.
"Get the hell out of the wayyy!"
A young voice shouted from above, and a scorching heat made him look up.
"Gwah!"
Hawks curled up, shielding his head with both arms as a fireball plummeted from the sky.
Boom!! An explosion rocked the area, followed by a massive shockwave that sent his body flying backward.
Debris pelted his skin from all sides.
He lowered his arms from his head and looked toward where the fireball had landed.
A massive crater had formed, the surroundings charred black.
Then he heard several people landing behind him.
He spun around desperately, hammer and nails at the ready.
"...Who the hell are these kids and the lady?"
"Mister."
The girl named Ann spoke boldly, throwing out an unexpected proposal.
"Let's form an alliance for now and fight together."
Hawks didn't know how to react to the sudden offer.
And there was no time for that anyway.
"Grab those ones too!!"
Monstrous, berserk figures from the Mage Tower side were shouting.
"Those bastards fell from that height and didn't die?!"
"This is getting pretty annoying. I hate annoying guys."
Lennon and Hera eyed the approaching enemies with distaste.
Ann spoke up.
"Let's get out of here first."
"Huh?"
"From now on, I'll give the orders. Everyone, please follow."
"Got it."
"Sure."
"Wha?"
Hawks stared at the two following the girl's words, his face a mask of bewilderment.
Just who the hell was this girl for them to trust her like that?
And before that, who were these three to proposition him out of nowhere...?
"Give me a second to think!"
Crack!
The hammer crushed a Driann Faith follower's head like tofu.
That marked the start—enemies surged in from all directions.
Ann's eyes darted around, assessing the situation.
"Lennon at 3 o'clock, Lady Hera at 8 o'clock, Mister at 10 o'clock!"
"Uh, Mister?"
"Don't nitpick and just do as I say."
"Wh-what?"
Hera's sharp retort left Hawks dumbfounded, but bickering with strangers wasn't an option in this mess.
Besides, they were fighting the same enemies as him.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?
Hawks gripped his hammer tighter and wedged several nails between his fingers.
"Screw it!"
Teaming up made sense for now.
The three began moving according to Ann's directions.
Hammers and nails mercilessly crushed the foes, while those too tough to subdue were devoured by surging flames and shadows.
Hawks was having an unbelievable experience.
They were simply fighting in sync with signals from a girl he'd never met, yet the three of them moved like a single organism, despite never having trained together.
"Enemies massing at 2 o'clock, with a group of three prepping some kind of magic behind them. Ignore the arrows incoming from 5 o'clock—fall back and secure space."
Ann deflected the arrows with wind, swiftly analyzed the enemy's formation, and called out countermeasures.
"Mister as shield, Lady Hera on cover, Lennon prep area attack."
The responses were immediate.
Hawks blocked the descending black mass with his aura-infused hammer and nails, while Hera bound approaching enemies' feet with shadow arts.
Lennon capitalized on the opening with a wide-area spell.
All the while, the four kept widening the distance, creating breathing room.
Occasional arrows were blown away by Ann's wind.
"Lennon, fall back and recover mana."
"Okay."
She pulled the near-mana-exhausted Lennon back and stepped forward herself.
"What now?"
Hawks asked Ann as he flung a nail.
He hadn't trusted her earlier, but now he was seeking her orders first.
"There are lots of buildings behind us, so the enemies can't easily flank from the rear. We'll defend while luring them toward the alleys."
"Planning to sweep them with magic in the alleys?"
"No."
Ann shook her head at Hera's question.
Too risky.
With everyone's mana on the brink, that gamble had a high chance of failure.
"Then what?"
"We're running."
"Running?"
"Yes."
Ann harried the enemies' movements with wind and earth magic as she explained.
"There are too many. Even my master couldn't break through without backup."
"Your master?"
"No time to explain. Soon as Lennon's mana recovers a bit, we bolt for the alley at 8 o'clock."
She'd roughly scouted the area when they dropped from above.
The alley at 8 o'clock had a long wall on the left and buildings lining the right, making pursuit difficult for the enemies.
No Driann Faith followers in sight elsewhere, so barring surprises, escape was all but secured.
"Just book it?"
"You got buddies, Mister?"
"Yeah. Not sure if they're alive, though."
"How many?"
"Seven including me... no, eight."
Ann pondered briefly before nodding, calculations done.
"Finding them will be key. For now, uniting our strength is priority."
"Yeah... it is!"
Thud—
Thwack-thwack!
Hawks skewered a follower's forehead with a nail, and Hera followed with shadow thorns.
The gruesome corpse toppled like a marionette with cut strings.
"...And this doesn't faze you?"
Hawks eyed Ann with concern.
It was a horrific sight for a young girl. Trauma material from childhood.
"I'm fine."
But Ann had seen worse five years ago. That had toughened her; watching people die wasn't such a shock anymore.
'It's still shocking, though...'
The unease lingered.
But she couldn't show it, keeping a calm facade.
"Let's find your friends first, Mister."
"Sounds good. By the way... are these guys multiplying?"
Their numbers kept growing.
"The Driann Faith is infamous for operating in packs."
Hawks ground his teeth at Hera's words.
He already knew they were Driann Faith. They hadn't existed in Harmonia before—the rotten heads must have brought them in.
"All this just to catch our eight...?"
"Ready."
Lennon signaled from behind, and Ann stepped back, shouting.
"Lennon! Blow them all away!"
"Got it!!"
Simon Style: Flame Flower
A massive flower of crimson flames blooms amid the enemies.
A colossal flower of red flames bloomed where the enemies stood.
"Gaaah!"
"Gurghhh!"
"Run!"
Ann took the enemies' screams as the signal and bolted for the planned spot.
The hard-hit foes pursued soon enough, but the shock slowed them down.
Ann warned her comrades as she led the way.
"The berserk monsters haven't fully mobilized yet. They'll likely chase hard, so stay combat-ready."
They'd survived the fall from the Mage Tower peak.
Needing time to recover, they hadn't appeared immediately—but they'd catch up fast once healed.
Ann thought and thought.
To overcome this crisis.
'What the hell is this kid?'
Hawks was impressed watching her.
With little experience, she orchestrated everything like a veteran strategist.
And she wasn't the only surprise.
'That redhead too.'
His magic was no joke.
They looked like kids, yet each one's skill outshone the liberation army's mages.
Were these the so-called geniuses?
'And this woman.'
He'd never seen anyone wield shadows like limbs.
Cornered before, now he could breathe a bit easier.
'But... what the hell happened to Neo?'
The unease wouldn't fade.
Had that guy really betrayed them?
He wouldn't know until he saw for himself.
"Damn it! Marquis Helm, I never thought you'd bring in the Driann Faith...!"
Neo was hiding as best he could while fleeing the capital.
The palace was fully occupied by Driann Faith paladins. The king was probably lost in a drunken, drugged haze by now.
'He had a backup plan.'
Marquis Helm wasn't content just controlling the kingdom's forces.
To swallow it whole perfectly, he'd brought in the most horrific of the Twelve Churches: the Driann Faith.
Clearly a plan to doom Harmonia utterly.
'What the hell is he thinking?'
Wasn't the goal just to puppet the king and become the real power?
Everything went dark.
What of the liberation special forces he'd handpicked? And why hadn't Jin shown himself yet?
"Where are you off to in such a hurry, Count?"
Neo halted at the voice behind him.
Turning, he saw a familiar man approaching.
Marquis Helm.
"Helm. How did you know I was here?"
"Heh. The capital is crawling with my eyes, at least. But really, where are you rushing off to?"
"...None of your business."
"Hahaha. Stingy fellow. We see each other every morning at meetings—surely you can share that much."
"You don't need to know."
"Perhaps."
Helm smirked playfully.
"Realizing the liberation army's mission failed, are you fleeing tail-between-legs to plot next time?"
Neo's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected Helm to know even that.
He'd thought he'd kept liberation ties airtight.
Sure, defying him would raise suspicion, but this certainty was shocking.
"Too late. Harmonia has fallen perfectly into my hands. Long ago."
"...As long as His Majesty lives, this country isn't yours."
"That 'Majesty' is my puppet, so it might as well be."
Irrefutable. Neo bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
"Hahaha. No need to chew your lip like that. What'd it ever do to you?"
"......"
"Neo. I've treated you quite kindly, I think."
"What?"
"But I can't afford to be lenient anymore."
Neo frowned at Helm's out-of-left-field remark.
Helm made a final offer, eyeing him.
"Last chance. Swear loyalty to me. I'll spare your life and guarantee your family's safety and peace."
"...Blackmail?"
"Think of it as a proposal."
Helm spoke with feigned benevolence, but Neo couldn't contain his surging disgust and rage.
"Just kill me!"
"Pardon?"
"I'd rather die as this country's last shred of conscience than submit to scum like you."
"My, my."
Helm shook his head in mock disappointment at Neo's declaration and approached.
"You just can't help courting death. I even admired your spunk."
Helm gripped black divinity in his hand.
"The hell of the Driann Faith is an endless swamp of merciless violence. Suffer there eternally."
Violent divinity surged toward Neo.
"To the weak, submission."
Suddenly, golden light blocked the black divinity.
To halt a high priest's power required another of equal rank.
Helm's face hardened.
"...How did you get here?"
He stared where his divinity was blocked. There stood Jamie, flashing a grin to finish his mocking greeting.
"To all things, plunder."
It was the Driann Faith's greeting.
"What a shitty greeting. How do you assholes use trash like that?"
No matter how he turned it over, the idea of any religion using that as hello was absurd.
Helm gnashed his teeth at the mockery, glaring at Jamie.
Golden Pyro divinity haloed Jamie's head.
"Let's have a proper matchup. Our goddess doesn't like your god much."
"You wretch!"
Enraged, Helm unleashed a torrent of black divinity.
Jamie chuckled and spoke to the air.
"I'll handle this."
"Count on you."
Jin appeared through the moonlight, scooped up Neo, and vanished.
No need to hide his power anymore, Jamie's eyes turned violet.
"Gasp!"
"What you're about to see..."
Pyro's divinity faded, black mana flowing forth.
"...is the violence you love so much, you trash."
"You bastard...!"
Helm screamed at the darkness surging from the ground.
But no sound escaped outward.