Chapter 171
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 171
Chapter Title: In Front of Namaran's Barrier (2)
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Whoosh!
The sound of wind whipping past his ears.
A sensation of his vision narrowing to extremes.
The ultimate rush of speed felt through his entire body.
It was incomparable to the roller coasters he'd ridden as a kid.
Yet somehow, he felt perfectly fine.
*It's do or die!*
Lloyd shouted inwardly.
No time to be picky about cold rice or hot.
Namaran's barrier had been erected.
The people trapped inside the city were collapsing in real time.
That thought erased any hesitation.
Because he was an apostle of justice?
*Honestly, no... There's someone in there who owes me money!*
Namaran City couldn't fall.
Count Namaran couldn't die.
He had to save the city and the count, finish the construction, and collect his payment.
With that burning resolve, Lloyd gripped his steel shovel tightly in one hand.
He pressed his body low against Komming's back as it dove sharply.
*Go for it!*
The ground rushed up rapidly.
There stood a man in black clothes.
He faced the barrier with both arms spread wide.
A bizarre, gloomy flow of mana emanated from him.
No doubt about it.
A Black Mage.
Lloyd's eyes flashed.
"Komming, now!"
"Komming!"
He yanked the saddle's handle.
Komming snapped open its folded wings.
A sharp change in direction.
From vertical dive to horizontal flight.
It skimmed the ground, carrying the full momentum of the dive.
Straight at the Black Mage.
Lloyd's shovel gleamed too.
The moment Komming brushed past the Black Mage.
The flat side of his steel shovel swung toward the mage's thigh.
*Got you!*
No way he could withstand that hit.
He'd probably clutch his leg and crumple.
Then Lloyd could subdue him and figure out how to nullify the barrier.
As Lloyd envisioned that rosy scenario.
An immense rebound force surged from the steel shovel striking the Black Mage's thigh.
Boom-!
"......!"
Sensation vanished from his right hand.
He nearly dropped the shovel.
Without the 'Tool Proficiency Skill: (Shovel)' or his mid-level Sword Expert status, he might have.
"Urgh!"
No, not dropping it turned out to be the misfortune.
The recoil twisted his waist sharply.
That force transmitted to Komming.
"Ko, Komming!"
Komming's flight balance shattered instantly.
Their upper body whipped right, lifting Komming's right wing. An unintended sharp left turn. Altitude and balance lost. Komming flapped desperately.
But too late.
To regain balance.
To climb.
"Kom, ming!"
"......Ugh!"
The ground welcomed them.
Far too roughly.
Crash!
"......!"
Plunge. Impact. Spin.
Earth and sky whirled dozens of times.
No, it felt like rolling dozens of turns on the ground.
He couldn't regain his senses.
When the harsh terrestrial greeting finally ended, Lloyd barely opened his eyes.
"Th...... Uuugh."
His whole body throbbed.
Yet it also felt soft all over.
Something warm and plush enveloped him.
A pair of wings.
"Komming?"
Lloyd's eyes widened.
Komming had wrapped him in its wings, eyes closed.
Had it shielded him at the moment of crash?
Taken the impact instead?
"Hey? Komming?"
His heart sank.
He shook Komming urgently.
Komming's eyes fluttered open slightly.
"Ko, Komming?"
"Phew. You okay?"
"Komming!"
"No injuries?"
"Komming! Komming!"
No pain. All good.
But contrary to its spirited words, Komming didn't rise right away.
Luckily, no major injuries. Just needed time to recover from the crash.
*Phew. What the hell just happened?*
Finally relaxing a bit, Lloyd shook his head.
Even as he sat up, his muscles screamed in protest.
He picked up the nearby dropped shovel.
Glanced toward the Black Mage.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
"Hahaha."
He'd clearly struck true with the shovel earlier.
Yet the Black Mage stood unscathed.
Arms still spread wide to the sky.
Untouched.
*Some protective spell?*
Lloyd's brow furrowed.
Seemed like it.
That strike wasn't just a casual shovel smack.
He'd maxed Komming's dive speed.
Packed in their combined weight.
Infused mana from his Mana Heart.
It outdid a mid-tier knight's lance charge. Comparable to getting hit by a van.
*Yet it all bounced back. That's why we crashed.*
If Komming hadn't shielded him, what then?
Possibly full-body fractures at minimum.
Lloyd shuddered unconsciously.
He patted the recovering Komming.
"Thanks. Wait here a sec."
"Ko, Komming!"
He left Komming behind.
Approached the Black Mage.
If smacking didn't work, blasting would topple him.
As he gripped the steel shovel with that thought.
"Grr!"
"Grk!"
Two figures blocked his path abruptly.
Both headless.
A fishy rot stench assaulted him.
Zombies.
Headless zombies, at that.
"From the sky earlier, they were scattered in groups of three. So each Black Mage gets two guard zombies."
Seemed so.
*This is a bit much.*
Lloyd shrugged.
Truth be told, facing undead like zombies was daunting. Their gore visuals wrecked eyes and sanity.
And the smell?
*Can't even plug my nose.*
If being mid-level Sword Expert was a sin, so be it.
His heightened senses made his olfactory cells wail in endless medley.
But no retreating.
No reason to.
He had the perfect skill option for these zombies.
Before they charged, Lloyd swiftly opened his skill window.
Activated the Mana Heart skill option.
Ding-dong.
[Mana Heart Skill Option ④: Undead Domination activated.]
"Grrk?"
The two zombies lunging at him.
Their bodies shuddered violently.
But that was it.
They bared fangs again.
A disappointing message appeared.
[The two zombies designated as Undead Domination targets have no heads. They cannot 'meet your gaze.' Thus, the key condition 'Dominate undead that meet your gaze' is not met.]
[Undead Domination failed.]
"Grraa!"
Boom!
Headless zombies charging amid the dense messages.
Lloyd's brow twisted.
"Ah, damn it!"
He didn't want to fight.
But if he must, no dragging.
He steeled himself.
Sidedeflected the bull-rushing zombies' attacks.
Shoveled one aside, kicked the other.
They tangled in the motion.
Legs crossed; the pair tumbled as one.
"Grrk!"
They thrashed ferociously.
Struggled to rise.
But that was their last twitch.
A blasting shot pierced their torsos before they could.
Thwuck!
"......Grah!"
The blast from the steel shovel impaled both torsos. Expanded. To 50cm diameter instantly. Disassembled everything in range.
Boom-!
Both zombies' torsos vanished.
Done.
"Tch."
Lloyd clicked his tongue.
Zombies down, but mood fouler.
What crime did those zombies commit?
He felt sorry for them.
*The real villain's that guy.*
His gaze shifted to the distant Black Mage.
That Black Mage deserved killing.
Killing innocents, turning them to zombies.
Erecting weird barriers to suck life.
Social cancers like that—what else but villains?
*So you, one shot.*
Subdued.
Not killed.
Just beaten until he spilled how to disable the barrier.
Poison filled Lloyd's eyes.
He prepped blasting again.
Fired.
Thwuck!
Rough mana torrent from the extended shovel.
Shot forth. Charged. Pierced space. Struck Black Mage's leg.
Bounced off.
Thud!
"......Huh?"
Lloyd's eyes bulged.
Even blasting?
*Bounced?*
Unbelievable, even seeing it.
*Is this real?*
Triple blast to damage?
No guarantee it'd work.
So what now?
Lloyd pondered.
Then noticed something odd.
*Wait. That Black Mage hasn't moved at all.*
True.
During the initial aerial shovel smack.
While he tussled with the two zombies post-crash.
Even during the latest blast.
The Black Mage stood statue-still, arms skyward.
Meaning...
"Hey. You can't move, can you?"
Just maybe.
He edged closer.
At five steps, he spoke.
No reply from the Black Mage.
No reaction.
Well, barely.
Eyes only flicked toward him, body rigid.
"Ha. For real. Can't move, huh."
Lloyd laughed unwittingly.
Now it clicked.
*The Black Mage can't move while raising and maintaining Namaran's barrier. Compensates with top-tier defensive magic.*
Bounced steel shovel strikes packed with power.
Even blasts.
Realizing that made it tricky.
*So what to do.*
Lloyd pondered.
Triple blast to end it?
Rapid charge option?
Mid-thought.
He sensed a familiar mana flow from the Black Mage.
*Huh?*
Looked up.
Shifted gaze.
To the mana flow's source.
Black Mage's chest area.
Eyes there.
Found it.
"A gem?"
A dark purple-tinged gem embedded in the Black Mage's necklace.
Lloyd approached closer.
Boldly inspected the necklace gem.
Realization dawned.
*Same one.*
The skull he dug up underground.
The gem inside.
Identical.
Mana flow from the gem matched.
Bizarre, gloomy mana roiled densely.
Resonating with Namaran's barrier.
This gem was the magical catalyst for the barrier.
That changed everything.
From that moment.
*Bingo.*
Lloyd's lip curled slyly.
Idea flashed.
Gems he'd disassembled countless times for mana.
Now familiar mana structure.
Used right in front of him?
*Laid out a feast begging me to eat.*
No need to smash barrier effortfully.
Handle the catalyst.
No, better than mere destruction.
"Hey, you?"
Lloyd eyed the Black Mage with smug leisure.
No reply, naturally.
Lloyd continued.
"Feeling secure? Nice and safe with that defense magic? Convinced no matter how I smack, punch, pinch, or rage, you're untouchable?"
"......"
*What obvious nonsense.*
The Black Mage's gaze mocked.
But Lloyd stayed cool.
Excitement loses here.
He countered with deeper smile.
"Relax. Why would I hit you? Waste energy. Just tweak the core a bit."
"......"
"Meaning? Listen. This gem you have? Gonna repurpose it."
"......!"
"Impossible? But I can."
"......"
"For real. Wanna see?"
Lloyd raised his hand.
To the gem in the Black Mage's necklace.
Unhesitatingly gripped the noctanium.
"I suck at magic, but mana absorption and rearrangement? Got that down. Plus, fiddling blueprints forever means I'm pros at nitpicky complex fixes. Know what that means?"
"......"
"The gem you trust? Gonna rearrange the condensed mana array. Flip the barrier's mana absorption target from inside people to the barrier's caster—you."
"......!"
Disbelief in the Black Mage's eyes.
That instant.
Whirrr-!
Lloyd's three mana circles spun wildly around the gripped gem.
Asrahan Heart Method specialized in mana absorption and rearrangement.
Its true power activated at peak.