Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 069
Chapter Title: Ice Dragon's Wrath
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Tears welled up once more in Marie's eyes as she gazed at him.
Ridge had told her about it once before.
On the day she nearly died to a mana drain ability user.
She had seen it.
After a shock so intense it nearly deafened her.
Amid the yellow afterimages drifting across the night sky like falling snow, there was that unwavering back—refusing to yield no matter the situation.
It was just like the legend of a certain mage who silently protected those suffering in an era of chaos, standing resolute amid swirling snowflakes.
Kwaaaaang-!!
She locked eyes with Kyle, who was facing her while wrapped in surging lightning mana.
"I... I..."
That was when it happened.
A massive implant shadow suddenly loomed behind him once more.
Seeing it, Marie cried out.
"Mr. Clark!"
"What the hell are you...!!"
Kiiing-! With a bizarre output hum, a fist shot out at unbelievable speed, slamming down where Kyle had been.
Kwaaaaang-!!
Dirt exploded outward like a blast.
But soon, the man had no choice but to widen his eyes in shock.
"You bastard...!"
'Where did he...!?'
At the same time, chills raced up his spine.
"Over here."
"?!"
In an instant, the surging dragon aura accelerated Kyle's physical abilities several times over.
His heart swelled as if about to burst.
The power of a dragon—something no human could ever withstand.
But as always, that didn't apply to him.
As his body regenerated, the strike he unleashed pierced through the thick implant armor like a bolt of lightning.
Kwajijik!
"Kuh-euk?!"
Dark red blood erupted from the man's mouth.
His pupils trembled.
"You...! What the...!"
At the same time, Kyle ripped out what amounted to the man's heart—a power capacitor—from his chest.
Paaak!!
Actuator lubricant sprayed everywhere like arterial blood.
"Uh... Uheuk..."
The light faded from the man's eyes as he clutched his solar plexus.
Soon, with a thud!, the massive frame collapsed on the spot.
The others, witnessing this, spat out panicked transmissions.
Then, the leader of the Investigation Bureau's Special Forces Team 3—codename 'Immortal'—spoke up.
"Team 3, stay calm and hold position."
His eyes narrowed.
'I don't know how Intelligence figured it out and showed up...'
This would soon expose that they were from the Investigation Bureau's Special Forces.
But these guys had already witnessed them trying to assassinate a Mage Tower human.
'No helping it now.'
Immortal spoke into the comm channel.
"Boomer, Rat, Rocky. Shoot down the chopper."
"Yeah."
He glared at the man who had taken Rocket down in one shot.
"Team 3, from now on, eliminate everyone here on the spot—including the Sage's granddaughter and the Intelligence agents."
His subordinates flashed brief surprise at the order, but soon replied as if convinced.
"I'll handle him."
Immortal issued the order to them.
"All units, move out."
At that moment, a warning flashed on the helicopter pilot's screen.
"?!"
The pilot shouted upon seeing it.
"Missile lock! Everyone, brace yourselves!"
Hearing that, Lane and the response team in the troop compartment widened their eyes.
"What?!"
"A missile...!"
And just like that, a barrage of missiles launched from the forest as if on cue.
The pilot yanked the nose sharply and hit the red button.
"Flares! Flares!"
Bright red decoy flares burst into the sky.
Shwaaaaak-!!
The missiles veered away from the fuselage just barely, but soon violent explosions lit up the dark forest sky.
Kwang! Kwakwakwang!!
"Kuhhh!"
The impact twisted Jim Gordon's face as he gripped the handle in the co-pilot seat.
"Missiles? What the...!"
But there couldn't be anti-air defenses near the Mage Tower.
Which meant this was definitely ground fire.
'But missiles with that kind of payload...!'
Something impossible without top-tier implants.
Gordon's eyes widened involuntarily.
'No way...!'
From between the dense trees, Rat from the special forces team locked coordinates via drone and placed his finger on the trigger.
Kwaaaaang-!!
Recoil unbelievable for a rifle shook his entire body.
A large-caliber plasma round glowing blue shot forth.
The pilot banked hard, but it was futile.
"Damn...!"
Taaaaang-!!
A horrific screech as the tail rotor twisted.
The ensuing explosion destabilized the chopper's attitude violently.
"Uwaaaah!"
"Crazy!"
Red warning lamps flashed rapidly.
Gordon grabbed his headset mic and yelled.
"Response team, prepare for emergency evac!"
Kyle's voice came through Gordon's earpiece.
Gordon replied swiftly.
"We're fine! Won't go down to this!"
Meanwhile, the pilot yelled.
"Emergency landing! Hang on to anything!"
Gordon gripped his belt with both hands and shouted.
"Clark! Don't worry about us...!"
Kyle, standing protectively in front of Marie, heard Gordon's voice in his ear.
He placed a hand over his in-ear comm and replied.
"...Roger."
Lifting his gaze, the forest clearing was eerily quiet, a stark contrast to the night sky.
"Haa... Haa..."
Only Marie's pained groans reached him, her energy fading from her deep wound.
Kyle glanced at her and thought.
'Can't drag this out too long.'
That was when it happened.
"...!"
Kyle scooped Marie up and kicked off just as weeeing-! A red laser swept through where they'd been.
Kwang! Kwagagagak-!!
A thermal line sliced across the forest in the blink of an eye.
Dodging the scorching heat, Kyle set Marie down in a cold dirt hollow and said.
"Watch over her while I'm gone."
An ancient wind emerged as if in agreement, wrapping around Marie.
On the verge of losing consciousness, she forced her mouth open.
"Cl...ark..."
"Rest here a bit."
Kyle said as he stood.
"Won't take long."
Then, a stranger's voice echoed from the darkness.
"Won't take long?"
"...!"
A massive presence loomed behind him.
Immortal had closed in unnoticed, baring his teeth.
"Don't get cocky...!"
Kwaaaaang-!!
A fierce strike split the ground where Kyle stood.
But only dirt erupted harmlessly.
Kyle was nowhere to be seen.
In a flash, Kyle was behind Immortal, landing another blow.
That instant—
"!!"
His super sense pierced his mind; Kyle twisted aside instantly.
A massive shockwave fired back like a reflex, sweeping where Kyle had been.
Kwaaaaang-!!
Having gained some distance, Kyle narrowed his eyes.
'That guy...'
Immortal casually rolled his neck and turned slowly.
"Not bad for a mage. You can throw a punch."
He smirked.
"Sorry, but junk like that doesn't work on my implants."
"...A system that absorbs and stores physical impacts, then releases them."
"Ho, quick on the uptake? As expected from Intelligence. Living up to the name."
Heh heh. Immortal chuckled lowly and continued.
"But you'd better drop any ideas about using lightning magic."
His high-end implants had defenses against EMPs, electromagnetics, and overload attacks.
"Get the picture?"
He sneered.
"There's nothing a punk like you can do...!"
Kwaaaaang-!
His massive frame charged at impossible speed.
As Kyle instinctively blocked the lightning-fast strike—
Weeeing-! Paaaang!
"...!"
He dodged the returning shockwave with Nebras' Super Sense, narrowing his eyes silently.
'Even blocking gets absorbed.'
Definitely a pain.
And those implant-plated parts resisted fire magic too.
But that was it.
Actually, taking him down wasn't that hard.
'No matter how high-spec the implants, they have limits.'
Especially for such advanced functions—they'd eat up capacitor capacity.
In other words, endless attacks would overload him eventually, reflect or no.
'While I'm immortal.'
An immortal's true strength was infinity.
No one in this world outlasted him in a prolonged fight.
'The problem is...'
Kyle's gaze shifted to Marie, her face deathly pale.
'Dragging it out here risks Fleetwood dying.'
Her shoulder wound was severe.
'No choice.'
He foresaw and dodged the incoming laser with super sense, then opened his skill tree.
The [Ancient Ice Dragon's Secret Magic] tree.
He checked the first skill below it.
A surefire way to end him quickly.
'If shock absorption's the issue...'
Kyle invested skill points without hesitation.
'Just freeze the whole thing solid.'
Reading the enhancement, Kyle smirked.
'Nice.'
Because he had [Dragon's Manifestation].
Just then, Immortal closed in, unleashing all accumulated shock with his fist.
"Huuuup!"
Ku, Kwaaaaang-!!
A deafening roar uprooted ancient trees wholesale.
As Kyle slipped away, Immortal pursued at tremendous speed, taunting.
"Slippery like a rat, huh."
Sun-bright lightning bolt from above.
Kwaaaaang-!!
The blast hurled him back; he yelled.
"Told you it's useless!!"
"Yeah, seems so."
Kyle, now at a distance, replied.
"So I'm trying something else."
"What?"
Eerie mana swirled from Kyle's feet.
"...!!"
Feeling the unnatural chill, Immortal's eyes bulged.
'This is...!'
Instinct screamed: he couldn't let that spell go off.
"You think I'll let you chant magic leisurely?!"
He tried firing another laser, but a warning popped up.
"Damn it!"
As he kicked off hard—
"?!"
The trap activated instantly, binding his limbs.
Immortal's eyes widened.
'When did he...!'
But briefly—he shattered it and leaped 2 meters.
[Shock Trap]
[Traps maintain within 20m radius, max 10 based on mana used.]
His face twisted.
'Again?!'
Kwaaaang-!!
Shattering the next bind, as he stepped forward—another trap triggered.
Shattering it again, he realized.
'That bastard...!'
"Shit, then...!!"
His aura surged.
"How about this...!!"
Kwaaaang-! The ground exploded; his implant frame leaped meters impossibly.
"Hraaaah!!"
The strike piercing toward Kyle—
"Good work."
Kyle pointed at Immortal's forehead with his index finger.
"A bit late, pal."
"What...!!"
With a flick upward—
Ice crystals erupted from beneath him, freezing everything ahead in an instant.
Kwatduk, Kwaaaaaang-!!
*
"......"
"......"
Meanwhile, near the crashed chopper, Gordon and the response team clung on.
They stared skyward, forgetting the fight amid the absurdity.
The Special Forces Team 3 members overwhelming them did the same.
In the heart of Sapientia Forest, a glacier had suddenly sprouted.
From it emanated bone-chilling cold.
Rat from Team 3 muttered blankly.
"Shit, what the hell is that."
Then, unbelievable news in his ear.
Boomer, staring at the glacier, spoke in a trembling voice.
"?!"
*
"What bullshit is that?!"
Kwang! Investigation Bureau Special Forces Commander Yakov Schnell slammed the desk, face like he'd misheard.
"What happened to Special Forces Team 3?!"