Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: 167
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"Amazing."
Mazdari said as he gazed at the gunports pierced into the walls of the Mobility.
"It's clearly moving, but there's no shaking at all up here. These legs attached to the castle seem far smarter than we imagined."
Basen Rak Oran asked back.
"Smarter? Isn't it just magic?"
"Hmm, well..."
What Mazdari had grasped was the concept of a gyroscope that could detect tilt in all directions, but he still lacked the vocabulary to explain it.
Mazdari decided to let it slide.
The two avoided the Rakshasas by hiding in the shadows of the walls or crouching among the trees and bushes in the inner garden of the Mobility.
Being rather large in stature, they weren't exactly skilled at concealment, but fortunately, the Rakshasas were rushing toward the second and third squads causing a commotion as Basen had ordered, so they hardly glanced their way.
"But it looks like our luck ends here."
As they drew near the tower housing the control room, the Rakshasas' defenses appeared quite thorough.
About twenty Rakshasas were chatting loosely about the distant commotion, but even among them, they vigilantly scanned for intruders.
Mazdari said,
"That's quite a number. The view to the tower entrance is wide open, so sneaking in won't be easy. What's your plan?"
Basen pondered for a moment.
"Don't you have any useful spells? Like the one you used to take down those pirates last time..."
Mazdari replied,
"Casting a spell like that requires a lot of reagents. Procuring them isn't an issue anymore with the palace's help, but the spiral wings couldn't hold out."
"Hmm."
Mazdari scratched his beak.
"But if I had no spells at all, I wouldn't have come along. I have a good one. It just needs at least one corpse. If we have that..."
Basen cut him off.
"Then forget it."
"Why?"
"Needing a corpse means we'd have to catch one of those Rakshasas somewhere first, and that takes time."
"Fair point. I get that you don't want to dawdle. Should've mentioned it earlier."
Basen said,
"Even without that, using magic with a dragon nearby feels iffy. Isn't there an old saying that magic belongs to evil gods and dragons?"
"No idea if it can detect magic."
"Finally, we might want to save a spell like that anyway. We're about to face a dragon soon."
Mazdari nodded.
"If that's your thinking... But don't we need another way to deal with them?"
"Let's try something simple."
"Simple?"
Basen gave Mazdari a quick once-over from head to toe.
"Can you act a bit?"
A moment later.
Mazdari limped forward toward the Rakshasas.
Mazdari said,
"Ah, damn. I survived."
All eyes turned to Mazdari.
The Rakshasas were startled and flustered by his sudden appearance, weapons drawn.
Mazdari raised both hands and said,
"Right, I'm one of the intruders who broke into the castle this time, but things have gone south. I'd like to surrender to you."
A few Rakshasas whispered among themselves.
One adorned with a necklace of teeth, seemingly the leader, approached Mazdari.
"Are you one of those who came on that flying contraption from the sky?"
"Yes."
"Why surrender?"
Mazdari glanced briefly behind the leader.
Basen moved silently and skillfully behind the Rakshasas.
He then kicked one in the ankle while wrapping around its neck, plunging a dagger deep into its throat.
The Rakshasas, all focused on Mazdari, had no idea what was happening behind them.
Basen quietly lowered the body and moved to the next target.
Mazdari said,
"As you can see... my comrades are in full retreat, and I twisted my leg while fleeing..."
"Hold on."
The tooth-necklace one said.
"In full retreat?"
"Yes. We're losing. It was a foolhardy plan."
The Rakshasas murmured again.
A blade pierced and withdrew from the heart of a Rakshasa guarding the rear.
Its hot blood dripped onto the stone floor.
One Rakshasa instinctively turned at the sound.
About twelve paces away.
Mazdari tensed sharply.
'Can he only take out two?'
No, that wasn't it.
Basen instantly nocked an arrow and fired.
The whistle was the common sound from the Mobility, muffled by the wind and the braziers lighting the area.
The arrow pierced the Rakshasa's eye.
Basen caught the tumbling corpse before its head could hit the floor with a thud.
He laid it down gently, as if tucking a drunkard into bed.
Mazdari said,
"Honestly, with some comrades still alive, who knows how it'll turn out. But I've lost my way and have no means to regroup, so I'm surrendering."
The tooth-necklace one smirked.
"No idea what freakish race you are, but no guts for your size, huh."
"Mocking me?"
"Mocking your kind, bird-brain."
"Hmm. That might actually be true."
The Rakshasas were thrown off by Mazdari's easy acceptance.
"Does your race just accept insults like that? No pride?"
"Pride? Eh, doesn't really faze me."
"What?"
"Judging a race's worth by appearances alone just shows how lowly your gaze is. Why would I feel anything about that?"
"You bastard..."
"It just annoys me. Do you feel emotions toward bugs?"
"You worm!"
The tooth-necklace Rakshasa stepped forward in rage.
Another Rakshasa hurriedly grabbed his arm.
"Boss, behind us..."
"Let go! Unless I smash this insolent bird-brain's beak..."
"Boss!"
The tooth-necklace one turned.
Basen's blade was right in front of his nose, but a subordinate thrust out a club, shielding with his body.
The blade sliced through the subordinate's club, chest, and gut.
The tooth-necklace one thought he'd survived, then a foreboding chill hit from behind, snapping him alert.
But he couldn't turn.
Mazdari drew his sword and thrust it into the tooth-necklace one's back.
The last thing he saw was the blade protruding from his own chest.
Mazdari quickly counted the remaining Rakshasas with his eyes.
'Down to ten?'
The two pressed their backs together to cover blind spots.
The enraged Rakshasas, furious at Basen's sneak attack and Mazdari's deception, surrounded them, blocking escape.
Basen said,
"Mazdari."
"What?"
"'Feel emotions toward bugs'? That's blasphemy."
Mazdari sighed.
"...Can't you cut me some slack? It's not been long since I decided to devote myself to Heukrin. My faith in Yacheon is still lacking."
"We'll talk after we deal with these guys."
Nearly simultaneously, ten Rakshasas charged.
But Basen clearly saw one move first. No matter how well coordinated, perfect simultaneity was hard.
'Can't dodge them all. Key is what to dodge, block, or counter.'
Basen dodged the sword, parried the axe with his blade, and took the club hit head-on.
In the evasion, he flipped one Rakshasa with his tail and stomped its skull.
-Crack!
The Rakshasas flinched at the sound amid the sudden flurry.
The Rakshasa's neck stretched grotesquely. Its vertebrae had snapped.
Basen said,
"Nine now."
It didn't take long to kill all the Rakshasas.
Basen and Mazdari wiped their blades on the dead Rakshasas' cloths before heading straight to the tower.
"This is... the control room?"
Basen looked somewhat puzzled, but Mazdari seemed impressed.
"Incredible. I thought it was close to magical control, but this looks more mechanical."
Exposed gears and control levers were visible.
Basen recalled the interior of an automaton he'd seen once.
Something was inscribed, but it didn't look like writing to him.
Basen cautiously said,
"Hmm, unfortunately, maybe we should've spared one of them..."
"No, wait. I think I get it."
Mazdari tugged and pushed at the levers.
"You sure you know what you're doing?"
"Not the Mobility exactly, but I've seen similar ruins. If these handles' markings match their meanings, I shouldn't be far off."
Mazdari operated them while saying,
"What would you have done without me?"
"Plenty of ways to stop a moving thing, right?"
Basen gestured to his bag.
Mazdari hadn't paid much mind when Basen had taken something from the other adventurers and stowed it away, but now he understood.
The bag reeked of gunpowder.
"Shouldn't have asked."
Mazdari thought he'd saved an ancient relic as he manipulated the levers.
"There... done."
As Mazdari pulled the final lever, a deep thrum seemed to rise from the Mobility's foundation, far below the earth.
Very slowly, the Mobility was coming to a halt.
Basen peered through a window in the tower toward the walls.
The scenery, which had been moving briskly, was gradually slowing.
"Good. ...Mazdari?"
Turning, Basen saw Mazdari staring out a window in the opposite direction.
Without turning, Mazdari said,
"Basen."
"What?"
"Mind if I apologize?"
"For what?"
"Earlier, during the swordfight, I grumbled about why take the hard road. You were right. Good call saving it."
Basen didn't reply and walked to the window Mazdari was watching.
Something was there.
A colossal presence.
Torches and braziers offering warm light to humans couldn't fully illuminate it.
Only its legs were visible in the light.
From head to tail, dozens of paces long; its four exposed legs were too thick for two people to embrace.
-Is it you? The ones who appeared scattering that revolting 'gunpowder' stench?
The voice came from high in the sky, from two glowing yellow points that seemed like eyes.
-I, the Great Ashurada, asked if you mortals have come to challenge me again.
Fortunate or unfortunate, the massive being didn't sound particularly angry.
Or perhaps it didn't deem them worth the anger.
Basen and Mazdari both inwardly hoped Ashurada would ignore them as they ducked beside the window.
Basen said,
"...Wait, what did I say to save again?"
Mazdari raised his staff.
"The magic."
Mazdari tapped the floor with his staff.
Beneath Ashurada's feet, the fallen Rakshasa corpses began bubbling and boiling.