Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: The Arrival
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“Die, you damn humans!!”
Kwaaaaaah!!
Immense spirit power gathered in Drakelas's staff, the Oath of Night, forming blades of wind.
To annihilate her enemies, the leader of the dark elves unleashed the swirling, scattering wind blades.
They were blades that had torn apart countless foolish foes who dared oppose the fingers of the Great Veil.
But the enemies facing her now were on a completely different level from the mere fools she had dealt with before.
“Huuuup!”
Kuung!
A massive bald man slammed his tower shield into the ground and unleashed a shroud of somber aura.
His iron-tower giant-like defense seemed capable of withstanding even the mightiest tsunami without flinching.
Soon after, the wind blades summoned by Drakelas clashed head-on with the somber aura enveloping the man's shield.
Kwaaaaang!
The intense explosion rocked the battlefield.
“Huuuup!!”
...Wobble!
A breath escaped through the bald man's tightly clenched lips, and at the same time, one of his knees—which had seemed unbreakable—bent slightly.
To receive only this much shock from such a monstrous wind assault was truly astonishing defensive prowess.
If the warriors of the martial clans who knew this man had witnessed the scene, they would have been utterly shocked.
Kallad Craven, captain of the Impervious Corps.
He was the captain of a strike team whose defensive might no other unit could match on the battlefield.
To shake the defense of a warrior who could be called the pinnacle of the martial clans...
“Ugh... damn, that old hag's got some bite.”
Bihar Hawk, who had taken cover behind Kallad's shield, broke into a cold sweat at Drakelas's tremendous spirit magic.
Even among the captains, only a handful could breach Kallad's defenses.
And even then, only with an all-out strike. This showed just how threatening Drakelas's magic was.
Yet Bihar Hawk still didn't entertain thoughts of defeat.
Shaking Kallad's defense was impressive, but it hadn't broken it completely.
In fact, even as sweat poured down his face, Kallad steadfastly held the defensive line.
If they calmly held the front and waited for an opening alongside Seia Noctylla, captain of the Dark Moon Squad... it might take time, but they could seize the advantage.
“......?”
But why was this happening?
Just like with that merciless blade strike earlier, Drakelas—who had been pouring out her spirit power indiscriminately—now stared toward the canyon with a face full of ecstasy, as if she'd forgotten she was in the middle of a battle.
“Oh, ooooh...!! Ooooh!! Finally, finally!!”
Was it because of this sudden, unexpected change?
The three captains even forgot to strike at the defenseless Drakelas for a moment.
In that brief gap.
Wuuuuung!
Drakelas shifted the direction of her spirit magic, which had been focused solely on the three captains.
The all-encompassing spell forcibly tore through the space between the battling dark elves and the martial clan warriors.
Kwakwakwakwa-kwang!
“Ugh?!”
“W-what is it?!”
“Plans have changed.”
Drakelas flashed a chilling smile at the flustered martial clan warriors and captains.
“No reason to play with the likes of you anymore. It's all... over now.”
Swaaaaah!
Lucius's gladius shot fiercely toward Tumgrok's neck.
Ogres were among the largest of the giant monsters.
As the king of such ogres, Tumgrok dwarfed Lucius like an adult towering over a child.
But Lucius rampaged as if the size difference meant nothing.
He had made a brief mistake in Dragon's Canyon, but excluding the Sea King, Lucius was counted among the strongest of the Lizardmen.
His sword strikes rendered the size gap irrelevant.
Chwaaaaak!
“Kuhuk!”
Tumgrok barely dodged by turning his head, but another long slash joined the ones already scarring his thick neck and cheek.
“Y-you damn lizard brat!!”
Kwaaaahk!
Tumgrok swung a fist as thick as a tree trunk.
Encased in a solid steel gauntlet, it resembled a cannon.
The brutal punch approached with enough force to tear the air.
But...
“Slow. Too slow.”
Lucius scoffed and lightly landed atop Tumgrok's fist.
As he used the momentum to create distance, poison needles flew at him from all directions.
Pipipipit!
“Keeek! Think I'll let you escape!!”
Snigl screamed, targeting the airborne Lucius.
But...
“And if you don't?”
Kagagagak!
A spinning javelin swept through the poison needles like pulling taffy.
“What can you even do about it?”
A lizardman with another javelin slung over his shoulder sneered at Snigl.
The Seven Dragons, Marcus.
“Keeek! You filthy...!!”
Snigl ground his teeth, but Marcus merely aimed another javelin.
“Because of your dirty schemes, our brother Tarquinius of the Three Dragons fell in battle against the Golden Heaven.”
Marcus growled, recalling the Third Dragon Tarquinius, who had perished deceived by the Great Veil's plot.
“You rootless zealots... think I'll let you live?”
Unlike other fronts, even with the empowered fingers of the Great Veil bolstered by the Earth Dragon's blessing, the central line was being fiercely pushed back by the Lizardmen.
This was entirely thanks to the brilliant command of Maximus and Regulus.
Tumgrok's already monstrous strength and Snigl's agility had grown even greater, so a straightforward clash of brute force would have surely incurred massive losses.
But the divine leadership of the two lizardmen aces was carving the optimal path to dismantle the Great Veil's fingers.
'Damn... this is trouble.'
Tumgrok was well aware, wiping the blood trickling down his cheek while rolling his eyes ceaselessly.
Watching for any chance to escape.
“Keeek... Tumgrok, what now? At this rate, we won't have a leg to stand on with the Earth Dragon later.”
Unaware or not of Tumgrok's thoughts, Snigl whispered quietly.
Instead of answering Snigl, Tumgrok silently surveyed the surroundings.
Unlike the diminutive Snigl, Tumgrok's massive frame allowed him to overlook the entire battlefield.
It wasn't just them.
His ogres and Snigl's goblins were clearly being pushed back overall.
“Keek, should we retreat first?”
Tumgrok bristled at Snigl's words.
'Stupid bastard. Blind retreat here means total annihilation!'
It would be pointless.
A leader's power came from his followers.
To cling to finger status alone, without a single subordinate... it was just a hollow title.
'Damn it, what to do...'
Could he preserve his subordinates while retreating?
“An ogre... rolling your tiny brain for once!!”
Paaak!
Marcus's javelin closed the distance at blinding speed.
“...Tch!”
Kaang!
Tumgrok clicked his tongue and swatted away Marcus's javelin.
Then, the scene he'd missed—distracted by the feint javelin—came into view.
Lucius, riding the follow-up javelin, descended to fill his vision.
“It's over, ogre.”
'...Oh no!'
Had he let his mind wander too long?
To make such a fatal mistake.
Lucius's blade was already aimed at his neck.
Before he could even react, that razor-sharp gladius would sever it.
At that exact moment.
“......!!”
A brilliant idea flashed in Tumgrok's mind.
A way to withdraw from this battlefield while preserving his subordinates.
Grab!
“Keeek?!”
Tumgrok seized Snigl by the scruff and hurled him straight at Lucius.
Before Snigl could react to the sudden turn.
Sudung!
Lucius mercilessly decapitated the incoming Snigl.
He was a warrior in perfect form; this was hardly enough to fluster him.
But that split-second delay from severing Snigl's head.
It was more than enough for Tumgrok to prepare.
Duuuuuung!
The aura packed into his gauntleted arms was plenty to block Lucius's slash.
Chwaaaaa!
Tumgrok's feet skidded back, carving a long furrow.
“...Tch!”
He'd thought Snigl might at least counter a bit.
To think he'd die without doing a thing.
'Useless bastard.'
But his scorn for Snigl was short-lived.
“Wait, this aura... no way?!”
As Tumgrok prepared to counter Lucius's attack, he leaped back, flashing a hideous grin.
“Kuhuhuhu!! Talk about good luck. Too good, even.”
To think such a reversal would happen right as Snigl croaked!!
He'd been waiting for an opportunity, but now he didn't need to buy time.
-Rooooaaar!!!
Tumgrok's roar echoed across the front line, and as if on cue, the ogres retreated en masse.
“Keeek!?”
Filling the void were Snigl's goblins, who had been harassing the lizardmen from behind the ogres.
Goblins were goblins, no matter how strong.
With the ogre juggernauts gone in one go, the goblins began getting massacred by the Lizardmen.
“You bastard!! Running away?!”
Lucius shouted at the distancing Tumgrok.
“Blabber all you want. I'll rip you apart later.”
Ignoring him, Tumgrok led his ogres in a full withdrawal from the line.
“Kruk! Snigl, don't feel too hard done by. You and I... we were just using each other for convenience, right?”
Tumgrok had noticed.
Snigl had been whispering to him while preparing his own escape.
Had Tumgrok not thrown him, Snigl would've ditched him first while he blocked Lucius.
The Great Veil was a coalition of Earth Dragon zealots, not a band of brothers.
Especially now that their wish had come true—where was the room for camaraderie?
Unaware of this, the lizardmen simply slaughtered the goblins that had been a thorn in their side behind the ogres.
Planning to pursue the retreating ogres after cleaning up.
What would it feel like to witness the fruition of a long-cherished wish right before your eyes?
Most likely, an overwhelming sense of fulfillment and joy.
Especially if that wish had spanned centuries—no need to elaborate.
Thus, it was only natural that Arckandor noticed the anomaly first.
Jjeeeeeeng!
Chilling Thunder, Arckandor's strongest spell alongside Hell Flame.
Lightning infused with frost raged toward the martial clan captains.
The magic, amplified endlessly by the interaction of ice and thunder, held power impossible to ignore, forcing even the captains to hastily retreat without daring to underestimate it.
And in that brief standoff.
The expressionless skull sorcerer, Arckandor...
“Hah... hahahahahahaha!!”
Shruk!
With mad laughter, he abruptly reverse-summoned the Death Knights he'd been fighting the Little Stars with.
“...Huh?!”
The Little Stars faltered, losing balance momentarily as their foes vanished.
The captains were just as bewildered.
“What, skeleton? Finally giving up?”
Walther taunted, but Arckandor could forgive even their childish jabs.
“Huhuhu! Giving up? Sure, think whatever you like.”
This was the moment his centuries-old dream came true.
Petty provocations were easy to brush off.
Saaaaa!
Arckandor's body began crumbling into sand from his feet upward.
“No more playing with you lot. At last... He has arrived.”
“Where do you think you're going!!”
Swaaaaak!
Niariel, captain of the Featherblade Squad, hurled her twin daggers at light speed.
But...
Kaang! Kaang!
They bounced harmlessly off Arckandor's fully deployed monstrous barrier magic.
“Kuhuhuhuhu!! Useless, human.”
With his lower body already gone, Arckandor spread his arms wide and bellowed.
“Now, starting with this southern continent!! The entirety of Aagena!! The end is upon youuuuuu!!!!”
The madness of centuries fixated on a single goal filled the battlefield.
At the same time, Arckandor and his legion of immortal undead dissolved into nothingness.
“What in the world...”
Just as the fight was going well, this inexplicable behavior...
Kwaaaaaang!
“!”
Regaining their bearings, the captains turned toward the only source of explosions left on the battlefield.
Toward the battlefield where their master...
Paon Lichtenauer was clashing with the Earth Dragon.