Chapter 33
Chapter 33
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Chapter 6 Dreams and Bubbles (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Boom!
The twenty magic cannons dragged in by the Rustal Family spat out flashes of light all at once.
In an instant, the surroundings were bathed in blue light, and massive explosions erupted where the flashes struck.
Swoosh.
Amid the relentless barrage, some of the shells flew precisely toward Sien, who was descending from the mountainside.
The first flash to reach her struck her body directly.
Boom!
A crater formed in the ground from the explosion.
Crimson flames rose, setting the surrounding trees ablaze.
But that was it.
Swoosh.
A palm emerged from the flames, swiftly slashing horizontally.
With just that, the fiercely burning flames died out instantly.
Sien then revealed herself, completely unharmed.
Not even a scorch mark on her skin, let alone her clothes.
Another barrage headed her way.
"Hmph."
Sien snorted lightly.
She channeled aura into her left hand, then casually thrust it forward.
Boom, boom, boom!
The flash was massive enough to engulf five grown men with ease and hot enough to melt magically forged alloys in seconds.
Yet it couldn't push back Sien's palm.
Grip.
Sien infused her unique ability, Space Repulsion, into her hand, then clenched it tightly.
With that simple action, the blue beam of light shattered.
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound of applause followed.
Sien glanced back at Lucas Hoffman.
He was grinning as if amused.
"Obtaining a perfect body to serve as a shield for the Adalbert Family. Every time I see someone from the Egret Family, I can't help but think they truly uphold their founder's teachings. Taking a direct hit from a magic cannon and coming out unscathed."
Lucas was genuinely impressed.
Even he, having reached the 7th Circle, would suffer severe damage if struck by a magic cannon without defending.
No matter how much he'd strengthened his body through awakening, there were limits to human flesh.
In truth, this applied not just to him, but to all other powerhouses.
Yet the Egret Family members were on another level entirely.
When it came to physical prowess like durability and strength, they were in a different realm from ordinary people—one that even ignored differences in circle rank.
"I'm still far from Father. He can take an aura blade barehanded."
"Come on. Comparing to Lord Vincent is unfair. Pretty much everyone looks like a weakling in front of him."
"Even so, I want to get that strong. It's the only way I can protect Martin."
Sien replied calmly, gazing down at the base of the mountain.
Rustal Family soldiers were climbing up at a rapid pace, armed with magic rifles and other weapons.
But Sien ignored them.
Magic rifle shots wouldn't even leave a scratch on her.
What caught her eye were the members of the Green Dragon Knight Order at the vanguard.
Roooar!
A terrifying aura began pouring from Sien's entire body.
It gathered in the zweihänder gripped in both hands, transforming into radiant aura.
Infused with Space Repulsion, the light flashed wildly, and the blade trembled violently.
"Get lost!"
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
With her thunderous shout, she swung the zweihänder, unleashing a flash even larger than the magic cannon barrage.
It pulverized every tree and boulder in its path, pouring toward the Rustal Family forces.
Watching this, Lucas came to a conclusion.
'I absolutely have to tell the young master never to pick a fight with his wife.'
One wrong move, and he might lose his hard-sworn liege in vain.
Vowing to rescue Martin if a marital spat ever broke out, Lucas stepped forward.
Now, as the captain of the Adalbert Family's strongest force, the White Dragon Knight Order, he would punish the sinners.
* * *
Baldemar's rage boiled over.
But instead of venting it, he focused on activating his unique ability.
Hum.
The moment space distorted, the distance between him and Martin vanished completely.
Perfectly timed, Baldemar thrust his sword, the blade aimed straight at Martin's heart.
Boom!
But his sure-kill strike failed.
Martin had raised his sword as if expecting it, blocking the attack.
Baldemar felt no disappointment.
He swiftly withdrew his blade and pressed the next assault.
The barrage of slashes evoked a hail of magic rifle bullets.
An average knight wouldn't even perceive them properly—let alone the dazzling light of the aura blade.
But Martin was different.
He blocked every one of Baldemar's attacks effortlessly.
Boom! Boom, boom!
Each clash of swords unleashed shockwaves like a storm, sweeping the surroundings. Fragments from the colliding aura blades scattered like sparks.
After fifty exchanges, Baldemar amplified his power in an instant.
Then, putting his full body weight behind it, he brought his sword down.
Martin countered by savagely slashing upward with Kaizen.
The blade, wrapped in golden aura, surged fiercely, clashing directly with the one shrouded in orange aura.
Craaaack!
A thunderous roar erupted, filling the area with blinding white light.
'Ugh!'
Martin swallowed a groan inwardly.
The force in that strike was immense.
He'd barely managed to block it, but cracks formed in his bones.
In truth, that was fortunate.
One misstep, and his arms might have burst.
Thanks to his focus on body strengthening, it ended with just cracked bones.
But the power in Martin's swing was tremendous too.
Evidence: Baldemar had been pushed back just like Martin.
The two halted in midair by stepping on fragments of space.
'Tenacious bastard.'
Baldemar clicked his tongue, clenching his left fist.
Hummm.
Space around Martin warped, spawning over a dozen black fissures.
From them poured spears, swords, and all manner of weapons—over a hundred in total.
They shot forth like flashes of light.
But Martin just sneered.
'Fast and numerous? It's all just a distraction in the end.'
Good for catching someone off guard, but that's it.
A weapon not swung by a knight is weightless and weak.
Swoosh!
Martin pivoted on his left foot, spinning like a top. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he swung horizontally with full force.
Dozens of golden trajectories formed by his Space Slash technique blew away all incoming weapons.
Not content with that, the golden sword strikes lunged even at Baldemar.
"Hah!"
With a short shout, Baldemar swung repeatedly at the air.
Orange trajectories whipped down like lashes, successfully offsetting Martin's golden strikes.
The problem came next.
The moment he thought he'd defended, Martin appeared right in front of him.
'What!?'
Baldemar instinctively furrowed his brow.
Space compression to erase distance.
The technique he specialized in, now unleashed by Martin.
It was completely unexpected, creating a small opening.
And Martin wasn't sloppy enough to miss the opportunity.
He shot out his right foot, landing squarely on Baldemar's abdomen.
Not an ordinary kick, but one executed with Lota martial arts techniques, infused with the power of Distortion of All Things.
Even Baldemar couldn't withstand it properly.
Boom!
A massive roar echoed as Baldemar plummeted, back arched.
Boom, boom, boom!
He crashed into a tree, snapping over ten more in sequence. A long furrow scarred the ground as a bonus.
'Ugh!'
Baldemar took heavy damage but didn't die.
Of course, he was far from unscathed.
His body was drenched in blood.
"Urk!"
The real issue was Martin's mana invading his body.
Like poison, it ravaged Baldemar's mana circuits, making even mana operation difficult.
His heart denied it, but his mind admitted it.
He would lose this fight.
'What the hell was that martial art?'
It was absurd no matter how he thought about it.
For a 7th Circle powerhouse like him to be on death's door from a single punch and kick.
Regardless, Baldemar tried to stand.
He couldn't bear losing to Martin, the former incompetent.
Thud.
Martin landed in front of the struggling Baldemar.
Truth be told, his condition wasn't great either.
The shock from blocking that earlier strike, plus the ongoing exchanges, had taken a toll.
Blood streamed from his nose and mouth, proving his internal injuries.
Still, Baldemar had taken the worse hit.
"You should know this, Baldemar von Rustal. What you can do, I can do too. That's the difference between main and branch families."
"...Your tongue's surpassed the previous family head."
"Not really? I just stated the truth."
"Space Domination does allow using all space-type techniques. But remember, young master—it doesn't determine personal strength."
Baldemar glared at Martin, wagging his left index finger.
Boom, boom, boom!
An orange sphere formed around Martin, contracting tightly.
Baldemar pinned his hopes on this technique.
An inexperienced Martin could be overturned with it.
But his hope crumbled instantly.
Flash!
Dazzling golden light bloomed from Martin, shattering the orange sphere in one go.
The gold spread rapidly, forming a cube enclosing Martin and Baldemar.
Space Sword had been unleashed.
Though some distance remained, Martin ignored it and swung his sword horizontally.
The golden aura blade traced a long arc toward Baldemar—but that was just the start.
Hummm.
Just one swing.
Yet the number of trajectories multiplied exponentially, filling the cube.
All attacks assaulted Baldemar simultaneously.
Baldemar bit his lip.
'Space Sword isn't invincible.'
No technique is perfect.
Baldemar vowed to prove it and defeat Martin.
Roar.
His orange aura blade ignited like flames, infused not just with mana but his very life force.
With all his power, Baldemar began swinging.
Unlike main family direct descendants, he couldn't produce dozens or hundreds of strikes in one blow.
But he could swing dozens of times in less than a second.
Indeed, orange trajectories surged madly, resisting the golden ones.
He even advanced step by step, threatening Martin's life.
'Counterattacking even here. As expected of a branch family head.'
So thinking, Martin slashed his sword from below upward.
Newly formed strikes spiraled, engulfing Baldemar.
Realizing resistance was futile, despair filled Baldemar's eyes.
'Damn it! Is this my limit?'
Slash!
The golden strikes finally tore into Baldemar.
Watching, Martin withdrew Space Sword.
Thud.
Moments later, Baldemar—body shredded—collapsed to the ground.
Martin knelt, meeting his gaze.
"...I never thought I'd die without becoming main family head. I figured it'd be Vincent or Mateus, but to lose to trash like you."
"No longer 'young master,' but 'trash'? Whatever you call me is your choice. But have you steeled yourself? Your son will follow you soon."
"You know who Stefan's maternal grandfather is. Think you can handle him?"
Stefan Rustal's maternal grandfather was Nicholas Royce.
The Royce Marquis Family was a magic powerhouse ranked just below the Three Great Prestigious Families, and its head, Nicholas, was a 9th Circle archmage whose fame spanned the Altheria Empire and the entire Krasian Continent.
And Nicholas doted on his grandson.
"All you got is leaning on your in-laws? Pathetic to the end."
"You bastard!"
"Whatever happens later, I can handle it all. Unlike you, who's about to die."
Seeing Martin's cold smile, Baldemar closed his eyes.
He didn't want to see the despairing reality or Martin.
"Don't feel too hard done by. The other traitors will meet the same fate. Like Mateus von Gustin, who claims neutrality but peels sunflower seeds in the shadows. So, farewell."
Seated, Martin brought his sword down.
Slice!
Baldemar's head separated from his body.
Crimson blood soaked the earth.
'One down for now.'
He'd punished one traitor.
But it was too early to celebrate.
Plenty more to kill remained.