Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Clash
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I pulled the greatsword from my inventory and slung it over my shoulder.
Then I slowly walked toward the road ahead.
The iron-barred cart carrying the elf.
A luxurious carriage.
The knights, soldiers, and mages escorting it were approaching from the opposite side.
"Halt."
The knight leading the group on horseback spoke to me threateningly.
I had no intention of chatting leisurely with these guys.
My senses, sharpened for battle, swept over them.
The knight had drawn his sword halfway, and the soldiers' grips on their spears were tightening.
I spotted two mages on horseback at the rear, but they were only 5th-circle.
I searched for the 7th-circle mage known as the marquis.
There was the luxurious carriage.
'As expected, he's riding inside the carriage?'
There seemed to be a Sword Master in there with him too.
-Boom.
I kicked off the ground and charged toward them.
"What?! Stop!!"
The flustered knight shouted as I leaped straight at the carriage in an instant.
At that moment, a strange rune engraved on the carriage glowed.
A white net then came down from above, pulling me to the ground.
-Thud.
The magic yanked my body downward with tremendous force, preventing me from reaching the carriage as I landed on the ground.
In an instant, knights and soldiers surrounded me.
The magical net enveloping me tightened, applying intense pressure.
'Magic, huh?'
-Creak.
The carriage door opened, and two men stepped out with relaxed expressions.
The older one wore an obviously luxurious robe, marking him as a mage, while the other was clad in gleaming armor, clearly a knight.
'That one's the 7th-circle mage, Marquis Alex. And the other must be Count Kyle, the Sword Master.'
"Hmph, where's the elf? And instead we get this dark-skinned brute..."
From their words, it seemed they'd anticipated an elf attack somehow.
Now that I'd confirmed my targets, there was no need to drag this out.
I charged at the 7th-circle mage.
The magical net covering me stretched stubbornly, binding me tightly.
"Heh, it's useless. Even a Sword Master would be easily..."
-Snap!
The threads of the magical net couldn't withstand my monstrous strength and began snapping one by one.
"What is this?! S-Stacks?!"
The flustered mage yelled urgently.
The mages' staves glowed as layers of white, spiderweb-like mana nets piled onto me.
My greatsword was dyed black with mana.
And I swung it wildly.
-Whoosh!!
With a fierce wind, the layered magical nets were severed by the greatsword.
"S-Sword Master?!"
"A Sword Master?! Even a Sword Master shouldn't be able to cut through that reinforced web magic so easily! N-No way!!"
I rapidly closed in on the panicking 7th-circle mage.
The man in ornate armor standing beside him swiftly moved to block me, protecting the mage.
A distinct blue aura blade shimmered along his sword.
As expected, he was Count Kyle, the Sword Master.
-Clang! Clang!
Our swords clashed violently.
But after a few exchanges, his stance began crumbling rapidly.
This technique of deflecting power worked perfectly on him too.
Panic was evident on his face.
He was definitely stronger than an A-rank Awakener, but slightly weaker than Wang Chun.
'Finish him quick.'
My powerful strike sent his sword flying outward, exposing his chest.
I slammed my shoulder into it.
-Boom!
The armor caved in under the impact of my shoulder.
"Argh!"
Kyle spat blood and was flung back, crashing into the ground.
'I meant to kill him...'
A repulsive force from the armor had protected his body.
The dented armor on the fallen Kyle was restoring its shape.
'Some kind of enchanted armor... I don't have a hobby of stripping men, but...'
I figured I should take that fancy enchanted armor.
Still, the impact wasn't nothing—he lay there unable to regain his footing.
I had to finish him off.
I rushed to him and brought my greatsword down toward his neck.
Terror of death clouded his pain-twisted face.
"Kyle!!"
With the mage's desperate cry, a translucent barrier appeared in front of him at that instant.
-Boom!
My greatsword halted right in front of Kyle's nose, blocked by the faint shield.
The mage's doing, no doubt.
In that gap, Kyle recovered and put distance between us. The moment I thought the mage's staff was glowing...
-KABOOM!!!
A massive bolt of lightning struck from the sky.
Before I could react, it hit me dead-on.
The current was so powerful it pierced my mana armor, delivering a sharp jolt to my body.
My flesh had long surpassed human limits.
No major damage.
But the shock made me flinch reflexively.
More surprising was that it penetrated my mana armor to reach my skin.
The lightning's power was immense—smoke rose from my mana armor.
"U-Un-ho!!!"
Ayla's worried cry.
-Clang! Clang!
At the same time, sounds of combat erupted from behind.
"There's more of them! Block them!"
Ayla must have seen me take the spell and rushed out in alarm. My reflexive flinch had worried her.
《I'm fine, don't worry.》
I sent her telepathy to reassure her and charged straight at the mage.
"He took Heaven's Fury and... he's insane!! N-No damage!?"
"Marquis!!"
Kyle blocked me as I lunged for the mage.
But he couldn't hold off my greatsword for long—his arms trembled violently.
Blood trickled from his gritted teeth.
He was already at his limit.
Even with the armor's protection, he'd taken heavy damage from my earlier shoulder strike.
"M-Marquis! I can't hold any longer!!"
Kyle's desperate shout.
"D-Damn it! Dig!!"
Suddenly, the ground beneath me sank.
Not too deep.
A light jump could get me out. But it bought Kyle another moment of life.
"Levitation!"
By the time I leaped out of the pit, the mage marquis had grabbed Kyle and was flying into the sky.
"Kyle, are you alright?"
"Damn it! My injuries are severe. I can't fight anymore."
I bent and extended my legs, eyeing the two airborne foes.
-Boom!
The ground cratered from the impact as my body rocketed toward them.
The mage gritted his teeth and pointed his staff at me.
"You monster!! Absolute Shield!"
A translucent barrier formed in front of them.
-Boom!!
I smashed into the shield hard, but it held. They used the recoil to fly farther away.
"Trying to escape? Damn... Suni."
A circle of mana formed behind me, erupting with explosive propulsion.
-Bang!
I chased after them using the boost.
"M-Marquis! He's coming!!"
Hearing Kyle's shout, the mage raised his slender arm to block my descending greatsword aimed at his head.
The greatsword, which I thought would cleave through, inexplicably halted.
A bracelet on his wrist glowed, blocking the attack.
Sweat beaded on the mage's forehead, blood trickling from his mouth.
He'd taken internal damage blocking my greatsword on the fly.
-Crack!
The bracelet reached its limit soon after, cracking under my blade.
At this rate, his arm would be severed, and his head split—it was only a matter of time.
The mage swung his other arm, pulling a scroll from thin air and handing it to Kyle.
"T-Tear the scroll!!"
I'd seen it in a magic shop before.
A magic scroll.
Kyle tore it swiftly.
Mana flowed from the torn scroll, enveloping them both.
'I don't know what it is, but cut them down before it activates.'
The moment I thought that,
Suni amplified the propulsion from the mana circle on my back, and I poured more power into the greatsword.
The glowing bracelet shattered, and I severed the wrist clutching the staff.
-Slash!
The greatsword's next target was the mage's head.
"Got you..."
-Flash!
Just before cleaving his skull,
a blinding light erupted, and they vanished.
Only the severed arm gripping the staff fell to the ground.
I spread my senses around quickly, but felt no presence.
".......Tch.....Let them escape..."
Magic was more annoying than I'd imagined.
And full of unexpected tricks.
I'd thought they might be a bit better than the Awakeners back home...
But they were far more versatile than expected.
'Can Merlin do this much?'
Fly, teleport...
They held high positions in the kingdom.
Though the armor hid their faces.
'My build is just too distinctive...'
If they seriously hunted me down, they might find me eventually.
Back home, my identity would've been doxxed in less than a day... Lucky this world's tech is medieval-level.
It'll take them time to track me.
There's only one labyrinth in this country.
Just check that one...
Whatever happens, it'll work out.
First, find the labyrinth and think from there.
Still, grab what I can...
'It was around here...'
Scanning the ground after landing, I soon spotted a very luxurious magic staff attached to the severed hand.
It looked leagues above that pathetic elf hunter mage's staff.
The staff of a kingdom's marquis-level mage.
Had to be top-tier.
I ripped off the filthy hand and stored the staff in my inventory.