Chapter 153: Ardius Fortress Siege Battle – Second Coming
The golden-armored soldier arrived on the outskirts of the battlefield aboard some golden flying object. In order to intercept him, we sprang into action. I moved forward while swimming through the ground while master urged his beloved horse into a gallop.
Lady Altissia remained by the side of the Dragon Roar Cannons, ready to provide support with her spiritual arts in case of any unforeseen circumstances. The three of us had the same roles as before.
“Let’s just kill’ him quickly n’ get the hell out of here!”
And there was the fourth member, Jude, who wasn’t present last time. He also rushed to intercept the enemy in the fastest way possible. He couldn’t move through the ground like I could, nor did he ride a horse like Master. However, his movement speed surpassed everyone else’s.
With a spear resting on his shoulder, he advanced without moving his feet on the ground. It seemed he was using spiritual power to freeze the ground and glide on top of it. Using ice spiritual art for transportation was a true testament to his “Ice Spear” name.
[Guoooo! Gaaaaaaaah!]
“What, is he a crazy one? Well, this might make things easier for me.”
From the ground, I could hear the roaring of the golden-armored soldier and Jude’s mocking sound. Did he not follow the warnings? As master and Lady Altissia should have explained to him, the more that golden-armored soldier lost his reasoning abilities, the stronger he became.
It was safe to assume that being completely devoid of reason from the outset meant he was at the peak of his power. Underestimating him could lead to one’s swift demise.
Oblivious to my worries, Jude, who was gliding across the ground, delivered a sharp thrust forward. His spearhead seemed to slide accurately into the gaps of the golden armor; the attack was accompanied by the wet sound of flesh being pierced and a beastly howl.
[Giiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]
“Argh!”
The golden-armored soldier screamed because he couldn’t cut off his sense of pain like I could, but he could heal quickly, and he would fight back instantly. Master and Lady Altissia must have taught Jude this as well, but maybe he hadn’t been paying as much attention as he should have.
The fist that swung in retaliation didn’t seem to land a direct hit, but I could hear the sound of something breaking. It was probably Jude’s armor that had suffered damage.
“This bastard… I’ll kill youu!”
[Giaaaaaaaaah!]
Jude appeared to be continuously thrusting in anger. The sharp sound of his spearhead slicing through the air and the splattering of blood as flesh was pierced echoed alternately. This movement… his spear skills were likely superior to Linardo’s.
Moreover, it seemed that Jude wasn’t just thrusting his spear. He was using spiritual arts at the moment of impact, freezing the pierced areas. With his body frozen from the inside, the movements of the golden-armored soldier slowed down noticeably.
Was this more effective than launching poison? When I stabbed him with my twin swords, should I have tried putting sand into the wounds? At the very least, it might have delayed the healing of the wounds.
“It doesn’t seem very effective, so let’s stop.”
[Gaggh!?]
Relying on sounds, I approached the golden-armored soldier exposed to Jude’s relentless onslaught from underground. I thrust my twin swords into his knees and pierced my poisonous stinger into his side.
During this attack, I didn’t put sand into the wounds. I didn’t have the luxury of trying something with uncertain effectiveness, and I had a feeling that experimenting with spontaneous ideas might lead to failure.
[Gaaaah!]
“Ha! Not bad, mutant guy!”
“Gahahaha! I’ll join in too!”
With my upper body sticking above ground, the golden-armored soldier attempted to stomp on my face. After I dove into the ground to evade, Jude increased the speed of his consecutive thrusts.
At that moment, master charged in, brandishing his poleaxe while thundering toward us. Perhaps realizing the dreadfulness of master’s strike, the golden-armored soldier arched his body just in time to narrowly avoid a direct hit, even at the risk of exposing himself to Jude’s spear.
I had fought two of these golden-armored soldiers before, but judging from this one’s familiarity with master’s power, I deduced that this was the second one. They both seemed like savage beasts from the beginning, so it was hard to tell which one was deployed at first.
However, even if this one was aware of master’s power, it seemed impossible to completely evade master’s strike. The blade of his poleaxe shattered a portion of the golden armor and cleaved through the flesh inside.
[Groooooah!?]
At that moment, Lady Altissia’s spiritual art was unleashed. Though the precise workings remained a mystery to me, her spiritual attack struck the exact spot where master had shattered the armor. The dazzling spiritual art, familiar to me by now, exploded upon impact, filling the battlefield with the acrid scent of burning blood.
Without missing a beat, the three of us continued our relentless assault. Jude’s rapid strikes gradually forced more bleeding, master’s blows tore through the golden armor and the body beneath. I seized opportunities to turn the ground into sand beneath our enemy’s feet or inflict some pain with my twin swords and poisonous stinger, targeting the lower body.
Although there had been no prior coordination, our movements, despite differing in positions, personalities, and even races, strangely harmonized, creating a near-predominance situation. The once gleaming golden armor of the enemy was now marred with wounds and dents, with exposed flesh in several places.
Although we started feeling our enemy’s power grow with each injury, we had successfully overwhelmed him with little effort. It was hard to believe his strength was still increasing, but we definitely sensed that we were pushing him to his limits.
[Gobahaa… Aaah!?]
When Lady Altissia’s spiritual art struck directly at the exposed areas of the golden-armored soldier several times, he finally dropped to his knees as if he couldn’t stand any longer. This was the perfect opportunity. Without hesitation, I burst from the ground and drove my twin swords and poisonous stinger into his right leg.
Until now, I had considered not being a hindrance to the others, so I would quickly retract my weapons and then hide underground, waiting for the next opportunity. However, in a situation where it was clear that the enemy was weakening, it was definitely better to press on. To create an opening, I remained submerged in the ground while not letting go of his right leg.
The golden-armored soldier made a desperate attempt to pull his sunken leg free, but I used all the strength in my entire body, enhanced to its limits by my fighting spirit, to prevent him from doing that. The guy was absurdly strong—stronger than my full strength—even though he was using only one leg.
And although the sand I conjured could resist, it couldn’t hold out for long against the golden-armored soldier’s growing strength with each injury. However, even in such a short time, I had complete faith that master would find a way.
“Well done, disciple! Nuuh!”
[Gehyuu!?]
Indeed, it seemed like master came through. Understanding my intention, he swiftly channeled his spiritual power into his poleaxe during that moment. Then he swung the poleaxe horizontally with maximum force, making sure it couldn’t be dodged.
Master’s poleaxe shattered the chest of the already damaged golden armor, digging deeply into the breastplate. The blade seemed to have reached the vital organs, as the golden-armored soldier now breathed distinctly differently from before.
“Now, youngster!”
“I know!”
As master withdrew his poleaxe, Jude swiftly thrust his spear into the wound. Jude’s spear had precisely targeted the heart’s location, piercing through the torso and coming to a halt at the back of the golden armor.
However, Jude’s method involved freezing the wound upon penetration. By now, the golden-armored soldier’s heart and its surroundings would likely be frozen. He couldn’t even make a sound anymore; his body was only convulsing slightly.
“It’s…over now!”
Master raised his poleaxe and brought it down on the motionless head of the golden-armored soldier. The helmet, already riddled with cracks, was split in two, and the soldier’s head appeared to be completely cut in two, from the head down to the lower jaw.
We had taken him down. The three of us, including myself, who had plunged the blades into his body, were certain of it. It was the sensation of feeling the life extinguish from the one we were impaling.
[…. Hmm? Where am I?]
However, to our surprise, the golden-armored soldier, who should have unquestionably perished, was resurrected in the next moment, as if it were the most natural thing. Moreover, with his head split into two halves by master and Jude’s spear piercing his heart, he spoke as if nothing had happened.
His revival was astonishing, but what was equally shocking was that with each injury, he seemed to grow stronger, but now he had regained his sanity… no, that wasn’t it. Who is this guy?
[I may not know the situation, but… it’s unpleasant. Stand back, you bunch of ruffians.]
“Nuuuooooooh!?”
“What the heeeell!?”
“Grrrrrr!”
The golden-armored soldier sent out a surge of spiritual power from his entire body, blasting us away. The pressure was unlike anything we had endured before. Even master couldn’t hold his ground, and I was forcefully dragged from underground.
Perhaps to buy us time to get back on our feet, Altissia’s spiritual power poured down like a raging storm from behind. However, the golden-armored soldier did not take it directly. Instead, he erected a formidable spiritual barrier to ward it off.
[Well? The output is a bit weak, but it’s a good spiritual technique. I commend your efficient construction.]
[Who….are you? That body….is…not yours.]
I somehow managed to ask him the question in his language. I had three reasons to believe that he was a different person. Firstly, his manner of speaking was entirely different. Secondly, he employed spiritual art. And thirdly, the aura I sensed when facing him was utterly different from before.
Since I had learned their language from Asumi, I assumed that my words indeed made sense. As expected, he responded appropriately and turned towards me, then began to speak.
[As I’m in a good mood right now, I shall answer your question. despite you being an unknown brat. You should be grateful for my generosity.]
[….]
[My name is Zahhi Schneller! One of the gods who once proclaimed dominion over the continent!]
As Zahhi declared himself a god, he released another immense surge of spiritual power. Unable to withstand the overwhelming spiritual energy, the golden armor he was wearing shattered completely, reduced to mere rubble. We were overwhelmed by the pressure of that spiritual power and were at a loss for words.
**********
TN: An unexpected one appeared….
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