Chapter 51 is out!
Anyway, here"s the chapter, I hope you"ll enjoy it!
Chapter 51
【"I see, the combination of your armor and your magic sword really is a sight to see."】
Frigga did not allow a single scratch on herself as she methodically blocked Nageling"s continuous attacks with her own sword, Murasame.
Knowing she would immediately lose her life if she lost focus for a single instant, Frigga was exhilarated.
This was her first time facing such a skilled opponent.
To her regret, Lapland did not have any swordsman at Brigitte"s level.
No one had ever stood on the same ground as Frigga, and tha had left her in a dark state of solitude. But now, it was like all that darkness had been cleared away.
【"This is fun! I haven"t enjoyed myself that much in ages."】
【"Ugh! Are you some kind of battle junkie? Gross."】
【"Oh, does that bother you? You"re letting your true colors show."】
【"I-it doesn"t matter, because you"re about to die!"】
The reason Brigitte was speaking in a manly way was to keep up appearances as the leader of a squadron.
So she was upset that she had mistakenly showed her real personality in the heat of the battle.
Incidentally, unlike Brigitte, Frigga"s manly tone was not an act.
【"This is so irritating! I"m so much faster than you and yet this is going nowhere! Why?!"】
【"Looks like my swordsmanship is just better than yours."】
Frigga smiled triumphantly, with her head held high.
Brigitte"s swordsmanship relied too much on her sword"s abilities as well as the speed granted by her armor"s wind.
Therefore, when her equipment proved to be insufficient, her attacks became quite monotonous.
【"d.a.m.n it! I"m going to kill you! I"m going to erase you!"】
【"I"m sure you want to, but can you really? After all, I haven"t used my armor yet."】
【"―― Huh?"】
In Cabenard"s eyes, it looked like Kurats had been put in a bind by the onslaught of attacks from the ballistas and the magic canons.
Of course, Kurats had absolutely nothing to be ashamed off here. The fact that he had yet to suffer any fatal injuries already felt more than frightening enough.
At the same time, Cabernard also felt some semblance of relief now that every piece of his plan had fallen into place.
What he had feared the most was that Kurats would combine his aberrant strength with guerilla warfare, but that hadn"t happened.
Given their low mobility, the magic canons and ballistas could only display their full power during a siege, against an unmoving target.
So Cabernard had been wondering, what was the best way to use such weapons against someone like Kurats?
He had ultimately concluded that the only way to go was to strategically restrain Kurats and then put him under a downpour of attacks.
And that plan was currently working just as expected.
【"He was too haughty. No matter how monstrous he is, there is no such thing as an invincible being in this world."】
While Cabernard was talking to himself, the incantation of the mages ended.
This was the incantation to a spell newly developed by the Asgard empire"s research inst.i.tution. It was called "Testament".
Its power was more than 30% greater than the conventional anti-army spells.
It was a brutal technique, said to be able to instantly kill a high-grade monster.
As abnormal as he was, there was nothing Kurats could do against such a spell.
The fact he had to avoid taking a direct hit from the magic canons was proof enough.
【"Incantation over, now ready to launch the spell!"】
Cabernard took a very deep breath, convinced that the time of his revenge had come.
【"FIRE!"】
The "testament" spell brought about by the combined power of several hundred mages generated a heat that no other anti-military spell could match.
It could instantly burn out a human body without leaving a single speck of dust behind.
A blinding white light covered Kurats and the ground beneath his feet, before spinning like a typhoon and swallowing everything in its way.
This mythical scene was like a depiction of the end of the world.
At this moment, everyone believed that nothing within the range of the white light could have possibly survived.
In fact, even the Asgard army"s own high-grade defense barrier was barely able to withstand the light"s temperature that reached several thousand degrees.
As the light faded, it slowly revealed what was left of the ground, which the heat had turned into boiling hot magma.
Though they were also exposed to this radiant heat, the soldiers on Asgard"s side were cheering with joy.
Because their opponent, that monstrous calamity of an enemy, was nowhere to be seen.
【"We did it! We did it!!"】
【"Take that, you freak!"】
【"The empire"s magic is the best in the world! There is no enemy we can"t bring down!"】
That man had kept his composure after falling from the sky.
That man could throw rocks that weighed dozens of tons, and could use spells that matched the combined magic of hundreds of mages.
That man had destroyed everything they thought was common sense.
But now, that man was down.
Their empire"s army had brought him down.
The soldiers" explosive and thunderous cheers of delight were loud enough to reach the skies, where Brigitte and Frigga were still fighting.
【"Looks like that overconfident man is already dead. That"s a shame."】
Brigitte felt it was regrettable she didn"t get to kill him personally after he claimed to be stronger than her and escaped.
She thought she could at least try to use his death to provoke Frigga and make her drop her guard, but she did not show any hint of an opening.
Rather, Frigga swayed her fluttering, long white hair, and sneered like she was ridiculing Brigitte.
【"You think Kur-mister Mathers would be killed by something of that level?"】
【"Huh? Of course he"s dead! How would anyone survive that?!"】
Brigitte bawled at Frigga while pointing her finger at the terrible aftermath of the mages" spell.
The ground looked like a witch"s boiling cauldron.
Anyone who could survive that would be no living being.
And Kurats was no G.o.d.
Brigitte was very well aware of that since she had been on the verge of cutting right through his arm earlier.
【"I wouldn"t be so sure."】
But Frigga was still not shaken.
Although she hadn"t known him for long, she still somewhat understood his personality.
At such times, Kurats" favorite method was――.
【"―― h.e.l.lo there. Did you enjoy your fun while it lasted? Hope that wasn"t too short."】
His favorite method was to allow the hopes of his enemies to rise, and then crush them back into a pit of despair.
An anti-personnel, high speed, super-long distance sniping spell would be a much greater threat to Kurats than a poorly achieved anti-army spell.
After all, he always had the option to teleport himself away.
Even so, he did have some burn marks on his clothes because he had stood still until the very last moment, right before the "Testament" spell could hit him.
Cabenard had guessed right, this attack was indeed powerful enough to kill Kurats if it him directly.
But of course, that was only if the mages actually could hit him directly.
【"Unfortunately, I"m not kind enough to quietly wait for you to hit me."】
As he said so, Kurats disappeared again.
【"An instant transmission technique?!"】
Cabernard"s eyes grew wide with surprise.
Now that he thought about it, he should have expected this.
Though Cabernard did not know anyone who could do it so fast and without an incantation, teleportation always was one of the signature moves of mages.
Among Asgard"s mage faction alone, there were dozens of people who were able to do it.
Kurats had waited for the "Testament" spell to be launched before escaping.
Cabernard understood that.
But the same could not be said for Asgard"s forces. As the man they thought was down calmly appeared before them, they immediately fell into a state of panic.
The "Testament" spell"s overwhelming power only served to make the backlash even greater.
【"T-this is hopeless!"】
【"This d.a.m.n monster!"】
If "Testament" couldn"t bring Kurats down, then there was absolutely no way to win.
That"s how it seemed to the soldiers.
However, they were wrong.
Though it would be extremely difficult, it was possible to bury Kurats six feet under with a direct hit from an anti-military spell. It did not even have to be the "Testament" spell.
The problem was that, apart from Cabernard, the only ones who were able to understand this were a few of the squadron"s commanders.
【"You"ve been acting like spoiled brats, and I think it"s time for your punishment!"】
After teleporting, Kurats found himself right in front of the magic canons.
They were defenseless before his ma.s.sive body.
『You only have a little magic power left. Do not miss your cue to leave.』
(I"ll beat them around a little bit before going home.)
【"D-do not worry about friendly fire! Just shoot that monster! "】
In the middle of the confusion, instead of helplessly letting himself be killed, the commander in charge of this section ordered his units to shoot the magic canons at point blank range.
Indeed, if they could land a single shot on Kurats from here, that would turn the whole battle around.
His idea was abnormal, but it could not be said to be a lapse in judgement.
【"As if you could hit me with a weapon that can"t even move properly!"】
But while these were the latest type of magic canons, born from the Asgard empire"s move to automation, it was still not easy to change the orientation of their barrels.
All Kurats had to render them powerless was to teleport to their side.
【"Don"t come here! DO NOT COME HERE!!"】
The pitiful commander"s hopes did not reach the ears of the heavens.
【"Out of my way!"】
With their built-in magic-stone amplification furnaces and their barrels, the magic canons reached a length of about 12 meters (40 feet) in total.
Kurats put his hand on one of the canons" long barrels, and then lifted it up with all his strength.
【"Wh……!"】
A two-meters tall man was carrying a magic canon that weighed dozens of tons over his shoulder.
The soldiers were speechless before this disrespect of the laws of physics.
Kurats started swinging the canon around and around.
It was far from the first surreal sight of the day.
【"R-run!"】
This was no longer an enemy that could be fought.
As the soldiers scattered in every direction, Kurats mowed down every magic canon in his way.
Crack!
Crush!
Bam!
Each time there was a sound of metal breaking, cracking or being smashed away, a valuable magic canon was destroyed beyond recognition.
【"d.a.m.n it! Mage units, all of you, shoot him!"】
Even if the mages prepare another anti-military spell while Kurats was busy destroy the canons, he could just teleport to avoid the attack.
That being the case, Cabernard figured there was no other choice than to try to overwhelm Kurats with individual spells, even though they wouldn"t be powerful.
【" "Fire lance" !"】
【"Nope!"】
Kurats used the magic canon a shield to defend against the attacks coming at him from all sides.
These spells were weak enough to be fired by individuals. There was no way they could go through the huge ma.s.s of a magic canon.
The fire lances heated up the surface of the canon just enough to turn it red, but they dispersed immediately after.
【"―― This d.a.m.n monster!"】
Cabernard groaned, having lost count of how many times he had muttered these words since the start of the battle.
【"You"ve given me quite the graceful welcome today. I look forward to our next meeting!"】
As he said so, Kurats threw the magic canon away.
Seeing the giant metallic object fall towards them, the soldiers hurriedly escaped.
The ma.s.sive canon generated a powerful earthquake upon landing, but by that time, Kurats had already vanished from the battlefield.
【"…Is it… over?"】
n.o.body answered Cabernard"s mutter.
The only mark left of Kurats" tyrannical pa.s.sage was the wreckage of the canons he had destroyed.