章節 552: CHAPTER 710
[T.L: punisher87]
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Volgar and Bradamante collided in mid-air, leaving a black crescent in the void. The shockwaves spread from the two of them, causing the cracked ground to erupt with a black haze, resembling lava.
Jin clenched his teeth and looked up at Diphus.
Sharp horns, black eyes that could not be considered human, and even a sinister smile as if enjoying this horrifying situation.
Nowhere could he find the appearance of his second eldest brother, whom he had known.
Although it was the same when they met in the Empire before, now that fact haunted him even more.
Today, he had to finish him off no matter what.
"4th flagbearer... your sword seems lighter than I expected."
Jin's gaze fell on Diphus's left wing and chest, which were covered by his clothes.
Although concealed by his attire, Jin could still sense the lingering fire within.
[It's the result of underestimating you in the Empire last time. That's why I have prepared a lot...]
Behind Diphus, on the other side, fruits containing captured prisoners were constantly falling without respite.
Each fruit contained fifty people trapped inside. Whenever a fruit landed on the ground, it meant that at least dozens of people died or were injured.
[Let's enjoy this slowly, my youngest brother.]
There might still be Diphus inside that monster.
However, Jin decided to discard such thoughts. As Mary said, if he approached the situation with a half-hearted mind, it would only become more gruesome.
'Even if there is an injury from eternal flame, the fourth flagbearer is still a transcendent powerhouse. I have to fight calmly, even if it's for the sake of my brother.'
Determination filled Jin's eyes.
"Let's see if you can maintain that composure even after the battle is over, Fourth flagbearer. No... you monster who devoured my elder brother."
[You've been hiding the torment you've endured all this time, but it seems you're capable of such frightening words.]
Clang!
The two crossed swords, which had remained still, began to move again.
Jin pushed Diphus back and unleashed a lightspeed thrust, while Diphus flew backwards and swung the Volgar.
In an instant, a massive black aura engulfed the ground, threatening to swallow everything in sight.
Jin slashed Diphus' aura and charged forward, preventing him from creating more distance between them.
He couldn't afford to get his companions out of subspace.
However, even if it wasn't a shadow sword, people like Hedo could cut subspaces, so they would eventually escape.
'When my companions escape the subspace, I need to completely restrain elder brother Diphus so that they can focus on rescuing the prisoners.'
To do that, he had to address Diphus's mobility first.
He had to disable his wings to deal a fatal blow with eternal flame.
Since eternal flames couldn't be unleashed in the form of swordsmanship, the battle had to be brought into close quarters by any means necessary.
"You keep fighting as if you're running away. Don't you have the confidence to face me head-on, despite receiving the authority of the Evil God?"
[I told you to enjoy it slowly. Don't worry; one side will definitely meet its end today.]
As Jin pursued Diphus, he continued to catch glimpses of the prisoners.
Some fruits were already filled with corpses, while others contained survivors who were screaming for help.
If Diphus were to take them hostage and start threatening, Jin would have no way to stop him.
'The 4th flagbearer can't just take hostages recklessly. He must be aware that once he starts killing the prisoners, there will be no constraints on me and our alliance. If his plan from the beginning was to consume the prisoners like that, he would have done so from the start.'
If that's the case, then why is Diphus leaving the prisoners in such a state of abandonment?
He wasn't hiding them somewhere, and he wasn't maintaining a state that would make them easier to use as hostages.
Instead, the fruits containing the prisoners were scattered haphazardly near the vicinity of Rikalton Castle, as if beckoning someone to pick them up.
As that thought occurred to Jin, he felt that Diphus wasn't abandoning the prisoners, but rather "deploying" them.
'For what purpose are they being deployed?'
Swish!
Diphus's sword brushed Jin's cheek. His sword had a power that could transmit chaos like Rosa, causing Jin's illuminating heart to tremble as he repelled its energy.
At the same time, Diphus detonated one of the nearby fruits, making eye contact with Jin.
The people trapped inside the fruit shattered into pieces along with the fragments of the fruit, scattering in all directions.
[You shouldn't keep diverting your attention elsewhere when I'm right in front of you. If you're hoping for all the prisoners to explode and die like that, then feel free to continue...]
Diphus couldn't finish his sentence.
Jin suddenly surged forward and sliced through his left wing.
Diphus couldn't evade Jin's sword, which was much faster than he had anticipated during his pursuit.
[Kuu!]
If they were engaging in close-quarters combat on the ground, Diphus wouldn't have fallen victim to such an attack. His sword would have reacted before his head.
However, despite the speed of flight, there were many constraints on movement, and it hadn't been long since Diphus acquired the ability to fly.
Jin deliberately adjusted his speed to be dangerously close, as if barely catching up.
Of course, it wasn't a situation where he could narrow the distance instantly whenever he desired. He had merely used one of his reserved moves.
"You're the one who should stop your useless tricks. Threatening me with hostages? Go ahead and try it, let's see who dies first. Do you think we came to Rikalton without preparing for that?"
The final agreement among their allies in the operation was that even in the worst-case scenario where all hostages died, Diphus had to be eliminated.
[Hmph, I see. You're indeed good at lying and using deception. But to think you would resort to your hidden move just for one group of hostages.]
Diphus' left wing began to regenerate. It wasn't entirely untouched. Just before the blade made contact, Eternal flames briefly seeped into Bradamante.
However, unlike when it was severed by the Empire, the energy of eternal flame didn't penetrate deeply this time. It was hastily unleashed, and the cut was shallower than before.
[Just now, it was revealed that you need some time to fully utilize that flame of yours. I will respond more cautiously. So, get your act together, little brother, if you want to win. With such humane sentiments, you can't bring down both me and Mother.]
"That remains to be seen. But all those who spoke to me like that are all in the afterlife, Fourth flagbearer. Do you think you and the evil god expect a different outcome?"
Diphus was creating distance between them once again.
Flying was slower than before due to the eternal flame clinging to his left wing.
However, the constraint on Jin was also greater, making the pursuit still not easy.
As the chase progressed, for some reason, the two of them were gradually moving away from Rikalton Castle.
As they reached the vicinity of the dark forest engulfed in chaos, Jin realized that there weren't many fruits containing prisoners around.
'Now is the right time to rescue the prisoners. It seems that my companions have escaped the subspace, but what about the allied fleet?'
At that moment, a tremendous energy was felt from the direction of Rikalton Castle.
It was Hedo and his companions. They had finally pierced through the subspace and escaped to Rikalton Castle. As soon as Jin confirmed his energy, he detonated an orange signal flare.
It was a signal flare meaning that he was safe and rescued the prisoners first.
Diphus immediately understood the meaning of the signal flare.
Despite briefly dyeing the sky orange, he couldn't sense anyone approaching from that direction.
[It seems you lightly heeded my advice to get your act together. Wouldn't it be better for you to abandon the prisoners and join forces with your companions against me?]
"That's not your judgment to make."
The main reason why Diphus deliberately lured Jin further away from Rikalton Castle was Hedo and his companions.
In his current state, Diphus believed he couldn't handle both Jin and all of them attacking together alone.
Although Jin vaguely understood Diphus's intentions, moving away from Rikalton was not an entirely bad choice for him either. He could avoid the situation where Diphus was using the prisoners' lives as leverage.
Above all, Jin had confidence that even if he were to face Diphus in a one-on-one battle, he wouldn't lose. Even if Diphus were hiding a significant amount of power.
[I expected that response. After all, you knowingly walked into this trap. Anyway, this should be enough.]
Suddenly, Diphus stopped flying. Towering black trees stood between Jin and Diphus like pillars.
[There's one last thing I want to ask. The youngest,...… between the companions you brought and the prisoners, which side do you hope will survive and safely return to Tikan?]
-[It's frustrating at this point. No wonder you and Joshua always got beaten by the youngest. This is a bigger crisis than ever. Mother can't intervene, and the fire clinging to me is likely to remain until the youngest arrives. If a battle ensues, it means I could be overwhelmed by the youngest.]
-[You... you might be defeated?]
-[Yes, so we need to strategize. Even if I lose, Runcandel won't.]
A conversation between Ilina and Diphus before the operation began.
The plan that Diphus devised at that time was now complete.
Whoa!
The black trees dispersed into particles, and in an instant, the surroundings were engulfed in a black mist. Even when Jin stirred up the wind, the mist didn't dissipate.
'I don't think it's a sub-space. What is this?'
Although Jin couldn't visually confirm Diphus's presence, he aimed his sword in his direction without missing his energy.
After a moment, the mist suddenly cleared.
And as Jin surveyed the surroundings, he realized that the place where he was standing right now was not the center of Rikalton.
Even when he looked back, he couldn't see Rikalton Castle or the trees that trapped the prisoners.
'... Teleportation? Could it be that the mist was a dimensional portal?'
It was correct. Just now, Diphus unreasonably used the Authority of the Evil God to open the dimensional gate and teleport. He had his feet on the ground, not in the air. The left wing, which was cut by Jin and regenerated earlier, was seen falling to the floor.
[It seems you're finding it difficult to answer. However, regardless of which side you want to save more, you can't go to rescue them right now. This place is quite far from Rikalton Castle...….]
Diphus spoke while gripping his greatsword, Volgar.
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[T/L: Join $29 membership on my "buymeacoffee" page and read 55 chapters ahead and daily 1 new chapter update. I have introduced new memberships, and you can read upto 75 or 85 chapters ahead.]
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babayaga01
babayaga01 You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87
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章節 553: CHAPTER 711
***
At that moment when Jin and Diphus teleported out of the battlefield, the remaining comrades in the center of Rikalton were rescuing the prisoners.
"Ahh!"
"Thank you, thank you!"
Screams and cries echoed along with words of gratitude.
For every fruit that was plucked, approximately 50 people were saved. Although a majority of the fallen fruits on the ground contained only about 30% surviving prisoners, there were still a considerable number of trapped fruits that showed no response even when peeled.
"I am Alisa Badger, the commander of the Tikan defense forces. Come out and head towards the direction where you see the light!"
"I am Gilly McRolan, a member of the Vamel alliance. Go towards the direction where you see the light. Those who are unable to move will need your direct assistance. It will be difficult, but please move calmly."
"Hey there! It's Nodaav Sargent. Any members of our fan club here? Oh, now is not the time for that. Go there, over there. We came to rescue you!"
"I am the leader of Ghost mercenaries, do you see the blue light over there? Find a way to get there. Our mages and knights will protect you once you reach that place..."
Hell was right here.
With such thoughts in mind, Jin's comrades were running tirelessly.
There were already hundreds of fallen fruits on the ground, and the trees near the castle were still shedding more.
The blue light gathering the prisoners was the colossal record window opened by Valeria.
She, along with Qwaul, Enya, and Hedo, were tasked with protecting the gathering prisoners and collecting information instead of directly participating in the rescue.
"Valeria, as soon as the signal flare went off, Jin's energy suddenly disappeared. Is there anything appearing on the record window?"
"She's currently focused, so she can't answer! Wait a moment, let me read the record window and find out."
As Hedo relayed the message, Qwaul examined the record window. Just as he said, Valeria was in a state where she couldn't hear anyone else's voice as she extracted the records of the entire battlefield.
"I found it. Through the power of Diphus Runkandel and the Authority of evil god, Jin has moved to... Hmm, the name of the area he moved to hasn't appeared yet. The letters are faintly trying to form and will likely show up on the window as time passes."
Hedo felt a little uneasy about Jin leaving the battlefield, but he didn't worry too much.
Unless Evil god itself moved, there should be no entity in Huphester capable of killing him.
'The fleets of Zipfel and Kinzelo are being delayed. That means they are also facing the forces of Evil god, including superhuman-class powerhouses... It's unlikely that Jin can handle all of them. Is the Fourth flagbearer luring him into one-on-one combat?'
Already, more than a hundred prisoners had reached the record window, and many more were crossing the distant field.
[It seems like things are going too smoothly, Hedo. The Chaos Army doesn't appear as formidable as expected,] Cuicantelle said as he carefully placed a fruit on the ground.
"Just saying that might cause problems, Ms. Cuicantelle. Just like now..."
Hedo drew his sword as he spoke.
What he was looking at was the main gate of Rikalton Castle. A woman dressed in black robes was walking out from there.
The Prophet, Ilina Runcandel.
Hedo immediately spread his sword energy in her direction, but Ilina dissipated like mist and reformed, shaking off her clothes.
Hedo shrugged as if he had expected that and lit a cigarette.
[Damn, so it is her. Judging from the situation, she seems to be the Prophet.]
The problem wasn't their combat power, but rather the disadvantageous situation they were in.
They had to protect the prisoners while fighting, and there were still many unknowns about llina's abilities.
[Heroes of the human world who came to rescue Rikalton. Are you enjoying the rescue mission?]
Illina's amplified voice lightly echoed through the battlefield.
Hedo fixed his gaze on her as his comrades struggled with the frightened prisoners, causing the rescue progress to slow down.
[It seems you don't have a good answer. Well then, I have prepared a gift for all of you!]
Clap, clap!
As Illina clapped her hands, a circle appeared in the midst of the trees that had bound the prisoners.
It was 'eyes.' Then, the trunks of the trees opened sideways, revealing grotesque figures with arms and legs.
[Insane... So those trees were not just trees, but some kind of monsters?]
As the bodies of the creatures, which had appeared to be trees, straightened up, it became evident that each of them had a more gigantic figure than the Rikalton Castle itself. The parts where the fruits were attached resembled heads with hair-like strands, and when the legs, which had been rooted in the ground like roots, stretched out, the monsters had bodies even larger than those of the cemetery giants.
[They are beings created with the help of the matriarch. You've encountered the cemetery giants, haven't you? They are similar to them, except they have humans hanging from their fruit heads. You could call them a kind of talisman.]
In other words, there were limitations to attacking the giant creatures. If they made a wrong move, their attacks could also destroy the fruits of the giant creatures.
[My head hurts. By the way, Hedo. That Prophet… does not seem to have the power to kill us.]
"I also had the same thought."
While most of their comrades were engulfed in a sense of growing urgency, Hedo and Cuicantelle calmly assessed the situation.
"It seems like she is trying to buy time with her maneuvers, making it difficult to rescue the prisoners. That's probably why the Chaos Army is relatively small. If they engage us with overwhelming numbers and chaos, the rate at which the prisoners are consumed would be too fast, and they know that we would have no reason to fight cautiously."
[It's not about buying time for the recovery of Diphus, who is already engaging in battle with Jin. But it seems their purpose is to disrupt the prophet's execution. She must feel a sense of crisis, given the obvious show she is putting on.]
"Tactically, it would be better to immediately abandon all prisoners and advance to disrupt the her intentions. But that wouldn't be Jin's style, right?"
[You're already speaking like a true member of the Vamel Alliance. You adapt quickly.]
"Because I'm concerned that if Jin suffers, Lady Sandra might go berserk. It's also a risky move to charge forward and potentially fall into a trap. It would be best to respond calmly until the temporary allies arrive. The numbers have come to mind roughly."
Gooong!
The giant beings began to move forward. Each time they moved, a dark low-pitched moan and an unpleasant sound of the trees twisting filled the air.
One of them raised its fist towards the ground, targeting Lata. However, Lata easily dodged the attack and showed the scene of rescuing several prisoners who were bounced off by the shockwave.
But not everyone could do what Lata did. Those who lacked relative agility, like the youngest division, had to prepare for fatal injuries every time they dodged the gaint beings' attacks.
[Well, it seems that the encounter with the giant beings will provide you all with more thrilling enjoyment. I will take my leave now.]
With those words, the Prophet returned to Rikalton Castle.
"Ms. Cuicantelle, please bring Yulian and the leader of Black King mercenaries."
Cuicantelle swiftly found them, as they were already on the battlefield.
[Yulian, you will be excluded from the ground prisoner rescue from now on. Instead, move with the leader of Black King mercenaries and harvest the fruits attached to the giant beings."
Yulian dropped the fruits attached to the giant beings using his bow, and Valkas moved them near the record window.
Hedo planned to rescue the prisoners attached to the giant beings in that manner, utilizing Yulian's marksmanship and Valkas' strength.
"Leader of Black King mercenaries, you don't need to bring the fruits all the way here perfectly. If you throw them from a considerable distance, I will catch them all. Also, there's no need for them to be too accurate. Even if you throw them slightly away from me, I can use the Sword Wind to catch them."
"Understood."
Valkas momentarily doubted if it was possible, but considering Hedo's incredible power, he nodded.
[Valkas will have a particularly tough time. While securing the fruits from the giant beings, he also need to pay attention to protecting our allies.]
Except for Hedo, who was an extraordinary being, Valkas was the only 10-star among the group, so he had to take on a significant role in protecting their allies as well.
"Of course, but it won't be too difficult for the leader of Black King mercenaries. Because..."
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, Hedo took a step forward and swung his sword through the air. The shining sword struck the wrist of the giant being that was originally targeting Mesa Milcano, causing it to miss its punch and stagger backward.
"This is why I will cover the entire battlefield while protecting our allies, right here."
Hedo couldn't leave this place. Once he moved, the lives of the prisoners gathered here would be forfeit.
Furthermore, if the rescued individuals lost their gathering point, it would create disruption in Valeria and Qwaul's analysis.
[It's true that you're a monster, Hedo. I suspected something when you immediately came up with a response, but you're just unstoppable.]
While their comrades marveled, Hedo felt a sense of regret. He thought that if he had faced Diphus and Jin had been here, the Prophet wouldn't have been able to pull off such a scheme.
'They must have calculated such factors from the beginning and diverted Jin.'
There were a total of eight giant beings. Hedo didn't miss a single move they made.
"Being unstoppable has its limits since it's just pure power. There will come a moment when I reach my limit. Until then, we should hold out as much as possible while rescuing as many prisoners as we can until our allies arrive. We also need one person to infiltrate Rikalton Castle. I believe Mary Runcandel, the 7th flagbearer, is suitable for that."
[I will pass on the message.]
"Ms. Enya, from now on, focus only on the rear. I feel like I won't be able to pay any attention to the rear at all."
"Don't worry. Sir Hedo!"
As Hedo provided long-range support several more times, the comrades could once again focus on rescuing the prisoners.
Hedo's sword aura continued to spread like a shining thread between Rikalton Castle and the gathering point.
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
[T/L: Join $29 membership on my "buymeacoffee" page and read 55 chapters ahead and daily 1 new chapter update. I have introduced new memberships, and you can read upto 75 or 85 chapters ahead.]
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babayaga01
babayaga01
You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
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