The capital of a country called the Grand Duchy of Arukirio once stood at the location where the Lord had crossed over. The Grand Duchy of Arukirio was one of the countries that had been destroyed by one of the Variant several decades ago. Ruins that had yet to be removed were spread all over the basin, which was surrounded by mountains.
Now that it had become an Abyss, the ruins were covered by a red translucent dome. It was possible to see inside it from a close distance, but seeing far into its depths was difficult. That was because the interior had been separated from our world by the Abyss. It was like trying to see inside murky water.
When we, Wild Tempest, arrived, the Seeker Guild staff were waiting there for us. They had already closed off the surrounding areas, and the evacuation of the people living in nearby cities and villages had already been completed.
The person in command at the scene was a young blonde-haired woman in a tailcoat――an inspector and Harold's granddaughter, Marion Jenkins. Once Marion saw us, without even bothering to hide her evident displeasure, she walked up to us in big strides.
「You came instead of running away, I see. Hmpt, I'll at least praise you for your boldness. However――」
Marion paused and pointed at me.
「Frankly speaking, you guys aren't welcome here. It seems that the newspapers have been unduly hyping you guys up, but no matter how you slice it, you guys lack the strength to go up against a Lord. A Lord isn’t an opponent that can be defeated by small fry like you guys」
Alma and Kouga bristled in anger at Marion, who had spoken with open contempt. The shortness of their tempers was quite bothersome.
I had met Marion before for a preparatory meeting in the imperial capital. She had also said the same words then. That I should back out because we lacked strength.
Of course, I didn't back out. Marion had looked dissatisfied, but she didn’t have the authority to forcibly cancel the already accepted request because her position was only that of Harold’s substitute. The only thing Marion could do was to pressure us with words.
「Stop the meaningless chatter. It's a waste of time. All you have to do is simply carry out your role. Isn’t that's right, Inspector No. 26?」
「You piece of……」
When I scoffed at her, Marion frowned deeply and looked as if she would raise her hand against me. I looked straight into her rage-filled eyes.
「You’re in our way. Slink back behind the scenes obediently」
「……Tch, you lunatic with a death wish……」
Marion responded with a vexed click of the tongue. But she didn’t flare up any further and opened up the way for us. She did indeed have an aggressive personality, but it wasn’t like she was trying to stop us because of personal reasons. She did it because, exactly as she had stated, she had determined after her analysis that we couldn’t win against the Lord.
Marion's analysis wasn’t wrong. By all rights, it would be suicide for us to challenge a Lord with our level of strength. It was natural for her to stop us.
But――
「Don’t worry, I'll bring you the Lord’s head in no time」
We’ll be the ones who come out on top. It doesn’t matter even if our odds of success are 1 to 100 million. We’ll definitely win.
「I’ll never be defeated」
As we stepped forward, Marion yelled out from behind.
「Snake! Be sure to stay true to those words!」
†
†
Once we had entered the Abyss, the visibility cleared up. Spread out before us was the weathered and desolate cityscape that had looked indistinct from the outside.
「It’s there, isn’t it?」
An extraordinary presence could be felt from the depths of the city. It was the Lord.
「Urgh, what an unbelievable monster…… It’s enough to make Forneus from the other day feel like a small fry」
Kouga shuddered as he muttered those words. Seeing that, Alma’s mouth twisted into a scornful smile.
「Kouga is a good-for-nothing chicken」
「Wh, who’s a good-for-nothing chicken!?」
「Like I said, you are. Are you so scared that you can’t even understand words anymore? Poor thing」
「Wh, what did you say!? You keep making far-fetched insults even though you’re just a perverted nympho!」
「Perverted nympho!? ……I’ll kill you!」
「Hey, enough already! Stop fighting!」
Leon stopped the two arguing idiots with an exasperated expression.
「We’ve got an important battle ahead of us. Can’t the two of you get along a little better……」
「It's impossible!」「Absolutely impossible!」
「Y, you two……」
Leon had been driven to his wit’s end. I ignored the three of them and turned to Hugo.
「How does it look?」
「I believe that this Lord is much stronger than average. It might possibly be the highest ranked Lord among all those that I’ve had a hand in subjugating」
Hugo had experienced the subjugation of a Lord five times in the past. Just like how there were differences in strength among people of the same Rank, there were also large individual differences among Beasts. If I trusted Hugo’s estimation, which was based on his experience, then it meant increasingly that this was a Lord that surpassed us in terms of strength.
「That’s fortunate for us, isn’t it? It won’t be fulfilling if the first Lord that we subjugate is a small fry」
In the week since I received the request from Harold, each of us had bought new equipment and had already finished learning『new Skills』. This was the perfect stage to test their power.
When I cracked a smile, Kouga stood beside me.
「But I don’t get it」
「Hmm? What are you talking about?」
「The aim of Beasts crossing over is to invade this world, right? I understand that part. But why is there a need for such a powerful Demon to go on this seemingly one-way trip?*」
「It’s their instinct」
「Instinct?」
I nodded when Kouga tilted his head.
「The Beasts aren’t invading our world because they have a clear objective. It’s been said that it’s due entirely to instinct, that is, the instinct to plunder and destroy our world. Therefore, their place in their hierarchy of strength has nothing to do with it」
「Oh, I see」
Kouga nodded vaguely. I turned my gaze from Kouga, and fixed it in the direction where the presence of the Lord could be felt.
「Everyone, we’re starting the battle from now on」
Tactical Skill: Battle Voice
I activated the Skill that increased the stamina and magic power of party members by 40 percent and further increased their recovery speed.
「Let's go. It's time to have an enjoyable hunt」
†
†
The Lord――Noble Blood was in the central square of the abandoned capital. It appeared that our intrusion had been detected and the Lord’s subordinates had already formed up in the square.
They numbered about 300. The subordinates were Elemental Soldiers that had been summoned by the Lord. In addition to the four main Elementals of water, wind, fire, and earth, there were also light and dark Elemental Soldiers, which were fewer in number but were of a higher rank compared to the four main Elementals. Each one mimicked armed men or beasts, and in terms of fighting abilities, the four main Elementals were of depth eight while the light and dark Elementals were of depth ten.
For summon type subordinates, so long as the magic power of Lord wasn’t exhausted, they could be re-summoned as much as the Lord wished. We would have no chance of winning if we were dragged into a war of attrition.
In contrast, our fighting strength numbered five――and a hundred. That fighting strength of a hundred was comprised of puppet soldiers summoned by Hugo. In addition to the short-distance types holding swords, spears and axes, as well as the long-distance types using bows, guns and magic, there was also a mix of support types specialized in recovering health and deploying barriers.
Hugo's Job was Grandmaster, the A Rank Job of the Puppeteer series. As the name implied, it was possible for Hugo to summon and command more than a thousand puppet soldiers at the same time.
However, the performance of the puppet soldiers decreased as their numbers increased. Noble Blood and the Elemental Soldiers were formidable enemies. Taking into consideration the level of strength needed to put up a decent fight against them, the maximum number of puppet soldiers that could be summoned at the same time was 100. By limiting their number to 100, the basic specifications of the puppet soldiers would be equal to B Ranks.
As both armies faced off against each other, I turned my gaze to the enemy general, Noble Blood. Noble Blood was such a beautiful young man that he was practically shining. He had long wavy blonde hair and delicate features that gave off an air of nobility. His eyes were blood-red and his skin was as white as bone. He wore a blue leather suit with gold embroidery, and was sitting on a throne that was constructed from some sort of bones. And the throne that Noble Blood was sitting on was floating high in the sky.
From his high vantage point, Noble Blood looked down at us dispassionately. There was nothing in his eyes that indicated that he recognized us as enemies. What we felt from Noble Blood was only his annoyance and disgust. Resting his cheek lazily on his hand, the gaze that he turned towards us was like one directed at pests.
It might be natural, given the difference in strength between us. But that very conceit showed the limits of Noble Blood.
That was why I spoke my next words in a manner that made it easy to read my lips, even from a great distance.
「I'll crush you like a bug」
Noble Blood's cheek twitched at my provocation. Then he issued a short order to the Elemental Soldiers.
「Go」
It was an order filled with anger and killing intent. In order to fulfill their master’s wishes, the Elemental Soldiers began moving all at once.
「Noel, watch out! Poisonous gas incoming!」
Alma, whose five senses were outstanding, was the first to notice that something was wrong. The wind and earth Elemental Soldiers were working together to release poisonous gas into the surroundings. The poisonous gas, which was so powerful that it was rapidly corroding the ground that it touched, was closing in on us as it was swept forward by strong winds.
If we breathed in even a single breath of the poisonous gas, it would probably corrode our body from the inside, causing us to collapse and die instantly. Even Alma, who had strong resistance to poisons, would be no exception.
「Leon, Nova Circle」
「Got it!」
I activated Deploy Tactics and issued instructions to Leon. Following my instructions, Leon thrust his sword into the ground, and a huge array of light that encircled the surrounding area appeared.
Knight Skill: Nova Circle
A Skill that creates an array of light that nullifies all status abnormalities. Also, when allies stay inside the array, it has the effect of increasing the recovery speed of their stamina and magic power.
The poisonous gas was completely purified by Leon's Nova Circle. The Elemental Soldiers changed tactics and fired powerful attack magic Skills from long distances. Nova Circle was still activated, so Leon wasn’t able to deploy barriers.
「Kouga, Hugo, defend us」
「Yeah!」「I’ll obey」
Hugo ordered the puppet soldiers to deploy barriers at the same time Kouga swung his sword and made a huge pillar of ice materialize in front of us.
Samurai Skill: Sword of Ice.
A Skill that causes ice to materialize and freezes the target cut by the sword. A wall of ice can also be created by targeting and cutting the air.
Kouga's wall of ice and the puppet soldiers’ barriers completely defended against all of the elemental attacks like firestorms and barrages of stone fired at us by the Elemental Soldiers.
However, the attacks by the Elemental Soldiers were powerful. The wall of ice and barriers that defended against the attacks were destroyed in an instant, and an assault squad used that opening to close the distance between us in a blink of an eye. There wasn’t time to deploy new walls of ice or barriers.
「Alma, Shadow Arm」
「Understood!」
In a flash, Alma’s shadow extended forward. Its shape branched out and materialized into countless hands that grabbed the feet of the assault squad.
Assassin Skill: Shadow Arm
A Skill that allows its user to materialize and manipulate their own shadow.
The members of the assault team that had their legs caught by the shadow hands lost their balance and fell. It was impossible for the Elemental Soldiers to immediately regain their balance while they were charging at us.
「We’re going to wipe them out. Leon, Merciful Grave」
「Yeah, got it! ――Merciful Grave!」
In response to Leon's shout, several thousand swords of light jutted out from the array of light.
Knight Skill: Merciful Grave
A ranged attack Skill that makes swords of light appear from the ground. Its activation requirement is that Nova Circle must still be activated, but the swords of light, which are vested with the holy attribute, has the effect of definitely penetrating and restraining all Beasts, regardless of their defensive power.
The several thousand swords of light that had suddenly appeared succeeded in restraining about half of the Elemental Soldiers. The Elemental Soldiers that had succeeded in dodging the swords of light also had their movements restricted because of their skewered allies.
「Now! Wipe them out!」
「「「UUOOOO!!!」」」
Except for Leon, who was restraining the enemy with Merciful Grave, everyone simultaneously focused their attacks on the enemies.
Samurai Skill: Rain of Cherry Petals
Countless slashes that danced like a blizzard of falling cherry blossom petals cut through the Elemental Soldiers.
Assassin Skill: Perfect Throw
Assassin Skill: Armor Piercing
Assassin Skill: Shadow Arm
The unavoidable iron needles that penetrated unconditionally and the shadow arms that had narrowed into sharp points pierced through and destroyed the Elemental Soldiers’ cores one after another.
Puppet skill: Ether Link
Puppet skill: Union Burst
The limits of the long-distance type puppet soldiers that were connected to Hugo's ten fingers with magic threads were unlocked, and their abilities were increased by 100 times. In exchange for the puppet soldiers falling apart, a wave of bow, gun and magic attacks swept across the square, mowing down large numbers of Elemental Soldiers.
Due to our onslaught, most of the three hundred Elemental Soldiers had been eliminated. However, the light and dark Elemental Soldiers, which were of a higher rank, were still alive and well. From within the dense cloud of dust hanging over the square, two of each type burst forth.
The light Elemental Soldiers wore golden armor and were dual-sword users. Their specialty was hit-and-run tactics using high speed movements. They were also capable of long range attacks using heat rays. In addition, they could create illusions of themselves by refracting light.
The dark Elemental Soldiers wore black heavy armor and wielded huge war-hammers. By manipulating gravity, they could strengthen the power of their attacks as well as repel attacks against them. Because a high gravity field was constantly generated around them, if we were dragged into a close range fight with them, we would be unable to move due to the increased gravity. They were very troublesome enemies.
Each of them had the fighting abilities equivalent to Beasts of depth 10. They were formidable enemies. If there were four of them, even experienced and battle-hardened Seekers would have a hard time winning against them.
But if it was the current Wild Tempest, we could win without breaking a sweat.
「Alma, Kouga, Leon, engage them!」
「I’m going!」「As you wish!」「Leave it to me!」
Following my instructions, the three of them confronted the light and dark Elemental Soldiers. Without a moment’s delay, I gave the next order.
「Hugo, tactic number 15!」
Sorry for the weird cliffhanger… This battle against the Lord is just too long and I had to split it. But as you can see from the battle so far, it just kinda keeps on flowing with no breaks or pauses in the action so there really wasn’t a good spot to stop which resulted in the weird cliffhanger.
*The literal translation there is “…why is there a need for such a powerful Demon to act like a bullet” In Yakuza terminology, sending someone as a bullet means sending that person on a mission, which that person is not expected to come back from, to kill a high value target. By the way, that doesn’t mean he dies, getting locked up in prison and thus, be unable to return counts as well. Hence the bullet metaphor, you shoot it out and it doesn’t come back. It might sound like that person is being used as a disposable pawn, but that’s usually not the case as large amounts of money are typically given to that person’s family as compensation and if he’s just locked up, he usually gets promoted to an executive after he is released from prison. It’s quite fitting that Kouga used that term since he used to be Yakuza, and if you realized, he was called a bullet as well by Noel back in Part 1 when he was Yakuza.
In case you didn’t get how the name of Hugo’s Job is supposed to imply that he can control over a thousand soldiers, it’s because it’s GRANDmaster. You know… 1 grand = 1 thousand… yeah… You have no idea how hard I facepalmed once I realized that… Though that does explain why Leon said that Hugo was enough to cover their lack of fighting strength.
Sorry once again for the chapter split. Second half is all battle. After all, they’re still fighting the subordinates, and have yet to fight Noble Blood directly.
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