Published at 23rd of July 2023 11:02 pm

Chapter 456

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Defense Specialization and the Decisive Battle (2)

It was the second round.

In the wasteland, Lily and Wilbert confronted Payne, Chrome, and Kasumi.

After Ray’s rush and Payne’s assault, Lily summoned a large army to make up for the difference in numbers.

“[Blood Sword]!”

“[Holy Sword of Brilliance]!”

Kasumi liquefied her sword, while a stream of light burst from Payne’s sword. The two easily took down the soldiers summoned by Lily.

“[Reproduction].”

“[King’s Talent]! [Tactical Guidance]! [Unconceivable Power]!”

However, even after being destroyed, new soldiers immediately entered the fray. Moreover, they were enhanced to protect Lily and Wilbert.

“[Revitalize]! [Multi-Cover]!”

With Necro equipped, Chrome took charge of blocking the arrows. Although he suffered some damage, it wasn’t enough to defeat Chrome, who excelled at regeneration.

“If you can reduce it to some extent, there won’t be any problem!”

Although the summoned soldiers weren’t that much of a threat, it was difficult for the three of them. After all, the three lacked the area skills to wipe out the enemy all at once.

“Payne, leave it to me. We can’t defeat him like this.”

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”

“[Awakening]!”

Kasumi summoned Haku and immediately made him [Gigantic] before rushing at the soldiers. Its giant body expanded and crushed the soldier.

“Haha, look at how easily they fell… Somehow, it’s disappointing. They should be stronger than that…”

“You’re just going to recreate them again, won’t you?”

“Obviously.”

Lily also created soldier one after another and forced them to fight, but because of Haku, they stood no chance.

Then, when the wall of soldiers fell, Payne stepped in at once.

“[Holy Sword of Destruction]!”

“Haa…!”

Lily caught Payne’s holy sword with the flag in her hand.

“Time for me to become a spear-user!”

Lily spun her flag and turned the bladed part at Payne, before delivering a quick thrust at him.

Although summoning was her forte, it didn’t mean that she couldn’t fight in close combat.

“[Sand Herd]!”

“As expected, you’re skillful.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Lily sent the summoned soldiers to Payne’s direction and surrounded him.

If it was only one, Payne would have the advantage, but the reinforcements that manifested one after another didn’t give him a chance to land a blow on Lily.

Kasumi slashed down the soldiers along with Haku, but they barely made a dent.

“[Cover]! Necro [Weight of Death]!”

“[Holy Blade of Conviction]!”

Chrome stepped forward, shielding Payne from the enemy while slowing down Lily’s movement speed.

When Payne was freed from the soldiers, he slashed at Lily at once.

“[Shield Me]!”

In response, Lily summoned her soldiers to forcibly protect her from Payne’s attack. With the flag in her hand, she made the soldiers gather in front of her as she withdrew.

“Are you okay, Lily?”

“I am, but it’s tough to go up against three people…”

Seeing that Wilbert was focused on applying buffs, Payne and the others were convinced that the two’s tactics weren’t some simple, synergy-oriented ones.

In the current situation, it should be more effective for Wilbert to join in the attack rather than applying buffs. Of course, if he did, it’d be a major disadvantage for the three.

“Kasumi, I want to push through.”

“Okay, I’ll try to keep up.”

“Leave the defense to me.”

The worst-case scenario would be Wilbert taking over and locking on Kasumi.

Haku’s HP was also gradually decreasing due to the soldiers, so it’d be best to swiftly conclude the fight.

The three of them, who briefly shared the strategy, matched the timing and charged at once.

“[Kenzan]!”

“{Holy Blade of Fragmentation]!”

As Haku rushed in on the soldiers, the two used their skills to wipe them out. Then, the three jumped into the empty space.

“Will, let’s do it.”

“…!”

Wilbert nodded slightly at Lily’s call.

“[Dormant]!”

The three recognized that chant, and that was why they felt uncomfortable.

After all, if she wanted to summon a tamed monster, it should be [Awakening].

“[Authority: Divine Punishment]!”

“[Mind’s Eye]!”

Kasumi, who judged that Wilbert’s skill wasn't buff, immediately used [Mind’s Eye].

The red pillars raining down on the area indicated where the next attack would land. As soon as Kasumi saw then, she quickly recalled Haku to the ring and shouted.

“Chrome!”

“[Guardian] [Stout Aura]!”

Immediately, damage cascaded on the area where the red pillars of light once were. To avoid them, the three escaped out of range. Upon looking up at the sky, the three soon recognized the source of damage.

Clouds flowed, and what emerged faintly in the clear night sky were giant eyes and crack-like patterns that spread from them.

Seeing those eyes looking down on the ground from the distant sky, the three soon understood how Wilbert was able to detect the enemy to such a vast extent.

“Ooh, you tamed an amazing monster.”

“Ours is a special one. It’s controlled by two people.”

“So, this is where the real thing begins?”

“I see, we can no longer hold back.”

To share the ability of a single tamed monster, Lily and Wilbert used two rings in order to borrow the power of the Celestial Eye.

The specification of [Dormant] itself was quite special. If either one used it, not only did the ability that was shared flowed into one side, with the ban on said skill removed.

“Then, from on, we’ll attack together.”

“It’s kind of troublesome to be able to see too much… I’d like to settle this as soon as possible.”

Wilbert, now able to see father, deployed a magic circle behind him while frowning at the large amount of information crammed into his head.

“[Authority: Hellfire]!”

“[Tin Soldier] [Rapid Factory]!”

“What’s with those!?”

From Wilbert’s magic circle, attacks with various attributes were unleashed.

In addition to his ability as a buffer, he could also be considered as a magician. While Wilbert’s threat level jumped at once, Payne and Kasumi made use of the leeway gained from Chrome’s guard to cut through the dancing flame and fled.

“[Range Expansion] [Holy Blade of Protection]!”

Payne’s area attack mowed down the crowd of soldiers and took down the wall of the army around Lily.

“[First of the Sword: Heat Haze] [Warrior’s Arm]!”

When the chance presented itself, Kasumi quickly teleported in front of Lily and slashed at her with three swords.

“How fast!”

Lily caught Kasumi’s sword with her flag, but the katanas wielded by [Warrior’s Arm] swung from behind and slashed at her.

“[Authority: Regeneration]!”

“You’re quite skillful yourself! [Three Swords: Kogetsu]!”

Kasumi once again engaged Lily, who’d been healed by Wilbert. Compared to Lily, who's fighting style focused on summoning, Kasumi surpassed her in terms of mobility and one-on-one strength.

“[Reproduction]!”

“Ray, [Holy Dragon’s Breath]!”

As the shining breath blew away the summoned soldiers, Payne charged in at Lily.

“Haa—!”

Their weapons clashed several times. Payne had the upper hand. He managed to create an opening and wounded Lily’s shoulder deeply.

“[Puppet Wall]!”

To create a distance, Lily tried to conjure another wall, but Payne and Kasumi wouldn’t allow it.

They broke through the fire and wall conjured by Wilbert, destroyed the new wall, and took another step forward.

“[Fourth of the Sword: Whirlwind]!”

Unable to endure Kasumi’s rapid consecutive attacks, Lily staggered.

But when she was about to take another step—a voice resounded from behind her.

“It’s a bait!”

“…!”

Depending on the role, there was a difference in speed. Currently, it was a high-speed battle where she didn’t even have time to breathe. Because Lily had retreated, she’d created a gap which the three took advantage of.

“Will!”

“[Authority: Pressure]!”

“Guh!”

Chrome shouldn’t be able to stop her. After all, it was outside the range of [Cover Mode].

Still, the momentary hesitation had caused Lily to lower her guard. Kasumi immediately exchanged glances with Payne.

“[[Quick Change]]!”

At the same time, Lily and Wilbert’s equipment switched. A change in fighting style. The range changed significantly, as the one-shot deadly arrow set the target.

—I won’t let you get away. I won’t let you corner me.

“Take this…!”

The fastest shot. A single arrow flew, not letting Kasumi teleport, and pierced the center of her body.

“Guh…!”

It worked.

A slight relief flowed through Lily and Wilbert. On the brink of death, Kasumi didn’t miss the opportunity.

“… [Devourer Blade]!”

“What?”

“This is…!”

As she vanished, several blood-soaked swords appeared on the ground, causing the area to be enveloped in purple mist.

It was an unremovable long-lasting debuff that could be released in exchange for part of Kasumi’s stats.

The skill that could only be used once per day, which required an irreversible price, was at its peak right now. Kasumi had no intention of dying for free. If she could buy victory with some status, then it was worth it.

“I leave the rest to you.”

In response to Kasumi’s final words, Payne nodded, then gripped his sword again.

“You did well.”

While this debuff remained, Payne and Chrome couldn’t be dealt with.

It was the last resort to ensure the success of the strategy. With this, the two couldn’t help Velvet and Hinata. Realizing that there was nothing they could do if they stayed there, the two make a quick decision.

“[Dormant]!”

“[Awakening]!”

“Ray, [Full Magic Release] [Torrent of Light]!”

While Payne brandished the radiant holy sword, Wilbert transferred all the power of the Celestial Eye to Lily.

“[Authority: Transcendence] [Formation Change]!”

“[Wide Range] [Holy Dragon’s Light Sword]!”

The figures of the two disappeared, and a wave of light engulfed them. The momentum never stopped. The stream of light illuminated the dark field.

“Did we get them…?”

It wouldn’t be strange if the skill reached the travel distance of [Formation Change], but there was no way to confirm it.

“Sorry, I was too late.”

“No, it’s because we went overboard. Our plan to maintain the distance and prevent Wilbert from switching equipment failed.”

Once Lily switched her equipment, her defensive ability would drop at once. They were waiting for that exact opportunity. However, the synergy between Lily and Wilbert in combat—including equipment swap—surpassed their vigilance.

“I feel bad for Kasumi. Even after what she did, we still didn’t win.”

“Well, at the very least, Lily and Wilbert couldn’t participate in battle any longer.”

Although Kasumi was defeated, they succeeded in removing those two from the battlefield.

Thus, the fight ended with both sides suffering damage. Chrome and Payne headed for Maple and Sally as reinforcements in order to tilt the battle to their advantage.

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