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Mushoku Tensei (Web Novel) - Volume 23 Chapter 19 — Trump Card
Volume 23 Chapter 19: Trump Card
Part 1
The Fighting God appeared after two days.
It was thanks to Atofe and the others holding him back.
But they didn't return.
I didn’t think that the Immortal Demon race would die that easily……but the Fighting God probably did enough damage so that they couldn’t follow.
In any case, thanks to them, our preparations were complete.
The Fighting God came at us head on.
Without hiding or rushing.
Calmly, he made an appearance.
Gisu was sitting on his shoulder.
As if to say that no matter what we did, we couldn’t stop him.
Part 2
The battle began at the entrance of the forest.
I was standing at the top of a giant wall created at the entrance of the forest.
It was about 10 meters high and 2 meters wide.
From the top of this wall, which was made as if to protect the forest, I would be hurling magic.
Stone cannons.
I would hurl quite a number of them so that I could at least knock down Gisu.
The clairvoyance eye didn’t work against Badigadi.
It seemed that even Orsted didn’t know the reason. Badigadi was probably just that kind of Miko, or as a result of something in the past, he obtained resistance to those Demon eyes.
The Gold gleamed in the far distance.
On top of that, ever since I was born into this world, stone cannon had been the spell I had used the most.
I aimed for a direct hit.
1 in every 10 shots made it hit.
But, even from this distance, I understood that it didn’t do much damage.
A direct hit would open a hole in the Golden Armor, but it would quickly be filled again.
It didn’t penetrate.
Even stalling him was a failure, the Fighting God continued forward without even defending himself.
At this distance, there seemed to be a drop in power.
As I thought, it’d have to be at close range.
Incidentally, one also hit Gisu.
It was hard to see from this distance, but he fell off from the shoulder when it hit, so I’m pretty sure that it hit him.
But he got up as if nothing had happened, so it seemed he took almost no damage.
He may have simply gotten off Fighting God’s shoulder as a measure of precaution and went around the back.
If he was a bit closer, Gisu might have taken enough damage to cause instant death.
But when you think about how he wasn’t annihilated by the thunderfall, it looked like Gisu himself also had some kind of magic resistance.
In the end, we couldn’t even halt his advance.
When the Fighting God got close enough, I casted fire magic towards the exteriors of wall and retreated into the forest.
I didn’t have any intention to let him get any closer than necessary.
"So far it's within expectations."
Once I confirmed the destruction of the wall, a mutter leaked from my mouth.
Within expectations.
I knew that this would happen.
When the Fighting God entered the forest, the entire forest was covered in a wide and dense fog by me.
While activating a quagmire of the same size.
Reconnaissance and spreading confusion were entrusted to a force of Supard warriors led by Ruijerd.
Magic eyes didn’t seem to be effective against him, but the Supards' third eye was; their senses could catch the Fighting God.
It was effective.
According to the report, as a result of the Supards' guerrilla warfare, the Fighting God had lost his way, and had been wandering aimlessly for a couple hours.
I hoped that he continued to wander around like this and end up at the exit to the forest.
While hoping that, I continued to extend the range of the fog and quagmire.
"The Fighting God has changed his direction."
And with that timing, Ruijerd appeared to report.
It seemed the Fighting God was now moving right towards the Earth Dragon Valley.
This was probably Gisu's contribution.
Rather than Badigadi alone, it seemed Gisu knew how to walk inside a forest with a fog this dense.
The question arises whether he could still walk even if he knew the way, but if one considers that he used some kind of Magic Tool or Magic Item, then it wouldn’t be strange to think otherwise.
No, if he had a magic tool, then he wouldn't have wandered around for hours like that.
Amongst the mud and the dense fog, he probably had to use some anachronistic way, taking his time and then deciding on one path.
The fog, quagmire, and the Supards’ guerrilla warfare.
Even with all that, we were only able to stall him for three hours.
There were a total of three casualties.
Three Supard warriors who got too close, were done in by the Fighting God.
But their deaths were not in vain.
Thanks to them, the sun had gone down.
And at the same time, the Fighting God's movements had stopped.
Although it was probably not solar powered, it seemed he stopped moving during the night.
But I did not stop.
I didn’t loosen the effect of the Fog or Quagmire, nor did the Supards stop their guerrilla warfare.
A long distance attack with exploding stone cannons was thrown at him.
I wasn’t expecting much damage.
But I would simply not let them sleep, I would keep firing to not let them rest.
It may not have much effect on Badigadi, but to Gisu it had meaning.
With those thoughts, the first day ended.
Part 3
On the second day, continuing what I was doing during the latter half of the first day, we tried with all our might to lure the Fighting God to the Earth Dragon Valley.
Dawn of the second day.
I crossed the valley.
From on top of the rampart, I glared down at the forest.
Standing next to me was Ruijerd looking out in the same way.
The topography of the Earth Dragon Valley was extremely well suited for defense.
It was a chasm more than 1km deep.
I didn’t notice it when I first crossed it but the cliff on Supard’s village side was slightly higher.
It doesn't have much to do with magic, but fundamentally, a higher position in battle is advantageous.
One could see better from an elevated position, and with gravity working against you, it would take more energy to go uphill than down.
With that mindset, I created a rampart with earth magic from the depths of the cliff at the side of the Supard’s village.
It was a little less than 20 meters high, so it's not as wide as the one at the entrance to the forest, but this was the only place that the valley was quite narrow, so it's not a problem.
I had opened a hole in it where the bridge was connected as an entrance, but I closed it up after I dropped the bridge.
This way, he couldn’t just jump across and suddenly start the battle like the Ogre God did……probably.
I never thought lightly of the Fighting God, but this was the strongest and highest wall I could prepare in such short time.
If he could jump over this, I'd have to give up on it.
Even if he didn’t jump across, and simply arrived at the surface of the wall, it was possible to pelt him with the stone cannons from above.
He could render magic invalid, but he could not reverse terrain changes, I was now aware of that during the previous battle.
Again, because of the confirmation I got at the start of the battle, I realized that stone cannons were sufficiently effective.
If they were to cling to this wall and I hit Gisu with the stone cannon from the top of this wall, then Gisu, who didn’t possess any power at all, will fall into the valley.
If not, then it should be possible to create a large quantity of water over the top of them, making them slip and fall into the valley.
Gisu may be a useful guy, but in a straight up fight, he's powerless.
Still, Badi was someone who was good at executing strategy and Gisu was someone who was proficient at making strategies from his ingenuity.
They have the greatest compatibility.
There was also a risk in leading him to this narrow stretch of valley.
But it was better than him crossing the valley by himself in some place I don't know and attacking from that side.
At the top of the valley were Cliff, Ruijerd, the Supard warriors, and me.
The remaining Supard warriors were stationed somewhere off the wall for surveillance.
Worst case scenario, if he crossed the valley somewhere other than here, we would know immediately.
Right behind the rampart, Eris and the rest were on standby.
If they broke through here, it would be an all out war.
We managed to buy some time.
What would have been a one day trip in a straight line took three.
We earned two days.
There still hadn't been any contact from Roxy.
The time we bought might have been pointless, but I don't have any intention of changing our decision to buy time.
From the battle at the port city, we understood that we can't win in a straight up fight.
I have to bet on my trump card.
"……"
Dawn arrived.
We did not know when he would arrive.
I was looking over the forest with the Supard warriors. According to their observations, the enemy camp was outside their range.
I wasn’t sure of what to think.
“……They’re here!”
As I was thinking that, Ruijerd called out.
Looking at the dim forest, I strained my eyes to the best of my ability.
I could see it.
It’s only the size of a speck, but someone was standing in the forest.
But it’s not gold.
It was someone in a white robe.
I recognized the feeling that robe gave off.
It was Gisu.
It was possible that it may be someone else, but it looked like Gisu.
“Who’s that?”
“Gisu.”
Ruijerd looked hard and confirmed it.
From here to there was within the range of the third eye.
Therefore, the probability of it being Gisu was high.
Not from the bare edge of the valley, but from deep into the forest, he was making his way to us through the thicket.
It was difficult to see since it was still dark, but it definitely looked like Gisu.
But the Golden color couldn’t be seen near him.
Gisu was alone.
“Huh?”
Alone?
Was he scouting alone?
Gisu, who knew just what kind of magic I should be capable of casting, was alone?
Was he confident?
Or was Badigadi near him in standby?
No, he’s about 100 meters from the valley; if Badigadi was close enough to provide backup, Ruijerd would have been able to see him.
At this distance, shouldn’t my attack be able to kill him?
“!”
Thinking that, my heart began to beat faster.
The stone cannon will reach.
Gisu seems to be investigating over here, but I get the feeling he hasn’t noticed me yet.
I can hit him.
100 meters.
Taking into account the elevation, it can’t be more than 120m.
If aimed properly, I can definitely hit him at this distance.
“……”
Should I?
No, what would I do if it was someone else?
An adventurer wearing a white robe that just got lost in the forest.
……No.
No one should’ve been able to even move because of the fog and quagmire from yesterday.
Someone couldn’t have come in this far.
If they were already this close to the valley before the battle started, then they would have already been picked up on the Supards’ radar.
Right now, I can defeat Gisu.
What should I do?
It has to be a trap.
But what kind of trap?
Right now, I could attack. What kind of card does the other side have?
If I attack, will he gain some kind of advantage?
Could it be that the person over there was someone who looked like Gisu?
Was it possible that it’s one of my allies or family?
No, it can’t be.
Impossible.
Up until yesterday, it was just the two of them.
Someone couldn’t just suddenly come along.
Isn’t this my chance?
Up until now, I have been focused primarily on buying time, I haven’t yet made an actual attack.
From the port until here, slowly advancing backwards.
On the journey with the carefree Badigadi, it’s possible that he thinks this might be an easy victory.
Was it unlikely that they let their guard down and ended up showing their faces here?
The attack would be very brief and the risk would be little.
Was there any reason not to attack?
There was the possibility that they had put a guy over there by some means or something that I wouldn’t want to kill.
But what was the meaning in doing something like that, strategically speaking?
What’s the meaning that I do not attack from here?
……Confusion.
It feels like a trap, but I couldn’t think of any demerits at the least if I attacked from here.
“………”
Alright.
Let’s shoot.
It may be a trap, but there’s no demerit in just shooting him.
I’ll just deal with it when the time comes.
“……I’ll be attacking.”
“Got it.”
I concentrated mana in my right hand.
I stressed accuracy rather than speed or power.
I couldn't see him through the clairvoyance as usual, but I was changing the scenery using clairvoyance while predicting the impact by on-offing mana to the foresight eye.
An exploding stone cannon was used if it missed the target.
I hesitated for a moment at the brink of shooting.
But immediately after my moment of hesitation, the stone cannon got released from my finger. With an almost straight trajectory, it was sucked into the opposite side of the valley.
There was no sound.
After it impacted on the person at the opposite side of the valley, that person fell down as if a doll’s string was cut.
After that, he didn’t move.
It hit.
There was a response.
“………”
As if nothing had happened at all, time continued to flow as usual.
The fallen person wasn’t moving.
Within the morning glow, nothing could be heard other than the rustling noises of the forest.
10 minutes.
20 minutes.
No, the accurate passage of time was unknown, but time was simply moving nevertheless.
During that time, something sprouted within me.
(I want to confirm it)
I wanted to confirm just who was the person fallen there.
Was it Gisu or was it someone else?
Dead or not?
I’d quickly go there, confirm it, and then come back immediately.
Only that much is safe.
That thought born inside me.
But I sensed something at the same time.
This was the trap.
Attacking him wasn’t the trap, but this feeling that was budding within me right now was Gisu’s strategy.
If the person fallen over there was really Gisu at the verge of dying, and it came to that finishing him off were the circumstances.
If the person fallen over there was Sylphy who was caught unnoticed and somehow they were able to fool Ruijerd’s eye, and we had to go there and save her immediately or else she would die.
When I go there, the Fighting God would appear and then I’ll be killed.
I must not go there.
“………”
1 hour passed.
I was becoming nervous.
Did I do some kind of mistake that cannot be undone?
Should I not have fired after all?
Was their objective to make me shoot, and then stall me here?
Were they crossing the valley from some other place right now?
No, just in case, the warriors of the Supard race were keeping guard at various places of the valley.
I’ll believe in them.
2 hours passed.
Should I go there and confirm it after all?
After confirming, would I not be able to predict Gisu’s next move?
Could it be that I was running away from the act of confirming because of some kind of reasoning?
3 hours passed.
No movements whatsoever.
Various patterns came to mind.
I got tired of thinking so much already.
If making me tired in this way was Gisu’s strategy, then it was working.
4 hours passed.
That was a corpse.
If it didn’t move for 4 hours straight then I have no doubt that it was a corpse.
But I wonder just whose corpse it is.
Gisu was dead, but it was likely Badigadi wasn’t moving.
If Roxy were here at a time like this, then I could’ve heard some kind of constructive opinion from her.
Cliff was just shaking his head with a sullen face.
6 hours passed.
After having a light lunch, we continued to gaze at the corpse.
It didn’t move.
8 hours passed.
It was soon mid-afternoon.
The day was gradually passing.
As a result of bracing myself for so long, I was now starting to get tired.
If, if nothing happened after the day had been completely passed, I would be going out there to confirm it.
10 hours passed.
“Rudeus, he’s here.”
On Ruijerd’s words, I looked at the forest, taken aback.
From there, an armor glittering with golden color was coming out of the forest.
When the golden armor approached the corpse, he slowly stood up.
And then after they faced each other and talked about something, he faced this way.
When he shrugged his shoulders, I realized.
That gesture was, without a doubt, Gisu’s.
They quickly returned back deep into the forest.
And then silence arrived for a short while again.
“…………Phew.”
So it was a trap.
That was Gisu.
He made himself a decoy to lure me to him.
That was dangerous.
Still, after a little more and it will be night.
I’ll entrust the Supard warriors over here with the look out and then sleep myself a little bit.
I was too tired.
It wasn’t likely that they could come at night, but let’s make it a quick nap regardless.
“I’ll be sleeping for a short while.”
While thinking that, I wrapped myself up with a blanket.
The 3rd day was over.
Part 4
The night of 3rd day.
It seemed the opposing side was in a bind after looking at the rampart.
They couldn’t just try to leap over the rampart.
And if they couldn’t leap over then there was no way to protect Gisu, that thought hit me.
I could understand that because a stone came flying from the other side.
It was a pretty big stone at first.
Even as that came at such an alarmingly fast rate that we got goosebumps, it impacted the wall and one part of it was destroyed.
After that, logs and stones came flying towards us at a terrific speed, which were all intercepted by me, who was startled by the banging roars, and we were able to avoid collateral on the rampart.
If they didn’t do something about the wall, then they couldn’t break through.
That was probably why they were acting like this.
Not to mention, looking at Badigadi’s fighting style until now, he could’ve easily broken through here if he was alone, even if it was something impossible.
So it was Gisu after all.
If he left Gisu behind, then he could break through.
But it was possible that someone would pursue him from the back, taking Gisu’s life.
Of course, there was nothing like reinforcements coming from outside the forest………
But it was possible that Atofe would revive and come chasing after them.
They were possibly afraid about this matter.
Even if that was not true, then just leaving one Supard warrior on the forest side would be sufficient for the job.
……But it could be possible that was exposed yesterday.
Even if there’s a watchguard in my absence, it would be a quick story.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Fighting God leaped over here alone any time now.
And then………no reinforcements came.
Part 5
The fourth day.
The Fighting God arrived along with the sunrise.
Alone, as I had expected.
While running with long jumps similar to Malta.
And clung near the bottom of the walls.
As I had expected.
Yes, as I had expected.
Gisu wasn’t riding on his back.
The moment I confirmed that, I faced towards the opposite side of the valley and fired magic.
A wide range 『Flashover』.
The forest was engulfed in fire in an instant.
The effective range was unknown.
But there was no time to confirm it.
While dedicating a fraction of my vision towards the forest fire, I concentrated on the enemy in front of me.
The Fighting God made good use of his 6 arms to quickly climb up the wall like a spider.
In order to knock him off, Cliff and I fired stone cannons and water balls in large amounts, but it was in vain.
The Fighting God ran up the surface of the wall with overwhelming speed.
“Cliff! It’s useless, retreat! Ruijerd-san! I’ll leave it up to you!”
“Got it!”
Ruijerd took the two of us and jumped down the rampart.
Of course, I didn’t wait for Fighting God to pass over the rampart.
The moment we landed, I used magic and knocked down the rampart.
The huge rampart fell towards the valley.
It was futile.
The slowly falling rampart blew up like a dynamite being used.
The huge stones flew into the air.
A golden armor was flying within them.
The stones poured like rain.
While dealing with them with my magic, I didn’t take my eyes off from the Fighting God.
The Fighting God landed nearby me, a spot 5 metres away from me.
“Hmm. Hmm.”
And then he slowly turned towards us.
“Now then, once again.”
With his upper arms folding themselves, the middle arm pointing towards me and the lower arms being put on his waist.
Badigadi saw me.
“My name is Fighting God Badigadi! The one who has taken the name of the Fighting God only as a sworn friend of Hitogami! I challenge you bastard to a personal duel!”
“I WANT TO ASK ABOUT ONE THING BEFORE THAT!”
I shouted at once.
While putting aside the thought that there would be no use in arguing, I still shouted.
“Your Majesty Badi, just why are you supporting Hitogami!? What does it mean to be a sworn friend!? Were you not deceived by Hitogami before!?”
“He certainly deceived me! I was deceived when in order to protect Kishirika, I tried to kill Laplace by wearing this armor, but I killed Laplace and ended up murdering Kishirika as well!”
“Then, just why!?”
“Hitogami apologized to me about that time by bowing to me! And on top of that, he requested me for my cooperation! Thus the Great I couldn’t say no to him!”
Hitogami apologized?
That’s a lie.
I couldn’t think of him apologizing of all things.
Even if he apologized, it would be like “Ahaha, that time was my bad, ‘kay ” while grinning.
“He’s deceiving you again!”
“Don’t care! Even if he deceives me, as long as he keeps apologizing, I’ll just keep forgiving him! The Great I, am immortal! Kishirika resurrected too! Even if he apologized now, there’s no longer any source of resent! He may wish for anything even more than this!”
He’s too lenient.
It felt like he was saying some very good things.
Even I might let it go if it was a trivial lie.
But I couldn’t convince myself that killing my family was something trivial.
I wasn’t one of the Immortal Demon Clan. My common sense was different.
“Would you not think about changing sides?”
“Futile! I was never on the Dragon God’s side to begin with! But, if you were to gain victory in this battle, I will think about it!”
Fight and then convey your desire.
This part of him resembled Atofe a lot.
If I recall, it was also a duel when I first met this Demon Lord.
Did I win that time or did I lose?
At the very least, it ended with Badigadi acknowledging my strength.
That’s why, he might have gotten along well with me.
“……I understand. I will accept Your Majesty’s challenge.”
But the declaration this time.
Badigadi had forgotten a few words.
“We’ll fight Your Majesty with everyone here.”
Eris, Elinalize, Zanoba, and Doga showed up from the thicket behind me.
Furthermore, many warriors of the Supard race, who were standing guard near the valley, gathered one by one.
And thus, an all-out war began.
Part 6
The vanguard tanks were Zanoba and Doga.
Eris and Ruijerd were the vanguard attackers.
Elinalize and Supard warriors were supporting in the middle.
In the rear, I was the attacker, and Cliff was the healer.
A standard battle formation.
With standard strategy.
Basically, Zanoba and Doga would take the frontal attacks, Eris and Ruijerd would be the main offense.
Elinalize and the Supard warriors, who were inferior in fighting strength, were to go around back at times and create small disturbances.
Instant kill from just one blow was likely possible except for Zanoba and Doga.
But, by combining our efforts and covering our weaknesses together, we could avoid a direct hit.
Even if a direct hit was avoided, bone fractures or other minor injuries would still be left, all of which would be healed by me and Cliff.
We only aimed to avoid instant deaths or loss of consciousness.
Cliff would devote himself to healing.
I would be healing from time to time while firing stone cannons here and there, giving damage to Fighting God and averting his attacks.
Badigadi couldn’t be seen by the foresight eye.
Even so, I cut the mana supply to the clairvoyance, and by looking at my comrade’s movements through the foresight eye, I could in turn predict his movements.
Doing something like this was a first for me.
I hadn’t practiced using it nor was trained to use it.
But I was somehow able to do it.
I was able to understand my comrade’s movements as well as the enemy’s within this battle while closing one of my eyes.
In fact, it went smoother than when I usually went about doing such things.
I wonder if it was only because of the pivotal support of my allies.
Or is it because of Badigadi’s frank movements?
At least, Badigadi didn’t have Alek’s level of skill.
Despite being surrounded by Eris, Ruijerd, and Sándor, Alek kept fighting with almost no injuries.
But Badigadi was different.
The number of people was different this time around, but his body was getting hit by almost all of our attacks.
Things were progressing well.
I could properly see the enemy’s movements and could predict them as well.
Nevertheless, a winning vision doesn’t come to mind.
Badigadi was receiving all of our attacks.
But that’s just it.
Even if Eris cut him, even if Ruijerd pierced him, it quickly repaired itself.
The golden armor crawled like a living being and filled up the holes in an instant.
Probably restoration was taking place even inside the armor.
At first it looked like we were giving him a lot of damage, but he wasn’t getting any damage at all.
And he wasn’t getting fatigued as well.
At first it looked like we would gain easy victory, but fatigue wasn’t even getting accumulated like in Alek’s case.
It felt like the fight would just keep on continuing forever, and our side was getting in an unfavourable position.
We had no chance of winning.
We were just holding out.
Until this battle formation reached its limits, until someone suddenly collapsed, we were simply holding out till then.
It had been a few hours since our clash, yet we held out.
We didn’t know what would happen if we held out like this, but we simply held out.
But it seemed forced nonetheless.
As expected, the first to go down were the Supard warriors.
They were, by no means, weak.
But many were inferior compared to Ruijerd.
It was because these people simply hadn’t fought enough real battles.
Or it was possible that these warriors were the ones who weren’t born during the time of Laplace’s military campaign.
These warriors who, since the time of their birth, only hunted the Invisible wolves and nothing else, couldn’t keep up with the Fighting God’s battle.
They fell one by one from the battlefield just like the falling dominoes.
There were those who clearly died instantly, those who were serious injured but still fought, and those who remained indistinct.
In the end, a group of more than 10 warriors was reduced to only 3.
The one to go down next was Elinalize.
She was also, by no means at all, weak.
She was practically one of the top class among the adventurers.
She was on a level where she could become a vanguard during the capture of a S-class labyrinth.
But that was still among the adventurers.
Her specialty was her skillful use of a shield to ward off attacks, and from there with as little injuries as possible she was able to control the soldiers that would be prevalent.
But the shield that she was accustomed to wasn’t with her.
Although she warded off most of Fighting God Badigadi’s attacks with her skills by making use of the shield I made using Earth Magic, it was still easily penetrated.
Elinalize danced in mid-air and was slapped into a large tree, rendering her unconsciousness.
It started collapsing from that point onwards.
When Elinalize fainted, Cliff’s mind was preoccupied by her.
During that little window, he was dragged up into the Fighting God’s charge.
As if hit by a truck, Cliff was blown off into a thicket and vanished.
Was it instant death or a grave injury? There wasn’t any distinction, but he wasn’t returning.
After that, I had no doubt that he had lost consciousness.
When Cliff fainted, Zanoba and Doga who were receiving healing magic from him lost their support.
They who were struck by the attacks only a few times because of my stone cannons as support and with Elinalize’s backing, were now getting struck by almost all of the attacks.
They were still able to hold out for some more because of my healing magic, but that was it.
Catching up with the two of them who were getting blown each time they were hit, and sending them out after casting healing magic was impossible for me.
If I had been wearing some equipment of Magic Armor 『MK. II』 then it might’ve been possible.
We gradually lost our timing and the two of them were blown off simultaneously.
After that, he took aim at Eris, due to which Ruijerd covered up for her and became unfit to fight.
I hurriedly healed Doga and ran to Zanoba’s side, but it was too late.
Our front had already started to crumble as quickly as Doga was blown away. And when I was healing Zanoba, what I saw at the corner of my eyes was Eris getting a direct hit by Fighting God’s fist.
Eris fell while vomiting blood.
That was fatal. My brain shouted that if I didn’t heal her immediately, it would be too late.
But I was too late.
Fighting God closed the distance between me and Zanoba.
“UUOOOOoooooooooo!”
Zanoba howled.
He caught Fighting God’s upper right fist and then upper left fist.
He was punched in the stomach with the lower right fist and his body bent in a 90°.
While being punched in the head by the middle right fist, he was blown away horizontally.
And then the Fighting God approached me.
When I thought it was dangerous, it was too late.
I fired a shockwave with my right hand and when I moved back because of the recoil, I was already being hit.
His middle right fist approached me.
I quickly thought of guarding myself with my arms, but it was futile.
I was hit by a shockwave that felt like it could tear off my upper body and was blown away.
Was it good luck that I didn’t fell unconscious?
Or was it misfortune?
I could feel all of the bones from my shoulder to my ribs getting broken.
It was possible that even my spine broke since I could no longer feel my lower body.
I couldn’t move.
The shockwave felt was so great that I couldn’t even feel pain.
“………Haaugh……haa………”
I quickly casted healing magic and stood up.
A hell-like scene extended right before my eyes.
Not even a single person was getting up.
During the time when I was down, the Fighting God swept up the remaining Supard warriors.
They were annihilated.
I erred in my decision of when to retreat.
We couldn’t even retreat anymore.
Now that I think about it, we should’ve retreated the moment Elinalize fell.
We should’ve retreated back to the Supard village judging that we could no longer hold out.
And then entrust the rest to Orsted.
It was too late for regrets now.
Fighting God was finally standing in front of me.
“………Do you have any last wishes?”
“Honestly, I want to plead for my life.”
“I can listen to it but can’t grant it. Since what Hitogami wants is your life.”
I just want to at least heal Eris somehow.
It didn’t seem like I had the free time to think about pleading my life with my wobbling head.
Something, isn’t there something that can be done?
I just needed 5─no, only 3 minutes─ to rush over to Eris while Badigadi was distracted.
It was fine even if Cliff came to and healed someone.
Somehow, someway, can’t it be done?
“Then it’s fine if you take my life. In exchange………would you be willing to protect my family?”
“Oh, family huh?”
“Your Majesty isn’t aware of it but I already have 4 kids. And they are 4 very lively children.”
“Children are something excellent. Even The Great I want to create some with Kishirika.”
Badigadi nodded.
“Very well. However, even The Great I wouldn’t pardon those who would defy me.”
“That is, of course.”
After my death, Hitogami would aim at my children.
But, Badigadi wouldn’t support this.
Even just holding onto that promise, it would be acceptable for first.
But it was also possible that this held no meaning………
This was my final job.
“FUHAHAHAHA, HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!”
Badigadi laughed a lot and then raised his fist.
“Well then, farewell.”
On those words, I faced both of my hands forwards.
I just wanted to at least fire stone cannons with all my might in my final mo─-
“LAY DOWN!”
I quickly laid on my fours like a dog.
Something, which was even lower than my stance, passed by my side.
That something quickly passed through Fighting God’s thigh and stopped at the opposite side.
With dark skin, animal ears, having a cat-like tail, it was the black wolf.
Fighting God’s area around the knee was torn into pieces. He violently shook for an instant as he was thrown off balance, but it was only for an instant.
It was quickly restored by the armor, and as if nothing had happened, he swung his fist downwards.
And then a long skirt fluttered in the wind covering my vision.
“Uowhaa!”
I could no longer see the Fighting God who swung his fist downwards.
I felt something big getting blown away in mid-air slightly behind me.
After a delay, I could hear something falling with a *BU-BAM*.
Just what happened?
The only thing that I saw, which appeared out of nowhere in front of me, was the light blue-colored panties inside that long skirt.
And the wearer of those panties, I felt like I might’ve seen her several times or maybe not.
But I knew one other person.
I remembered.
Like hell I could forget.
Those movements, that sand-coloured hair, that dark reddish-brown body.
A swaying tail with animal ears.
“Ghyslaine!”
Then that means, that black-haired person was Isolte!
Water Emperor Isolte!
Ghyslaine and Isolte.
The one who was moving along with them was!
“Sylphy!”
Sylphy was quickly running along the battlefield like a rat.
She approached the fallen ones and only held out her hand.
With just that, the injuries of the fallen ones were getting healed instantly.
And thus, she healed Zanoba and Doga in a flash.
Chantless Healing Magic.
When I saw it, Eris and Ruijerd came out of the thicket and were coming back towards here.
Before I knew it, our battlefront was re-organized.
Isolte as the main shield, Doga and Zanoba as the sub-shields.
Eris, Ruijerd, and Ghyslaine as the attackers.
And Sylphy as a healer was added who could use Chantless Healing Magic.
Our battlefront was reorganized.
The hell was over.
“Rudi! We will hold him back here so go to the village! Roxy is waiting!”
“! Got it!”
I caught those words and quickly began running towards the Supard village.
I ran with all my might.
I ran, putting in all of my strength for the first time in my life.
Sylphy had arrived.
Even though the valley’s bridge was dropped, she arrived.
Which meant that she came from the village’s side.
Then that meant the bet that I had been waiting for had finally arrived.
While jumping over the roots of trees, going through the forest, I arrived at the Supard village.
The moment I saw that thing, I was delighted.
I saw it.
I could see it at the inner part the moment I jumped inside the village.
The teleport formation that was written in advance at the inner part of the village.
The long-awaited thing was around there.
I kept running.
I ran with all my might.
“Nii-san!”
“Grand Master!”
“Ah, Honored Onii-cha─”
I saw Aisha, Norn, and Julie on the way, but ignored them.
I was simply dead-set on running and arrived at that spot.
Near the destroyed teleport formation, one girl was sitting completely exhausted.
“Roxy!”
“………Ah, Rudi.”
When I shouted, she raised her face.
There were dark circles below her eyes.
Was her mana exhausted, or did she do an all-nighter?
“I terribly apologize. I made a mistake in the procedure. I started the teleport formation after digging it out and bringing it up. If I had drawn the teleport formation before and then asked you to dig it out then it wouldn't have taken so lo─”
“It’s alright! You’ve done more than enough! At least you made it in time!”
The thing behind her.
It was a giant armor.
Its height was 3 meters.
With a deep-blue coloring.
Gatling on the right hand and shotgun on the left.
Furthermore, mounted on the tip of its fist was the cursed sword which had the effect of ignoring defense.
Small but quite wide, an armor resembling a sumo wrestler was lying face-down.
Its appearance didn’t really differ from the MK. I.
But this wasn’t the MK. I.
I had prepared this in advance if something like this happened, the real trump card.
Its mana consumption was twice the normal one, capable of multiplying the mobility and defense many-fold, a short-term decisive battle weapon.
Due to its concept being the complete reverse of MK. III, the name it was given was─
“It’s the Magic Armor 『MK. Zero』.”
The last resort.
My trump card.
If I didn’t win with this……no it’s not about whether I could win.
It was clear to me that our chances of winning were low.
“Roxy! I’ll be going then!”
“Rudi! Please be careful!”
I boarded the 『MK. Zero』.
While getting dizzy as a huge amount of my mana was sucked up from me, I stood up.
And then, I saw Orsted at the center of the village.
He was holding a large sword in his hand.
“Rudeus! Take this!”
Orsted very easily threw that large sword towards me.
I immediately caught it.
A large sword which was a perfect size for the 3 meters tall armor.
The 『Dragon King Sword』 Kajakuto.
I, who was horrible in swordsmanship, could feel a tremendous amount of force simply by holding the cursed sword.
“Orsted-sama! I’m off!”
Orsted didn’t answer.
He simply nodded.
I moved the MK. Zero with all my might and headed towards the battlefield.
Author’s Q&A
Q. Since Badi couldn’t take the armor off, he died once and then revived, and at that time he was able to take it off?
A. That’s right. Well, if the wearer is hit by a very strong attack then the armor will be left but the insides will be dead, so it can be taken off.
It can also be taken off if the wearer is hit with an attack strong enough which the armor’s restoration ability can’t keep up, but well, thinking realistically, the insides are going to die first anyway.
Q. I’ve realized it these days but at times this 『Girldeus』 that comes out occasionally, is it Paro of Otomedius?
A. That’s right.
Q. What Roxy said this time “and then asked you to dig it out then it wouldn't have taken so lo─……” wasn’t above the teleport formation but rather teleporting below it, below the teleport formation of the Supard village. Simply put, teleporting it underground. Would it fine to interpret it as such?
A. Wrong!
When she realized that the MK. Zero was buried, she should’ve immediately connected with the Supard village via the teleport formation and asked Rudi to excavate it using Earth Magic. That’s what it meant!
Q. Rudi should’ve volleyed shots at the fallen Gisu at once……would that unorthodox remark be no good?
A. That way of thinking isn’t unorthodox or something like that but it was unknown whether attacking itself was a trap or not and yet simply thinking about pursuing him was enough.
Q. The Magic Armor MK. Zero can’t perform super-advanced information analysis and situation predictions. Loaded with the “Zero System” which can calculate and predict infinite results and transmitting it directly to the wearer’s mind.
A. It’s all clear to me now. So that was the mind of universe huh!
Q. Where is Paul’s cursed sword attached on the MK. Zero, left hand or right hand?
A. It’s mounted with the gatling. So maybe right.
Q. If it’s the usual route then it’s possible but I don’t know how it feels to attempt a speedrun in a route that came out for the first time.
A. An example like speedrun was poor huh!
Q. I’ve been wondering this for a long time now but the protagonist is too worried by things like fight and strategy.
He certainly is far from becoming the strongest but he was still able to fight a formidable enemy and win(survive), that’s why I think that it’s better to grow his mental level even further.
A. Leaving the thought of tying his victory with his growth aside. If he didn’t worry=he will grow mentally. I cannot consent to such a diagram. Rejected!
Q. If the President dies then would the current world keep on continuing? Or would it become like it never existed?
A. Until now, the outcome is that it never existed.
Q. → I might’ve not understood Badi’s reasoning a little bit.
→ The one who tried to kill his beloved once, apologized. So for his benefit he tried to kill a friend? He thought that it was only a friend but it ended up being Rudeus.
A. The Human God and Dragon God have been at war since the ancient times.
Badigadi only maintained a lurking distance from both sides, but since the Human God apologized, so he swept the past under the carpet and joined Human God’s faction.
Which meant that Dragon God’s faction was the enemy.
Whether the enemy in front of him would be a friend or a blood relative, well those kind of thoughts might have risen up.
But if he was the boss of the enemy faction, and if he isn’t killed then victory can’t be achieved, so he would obviously kill him.
Q. Just how many more chapters will be in this volume and how many volumes would come out next?
A. This volume contains 21 chapters in all and Vol 24 will be the concluding volume.
I’m thinking about writing Vol 25 and thereafter which will contain the afterwards story or the the mundane episodes that I wasn’t able to include in the real story named 『Redundancy Chapter』 with a sluggish pace.
