Published at 26th of June 2021 2:30 pm

Chapter 132: A Maverick General Cannot Live Long (1)

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“Woo!”

Oliver infused mana into the sword. It was still possible, even though not a single drop of blood was shed. The sword itself absorbed the mana of its owner. This phenomenon was definitely a trait displayed by Halia’s master piece. That was the first capability of the ‘Finality of Waiting’

“I’ll leave it to you.”

Oliver spoke to the sword.

Boo-Woo-wooo-wooong-!

With that the sword trembled slightly. A blue light of mana also rose from the sword. It was as if the sword was responding to Oliver.

Yee-yat!

With buoyant strides, Oliver closed the distance from the gargoyle. It felt as if he had become much quicker than when he was battling against Helene, the high sorceress. He has long surpassed the limitations of the human body.

(Krrrr……?)

Meanwhile, the king of the gargoyles hesitated as if he was taken aback. He was hammered by a surprise attack, which he had not even thought was possible. A human jetting out of a pouch was not anticipated at all. Still, it wasn’t too bad up to this point, because he was wounded by iron rather than magic. The gargoyles’ regenerative ability was very powerful. Wounds, resulting from piercing, were not an issue at all. That’s how it should have been for sure.

(Kr! Krrrr…!)

No matter how long he waited, the healing process did not seem to take place quickly. In fact, far from regenerating, the wound was becoming severely worse. Has the sword been tainted with poison? No, it wasn’t like that.

“I like it.”

The second capability of the ‘Finality of Waiting’, another trait of the master piece of Halia, was ‘worsening wound’. Far from poison, it was the power of ‘magic’. The spell, which was placed on the sword by Oliver, was initiated with the gathering of the mana.

“It was also fortunate.”

Oliver was an imperial palace knight. Furthermore, was he not the subject of respect and idolism as the master swordsman of the Greenriver? Although he would focus on the effectiveness, using the power of worsening wounds on people was considered to be dishonorable. However, if it was used on a monster, like that king of the gargoyles, that opinion might be debatable. There will not even be any sense of discomfort.

Yeeyat!

Oliver’s fierce attacks poured on. However, the king of the gargoyles wasn’t a pushover. As it could be said, they were pretty even.

‘I can definitely win.’

This was not just Oliver’s thoughts alone, Ian, who was watching the fight, also concluded the same. Oliver can defeat the king of the gargoyles. It was a feat, realized within the spatial pouch. That perfect surprise attack was the deciding strike.

‘It’s fortunate that he did not get his powers back.’

Even though the king of the gargoyles begged the dragon for the restoration of his power, it seemed that he was not granted that wish in the end. That’s because the current situation was not much different from when Ian had first attacked and dominated him. At that level, Oliver, who was wielding a master piece sword, will definitely defeat him in one way or another.

‘It may not be easy, of course.’

A slight sign of concern trailed Ian’s words. Has he sensed that concern? Oliver’s movements became much fiercer.

Pa-ang! Pang! Pa-a-ang!

It wasn’t just the movements that became fiercer. The uniformly releasing power of the mana, the ‘sword energy’ was mercilessly striking every which-where in the cave. The level of sword’s energy that was demonstrated in the training hall had long been far surpassed. The effect of the mana that was infused into the sword had even strengthened the energy of Oliver’s sword.

(Kr-aaaaaaak-!)

Finally, the king of the gargoyles let out a shrieking scream. It’s hard to keep track of how many times he has screamed today. It will be tough at this rate. A way to escape was needed.

‘S**t, only if the damn SOB lizards had restored my power!’

Gargoyle’s anger was hitting the ceiling. As it stood, his power had been sealed off by the dragons. If that wasn’t the case, the bastard that was wielding a sword would not even be a problem, at all. But, how sad, what an embarrassment!

There was not a humiliation like this humiliation.

‘I must buy time, in any way possible……!’

Before he could reinitiate petrification, he needed time to heal. If he had his natural power, the healing would take place within minutes, but with the current body, it was tough to be sure even after many hours later. Furthermore, he needed at least a half day of time in order to use the accompanying petrification that he had used on Ian.

“Watch your eyes.”

When the gargoyle’s thought process has reached that point.

Ian warned Oliver.

“He uses cheap tricks.”

Of course, nothing would have changed even if he had taken Ian’s advice. It was because Oliver maintained a fixed distance from the beginning. It might have been different if he could use protection magic like Ian, but the king of the gargoyles was still a difficult adversary to Oliver.

The fight could tilt to the other way, from sustaining a single strike. He knew it better than anyone else.

“No way!”

Oliver kept the king of the gargoyles at bay, at all time. As the battle went on that way, the king of the gargoyles’ fury grew. It was because the body of the human swordsman was clean, while his own body was a big mess.

(Krrrkr……!)

Finally, the king of the gargoyles thought differently. He decided to no longer determine the outcome of the fight here, and he sensed other presences at the entrance of the cave, as he thought that those humans’ comrades were, perhaps, blockading the entrance. Fly over there and help his peers’ charging. Then winning was possible.

(Krr! Krr-krr-krrr!)

Having decided, the king of the gargoyles made a big circle as if he was going to attack, but instead, he began to take off. The destination was the cave’s entrance. Ian read the bastard’s mind.

“Catch him!”

However, Oliver’s decision was one step quicker than Ian’s words. As if to throw a spear, Oliver threw the sword quickly and accurately. Like an arrow, the sword cut straight through the air, then.

Shook!

It soon pierced through the upper part of the gargoyle’s tail. Was that all? It pierced into a wall and even hindered the gargoyle’s mobility.

(Kaaaaaack-!)

Even for a gargoyle, or the king of the gargoyles, the pain that was reverberating from the pierced part of the tail, was almost impossible to endure. Furthermore, it was even tens of times more painful than the pain resulting from the continuous attack of the iron.

“Is it better to kill him?”

Oliver asked placidly. It seemed as if he wanted to slowly finish it.

“……”

Ian’s response time was rather delayed. It required some thoughts.

‘The king of the gargoyles was a necessary entity for the dragon.’

When inferred by the bastards’ conversation, purple lighted space, and others. It was possible that the present relationship between the king of the gargoyles and the dragons was reciprocal. That is, if the bastard was killed, it was hard to anticipate how the dragon would respond.

‘Friction must be avoided as much as possible.’

It was certain based on the most recent past encounter. The dragons could not be defeated with the current skill level. Furthermore, there were no signs of replenishing the mana that had disappeared. It was best to avoid friction at this juncture.

‘Catch it alive and interrogate, perhaps?’

There must be a lot of information to get out of the king of the gargoyles. However, if that would be a problem then that also was a problem. What if the dragon would come out to the world in order to retrieve the king of the gargoyles? Furthermore, what if the relationship becomes hostile?

‘It would be difficult to just let it go quietly.’

Of course, it was possible that the dragon race wasn’t able to escape from the purple lighted space. As they have been extinct for a long time, that was also a possibility. However, that was only a guess, so it was best to avoid any friction, for now. There was too much risk to make a simple gamble.

‘Further, it wasn’t clear what he was doing either.’

The dimensionless space. The great sphere of purple light. The dragon that maintains that sphere. The content of the conversation that those bastards shared. Several guesses came to his mind. But, this was not the time. Quick decisiveness was more important than guesses.

‘Let’s get out of here first.’

The situation wasn’t all that good, in many ways. Everything including Ian’s conditions and the standstill situation at the entrance of the cave was going badly.

‘Since petrification spell cannot be initiated at the moment……’

If it had been possible, it would have been used awhile ago already. Ian’s final decision has been made.

“Please do not kill it.”

“Do you mean to capture it alive?”

“I’m thinking to drag him to the entrance, at the least.”

“Hm……!”

The original plan was to escape using portal magic. However, that choice has become unavailable at this point. In order to push back the countless number of gargoyles at the entrance, the bastard, king of the gargoyles, was needed.

“I see.”

Oliver has also immediately understood what Ian was getting at.

A slightly tilted head was the proof.

“Then……”

Oliver began to walk with his hands stretched out. It was so that he could retrieve the sword that was lodged in to the gargoyle’s tail. Of course, he did not let his guard down.

Boowoong-!

Right at that moment, a slight noise was heard from the sword. At the same time, it was released from the gargoyle’s tail. Not by anyone’s hands, but all by itself, it detached and rose into the air. Was that all? As if to shed the blood that was on the sword, it shook itself off.

Shook!

It was one amazement after another. After shaking off the blood, the sword flew into Oliver’s hand. That was, it came back to the hands of its owner. Although Oliver has caught it instinctively, he was lost for words for a while. It was because he has never seen this kind of sword before.

“Huh-Huh……”

The third unique capability of the sword.

Oliver smiled at the sight.

This was certainly an age of magic. He always had a sense of mission while living in that era. In addition, he also had a sense of shame and sense of dejection at the same time. However, with a sword like this, things could change. Right at this moment, and in the future, there would be unlimited possibilities going forward.

“We will see.”

Oliver spun the sword, once. His attack has begun again. Not to kill, but to capture it alive. That fierce attack was carried out by using the ‘sides, rather than the edge’.

Paak! Paak! Paaak! Paak!

It was a very strange situation, in which the king of the gargoyles was getting punished not by the dragons, nor a sorcerer, but by a mere human.

“What, What is it……?”

A little later.

The Fairy Queen, who came to the end of the cave in search of Evantus, was shaking her eyebrows as if she was taken aback. She even almost discharged the magic that kept her in human form, in an attempt to help steady Evantus.

“Let’s get out of here for now.”

Ian’s quiet voice was heard. The situation inside the cave was sorted out that way.

* * *

“Dra-dragon! Breath!”

(Grrrr! Grk! Grrrraaaa-!)

The battle at the entrance of the cave was hundred folds fiercer than the inner cave one, as far as the fighting was concerned. Furthermore, they were being pushed back.

Although the six dra-dragons were very strong, it was impossible to take on all the gargoyles that were charging in droves with no regards for their own lives. Ultimately, the rear line was left in charge of the fairy clan and Helenelia, but that’s where the problem began.

(Haaaaa! Hah! Phew……!)

Unlike the six dra-dragons that possessed unlimited stamina, and the masters who possessed un-diminishable life force, the fairy clan and Helenelia were ‘life forms’. That was, there were limits to physical and mental stamina. It was no wonder that they were getting sick of the endless waves of gargoyles’ onslaught, as well as exhausted.

(For crying out loud, how much longer……!)

Breathing coarsely, Helenelia, once again, went on the gargoyle hunting. Before she had departed, she even downed a bottle of harp elixir that Ian’s alchemists had prepared for her. Although it helped, it was still difficult.

(Was there a problem?)

“If so, everyone has no choice, but to die.”

Zerbio replied to Helenelia’s murmuring. He was directly blockading the gargoyles himself, after having gotten off the dra-dragon’s back. Although he wasn’t as good as Oliver, he was rather masterful in his own right.

“Ah, you guys. We are not able to die. I envy you.”

Zerbio hurriedly corrected his words. The two hatchets in his hands were hacking the gargoyles’ bodies. He had handedly performed the work of one man.

(The queen is on her way!)

Then a several members of the fairy clan shouted. They were the members who were able to communicate telepathically with the queen, and soon everyone began to see a hope. If they were to join forces with Ian and Evantus’ magic, the pendulum of victory would easily swing in their favor.

“Please move.”

However, the situation has turned differently from how everyone thought.

Evantus was half unconscious and being helped by the Fairy Queen, and Ian, too, was projecting somewhat of a different ambience. No matter what, they were expecting the two to be immediately using magic, but not even mana was being gathered, let alone, initiating any magic.

“Have everyone move out. Everyone.”

Instead, the king of the gargoyles was flat on the ground, being dragged by Oliver’s hands. There was a sword which was pointed on the back of its head as well. Since the difference in size was enormous, it was impossible to handle it like a human prisoner.

(Krrrrkk……?)

(Krrr! Krrrk!)

At the gruesome sight of the king, the gargoyles hesitated. Even the ferocious movements, filled with madness, have stopped. It wasn’t simply because he was a member of their kind, or a king. It was because of the after-effects of the small control, which only the king could exercise.

“Good…… Do not stop.”

Ian whispered into the king of the gargoyles. The only way to escape was by threatening the bastard, like this way. It was because, at this time, portals, teleportation, or even a broad scale magic to open a passage weren’t possible.

(Krrrrkk……!)

All around the entrance of the cave, and even the sky were the gargoyles that had filled every passage way. The bastards began to move away slowly. Unless something else happened, they will open up an escape route, soon.

‘Even though the bastards had wings.’

As long as they were under the control of the dragon, they would not go out beyond the mountain range to terrorize. Unless that was the case, there was no way that they could have remained so calm, even to this day?

“We are going to escape. Please be ready.”

“You cannot open a portal?”

“It is difficult at this time.”

Ian replied to Bertholdo, the tailor’s question. He was given unlimited mana, how was it that it was difficult? There were questions, but he decided not to ask. It wasn’t the right time to ask detailed questions…?

(Kkkkk! Kkkk! Kkkk!)

That’s when something else happened. The captured king of the gargoyles made strange sounds. It was as if he was laughing out loud.

“……?”

Ian and Oliver felt something strange as well.

They immediately checked on the bastard’s face.

“No!”

The bastard was damaging the dead bodies of his clan, which were spread all around, on the ground. The reason was simple. It was so that he could pick out the ‘eyes’, which was the source of the gargoyle’s unique ‘petrification’ power, and holds the power of no dimension.

“Eyes…!”

However, it was already too late. The bastard has already absorbed the powers that were contained in the eyes. As a proof, the bastard’s body began the process of petrification. The ‘king’s petrification’ which even the dragon could not destroy.

‘No.’

It was at the moment of when the king of the gargoyles no longer became a prisoner.

(Krrrrraaaahhhk-!)

Just before the final stage of petrification, the bastard let out a frightening shriek.

At the same time, the retreating gargoyles began to charge again. It was because the weak control has dissipated. At this moment, they were nothing but mad monsters.

Although they lacked the character of harmony, in order to crush Ian and his team who were before their eyes, they might even form a temporary team.

‘Who would have thought that such thing was possible……

Ian ground his teeth. He regretted big time. It was ‘complacency’ that was the problem, from allowing accompanying petrification to happen, to now. That was, it was a problem resulting from the complacency that he had.

‘Something, something must be done……!’

It was then- Including Ian and his team and the countless number of the gargoyles, too… A sound that attracted their attentions was heard.

Koookoookooooooo-!

Shaking the entire mountain range with its thunderous roar, ‘a sound of something enormous endlessly spinning’ was approaching from the distant sky.

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