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Last Embryo Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 3

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Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

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「Well… ugh!」

Byakko had no words to retort with, and even if he had, Asterios smacked him in the stomach with his free hand, and then he announced the following thing as if he wanted to psych both of them up to step up and make progress.

「If they end up escaping, it’s going to be really annoying. Also, shouldn’t your goal be to help me progress through this Gift Game? If so, then the least you could do to help me would be to get me on top of that fortress or stopping it dead in its tracks so that I could get there myself.」

「….*Sigh* I guess it cannot be helped. The little one is no doubt going to be mad at us for not waiting for her, but we’ll worry about that later.」

Byakko said dejectedly. Asterios thought that for something that was supposed to be one of the most noble Divine Beasts across all of the mythologies, he sure as hell didn’t act like one. But he had to change that opinion of his in the next moment, because when Byakko raised its forelegs and moved them as if he wanted to stand on the air itself, his running speed increased dramatically. Also, the storm which acted as if it wanted to stop them from advancing any further was now parting before them as if it didn’t want to touch Byakko’s body at all, and the winds which were stopping them just a few seconds before now pushed them forward. Caught of guard by this sudden increase in speed, Asterios was almost thrown off Byakko’s back, but at the last possible moment he managed to grab onto the fur on his back with his nails and both his feet, and that was ultimately what saved him from falling to his death. If he was any normal person, he wouldn’t even be able to do that much, and would have been blown away from the sheer force of the acceleration.

It has been said that the Gryphons, the mythical creatures of the Greek Pantheon which were the hybrids of winged lions with eagle heads protected their riders by manipulating the flow of the wind around their bodies to protected their riders from falling due to the speed of the acceleration, but they were only doing so because it has been embedded into their psyche since they were created for two particular reasons in the first place: Pulling the chariots of the God of the Sun and protecting the treasures of the Gods. They would be nothing but failures as riding beasts if they killed the passengers of the chariots they were supposed to be pulling with their own flight speed. However, this white tiger of a Divine Beast was completely different. It wasn’t something that was meant to be carrying riders on its back, because that was not his intended purpose.  His speed right now was so tremendous that he would blow away not only the one riding him, but also every lifeform unfortunate enough to find itself on the collision course with hem as he was running. In fact, he was running so fast that his dashes broke through both the wind and the rain, and the shockwaves even ended up affecting the 『Sun Thousand』 itself.

Looking at it from the side, whenever the train was hit with the shockwaves, it was rocking to the sides along its invisible tracts which were spread along the surface of the Great River, and by observing those Byakko realized that the place where the Spirit Train was heading was probably the Underwood area’s Ley Line. Increasing the distance from the train a little, Byakko growled in a low voice:

「Ugh, things are not looking good for us, Bull Monster. If I am not mistaken then this moving fortress is made mostly out of  Adamantine, the toughest metal in Little Garden capable of withstanding attacks even from Celestial Beasts as if they were nothing, Moreover, it is probably heading towards this area’s Ley Line to get away from 『The Bull of Heaven』, and it also received some kind of Divine Protection, so we probably won’t be able to put even a scratch on it much less destroy it completely, and I won’t be able to stop it with half-hearted efforts either.」

「My my, if they managed to construct such a thing by utilizing one of Greece’s most precious resources, then it must mean that this world still has quite a few capable artisans left in it. So? Even if you’re on the level of a Celestial Beast yourself, you’re throwing in the towel that easily?」

「As much as I hate to admit it, we have no other choice but to land on top of it and make our way inside. There has to be some kind of entrance somewhere for those who operate it, and if there is not, then we will just have to find a way of breaking through its outer armor. Even if it’s made out of Adamantine, you battle axe should be able to damage it if you continue to hit it hard enough. If I may be so blunt as to ask… is that weapon a prototype of Zeus’s lightning?」

Byakko asked, pointing towards Asterios’s 『Proto Keraunos』. His tone indicated that he was rather confident about his assumption so Asterios simply shrugged his shoulders, thinking that lying about his weapon’s identity now would serve no purpose whatsoever.

The double-edged battle axe that he was using was officially named Labrys, a Gift befitting of the Monster of the Labyrinth, but it was different from Keraunos. On its own it was an exceedingly powerful Gift, but this weapon he was holding now… this Keraunos that took the shape of the Sun’s Authority that he possessed was even stronger than that.

Being bestowed with the 「Authority of Taurus」, this battle axe held the power that was equal to that of the prototype Sacred Weapons of the Gods from Wester and Eastern Europe and the Orient. In the past both sides of that weapon were revered as the horns of one of the holiest of animals in every mythology: the bull, and many regarded it to the insignia belonging to those who possessed the Authority to call themselves the Governor of the Skies.

Zeus and his lightning in Western Europe.

Thor and his hammer, Mjolnir in Northern Europe.

And Indra’s Vajra in Orient, symbolizing both indestructibility of the diamond and the destructive force of a thunderbolt.

This weapon, able to obliterate every enemy with both it powerful sides has always been associated with either Chief Gods or Gods of War, often being called 「The Strongest Proof」, possessing the highest destructive power among all of the twelve constellations.

Therefore, even if that mobile iron fortress, this so-called Giant Spirit Train Model 『Sun thousand』 is made mostly of Adamantine, the strongest of metal known to Little Garden worthy to be called the Armor of the Gods, it should be cleaved cleanly in half with 『Proto Keraunos’s』 single swing. But if it will be able to keep its form intact even after receiving the blow from Keraunos at its full strength head-on, he will have to admit that it will be worthy of putting it in the same league as Capricorn’s 『Aegis』, 「The Strongest Shield」 blessed with Divine Protection by another one of the Twelve Constellations.

「Hmpf! I wonder if this is the part where I should say that I should have expected as much from a Celestial Beast? But I do have to correct you on one thing, 「White Tiger of the West」. If you’re looking down on my 『Proto Keraunos』, then I strongly advise you to stop doing it right this instant. If I swing it while being completely serious with my intentions, then everything from here all the way up to the horizon shall be turned into dust. However, rest assured that I am not going to do that just yet.」

「Oh? So you’re the type who likes to avoid unnecessary destruction if he can help it? I have to say, that is not at all what I expected from someone who became famous as the Bull Monster, the very paragon of death and destruction. If you take environmental damage into account while forming up your tactics, then in my opinion that makes you more of a military man than a monster.」

Byakko was obviously making fun of him with that statement. His only intention was to tease him just a little bit, but the reaction he got out of him was much bigger and much more serious than he expected. Realizing that he might have overreacted himself, Asterios closed his eyes and shook his head in a show of self-dissapointment while also keeping his mouth shut from adding any more needless comments onto the matter.

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