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Chapter 302 part 1

Galilius still remembered.

He recalled the days in the Great Magic Realm when he served as a warrior under the War God Sagurabus, battling against other demonic gods and the deities of the heavens. The thrill, fear, joy, and pain of combat had all become inseparable parts of his very being, integral memories, and lingering regrets.

He did not regret following some of his kin who were weary of the days of war to the surface world. Even if he were to go back and make the same decision, he would still choose to leave for the surface. As long as there were irreplaceable comrades-in-arms and young ones whose futures he yearned to see, he had no regrets. Repeatedly, Galilius had reassured himself of this, yet he could not deny one truth – his lingering attachment to the old battlefields.

「It might be effeminate to hope to shake off these lingering attachments.」

As one who knew the divine wars, the old Goblin, revered by all in Mundus Carnus, let slip a self-mocking smirk he had never shown to anyone. His entire focus and gaze were irresistibly drawn to the man in full silver and white armor standing before him – Gwandan.

Gwandan, confronting Galilius, stood like a guardian deity in front of the room where Asteria and Amria resided. He had silently praised Galilius for managing to get past the knights and magicians guarding the place.

「You did well to get here. If your capabilities are as I know them to be, there’s nothing unusual about that. However, I was somewhat surprised you came so quietly.」

Implicitly suggesting that Galilius, with his prowess, could have opted for a head-on assault, Galilius responded, his smile of self-restraint fading.

In Galilius’s hand was a golden spear, wrapped in dense divine and magical energy, his body armored in bluish-black light armor adorned with vein-like patterns. Neither the spear in his left hand nor the broad-bladed daggers at his hips showed any sign of use.

「Wouldn’t it be counterproductive for an assassin to cause a commotion? Thus, naturally, I chose silence, moving as cautiously as to not even make a sound stepping on snow or dry twigs.」

「Hmm, for someone aiming to assassinate the princess, you don’t seem focused on the people inside the room, except for that lady.」

Galilius wasn’t the only one who had infiltrated Ras Lomar and effortlessly reached Asteria’s quarters; his lieutenant or someone of similar rank, a female Goblin, was at his side. This woman Goblin, with her gray skin and slightly pointed ears, looked almost like a woman in her late twenties. She had been looking for a chance to use the dart she hid in her hand during their conversation, but seeing no opening with Gwandan and noting her superior’s seemingly joyous demeanor, she hesitated.

「Well, either way, I can’t let you go any further, and I can’t return you unscathed. It would be too risky to fight here on the ship; the damage could be unpredictable, and it’s too cramped. Your name was Galilius, right?」

「Yes. And yours?」

「Hmm, remember me as Gwandan. So, Galilius, how about a duel under the sky? Your comrades who arrived late are being warmly received by my allies right now. Let’s welcome you all together.」

「You sound very confident. But yes, it seems you alone are more of a correct choice than Romar’s contractors. Zandarza chose guardians, but I am becoming convinced that my judgment was correct, Gwandan.」

「Guardians and contractors, huh? Intriguing terms, but their implications are pretty clear at times like this. Though I don’t need to ask you directly. If the Grand Duke Linosart’s faction is also being pestered by your group, it’s somewhat reassuring.」

「I’ve spoken out of turn, but I seem to be in high spirits. Grilim, I must battle this Dragonian. I entrust this place to you.」

Grilim showed no dismay at her superior’s sudden change of strategy. Considering Galilius’s character, an assassination mission seemed unnatural from the start. Directly feeling Gwandan’s unfathomable aura, it was understandable that Galilius’s interest shifted to him. Besides, with Galilius engaging Gwandan, troublesome guards would be absent. Though there might still be guards inside, it would take time for others to arrive from elsewhere on the ship. She could likely achieve the original objective, albeit no longer the main one.

「Understood. Have a good battle, my lord.」

After hearing Grilim’s resounding voice, Galilius swiftly turned and began moving towards the exit of the ship. Gwandan, without changing expression, followed Galilius and stepped aside from the door with ease.

Grilim, surprised by the ease of the situation, suspected traps in the door or the floor where they had been standing. However, it was Galilius, disappearing on the other side of the corridor, who revealed the truth.

「Oh, and Grilim, be careful with your shadow.」

Right after Gwandan’s disappointed mutter following Galilius’s revelation, a silver flash erupted from within Grilim’s shadow, extending toward her lower abdomen. Grilim caught it with a dart hidden in her palm, leapt back, and performed a remarkable feat of sticking to the corridor wall with her toes. Her gaze, the color of yellow jade, first went to the floor where she had stood—nothing there! Then back to her shadow, where a hand holding a sword—the source of the silver flash—emerged.

「Shadow stalker, perhaps?」

When had it snuck into her shadow? Regardless, it was a disgrace to Grilim. Intending to sever the hand holding the sword, she drew her beloved meat-cleaving-like weapon from thin air with her left hand.

When Grilim struck with her weapon, named Butsugiri, even a huge mass of mithril or adamantite would scatter like sand. The sword-hand, sensing the incoming strike, hurriedly retracted, but Grilim’s thick blade cut off the arm faster.

「One arm down to start with!」

Grilim’s calm assessment of the situation was interrupted by a voice emanating from a shadow, grotesquely distorted in shape. Surprisingly, the shadow, which had mirrored Grilim’s own form until now, had transformed into the shape of a fox-tribe with isosceles triangle ears!

「Fire Release: Higanbana Technique!」

As the pulse of “Ki,” a bio-energy distinct from magical power, emanated from the fox-tribe’s shadow, Grilim’s vision was engulfed in red flames, spreading like the higanbana flowers.

Forcing the trajectory of the Butsugiri to change, Grilim slammed it into the encroaching flames. The magical energy within the Butsugiri and Grilim’s own combined, shattering the fiery higanbana into countless sparks.

Surrounded by red sparks illuminating the area, Grilim kicked off the wall, distancing himself from the scene. Looking back at his shadow, which had reverted to its original form, he sensed no presence this time.

Instead—

「Oh no, I was almost disarmed!」

「To evade the surprise attack of Shadow Art is a formidable feat, Hachi-no-ji.」

Yachiyo, rubbing her nearly-severed right arm, and Fuuko, alertly wielding a small sword and shuriken, presented a contrast. Despite the situation, their illusions of appearing human remained intact, but they had partially removed their Romal Empire senior knight armor for better mobility.

「I understand, without being told by Ohu. When I crossed from Gwandan’s shadow to the other side, I thought I had succeeded in my surprise attack. Was that overconfidence?」

「Or perhaps it’s simply that this Grilim, the Goblin who doesn’t look like a Goblin, is just more skilled.」

In front of Yachiyo and the others, Grilim reassessed her understanding that assassinating the princess would not be easy, and smiled joyously. Even Yachiyo and Fuuko, improved under Gwandan’s training, were no match for her alone. However, in this enclosed space, she judged that two against one gave them a chance to win.

She had thought it would be a dull task to simply kill a powerless princess, but to find herself in a fight where she might lose was a delightful miscalculation!

「Ah, ah, that type of smiling opponent is troublesome, Oh Fuu. They fight while having fun, making them persistently difficult.」

「Indeed, Hachi-no-ji. No choice then. Let’s focus on buying time and try our best to survive.」

Agreeing immediately, both decided on their course of action. Their skills had significantly improved, but it didn’t make life-threatening battles enjoyable. First and foremost was survival. While they were ready to risk their lives for Amria, it was preferable to protect her without needing to take such risks.

Gwandan and Galilius walked the corridors of the ship, their atmosphere devoid of any hostility, as if they were old friends who had just reunited and agreed to go out. Already, a small number of Goblins had approached Ras Lomar, engaging in battle, which was broadcast throughout the ship. Soldiers and knights scurried around the corridors, preparing for the worst-case scenario with Las Romals ready to take off at any moment.

The reason Galilius and Gwandan went unnoticed was due to the effect of a ring Galilius wore on his left middle finger. They soon reached Ras Lomar’s deck, where Lynette and Kyrlinne were already battling the Goblins who had planned to board. Knights of the Romal Empire watched from a distance, careful not to get caught in the crossfire.

Not wanting to damage Ras Lomar, Lynette and Kyrlinne refrained from using firearms and instead engaged the elite Goblin forces with their huge maces and greatswords. Their steely, angelic armored figures were surrounded by dozens of formidable Goblins, unlike ordinary ones, engaging in blade exchanges at blinding speed.

It was understandable why the Romal Empire’s knights and soldiers couldn’t intervene. Lynette and the Goblins’ speed on the deck was like that of wind spirits, and their blades wielded lethal force enough to kill even large magical beasts. Stepping into this whirlwind of combat would only result in them being collateral fatalities.

The two exceptions, Gwandan and Galilius, stood on the deck, and Gwandan initiated the conversation.

「Hmm, your subordinates are quite well-trained. The severity of their daily training, not to mention their spiritual cultivation, is rare in armies nowadays.」

「Then how should we evaluate those girls who are fending off your well-trained men alone? They’re different from Romal’s people, and their equipment is of Deva’s lost technology. Are they your handiwork?」

「Well, “If it’s Deva’s lost technology, wouldn’t it be possible for the Romal Empire to handle it?”」

「True, but the technologies inherited by the Romal Empire and theirs are from different eras. Besides, such technologies belong to the guardian’s side, different from the contractors who sided with Princess Asteria.」

Once again, the terms “guardian” and “contractor” were mentioned. Hausen, rumored to be the true ruler of the empire since the first emperor’s time, assassins Zanad and martial artist Aslam with extraordinary human combat abilities, and the first Romal Emperor who suddenly rose to power and established the Romal Empire.

Comparing these words with his experience and knowledge as an Ancient-Celestial Dragon, Gwandan naturally reached a conclusion.

「Living legacy and its terminals, contracts for physical modification or technological benefits, typically imply subordination to the contractor. But guardians and contractors being in different camps is somewhat rare.」

The evidence almost confirming Gwandan’s assumption about the Romal Empire, a regime that proclaims Romal ethnic supremacy, surprisingly came from a senior official of the Demon King’s Army.

Whether Galilius had any thoughts on Gwandan’s words or not, he unguardedly stepped into Lynette’s battlefield as if completely unaware of the danger.

A dazzling golden flash cut through the air. Fewer than five people in the area could discern that the golden crescent in the air was drawn by Galilius’s golden short spear.

Subsequently, Lynette and Kyrlinne were blown towards Gwandan with the sound of metal clashing. Kneeling on either side of Gwandan, their weapons bore cracks, indicating the immense power of Galilius’s strike.

「I’m sorry, Master Gwandan. I’ve shown you a pitiful sight.」

「I’m sorry…」

Gwandan addressed Lynette, who couldn’t fully hide her frustration, and Kirlynne, emitting a faint voice like a mosquito’s hum, with his usual tranquil tone. This approach might have been more painful for the two, but for Gwandan, blaming them was not an option.

「No, this time the fault lies with the opponents. With the best equipment at their disposal, they might have managed, but the self-imposed constraints of not damaging this ship and not revealing too much to the Empire made their defeat inevitable.」

Galilius halted at the center of the deck and, after a few words to the goblins around him, they left to assist their comrades battling under Ras Lomar.