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Chapter 311 part 2

While more than two thousand Quadra Shooters were fired, Merle simultaneously unleashed a spell that annihilated the ground in a specific area. Tarulu’s stone club, tapping the earth just before it vanished, nullified the attack.

「’You, you, make sure to stay firm, or I’ll be troubled.’」

Merle’s End Earth was neutralized by Tarulu’s mere conversation with the ground. The disappearing ground regained its solid form with just that.

「Amazing, the primitive magic activated by speech! The oldest and greatest magic, moving the world with the most powerful words! I’ve never seen the real thing!」

「Is that so, young lady? Don’t let your guard down in your excitement. ‘Look, a burning meteorite is falling from the sky towards you!’」

As Tarulu spoke, a meteorite, large enough to cause a disaster if it landed, appeared above Merle’s head. Merle, amused by the sight, showed no sign of distress.

「This little pebble is nothing to worry about!」

Merle’s response was simple. Swinging Nichtigheit upwards at the giant meteorite, he released a black mass of magical power. The black mass, upon impact, expanded slightly and absorbed the meteorite, revealing its true nature as a spatial transfer gate, forcibly teleporting anything it touches.

The meteorite disappeared instantly, just as it had appeared. Neither Zandarza nor Tarulu were particularly surprised or hindered by Merle’s feat.

「That reminds me of Vargro’s idiotic amount of magical power and precise techniques. He died eight hundred years ago though!」

Remembering an old rival, Zandarza formed multiple signs in the air with his lower hands, a technique activated by specific signs in a specific order, used in both magic and ninjutsu.

Zandarza vanished from within the magic bullets and instantly moved behind Merle. Merle, realizing it was spatial transfer, diverted some of the 「Quadra Shooter」 to Tarulu while rotating the rest around himself. If Zandarza teleported close to Merle, he would enter the magic bullets from any direction.

The quickest evasion would be to teleport outside the rotating 「Quadra Shooter」. Zandarza, licking his lips at Merle’s quick response, reappeared at a distance to Merle’s left. His attack was not a red-black magic spear but a red rod with gold fittings at both ends.

「Extend, Nyoi Shinchin Tetsu Dakonbo!」

A weapon made of divine iron, malleable at the owner’s will and forged through the principles of Xian Dao arts. The Nyoi Shinchin Tetsu Dakonbo, or Nyoi Kon, commanded by Zandarza, approached Merle, breaking through the circling 「Quadra Shooter」.

Judging Merle, a magician at his peak, as a melee combat amateur was premature. Merle was aware and prepared. Merle had decided it was better to use the skills of those already proficient than to gain melee experience himself.

The distall, transformed into a full-body armor, duplicated the movements and combat techniques of the kingdom’s elite knights, Dramina, and Christina. In close combat, the distall would activate combat moves based on these techniques, analyzed, improved, and applied.

Merle, guided by Distol, repelled Nyoi Kon with Nichtigheit, shattering the surrounding 「Quadra Shooter」.

「Wow, what a strike!」

The impact’s numerical value, offset by the distall, was projected onto Merle’s left retina, and he genuinely admired it. Zandarza felt the same. It seemed like his body had moved involuntarily, but the impact through Nyoi Kon was tremendous. Zandarza licked his lips, realizing a mere leap into Merle’s arms wouldn’t suffice.

He retracted Nyoi Kon, then extended it rapidly, delivering a series of thrusts dense as a wall.

Merle, discerning Zandarza’s thoughts, stopped 「Quadra Shooter」, leapt up using high-speed flying magic, and scattered decoy doppelgangers with mass and magical responses.

It took Zandarza and Tarulu only a second or two to identify the real Merle among the hundreds, but by then, Merle had already begun chanting, using the decoys as shields. The two Demon Six Generals immediately realized they couldn’t stop him in time.

「Thunder, lightning, embody the divine will in the dawn!」

「Dragon dancing among the clouds, rising to heaven, circling the Bagua, traversing the seasons, drawing the Taiji.」

Merle’s verbal chanting, supplemented by atmospheric vibrations simulating simultaneous chanting, began.

The first spell, an electric storm magic, recreated the feat of an ancient thunder god who unleashed lightning to obliterate enemy forces, dyeing the dawn sky with flashes. The second spell symbolized the world’s operation as a dragon, aggregating the power of all elements and launching a destructive, directed artillery magic.

「Experience the divine thunder’s power, Maha Leikeus!」

「Manifest the laws of heaven, Kugai Ryudo!」

White lightning swirled around the nichtigkeit aimed at Zandarza, raising the hairs on his back and shrinking his insides in fear. Yet, the fear didn’t erase Zandarza’s smile. The fear and atrophying spirit only fueled his joy in battling the strong.

「My stomach’s twisting with laughter. Receive my stick fighting secret technique! Nyoi Jizai Sanpo!」

Zandarza expanded Nyoi Kon to a diameter surpassing the approaching white lightning. The rod struck the Maha Leikeus repeatedly.

Meanwhile, a beautiful jade-colored dragon, roaring with open jaws, descended from the sky, attacking Tarulu. The old troll, initially relaxed, tensed and readied his stone club, seeing the dragon approaching.

「Black, black, dye everything, swallow everything, you’re the most beautiful color!」

Tarulu’s club darkened, absorbing all colors and beings.

「Black Eats Black!」

The club, now black, struck the jade dragon just before impact, swallowing it whole.

The divine iron rod withstood the divine thunder, tearing it apart and scattering it. The torn thunder shattered the ground, burnt the air, and cleared the clouds, creating an apocalyptic scene.

The dragon, trying to swallow Tarulu but caught by the black club, struggled near the hole, altering the terrain.

Soon, the uncontrollable force from the collision of Merle, Zandarza, and Tarulu exceeded a critical point, engulfing them all in a blinding light and blast.

This question implied whether Ryuuguu would maintain its stance without intervening in the battle, either through disguising themselves among Bern’s forces or mingling with the Dragonkin of the Mores Mountains.

The Prime Minister, an elder sea turtle in human form and standing closest to Ryuukichi on the right side of the divided line of vassals, spoke up with a rebuking tone.

「Your Highness, this is not the place to voice opinions on His Majesty’s decisions.」

Liu Yuu, next in line as the Dragon Emperor and Sovereign of Ryuuguu Kingdom, was not permitted to speak his mind anytime and anywhere. It was reasonable to criticize him for his out-of-place comments, driven by his attachment to Dran and his companions. Sougetsu, Liu Yuu’s chief bodyguard, stood slightly behind and to the left of Liu Yuu, looking regretfully downward after the Prime Minister’s remarks.

Liu Yuu, acknowledging his mistake, bowed to the Prime Minister and the sovereign on the throne.

「I apologize for my foolish and inappropriate remarks.」

Ryuukichi, without altering his expression, responded, his inner thoughts as a mother reflecting on whether Liu Yuu was still excited from his conversation with Dran, yet maintaining decorum.

「If you understand, that’s good. The fact that the threat of sea demons has significantly lessened and the long-desired peace has come to our seas, giving us more leeway, is true. Hence, the desire to support the nations we’ve befriended on land may arise. However, offering our help unsolicitedly is not advisable. Given that the Arcrest Kingdom and its neighboring Romal Empire are preparing for war with Mundus Carnus, our interference at this time could adversely affect their war efforts. Moreover, the calm in the sea may mean we need to pay more attention to the sea of stars.」

The reference to the “sea of stars” related to matters involving star beings who once fought against the Devas. Last year, a massive space fleet arrived to obliterate this star, but it was completely annihilated by Ryuukichi and the Three Dragon Emperors. Occasional invasions by star beings, once defeated by the Devas, continued, repelled by the Three Dragon Emperors, the Moon’s Dragon King, the Rabbit People, and Crabs. The Three Dragon Emperors, once the planet’s greatest force before Dran’s reincarnation, had limited knowledge of outer space as they focused on defensive retaliation.

Given this context, Ryuukichi’s remarks suggested a potential new alien attack or exploration of outer space, led by the Three Dragon Emperors and the Moon Rabbits.

「Does this signify the approach of a new war, Your Majesty?」

「Something similar, yet it might not be entirely new. The relics of a past we desperately sought but presumed destroyed may be emerging from obscurity, according to an old acquaintance.」

「An old acquaintance?」

「Sometimes an enemy, but now tentatively an ally. A very ancient mechanical being that existed until it gained a soul.」

Liu Yuu didn’t inquire further about this acquaintance, presuming Ryuukichi would reveal more if necessary.