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Last Embryo Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 6

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Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist

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That method of firing made it possible to keep everyone involved safe at all times because they didn’t have to make themselves vulnerable by constantly keeping the ballista on the train’s top deck so that it could fire, and they didn’t need to worry about timing the gaps between using the elevator which could lead to the enemy using the opened elevator shaft to get inside of the train.

Among all of the Teleportation Gifts, Suzuka’s ability to 「freely teleport any object in a straight line away from her left hand」 and 「freely teleport any object in a straight line into her right hand」 had an incredibly large amount of tactical possibilities available to it. To illustrate it with an example, Suzuka was able to successfully repel Byakko and its rider only after getting a simple instruction of 「transporting the ballista bolts outside of the Giant Spirit Train’s wall with her 『Apport & Asport』 in order to carry out an omni-directional attack that the enemy won’t be able to avoid」.

That was all there was to the trick that ensured that the battle on the top deck went according to their plan. Suzuka’s power was basically such a cheat that as long as it was in a straight line from her hands, she could freely meddle even with objects flying at high speeds and enclosed spaces. It was that type of Gift which allowed its user to shine the brightest in group battles instead of individual skirmishes.

「I don’t want to be a spoilsport here, but we have to remember that this tactic is only meant to buy us as much time as possible. If only we had the Hermit Gift from 『Perseus』, we could have lend it to her in order to turn the tide of the battle in our favor with ease.」

「That is a wonderful idea. If there will ever be next time, we definitely have to do that!」

If only 『Apport & Asport’s』 distant teleportation could be combined with the power of the Hermit Gift, that combination would undoubtedly make Ayazato Suzuka one of the ultimate, unrivaled Players.

As the battle was slowly turning into a war of attrition, Suzuka quickly teleported herself high into the sky to confirm the situation outside and the immediately return back inside. Shaking her slightly wet hair left and right in an attempt to dry them, and then reported with tightly clenched fists.

「This. Is. Amazing!!!! Everything went exactly as you predicted, Aya! Every single thing!」

「Thank you for the praise, but if someone deserves it it would definitely have to be you Suzuka. Even though you only heard my suggested tactics once, you were able to execute everything perfectly. That’s something I wouldn’t be able to do even if I tried with all my might, so you can definitely feel proud of yourself.」

Ayato’s smiled was filled with warm admiration, but also a slight tinge of bitterness.

「That being said, I feel like I should ask you: why didn’t you settle everything with the first few bolts? If it’s your Gift we’re talking about, then you should have no problems with taking them by surprise and ending it then and there.」

「Well, I guess I could have done that, but I thought that if I sell myself as someone inexperienced who cannot aim properly, then the enemy might as well become more careless and more willing to simply charged at the ballista without a care in the world. And look, my Gift loses all of its effectiveness if the target is more than 120 meters away from me, so if they remained cautious of us, they might have tried to flee, and that would be all sorts of troublesome for us, now would it? That is why I thought that taking the other way to approach his situation might be a better one, and wouldn’t you know, turns out it was the right call to do. And that, my dear Aya, is what we call Girl Power!」

Suzuka gloated with her index finger raised in a cocky way. That last argument was completely off topic, but still, it made Ayato see Suzuka in an entirely new light. Since she was always sure that the best way to do battle was to best your enemy with exquisite skills and complicated tactics, the idea of making them drop their guard by purposefully showing them how inexperienced they were would never even cross her mind.

「I think they are going to figure out our little deception before long, but that should give us more than enough time. As long as we’ll be able to reach the Ley Line before that happens, we will be able to use its super acceleration to shake them off.」

「I see. You’re surprisingly well informed, Aya.」

That carefree remark and nonchalant smile made Ayato’s heart skip a beat. Right now, she was too careless with that slip of the tongue. Considering that Suzuka was way smarter than she looked, it won’t take her much time to figure out that Ayato is actually connected to Little Garden if only she analyzes all of her accidental slips and changes in the way she normally acted… or, to put it another way, she probably won’t be able to keep her secret from getting found out for much longer. She was having enough of a hard time keeping it us as it is now, and more importantly, lying to Suzuka and Homura was getting more and more painful for her with every passing day.

Leaving Lapko IX in Suzuka’s hands, Ayato turned on her heel and walked towards the wagons in front of them to dodge any further questioning. Before going through the door, she turned back towards them.

「Suzuka, Lapko IX, I’ll leave this place to you. I have to go have a little chat with the Queen.」

「Eh? Oh, sure, but… will you be okay on your own?」

「Yes, I’ll be okay, so do not worry. If anything goes south here, just rely on Kuro Usagi. Out of everyone gathered in here right now, she is undoubtedly the strongest Gift User.」

Leaving only those words behind her, Ayato left the last wagon, leaving Suzuka with her mouth wide open, but that was to be expected, because she found it strange that she would tell her to leave everything in here to such an adorable rabbit-eared cutie rather than to someone like Sharol, who looked like she had way more actual battle experience then Kuro Usagi.

Being able to figure out what Suzuka was probably thinking right now, Ayato’s lips curved up into a smile. If Kuro Usagi, descended from the household of one of the strongest Gods of War across all mythologies and being counted among 「The Nobility of Little Garden」 were to fight seriously with all of her power, then she should be able to protect the Giant Spirit train with her eyes closed. But since her original role was to oversee the Game as a Judge Master, relying on her should be their absolutely last resort, and even then it would have meant their failure, both as warriors and the Gift Game’s participants.

Up until now Ayato has firmly resigned herself to be little more than a spectator, but that particular bridge was now burning down in spectacular flames. From this moment onward, the time has come for Kudou Ayato to take up her blade once more.

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