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Vol 04 Chapter 124: Decisive Battle III

 

A low, growling sound warned me of Merlin’s fast approaching arrow. I deflected it with my sword.

A strong impact assaulted my right hand, causing it to numb momentarily.

「A dragon bow, huh…」

「Yes, you have a good eye. But then again, it’s not so surprising since one of your friends behind you has a dragon bow too.」

As if responding to that question, another arrow whizzed by my side. It was shot by Gram.

The arrow roared as it flew straight towards Merlin…

「You’re quite skilled, aren’t you?」

Merlin caught the arrow with her hand and gave a sly grin.

This is strange…

Merlin’s arms are the slender arms of a young woman. Although she has some muscle from being on the battlefield, she shouldn’t have enough strength to draw a dragon bow.

The dragon bow is so strong that only someone with a muscular physique like Gram should be able to draw it, and he is only able to draw it comfortably thanks to my [Blessing of the Emperor’s] physical enhancement support. Something is wrong here.

Could it be…

「Does your necromancy spell grant you the blessings of the deceased as well?」

「Sharp observation.」

Merlin threw the arrow back like a dart. It flew straight towards my forehead but was deflected by my sword.

Merlin and Kuryuu now possess physical abilities equal to, or greater than, mine…

Facing these two will be tough…

◇

Merlin’s arrow grazed my cheek. The arrow sliced through the flesh of my cheek, and blood splattered. The intensifying rain washed away the blood in an instant.

It’s hard to tell whether it’s blood or raindrops streaming down my face now.

The situation is heavily leaning in favor of the Rozel side. Ron is busy just keeping Alice in check. Gram and Mutzio’s arrows are nearly meaningless, only being able to hinder Kuryuu and Merlin’s movements a little. I can only focus completely on defense, fully occupied withstanding the fierce attacks from Kuryuu and Merlin.

「You really do have good senses, you keep dodging by a hair’s breadth.」

「Aren’t your skills just lacking?」

Merlin frowned unhappily at my provocation.

She pulled another arrow from her quiver and readied it.

「Dieee!」

As Kuryuu swung his great sword overhead and brought it down onto me, Merlin simultaneously released her arrow.

I caught Kuryuu’s great sword while forcefully twisting my body, narrowly dodging the arrow. The arrow grazed my side, and the pain followed shortly after.

「You missed again. You better finish me off quickly or it’ll be bad for you.」

I taunted the two of them.

The battle in the center is tipping against us. However, we should have an overwhelming advantage on both flanks. The encirclement is almost complete.

Once that happens, victory will be ours. There’s no need to defeat these two here and now.

It’s not necessary to win against them to win the war.

But still… where is she getting so much magical power from? And how can she regenerate her wounds?

The woman named Merlin is clearly a Lost One, I don’t know if she is a reincarnated person or a transferee, but I am sure of this because she spoke Japanese earlier.

The reason she spoke Japanese is unclear, but it was probably necessary for casting that strange spell. Julia once mentioned that spells need to be chanted in your native language to be effective.

Griffon-sama told me a long time ago that Lost Ones generally possess some blessings. It wouldn’t be strange for Merlin to also have some kind of blessing.

The necromancy she is currently using is a spell… so it makes sense to think that her physical regeneration is due to a blessing. Spells are normally only capable of creating illusions, alleviating pain, or producing minor sparks. Physical regeneration is technically impossible.

Should I call it the [Blessing of the Zombie]? Is there any way she can be killed? Zombies are usually killed by destroying their heads, but would that work on Merlin?

There’s no time to test this…

Another question is the magical power sustaining her necromancy. Julia mentioned she could handle necromancy to a certain extent, but it’s quite difficult to invoke and maintain the spell.

A necromancy spell requires a massive ritual site, the spell has to be chanted for hours, and it consumes so much magical power that is necessary to continuously replenish magical power with sacrifices, and magical stones.

With just a few words, this woman completed a necromancy spell, which would take so much preparation from Julia. The more rituals are skipped, the greater the burden on the caster.

And she’s maintaining it for a long time.

It’s hard to believe she has more magical power than Julia… rather, I don’t want to believe it.

Julia has so much magical power that other high-ranked magicians can’t compare to her, her magic power surpasses the human limits. If someone has even more magical power than her, that person would be no human but a god or spirit.

She must be securing magical power through some other means… But where is she getting it from?

「With all the time you have to space out, you must be quite at ease!」

With that, Merlin rapidly closed the distance. She had stowed her bow on her back and now wielded swords in both hands.

You are coming directly for me now, huh…

「Kuryuu!! You’re in the way. Move aside.」

「But…」

「Return to commanding the troops!!!」

Merlin and Kuryuu began exchanging words in Gallian. Kuryuu looked hesitant, but in the end, left the battle.

「It’s about time you died.」

As she said this, Gram’s arrow pierced through Merlin’s heart. A large hole appeared in her body.

But…

「A scratch like this won’t kill me.」

The wound regenerated rapidly.

「You monster!」

Gram shouted in anger.

「Gram, Mutzio! Aim for the head!」

I gave orders to the two of them.

I hope this is the right call…

I faced Merlin again and gave her a sly smile.

「The typical weak point of a zombie is the head after all.」

「The head, huh… Haha, you think a simple arrow to the head will kill me?」

She smiled amusedly.

I really hope she is bluffing right now.

「Well, you probably won’t be able to test it. After all, you are going to die next!」

Merlin’s sword clashed with mine.

My hand is getting numb…

She is faster and her blows are heavier than Kuryuu, and… even her technique is superior!

「You bastard. You are only using a borrowed power you received from others without any effort on your part?!」

「It’s not from others, it’s the power of my deceased husband. A crystallization of love. Besides, your strength comes from some damn fairy, doesn’t it? It’s the same thing.」

She has a point. Power earned through effort and power received from others are both power all the same.

「Normally, the bad guy who uses a borrowed power like this, loses because his body can’t keep up with the power, right? It’s a common trope in manga at least.」

「Should we fight without any blessings or magic? I’d probably win. Just so you know, if you’ve been practicing for five hundred years, you naturally acquire some skill.」

「So it’s the advantage of age, huh? Damn fossil. Just die.」

「You’re the one who’s going to die, you little brat.」

The sound of clashing metal drowned out even the rain. The battle was evenly matched.

With Kuryuu gone, I might have the upper hand… It’s dangerous to let this woman live. Now is the chance to kill her. If I miss this chance, I might not get another.

I endured the pain coursing through my body and mustered all my strength.

I just need a little more power, a little more is all I need.

A little more power and I can break through the barrier of experience that Merlin has over me.

「Haahhhhhh!!!」

「Ugh!!」

My sword struck forcefully against Merlin’s, sending her body reeling backward.

「Die!」

As I swung my sword, Merlin arched her body dramatically. The blade slashed through her clothing, scattering fresh blood.

「Why has your strength suddenly increased… Did you receive a new blessing? No, that can’t be…」

Merlin’s voice was frantic. I clenched my fists tightly.

My grip strength, which had been waning, has returned. I don’t understand it, but… It was probably thanks to the fairies… No, maybe my followers increased just now for some reason. Seeing me cornered, my soldiers must have wished for my victory. I can feel their strong desire for me to win.

「What’s the blessing of this guy? Did his blessing just increase?」

「As I would tell you. Are you stupid?」

「I’m not asking you!」

I don’t fully understand, but she’s full of openings.

I closed the distance to Merlin and swung my sword. Our swords clashed fiercely.

A moment of deadlock, but in the end, I win.

「Die!」

My sword slashed through Merlin’s right hand. Her hand flew through the air, and blood spurted out.

「Ugh!」

Almost immediately, particles of light began to gather around Merlin’s severed right hand.

Her regeneration began.

But I can’t let this opportunity slip away!

「Ugh, hurry up and tell me. What is his blessing? Don’t hold back!」

While blocking my fierce attacks with her left hand, Merlin began talking as if conversing with someone else.

Has she gone mad?

「Eh!? …That’s the same as Etzel… huh…」

Merlin, having regenerated her right hand, grabbed a spare sword with it and continued to defend against my assault.

I couldn’t finish her off, huh…

「Let me give you some advice. Don’t rely too much on that blessing. You will lose yourself, soon you won’t be able to distinguish between ‘King Rosais’ and ‘Almus.’」

「Thanks for the concern. Rest assured, I’m aware of the side effects. But I can’t stop anymore.」

I have built a bridge of corpses and crossed a river of blood to get here. There’s no turning back now.

I must get across.

「Let’s settle this.」

「No, I think I’ll stop here. It seems I can’t win against you right now.」

With that, Merlin turned on her heel and walked away, followed by Alice. Simultaneously, a gong sounded.

It was the sound of Rozel Kingdom’s gong. Hearing the sound, the Rozel soldiers began to flee en masse.

This means…

「Almus-sama, thanks to you keeping the front line from collapsing, our flanks had time to move to a side attack.」

Bartolo reported to me.

So… we’ve won!

「We should begin the pursuit immediately!」

「Yes… All forces!! Begin the charge!! Do not let the Gallians live!!」

In this battle, the Rozel army lost four thousand dead and eight thousand wounded. The number of prisoners reached ten thousand.

A total of twenty-two thousand troops were lost.

On the other hand, the allied forces of King Rosais’ Country and King Domorgal’s Country suffered one thousand dead and four thousand wounded.

It was a great victory for the allied forces.

◇

「Ouch!!」

「Don’t move, Almus. I can’t treat your wounds if you do.」

「Isn’t there a less stinging medicine?」

「There isn’t.」

Julia’s merciless voice plunged me into despair.

「Hey! Don’t run away! Tetra, catch him.」

「Understood.」

「Hey, let go. It hurts, it hurts!!」

I screamed from the bottom of my heart. Julia’s medicine mercilessly stung my wounds.

「I’m going to die!! I’m going to die!!」

「You seem to be having fun.」

Bartolo came over, drinking his wine and sporting an annoying grin.

「Good for you, you didn’t receive any serious injuries.」

「Well, yes. They’re all just grazes… but it hurts!! It hurts so much!!」

「Stay still!!」

I received treatment, nearly crying from the pain.

Create a medicine that doesn’t sting, please…

「Then I’ll proceed with the report. Our casualties are approximately one thousand dead and about four thousand wounded. The enemy’s losses are unknown, but we have confirmed about eight thousand corpses. I predict that the enemy still outnumbers us… However, their morale is significantly lowered due to their defeat. I doubt there will be another battle.」

So, it’s safe to say we won the final battle. It’s not a complete victory, but it’s still a cause for celebration.

「As for prisoners, we captured two generals commanding ten thousand troops each, and five commanding a thousand. This is a significant victory for us.」

「What about Kuryuu and Merlin?」

「We haven’t confirmed their capture. They likely escaped…」

Kuryuu disengaged from the battle with me midway. At that time, Merlin must have realized that they were about to be surrounded.

That’s why she let Kuryuu escape and fought me alone. I thought I was buying time, but it turns out I was the one being stalled.

However, if I had continued to fight Kuryuu and Merlin together, there’s a high probability I would have been killed. It’s regrettable, but unavoidable.

「Ah, and about that blonde girl. We’ve captured her. Alice, was her name?」

「Is that true? Good job capturing her.」

「It seems she was captured while protecting Prince Aldo. She’s been quiet since her capture. Would you like to meet her?」

Hmm, I do feel like meeting and talking to her. Ideally, I’d like to recruit her. It would be a waste to kill someone as strong as her. Maybe there’s a way…

She seems to have strong loyalty to Prince Aldo. Perhaps if we use Prince Aldo as a hostage, she might comply?

「Well, good. I’ll go see her later. And the ivory has been collected, right?」

「Yes, we’ve gathered it all. I’ve managed to fool our allies about it, but… Are those things really valuable?」

「I’m pretty sure they are. The Kirisian merchants will probably jump at them.」

I hope this helps our finances…

「My king!!」

A voice came from beyond the tent. It was Raymond’s voice.

「Come in.」

「Excuse me.」

Raymond walked straight up to me, holding a tube in his hand.

「What’s that?」

「An envoy from the Rozel army has arrived…」

I took the tube from Raymond. I untied the string and pulled out a letter from inside.

I broke the seal and unfolded it.

…

…

Hmm…

「What does it say?」

「They want to make peace.」