Chapter 121

Magellan and Elkana discovered Duke Ocleang.

Among them, the only two who knew his face were overtaken by their emotions and began to leap forward.

“Uh?”

“Th-There!”

Auriel and Ambasha expressed their surprise at their sudden actions.

However, Franklin spoke in a serious tone.

“Let them be. We have to chase him anyway. Auriel and Schrödinger, please follow Ambasha. I’ll signal you from the middle.”

“Ah… okay.”

“Got it, sis.”

This was a measure to consider the relatively slower two.

Even so, it wasn’t the best method considering safety, but Franklin had no choice but to push forward.

Their ultimate goal for coming here was to capture Duke Ocleang.

He was the one who had harmed Ambasha and the enemy of Magellan and Elkana.

Besides, he had even sent the Pirate King a nuisance by dispatching the allied forces, making him an enemy they simply couldn’t let go.

Honestly, capturing that one guy was more important than slaying tens of thousands of soldiers in the Holy Empire Army, so Franklin began to move with all his might to apprehend Duke Ocleang.

*

“Damn it! What is going on? Why… why are the Frantz Kingdom guys here…?”

Duke Ocleang, desperately driving his horse to escape, felt a deep confusion at this unexpected situation.

He had thought the war was practically over once General Rafael was captured…

How could the Revolutionary Army, who should have been dying at the hands of the Holy Empire’s main forces, attack this stronghold that he believed was the safest place?

With doubts and chaos swirling in his mind, Duke Ocleang initiated his escape.

And then, behind the fleeing Duke, two figures clad in black armor followed.

As the Duke, terrified for his own safety, rode under the temporary escort of what he had acquired from Duke Wallenstein after a bit of persuasion, he did his utmost to flee this place.

At that moment…

-Whoosh!

-Bang!!!!

“W-What?!”

The next moment, a dagger unexpectedly flew in from the front, striking his white horse.

As a result, the Duke, who was riding the horse, was thrown to the ground.

“Argh!”

Simultaneously, a heavy pain hit him.

Fortunately, due to the abundant fat surrounding his body, he avoided serious injury, but the numbing shock rendered him unable to rise for a moment.

At that time…

“!! N-No… You… you two?!”

A pair of a man and woman began to emerge from the bushes, approaching the Duke.

The moment he laid eyes on their faces, Duke Ocleang’s expression hardened in shock, as if he had seen a ghost.

“It’s been a while, Duke Ocleang. You’ve certainly put on quite a bit of weight since we last met, haven’t you?”

“Right? Just how many people have we all fed on in the meantime to end up like this?”

Their voices were laden with deep anger.

Even though he had only seen them once, Duke Ocleang remembered exactly who these two were…

And also… what had happened to them…

“N-No… that can’t be! Y-You… you two…”

“Let’s not repeat the obvious. You thought we were dead, didn’t you?”

“I thought you were dead!!!”

He couldn’t remember their names, but he clearly knew that these were the two bounty hunters who had been killed under the orders of General Garden.

In that moment, seeing them standing alive before him with blades drawn aimed at him, Duke Ocleang was seized by a heavy terror.

“Your companions’ enemy… I will surely repay you here.”

“Prepare yourself, you piece of trash!”

With a lethal aura, the two slowly approached.

Duke Ocleang felt them transform from mere pests he had regarded while surrounded by countless guards into dreadful demons crawling out of hell, his face turning pale with horror.

At that moment…

-Clank

-Clank

“!”

“Huh?”

The black-armored warriors blocking the path of Duke Ocleang.

Upon seeing those who were trying to protect him according to their orders, the Duke gradually escaped from confusion and a smile crept onto his face.

“Cough… so you’re still alive? Well… what does it matter… as long as you’re alive, I can just eliminate you here and now. Go! Take care of those two!”

*

Without answering a word to Duke Ocleang’s command, the two black warriors slowly advanced forward.

In response, Magellan drew his weapon… the Black Blade Calaborg, and began to channel his magical power into it.

His sword contained feeling just enough magical power to barely scrape into Grade 9.

Although being at the early stage of Grade 9 meant it was impossible to possess elemental condensing just yet, nonetheless, most competent fighters wouldn’t even dare to approach him right now.

However…

“!”

“What… what is that?”

In the next moment, Magellan and Elkana’s expressions froze in shock, as they witnessed what was appearing before them.

The black warriors, who were approaching while wielding greatswords.

The condensation swirling around those heavily armored figures was…

It appeared like blood flowing down.

It wasn’t merely a flow of magical power; it was a clearly elemental condensation.

What that indicated…

“Grade 10…”

“Ah… no… those two?!”

They had predicted there would be some formidable guards attached, of course.

However…

They never imagined that Duke Ocleang would have two Grade 10 Grand Warriors at his side.

Magellan and Elkana were overwhelmed by perplexity at this unexpected turn of events.

Towards them, the two black knights swiftly closed the distance at an unbelievable speed.

“Ugh!”

-Crunch!!!

Magellan barely managed to block the enemy’s attack.

But,

The unique condensation of Grade 10 wasn’t something that could just be blocked.

-SZZZ!!!!

“What the hell?!”

A red liquid flowed down from Magellan’s sword as if it were some kind of acid.

Even while utilizing condensation, it flowed down heedlessly, beginning to melt the leather and steel of his gloves.

“Heave!!!”

-Bam!

Hastily kicking one of the attackers, Magellan bolted away.

Immediately after, he threw off his steaming glove.

Watching the moment his gloves made of leather and steel dissolve in an instant sent shivers down his spine while realizing a new fact.

‘No… that’s no ordinary fluid. Anything that touches that flowing condensation is utterly obliterated…’

It was a property created not through magic but through pure magical power application.

Seeing that, which clearly told him that the other truly were Grade 10 Grand Warriors, Magellan unwittingly swallowed hard.

At least his combat ability was that of a Grade 9 Warrior, and he was wielding the renowned sword Calaborg; in comparison, the weapons of those two seemed surprisingly flimsy for their skill level.

Feeling relieved about this fact, Magellan readied himself to block the attackers again.

Meanwhile…

“Kyaaaaah!!! I’m gonna die!!!”

-Kaboom!!!

Elkana, barely rolling on the ground, scrambled to escape the enemy’s attacks.

It was a given that Magellan could hardly fend off the enemy’s assault; how could she do anything about it?

“Ugh!!!”

-SZZZ!!!!

Elkana narrowly dodged the strike from a massive sword.

She felt a chill run down her spine as she evaded the liquid-like condensation that was splashing everywhere.

It was visibly melting the ground beside her completely.

Unlike with the acidic spells that could be blocked by magical barriers, the condensation from a Grade 10 Grand Warrior was something that couldn’t be defended against with just a flimsy barrier.

In this situation, the moment her body touched that liquid, it would be instantly erased, and even attempting to block it with a dagger would result in a guaranteed death as the dagger shattered into pieces.

In the end… all she could do was devote herself to dodging the enemy’s attacks.

Fortunately, the enemy wasn’t absurdly fast relative to their combat ability, while Elkana, possessing assassin-like qualities, had a speed surpassing that of Magellan.

If it hadn’t been for that, she would have long been shot straight to the afterlife.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

“Are… are you okay? Elkana?”

“I’m not okay… what are we going to do now?”

But even that was beginning to hit its limit.

What lay before her eyes, not to mention their actual combat capability, was overwhelming inferiority.

Facing not just one but two Grade 10 warriors was absolutely impossible with their abilities.

“What to do… well…”

However…

In this seemingly hopeless situation, Magellan didn’t feel despair.

The reason was…

-Bang!!!!

In the next moment, something fell right before them.

As it appeared while radiating a crimson flame-like condensation…

A streak of relief began to shine on the faces of Magellan and Elkana.

“I’m sorry, I’m a little late.”