Chapter 345

(345)

The revived soldiers’ appearances were pitiful.

Pock, Pookpook!

From their eye sockets, ear holes, spine bones, and various other parts of their bodies, corals of different colors grew like tree branches.

Not only corals but also barnacles and clams were present.

Starfish that appeared from somewhere attached themselves to their cheeks and stomachs.

The coral soldiers who had completed their mutations looked like knights wearing barnacle armor and coral-decorated helmets.

“Grrrrk!”

The hundred revived soldiers emitted the sound of bubbling water and shone with ominous light in their eyes.

“That’s not yours, is it?”

Schub Ardelra clenched her teeth as she watched this sight.

“When did you take it?”

“…”

Carlon neither looked back nor responded.

He merely pointed to Tenitia and gave orders to the soldiers.

“Kill that knight! Throw them into the water!”

Tenitia smiled faintly behind her helmet’s visor.

“It seems you don’t know how hard royal family members work to prevent knights from drowning.”

It was basic to have a freezing incantation circuit wrapped around the armor to keep the body afloat, but she also possessed the ‘Mermaid’s Kiss’ and Tarti’s Eisen.

“Would you even say such a thing after seeing this body running across the water?”

Chock.

Tenitia placed the red mana-bladed sword Hwanhan under her arm.

“Blinded by desire, you cling to a plan that is already doomed!”

“Woooaaaahh!”

A coral soldier rushed forward and swung its rough hands.

Hands covered with coral and barnacles seemed capable of tearing apart chain armor with just a swipe.

However, the opponent was not a mere adventurer in chain armor but a renowned knight of the Bandit Duke’s vanguard.

Whoosh!

The finely honed sword Hwanhan cleanly sliced through the waist of the coral soldier as it swung horizontally.

Squeak!

Even coral bones as hard as steel and barnacle-like chain armor couldn’t stop her mana blade.

Not a single drop of blood flowed from the coral soldier’s cut section.

“Woooorrrrr….”

The upper body slid off, and the lower body took a few steps alone before falling over.

Thud.

That was the beginning, and the coral soldiers charged.

“Wooorrrrr—!”

“Crrrroooo—!”

They grabbed her legs, clung to her cloak, spat acidic blue liquid, swung arms and elbows grown sharp like coral, and vomited sea snakes from their throats toward Tenitia’s armor gaps.

It was a savage and violent charge that could only be carried out by soldiers who feared no death.

Buwooo! Buwoooh! Buwoooohhh—!

At the same time, Carlon blew furiously into the Subjugation Sea Whistle, trying to bind Tenitia with sea magic.

Thanks to the enchantment circuits in her armor and her mental strength, she could withstand it, but this was a deadly distraction that continuously scattered her focus.

Here, the knight demonstrated what true violence and lethality were.

“The knight of His Grace Duke Valenciaunos, Tenitia!”

The thunderous voice infused with mana drowned out the sound of the Subjugation Sea Whistle.

“Today, I will show you the existence of justice with this sword!”

Taah!

The knight charged like a beast.

With the lump of metal at the end of Hwanhan’s handle, she smashed the head of a coral soldier, slammed her forehead with her helmet into the spine of another coral soldier’s neck, piercing three bodies with her steel-gauntleted fists, blocked the poisonous liquid with her magic artifact cloak, wiped it onto the face of her opponent, and then swung her sword with the blazing mana blade to decapitate them.

When a coral soldier grabbed her waist, one strike of her elbow shattered its spine, and the sea snake that found a gap in her armor pierced through the throat of the coral soldier that summoned it, killing it.

* * *

The knight proceeded, turning coral soldiers back into piles of corpses.

Carlon’s face turned deathly pale.

Sshaaak!

At that moment, a coral soldier shot out thin tentacles from the tips of its four fingers, targeting the gaps in Tenitia’s armor.

Pooop! Pooop!

The platinum armor was tightly constructed plating that wouldn’t allow even a decent dagger through, but the jellyfish-like tentacles of the coral soldier eventually found gaps and wildly stung the knight’s body.

“Guh!”

Tenitia groaned at the tingling pain she felt on her back, and Carlon rushed forward, wielding a magic artifact dagger.

“Eek!”

At that moment, Tenitia drew Manha with her left hand and cast a Mana Blast behind her.

Wooouuuung!

A red crescent cleaved the final coral soldier from the groin to the crown of its head.

Carlon stiffened reflexively at the sight.

‘Aur Blast?’

Unfamiliar with the Mana Blast technique, Carlon thought Tenitia looked like a true Sword Master.

‘How do you beat that?’

Chhlock.

The knight sheathed Hwanhan and extended her gauntleted hand to twist Carlon’s wrist.

“Ahk!”

Carlon screamed and dropped his dagger as Tenitia declared with an authoritative voice.

“Hiding a fugitive of royal blood is punishable by death. Governor.”

“I’ll give you ten chests of gold coins if you let me live! Ahk!”

“But I reckon there might be someone who wants to kill you even more than me.”

The knight turned her head and looked at Schub Ardelra.

Although the golden light of Incantation still shrouded her body, the light clustered around itself and didn’t dive into her body.

“Really?”

Schub Ardelra asked disbelievingly, and Tenitia nodded.

The knight threw Carlon in front of a shell.

Thud.

The ambitious governor collapsed onto the sand, his face twisted with humiliation.

“Grrr…!”

An age-old Merfolk who had lived much longer as an enemy admiral than as a mermaid princess raised her beautiful yet sharp voice.

“Carlon. I shed blood for you.”

Her icy blue eyes pierced through him like daggers.

“Schub.”

Carlon looked up at her.

The reflection of her deep blue eyes in his black irises and a fleeting, indescribable emotion appeared on the governor’s face.

“But you tried to control me for a thousand more years, despite knowing how painful it was for me.”

“Schub Ardelra!”

He had only been seven years old.

The shadow of the young boy who, holding his father’s hand, ascended to ancient slumber and saw the enemy admiral for the first time with red cheeks, now overlaid like a residual image on the face of the adult governor.

A tender emotion flickered momentarily in Schub Ardelra’s vengeful eyes.

Slowly.

She extended her upper body out of the shell, cradled Carlon’s head, and whispered into his ear.

A light pillar of light descended from the ceiling, enveloping the two of them.

“You loved me once, but not anymore.”

“Please.”

“That boy who was thrilled to see the beautiful and passionate admiral, that wasn’t you.”

“You’ve come this far…”

“If you had let me go, things could have been different.”

Who could have known?

Perhaps what the ambitious governor had yearned for wasn’t the mermaid princess but the admiral in her uniform with a captain’s cap.

“But you wanted to possess me, despite knowing I longed for freedom.”

Schub Ardelra beckoned the Undersea People.

Undersea People warriors who had retreated to the water’s edge after Valenciaunos’ arrival came forward and grabbed Carlon’s arms.

“Admiral, Admiral… No! I’m a nobleman… You…!”

The Undersea People warriors dragged the thrashing Carlon underwater.

Bubbles gurgled and soon stopped.

Sshaak!

At that moment, the power of Incantation hovering over Schub Ardelra’s body fiercely tightened again.

Tzhzhzhek!

But Valenciaunos’ incantation held firm.

Without directly attacking and without shedding blood, it was still possible to intervene.

“All who see me will fall in love with me.”

Schub Ardelra gazed at the bubbles floating on Gorii Lake and softly sang the song of the merfolk.

“And all who loved me will come to hate me.”

* * *

The fight between Tenitia and Carlon ended, but the battle between the imperial family and Valenciaunos was far from over.

“Water Spear!”

“Wind Blade!”

“Wrath of the Earth Master!”

Twelve floating water spears aimed at Valenciaunos, swirling with green energy, and massive stone spikes made from hardened sand erupted violently.

Each one was powerful enough to vanquish an outstanding swordsman or several hundred soldiers simultaneously, but the Bandit Duke was notoriously fearsome.

“Hahahaha!”

He roared and summoned thirteen fiery spears.

Poom! Poom!

The intercepted water spears exploded into hot steam, temporarily blinding everyone.

The Bandit Duke avoided the wind blades by reading their trajectories as the steam dissipated, and summoned intensely hot flames that melted the sand spikes, breaking the magic.

With a clang, the four members of the imperial family gasped and retreated.

“Tsk!”

“Kueeek!”

With leisurely strides, Valenciaunos approached, stepping on the molten sand.

“If that’s all you’ve got, it looks like the last hope of proving your competence to survive is gone.”

It was a provocation.

Everyone recognized it.

Yet, it still stung.

“Neeeeoooom!”

A bearded middle-aged member of the imperial family swung his wide blade and charged forward.

Tang!

Like a lion leaping from the ground, he aimed for the Bandit Duke’s neck.

“Nii-san!”

“It’s dangerous!”

The two women warned him, but the middle-aged noble had full confidence in cleaving Valenciaunos’ head in one go.

That confidence remained until Valenciaunos moved in a way seemingly impossible.

“Anima.”

“!”

Kooowaaa—!

He blasted wind from beneath his shoes at the last moment to dodge at an impossible angle.

A sinister smile surfaced as he employed the fifth stage of the empire’s swordsmanship, Asa, and swung the fire-clad ‘Typhoon’ in an upward stroke, cleanly and deeply cutting the muscles of both thighs of the older member.

Ssaaak!

A wound deep enough that he would never rise again.

“Kraaaagh!”

The middle-aged noble screamed, losing his balance mid-air and twisting his body.

Before his body landed on the sand, Valenciaunos pushed upwards with his palm on his stomach and hurled him into Gorii Lake.

Plunk!

The ripple blended with the blood.

But the five-meter deep lake soon grew silent, as if nothing had happened.

“Tsk!”

The short-haired young woman summoned another Water Spear.

Sshaaa—!

Sea water surged up from Gorii Lake, and twenty-four water spears arose grandly behind her.

“Too cruel! You must be twins with that bastard emperor of treachery!”

The power of the magic was potent enough to crumble a well-built city wall.

Her twenty-four Water Spears all targeted him as the long-haired noble moved.

Valenciaunos murmured as he looked at the two of them,

“You should avoid saying things you can’t back up.”

“Shut up! You murderous sibling of the royal family. The God of Radiance will fry both you and your sibling!”

“And you should avoid using spells you can’t control.”

“Fine! I’ll send you, the bandit, to that god right now!”

The short-haired girl swung her hand.

At that moment, Valenciaunos released a mental shockwave toward the girl.

“Aaaahhh—!”

Due to Tenitia’s presence, he modulated the power, but it was still enough to catch one person.

Wooouuung—!

A crimson wave shot out in a narrow fan shape. The girl’s eyes went blank for a moment before regaining consciousness. The water spears caught in the wave collapsed in mid-air,

Sshaaa—.

“Whatever… Still!”

The girl, who succeeded in regaining control, glared at Valenciaunos.

However, Valenciaunos already wore a victorious smile.

“Guuh—!”

The equivalent of the mana from summoning twenty-four water spears rushed back at the girl, reversing the magic.

“Kuaaaagh!”

Her limbs twisted, blood and pressure burst from between her fingernails, and this time, the girl truly fainted.

Valenciaunos was about to hoist the Typhoon when he clicked his tongue and blocked the incoming Thorns Whip from behind.

“You’ve got good timing.”

Tang!

The long-haired noblewoman attacked fiercely with a dagger in one hand and a whip in the other.

“Would you consider… one offer?”

“I’ll hear it out.”

Tang! Tang! Tang!

Valenciaunos blocked the thorns whip with his scaled left hand and the flaming sword.

When he replied that he would hear it out, the long-haired noblewoman smiled confidently.

“Come here and kiss me.”

Valenciaunos questioned his hearing.

‘What?’

The opponent seemed to have gone mad with the fear of death.

He aimed to swiftly cut her neck with the Typhoon, but strangely, his legs moved towards the long-haired noblewoman.

‘Huh?’

It felt similar to the first time he was caught in the song of the blue-robed priestess.

‘Incantation?!!’

Using nonsense to scatter one’s wits and then binding them with a powerful word.

“Got him!”

Smiling with victory, she opened her mouth.

Sshaaahh—.

Her eyes turned green, her mouth stretched to below her ears, her fangs lengthened, and three-headed snakes flicked their tongues from her throat.

‘What characteristic… has manifested?!’

Valenciaunos drew in the power of Incantation in a panic and shook off the creeping helplessness gripping his limbs with all his might.

Chop.

The long-haired noblewoman stretched out her hands and grabbed the broad shoulders of the bandit.

Dunk!

At that moment, Valenciaunos really did reach out, as if to kiss her, with his left hand supporting the back of her head.

Then, he opened his mouth wide and gathered flames inside.

Horrorrr!

The flames coalescing into a ball fiercely blazed.

“Eh?!”

The long-haired noblewoman writhed, but the bandit’s grip firmly held the back of her head.

She mumbled uncomfortably.

“Ah… calculation error.”

Horrorr!

The flames shot down her throat.