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The vines summoned by Conra’s spell couldn’t hold the Bronze Giant’s ankles for long. However, that brief moment was enough for Hildegard, the superhuman, to secure some distance, catch her breath, and prepare herself.

As Hildegard adjusted her grip on the halberd and prepared to charge again, Sophia, seething with killing intent due to her wounded pride, and Conra, transformed into a werewolf, rushed toward the Bronze Giant from both sides.

Sophia was the first to clash swords with the Bronze Giant. Unlike the previous time when she was effortlessly flung away, Sophia stood firm, her feet planted firmly on the ground, and solidly parried the Bronze Giant’s strike. The Giant’s sword strike was undeniably heavy, showcasing a refined and fierce technique forged through countless battles.

In terms of swordsmanship based on the Reverse Muscle Technique, the Bronze Giant’s skill seemed to represent a perfected form of the swordsmanship Sophia aspired to achieve.

Mid-battle, Sophia’s piercing blue eyes meticulously observed the Bronze Giant’s movements. Watching the ethereal muscles enveloping the Giant’s body, Sophia reluctantly acknowledged that this was an opponent she couldn’t overpower with sheer strength alone.

“But if pure strength isn’t enough, then other means will have to do,” she thought.

As she clashed swords with the Bronze Giant, Sophia’s lips began to move rapidly.

Moments later, Conra and Hildegard heard Sophia’s voice in their ears. It was a surprisingly calm and steady voice, hard to believe coming from someone who was frantically swinging her sword.

Nodding, Conra and Hildegard began to move according to Sophia’s telepathic instructions.

While Sophia parried the Bronze Giant’s strikes head-on, Conra used the advantage of his long spear to target the gaps in the Giant’s armor from outside its line of sight. The Bronze Giant, while skillfully countering Sophia’s swordsmanship, also adeptly responded to Conra’s harassment.

However, such a situation couldn’t last forever. A warrior’s focus is not an infinite resource. Even the most seasoned warriors must regulate their concentration and control the tempo of battle. Prolonged exposure to a third party’s harassment would inevitably create openings, no matter how brief.

At some point, such a moment occurred in the Bronze Giant’s movements and consciousness.

And that’s when Hildegard made her move.

Her eyes gleamed as she seized the opportunity, and in an instant, she raised her halberd, a radiant light power emanating from her body. Her spirit, Ariel, embraced her from behind, amplifying her light power even further.

Her ethereal muscles, invigorated by the light power, bulked up dramatically in an instant.

“Kyaaah, Hryaaa—!”

With a fierce cry, Hildegard’s movement was like a heavy windmill. The Bronze Giant, sensing the unusual force, tried to respond, but the protective barrier created by Hildegard’s light power, combined with Sophia and Conra’s harassment, thwarted its efforts.

With a swing like a rice cake mallet, the halberd’s axe blade shattered the Bronze Giant’s lorica plumata armor and dug into its left thigh. The sound of shattered armor and the axe blade cutting through bronze flesh echoed almost simultaneously.

Bam!!!

The Bronze Giant’s expression twisted in pain, and it let out a stifled groan. Conra, seizing the moment, moved swiftly. In his werewolf form, he also bulked up his ethereal muscles. The effects of the alchemical elixir he had consumed earlier, suppressed by a Druid’s spell, were now fully unleashed.

The stance Conra took next was one he had used before against a swordsman named Karl.

The pupils of the werewolf’s eyes dilated momentarily before sharply contracting. In that instant, Conra awakened his senses as both a Druid and an Alchemist, only to lock them away again, focusing entirely on his spear-wielding instincts.

“Kyaaauuung! (Gae Bolg, Vein!)”

Conra’s spear shot toward the Bronze Giant. Using a unique technique reminiscent of a salmon swimming upstream, the spear’s trajectory was irregular and dynamic, unlike a straight thrust.

As the Bronze Giant struggled to raise its greatsword in response, the halberd embedded in its thigh was yanked out, widening the wound. Blue blood spurted out, and the Giant staggered, its balance faltering. Conra’s spear didn’t miss the opportunity.

With a piercing sound, Conra’s spear thrust through the Bronze Giant’s right armpit. Unable to pierce the armor, Conra had targeted a vulnerable spot.

Finally, Sophia moved.

“ॐ (Om)!”

With a single cry symbolizing the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the universe, Sophia’s ethereal muscles, ethereal brain, lower dantian, meridians, chakras, the covenant of Gias, and the chivalric legacy of heroic trials all pulsed in unison. Her spirit, Gabrielle, embraced her, amplifying her light power.

As Conra’s spear struck the armpit, causing the Bronze Giant’s grip on its greatsword to weaken, Sophia pressed her longsword downward in a clockwise motion, deflecting the Giant’s blade. The opening was secured.

The first attack was a shoulder strike aimed at the ribs from the side. The impact reverberated through the Bronze Giant’s left side, causing it to stagger back a few steps. Sophia didn’t wait. She followed up with a back strike, adding another blow as the Giant retreated.

Another dull thud echoed as the Bronze Giant’s center of gravity was irreparably disrupted.

As the Giant coughed up blue blood from the blunt force trauma to its chest, Sophia raised her longsword high. The intense aura she emitted was sharper and more oppressive than ever, like a predator about to deliver the final blow to its prey.

Finally, as Sophia brought her sword down, Conra thought he saw something rise from the blade. The Bronze Giant, its posture broken, couldn’t avoid Sophia’s strike. With an unreal slicing sound, the Giant’s body was cleaved diagonally from shoulder to flank.

It was a clean cut, unaffected by the armor’s sturdiness or the toughness of the Giant’s bones.

With a thud, the Bronze Giant’s body split into two and crumbled, eventually turning to ash and disappearing.

“Ugh… I thought I was gonna die!”

Hildegard slumped to the ground, exhaling deeply. Honestly, this last gatekeeper felt a bit like cheating.

“That was definitely a Bronze Age hero-level warrior, right?”

“If our eyes weren’t deceiving us, definitely.”

Sophia nodded. According to the records accumulated through the dungeon, the lorica plumata was armor worn by hero-level officers recognized by the gods even in the late Bronze Age. Why would such a being appear in this dungeon? Sophia couldn’t hide her suspicion.

“Let’s check what it dropped first.”

Conra, having reverted from his werewolf form, approached the spot where the Bronze Giant’s body had disappeared. Sophia and Hildegard, now standing, followed with curiosity.

Soon, Conra picked up an object with the tip of his spear. The three of them gathered around, tilting their heads in confusion.

“Is this… a belt?”

“Definitely looks like the one it was wearing. The size is a bit different, though.”

Sophia focused her spiritual energy, carefully examining the belt for any traps. Conra also used alchemical reagents and Druid techniques to meticulously inspect it.

Hildegard, in her own way, channeled light power to illuminate the belt, muttering an incomprehensible prayer. Sophia recognized it as a prayer to the blacksmith god believed in by the ancient Rhine River region.

After all that, the conclusion was clear: the belt had no tricks or traps.

“It’s a belt that grants the wearer the strength of a giant. A typical Bronze Age artifact.”

“Like Megingjord?”

“Oh, where’d you hear about that? Stories about our thunder god are a bit obscure in Franquia.”

“Basic education.”

“Impressive. But this is a bit different from that thunder god’s belt. That one amplifies strength, while this one just grants the wearer the strength of a giant.”

Sophia nodded, thinking of it as something like an Ogre Power Gauntlet (OPG) from her past life’s TRPG settings.

“Anyway, the belt doesn’t seem related to the unease we’re feeling in this dungeon.”

“Seems that way.”

Hildegard and Conra reached that conclusion. Sophia, however, had a different thought.

“Actually, I think I’ve figured something out.”

“Huh? Did you find something, Sophia?”

“Yeah, I just realized something.”

Sophia nodded, her gaze fixed on the stone altar that had seemingly fulfilled its role by summoning the gatekeeper.

“This altar… I think it’s imbued with a spirit.”

In her past life, when she had sought to uncover her true self, Sophia had possessed an extraordinary ability to recreate rituals, training, and secrets from mere traces left behind. That genius-level insight now flashed coldly as she scrutinized the dungeon’s altar.

 

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