LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 142
Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: Doodle, Eyes
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Chapter 142: Spirits of the Sacred Mausoleum (2)
Steel arrows, born from a unique forging technique, were crafted to endure the frigid cold unique to the northern regions, as ordinary iron arrows could easily break.
Because of this, many factions within the Empire avoided engaging the northern Steel Arrows whenever possible.
Steel Arrows, which “shatter” anything they strike, were the nemesis of elite troops.
And now, Troyban was launching hundreds of those Steel Arrows at their side.
It was easy to guess from the current situation why such forging techniques had made their way to the East.
“Fire—!”
Ssssshhk—
At the commander’s order, a rain of Steel Arrows poured down like a torrential storm.
“Umbra!”
Keeeeck!
Umbra flapped its wings powerfully, soaring even higher into the sky.
The Steel Arrows narrowly missed, falling short of their target, but the enemy’s assault wasn’t over yet.
“Magic Corps, advance—!”
Swish, swish, swish!
Figures in robes that entirely cloaked their bodies emerged from various points of the encirclement.
Murmur, murmur.
As they simultaneously raised their staves toward the sky and began chanting, fireballs began raining down from above.
“I heard the Magic Tower was siding with Troyban, but…!”
“These bastards, they must have prepared thoroughly for this!”
“There’s just too many of them.”
If the North had the great House of Ragnar, then the East had Troyban and the Magic Tower.
Though their numbers were few, the Magic Tower’s mastery of magic made it an adversary that could never be ignored.
Arin and Selperd simultaneously unleashed sword auras into the air, while Ray condensed the surrounding air to barely deflect the magic that hadn’t been fully neutralized.
But at this rate, they were fighting a losing battle.
It seemed Troyban had prepared for the possibility of Ragnar extracting Cassandra and had made full aerial combat preparations.
This became especially evident when the second line of encirclement revealed itself beyond the first. Even the normally composed Selperd couldn’t hide his dismay.
“Those guys… are they really planning to settle everything here and now?”
A massive ballista formation had been set up in a fan shape, ready to fire.
[Anti-Dragon Siege Ballista (弩砲).]
It was said that Troyban had hastily developed these weapons in response to the increasing prominence of the White Armored Dragon Cavalry in recent northern battles.
No matter how sturdy the armor on a wyvern might be, if it was struck by one of those bolts, it was finished.
The problem was that there were far too many of them on this battlefield, far more than the typical ten or so one might encounter in a regular warzone.
‘What should we do?’
Selperd felt a chill run down his spine.
Normally, ballistae were fixed to the ground, making it difficult for Dragon Knights to handle them directly. Instead, specialized swordsmen usually took on the task of dealing with them.
It seemed difficult to manage at the moment, leaving Theo pondering what to do.
「I will go.」
“Theo, what nonsense are you saying!”
「That ballista is not the same as the ones you know, Senior.」
“What?”
「That one was specifically designed to hunt the White Armored Dragon Cavalry. Not only does it have explosive magic embedded in the arrowhead, but the arrow shaft is inscribed with a rudimentary tracking spell, allowing it to adjust its angle mid-flight.」
“……!”
Selperd’s eyes widened.
「So, please let me handle it.」
“……How do you even know that?”
「It was part of the warnings passed down by Black Snow. Though I didn’t expect it to appear this soon.」
It was a convincing excuse, though Theo knew the truth was his future knowledge.
“How do you plan to rejoin us after?”
「You know me, don’t you?」
There could be no clearer answer.
In the end, Selperd sighed and reluctantly agreed, giving Theo permission. Theo expressed his thanks and released the chains of psychokinesis binding him.
His landing target was the ballista.
Wrapping his body in psychokinesis, Theo safely slowed his descent.
“It’s an air raid! Catch that one first!”
At the command of the ballista unit’s commander, the guards moved in unison, unleashing sword auras toward Theo.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As he observed the incoming attacks, Theo began resonating with his magic power.
Steam rose from Theo’s body.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Four Death Beats shot into the air and transformed into thunder dragons.
Krrrr-boom—
Rumble!
A violent explosion filled the area with dense smoke.
“Did we get him?”
“Hey! Don’t say something so unlucky like—”
Kwakang!
Theo descended right into the midst of the guards, fiercely swinging the Drake’s Blade in his hand.
Steam rising along the blade turned into fiery flames, engulfing the surroundings.
Fwoooosh!
The flames spread like ripples, consuming the nearby enemies.
“Aaaaagh!”
“Stop him!”
“He’s targeting the ballista! Don’t let him reach it!”
Troyban’s swordsmen quickly moved into formation.
True to Troyban’s reputation for mastery in sword formations, they rapidly arranged into a circular combat formation.
‘Is this the Sword Prison Formation?’
Sword Prison Formation—
As its name implies, it was designed to trap opponents in a prison-like formation of blades, specializing in countering elite forces or individuals with exceptional skills.
But there was something Troyban didn’t know.
Theo not only possessed future knowledge but had also been part of Black Snow.
He already had the methods to dismantle such techniques imprinted in his mind.
‘Fifteen meters diagonally to the right, then cut in at a 45-degree angle for 40 meters, and the commander will appear…!’
Still, even with Aegir equipped, breaking through them all at once would be difficult.
An overwhelming display of destructive power was required.
[Dragonblood Awakening is starting.]
[All special abilities and enhancements will temporarily increase.]
[All Buff is now active.]
[Time limit: 6 minutes.]
Theo had no intention of maintaining the Dragonblood Awakening for the full six minutes.
In such a complicated battle situation, what came after the awakening was more of a concern.
But if it was only for a moment, it should be fine.
Kwarung! Kwarung! Kwarung!
“Gah!”
“What kind of power is this…!”
Every time Theo swung his sword, bolts of lightning crashed down, either cutting through his opponents—armor and all—or, at the very least, sending them flying backward.
No matter how hard they tried to block it, they couldn’t overcome Theo’s [Superhuman Strength].
He was like a raging bull.
A bull that had gone into a frenzy after smelling blood.
Moreover, Theo exploited the tiniest gaps in the sword formation with such precision that they had no time to react.
Puhwaak!
Before anyone realized it, Theo had struck the commander’s head and swiftly reached the ballista.
There wasn’t even time to shout for reinforcements.
His left hand was already drawing the Moon-White Sword.
Bzzzt—flash!
A radiant flash of light destroyed the ballista completely, slicing through the upper bodies of the three guards protecting it in the process.
“You have to stop?!”
As Theo moved to target the next ballista, three swordsmen stepped in to block his path.
Middle-aged men who looked like triplets.
‘The Three Butchers of Karen?’
Theo instantly recognized who they were.
They were madmen who, after the capture of Karen City—a territory under Ragnar’s control—had buried all its citizens alive simply because the city had resisted too fiercely.
It was a crime yet to occur, but Theo vividly remembered their names from the blacklist.
“No matter how uncivilized and underdeveloped the northerners may be, such a massacre…”
There was nothing more to hear.
Theo didn’t have much time left in his Dragonblood Awakening.
Boom!
Patrick, the one at the forefront, blocked Theo’s strike, his face flushing bright red.
Even on a battlefield, being interrupted mid-speech by someone so much younger enraged him.
“You insolent brat! You clearly need some discipline! I’ll break your arms and legs here to make an example for Ragnar!”
The three men formed a Tri-Point Formation and prepared for a joint attack.
‘Three opponents. In that case—!’
Theo drove Drake’s Blade into the ground with his right hand and instead drew the Dragon Slayer Sword.
Srrrng—
Now, he held Balmung in his right hand and the Moon-White Sword in his left.
Adopting a stance of readiness, Theo steadied his breathing.
[Spiritual Essence] descended into his eyes, instantly mapping out countless trajectories of attack.
His mind burned hot.
The inspiration granted by the Sword Sphere guided Theo once again onto a new path.
A sword lunged directly at him.
Theo tilted his head slightly to the side, narrowly avoiding the thrust, and swung Balmung in a sweeping horizontal arc.
The gap between the parts of Patrick’s armor was just wide enough for a beam of light to slip through.
It was a so precise attack that it would have been impossible to do so without an extraordinary sense of timing and perception.
Yet the beam cut cleanly through Patrick’s right elbow, severing a chunk of it as it passed.
“Guh!”
While Patrick staggered momentarily from the pain, this time, the Moon-White Sword targeted the back of his left knee.
Slash—
When the knee buckled, his balance faltered.
Theo seized the opening, driving Balmung beneath Patrick’s helmet.
Stab!
Puuu—
“Patrick!”
“Ragnaaar!”
It took only three exchanges.
A Five-Star Swordsman, one of Troyban’s greatest prides, had been beheaded by Theo.
The remaining two, Parrish and Blitzer, swung their swords fiercely from Theo’s left and right flanks.
However—
Chaaang!
Both blades were stopped dead, clashing against Balmung and the Moon-White Sword.
Theo, wielding both weapons and meeting the strength of two opponents at once, left them momentarily stunned by his [Superhuman Strength].
They had assumed him to be merely agile, based on how quickly he had dispatched Patrick, but this sheer power?
At that moment—
Thud! Thud!
Two Death Beats skillfully exploited the blind spots of Parrish and Blitzer, striking beneath their helmets and embedding into their napes.
“You cowardly…!”
“In war, there’s no such thing as fairness.”
sneering , Theo triggered Death Beats simultaneously unleashing thunder dragons.
Boom! Boom!
In an instant, lightning tore through Parrish and Blitzer’s upper bodies, leaving only their legs behind. The grotesque sight left the nearby swordsmen pale-faced.
Krrrr-boom!
Rumble—
Without slowing, Theo pressed forward, cutting through the remaining swordsmen and systematically destroying the ballistae.
Keeeeck!
A distant, eerie cry echoed from the sky.
Hearing Umbra’s signal confirming its safe escape, a smile appeared on Theo’s lips.
But there was no time to let his guard down.
He quickly checked the remaining time on his awakening and prepared to move again.
Suddenly—
“Aaaagh! Really! All of you—this guy and that guy! You’re just so annoying! Why do you keep forcing me to do this nonsense?!”
A hand grabbed the back of Theo’s neck.
‘An expert!’
The approach had been so stealthy that Theo hadn’t noticed until it was too late. Startled, he turned to find a woman wearing an exasperated expression as if the situation was a complete bother.
It was Ode, the Guild Master of the Tulip Floral Arts Guild.
“If you stay here, it’ll get dangerous! Come with me!”
* * *
Theo followed Ode without much hesitation.
Ode seemed to have a close connection with the Upsurging Dragon, which made her trustworthy despite the lack of detailed information about her.
‘Thanks to her, I was able to conserve my awakening.’
The total duration of the awakening used had been about four minutes.
Even so, it had taken a toll on Theo’s body, leaving him fatigued and making it difficult to even walk.
“How is it you swordsmen always have the same problem?! Swinging your swords around recklessly without even thinking about what’s behind you—does that make any sense? Do you even know where you are? This is a sacred place holding the spirits of your ancestors, the spirits!”
That was Ode’s main complaint.
“And what if the mausoleum gets damaged like this? You all never take proper responsibility. All you ever say is, ‘Sorry about that,’ and that’s the end of it. Acting like you’re some kind of noble overlords. Meanwhile, you nitpick the caretakers, complaining that they’re overspending the budget! Ugh! Do you even know how expensive flowers are these days? What do you expect us to do, huh?”
…It seemed fair to add that she talked far too much.
‘Don’t her ears start bleeding from all that?’
Theo let out a faint chuckle and subtly changed the subject.
“May I ask where we’re headed?”
Ode, realizing that Theo wasn’t paying proper attention to her rant, shot him a sharp glare but eventually answered with a pout.
They were moving swiftly through a hidden underground tunnel, concealed by dense shrubbery, evading the encirclement.
“The mausoleum.”
“You mean you’re heading to the guild? But that’s—”
“Not that place, idiot. Why would I willingly walk into a pit full of bastards like that?”
“Then…?”
“The mausoleum up there only holds the memorial tablets. The ancestors themselves are resting elsewhere, where their remains won’t be disturbed.”
‘Ah, that’s why I couldn’t sense their thoughts.’
Theo recalled trying to probe the mausoleum earlier, hoping to learn the techniques of the ancestors through their lingering thoughts, but getting no response. He nodded in understanding.
It made sense now—without the actual remains, there would be no thoughts to read.
“It’s also an emergency escape route. Your companions are all hiding there too, so kill some time until it’s safe to leave.”
Theo wondered how the battle at the manor had played out.
He wanted to ask about the state of the chaotic battlefield where Troyban and the Sacred Demon Church forces had clashed, and whether the Upsurging Dragon and Wellington were safe—
‘What is that…?’
“This is the true mausoleum.”
Before he knew it, Theo had entered a vast underground chamber.
Rows of 299 coffins were neatly arranged, surrounded by tulips in full bloom, exuding a powerful floral fragrance.
It felt as though the place was welcoming Theo.
And then—
[You have discovered a sanctuary imbued with the potent scent of dragons.]
[‘Skill: Hatchling Synchronization’ is forcibly activated.]
– Huh?
– Hey, that guy… is he looking at us?
– No way. How could someone alive possibly see us?
– No, I’m serious. He just made eye contact with me!
– What? Really?
Theo could see them.
A multitude of ghosts with semi-transparent bodies staring straight at him.