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Chapter 149: Ardius Fortress Siege Battle – Three-Person Counterattack

The golden-armored soldier had concealed himself within the self-propelled artillery, hidden from our senses. To confront this threat, we sprang into action. Lady Altissia began channeling her potent spiritual arts, gathering her spiritual power, while master mounted his beloved steed and charged toward the golden-armored soldier.

“Hah!”

Now, what was my role in this unfolding scene? Using my spiritual power, I transformed the ground into sand and swiftly navigated beneath the surface as if I were swimming through the battlefield. Underground travel afforded me a speed advantage over master’s horse. I was likely to arrive ahead of him.

Although my vision was limited below ground, I could sense vibrations. All I needed to do was follow the tremors caused by the rampaging entity that emanated such a formidable presence. There was hardly anyone who could ignore a presence as overwhelming as that. With two targets to focus on, the choice was rather straightforward.

The immense presence seemed to plow through the soldiers on the central front, mowing them down mercilessly. Under normal circumstances, an attack from the flank wouldn’t have caused such a severe disruption, but our enemy was a beast capable of effortlessly reducing hundreds of soldiers to ashes. It was obvious that the surprise attack had taken a heavy toll on the targeted troops.

“Hmm? Could it be… Tigar and the others?”

As I continued to move underground, I sensed a familiar presence engaging the golden-armored soldier who had single-handedly broken through the infantry formation. It was none other than Tigar, Zald, and the rest of the special operations unit. They were holding their own against the formidable entity, but it was clear that they were in grave danger. I need to hurry.

However, panicking here wouldn’t do any good. My comrades had spent more time on the battlefield than I had, and they were battle-hardened veterans who had faced countless trials. They wouldn’t make the kind of mistakes that would lead to their immediate demise. So instead of simply rushing in between them, I decided to trust in my companions and plan an effective ambush.

When I reached directly beneath the golden-armored soldier, I patiently waited, listening carefully to the sounds from above. I desperately wanted to assist Tigar and the others, who were audibly struggling, but I restrained myself with sheer willpower.

“Now’s the time.”

Above ground, Zald had been sent flying, and Tigar had been forced to his knees through sheer force. The golden-armored soldier, believing he had the upper hand, was about to deliver a final blow. It was precisely when an opponent believed they were winning that they were most vulnerable…this was a lesson I had learned from master not long ago.

I transformed all the soil above into sand and let it flow downward. The sudden sinking of his legs threw off the golden-armored soldier’s balance, causing his fist to miss Tigar, whom he had been about to strike.

[What the…?]

“This bastard… retreat, all of you!”

While the golden-armored soldier appeared perplexed, Tigar seemed to grasp the situation in an instant. He got to his feet, shouldering his massive sword, and, with a command for his comrades to move away, he himself moved back.

That was the right move. I defied the flow of sand, rising upward as I drew both swords and thrust them with all my might into the back of the golden-armored soldier’s knee, which was buried in the sand.

[Ugh! It hurts!]

The golden-armored soldier seemed to be in pain, but it was best not to think the damage would last long, given his capabilities. I twisted the blades once before pulling them out, then leaped out from underground and clung to his back. From both sides under his arms, I drove the twin swords, and I drove my poisonous stinger into his neck.

The scream the golden-armored soldier let out right now was incomparable to when I stabbed the back of his knee. He thrashed his body wildly, trying to shake me off. Without resisting too much, I used his back as a stepping stone, leaped, and landed back on the ground.

[What the… What have you done…!]

“So, you can still move?”

I was already aware of that, but my poison wasn’t particularly effective against a descendant of the gods. Even injecting hundreds of times the lethal dose, it would at best only slightly slow down his movements. Even for the white-armored soldiers, flooding them with poison would result in instant death, no questions asked… I was beginning to lose a bit of confidence.

The golden-armored soldier was struggling to break free from the quicksand, but using the soft sand as a foothold required skill. Moreover, his armor was heavy, making it easy to sink but difficult to emerge from. It seemed impossible for him to break free with just the movement of his limbs.

[Aaargh! So annoyiiiiing!]

The golden-armored soldier, seemingly infuriated, released spiritual power from his entire body. The pressure scattered all the sand around his feet, setting him free once more. Truly… dealing with someone who believed they could overcome anything through sheer force was quite challenging.

Last time, I had managed to buy time here alone until my comrades escaped. The dismay I felt during that moment had been quite substantial, but it wasn’t quite the same this time. There was one simple reason for that—I wasn’t alone.

[What the hell is this?!]

Just as the enraged golden-armored soldier lunged at me, a burst of spiritual light struck his face, exploding on impact. Without a doubt, this power was a result of Lady Altissia’s support. The Dragon Roar Cannon was quite a distance away from this position, so how was she managing such precise shots? I wished I could learn her secret, but she would never reveal it, that much I knew.

I couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity. Crawling close to the ground, I inserted my twin swords and poisonous stinger through the gaps in the guy’s armor. Then I leaped backward before he could counterattack. The blades and the poisonous stinger had only briefly pierced his body, but in that time, I had injected as much potent poison as possible. It might not act swiftly, but it should gradually chip away at his stamina and focus.

[Damn it, I feel awful… Don’t you dare scuttle around!]

Due to the effects of the poison, the golden-armored soldier seemed unsteady on his feet. He shook his head vigorously before lunging at me. Although the distance played a role, it appeared that Lady Altissia’s spiritual art had little effect on him. Dealing damage to an opponent who could move freely despite critical strikes on vital points and the protection of sturdy armor was very hard.

Though it seemed that this golden-armored soldier was different, his physical abilities were undoubtedly superior to mine, which have also been strengthened with fighting spirit. Nevertheless, his combat skills were lacking. Despite his impressive speed when leaping at me, I was familiar with that speed…. and his attacks were overly wide, making them easier to dodge.

I transformed the ground below me into sand and sank down almost to my waist to evade his deadly punch. Simultaneously, I pierced him with my two swords, targeting his right ankle and flank, while hooking my tail around his shin to trip him over. The golden-armored soldier, propelled by his excessive speed, tumbled clumsily several times.

[Annoying… Annoying… Annoyiiiiiing!]

“Is this one a sore loser? Just like that man.”

The golden-armored soldier, who had tumbled in such an undignified manner, came at me in a frenzy, unleashing his spiritual power haphazardly while thrusting both hands forward. His raging and amateurish attacks were eerily reminiscent of my superior.

However, although they were both hotheaded, their abilities were as different as night and day. Once this one got a grip on me, it was likely that he could crush my flesh and exoskeleton alike. I fully submerged myself underground to avoid his grasp and then reemerged from a different spot, playfully moving my twin swords to provoke him.

[He’s making fun of me! I’ll definitely kill ’em!]

“I won’t let you! Nuuuuu!”

[Gaaaah!?]

Before I could know it, master had appeared behind me and delivered a blow with his poleaxe to the golden-armored soldier who had been fixated on me. The strike crushed through the helmet and penetrated the top of the soldier’s head, causing him to collapse face down.

Master dismounted from his horse as he approached closer and then rushed towards us on foot. At that moment, I could see his figure, but his presence was eerily faint. I suspected it was the work of Lady Altissia’s concealment spiritual arts. To keep master out of my assailants’ line of sight, I had directed his attention away by provoking him.

The helmet was severely warped and crushed, with an incessant flow of blood pouring from the damaged area. master’s all-out strike possessed the power to shatter a fortress gate in a single swing. Even if one were a descendant of the gods, a head split open like that would not escape a serious injury.

“Guggee …… Gaaaagh”

“Huh! How can one move with his head crushed like that? My disciple told me about you, but how stubborn can you be!”

…I take back my words. The golden-armored soldier was quite formidable. Just as master had said, his poleaxe had not only shattered the armor but also crushed the golden-armored soldier’s head. The pale fragments adhering to the blade and the bleeding from the gaps in the helmet were irrefutable proof of that fact.

Because master believed in my report, he struck with a deadly blow, determined to eliminate the threat in one strike. Although he succeeded in bringing down the soldier only temporarily, it was obvious that master’s strike had inflicted considerable damage.

However, even though the head should have been deeply gouged out, the golden-armored soldier still stood up. What’s more, right after his head was shattered, he emitted a surge of spiritual power, attempting to repel his assailants. It was a toughness beyond comprehension, surviving damage that would instantly kill not only an ordinary person but even a formidable demon.

Master, who had experienced the shockwave of the spiritual power at close range, leaped backward without resisting. His voice was a mix of astonishment at the unexpectedly robust life force and the elation of facing a formidable opponent.

[Grand… pa… Are you coming for me?!]

The golden-armored soldier had been continuously emitting spiritual power in all directions, but as soon as the bleeding from his head stopped, his spiritual power weakened. Thanks to the damage to his full-face helmet, the face that became visible was understandably contorted in hatred and ugliness.

As his head began to heal, the golden-armored soldier also regained his ability to speak. However, a beam of light that came flying from behind pierced through the gap in his helmet, causing it to explode. Undoubtedly, it was Lady Altissia’s spiritual arts—a precision sniper attack—that left one in awe.

Partially severed by my master and then shattered from the inside due to the explosion, the helmet disintegrated completely. Fragments of it scattered on the ground, and the golden-armored soldier clutched his face in agony, groaning.

“Let’s finish this, my disciple!”

“Yes, master.”

We had no intention of showing mercy just because he looked to be in pain. This was war, and the opponent before us was a force stronger than us that we must kill without hesitation. Any hesitation in facing such an opponent would only endanger our lives and the lives of our comrades.

Master and I launched a simultaneous assault on the golden-armored soldier from both the front and the rear. We aimed to finish him off right here, if possible. And if that proved impossible, our goal was to inflict severe wounds that would at least require a substantial amount of time to heal.