Chapter 436

Chapter 436

Defense Specialization and Pursuit Battle

At a distance where Shin and others could be seen—

—in other words, they could also see Maple and everyone else.

“Maple! Shin is coming!”

“We’ll proceed with Haku as planned! Maple, don’t mind us!”

“Mai, Yui! Leave the defense to me! Do it!”

“[Throne of the Heavenly King]! [Afterglow of Salvation]! [Deploy All Weapons]!”

At Kasumi and Sally’s words, Maple activated her skill. Similar to conjuring a throne on Haku’s head, by setting up a throne on Haku’s head, she could deploy a damage-reducing field and vast arrays of weapons.

Furthermore, if she was perched on Haku’s head, nothing could hinder Maple’s line of fire.

“[Use Threads]!”

Sally fastened everyone’s legs with some threads. Although it became more difficult to dodge, for the sake of the operation, it was worth it.

“[Collapsing Sword]! Wen’s [Wind God]!”

“[Commence Attack]!”

Since they came with monsters, the Maple Tree was easy to spot. True to that, flying swords and wind blades flew their ways. Seeing that, Kasumi immediately commanded Haku.

With Sally’s threads holding her body in place, Kasumi repositioned herself as Haku twisted his body to avoid the attack.

““[Throw]!””

“I see…! It’s a mobile artillery!”

Shin admired the calculated attack.

Followed by gunfire, an iron ball was released. By taking advantage of Haku’s huge body, it could be fired from anywhere. Moreover, even if Haku was aimed at, with the mobility that far surpassed Syrup’s, he could evade with ease. In the first place, his height rendered any melee attacks unusable.

Defeating Haku would be a surefire way to stop the artillery attack, since he basically acted as a pedestal. However, it’d be easier said and done. After all, not only did he have an enormous HP, he also had [Hardening].

Moreover, there was also the fact that he was surrounded by the monsters Maple created.

“Tch, then I have no choice but to give up! Wilbert, I leave it to you!”

As originally planned, they also had to take care of the monsters. Shin, who decided to prioritize the small fries, flew around so that the attacks of monsters and wizards didn’t reach him. Despite that, he still cut down the enemies from above.

“—[Full Draw] [Long Range] [Expand Range] …That wall makes it difficult to see! [Arrow of Annihilation]!”

Wilbert’s arrow—clad in reddish-black aura—flew at an astonishing speed with a tail of the same color.

A tremendously powerful arrow that pierced everything in a straight line. It annihilated all the monsters on its trajectory with a single blow, and even knocked the players behind it back.

With a single blow, Maple and the others—who should’ve had advantage in numbers—suffered considerable damage. However, it didn’t quell the invasion.

Maple and the others were aware of their enemies’ strength. Under Payne’s commands, they were prepared to make sacrifices for the sake of winning.

“Marx! Activate the trap! We’ll soon be engaged!”

“[Trap Activation]!”

Some traps could be triggered without stepping into them. Prompted by Marx’ skill, some traps within the effective range were activated. The ground swelled as rocks and wooden pillars approaching Haku’s height rose one after another, hindering the monsters.

“[Trick Shot]! [Volley of Arrows]!”

“[Collapsing Sword]!”

Without a pause, arrows were exchanged between enemies, followed by a rain of arrows and swords, effectively reducing the number of monsters. Even so, the monsters still managed to destroy the pillars, passed between them, and dragged the players who failed to keep their distance into the billowing sand smoke.

“[Healing Light]! [Fountain of Recovery]!”

Misery also summoned a field that provided constant healing to the frontline. Not only that, she also diligently casted her skill to constantly replenish HP. While offense wasn’t her strong suit, she had a high defense.

Like that, while the Kingdom of the Flame Emperor fought arduously, a majestic torrent of light ran through the ground.

“[Holy Blade of Conviction]!”

“[Fourth of the Swords: Whirlwind]!”

“[Multi-Fire Bullets]!”

“[Earth Wave]!”

As the monsters attacked, Payne and the others slayed the players. Despite Misery’s abundance of healing, it couldn’t catch up with the tremendous burst damage, so they couldn’t afford to lower their guard.

“Maple, leave this to me!”

“Sally! What about Payne…?”

“No, this is my chance… I’ll head for Shin! Iz and Kanade, you can focus on the ground!”

“Alright. Then, as planned, I’ll leave as many magic books as possible.”

“Be careful. Don’t overdo it.”

After all, indiscriminate attacks such as bombs could still kill Sally. If Sally wasn’t on the ground, they could direct all their attention to attacking.

Sally didn’t waste any time to use her thread and use Marx’s generated pillars to head towards Shin.

“Ooh! Are you sure!? You’ll have to take us both on!”

“I know, but I can’t let you do as you please!”

Sally knew that Shin and Wilbert’s combined technique had defeated more monsters than expected.

By stopping the two and providing fire support to Maple, Mai, and Yui, she’d be giving the Congregation of Holy Swords a massive advantage.

For that, she’d have to take out the leader herself.

“Now, now, I don’t need any handicaps! But, this can be an opportunity for me, too?”

To intercept Sally, Shin recalled many of his swords from the ground. Shin should be aiming to defeat Sally as well, since it’d greatly reduce the opponent’s strength.

“[Path of Water]! [Water Coat]!”

“Hey, you’re good!”

Upon conjuring some water pillars, Sally quickly navigated from pillar to pillar. Seeing that, Shin maneuvered the sword that was to be his foothold, maintaining his distance while attacking with Wen’s Wind Blade.

Sally wielded double daggers. While she could also cast magic, it wasn’t her forte. But as long as she maintained her distance while fighting, she was a force to be reckoned with.

“You can’t even graze me—!”

“All I need to do is receive your blow—!”

If she could help the Congregations of Holy Sword by minimizing his attack, that’d be good enough for Sally.

As for the one-on-one duel, if she stayed far enough from Shin, it’d give her a chance to avoid his Wen’s Wind Blade.

Under normal circumstances, it’d be impossible to dodge his skill. However, Sally’s extraordinary dodge skill allowed her to accurately grasp his window of attack.

“Actually, the monsters below are bad news. I have to defeat it! Wen’s [Far Wind] [Whirlwind]!”

The swirling wind—whose range had been expanded by Wen’s skill, continuously attacked Sally. The constant wind blade, along with the [Collapsing Sword], should’ve ultimately blocked her escape.

“[Super Acceleration]! [Leap]!”

Despite this, Sally leaped into the air before she was completely surrounded.

“Oboro [Fire Child]!”

With a quick evasive action, Sally avoided the brewing storm and made a foothold in the air before approaching Shin.

“I won’t let you!”

“Oboro [Spirited Away]!”

Not letting her approach, Shin fired his swords forward like a shotgun. In return, Sally slipped through and nullified his attacks using Oboro.

—A great chance to attack!

At that moment, Sally caught a red effect at the edge of her vision.

“—Tch! [Icicle]!”

“As expected, you’re awesome…!”

When she closed her distance to Shin, she was caught in someone else’s line of fire. To defend against Wilbert’s deadly arrow, which flew from below, Sally summoned a pillar of ice.

While admiring her flawless movements, Shin recalled his swords and held up his shield.

Now, he’d be able to attack with the swords. As he stared at Sally, expecting any kinds of attacks—

—However, in the next moment, Shin widened his eyes at Sally’s choice of skill.

“—[Origin of the Swords: Hollow]”

Sally’s hair was white, while her eyes were dyed red. He couldn’t have misheard that. It was the same skill Kasumi had used to defeat Shin. Was it an illusion, or reality? Before he could ascertain that, Sally vanished.

“Wen, behind!”

Following the series of changes, Sally had disappeared. Based on that, Shin decided that Sally had indeed used [Origin of the Swords: Hollow], and conjured a storm behind her. Unlike Kasumi, Sally’s HP was thin, so she could still be shredded by a blade of wind.

“I had expected you to react like that, Shin.”

“Huh—!?”

Suddenly, the space in front of him distorted, and Sally appeared at close range, brandishing a dagger.

Under such a proximity, he’d inadvertently get hit. She’d closed in to him. Intuitively, Shin felt that she could end him right then and there. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of the Flame Emperor had Misery, who could use [Resurrect].

As such, he’d immediately revive and counterattack. In such a distance, it should be difficult for Sally to avoid his attack.

But, just as he prepared to block it, an intense light rose from the ground towards the sky, filling the entirety of his vision.

“…!”

Shin’s gaze collided with Sally, and he instantly understood her implications.

If Shin were to use [Resurrect], the rest of the army would be wiped out by Payne’s slightly delayed, yet super wide range attack.

With such a delay, Shin would be the only one resurrected.

Upon realizing that he’d been entangled in a way more careful strategy than expected, he shouted.

“—Misery! Just abandon me!”

“…In that case—!”

Sally advanced without hesitation, and quickly slashed at his vital point before he could raise his shield.

Water and flame burst where she’d slashed, and the increased damage of [Sword Dance] blew away his HP.

“Aah… I’ve been had.”

As a matter of course, Maple wasn’t the only one who’d gotten stronger. Shin vanished as he begrudged his lack of foresight.

“Haa, I’ll leave the rest to you!”

In his final moment, as his core turned into light and disappeared, he saw a torrent of brilliant light streaming through the ground. It was the resurrection effect he was familiar with.