Published at 7th of November 2020 06:59:25 AM
Chapter 254
RMSBS - Episode 254 . Divide and Conquer (4)
The Palace of Divide was located in the capital of Pittsburgh .
In the Palace wrapped in the disquieting darkness, a white-haired man stood on the terrace .
As he stood there admiring Pittsburgh’s view, someone walked out from the shadows . It was Pierrot Mask .
“Old man, I don’t think this is the right time to be leisurely enjoying the scenery . ”
The white-haired man that had just been called old, Skull Mask, slowly nodded .
Although Pierrot Mask continued calling Skull Mask “old man” like he used to, this old man no longer deserved such a title . Though his hair was still white, with his infamous mask no longer obscuring his visage, he actually had the face of a handsome young man .
All of the homunculi stationed at the towers had been defeated . The ones who destroyed the towers would soon flock here .
Listening to Pierrot Mask, Skull Mask snorted at the ridiculousness of what he uttered .
“Who knew that at the very end, Crow Mask would have made such a foolish decision . ”
Skull Mask was convinced . With the precision the Allied Forces exhibited, only taking out four of the numerous towers spread across Divide, he knew that Crow Mask had betrayed them . It had been half a year since his capture, but the information he gave the Allied Forces was still pertinent .
Pierrot Mask slowly approached him and asked .
“So, what’s your plan now?”
“We’ll use the transcendental chimeras . Take them and intercept those bastards . ”
The Allied Forces’ condition for victory was to destroy the source of power in the basement of the Palace of Divide . In the end, they were bound to gather in Pittsburgh .
If one knew how the enemy was going to move, coming up with a strategy for defense was easy .
Skull Mask planned on engaging them after he concentrated all of the troops in the country within the capital .
The Allied Forces had infiltrated the Kingdom of Divide with very few individuals . Though they were powerful, with extremely skilled individuals amongst their ranks, Skull Mask wasn’t worried . If their invasion force was locked in combat with every troop in Divide, they would be easy to take care of .
The problem was if the Allied Forces’ troops gathered before his reinforcements reached Pittsburgh .
To solve that problem, Skull Mask had sent the homunculi to the towers: to delay the arrival of his enemies in Pittsburgh .
The homunculi that boasted such incredible battle prowess had merely been used to buy time . Skull Mask didn’t expect a single homunculus to be able to succeed in defending a tower against such an enemy . He had never underestimated them .
To him, a homunculus was now nothing more than a weapon that could be produced whenever he needed another . They had come up with a strategy that could fend off the enemy using the minimum power required to do so .
“I’ll take care of the rest . ”
Pierrot Mask sensed that Skull Mask had an ace up his sleeve, but he did not press for more . Through experience, he had learned that he would not get an answer anyway .
He nodded calmly as he replied .
“Well, sure . ”
Pierrot Mask disappeared, cloaking himself in the darkness just as he had done when he showed up .
Skull Mask turned around again and looked outside the terrace .
Staring at the ever so silent Pittsburgh, he muttered .
“This will be your grave . ”
In the mountains that overlooked Pittsburgh, the Valkyrie landed in a canyon .
As long as they could no longer conceal themselves, approaching the city with the airship was an act of suicide . Regardless of whether the Aurora System was functional or not, it was impossible to break through the capital’s defense .
Desir’s squad did a final check after invoking concealment magic . Some checked their spell calculations while others polished their equipment .
In Pram and Raphaello’s case, they sparred . Thinking of it as a warm-up, they exchanged blows without any intention of causing each other harm .
“You’ve improved a lot since then . ”
Raphaello spoke, visibly satisfied as he swung his sword sideways .
“Your basic control of aura is perfect . Especially your ability to gather aura! I have nothing to point out . ”
It was only a light spar because they could not risk using up their strength before an important battle, but Raphaello had recognized Pram’s progress from this demonstration alone .
“I heard you’re being called the Silver Light Swordsman nowadays?”
*CLANG*
Sparks flew as their swords clashed .
Although it was true that Raphaello was not using his full power, Pram was still able to easily counter the Sword Grand Master’s blows .
“The title is more than I deserve . ”
Raphaello, who had been casually chatting up until now, as though he was not in the midst of sparring, suddenly turned serious .
“I’ll be the judge of whether you’re deserving of it or not . ”
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“Pardon?”
“Hit me with it . Your Silver Light . ”
They were awaiting an important battle . Pram could not help but be flustered when told to showcase his power during a light battle meant for warm-up .
However, Pram could not help but wonder if anything he said would deter Raphaello, the man known as the greatest shield .
“I’m coming . ”
Pram stepped forward and executed his special move: a stab . Silver aura was fired at the speed of light .
Raphaello extended his sword . At the same time, his aura enveloped it and started spinning .
*CRREEEAAK*
A bizarre sound rang out . The moment the spinning aura and silver line collided, the silver lines of light were snagged by the wheels that had appeared .
Their trajectories were distorted .
“Ah . ”
In the next moment, Raphaello’s sword was held against Pram’s face .
The battle had ended in an instant . The result was Raphaello’s overwhelming victory .
As Raphaello sheathed his sword, he spoke in admiration .
“Really, to think that a move as simple as the stab could be so powerful . You’re impressive, Pram . ”
Those were not just empty words . He had not originally intended to invoke his wheel defense but ended up doing so subconsciously .
He had known instinctively that he would not be able to block the attack otherwise .
“So you invoked your aura in a spiral after accumulating it to its limit . Impressive . I didn’t know she’d be this good at teaching others . ”
As Raphaello spoke with a chuckle, Pram nodded .
“If Lady Swan hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to get to this point . ”
Swan Katarina .
One of the strongest people chosen by Hebrion Empire’s Emperor .
After being severely wounded in her confrontation with Icarus, Swan had lost consciousness for over two weeks .
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Between her injuries and how hard she pushed herself, Swan had lost the ability to use aura, and eventually retired from the Royal Guard .
There was no doubt that losing something that she had worked on her entire life was unbearably devastating .
‘If Desir hadn’t lived up to Swan’s expectations, then she may have regretted her choice until the end . ’
Swan had not changed . She openly said that it had been her choice and that she had no regrets . On the contrary, she declared that she would continue working for the Empire as she had done so far .
Of course, she could no longer fight on the front lines, but her King-Class skills and experience had not disappeared . She may have stepped back from the front lines, but she was still an important figure in the Empire .
The first thing Swan did, after declaring that she would continue working for the Empire, was take on several students . And the first person she took in as a student was Pram .
Pram was already very talented . When Swan started instructing him seriously, he started improving at a faster rate than ever before .
He had been able to inherit Swan’s aura accumulation technique that she had relied on so heavily .
“Is she still the same?”
“She hasn’t changed . She always gets drunk at the tavern after training . ”
“Oh, how I envy her . ”
A smile tugged at the corner of Raphaello’s lips .
“The reason why she can stay so relaxed must be because her student has improved so much . ”
“… … but I lost . ”
Hearing Pram muttering to himself, Raphaello could not help but chuckle, A young teenage boy was mad that he had lost to a Sword Grand Master .
“I’m sure I could count the number of knights that can produce the same power as your Silver Line on one hand, even across the entire continent . ”
That was how powerful Pram’s blow had been . However, to Raphaello, that was it .
“However, no King-Class swordsman would lose to an ability like that . ”
Raphaello pointed towards Pittsburgh, the capital of Divide . There, a King-Class knight called Brepon lived .
Pram, not understanding what he meant, let out a murmur .
“Why… … ”
“The fact that your weapon will thrust at a very high speed is already a well-known fact, along with your nickname, ‘Silver Light Swordsman’ . The silver light is definitely threatening, but it comes with the weakness that it carries aura and follows the trajectory of a stab . ”
He continued .
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“The technique of stabbing is simple without any changes in its execution . It may even be too simple, and it’ll be extremely obvious as to where your light is going to strike . Higher-level knights will be able to read it, and against King-Class opponents, it’ll be completely useless . ”
Though harsh, pointing this out would be extremely helpful for Pram’s future battles .
In Pittsburgh, where they were headed, many prestigious knights had gathered, including Yeniceri and even Biryonde .
They were all respectable knights . There was no way they would easily be fooled by techniques they already knew about .
“But doesn’t every skill have a weakness?”
“That’s where the difference between Bishop-Class and King-Class becomes evident . ”
Raphaello pulled out his sword and created a wheel . Soon, the number of wheels increased little by little before turning into a chain .
“You have two options . Either learn how to compensate for your ability’s weakness, or advance it to the point where it can’t be dealt with, even if you know how it works . Only then can you truly say you’ve reached the King-Class . ”
Raphaello, having honed his rotating aura wheels to its limit, had reached the point of using it not only for defense, but to attack as well . That was why he was able to hold the titles of the ‘Empire’s Greatest Shield’ and Sword Grand Master at the same time .
Raphaello withdrew his aura from the sword and gave Pram a pat on the shoulder .
“Pram, I’m looking forward to what kind of answers you’ll come up with . And I’m sure Swan is of the same mind . ”
There was not a single knight that would not be pleased hearing that the greatest knight of their generation, a Sword Grand Master, had high expectations for them .
Lighting up, Pram responded .
“Yes!”
Right then, an alarm rang out . It was the signal to gather up .
Preparation time was over, and it was finally time for battle .
Chapter brought to you by Csabin .
???: …
ED: Purplemen101
TLC: N/A
QC: Dr Lock