Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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【”…You caught Nageling barehanded? That’s quite insane . ”】
【”I don’t want to hear that from someone who suddenly attacked me in the middle of the sky . ”】
Relying almost solely on his intuition, Kurats had caught the knight’s sword with his hand before it could reach his head .
【”Rather than that, what the hell is your hand made of? It’s strange that you were able to catch Nageling, but it’s even stranger that it still hasn’t sliced your hand in half . ”】
【”If you ask me, this sword is even more strange . I gotta say, it’s a very good magic sword . You said it’s called Nageling?”】
The pain in the palm of Kurats’ hand was spreading to his whole body .
The sword was tearing through his skin and was even going for his bones .
There was no way this could be a regular sword .
It had to be a magic sword as powerful or around the same level as Rosberg’s Gerlach .
(What’s going on? How did the sword break through my magic-cancelling barrier?)
When he felt the danger coming, Kurats had promptly removed his “Malaga’s wall” spell and activated his magic-cancelling barrier instead . It should have protected him .
So who was this female-knight who had appeared out of nowhere? And how had she managed to attack him despite the barrier?
『The magic cancelling effect isn’t omnipotent . Strictly speaking, it can only obstruct the activation of a spell, it has no effect against a spell that has already been activated beforehand . But I’ve already taught you that, haven’t I?』
(Really?)
『This is why I always say you have muscles for brains! Hurry and get away from her or you’re seriously going to be sliced in half!』
Kurats felt the sword putting more and more pressure on him as it dug inside his bones .
Once it would go deep enough to cut through the bones, it would keep slicing downwards and cut through his upper body, starting from his shoulder .
In such a situation, even Kurats would not be safe .
(This is bad . I can’t use my strength . )
Although he was showing a daring smile on the surface, Kurats was very flustered in his mind .
His muscles were his greatest source of confidence, and yet he couldn’t put any power into them at the moment .
『I see what’s happening! This sword has a magic-absorption effect! How troublesome…』
Bernst was grinding his teeth as he realized the true nature of the sword .
Kurats’ inhuman strength was only possible due to the monstrous body strengthening effect brought upon by his overwhelming magic power . But if that magic power was absorbed, there was no way he could possibly bring out his true power .
The way things were going, he was likely going to be killed .
Bernst was seriously thinking of personally intervening .
But this moment of hesitation was cut short by a gust of wind that came to repel the female knight’s magic sword .
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【”Kurats! Are you alright?!”】
Looking back, there stood Frigga, who had drawn out her sword and slashed it forward in one swoop .
Like Nageling, Frigga’s Murasame was also a magic sword, and a rare one at that .
Unsurprisingly, even this female knight could not take on both Kurats and Frigga at the same time .
She temporarily took some distance, while still staying in the air .
With her sword having finally disconnected from Kurats’ wound, he was released from its magic-absorption effect and was able to hurriedly heal himself .
【”Jeez… that was surprising . A wind-attribute armor and a magic sword with a magic absorption property, huh . ”】
【”Well deduced . More importantly, how were you able to calmly take on Nageling’s magic absorption? Are you really human?”】
Any normal human would have been weakened to his death after being drained of his magic power .
In fact, the female knight had slain hundreds of people that way .
So when she saw that her opponent was fine after grabbing the sword barehanded, she started suspecting that he was some type of high-class monster, above the level of humans .
【”Believe me, I’m an authentic human being . Care to say who’s asking?”】
『Well, can’t blame her for having doubts . 』
【”I am Brigitte Apgrain, commander of the Asgard empire’s ranger squadron . I came as reinforcement at the request of commander Cabernard . ”】
Upon hearing the name, Frigga gasped with surprise .
【”Brigitte… The white vampire?!”】
The Asgard empire had five squadrons in total .
Each squadron was composed of around 40 . 000 men . There was one in charge of each of the cardinal directions, as well as one reserve squadron .
The first was the east’s squadron, led by the demon swordsman, Gunther Olbrink .
The second was the south’s squadron, led by the mad princess, Skuld Beweldshteim .
The third was the west’s squadron, led by the strong-armed, Bruno Björkenheim .
The fourth was the north’s squadron, led by the iron wall, Cabernard Fogelund .
As for the fifth squadron’s forces, they were responsible for bringing reinforcements to the four others, and were led by Brigitte Apgrain .
They had half of the others’ numbers, but they made up for this with their mobility, as they were the fastest of the five .
Their commander, Brigitte, had a white armor enchanted with wind magic, and was adept at fighting in the sky .
She also liked pertaining in one on one duels, and using her magic sword Nageling to suck her opponents’ magic power in the process .
This was why she was nicknamed the white vampire and was one of the most feared commanders in Asgard .
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She was the trump card that Cabernard had called from the empire to oppose Kurats’ overwhelming power .
【”So I get to fight both the snow white valkyrie and that mysterious, powerful mage? I haven’t had such an exciting battle in a long time!“】
Brigitte’s wide grin seemed to show she was genuinely having fun .
She had short blond hair and a beautiful face, but she looked like she was still in her teenage years . However, there was an odd and mysterious side to her that seemed like it belonged to an older woman .
“Between the snow white valkyrie and the white vampire, which ‘white’ in the strongest?” This had been quite the trending question in both of their respective countries .
【”I’ve also been wanting to cross swords with you . “】
But as trendy as this topic was, no one wanted to know the answer to the question more than the two maidens themselves .
Now that they were faced with such a perfect opportunity to do so, they both felt an indescribable sense of excitement .
【”―― It’s nice to see you’re both so excited, but I’m not done here . “】
Looking a little displeased by what had just happened, Kurats butted in on the conversation .
『Oh, so even you can show some pride?』
(I’m a narrow-minded guy, okay? There is no way in hell I’m letting anyone think I lost! )
He stared fixedly at his right hand that was now completely healed . He had rarely been this angry .
【”S-sorry, Kura– I mean, mister Mathers, but would you mind leaving her to me?”】
【”I don’t mind at all, but not before I make it clear who’s the strongest one between us . “】
【”Oho, let me guess, you’re going to claim that it’s you?”】
【”I don’t intend to claim anything, the facts will speak for themselves . “】
In the end, the best way for him to demonstrate his capabilities was still hand-to-hand combat .
Although he had inherited Bernst’s talent and had an exceptional reserve of magic power, he could not change the habits that had been carved into his body from a very young age .
And while the only reason he had been wounded was that he had been too focused on controlling an enormous spell that he wasn’t accustomed to, this still left a bad aftertaste in his mouth .
【”―― They say real men know when to accept defeat . Don’t be a sore loser . ”】
There was no way Brigitte would not feel offended after her opponent declared so confidently that he was superior to her .
Determined to beat the man first and leave Frigga for later, Brigitte tightly gripped her sword .
She never was the patient type in the first place .
【”I’ll hold back so you can properly fight against Frigga afterwards . “】
【”You’re in no position to hold anything back, know your place!“】
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She glided and jumped in the air towards Kurats, but her face hit some sort of invisible wall .
【”W-what did you do?”】
The shock spread like a ripple over her whole body . It was as if she had taken a direct hit from a blunt weapon .
Her field of view was distorted and her head was dizzy, but she managed to narrowly stop herself from fainting .
If she lost consciousness here, even her enchanted armor would not save her from crashing to her death .
【”Did you not see it? I just swung my fist . ”】
【”You’re lying! I was still out of your reach!“】
The reach of a sword was naturally longer than the reach of a punch .
And Brigitte had a tight grasp on the exact distance she was supposed to keep to stay as far as possible while still being close enough to attack with her sword .
【”You think you’re safe because my fist can’t reach you?“】
Seeing Kurats shrug his shoulders like he was making fun of her, Brigitte instantly fell into a fury fueled with killing intent .
No man had ever been this rude to her .
Save for the demon swordsman Gunther and the mad princess Skuld, Brigitte was recognized as the strongest fighter of the Asgard empire’s whole army .
Being played with like a child in the middle of a duel was something that she simply could not accept .
【”What kind of trick did you use?”】
【”You think this was a trick? That just goes to show you’re no big deal . “】
【”You bastaaaard!”】
【”How about I try a little harder?”】
Following Kurats’ words, Brigitte prepared to take on whatever was coming .
This time, she was going to see the trick to his attack .
(Then I’ll slice my sword back at him and suck his magic dry . ) She thought, as she focused her eyes on him . However…
【”―― Seriously?”】
Brigitte immediately twisted her body to avoid taking a direct hit .
A mass of compressed air passed right by her head, bringing an instantaneous change in atmospheric pressure that left her ear buzzing .
【”It was just a punch?”】
To be precise, it was not just a regular punch . It was more like he had fired a cannonball made of compressed air with his fist alone .
The attack had missed but the shockwave it left in its wake was already quite powerful . Just thinking of what would have happened if it landed was terrifying .
【”You have good eyes . Use them well for what’s coming next . Be sure not to miss it . ”】
【”……!? WHAT?!”】
With no regard for shame or honor or the like, Brigitte set up a wind barrier and lengthened the distance between Kurats and herself by several dozen meters (around 100 feet) to avoid his attack .
【”Oh, you’re pretty good at running away . “】
『Do not make light of her artifact . Without using spells, even you would have a hard time dealing with her . 』
(Well, I might have some trouble catching her . )
Whenever he’d approach to attack her, she’d just go away .
But running away was not going to be enough to win .
【”W-what’s with you? How many simultaneous punches was that?”】
This time, Kurats had attacked with an unforgiving barrage of fists, firing off 58 of those air cannonballs . However, by combining her battle sense with the properties of her armor, Brigitte had managed to avoid them .
But while she had been able to escape from the barrage of punches, she had failed to come up with any method to counter it .
For a meathead like Kurats, who still could not segment his thoughts, using magic spells required a great deal of mental concentration .
The reason he had ended up being cornered by Brigitte’s surprise attack was that he had been focused on his anti-military spell .
He was confident that if he had stuck with hand-to-hand to combat from the get go, he would not have given Brigitte any chance to take advantage of him .
And now that he had properly reconfirmed that, Kurats proudly smiled .
In a different way from Bernst, he also hated losing .
【”Try to come up with a solution for next time . “】
【”What?! Wait! This duel is not over!“】
【”Maybe the duel isn’t over, but it’s clear who’s above the other now . “】
Indeed, Brigitte had no idea what she could do next .
Just the thought of what would happen if she approached carelessly and took a direct hit was making her incapable of moving .
【”―― Frigga, I’ll entrust her with you now . “】
【”You can count on me . I’ll go back to Berglund once I’m done . “】
【”Got it . “】
Brigitte was being completely ignored by Kurats and Frigga . She was so enraged that her white skin discovered the many shades of the color red .
【”Our fight is still not over!”】
Without looking back at the whining knight, Kurats jumped down from Shelac’s back .