Chapter 140
Translator: Raizu
Editor: Shirayuki
Chapter 140 – Conquering the North part 9 – ~Amqa~
Ares sped up, cutting his way down a bloody road to the main enemy camp at the center .
[I have a bad feeling . Hopefully I make it in time…]
Ares muttered to himself . Meanwhile, his hands were still busy swinging Renart, killing any soldiers that came in his way .
[4th Head! The feeling is getting stronger and stronger . This is…]
Shu informed Ares as he swept the enemy in front of him with his cross-shaped spear .
[Oioi, isn’t it weird? There are a lot of soldiers but all of them are fleeing from the center instead…]
Batu caught one of the soldiers that were escaping from the central camp by the neck .
[Let go! Release me! I still don’t wanna die!]
[Shut up!]
Batu slapped the delirious soldier’s cheek to wake him up, then asked .
[Oi, what’s with that place? What’s going on? Is everything alright?]
[… . . Amqsama has sold his soul to the devil…]
The soldier’s face turned miserable .
[That was…certainly a devil’s work . I’d rather be killed by the enemy soldiers than being killed by that…thing . ]
The soldier then began squealing frantically once more .
[Dammit! What is going on here!?]
Batu muttered to himself as he loosened his grip on the soldier, who promptly scurried away after he fell to the ground on his butt .
[In any case we should forge ahead… Amqa is over there… But maybe I should prepare for the worst…]
Ares mumbled that last part with a very low voice so that Shu and Batu didn’t hear him .
Tightening his grip on Renard, he pushed his way to the center . Looking behind him, he saw Shu and Batu nodded back as they followed .
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The first things that entered Ares’ sight were the large number of torn corpses and a man standing in the middle of it .
Man…was that even the right word? The appearance was certainly no longer that of a man .
Its height was over 2 meters tall with bulging muscles all over its body . But the most shocking feature was its head .
[No way, is that…Amqa? That thing doesn’t even resemble Amqa…at all . Looks more like a monster to me . ]
Batu was surprised upon seeing the creature .
[I knew it… It’s too late… He used the 『Demon King Artifact』]
Yes, the creature was Amqa . However, the head was no longer that of a human . Instead, it was an elongated skull with a pair of twisting horns growing from its temple .
[Ahh, this feels so good…I’ve been feeling wary this whole time, but now I feel so calm the worries from earlier felt like a lie…]
The skull murmured, then laughed . Its boney jaw crackled as it kept talking .
[With this, I will never lose to anyone anymore . I’ve become the strongest in the world . ]
The skull-headed creature…Amqa trampled through the many strewn corpses . It looked around at its tragic victims, but soon turned its focus to the three men who just arrived .
[And then… . the sacrificial lambs to celebrate my ascension actually brought themselves to me . Be my stepping stones and crumble to dust!]
Amqa brandished its sword . The sword itself emitted a dark aura as though it’s a sentient being .
[Alright then, lambs . Come at me . Though I don’t think I’ll lose to anyone right now . ]
Having said so, Amqa launched itself at the three at a terrifying speed .
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[Kuh! I won’t let you!]
Jumping off from his horse as he shouted that, Shu was the first to receive Amqa’s attack .
Upon landing on the ground he forego his cross spear, reaching out to the katana on his waist .
[Haaaaaa!]
Along with his roar, Shu’s body emanated with a white glow . He instinctively knew . The creature before him must not be trifled with so he went full throttle from the very beginning .
Shu blocked Amqa’s sword with his katana .
Clank!
The noise of metal colliding reverberated through the battlefield . At that point…
[What!?]
Shu was knocked back a good distance away .
[Shu!]
Batu hurriedly ran toward Shu, helping the latter get up as his body was lodged into the ground .
[Guhaa!]
[Oi! Get a hold of yourself!]
[… . . I am fine, Batu . More importantly, you should focus on the enemy before us . I cannot protect you this time . ]
Shu replied as he got back up to his feet on his own .
When Ares confirmed the situation, he also thrust Renard to the ground and dismounted from Saint .
[I know . This guy, I think there is more than one 『Demon King’s Artifact』 embedded in its body… I can feel that its magic power is stronger from the other one . ]
Ares’ eyes darted at Amqa’s forehead then to his shoulders . Brown colored objects were embedded on those spots . Undoubtedly, those are the 『Demon King’s Artifacts』 .
Reaching out to the Seven Heavenly Sword hanging around his chest, Ares gently called out the sword’s name .
[Divine Sword Oldeus!]
A sword with a shimmering blue blade appeared on Ares’ hand upon being called .
[If only Sigurd and Darius are also here… . but, beggars can’t be choosers… I have to find a way to kill that thing with only the three of us here…]
If Sigurd and Darius were there in addition to Shu and Batu, Ares wouldn’t be as troubled to fight Amqa but since the former two were on a different mission, he had no other choice but to make do with what he has .
Ares twirled Oldeus in jest . But it was actually the invisible slash launched to attack Amqa . But…
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[Gaaaaaaaa!]
Amqa’s body swelled even further following that roar . And surprisingly, it tanked the attack while receiving nary a scratch .
[Wha!?]
Ares was obviously amazed .
[How naive! Little bastard!! … . Mu!?]
But at that moment, an arrow bearing tremendous pressure shot toward Amqa .
[Fly!]
It was an arrow that Batu let loose . And it’s not just one arrow, but multiple of them, each swirling with wind magic . He’s shooting from a bow called the 『Supreme King Bow』, once wielded by the King Jamka Ran and had been passed down for generations within the Wind tribe .
The arrows released from this bow were known to be capable of piercing through metal .
However…
[Impudent!]
But the arrows bounced off Amqa’s skin too .
[No way…]
Seeing the result, Batu was stunned .
[Now it’s my turn! Gaaaaaa!]
That roar sounded inhuman . Along with that, Amqa started moving once more, swinging the sword in its hand horizontally . Following that swing, the ground was gouged out . Almost as if it was an invisible slash just like what Ares did .
[Tsk!]
Ares launched his own invisible slash to offset that attack .
In response to this, Shu, who was in the opposite direction, launched himself towards Amqa, katana slashing at the creature . But Amqa didn’t react with his sword and instead threw a bare handed fist with its free left hand .
Shu, managing to avoid the fist, attempted to land a powerful blow . Amqa managed to block that attack with its sword, but the force behind Shu’s slash was enough to cause its feet to sink into the ground .
[Tsk!]
At the same time, Ares closed in once Amqa turned away from him . With Amqa in the middle of raising its sword to block Shu, Ares aimed for the opening on its flank . But as if having predicted that, Amqa managed to disengage from Shu and jumped away to avoid Ares’ attack in time .
[He’s so swift despite his size!!]
Landing back on the ground almost gracefully, Amqa retaliated with yet another invisible slash at Ares .
[Damn!]
[Ha!]
Again, Ares’ party worked together to counteract and distract Amqa . This time, Batu also shot an arrow from a seemingly blind spot . But again, Amqa deflected the arrow as though he had predicted the sneak attack .
[Dammit! It’s a monster!]
Batu cursed as his arrow was denied once again . Both Ares and Shu silently agreed, but brandished their swords nonetheless .
[No opening at all…]
Shu muttered .
No matter how they attacked, Amqa had seemingly always predicted it .
[We can’t afford to waste time… this is supposed to be a surprise attack . If the enemy finds that our numbers are actually very little…they’ll surround us from all sides…]
Batu nodded in agreement to Ares’ assessment . The key in a surprise attack is to strike at the enemy’s head as quickly as possible . Unable to achieve that is the same as failure of the entire operation .
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[That’s not all…over time, the horde of magic beasts that Sigurd is blocking will eventually rush over here…attracted by the 『Demon King’s Artifact』]
That would be the worst case scenario in Ares’ mind . If that happens, they would be grossly outnumbered .
Ares took a glance at Shu who’s now right beside him . The man was looking at Amqa with a little impatience . Seeing this, Ares gently reached out to his shoulder . At the same time, waves of magic power were transmitted to Shu .
Images suddenly flashed in Shu’s mind . Surprised, he turned to Ares .
[4th Head!? That was…]
[Did you see images in your head?]
[Yes . But…that was…]
[Yes, that was Murakumo-style Special Art 『Dragon’s Roar』 . Well, at the moment I can only impart images . Exercising it is still the most important . But in your case, the basics are already there, so…with this, you should be able to figure out how to use the 『Dragon’s Roar』properly . ]
Using Wind magic, Ares covertly transmitted his plan to Shu and Batu .
[Our targets are the 『Demon King’s Artifacts』 . Shu and I will handle the ones on the shoulders each . At the same time, Batu should aim for the one on the forehead . ]
Shu and Batu listened to the plan without saying anything .
[This is probably our last chance . Let’s make it count . ]
The two then nodded in silent approval .
Ares recalled Oldeus and replaced it with Murasame . The spirits inhabiting the magnificent katana danced furiously around the blade .
[Shu, do as the images you saw . This time you’ll certainly able to control the 『Dragon』]
[Yes!]
Shu chuckled shortly after .
[What’s wrong?]
[Nothing…if the people back at home learn how I received guidance from the 4th Head himself…they, especially the Shiranui clan head, will certainly go into an uproar . ]
Ares also chuckled hearing Shu’s comment . The two then quietly took position with katanas readied at the hip . Closing their eyes as they emitted eerie auras, both strengthened their body with magic power and fighting spirit to the utmost .
[What are you planning now?]
Amqa watched the scene in suspicion, trying to gauge the situation .
Meanwhile, magic power and fighting spirit also coalesced into Ares’ and Shu’s katanas .
At the same time, Batu began to nock an arrow on the 『Supreme King Bow』 .
Opening his eyes, Ares shouted .
[Batu, aim at that spot I mentioned . Don’t miss!]
[Leave it to me!]
Hearing the answer, Ares had a small smile on his face . He then turned to Shu, who also opened his eyes in response .
[Ready to go?]
[Yes! I never thought that the secret to properly use the special art is like this . Not only magic power and fighting spirit, but one must also infuse part of their life force…]
Shu then nodded to Ares, who also nodded in return… . Ares then shouted powerfully .
[Yosh!! Shu, whenever you’re ready . Let’s go!]
[Yes!]
[ [ Murakumo-ryu Ougi, Ryuu no Hokō!! ] ]
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The attacks were released with the shout . Twin dragons burst forth from Shu’s and Ares’ katana swings, blasting their way towards Amqa .
[What!? Those are!?]
The two golden dragons insistently chased after Amqa regardless of how it tried to evade . They finally managed to catch up, rising from the ground toward its shoulders .
[Guaaaaa!]
As the twin dragons phased through their target…the two demon king’s artifacts embedded inside Amqa’s shoulders began to creak .
[Guhaaa! No way!?]
[Now! Batu!]
[On it!]
Batu took aim .
[This arrow shall decide the destiny of the steppe… O’ Meadow God, grants me power…]
Batu then released his arrow . The arrow flew true with a whistling noise, hitting a bullseye on the Demon King’s artifact embedded on Amqa’s forehead .
[Yosh! I got it!]
[Impossiiiiiiiiibbbleeeeeeee!! My body, my body is crumbliiiiiiiiing!!?]
At that moment…Amqa’s body spasmed in pain as it started to crumble slowly .
[Bogdan, this wasn’t how you told me! I should’ve been the strongest in the world . Losing to these three pieces of garbage here is…]
Apparently it’s a very painful process . Amqa fell to its knees, flailing its arms as if trying to get a hold of something .
[Bogdan! Answer me, Bogdan! Do something, anything! Help meeeeeeeeeee!]
Amqa’s body collapsed along with that last cry .
Meanwhile, Ares, Batu and Shu also fell on their butts .
Silence lingered for a while .
[Did we…do it?]
[… . . it seems so . ]
Finally Ares loosened his serious expression .
[This time it’s more difficult…]
Ares mumbled then took a deep sigh . He turned to Batu next .
[Batu, I will use wind magic so that the entire Gayag hill could hear it . Announce that you’ve defeated Amqa . The battle isn’t over yet . ]
Batu also had a relieved look on his face, but received Ares’ hand and jumped back up to standing position .
[You’re right…the battle isn’t over yet . I have to put an end to it…]
That said, Batu walked away towards a spot that could be seen from the entire hill . He then shouted .
[The enemy general Amqa has fallen! I, Batu, along with my blood brother Ares and my friend Shu, have vanquished the Barbaric King Amqa!]
The wind carried Batu’s voice to echo through the entire hill .
[The battle is over!! Everyone, lower your spears . Drop your weapons . Everyone, surrender to this Batu!]
The Iron Tribe under Amqa crumbled . Meanwhile, the Wind Tribe cheered in victory .
With Batu’s proclamation, the battle against Amqa had finally come to an end .