Chapter 40: Vol. 2 – Episode 17
After destroying Eustasia’s sword, Sungjin started to work on his next plan.
He had won on two battlefields, but he still had to win one more to achieve a complete victory. Without a complete victory, he couldn’t become an Arc Master.
If he couldn’t achieve a complete victory, the long internal conflict and threats from the other countries were the only things that would be waiting for him. And Eustasia would never join his team.
It is time to finish this.
Eustasia was getting ready to fight against Sungjin.
Although she didn’t know what was going on in the other two battlefields, it was not difficult to predict that Sungjin wouldn’t take it easy on her here.
But I can see that we didn’t make it on the other two battlefields.
There was no way to get the news from the others, but this great general was able to speculate based on her experience and her gut feeling.
Sungjin caught me off-guard here; I’m sure he’s defeated the other two kings despite the advice I gave to them.
That meant she had to win on her own battlefield.
It’s still okay. If I make it here, then it won’t be a miserable failure. We can drag it out into a long war. Then even Sungjin won’t be able to attack us anymore because he would also have to keep his eyes on the other forces.
She was able to reverse the situation and realized Sungjin’s concerns. She started to make a plan to minimize the damage.
First, I need to return to the base to regroup...
But Rittier, the gray-haired knight, jumped up to the tower and attacked her, giving her no time to react or think.
“I, Rittier, the knight of the Kingdom of Sevrantina am here to attack you, General Eustasia! If this was a duel, I wouldn’t attack you without weapons, but this is a war, and Master Sungjin destroyed your weapon during battle, so I will take advantage of this situation!” Rittier shouted and ran into her.
This was not a bluff. Eustasia was one level higher, but it was just one level after all.
Of course, a one-level difference did matter, but this was a close combat match between a knight and an archer. Moreover, the archer, Eustasia, was fighting with her bare hands, which made it impossible for her to use her skills.
The result of the fight was quite clear: an archer without any weapons had to fight against the knight.
Rittier hit her hard to finish her with the first and the final blow.
Seyzo II was level 7, but without Eustasia, Rittier believed that all four members of his team could catch the rest of the enemies without difficulty.
And Eustasia was worried about the same thing.
If I die here...
She knew that without her, the three kingdoms wouldn’t be able to stop Sungjin.
* * *
Chapter 12
Eustasia avoided the strong blow from Rittier.
“Ha. Give it up.”
Rittier didn’t stop the attack with his sword.
Eustasia’s movements to avoid Rittier’s sword looked like a flow of water, and by the fifth blow, Rittier realized something was wrong. By the eleventh blow, he realized that he was not able to even touch Eustasia.
“Eustasia...”
“Swords can slice iron, but not water,” said Eustasia with a graceful smile while avoiding his sword.
Her movement was fierce but also graceful and flawless. She looked like windblown petals and flowing water.
“What is... is this your third skill!?”
Rittier understood the third skill of Eustasia, the one that had not been revealed in any battles until now.
So with your third skill, you can avoid being attacked in close combat.
It was not strange that an archer had such a defensive skill for close combat.
Rittier was not worried. Such skills to escape risky situations always required allies to be around so that she could find a way out. At the top of this tower, she couldn’t run, and there was no one who could come to save her.
It’s only a matter of time. When you run out of your skill, you will be done as well!
This was just the skill of an archer. Rittier was sure that she wouldn’t be able to keep using it. Her Heroic Power had a limit, and eventually, she would reach that limit.
Finally, the moment that Rittier was waiting for was coming; Eustasia’s movements started to slow down.
Now you’ve run out! I’m sure you were waiting for your team. But there’s no one who can come to rescue you.
Rittier was sure of his victory.
Finally, I can contribute something to this battle.
Rittier delivered his final blow with excitement. It was a deadly blow to finish Eustasia.
“Giant Strike!”
Rittier’s muscles showed his strength. His Heroic Power was so powerful that it made his armor creak and his sword resonate loudly. The resonance was so strong that it caused the air around the sword to explode.
The sword was up in the air, but the shock wave dented the ground. Pieces of exploded rocks from the dented ground scattered around it. Everything was caused just by the shock wave.
The real power of the sword was...
Bang!
Rittier’s sword dropped on her. It didn’t even have to be accurate.
The shock wave from his sword cracked the ground and exploded the rocks and broke the doors.
The fight was over... by a hand that came through the destruction.
“Sword in Mind.”
Eustasia’s hand hit the stomach of Rittier to push him away with a piercing pain.
It looked like she tapped him lightly, but a concentrated power that was almost like a bullet came out from her palm.
It was an invisible sword with concentrated Heroic Power.
She didn’t even need a sword.
She didn’t have a physical sword, but she had the strongest sword in her mind. The destructive power of this sword incapacitated the attack of the knight.
“U... ugh...?”
Her attack made a hole that was the size of a watermelon on his stomach.
The same blow also made a hole in the wall of the tower and broke one part of the tower that continued to destroy a tree next to it. It hit the ground with a massive cloud of smoke.
The attack had a terrifying breaking power.
Rittier was standing unsteadily only to end up falling down on the ground.
If he were not as big, the blow probably would’ve cut him in half. But although he was big enough to stay in one piece, his wound was critical.
“If this is... your... third skill... what was that skill you were using to avoid my attack?”
Eustasia laughed while looking at Rittier, who was badly wounded and confused.
“That was purely my physical ability.”
“Pure... physical ability?”
“During my fight against the Golden King’s army, I realized that even an archer needed to be trained for close combat.”
But she couldn’t get additional skills from god, so there was only one way.
Since she couldn’t fight against knights or warriors with her physical strength, she decided to train herself to learn how to avoid their attacks and use their power against them. It was simple logic, but she had to train herself night and day.
“It was physical training that I learned from a faraway land. I paid a fortune, but it was totally worth it.”
“Ridiculous...”
She was able to make her physical ability nearly as powerful as a heroic skill. No hero was able to do that so far.
Rittier himself was a veteran with plenty of experience, but he failed to stop someone who trained themselves with simple physical training.
She was not a knight or a warrior; she was just an archer! But soon enough Rittier was reminded of someone.
There was an extra that Rittier could think of that who was strong enough to defeat heroes. And Rittier made an oath to serve him with his queen, Ereka.
That’s why you are the greatest general out of the four kingdoms. You worked to overcome the limit of your level with your skill.
It was not difficult to understand why Sungjin wanted her to join his team.
Ugh... If I lose here...
Rittier tried to stand up again to support Sungjin, but he couldn’t. His body was breaking down from his fingertips.
Your Highness... and Master... Sungjin...
Then he heard footsteps walking up to the tower. It was Sungjin.
“Hey.”
“Master Sungjin... I’m sorry. I tried... but she just...”
“It’s okay. You helped me to learn her secret skills with your sacrifice. I will finish her.”
Eustasia didn’t reveal her secret skills even during her fight against the Golden King, but Rittier helped Sungjin to find out two of them with this fight.
Now Sungjin was able to calculate what to do and what the result would be.
Sungjin smiled, telling Rittier that it was enough for him.
“Thank you.”
Rittier left the battlefield with a calm face.
Eustasia calmly looked at Sungjin.
“That was a great move to destroy my weapon. But you lost Rittier.”
She was right. Sungjin was level 0. He had no way to recover from that while Eustasia was able to recreate her weapon using crystals.
“That’s not too bad.”
Sungjin pointed to the scene behind him with his thumb, where a huge flame was burning up the forest to create a spectacle.
“That’s...”
“Two knights are sacrificing themselves to be the bait to kill three knights from your side.”
While Eustasia was focusing on finishing Rittier, Sungjin was also making his own moves.
“I told the king how to react in a case like this.”
“Do you really think it is difficult to provoke and lure someone who is mad and angry?”
Eustasia couldn’t say no to Sungjin’s question.
Even if a general gave practical advice, the king didn’t have to take it, especially when it came to Seyzo II.
“Then, our fight will conclude this war.”
“Correct. Let’s finish this.”
“It won’t work like back in the temple last time.”
“But you have no weapons while I have this,” said Sungjin, showing the Sword of Heaven’s Will shining in his hand. It was not something anyone could ignore, even if they were level 7 heroes.
“Do you really think you can defeat a hero? With or without weapons, history has proven that it is impossible.”
“I will write a new chapter in history,” answered Sungjin, and he started his attack.
Eustasia moved fast to fight against him.
It is annoying that you have the Sword of Heaven’s Will, but I’m still level 7.
She was sure she could defeat him with her physical abilities.
You cornered me, but I will defeat you in this fight.
She started to use the flowy movements that made her defeat a level 6 knight without her weapon.
I’ve cornered you, so I will finish you.
Sungjin started to attack Eustasia with his swordsmanship that made him able to fight against the Blood Ruler, Riad.
A boy and a girl clashed, each with their own wishes.
And the boy... had the upper hand.
His sword almost cut her left arm. She was able to avoid it by an inch, but his sword sliced her armor.
Ugh.
Eustasia struggled. The sword was too powerful, and her armor that she activated with her Heroic Power couldn’t protect her.
It was impossible for her to defend; all she was able to do was avoid the attack.
But the sharp sword cut through her smooth movements. Whenever she tried to move away, the sword was waiting for her.
She pulled out her hand to do something, but the sword almost cut the center of her palm, so she had no choice but to take it back.
She tried to step back, but the sword was already there to attack her.
When she tried to step aside, Sungjin kicked her to stop her, and as soon as she fought back, the sword cut her armor again.
Sungjin’s level 0 body was clearly slower, but Sungjin was reading her moves so quickly that it almost seemed like he could read her mind.
With the destructive power of the sword, this was just a nightmare.
God, I misread the situation.
She thought Sungjin did a great job to fight against the Blood Ruler until she activated her skill. But actually, it was the Blood Ruler who did an amazing job to fight against Sungjin before she used her skill. Usually, heroes were too lazy to practice martial arts because they had strong skills that were enough for any fight.
She found herself in trouble.
She had a much stronger army, and she attacked them from three sides simultaneously.
No one was able to even imagine that the alliance of the three kingdoms would struggle. No one, apart from Sungjin, who planned all this. It was natural for her to be in a panic in this ridiculous situation.
This was the worst possible scenario, but she was not someone who would give up.
I can’t lose this fight.
She was the last resort for her country.
A mad king.
Corrupted heroes.
Helpless people.
She knew that she was the only one who could protect her country.
She gave up her arrogance. She dropped everything and decided to go all-in to win this fight against Sungjin.
Yeah... I will drop... everything.
The next moment, she released the Heroic Power that activated her armor. Now, she had a body just like that of a level 0. She dropped her protection, but her physical performance ability had increased.
She decided to go all-in on avoiding his attack rather than die slowly.
As soon as she decided that this was the best solution, she dropped her armor to gamble with a small possibility to win.
Apart from one thing...
“Hey... Can you get dressed a bit?”
Sungjin stopped the attack for a second and asked her. He was a bit embarrassed.