Chapter 429: Reppeling the Assailants

「Haaa!」

「――」

『Ugh』

When Fran cut down the assailants along with their pseudo fanatic sword, the magic flowed into me. Cannibalism was triggered.

Of course. Our opponent seems to be another copy of the pseudo fanatic sword. In other words, they're a fellow discarded divine sword.

No, maybe I can even devour on a divine sword…But, I don't think i can destroy those superweapons.

(Master, are you okay?)

『I'm fine』

(Cannibalism, why not turn it off?

『No……even if it's only a little, I won't miss the opportunity to be strengthened without resorting to self-evolution. I'm going with this.』

(Understood, let's find our next prey)

『Ou!』

(But, don't push yourself)

『Yea, I know』

Dooon! Dogogoon!

From inside the mansion, I could hear sounds of destruction and people's screams scattering, probably due to magic attack. Considering that all the assailants were being manipulated and didn't raise their voices, it meant that all these screams were coming from the soldiers of the mansion.

「――」

「Shiii!」

「――」

『This guy's strong too!』

All of the assailants were quite skilled. Almost all of them possessed sword saint skill, and they were in a state of potential release. In addition, they are also able to counteract our magic and skills.

In a small space, Fran's speed could not be fully utilized, and it was quite difficult to take them down with a single blow. It would be easier if she could use her magic to snipe from a distance, but it would only be dispelled.

And yet, the other side was freely unleashing their magic on us. It was quite troublesome.

「――Wind cutter」

「Haaa!」

We dodged the wind magic that woman unleashed, and Fran approached her at once. It was a purely a contest of once she got this close. After a few slashes, the assailant was defeated.

『She even have regenerative powers too huh』

「Nn. Annoying」

Because it was Fran, it was only annoying, but it would be hard on the soldiers. They can't say that they're strong because of their training, but they're still just a soldier.

「Guaa!」

『Fran!』

「Nn!」

A bloody soldier was blown through a nearby door. Fran quickly tried to cast a recovery spell on the soldier, but it didn't get invoked.

『It's useless! let’s destroy that pseudo fanatic sword first!』

「Understood!」

「――」

I twisted and snatched the sword from the hands of the swordsman who had slashed the soldier, and kicked his jaw with full power. We killed him after smashing his heart and broke his neck. She struck me into his neck to crush the pseudo divine sword. It seems we can do it with just one slash.

(Note: author-san suddenly mentioned it as "pseudo divine sword 疑似神剣" instead of "pseudo fanatic sword 疑似狂信剣", but then he mentioned it again as pseudo fanatic sword……)

『Yosh, as long as there's no pseudo fanatic sword nearby, we can use magic』

The soldier who was dying recovered in time. She tapped on his cheek to wakes him up.

「Are you okay?」

「Ugh…you are…」

「Healed your wound, does it still hurt?」

「I'm really grateful…What about everyone in the dining room?」

「Leave it to me」

Leaving the soldier, whose wounds had healed but couldn't move because of too much blood loss, Fran entered the room from which he had popped out.

As the soldier had said, it seemed to be a dining hall for servants and soldiers. I saw several maids and soldiers lying down in the large room. I wondered if the carpet was red, or if the grey carpet was stained with blood!

「――」

「Hmm!」

Fran was about to slash the assailant, but the other party took an unexpected action. To her surprise, he thrust his blade at the maid who were unconscious at his feet. Clearly, he was taking her hostage.

I was surprised because I hadn't expected these assailants to behave in such an intelligent manner.

「――」

But even if these guys themselves are incapable of thinking, there is someone controlling them. I don't know how they do it, or to what extent they can give detailed orders, but at least they can make each assailant make detailed and precise action.

「――」

The attacker does nothing, but just keeps the blade on the maid's neck. This would be a waste of time. Maybe he is trying to buy some time until his friends arrive.

『Fran, I'll do it』

「Understood」

Fran nodded lightly at my words and casually pointed my tip at the assailants.

「――」

The assailant braced himself lightly, as if on alert. But to no avail.

『Doryaa!』

We're far apart. We were at opposite ends of the large dining hall. This is the reason why the magic power cancelling effect has not reached us.

Then there is only one thing to do.

I jump out with my telekinetic catapult and shatter the assailant’s head and pseudo fanatic sword into pieces. It seems that even with his strengthening, he couldn't react to the telekinetic catapult at this distance!

Even if it can counteract the skill, it doesn't stop the acceleration I got in the first place. That was what i aiming for.

『I don't know what these guys are up to, let's go to Count Bailleys for the time being!』

「Understood」

After treating the maid who was still breathing among those who had collapsed in the room, we decided to leave her to the soldiers and head for the Count's escort on the second floor.

The Count himself was quite skilled, so I thought he would be okay, but the enemy was stronger than I thought. Perhaps even the Count might be in danger.

We close the distance and slashes down the assailants who is aiming for the upstairs, dodging their attacks with her three-dimensional movements using the walls and ceiling as footholds.

As we rushed into Count Bailleys' office, I found him on his knees with wounds all over his body. His dominant arm was bleeding and he was unable to hold his sword.

Moreover, the assailant is about to give chase. It looks like we came just in the nick of time.

『Oh no! We have to help him!』

「Nn! Haaa!」

She approached the closest man among the assailants surrounding the Count from behind and cut him in half from his right shoulder to his left side in a surprise attack.

She also tried to horizontally cleave the torso of the man on his left, turning clockwise on the spot, but it was dodged.

『He can dodge an attack from behind!』

If we wanted to focus on flow, we should have used the momentum from slashing the man on the right and slashed counter clockwise. It would have been the fastest way to attack. However, that would have been a frontal attack for the enemy.

That's why she dared to kill her momentum and slash at him from behind in a clockwise direction. However, the attacker avoided the slash by twisting himself while losing his balance.

Apparently, the five of them here――well, four of them now. It seems that these guys are the most skilled among the assailants. They had Sword Saint Skills on lv 5, moreover, their physical ability was high.

「It's Black Lightning Princess! we are saved!」

「Get back!」

「Tsk, if i had a potion, i can still fight」

The Count mumbled in frustration and stared at the water stain on the carpet at his feet. An empty potion bottle was lying near it.

Apparently, he had sprinkled a potion on his arm in an attempt to heal it, but the magic counteracting effect had turned it into mere water.

『Fran! All of these guys can use magic. It's going to be a tough fight while protecting the Count』

「Nn! end this at once! Sword Deification!」

It's been a long time since we used sword deification, not in training, but in actual combat. I could feel the power dwelling within me. At the same time, my blade creaked from the inside, and I knew that the countdown had begun.

In a long-term battlefield where the number of enemies is unknown, it's hard to use a skill that will shave me down, but I can't say that here.

Besides, even if it could only be used for a short period of time, the sword deification, which simply increased her skill and power in swordsmanship, went well with their ability to counteract magic power.

Fran stepped forward, wielding the atmosphere of a powerful person, making the adjective "overwhelming" seem cute. Despite the power rampaging within her and the presence she wore, her face was calm.

I don't know if these assailants had any feelings of fear, but they must have understood that Fran had turned into something dangerous. They all attacked at once.

「――」

「Shi」

「――」

「Fuu」

「――」

「Haa」

「――」

「Teei」

And then it's over.

I feel so empty. It had been settled so easily. Each of them possessed sword saint skills, had no fear of death, we had defeated an opponent who would not hesitate to use them self as bait for his friends with just four swings of sword. It was said that the sword deification would give me divine attributes, but such a thing wouldn't have been necessary.

Each slash was as powerful as a Sword King technique. But when i thought about it, was it natural? The Sword King Technique is the ultimate slashing technique. The perfect slash that will blow everything, that is what a sword king technique is.

What if she truly mastered the sword and every slash, she made was perfect? Wouldn't even a casual slash be as good as the sword king technique? No, it may be that the sword king technique is a technique required for reproducing such slashes.

The swords god didn't really move Fran's body, but this is already above the realm the swords king technique.

Well, that's why the burden on us is so great. After we released the sword deification, we exhaled deeply and confirmed each other's safety.

(Master, are you okay?

『I don't really know…Every time I sliced one of them, my endurance went down so much, I didn't feel so good. How about you, Fran?』

(Tired)

The reduced durability doesn't recover at all, and Fran wears out very fast. It was still a difficult skill to use in actual combat.