CH 339

「Dragon Roar!」

The Dragon Roar manifested a white translucent dragonscale sword and arms that gripped it, which struck the Prisma’s elbow pit.

The strike caused the Prisma to lose its balance and collapse, deviating its power. The pressure on Inglis was also immediately lifted.

「Now!」

This was an opportunity that she couldn’t afford to miss!

In all honesty, Inglis was scraping the bottom of the barrel right now. She had already expended the majority of her Ether on the Roaring Ether Cross, using up every last bit. She didn’t have enough Ether remaining to even launch one Ether Strike, and maintaining her Ether Armor has taken all she had.

It wasn’t that she had a significant reserve of Dragon Roar either. She only used it just now because she had to.

Despite her Ether Armor strengthening her physical abilities, it had already drained most of her energy just to withstand the Prisma’s attack. Any lapse in concentration would have resulted in her being crushed.

Unable to counter Prisma’s power head-on, Inglis had to rely on her Dragon Roar to destabilize its posture and create an opening.

However, in so doing, the Prisma would also gain resistance against Dragon Roar, but Inglis had no choice but to take that risk.

In moments like these, she had to attack! She needed to target the Prisma’s weak points and strike with all her might!

Inglis scaled up the thick arm of the Prisma and confronted it head-on. As she did, the hue of her Ether Armor surrounding her underwent a subtle transformation. Correspondingly, the dragonscale sword she wielded also took on a different radiance. This was because the waves of her Ether Armor also infused the sword.

The alteration in the waves occurred as Inglis utilized the Ether Reflector technique, causing a shift in the radiance of both her Ether Armor and the dragonscale sword. This wavelength difference was comparable to the distinction between the attributes of Gifts and sorceries, and attacking the Prisma with fire after it had developed resistance to ice.

However, altering the wave of Ether was a challenging technical feat, and Inglis had limited options available to her. She needed to achieve the greatest impact with the fewest possible moves.

「THERE!!」

Inglis aimed her dragonscale sword towards the Prisma’s right eye, but before she could strike, a prismatic beam of light was unleashed from the half-humanoid beast’s eye with a sharp sound.

「——?!」

The Prisma had set a trap for Inglis and was luring Inglis in! She had already suspected that the Prisma was capable of tactical thinking even before its transformation. In terms of intelligence, it was clearly superior to other Magic Stone Beasts.

Unfortunately, Inglis couldn’t evade the attack in time and had to block it with her dragonscale sword. Despite her quick reaction, she couldn’t withstand the force of the attack and was dragged away by the momentum of the ray of light.

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「Now you’ve done it!」

Facing a disadvantageous situation after being caught off guard is also a crucial part of a battle. Although it may seem painful and difficult, the greatest growth often comes from overcoming such challenges.

As Inglis was propelled through the air, she glimpsed the city walls in the distance. If she didn’t take action, she would collide with the wall, causing severe damage.

Inglis struggled to regain her composure mid-air when, all of a sudden, the force that had launched her weakened.

「——?!」

Actually, it was the opposite— someone had supported Inglis, preventing her from crashing into the city walls. In a surprise, Inglis turned around to see that it was Black Mask, the leader of the Ironblood Chain Brigade. It made sense that he was here, considering Cystia was also present.

「…I would appreciate it if you would refrain from interfering!」

Inglis turned a somewhat disapproving look to the Black Mask.

「Hm… well then.」

Black Mask withdrew his hand from Inglis’ back, but fortunately, the weakened momentum allowed Inglis to land safely on the ground.

Using the remaining momentum of the ray, Inglis braced herself and stood her ground. However, the Prisma was not done yet and fired another beam of light, this time from its left eye.

「?!」

As Inglis was pushed back with double the force, she left deep ruts in the ground. Black Mask quickly ran beside her to follow her movements.

「And what might you be doing…?」

「My business with you is not done just yet!」

Since he was told not to interfere, he’s just following without touching me? Is that it? Inglis couldn’t help but let out a snicker at his conscientiousness, even during the intense situation.1

「What can I do for you, then?」

「Ah, it’s nothing. I just observed that you are far too exhausted to fight that evolved Prisma! It is hardly a fair fight by now, isn’t it? A battle is more enjoyable when it is fair and even… don’t you think so?」

Black Mask held out his hand toward Inglis.

「I will give you my Ether. I am just as exhausted and hardly at my best, however… it is also in our best interest to avoid being too much in the limelight.」

「So you want to push the credit to me?」

「I thought Lady Second-in-Command Commander of the Imperial Guard Order is here for the credits?」

It appeared that Black Mask had heard Inglis’ speech to the Knights. And Inglis had to agree with him. If she were to defeat the Prisma one-on-one on a battlefield with a large army gathered, she couldn’t avoid taking credit for the victory. And this time, she had no intention of avoiding it.

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That was why she accepted the position of Commander of the Imperial Guard Order. If a random Knight Academy student defeated the Prisma, people would start questioning the legitimacy of the Holy Knight and the Hyrule Menaces.

In situations like this, the wider the disparity in status between the lower and higher classes, the more belittling the higher class would appear if the lower class receives full credit in such situations. It would be like a member of the lower class exposing the corruption of the upper class, a classic underdog story that could captivate the people’s hearts.

Inglis was determined to avoid such a scenario. She had no desire to undermine Raphael and the Hyrule Menaces. If she did, people would start to expect more from her. Above all else, this could lead to a significant loss of opportunity, such as not being summoned to handle the next Prisma that appeared.

Inglis was certain that Eris and Ripple would not want to exclude her, but their desires might not always be the top priority. While the Holy Knight Order’s core consisted of Raphael, Eris, and Ripple, there were still those above them, such as Prince Wayne and Special Envoy Theodore. Even these two were surrounded by a council of high-ranking individuals.

On the other hand, if the one who aided the Holy Knight Order in defeating a Prisma was the Commander of the Imperial Guard Order, a personage of equal rank to the Holy Knight, the underdog narrative would no longer hold. This would result in lesser repercussions on the Holy Knight Order, and people would not have high expectations of Inglis as an individual. Moreover, she would have a higher chance of being invited to another Prisma battle.

「…I’ve decided that this is ultimately the most convenient for us.」

「So have I. We do not wish to shake the order of this country any further. Our only enemies are the Highlanders who prey on the people of the surface.」

When a private group gained public recognition and fame, people naturally applauded and pinned their hopes on them. In the case of the Ironblood Chain Brigade, their actions could be seen as a challenge to the established regime. While the existence of the Ironblood Chain Brigade was known in Charalia, the country as a whole had not made any moves to defeat them. Inglis suspected that they avoided gaining prestige to reduce the risk of national intervention, and her suspicion was correct.

Black Mask had no intentions of seizing the surface lands, rather his only target was to wage war against Highland. This was something he had stated to Inglis from the very beginning of their acquaintance.

Inglis supposed that Black Mask couldn’t bear to do nothing when the Prisma was on the move and there was a possibility of the country being destroyed. After all, the Ironblood Chain Brigade had comrades in Charalia, such as Mimosa who served Cyrene with Prism Powder in the town of Nova.

One could naturally assume that he acted to protect his own people from the Prisma.

「You always say the same thing every time we see each other!」

「That is what conviction is all about. Isn’t it the same for you? It’s because of our convictions that I’m here, running after you.」

Even as they spoke, Inglis was being forced backwards, leaving deep ruts in the ground, with Black Mask following closely behind.

「Fufu. If so, I will gratefully accept it! They do say that one can’t fight with an empty stomach, and I shall interpret this as a meal before the battle.」

Inglis decided that since she was already in this situation, she might as well engage in a power struggle with such a formidable opponent. Her warrior’s instinct fully supported her decision.