LS – Chapter 106: Lost advantage to start with

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Lord Ragudo and I were at the office, ready for any eventualities. 

A black cube suddenly appeared in the sector where the Purple Demon Lord was staying in, and we have discovered that the walls are actually made up of an amalgamation of astounding amounts of devils. 

We obviously couldn’t just ignore that mass of devils. The knights were evacuating the residents in the vicinity. 

Fortunately, the people really close to that area have already been evacuated beforehand, so we will most likely be able to avoid any immediate harm.

All the devils that were occupying the mountain leading to the black wolfkin village are an issue that’s okay to ignore. 

Depending on the development, there’s a possibility for them to attack the citizens. 

I understand the meaning of the current situation since I was the one who kindled him. He must be having his match against the Purple Demon Lord. 

This was originally a match that should have been performed further in the future. The fact that he is doing this so late in the night must mean that he plans on wrapping things up in one go. 

There’s no doubt this will expose the nation to danger, but he is taking the best action in his own way. 

In that case, I have no choice but to believe in him and wait. 

“Mejis has obviously already noticed this and is assisting in encircling the area.” (Marito)

“It seems like they left some hands in the capital. Their search party is already out of the country, so we can’t call them their full force.” (Ragudo)

“Just waiting is frustrating.” (Marito)

“Communication with Mix has been cut off too. He must have met up with him. We have already dispatched the elites that we can. We managed to help them out a bit, so we have no choice but to give up here. Only thing left is to prepare ourselves for what comes next.” (Ragudo)

We have confirmed that Lady Ratzel and the others are missing through the reports of the knights. 

Lady Ratzel must have gone to help him without hesitation if she made contact with him. That goes the same for Cleric Rakura and the Gold Demon Lord. 

As for Lady Ratzel, it reminds me of her recent movements. 

“Lord Ragudo, how’s the condition of Lady Ratzel recently?” (Marito)

“To be blunt, I simply taught her how to use my techniques.” (Ragudo)

I know well how tough the training of Lord Ragudo is.

You wouldn’t lose to your average enemy if you are trained by him.

“So we can’t expect much from less than 1 month of training, huh.” (Marito)

“…Your Majesty, you know about the girl called Wolfe by his side, right?” (Ragudo)

“Yeah, the cluster of talent, right?” (Marito)

There’s no way I wouldn’t know. She is the black wolfkin that’s often by his side and is a peculiar white girl. 

The mana I can feel from her is not normal. 

She has trained against the knights of the Ragudo Division, and has grown at an abnormal pace. 

She is being instructed by the Holy Fist Gradona who is on the same level as Lord Ragudo.

“Yeah, if that girl is a cluster of talent, Lady Ratzel is a cluster of training. I reached completion when I was older than 30. After grueling effort and lots of experiences, I managed to hone all my techniques and spirit. Lady Ratzel has been polishing herself since a very young age. If it is solely in terms of her body, she has already gone above my prime since several years ago.” (Ragudo)

“She has that much inhuman strength after all. I can tell.” (Marito)

There were many knights who were far superior in technique than Lady Ratzel. 

However, Lady Ratzel overwhelmed the others in the swordsmanship tournament. 

It is on the level where she would mow down her enemies barehanded after her sword was smacked away.

This is not a joke. She had enough power to crush the enemy with pure strength against enemies who she couldn’t compete in technique against. 

After that, she was reprimanded by Lord Ragudo, had Lady Ratzel hold back her power, and told her to fight with technique.

“Lady Ratzel has obtained techniques that allow her to use her own strength to its utmost.” (Ragudo)

“That sounds scary.” (Marito)

“Yeah, she has most likely overcome even her father.” (Ragudo)

I am not that acquainted with her father, but it is not like I don’t know him.

He is the man that reached the lieutenant rank in the Ragudo Division at a young age. 

He lost his life in a monster attack, but it is said that his strength might have surpassed even that of Lord Ragudo if he were still alive.

The one who inherited his talent thickly and had it blossom with insane training is Lady Ratzel. 

“So she has shaped up in both body and mind, huh.” (Marito)

“No, he must have been the one who trained her heart.” (Ragudo)

“I see. That’s true.” (Marito)

A fully seasoned knight must excel in everything from body and mind. 

Lady Ratzel is a young knight, so her heart and technique were lacking. 

Even so, she had power comparable to that of other knights. 

Thus, she couldn’t avoid discord with other knights. 

But the existence of my friend provided a big change in Lady Ratzel. 

The half-baked person who chased after the phantom of her father is not there anymore. 

“The techniques woven by the preceding knights of Taizu have been inherited by her. She is without doubt a knight of Taizu now.” (Ragudo)

————

Right Leg of Roaring Zashpenfosse, Left Leg of Running Tenesuasparigun.

The physical advantages of the special parts from these opposing Great Devils are extremely outstanding. 

The destructive power of Zashpenfosse’s right leg created shockwaves that would roar vastly. 

Tenesuasparigun’s left leg is said to even trample down sound as it runs. 

But the two of them couldn’t show their true power. 

No, Tenesuasparigun decided to avoid the first attack by using his left leg. 

But he couldn’t avoid it.

The massive torrent of mana that was unleashed from the swung sword of the female knight in front of him, Ilias Ratzel, swallowed me and Tenesuasparigun in an instant. 

By the time he recognized it as an attack, it was already too late, and Tenesuasparigun received a direct hit from it while taking insufficient evasive actions. 

As for me, the moment I perceived it was impossible to avoid, I deployed barriers and concentrated on defense, but most of the barriers melted. 

Of course, Tenesuasparigun had gotten a direct hit from it and scattered into pieces of meat far away.

“You are tough beyond expectations, but it really gotta be like that.” (Ilias)

She was making a completely refreshed face despite having swung an attack like that unreservedly. It wasn’t just for show that she appeared last. 

“I have investigated quite a bit myself, but it seems like the information I got is very different from the real thing.” (Dyuvuleori)

“If it is information about who I was until now, it would be easier to just throw it all away.” (Ilias)

She sank her body deeply and took a step. 

Fast. A rush that doesn’t lose to that of the demi-human just now. 

I deploy barriers and counterattack—no, avoid.

My instincts worked here and I jumped to the side and, at the same time as I did, the barriers I set were all sliced apart. 

It is as if the speed of her sword didn’t fall at all. Is that even possible?

Even Baraguwerin was slowed down a bit when he destroyed the barrier of Rakura Salf.

The strength of the barriers I placed may have been lower in terms of density compared to that one, but its defense should have been above that one in terms of their aggregate defense. 

“Just what kind of trick is that?” (Dyuvuleori)

“There’s no trick. It is pure unadulterated mana strengthening.” (Ilias)

She swiftly takes distance from me after I evade, most likely in preparation for any counterattack from me. And then, she answered me after judging there’s no follow up attack.

“That much power with just mana strengthening?” (Dyuvuleori)

“That’s right. The knights of Taizu specialize in the mana strengthening of everything. I thought I had learned it pretty well myself, but after getting proper instruction, I learned that I was actually doing it all wrong. I thought it was fine to just gather up mana and harden it, but that wasn’t the case.” (Ilias)

Saying this, she weaved the mana in her whole body and displayed her mana strengthening. 

The trained mana was flowing tightly around her whole body. 

“This is what I have been doing until now, but this is the initial stage. You apparently enter strengthening for the first time after this step. Until now, me and the others were strengthened in this state, so I didn’t even question it. To think my lack of socialization would go around and affect even my training.” (Ilias)

The mana in her whole body disappeared all of a sudden. No, she hid it completely inside of her? 

It is permeating the skin, muscle, and bones in her whole body.

I have never seen a mana strengthening this dense. 

“At the time when I lost in a battle of strength against Girista, I even thought this was the limit of my strength. According to Lord Ragudo, I apparently couldn’t take advantage of my power because I trained too much in a haphazard manner.” (Ilias)

“You…are you really a human?” (Dyuvuleori)

“What a rude guy. I am without doubt a knight!” (Ilias)

She came at me at the same time as she said this. There’s no point blocking with barriers. 

Her current attack power is enough to reach my neck, but what about it? 

This is not a power that I originally planned on using against humans, but this is not a situation that allows holding back. 

This is for the sake of My Lord. I shall wave my everything. 

I avoid the sword that can’t be seen with the eye. 

At the same time as I did, I readied my left arm and pierced.

“—!” 

She swiftly blocked my left arm with her sword, but she couldn’t kill the impact of it completely and was blown far to the back. 

She immediately regained her posture, but her expression was clouded faintly. 

Pursue the attack…no, this position would be bad. 

A barrier was created in the same location where she was sent flying, and another barrier was set afterwards.

This is an attack from Rakura Salf at the back, huh.

“So you can see it…the line of the barrier.” (Rakura)

“Maybe I should copy how you aimed for the easy to defeat Tenesuasparigun first.” (Dyuvuleori)

I took a step with my left leg and jumped right to the front of Rakura Salf in one go. 

She barely reacted and took distance, but I had no intention of letting her escape.

I detach the bones of my right arm and…shoot them. 

It pierces her shadow and seals her movements. 

“This is…” (Rakura)

“There’s no need to understand. This is the end.” (Dyuvuleori)

I swing my right leg towards her head.

I can tell she is trying to set a barrier, but there’s no issue. It would simply break. 

But Rakura Salf suddenly moved to the back and Ilias Ratzel showed up instead, clashing her swung sword with my right leg. 

That shockwave roared through space. Our strengths are equal…no, I am above hers. 

The two of them were blown to the back from the shockwave that was created. 

I should have linked her up with my right arm though… I see, so she crushed the bones at the time when she jumped in, huh. 

“Thank you very much, Ilias-san.” (Rakura)

“Don’t worry. But that just now…” (Ilias)

“Yes, it is the power of a different Great Devil.” (Rakura)

“That’s right. The Pawn Mask is not simply a tool to receive mana from My Lord. It is also possible to inherit the specialties of the dead Great Devils through the mask. You have kindly ended all the Great Devils aside from me. Basically, I have obtained all of their powers.” (Dyuvuleori)

The Pawn Mask which served as shackles for the incapable and unloyal was put on them not only for the sake of receiving the mana of My Lord.

It was in order for me to reach even greater heights by obtaining their powers as the one who is the most loyal to My Lord. I was trained as a trump card against the other Demon Lords.

Left Arm of Piercing, Gugugeguderstaf.

Back of Misperception, Fokudulkura. 

Right Arm of Tying, Hasharyukudehito.

Horn of Burning, Fafilmuzekusho. 

Stomach of Perplexion, Febyushasu.

Tail of Shaving, Tserukanritessa.

Right Leg of Roaring, Zashpenfosse.

Left Leg of Running, Tenesuasparigun.

Nose of Sniffing, Ramyugureska.

Ears of Discerning, Baraguwerin.

The result was that I took over these 10 special abilities.

A close aide of My Lord, the Purple Demon Lord, with befitting power had been perfected here. 

“Of course, it would be troubling if you were to forget about my own power… [Be crushed].” (Dyuvuleori)

The moment I spoke those words, the two in my vision received an impact as if they had been hit with the effects of gravity magic.

Tongue of Control: Mine special ability that allows me to forcefully order others with my words. 

It is a far inferior power to that of the Enticement from My Lord, but it is the trait I am the most proud of as it reminds me of hers.

Both of them recover soon after. 

That’s right, this ability doesn’t hold absolute restraining power.

It is possible to keep someone restrained for a long time if they are caught off-guard, but against enemies who have braced themselves and have roused their mana, the most it can do is hamper their movements for a moment. 

There’s also a lot of cases where it can only be used when my words can be heard clearly. 

But being able to seal their movements for an instant is enough. 

Horns swell out from me and I unleash lightning magic all over the place.

“That won’t work!” (Ilias)

The lightning magic dispersed with a single swing of Ilias Ratzel’s sword. 

It seems like her sword has a magic seal stone embedded in it. But it is not like the worth of these horns is gone. 

Even if it has been nullified, the light that was born from it will remain -light that steals away vision and hampers your actions for an instant. 

In a situation where both sides have lost sight of each other, I can deal with the situation faster as I excel in my nose and ears. 

I grow the tail of Tserukanritessa and unleash a sweeping strike. 

The first one to clash onto it was Ilias Ratzel. She managed to react even after having her vision stolen.

But now that she has blocked the tail going at high speed with her sword, both of her arms are occupied. 

I shoot out a bone from my right arm and connect it to her shadow.

At the same time as I did, I pierce with my jacked left arm. 

She may be able to defend herself at the moment, but she couldn’t hold her ground as before and received a direct hit. 

I have managed to smash her all the way to a wall without her touching the ground.

That said, she strengthened herself that much with mana. It should be far from a fatal injury. 

In that case, I will finish Rakura Salf who remains in front of me within that time frame. 

The moment I put strength to my right leg, my nose detected danger. 

I pushed the tip of my tail on the ground and spring my body away. 

The moment I did that, my footing was sliced apart in uncountable blocks. 

She permeated her mana underground and sliced apart the ground the moment I stepped in. So she aimed to crush my posture. 

She made preparations for a counterattack in the time her comrade was receiving the attack. This is also an opponent I can’t lower my guard against. 

Moreover, she doesn’t have excessive mana strengthening, and her physical strength is also questionable. If her frailty comes from relying on defending with barriers, the fight would be settled in an instant. 

I collected mana on my horns and smashed lightning magic onto her from the sky, but it was nullified. So she passed on a magic seal stone at one short instant, huh.

I put strength into my tail to head to the ground swiftly in that opening where they have lost sight of me with the light of the lightning. 

But my tail was sliced off on the way. 

So they sensed my movement means and tried to hamper me, huh. My nose detects danger where I am going to land.

Looks like they already set a barrier there and prepared to kill me, but that’s pointless.

I placed strength in my left leg, jumped in midair, and adjusted my trajectory. 

I lunged onto the ground as I regenerated my sliced tail, and absorbed the impact like a spring. 

By using the accumulated momentum and the step of my left leg, I do a double layered acceleration to charge on and atta—

My ears detected a strange sound and I swung my right leg in the direction where my nose warned me. 

My right leg and Ilias Ratzel’s sword clashed when she jumped in.

Even though she was by the wall the moment I landed on the ground, she managed to reach me with a speed that doesn’t lose to mine, huh.

But even with her jumping momentum, my right leg can easily kick away a single human. 

This time around, she was smashed onto a rooftop instead of a wall, but she mitigated the fall. She will most likely return faster than before. 

In that span of time, I felt the presence of a barrier, so I moved back for now to take distance. 

Ilias Ratzel immediately jumped back as expected. 

If I were to rush in forcefully, my legs would be targeted with barriers, and I would be hit.

Destroying barriers is easy, but I can’t block the sharpness they have when they appear. 

This formation makes it pretty hard to go on the offensive. 

“Ilias-san, aren’t you getting blown away the whole time for a while now?!” (Rakura)

“You can say that, but getting hit with an attack like that in a posture where I can’t stand my ground, it is only natural that I get sent flying. Can you do something about that, Rakura?” (Ilias)

“I may have better proportions, but because of the difference in muscle, I am sure you are the heavier one, Ilias-san!” (Rakura)

“Hngh, it makes me want to make it if you say it like that.” (Ilias)

It seems like they still have leeway with how they are bantering here. 

“Hmm, he is seeing through the location where my barrier will appear before it is out.” (Rakura)

“I am also jumping in from his blindspots, but his sense of smell is abnormal. It is hard to fight while protecting you, Rakura.” (Ilias)

That’s right. Rakura Salf’s battle technique is not something to scoff at, but her strength as a combatant is low. 

Even if she were to defend herself with a barrier, I would be able to end her in a single strike with everything and barrier. 

That man created a situation where I am up against them 2 vs 1, and tried to make it advantageous, but it is instead hampering the movements of Ilias Ratzel.

“Eh, I don’t need your protection though.” (Rakura)

“But just before, you had your shadow—” (Ilias)

“I could have dealt with it, you know? I knew that you would be jumping in, so I didn’t do anything though.” (Rakura)

“…Then, it should be fine, right?” (Ilias)

“Yes, please pull out all your power without getting distracted. I am the one in the supporting role after all.” (Rakura)

They are going to throw away their defense then? That works just fine for me.

“…Then, learn that that conceit is going to lead to your demise!” (Dyuvuleori)

I jump in with my left leg and try to dizzy them with the lightning magic of my horns at the same time as I did.

My nose is warning me of Ilias Ratzel, but there’s no issue. I use my tail as a shield and rush towards Rakura Salf. 

I can feel my tail being severed, but there’s no issue. 

I shoot a bone from my right arm below the tail and seal her movements again.

I ready my left arm and direct it towards where Rakura Salf is. 

My nose smells the presence of a barrier in front, but there’s no issue. 

I extend my left arm just like that and pierce.

“—?” 

I don’t feel anything from my left arm. It is a position where it would be strange to not have pierced already. 

She avoided it, huh. Considering her physical strength, she must have evaded before I unleashed my attack.

Meaning that she noticed I would aim for her the moment I shot the lightning magic.

It seems like she didn’t lower her guard at all even with such bantering. 

No, wait, my nose is still ringing alarms. This is…

“You finally attacked me.” 

Pain ran through my left arm. It is right after I pierced, so I can’t shrink it in time. 

My left arm was sliced by her barrier. 

I see. So the barriers she had been placing until now that I thought were for defense were actually to counterattack.

“So you had thrown away defending with your barriers from the very beginning?” (Dyuvuleori)

I regenerated my left arm, but with the part completely severed, I will have to expend a lot of mana to heal it. 

If we include the regeneration of my tail, it would mean that I have been severely countered here. 

“It was broken easily before, so I gave up on defense from the start.” (Rakura)

“Even though you would turn into pieces of flesh with one attack. You are one brave woman.” (Dyuvuleori)

“I have good eyes, you see. Hmm, but with how you immediately regenerate, it feels as if it is fruitless. Ilias-san, there will be no end to this if you don’t follow up, you know?” (Rakura)

“Follow up on an attack against you and then match your counter? You really are unreasonable.” (Ilias)

“Then, I will attack, so can you please follow up, Ilias-san?” (Rakura)

“You say it as if it is nothing, but I will leave it to you.” (Ilias)

To think they would build up their plan right in front of their enemy. There should be a limit to boldness.

But I can’t feel them bluffing here.

I won’t lower my guard. I concentrate my senses to my nose. 

The precision of Ramyugureska’s nose has reached wondrous levels. 

It is possible to react to things that are beyond the limits of your own perception.

As long as you are not losing in physical strength and are outstanding in your reaction speed, you won’t lose. 

My nose is feeling danger. She has a barrier set around her, but she is trying to do something aside from that. 

I prepare my left leg and tail so that I can react immediately when something happens.

Now, how will you—

“—?!” 

My instincts are detecting the highest level of danger. But my nose and everything else can’t detect anything. 

My instincts alone are telling me that this position is bad -that I will die. 

I duck instinctively. I evacuated my head as soon as possible…and at the same time as I did, both of my legs and right arm were severed. 

The tail that I was too late to lower was also severed. This is an attack from barriers… But my nose didn’t detect it?! 

By the time I directed my gaze, Ilias Ratzel was already coming at me. 

No, most importantly, my eyes were nailed at Rakura Salf who is further back from her. 

Is that even possible? Just what logic was behind that? Because that’s…

“The Eyes of Blindness from Beglagud?!” (Dyuvuleori)

The full power attack of Ilias Ratzel came at me before my thoughts could process it. 

—

Author: You can go ahead and cry, Ekdoik.

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