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Chapter 53 - Battle in the Dance Hall
In the round hall that turned into a balcony, a bastard looked down at us from the second-floor corridor. I hadn't forgotten that face; it's the second prince, Coda, who tried to trap me. He's covering his mouth with a mask. Is that to counter my tactic of splashing boiling water in his nose? Useless, he's wasting his efforts.
"You wanted to see me? Heh, drop the tough act. This time, conveniently, Gilius won't come to your rescue, right? He's currently busy dealing with the elite of the First Order Royal Guard."
Ah, so he's the one who ordered the attack on Princess Pernelle's headquarters.
"Hero-dono... W-What do we do...?"
"Don't panic, let's first assess the situation!"
On the second-floor balcony, right in front of us, was Coda. Beside him were his three knight lackeys of varying sizes. And below them was a line of magicians. On the first floor, there were about fifty enemy knights, forming a formation.
To get to the second floor, we could either use the large staircase in front of us or jump. Also, apart from Coda, there were three annoying guys in shiny outfits. Among them, I recognized one of them. The tenth idiot prince who tried to trap me with some shitty plan.
"Ilyria, are all of those guys there princes?"
"Yes. It's the sixth, ninth, and tenth prince."
I see. There were probably over a hundred of them in total. This might be pretty bad.
"Coda has gathered all of his bodyguards here...?"
"Correct. This place is a passage you must go through to advance. It's like the throat of this castle, so to speak."
"Throat? What's that?"
"It's the most defensible part in a castle. There are usually a few in a battle fortress."
I see, I get it now. This castle wasn't meant for battle, but he cleverly created something like that. Well done, second son.
"That's right. This place is the key to our defense and the best way to spread out your forces. Therefore! I've gathered all the princes' troops in this location!"
"All of them, including the eleventh to the thirteenth princes?"
"They haven't received their bodyguards yet, so they shouldn't be able to participate in the battle."
Ilyria, thanks for all the additional information. But seriously, can you stop trembling?
"You're really going to die if you're too scared."
"I-I'm not trembling, it's just warrior's tremor!"
Really? If you keep going like this, you'll die for real, you know? I guess this guy was not cut out for actual fighting.
"I can destroy the rocks blocking the entrance! Retreat for now and reassess the situation!"
"Do you think I'll let you? Vanguard, charge!"
Here they come. When Coda swung his fan, three knights jumped down from the second floor and charged alongside the enemy knights. The grunts didn't matter, but the trio might be troublesome. Also, there were attacks from the magicians on the second floor.
"I really don't want to rely on you, but at this point, there's no other choice. Don't die, okay? Because I'll be the one getting cut from behind."
"Hero-dono... there must be a better way to phrase that... but understood."
We both drew our swords and stood side by side. My partner might not be the most reliable, but it's better than having no one.
"Here we go! Renki, Moon Shadow Feet!"
Ilyria's legs were enveloped in a translucent haze. Was this the one that lets one speed up the same as Renkino?
"Hero-dono, let's synchronize our steps—"
"Everyone in the Resistance, prioritize your safety! I'll take down Coda in one go!"
"Wait, what!?"
Despite what Ilyria said, I dashed forward without hesitation. First, I had to kill Coda. If I crushed their command center, they'd lose control, and most importantly, I wanted to eliminate him quickly. I slipped through the gaps between the grunts and burst out on the other side. Then, I jumped towards the second-floor Coda.
Zudodododododod!
"What the...!?"
The moment I tried to attack, a massive barrage of magic rained down. Close call. I stopped abruptly before getting hit. The floor in front of me was hit by magic - fire, wind, earth. No ice, it seemed. Ah, I see. These magician soldiers were here to immobilize me. Even if they use these to stop me—
"Renki, Bondage!"
A slender Renki like a leash wrapped around my ankles. I think it was LeBlanc, right?
"Hiyahhhh!"
I was yanked forcefully from behind and knocked face down. Then there was the big one, Zekyu or something like that. He swung a Renki-wrapped greatsword down at me.
"Muuuu!"
"I won't let you!"
I rolled while still down, evading his attack. I also used Sword Breaker to cut the leash of Renki.
"Well done. Now, dance with Til next! In this dance hall, until your life end!"
"You're still as creepy as ever!"
A guy with an unpleasant helmet hairstyle moved forward and wrapped Renki around his arm and came at me with enhanced strength. I tried to block his sword with Sword Breaker, but he shifted its trajectory and clashed the hilts together.
"Hero Kyrie, if you want to kill me, you better kill them first. After that, I won't mind how much you touch me."
Damn bastard, he's getting too confident. I'm facing off against these three knights. Ilyria and the others are dealing with fifty grunts. We were outnumbered.
...But.
"Coda, you know... You might think you could hold us back with these guys, but don't you feel like you're forgetting something?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's fine if you don't know. Just keep looking down on us like that."
While we were locked in a clash, the smaller one extended his tentacles. Parrying with my medium-sized sword, I evaded and flew backward. As I aimed to land, the larger one swung his large sword, Zekyu, I think? He swung it horizontally.
"Munn...!"
The swing was slow, but if it connects, I'd be done for. My gauntlets, chainmail, and tassets were all useless against that thing. But it's slow. I crouched and avoided it, then hit him with a back spinning kick to the torso. He's fully armored, so it seemed kicking him won't be enough to kill him. I hit him in the stomach with the sole of my shoe, and a dull sound echoed.
*Dogoohh!!*
"Muuaaahh!!"
The large one was sent flying with great force and slammed into the wall from behind. Now it's a two-on-one situation for a while.
...Joana and Gilius-san taught me their names, but I still couldn't remember them all. I'd just group them as large, medium, and small.
"Zekyu was blown away in a single hit!?"
"This is something else... I definitely don't want to get caught by those 'beautiful' legs."
This is Coda's miscalculation. At that time, I took quite a bit of damage from his surprise attack. Now, it's different; I am at my best. I could fight with all my strength. I'd show them that I'm on a different level than these small fry.
The first I'd finish is the small one. That tentacle-like lashing of his was incredibly troublesome.
"You first!"
I charged towards the small one. At the same time, I reached for the leather water bag hanging at my waist. I poured some magic power into it, heating up the water while keeping it under control.
"Hyahaha! You're coming this way!"
"I won't let you go! Your dance partner is me, Til!"
The medium-sized one said something as he came toward me. I uncorked the bag, making a fist-sized blob of boiling water float in the air, and aimed it at his face. Why does this helmet-headed guy act so narcissistic with that fish-like face?
"Oh, that's quite the speed—"
He tilted his head, thinking he evaded it easily.
"Well, just stay put for a while."
"Ah!?"
That's right; it's like Tario's icicle, it homes in on its target. Through the back of his neck, I thrust it into his armor.
"Aah! Aaahhh!!"
"Carry on with your dance alone."
As long as I have magic power left, the boiling water will continue to penetrate his clothes. He flailed around like a fish, hopping and jumping. He's now rendered powerless.
"What, why? She couldn't even touch us back then!"
That's because you attacked me by surprise. Their real threat lies in their coordination. The medium-sized one enhances his physical abilities for restraint, the small one supports with his tentacles to immobilize the target, and the big guy finishes with a heavy blow. They were strong because there are three of them, but individually, their fighting prowess was much lower than mine. By isolating them like this—
"Heh, hehii! Don't come near me!"
In desperation, he swung his sword and extended the lashing of his tentacle-like lancer, but it wouldn't hit unless I give him an opening like before. With a light step to the left, I easily dodged it.
"Die, die...!"
And the extended tentacle couldn't be withdrawn immediately. That meant he's defenseless.
"Hee, Hiiiiiiiiii!!"
I closed the distance in an instant and grab his terrified face. I poured boiling magic power into him.
"No, noooo!"
"Burst and fly. Crushing Blast."
"No!"
The small guy's head boiled. The back of his head burst from the inside, scattering blood and brains everywhere.
"Le, Leblaaaannc!!"
Oh, the boiling water evaporated him. Did he evaporate completely? The medium-sized one was now back, screaming the name of the one I just killed.
"Don't mourn, I'll let you follow him soon."
"Guu... Hero Kyrieeee!!"
When I let go of my grip on the face, the corpse fell onto its back, blood gushing out like a fountain. The medium sized one had Renki wrapped around his arm and was trembling with anger.
"How dare you, my friend, I won't forgive you! Renki Diamond Body!"
Stop it, you're making it sound like I'm the bad guy. It's your fault for serving that scum, so you should all be killed by me.
"I will avenge you!"
"..?"
What did you just say? I was the one who's avenging here.
Facing the fish-like guy charging at me, I changed my grip on Sword Breaker. I lifted its jagged edge and waited.
"I don't think so! Til's Renki increases his strength tenfold! With those thin arms, you won't be able to block my—"
"Gyiiiihh!!"
"That's all? Tenfold?"
You're not even a bit of a threat with that level of power. Tario's attacks were much faster and heavier. And you even got entangled in Sword Breaker.
With my right hand, I grabbed the part near the tip of his sword and make the sword spin around.
Crack!
His knight sword was splendidly broken into two pieces.
"Aaah! Til's sword, Til's soul!"
I pressed my palm against his faltering stomach. Wasn't it a bit reckless to leave your belly exposed while wearing light armor?
"Done, goodbye. Burst, Crushing Blast."
Paaan!!
The boiling magic power caused his internal organs to burst in large quantities. Spewing out blood like a fountain, he collapsed on his stomach. Although he convulsed and twitched for a while, he quickly stopped moving.
"Now, as for the big guy."
It seemed he couldn't get up yet. Probably because of that heavy armor he's wearing.
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