Book 17 Chapter 38
The old rulers,
Ancient Madness Summoning the Sea Wind (12)
What Nils Blantz brought was truly the pinnacle of ancient science and technology! Six steel spider legs supported its massive body!
This was the Kaptilt-II.
Specializing in all-weather environments, this unit was reportedly responsible for ground reconnaissance and vanguard missions during the Mythic Era wars.
“Nils, your face…!”
For a modern person to pilot such equipment from the Mythic Era, a commensurate price must be paid.
Half of Nils’s face was mechanical!
More precisely, it could be said that an artifact was surgically implanted to activate the control UI.
“If you want to burn down hell, you must be prepared to enter hell.”
The reason Lysta liked Nils was not only because he was a good person, but also because he had almost none of the annoyingly arrogant attitude characteristic of Aen.
“You stay there, munch on some refreshments, and recover your strength.”
Berz, whose severed head Lysta had quickly reattached, glared at Lysta with his dozen-or-so eyeballs.
“Fake woman, after killing these miscellaneous creatures, I will slaughter all humans on this island before your eyes as repayment for refusing my mercy.”
“Are you in a position to hate me right now?!”
“Shut up! Humans devoured by Divanugo truly shriek in ecstasy. I will make sure you hear it. Killing them comes after that.”
To Nils, he didn't even give a scornful look, as if he were just a buzzing fly!
“Oh, how dare mere fish (魚類) ignore Nils Blantz, an Aen who can be called the best among primates (靈長類), and the chief tinkerer who is the best among Aen?”
“Don't climb into that junk heap that mere foot soldiers used to ride and fight with, trash. Those who praise you as <The Ones Who Came> or Eldia’s champions didn't even ride such equipment.”
“That's because Nils Blantz wasn't around in that era. Take this, Scanning & Strike!”
Nils closed the Kaptilt-II cockpit hatch.
What rose like a fin on top of the airframe was a scanning artifact Nils had used during the Svaralag subjugation battle, now mounted on this Kaptilt-II.
As a light wave emanated from that fin, Berz had already lunged to smash the Kaptilt-II.
“Nils, it's dangerous! This one!”
Lysta, not yet fully recovered, urgently stretched out her foot, but it was too late! That machine would be butchered by those murderous sawblades! But then!
“What…?”
Berz, who, like Lysta, was overconfident that no mere machine could keep up with his movements, thus suffered an enormous mental blow!
It was a light projectile!
The Kaptilt-II's main cannon delivered a direct hit to Berz’s abdomen as he surged forward with illogical speed!
“Th-that! That light projectile used by Greta Veiser…?!”
Even Berz was sent tumbling across the ground several times, so is there any need to explain its power?!
[Gwahahahaha! You seem bewildered as to how your movements are being read. How could mere fish understand the technology and science of Lord Nils Blantz!]
There was no time for admiration, no time for bewilderment! A barrage of light projectiles poured from the gun barrels sprouting from the Kaptilt-II’s entire body, engulfing Berz!
[This Kaptilt-II is equipped with Nils Blantz’s exclusive artifact, the ‘Archive Relay’!]
Master!
Crazy master!
[Through it, I can access <The Ones Who Came>'s information network, download the data from the Mythic Era where <The Ones Who Came> analyzed your movement patterns, and implant it into this control UI!]
An absurd amount of light projectiles, so many that even Lysta couldn't count them all, tore, sliced, and crushed Berz’s body!
[In other words! You are just like a Manuki (monkey) dancing in the palm of Lord Nils Blantz’s hand!]
Nils mounted all the field guns and heavy machine guns excavated from the ruins of <The Ones Who Came> onto this Kaptilt-II!
Firepower, firepower, only firepower!
Due to Nils’s conviction, this Kaptilt-II gained firepower 3.7 times stronger than when it was operated in the Mythic Era. Though its speed decreased accordingly!
[I'll tear your body apart and make shark fin soup out of you, leaving only that mischievous fin! Shall we see what thousand-year-aged shark fin tastes like?!]
The weapon mounted on the left side of the Kaptilt-II was the Bright Convergence Cannon (明斂彈), Mirvaldi!
A technology that absorbs all light particles drifting in the atmosphere, then amplifies their momentum by bouncing them millions of times inside its long barrel before firing a single point (一點) shot! <The Ones Who Came> also called this a railgun!
[Mere fish only need to understand this as divine providence, a miracle, and then die!]
For a full 10 seconds, Berz, who couldn't offer a proper resistance within that barrage, gnashed his teeth.
“This wretched… half-baked, dwarfish creature! You analyzed my movement patterns? I’ll just consciously do the opposite!”
At that moment, and the next, the Kaptilt-II’s combat UI displayed all sorts of error codes!
[What is this, why are so many error codes appearing…!]
The ‘Archive Relay’ could only retrieve ancient data, but updating it anew was impossible!
But Berz!
He began to move with data not recorded in the Mythic Era! With that body, the fastest and nimblest of the four Sea Commanders!
[Ah, no, I see, that’s it! This guy's recorded data was originally too little! Which means!]
Nils gasped, watching Berz, who dodged his light projectiles, parried them with his sawblades, and instantly closed the distance.
[To <The Ones Who Came>, to the old Eldia champions! Were Sea Commanders just small fries that didn’t need their combat data properly analyzed, or were subjugated before they even could be?!]
Berz's sawblade, that abyssal sawblade formed from hardened bone protruding from his skull, parried the light projectiles right before his eyes, and just as it was about to finally slash through the Kaptilt-II’s airframe!
Cha-aaaaaaang……!
All who campaigned alongside <The Ones Who Came> in the Mythic Era saw this light.
This light has been passed down through hundreds of folk tales, myths, and legends, and is still celebrated as a revered deed.
“I, Lysta Alter Surpen, will now fill the void left by those Eldia seniors.”
Nils Blantz understood!
Why, even in this modern age, after such a long time!
Do people! Does the world! Desperately cry out for the existence of heroes!
The light of the Holy Sword, it is a crystallization of divinity that dispels even the darkness cast within human souls!
“So Nils, please provide cover for me.”
Nils, the genius engineer, understood the words Lysta had thrown out before beginning her fierce battle with Berz.
This was an urgent situation.
Ordinary people would have thought Lysta was repeating herself, saying ‘cover’ and ‘support’, which are virtually the same expressions.
But Nils was different.
‘This means, help the guy who was originally covering her… that archer!’
The opponent was an enemy that could be reasoned with!
Therefore, deceiving with words was also effective.
‘She wasn't just a natural brawler but also used her intellect! Is this a hero?! Truly amazing! In that case, I too shall try to live up to that expectation.’
Nils grabbed the Kaptilt-II’s controls again!
He stomped the accelerator pedal all the way down, then slammed all the firing switches with his fist!
[Output maximum!]
Berz let out a scornful guffaw.
“What exactly do you intend to do with that pathetic pile of scrap metal?!”
All those light projectiles were aimed at Berz!
‘Nils, why…!’
Was it because Lysta was already at her limit after almost a day of fighting, that he decided to support Lysta instead of Kies?!
“This girl also seems to be losing her strength, so first, shall I turn her into a real pile of scrap metal?”
“Do you think I'll let that happen?!”
“Slow, you’ve become slow! Can you catch me? Before I tear apart that dwarfish creature whole, along with that machine, with these sawblades!”
The moment the countless light projectiles brushed past him, Berz swallowed hard! Despite being a great being, he swallowed dryly.
“Th-this is… this direction is!”
These light projectiles were not merely aimed at Berz.
This was a trajectory!
Nils moved the Kaptilt-II at maximum output precisely to establish this trajectory.
What trajectory?
The trajectory that would put Racoom the shark-snake, who was pressuring Kies, and Berz on the same line of sight!
[I told you, you’re a magic monkey dancing in the palm of my hand, Nils Blantz.]
It was an unexpected counterattack; if it was true for Berz, why would Racoom be any different?!
Racoom's body, which had been toying with Kies, was directly hit by 34 of 182 light projectiles the next moment, sending him tumbling across the ground.
Kies, who could undeniably be called the pinnacle among archers, did not miss that fleeting opportunity.
‘10-Shot Multiple Firing: Elucidating Spider Web (闡蜘網).’
Ten arrows, simultaneously crafted by the White Changgung Serwebon, were all formed into Sky Cherry Kills with maximum power.
This technique’s advantage, and soon its disadvantage, was its excessively high magic output.
Because it was an instant technique, the magic woven into the arrows was unrefined; it had high output but was also highly volatile, thus it could only be used at close range.
‘In short, a technique akin to a self-inflicted wound for an archer.’
Later, in Drunken History, it was regarded as almost taboo.
In fact, above all, there were no successors who could replicate this insane technique of using Sky Cherry Kill's firepower layered 10 times.
However, Kies!
The archer of the hero’s party, who would make a name for himself with his unprecedented talent! With that technique, he shredded Racoom’s body into hundreds of pieces!
“Nghhh, this bastard…!”
It didn't end there!
Where the Sky Cherry Kill passed, the residual magic wove into roots. It was the special ability of the White Changgung Serwebon.
Those roots firmly bound the movements of the flesh attempting to reattach and restore the body!
“……Shaaaaaaaaah!”
Racoom, furious at the humiliation and being toyed with by mere humans, roared and accelerated the regeneration of his flesh, but!
At that moment, Kies!
He sipped from his gourd and carelessly shot arrows, pyok pyok.
Those arrows created new roots, controlling the regeneration of the flesh even more firmly! And then!
[(^^)ㅗ]
Even the taunting using Serwebon was perfect! This was just a madman!