NOVGO.NET Chapter 1143: What the fuck?
Chapter 1143: What the fuck?
A burst of compressed air blasted upward with Devil’s ascent. It struck Ryonosuke square in the back, strong enough to make even him feel it. The Mad Dog’s muscles bulged as his stance locked against the unseen force, with his boots grinding into the earth. He didn’t fall, but for a heartbeat, his weight shifted.
Rynne seized it. Her spear flashed like lightning, lunging past his guard. The blade punched through his already weakened armor, making blood burst out as steel met flesh.
“Raargh!” The Mad Dog only snarled.
But before he could free himself, the battlefield changed once again.
As Devil ascended, his boots, once a dull black, ignited with molten orange. Flames licked up his legs, and in the next instant, a fiery inferno rained down on the soldiers below him.
The air itself screamed as pillars of flame engulfed the Fujimori soldiers below. Men were incinerated where they stood or lay. Their screams were cut short as armor warped and flesh blackened. Others, hardened veterans clad in enchanted steel, endured the blast.
Such was the nature of the game. If he wanted to easily injure higher-level enemies, he needed to invest more into the Magic stat. They not only had too high Vitality stat—thus reducing the damage he could deal to them—but their armor made this disadvantage even more pronounced.
“Tch.” Devil clicked his tongue, annoyed. Their survival wasn’t unexpected, but disappointing nonetheless.
He raised his hand. The earth answered.
Stone rushed upward in the form of spears that punctured and slabs that crushed, pushing the already reeling soldiers further down into the collapsing battlefield. For those of lesser caliber, it was a tomb. For the stronger ones, those that were at least level 50, they shattered through, breaking free with defiant roars.
But that brief suffocation was enough. Enough for Devil to act.
Ryonosuke ignored the spear wound tearing open his side. He wrenched himself free of Rynne’s weapon with a feral grin.
“DEVIL!”
With a mad bellow, he lunged with bloodlust blazing in his eyes.
Devil only snapped his fingers in response.
“[Warp Gate].”
A rift tore open between them.
Ryonosuke instantly came to a halt due to his feral instincts screaming at his brain. Agile as ever, he shifted, refusing to be swallowed by such a trick.
But Devil was already moving. With a flex of will, he unleashed a torrent of pressurized water from his hand, a geyser strong enough to carve stone. The liquid slammed into Ryonosuke, but it was little more than a scratch to a monster of his caliber.
He laughed through it as his body braced against the current. “Bahaha! Is that all?! You’re dead!”
A voice cut him off.
“Let me play along with your plan, rookie!”
Rynne’s shout rang out. She darted in, and due to the man’s recklessness, her spear skewered him again, sinking deep into his ribs. The Mad Dog only roared in twisted delight, muscles flexing to trap the weapon rather than retreat from it. He thought this way, he could not only kill Devil but strip Rynne of her weapon in one swoop.
He would kill him and then massacre the woman lacking her spear.
But Rynne wasn’t aiming to kill.
Her body blurred as mana wrapped her frame. She became wind itself, flickering from one angle to another in less than a blink.
And then…
She reappeared just at the perfect spot, and her heel slammed into the madman’s chest with the explosive force of a tank.
The impact, timed with the torrent, broke his footing.
Ryonosuke’s eyes widened as his body pitched backward, momentum carrying him past the edge.
Straight into the Devil’s portal.
“Damn you, stupid brain of mine! You got outsmarted! The elders will hang me by the balls again!” With a final mad laugh, the Mad Dog vanished into the swirling void.
Ryonosuke hit the ground hard with a stone breaking under his boots, but the madman landed on his feet. Such was his skill and battle prowess. There was a reason he was a feared combatant by many.
His chest heaved and blood dripped from his wounds, yet his posture was firm and his grin wide. “I’ll run back and kill them both! Haha! Now I’m truly fired up!”
Ryonosuke looked around in search of information, blinking once, then twice.
He was not on the battlefield, that much was certain.
He was standing in the middle of a shop lined with silks and lace. Dozens of garments hung from racks and mannequins, all of them delicate and colorful. A pair of red panties dangled from his glaive.
“Kyaaa! Pervert!” A young lady nearby screamed. Her hands trembled before she flung something at him with all her strength.
The cloth hit his face and slid down his cheek.
“… Huh?” Ryonosuke muttered, then reached up and held the pair of frilly underwear between two fingers.
“What the fuck?”
Back on the battlefield, Quinlan pulled his Soul Reaper out.
“[March of the Damned]. [Awaken].”
The air rippled. A cold miasma spilled outward from the saber as, one by one, pale figures clawed their way into existence. His elites, Eva and Veyrin, emerged at the front. Behind them, a hundred lionkin lesser souls of level forty to forty-five formed ranks.
“Kill as many as possible. I want this field empty of life. Their souls will be serving as your brethren; collect as many future colleagues as you can,” Quinlan ordered.
Eva and Veyrin both bowed their heads before taking command of the lesser souls.
Next, Quinlan’s boots slammed into the ground, landing beside Rynne. She looked at him first, then at the legion of death marching across the field, her lips twisting into a wry smile.
“A whole new realm of combat arsenal, huh? Inexplicible elemental spells, a strange dimensional doorway, and now… What? Blue soldiers? I guess I should expect more shocks from our resident monster.”
Quinlan chuckled but dismissed her words. “That was a good kick, Miss…”
“Rynne. I’m a Veil Walker working under Lord Maelstrom.” The woman’s grin widened. “It felt very good indeed. But that bastard took my spear with him; it’s still edged between his ribs.”
“I heard of you, but I haven’t seen your portrait. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Quinlan stretched out his hand, twisting the air. Wind whipped through the battlefield, plucking a spear from the grasp of a fallen Fujimori soldier. The weapon spun before dropping neatly into Rynne’s palm.
“I know it isn’t the same quality, but you will have to make do with this.”
Rynne flipped it once, then again, making the shaft dance through her fingers before she planted it down with a nod. “Good enough. By the way, the war hasn’t been won yet. They still have plenty of strong fighters. Don’t get carried away.”
“Of course,” Quinlan replied. His lips curved into that familiar shameless smile. “Which is exactly why I plan to use you as my meat shield, Rynne. You can take a few hits from my spells if they go astray and accidentally strike you.”
Rynne gave him a flat, deadpan look. “… What a gentleman. I’m starting to doubt the rumors of you being a charming lady’s man.” A laugh slipped out next, rough and unrestrained. “Fine. I’ll play along.”
Quinlan smiled under his mask. It was time to begin making use of the martial heritage he’d earned back in the world of Zhenwu, alongside his large-scale magical might.