773. [STAGE 48] Breaking ground (9)
“When the fourth seal was opened, I heard the fourth living creature say, “Come.”
And I looked, and behold a green horse; and the name of him that sat on it was Death, and the underworld followed him.
And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
***
3rd forward base.
In this half-frozen, collapsed, ruined place, Lucas was barely able to stand, covered in blood.
“Haaa….”
When I let out a long breath, the white breath that came out froze at once.
It was not a phenomenon that occurred due to low temperatures in winter.
This was because an evil so cold and powerful that even his soul seemed to freeze was lurking in front of him.
《….》
The fourth and strongest unit among the Apocalypse Knights.
The Blue Knight of Death.
These centaurs, waving blue cloaks, were clad in armor made of blue ice all over their bodies.
In particular, the person in the lead had ice proliferating and amplifying all over his body to the point where he looked like a giant ice statue.
The icicles extending in all directions looked like the horns of a monster.
Its face was also covered with huge ice, as if it were wearing a crown made of ice.
Around the monster were the corpses of Crossroads soldiers who had frozen to death just moments ago, and cold air was still coming out of those corpses in real time.
Saaaaa….
A faint laugh flowed from the blue knight’s ice-covered face, covering his body with the cold extracted from death.
“Knight, how did you stay alone instead of running away?”
“….”
Lucas didn’t bother to answer, but grabbed the two swords in both hands.
Originally, the 3rd advance base was holding firm against the Blue Knights.
A corner of the front was breached by the enemy, and it collapsed rapidly as the first casualty occurred.
From the first death, the Blue Knights absorbed the cold, strengthened themselves based on the absorbed cold, and launched an onslaught, resulting in more casualties…
In this way, the collapse of the front line occurred so suddenly and explosively.
Originally, a method had been prepared to systematically retreat troops when the front line was pushed back, but when the situation became this way, a safe retreat became impossible.
In the end, Lucas chose to have all the remaining survivors retreat while he remained alone and wasted time dealing with the Blue Knights.
Although his actions were based on his confidence that with his own fighting power and mobility, he would be able to take enough time to retreat.
‘Tsk….’
Lucas lowered his gaze and examined his legs.
He froze.
No, it wasn’t just his feet. The entire ground in his area was frozen white.
Even if he was Lucas in the world, he could not exercise his usual mobility in this place where the entire ground was frozen and the cold trembled.
Although he succeeded in forcing all of his surviving allies to retreat, Lucas himself was surrounded by the Blue Knights and was in a difficult situation.
《He risked his own death and sent his comrades alive… That spirit is complete.》
Sereung-
The Blue Knight leader approached, twirling a huge scythe.
“You will have to pay the price.”
Then, the corner of Lucas’ frozen mouth lifted up with a snickering sound.
“what? Are you prepared to die?”
The Blue Knight Captain looked puzzled at the vivid mockery.
Lucas’s blue eyes, colder than the ice and snow surrounding his area, were revealed through his frozen blonde hair as he bowed down for a moment.
“Don’t be funny, monster.”
“what?”
“I will live.”
Gooooo…!
A golden air current began to swirl behind Lucas.
“The reason I sent my comrades is because we have a better chance of winning this war if they survive. And we must win this war….”
Lucas’s blue eyes, which had been swirling with cold hostility, suddenly flashed a faint warmth.
“…There will come a world where people who are precious to me live happily, and I want to live to see that.”
《….》
“That’s why I just moved like this. “I have never prepared for death.”
Lucas’ gaze had already left the dark cave a long time ago.
The blue spring sky that spreads beyond…
He was also drawing the peaceful scenery beyond the flag led by the lord.
“And there’s something else you’re mistaken about.”
Lucas slowly folded the two swords in his hands.
And in the meantime, he commissioned Kelly Bay to activate a new gimmick added to the two swords.
Clap!
[The bestowed sword] is a special sword with only a handle and no blade. It is a special equipment that emits a blade of light from the guard position, and when there is no blade of light, it only has a guard and a handle.
A sword with only this handle stuck to the bottom of the handle of [Excalibur], sparking magical lightning.
At the same time, the separated guard parts flew upward along the handle of [Excalibur] with magical lightning, and were attached to the guard of [Excalibur].
[Excalibur] now has a handle that is twice as long as the original and a guard that is twice as long.
and….
Going to school-!
A stream of golden light surged along the white and blue blade of the holy sword.
The blade of light of the [Granted Sword] spewed out in a huge swirling motion, as if wrapping the blade of [Excalibur].
After combining the two long swords into one great sword, Lucas aimed the tip of the great sword at the enemy general.
“I don’t run away. “I will defeat you all here.”
Both swords are holy and light attribute weapons, so they can be modified, a special transformation combination gimmick.
The name of this weapon, which creates synergy between two SSR-grade legendary weapons and is too powerful for a mere human to handle, is – [Toward the Stars (Ad Astra)].
It was two long swords and EX-grade weapons that could only be used for a limited time, as long as Lucas himself could endure it.
“This power is so strong that it is difficult to use if there are allies left around.”
While deploying [Toward the Stars], Lucas also activated his ultimate skill, [Full Body Descent].
Saaaa….
The ice in the area began to melt around Lucas, who was enveloped in swirling light.
Surrounded by a dazzling array of light, Lucas adjusted his grip on the huge sword of light.
Both the weapon and the user undoubtedly reached divine status.
Lucas’ bright blue eyes still did not lose their human warmth.
And that gaze, which no longer contained any beastliness, darkness, or regret, stared straight at the enemy commander.
The leader of the Blue Knight, who was facing that gaze, frowned in a cold voice.
《…For a human being in this twilight age where everything is in decline, that’s pretty good.》
The blue-black ice clung to the Blue Knight Captain’s scythe, expanding the already long blade of the scythe to an even larger size.
“All that resistance is futile. In the end, destruction will come before long, and everything in this world will turn to dust and disappear beyond time.》
“It’s a story I’m tired of hearing.”
Smirking, Lucas slowly drew his greatsword back.
“I have already realized that every moment that has passed is precious.”
The past three years flashed through my mind.
All those days of pain, sadness, regret, and forgiveness.
Looking back, there was no precious moment during this long journey. Even if it turned into dust and drifted away, everything was beautiful.
And the end of this journey is just around the corner.
“The days to come will eventually pass by in vain and turn to dust in our memories. But I will cherish that too.”
So, I will buy it.
I must live to see it.
The end of the epic battle led by the lord.
and….
“My lord, after marrying the Serenade girl, I will see the second generation born to me call me Uncle Lucas…!”
《…?》
The embarrassed Blue Knight leader paused for a moment. what?
But without paying attention, Lucas quietly muttered his next wish.
“…and my own happiness.”
The happiness of Lucas, an individual that had been neglected for so long.
You will have to get it.
Lucas made a promise and grabbed his great sword.
“Then, let’s go.”
《…!》
Next moment.
Flash!
Lucas swung the great sword of light fiercely, and all the blue knights who rushed toward him struck down their ice scythes at once.
A blinding light and a bone-chilling chill erupted from the 3rd forward base at the same time.
***
The moment we arrived at the 3rd forward base, a tremendous amount of light and cold emanated from the forward base at the same time.
“Wow?!”
“Everyone hold on tight!”
Evangeline jumped out to the front of the train and raised her shield to protect her magic train.
Kugwagwagwang!
As they rushed into the forward base, what they saw was… a scene where all of the Blue Knights who had surrounded Lucas and were attacking him were cut in two by the slash of light swung by Lucas.
The sight of all the ancient ice knights being torn apart and the ice covering the area melting amidst the swirling particles of light was truly mythical. Everyone gaped.
But I knew. Now is not the time to let down your guard!
“Lucas!”
I screamed with all my might.
“Get out of that place!”
“…?!”
Lucas seemed confident that he had defeated all the enemies with one sword, but his eyes widened at my words and he quickly left the place.
And my instructions were correct.
“Ah ah ah ah ah-!”
Captain of the Blue Knights.
Like an ice lord, this centaur whose entire body is covered in ice has the ability to extract cold from death.
In other words,
Meaning that even in the death of his own men, he can pull off the cold…!
Damn it! Damn it!
The Blue Knight captain, whose entire body was covered in white ice, swung his scythe, which was now almost the size of a house, but Lucas had already retreated after listening to my instructions.
Ugh!
Winter bloomed where the scythe fell. A terrifying chill shook the entire area.
“Finish!”
Lucas, who had retreated a long way, tried to rush at the enemy captain again.
“Okay, that’s it!”
Taaat!
I drove the horse-powered train to Lucas’s side, snatched him up, placed him on the train, and then turned our course north.
“Let’s retreat! To Crossroads’ original nature!”
“yes?!”
“You defeated all of his subordinates, this is enough! Now, let’s defeat their last phase using the method prepared in our castle!”
Lucas tried to give a different opinion, but
“Ugh….”
Perhaps it was the aftermath of the terrifyingly powerful attack of light that had just been unleashed, but the ultimate [Full Body Descent] was forcibly released, and the two long swords that had been combined also separated from each other as if bouncing.
“Ah ah ah ah ah-!”
The leader of the Blue Knights, who had turned into a huge ice monster, tried to chase us, but his speed was slow because his entire body was covered in ice.
We were able to leave Nome behind and move north safely, leaving the 3rd forward base behind.
I patted Lucas’ back as he was breathing heavily.
“good job.”
“…We lost our soldiers.”
“That is my responsibility as commander-in-chief. You did your best as a field commander. “Thanks to you taking the time, the rest of the team retreated safely.”
The death of an ally is heartbreaking, but the sadness is enough to ponder over after the defensive battle is over.
As a result, all four forward bases succeeded in breaking the enemy’s brunt. This defensive battle is being carried out as planned.
Now, as I was thinking about how the remaining enemies would behave and how to deal with them, Lucas suddenly spoke.
“…Master.”
“huh?”
“Once this war is all over.”
“huh.”
“You need to be happy.”
I blinked.
What kind of idiot is he talking like all of a sudden?
Lucas secretly smiled an unknown smile.
“Because I will be happy too.”
Then Lucas glanced at Evangeline next to him.
Evangeline, who was shaking off the frost powder from Lucas’ armor with her hands, blushed in embarrassment and said one thing.
“mister! “I have something to ask too!”
“What.”
“I like you with belly fat or without belly fat?!”
“It’s okay to have it, it’s okay to not have it.”
“That’s the correct answer!”
Evangeline was delighted and pounded Lucas’ armor harder. Lucas smiled bitterly and left Evangeline alone.
“….”
I opened my mouth in a daze, listening to the incomprehensible conversation between the two knights.
I can’t keep up with the kids’ stories from last time.
Is this a generation gap…?
