Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 150: Ardius Fortress Siege Battle – Successful interception…?

“Gahahaha! Strength alone is unmatched! Strength alone is everything!”

“Please don’t take pleasure in it, master.”

[Ughhh! Just die already!]

Master and I relentlessly attacked the golden-armored soldier with all our might. Master, with a hearty laugh, kept thrusting his poleaxe while I stabbed him by constantly striking from the shadows, from behind, or from underground, steadily accumulating damage with my twin swords and poisonous stinger.

When master’s blows directly hit, they shattered the golden armor, so essentially, the soldier had to focus on master. However, ignoring me left him vulnerable to having his body punctured through the gaps in his armor or being injected with deadly poison. Even if he recovered quickly, being stabbed was painful, and no matter how resistant he might be to poison, it would still affect his condition. And if he became too preoccupied with me, he would then fall victim to master’s strikes… just like that.

“But! You’re lacking in training! Take this!”

[Guh…! These damn bastards! Are there more of them!?]

As master swung his poleaxe down from above, it shattered the left shoulder of the armor, crushing flesh and bone, and the moment the enemy was ready to counterattack, his face exploded with a beam of light. Yes, he wasn’t only fighting against master and me. Lady Altissia was also in the distance.

Even though she was positioned far away with a Dragon Roar Cannon, she provided precise support with her spiritual sniper shots. Even now, one of those intricately aimed attacks approaching on a complicated trajectory hit the enemy’s defenseless face directly, burning his blue skin.

[Guh…! Don’t get cocky just because a bunch of weaklings gathered together!]

The golden-armored soldier concentrated spiritual power in both his hands and began rapid-fire shots, forming radiant spiritual bullets just like the golden-armored soldier I had encountered before. Master used his poleaxe, and I used a combination of my sword and spiritual arts to cut them down.

The aim of these light bullets seemed less accurate, and they couldn’t track targets like Lady Altissia’s spiritual arts did, making them relatively easy to dodge. However, evading them carried the risk of stray bullets hitting our allies behind. The sudden onslaught of the golden-armored soldier had already caused significant damage, and we couldn’t afford any more casualties.

[Take this and this and this and this!]

“Ugh… Uryaaaa!”

While slashing through the rapid barrage of light bullets, master had been gathering his strength, and now he unleashed it, sending a spiritual slash from his poleaxe. Unlike the golden-armored soldier’s seemingly endless spiritual power, master’s technique was honed and precise. His spiritual blade cut through all the light bullets, reaching the enemy himself.

Due to the weakening of their power by the light bullets, the spiritual blade ended up merely scraping the surface of the enemy’s armor. However, master’s swing managed to dispel all the light bullets. In other words, I was now free to move.

“Disciple, now’s the time!”

“Yes!”

Even before master’s command, I had already sprung into action. With a fluid motion, I sprinted towards the golden-armored soldier, who had been thrown off balance by master’s spiritual blade. Naturally, my target was the exposed areas where master and Lady Altissia had shattered in his armor.

As I circled behind him, I thrust my black sword, held in my left hand, into his left shoulder, drove the poisonous stinger of my tail into the back of his neck, and thrust my white sword into his eye socket. I pushed with all my might to deepen the wounds, driving both swords and the tail as far as they would go. The twin swords were embedded halfway, and I injected as many types of poison as I could from my stinger.

However, at that moment, I had a gut feeling that I didn’t finish him off. This wasn’t enough.

[Aggh… Gugoooooahhhhh!]

“Damn it, not yet!”

As I drew my twin swords, the golden-armored soldier unleashed an unparalleled surge of spiritual power with a beastly roar. The impact was so intense that it made the surface of my exoskeleton creak, and I was sent flying backward.

Master, too, was nearly caught in the shockwave of spiritual power, but before that happened, he swung his poleaxe and swiftly cut through it. Without a moment’s hesitation, he intercepted the charging golden-armored soldier head-on. Indeed, master hadn’t let his guard down for a moment.

[Gaahhh!]

“Hahaha! This is more like it! You seem tougher now!”

As evidenced by his beastly roar, it seemed that the golden-armored soldier had gone berserk, much like the previous opponent I had faced. His eyes were bloodshot, and drool hung from the corner of his mouth as he wildly swung his fists at master.

At first glance, it appeared to be a chaotic onslaught, but both his power and speed had increased significantly. However, master deftly countered his attacks with just his poleaxe. He effortlessly parried all the devastating blows, whether delivered with the ax head, the handle, or the pommel. It was clear that master’s skills were as impressive as his strength.

No matter how skilled master was in combat, I couldn’t leave it all to him. I brushed off the blood on my twin swords as I rushed forward and turned the ground beneath our enemy’s feet into sand, sinking one of his legs. Seizing that momentary opening when his fist missed, master swiftly thrust his poleaxe into the enemy’s throat and pushed him down.

“Take this!”

[Gobbo…!]

“Shh!”

I mercilessly swung my twin swords at the golden-armored soldier who was pressed to the ground and was spewing blood-tinged bubbles from his mouth. I brought down my twin swords mercilessly, using the heavy black one to shatter his skull and then driving the incredibly sharp white one deep into it. At the same time, the backflow of blood splattered across my face and compound eyes.

Without even sparing a moment to wipe it off, I added more weight to drive the swords even deeper. Master did the same, pressing down with such force that the golden-armored soldier’s armor started to dent as he forced the poleaxe further.

[Gobobo…!]

“What? Another shockwave!”

Even after all this, the golden-armored soldier remained alive. He unleashed another shockwave, the strongest one yet, which sent both master and me flying. The shockwave itself subsided in an instant, but right after that, Lady Altissia’s spiritual arts rained down on the enemy and caused a massive explosion.

I took a defensive stance and quickly got back on my feet, assessing the situation. The golden-armored soldier’s figure was obscured by the swirling dust kicked up by the aftermath of the spiritual attack. Master, having driven the poleaxe’s pommel into the ground in mid-air, had been thrown a shorter distance than me.

“Hmph! Disciple, you’re still alive?”

“Yes, but it seems the same goes for him.”

[Uh… ugh…]

As master swung the poleaxe to clear away the dust, the golden-armored soldier wobbled but managed to stand up on his feet. He appeared on the verge of collapsing, yet neither master nor I dared to take a step forward.

There was one simple reason for our hesitation. It wasn’t just logic but instinct that sounded a loud warning: approaching this enemy, who emitted no aura or any sign of life, recklessly could lead to a swift death.

The golden armor was battered and bloodied due to our attacks, and the soldier’s footing seemed unsteady, causing his body to sway constantly. Incoherent murmurs escaped his mouth, and he appeared to be unable to think properly.

However, the spiritual power that was emanating from his body had grown in both quantity and intensity. Despite appearing weakened, he exuded an intimidating presence that made even approaching him a cautious endeavor.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As we hesitated to move forward, three distinct sounds echoed from behind. My compound eyes caught sight of a red-glowing ball of light hovering in the air behind me. It seemed to serve as a signal for withdrawal; they were likely intending to pull back and regroup.

Master and I, on our end, had no desire to continue battling this monstrous foe that sent shivers down our spines by merely being in his presence. We were eager to make a swift escape if we could.

However, the fear of diverting our attention from the golden-armored soldier was even more potent than the urge to flee. What if we were killed the moment we looked away? That impending sense of danger kept us fixed on the enemy. With sweat beading on our foreheads, we focused intently on every move the soldier made.

Bububububub!

The tense atmosphere was shattered by the arrival of large unmanned drones from the direction of the fortress. Six drones flew in formation as they closed in, with four of them opening fire directly at us. We kept our eyes on the golden-armored soldier and leaped backward as if propelled by the bullets, avoiding the gunfire.

The remaining two drones were unarmed for direct attacks; instead, they were equipped with clamp-like devices resembling my old pincers. These drones closed in rapidly on the golden-armored soldier, and as they approached, their clamps snared the soldier, and without further ado…. they flew back towards the fortress.

From our perspective, it seemed like we were the ones being cornered, so we were left dumbfounded and didn’t even consider making a run for it. When we finally snapped out of it and considered pursuing, the golden-armored soldier had already made a swift getaway into the distance.

From the rear, a spiritual attack by Lady Altissia came flying, but the four unmanned drones that had been continuously shooting at us intercepted it, protecting the two others and the golden-armored soldier. It seemed that these four drones were acting as escorts. These remarkably sturdy drones valiantly shielded the other two, and though all four were eventually destroyed, the golden-armored soldier managed to escape in the end.

“Hmm… they got away, or perhaps we got away. I can’t tell which side was spared, my disciple.”

“Yes, my thoughts exactly.”

Master sighed and slung the poleaxe he had been wielding over his shoulder. In agreement, I sheathed my twin swords as well. While it seemed like we were holding our own in the battle, the more we wounded the golden-armored soldier, the stronger it became. If we had continued fighting, it would have been us who met our demise.

Clearly, our strength was insufficient. It would have been great if we had just one more warrior who could keep up with this battle among our ranks. With such thoughts in mind, master and I followed the signal for withdrawal and retreated to the rear.