Chapter 75
Clatter! Clatter!
Inside the shaking carriage, Kraush was staring incredulously at the Armed Princess in front of him.
“…Are you out of your mind? If you know my real name, it means you’re a World Eroder, huh? Who’s the idiot? Which crazy fool thought it was a good idea to don the guise of Valheim and pick a fight with me? Did you lose your weapon to me or something?”
A lady madly wrapped in weapons.
Yet, just thinking about the performance of each of those weapons made it clear how dangerous the situation really was.
In particular, her primary weapon, the thirteen divine blades, was filled with peril; the moment she unleashed them, Kraush wouldn’t be able to guarantee his survival.
‘How does she even move swiftly in that getup?’
Having seen her fight before, Kraush clicked his tongue. Right now, she seemed to carry all her weapons due to the constraint of space, but outside, her fighting style would surely change again.
“Enough with the chatter.”
Kraush had no intention of dragging it out.
Since she was already misinterpreting him as a World Eroder, he decided to go in strong.
“Just ditch the Thunderbolt and disappear.”
“Excuse me?”
The Armed Princess displayed an astonishing reaction.
But even so, she hesitated to attack hastily.
It was a reflection of her inherently cautious nature.
‘This one seems to have something going on.’
One eye of the Armed Princess squinted suspiciously.
World Eroding beings usually possessed a unique ability.
The recent dark flame had been a bit prickly, but it was at a manageable level.
However, if she possessed another ability, it felt like things could easily become troublesome.
Above all, what raised his suspicion was the power of World Erosion he felt radiating from Kraush.
It was weak.
The power he sensed was too weak to be credible.
‘Or…’
Perhaps she was hiding the full extent of her World Erosion power so well that he couldn’t grasp it.
‘Should I take out one of my divine blades instead?’
A quick finish flickered in her mind.
‘No. Revealing my tricks in an unfamiliar situation wouldn’t be wise. I can check things out first before making a move.’
Besides, the fact that Kraush was Valheim bothered her.
She had no intention of being associated with Balrog.
Regardless, the world was full of things she despised.
All she wanted was a life surrounded by children, nothing more.
So, she pulled out the axe on her back.
To achieve that life, the Thunderbolt was a must!
“Seeing you talk like that, it seems you really are an idiot.”
With that, she made up her mind.
First, she would uncover all of her opponent’s secrets.
Watching the Armed Princess, Kraush maintained a facade of calm while exhaling slowly inside.
‘The bravado seems to be having an effect.’
If she charged recklessly at him, Kraush wouldn’t have any way to respond.
The difference in skill levels between the Armed Princess and himself was glaringly clear.
And that made it Kraush’s only opportunity to gain the upper hand.
‘The properties of the eighth floor.’
Kraush glanced at the window, where the scenery outside was whizzing by.
‘If I can utilize it…’
She wouldn’t be able to do anything.
From that point on, it all depended on his defense.
He hadn’t planned on battling such a heavy-hitter right from the start, but what could he do?
If they had to fight, they would fight.
Swish—
At that moment, the Armed Princess made the first move.
With the foot she stepped out with, the axe was the first thing to fly his way.
The level of axe skill displayed far surpassed anything from the wolf pack.
‘Ignition!’
Recognizing the identity of the axe, Kraush didn’t engage; instead, he retreated at once.
Boom!
With the explosion that followed, thick black smoke filled the carriage.
The effects of Ignition were explosive and smoky.
A simple effect, yet the smoke proved excellent at obscuring vision in the confined space.
Amidst the sight-dimming smoke, a silver sword without adornments suddenly burst forth.
A sword that moves freely, Bihwa!
Instead of countering, Kraush jerked his head aside, narrowly avoiding it.
At the same time, he parried the spear that came flying in.
Clang!
“Hm?”
The Armed Princess’s eyes narrowed as she noticed Kraush’s reaction to her attack, as if he predicted it.
“You’re using some strange stuff.”
The silver sword glided smoothly back to the empty sheath at her waist.
“And you seem to know a thing or two about my weapon.”
Of course.
‘Since I’m the one who picked up all your weapons after you die and sorted them out.’
It was the fate of someone who took care of the dirty work.
Thus, Kraush decided to open his senses instead of responding verbally.
“Damn, that’s just unpleasant to hear.”
In that moment, the Armed Princess’s spear began wildly stabbing at him.
The crimson aura contained within the spear bared its fangs to kill Kraush.
Thus, Kraush, based on his instincts, desperately deployed a nearly predictive block.
With each hit, the dark fire burst around him, slowly spreading.
His arms tingled.
Even though he was continuously boosting his physical output via the Constant Blaze through the power of time dilation, it was still overwhelming.
But he couldn’t just stay defensive.
The Armed Princess was currently second-guessing Kraush’s identity.
If that was the case, he needed to push before she was sure of his weakness.
Clang!
At that moment, Kraush’s sword met the tip of her spear.
Then, immediately sliding down, he thrust forward at the Armed Princess.
“Ha!”
With a short shout from her, she instantly released her spear and moved her hand to her waist.
In an instant, two daggers shot out, crossing paths as they collided with Kraush’s blade.
Clang!
The dark flames released bounced around, dancing wildly.
But the Armed Princess paid no mind to that.
Kraush’s dark flames wouldn’t deal a fatal blow to her.
She was well aware of that, so she strengthened her arms.
Crack, clang!
At that moment, as the Armed Princess extended her arms, the force transmitted through the daggers sent Kraush’s sword spiraling into the air.
Kraush nearly lost his grip on his sword due to the overwhelming strength of the Armed Princess.
Seizing that moment when Kraush’s sword was airborne, she quickly launched a two-pronged dagger towards his neck.
As the daggers approached, Kraush’s neck would be crushed in an instant.
“Gah!”
Spotting this, Kraush forcefully infused his right arm with flames from the Constant Blaze.
In an instant, the overwhelming power of the flame erupted, boosting Kraush’s arm downward.
Boom!
But what Kraush struck down was the floor of the carriage, instead.
As the dark flames erupted, the Armed Princess’s body scattered away like a snake shedding its skin.
‘Fangs of Annihilation.’
Kraush recognized the true identity of the dual daggers.
At the same moment, he immediately released his grip on the sword in his right hand and swung with his left behind him.
Black Hood!
As his left hand swung, a sword appeared.
And just then, the Armed Princess’s Fangs of Annihilation collided with Kraush’s sword.
Clang!
Kraush tried desperately to hold his ground by pouring flames into his legs.
Meanwhile, the Armed Princess’s eyes distorted in shock.
What should have been a guaranteed strike to the neck was blocked far too easily.
“You bastard!”
With that, the Armed Princess swiftly raised her left knee.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Bihwa, which had slipped from her waist, flew toward Kraush once more as before.
Kraush, having abandoned his clash, dodged the only way to keep up with the Armed Princess’s immense strength.
At the same time, he swung his sword to intercept Bihwa.
However, this time, the intercepted Bihwa wouldn’t return but instead aimed to strike Kraush again.
That was the peculiar nature of Bihwa.
As Kraush attempted to dodge it, the Armed Princess tossed the Fangs of Annihilation into the air, swinging Ignition across him.
As a two-handed axe, its wide range made it nearly impossible to evade in the narrow carriage.
‘Damn it, she’s not giving me a moment to breathe!’
Boom!
Just after the clash between Ignition and Kraush’s blade, an explosion sent him tumbling to the floor.
The sudden blast clouded his vision momentarily.
However, Kraush’s instincts whispered to him.
Get rolling now.
Crash, boom!
As Kraush hit the ground, Ignition smashed down where he had just been.
But the Armed Princess had no intention of stopping there.
As Kraush began rolling on the floor, she relentlessly rained down Ignitions.
“Wow, you sure know how to roll, huh? Even maggots have their talents!”
With those taunting words, she slammed Ignition down where Kraush had been lying.
And then, she pulled out another greatsword from her back, raising it high.
“Let’s see if you can run from this as well.”
Just then, Kraush’s mind sparked.
That damned woman.
At that moment, as the greatsword soared high enough to hit the ceiling of the carriage, it came crashing down toward Kraush instantly.
Boom! Boom!
As the massive greatsword slammed down, Kraush barely managed to raise his sword in time to meet it head-on.
Shudder!
Simultaneously, his trembling arms showed just how much strain he was under to deflect the blow.
A greatsword capable of freely adjusting its size and weight—perhaps that’s why Kraush felt as if he would be crushed together with his sword at any moment.
Although he had intended to save the second stage of the Constant Blaze for later, if he got overwhelmed here, the Armed Princess would surely catch on.
‘Damn it, showing off is becoming more of a chore than I thought.’
Before being pinned down, Kraush quickly activated the Constant Blaze once more.
Clang!
As the force erupted from his heated body, the Armed Princess briefly hesitated, caught off guard.
Utilizing that brief pause, Kraush lifted the greatsword even slightly into the air.
In that moment, Kraush readied his sword in an upward stance while infusing the flames of the Constant Blaze into his sword.
Woosh!
At the moment when a crescent flame engulfed the Armed Princess.
Realizing she couldn’t just take it head-on, she immediately let go of the greatsword and raised her wrist.
In an instant, a bizarre chain sprang forth from her wrist, wrapping around her like a shield.
Boom!
As the ensuing explosion rang and the dark flames surged, Kraush felt the tremors travel through his arms.
Simultaneously, the heat from the smoke seemed to sear his throat.
Sweat dripped down his face.
Having felt death several times within this brief exchange, Kraush was left dazed.
If he had made even one mistake, he would now be a corpse.
‘Doll of Eyes.’
So, Kraush summoned the Doll of Eyes to forcibly suppress his frayed nerves.
Instead, he forced a relaxed smile.
He had to come across as a World Eroder hiding a trump card.
Then, in front of him, the Armed Princess retracting the chains glared at him.
“Hidden strength. Is that it?”
Interpreting his previous attack as a subtle reveal of his true power, she grinned wickedly.
“But that won’t do anything to me.”
Taking a deep breath, Kraush slowly began to chuckle.
“What’s so funny, huh?”
Seeing her emotions flash across her face, he slowly raised his sword.
True to its name, the sword withstood her attack while still remaining dark and sleek.
He would need to thank Crimson Garden for having supplied such a sword.
Splurt, sizz!
Kraush’s eyes meticulously scanned the swirling dark flames consuming various parts of the carriage.
Around five minutes to go.
“Well then, Shua Delpia, or should I say, Butterfly?”
Kraush sneered as he called her by her derogatory name.
“Are you in heat? Quit meowing around.”
Flick!
With that, her ears and tail stood erect, clearly heated.
“Damn you!”
As he looked upon the Armed Princess, Kraush’s red eyes shone brilliantly within the dark flames.
Filled with determination to drop the cat off the moving carriage.
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