WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 153: A Distant Tale: Sword and Spear - 2

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Unlike Shei, who had foreseen this development, Tyrkanzyaka seemed fairly tense.

She had only slightly furrowed her elegant brow, but even that was different from the indifferent attitude she had shown while crushing armies so far.

"An unusual presence. It almost feels as though it's calling for us."

"Not us. Probably me."

Shei answered as she picked up Skywarbler and Jizan.

"Watch Azzy and Nabi here. I'll go alone and be back."

"Won't it be dangerous?"

"I have to. There's something I need to settle."

After letting out a long sigh, Shei leaped through the narrow window and ran straight toward the source of that presence.

Just as expected, General Partlaxion stood there.

As though he had never doubted she would come, Partlaxion stood tall and greeted Shei.

"Hey, boy. Long time no see."

He held not his favored weapon, but an ordinary regulation spear. There was nothing special about it, just a spear that barely met the most basic requirements.

Yet his strength had long transcended any weapon. Whatever spear he wielded, he remained an exceptionally dangerous opponent.

A measured tension settled over Shei. She greeted him.

"Long time no see, Absolute Spear."

"Still a rude little brat. Tch. I thought you had potential, at least."

There was no need for introductions. They already knew each other.

Shei had used Partlaxion to enter the Abyss.

This cycle, Shei had decided to infiltrate Tantalus. Yet in those early days, when she had not regained all her power, she had few ways to force someone to reveal how to reach Tantalus.

So Shei summoned Partlaxion, one of the Six Generals.

The method was simple.

She settled in a reasonably prosperous city, proposed wager duels, and defeated every curious challenger who approached.

After beating enough of them, the military state sent soldiers to stop her. The military state did not tolerate private duels.

So she defeated them too.

At some point, the military state stopped sending troops. Instead, one of the Six Generals, thrilled by the unexpected news of duels, rushed over to fight Shei.

After trading blows for a while, Shei said she wanted to face a stronger opponent without interference. General Partlaxion approved of that spirit and kindly led Shei into the Abyss.

"Your skill was sufficient. I thought you had what it took to become a general, at the very least. Perhaps you could have become the youngest of the Six Generals... No, youngest would be impossible. Still, I had hoped the Six Generals might become Seven Generals."

Whoosh.

Partlaxion swung his spear in a wide arc. The sound of it cutting through the air was chilling.

"But you went and did something truly spectacular. You killed a general, cut off Jiseon's right arm, then led the rest of the prisoners out?"

Partlaxion gripped the spear with both hands. His face held nothing but deep disappointment and hostility.

"Ebon might have had an irritating way of talking, but he was my comrade. A comrade died because of me, so settling this is my responsibility. I will honor his soul through this duel."

Shei had no intention of refusing a fight. Still, she did not want to be saddled with unnecessary misunderstandings.

"Even though he tried to kill me first?"

"What? Why would Ebon go all the way into Tantalus just to kill you?"

"That bastard was with the Lords of All Creation."

"What?"

Partlaxion faltered, planted his spear on the ground again, and asked,

"The Lords of All Creation?"

"Yeah."

"Him?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Partlaxion groaned and scratched his head, looking troubled.

"Ahh. So that's why that bastard kept replacing his subordinates. Hm. I did think his casualty rate was absurdly high."

His deliberation was brief. Partlaxion steadied both his resolve and his spear.

"But! Cutting off Jiseon's arm was a cruel and inexcusable act!"

"I tried to reattach it. Jiseon refused."

Partlaxion stared blankly before asking,

"...Reattach it? You can do that?"

"If it goes well."

"Then why didn't you?"

"What was I supposed to do when Jiseon said no?"

"How am I supposed to believe that?"

"If I wanted to kill Jiseon, I would've taken Jiseon's head."

"That is true."

Partlaxion groaned again, scratching his head in vain before shouting irritably.

"Anyway. I've learned that you have some justification. Still! That doesn't erase your crimes!"

"I'm not trying to make pathetic excuses. I just don't like being falsely accused."

"But that doesn't mean there's no room for compromise."

Partlaxion planted his spear on the ground again and asked casually,

"Want to become a general?"

It was an incredibly plain statement for a recruitment offer. Shei asked as though she had misheard him.

"Huh?"

"With strength like yours, the military state would welcome you. Besides, you're not a pure martial artist, are you? The military state has always wanted asymmetric forces like you."

The military state had been founded after overthrowing the kingdom of knights. It gathered soldiers, put guns in their hands, and drew fighting power from every possible direction.

But in war, that sort of quantitative improvement was not particularly helpful.

Once strength reached a certain level, it ceased to be a matter of quantity and became a matter of intensity. A thousand ordinary soldiers could not defeat one powerful expert who had reached that level. Dragging out the fight would count as success.

What was needed then was asymmetric power, a trump card that could change circumstances and overturn the entire battlefield.

The military state, with its short history, lacked such mysteries and secrets. To reinforce its power, it had been gathering people like that.

But...

"I refuse."

Shei rejected him without hesitation. General Partlaxion's expression darkened at her firm answer.

"...Is that so?"

Partlaxion let out a deep sigh and scratched his head.

"I have a daughter. She's about your age. A very cute child, you know. Maybe it's because I'm getting old, but I don't want to fight someone with such a bright future."

Once, Partlaxion had been a hot-blooded young man. Challenging a kingdom to a duel was not something one could do without considerable spirit.

But time passed. He became a general, fought several wars, and grew older. The more responsibilities he had to bear, the heavier his actions became.

Partlaxion, who had lived more youthfully than anyone, missed those days.

"More than anything, I like your attitude. I can see your will to fight everything in the world. Children like you are the ones who change the world."

"Are you bragging about yourself?"

"I'm envying the youth I've lost, brat. Tch. I'm on leave, and whether I catch you or not is up to me. I hear you haven't killed anyone so far, so I could just let this go."

Even as he said that, Partlaxion glanced at her expectantly. Understanding what he meant, Shei smiled challengingly and raised her twin swords.

Skywarbler in her right hand, Jizan in her left.

The two treasured swords fell silent in the hands of a single person.

"It would be a shame to leave it at that. Last time, you taught me a thing or two. Aren't you curious how much stronger I've become in the Abyss?"

"...Yeah. That's why I like you."

Swish, click.

Partlaxion happily gripped his spear with both hands. Releasing his full presence, he aimed the spearhead at her with delight in his voice.

"Don't worry. I'm a pretty good fighter. I'll make sure you don't die."

"I'm not very good at holding back. You might die."

"Hahaha! That arrogance! I like it very much!"

The next instant, a ray of light cut through the air.

Shei's eyes turned violet as she raised Skywarbler.

A heavy weight bore down on both her arms. The instant the spearhead caught against her blade, it twisted like a snake and targeted Shei's neck.

He said he would make sure she did not die.

Grumbling inwardly, Shei clenched her teeth and knocked the spear aside. Their energy collided, scattering bright red sparks.

Partlaxion took light steps and leaped backward. His spearhead had clearly been aimed at her neck a moment ago, yet he was already more than ten paces away.

He struck the ground once with the spear shaft and planted his rear foot hard.

"Good! We've exchanged greetings, so let's fight! Do we need any more conversation than that?"

"Hmph. Fine. Just what I wanted!"

Shei shouted boldly and raised Skywarbler over her head.

Jizan was a shield. More precisely, it was terrain that favored only Shei.

Clang!

With a harsh metallic crash, even Absolute Spear's spear could not push back, pierce, or deflect Jizan. Partlaxion's spearhead, wrapped in energy, had enough force to cut and shatter steel, yet it left not a single scratch on Jizan.

Before that impregnable defense, the general marveled.

"What an incredible treasure! I didn't see that last time!"

"I picked it up down there!"

Keeping Jizan between herself and the spear to limit its paths, Shei immediately lunged in and swung Skywarbler. The swift sword aimed for Partlaxion, but he grinned and twisted both his spear and body.

Clang.

The spear shaft burned in a long line. Spear and sword, thick with energy, scraped together and threw off sparks.

Taking advantage of Skywarbler's lightness, Shei turned her wrist. She intended to target the hand gripping the spear shaft.

The Heaven-Reversing Boundary issued a warning.

Feeling a sudden chill, Shei hid behind Jizan.

Kiiing.

The spear thrust precisely along a path that grazed both Skywarbler and Jizan at once. It slipped through the gap like a snake.

"I can see what you're trying to do. You're going to force a battle of speed with a light sword? Listen, the spear is the most defensive weapon in the world. Excluding shields, since those are defensive equipment!"

It did not end with one block. The spearhead split into dozens. From a distance where the blade could not reach and only the spearpoint could, Partlaxion repeatedly struck and withdrew with almost cowardly persistence.

His reach was too long and his movements too fast. Shei could not easily approach and was busy retreating.

"Distance itself is the finest form of defense! This is how you use a weapon's strengths!"

Neither approaching nor retreating was easy.

It was strange footwork. Without even lifting his feet, his legs glided lightly over the ground. Yet whenever he wanted, he rooted himself in place and thrust his spear with fierce power.

The spear that pierced even the wind made no sound. If not for the Heaven-Reversing Boundary, Shei would have had at least two holes in her body by now. As Partlaxion drove her back without pause, he shouted,

"Haha! What do you think? Guns aside, spears are better than swords!"

"Heavenly Sword Technique, Dragon-Slaying Slash!"

"Huh?"

A massive blade, easily ten meters long, fell upon Partlaxion.

Skywarbler had expanded by unfolding space to its limit, becoming like a sword wielded by a giant. The moment he blocked the blade that sought to split him at the waist with his spear shaft, a fierce recoil swept over him and drove Partlaxion sliding backward.

"Wait. What happened to the spear's advantage?"

Something that large should have had an opening somewhere, but endlessly light Skywarbler weighed no more than the same volume of air. Having lost his advantage in reach, Partlaxion swiftly withdrew.

Shei did not stop attacking. As the distance opened, rather than swing Skywarbler, she drove Jizan into the ground.

Crunch!

The ground split as though a meteor had fallen, and Jizan sank deep into it.

"Earth Staff Style, Pointed Fang!"

Then she swept it wide.

The ground beneath Partlaxion's feet shook. A huge spike burst from underground and hurled him into the air. It was Jizan's power, earth magic.

"Wahaha! What a truly incredible weapon!"

Partlaxion bent his legs in an instant to absorb the shock. As he steadied himself in midair, Shei extended Skywarbler and planted it into Jizan as well.

The union of Skywarbler and Jizan. An ultimate technique that used Jizan as a cannon barrel and Skywarbler as a cannonball.

"Heaven-and-Earth Sword and Staff, Ultimate Technique."

Horizon Splitter.

An invisible slash cleaved down at Partlaxion. Sensing danger, he raised his spear diagonally to block it, only to be violently flung away into the distance.

Shei exhaled deeply. Bringing the raging wind under control, she stared beyond the darkness with red eyes.

She had not used her full strength. She did not want to deliberately kill General Partlaxion and become completely hostile to the military state, and if she used all of Skywarbler's space, the fights ahead would become more difficult.

...Besides, if Partlaxion had truly felt threatened, he would have responded with some sort of measure.

After all, he had touched upon it, if only slightly...

The principles of the world.

Footnotes:

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