WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 207: Land Flowing Like a River - 9

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The sun had descended. There was no other way to describe it.

An immense blaze covered the sky above the Meta-Conveyor Belt like a curtain, growing ever larger. A storm of flames swept through as though it would bake the earth itself.

"This is...!"

Tyr glanced at the container behind her and quickly spread both hands. The coffin lid flew open, and ominously swirling darkness poured out.

The darkness instinctively found its enemy, rose up, and pushed back the flames.

The battle between light and darkness, one that had ended since the dawn of time, resumed. The rising darkness robbed the flames of their brilliance, while flashes of fire gnawed away at the darkness as the two tangled together.

In the end, only ashes remained. Ash-gray smoke, as though an entire cloud had been brought down, drifted away and revealed the figure hidden behind it.

An old woman with deep wrinkles around her eyes. Her stubborn expression and tightly set lips made her personality clear at a glance.

The military state's strongest mage flew through the sky, a cloak three times the size of her body billowing behind her.

"It has been a long time, Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka. You have never seen me, but I saw you from afar when you slept inside that coffin."

The most foolish and wisest mage. The founder of standard magic.

War Mage Prelvior, the Milky Way softly illuminating the night sky with countless tiny lights, looked down at Tyr.

"Please surrender. The main force is on its way."

Though the flames had scattered in the raging wind, the darkness still held its ground. Tyr narrowed her eyes, clearly displeased.

"Where do you get off acting so high and mighty with a pathetic spell like that? Do you think you were the only one capable of magic at that level?"

"Of course not. You are the lord of vampires, after all. You must know better than anyone how futile it is to face an army alone."

She was not standing on the flowing ground, but floating above it. In other words, Prelvior was flying through the sky at the same speed as the Meta-Conveyor Belt.

At night, perhaps it would have been different, but vampires hated the open sky as much as they hated the sun. There was no shade in midair.

From a lofty position neither humans nor vampires could easily reach, Prelvior spoke stiffly.

"If you surrender, I will guarantee your safety. It would be in your interest to decide quickly. Once your advantage is gone..."

Prelvior raised her head and looked toward the far end of the Belt. At the deliberate gesture, Tyr turned her gaze there as well.

Far away, a small group was leaping over containers and charging this way like mad. The man at the front, carrying an enormous spear, shouted in a booming voice.

"Daughter of the military state! Hold on a moment! Your dads are coming--!"

Ten generals, including Absolute Spear, had left the main force behind to rush to the gunners' rescue.

Now time was on the military state's side. Prelvior, who had carried them halfway here with wind magic, looked down at Tyr.

"...The more desperate your situation becomes, the less value your surrender will have."

Shfffl.

I was hiding in a dim container, idly shuffling cards. With a sigh, I flipped over one card I had placed face-down nearby.

"As expected, it was the War Mage. Anything less would've been pointless."

The card I flipped was the Queen of Clubs, the military state's great lady who represented magic itself. Along with Jiseon, she was a hero who had built this country's foundations from the ground up.

The Queen of Clubs and Queen of Hearts faced each other. The Jack and Queen of Spades were fighting as well. On top of that, their King was charging in.

Three against two. Even by simple numbers alone, they had the advantage.

"I had a rough idea, but... Are they seriously planning to start a war? What kind of gamble is this? They have a relative advantage, but not enough of one to deliberately start a fight on their own territory...."

War Mage Prelvior was a national military asset. Absolute Spear and the Gunslinger might be powerful, but they were still individuals. The War Mage could easily level mountains, twist rivers, and sometimes make cement flow like water.

Even Jiseon, who controlled the land, could not accomplish that alone. The one who had done it alongside her was Prelvior, the mage of scale.

"What is this? I really don't get it. There isn't any logic to it... Is there something I don't know?"

They hadn't really come just to catch me, had they? It felt like the military state had circumstances of its own that I couldn't understand.

Eh, it wasn't as if I could read the military state's mind. What I needed to do now was make a plan.

"In terms of compatibility, Tyr should handle Absolute Spear, and Shei should handle the War Mage."

Tyr was the famed Knight Slayer. The regressor was a devourer who had slain mysteries over the course of her regressions.

I pushed the Queen of Hearts forward to block their main force, the King. At the same time, I flipped the Jack of Spades into the Ace of Spades and pushed it toward the Queen of Clubs.

That left the Queen of Spades.

Historia, the military state's daughter.

"Hmm. Then who handles Ria? Me? Surely not me?"

What a joke. Even at Hamelin, I never once beat her in practical combat. What was I supposed to catch? To begin with, I was only a fraud who had cheated off every student's thoughts to claim first place in the school. Compared to those two, who had driven the average up so damn high by being marked unmeasurable, I had been a much more human first-place student.

"Impossible. I'll have to use another card, with myself as bait...."

I placed my hand on the floor and swept it wide. The scattered cards vanished in an instant and returned to my hand.

Clack. As I gathered every card back into one stack, I let out a deep sigh.

"I have no choice but to stall for time.... Still, we've spent some time together. She won't kill me, right...? Right, Ria?"

How nice would it be if the world were a card table? I'd always win and sweep up the stakes.

But even if the world were a card table, I wasn't a player. Even as the owner of these cards, I was only a single card moving alone across the board called the world.

After shuffling, I drew nine cards from the top.

Diamond 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10. Finally, J.

Damaged Diamond cards, most of them split apart or drained of mana or bullets.

The cards I had lost while fighting Wulfen did not return. Each one had cost nearly an alchemical coin to make, and once they were damaged or lost, that was the end.

"The cost efficiency is terrible. I'm going to cry. My money...."

Tap, tap. Holding back tears, I neatly shuffled the cards. Then I flipped over the top one.

Diamond J, a Diamond card depicting a knight clad in metal.

"I used up all my weapons, so I'm short on gear... Well, when have I ever fought with weapons? I just need to avoid dying suddenly."

The moment I stepped into that battle, my life would hang by a thread. Still, what choice did I have? If I didn't step in, I might get caught.

I just had to hope I wouldn't get swept up and die.

Diamond J, Full Plate.

In other words, military-state gear.

I inserted the entire stack of Diamond cards into my living terminal. Mana flowed through the stack, and I felt a suffocating sensation as it enveloped Achiabata. In an instant, my mana was sucked into a single point.

It felt as though every drop of moisture had drained from my body, leaving me weak all over.

Wow. Half my mana was gone just from this? Most of the mana was stored in the cards themselves, too?

I'd like a mana pool like the War Mage's... but the path she had walked was covered in thorns. If I had to sweat blood to live like that, I'd rather enjoy life with mind-reading.

As I finished making up my mind and stood, Azzy perked up her ears and came over to me.

"Woof? Going?"

"Yeah."

"Impossible! You, weak!"

"I know, you little brat. But what can I do? Sometimes you have to go even when you know it's dangerous. That's human dignity. And..."

Pauldrons formed over my shrugging shoulders.

It was thin, slender armor. A buckler attached itself to my left hand as though it were part of my body, while wires and chains tightened the steel plates forming along my body.

Diamond cards represented equipment. Full plate armor, led by the J, was not particularly impressive, but it would save my life at least once.

Humans became brave when they put on armor. Courage rose in my heart with its solid weight. The clanking sound it made whenever I moved seemed to give me strength.

"I was born a gambler. The more cornered I am, the bolder my bets become."

It was meant to reinforce my resolve, yet for some reason Azzy puffed out her chest.

"Woof, understand! Me, bold!"

"Why are you puffing yourself up when I was talking about myself?"

"But me! Woof! My bet bit me!"

"You're the one who bites. Who could have bitten you?"

"Woof woof!"

"Why are you barking while looking at me? No matter how shameless I am, I don't bite dogs."

While we exchanged our familiar banter, armor began covering even my face. A steel mask wrapped around it, completing the transformation.

The armor weighing on my shoulders was heavy. Half my mana was gone, and I felt drained.

Still, what could I do? If I wanted to live, I had no choice but to wear it.

Azzy got to her feet beside me.

"Trash paper, no! Me, go! Follow you!"

"...Really?"

Azzy was volunteering to help me? I thought she would avoid getting involved in a fight between humans whenever possible.

Was this repayment for how well I had treated her? Animals knew gratitude too. Old stories were full of animals repaying humans for kindness.

"Thanks. This should stop sudden deaths, ack!"

Instead, I nearly fell over as soon as I started walking. If Azzy hadn't caught me with her front paw, I might have collapsed immediately.

Azzy looked at me with pitying, gentle eyes.

"Woof. Just... hide?"

"Sorry, sorry. My mistake. I just need to overcome this and move forward."

Being worried about by a dog. The greatest humiliation of my life.

It was only because I hadn't worn armor in a while and wasn't used to it. I'd adapt!

"Just don't die. Don't die."

With that vow, I stepped outside the container carrying a surprise gift for Ria.

Onto the flowing ground, into a battlefield where a battle fit for legend was taking place.

Footnotes:

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