WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 212: Prisoner on the Cliff

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Having burned through every hour of noon, the sun was beginning to enter the stage of incomplete combustion as it ran low on fuel.

Perhaps it was because the Meta-Conveyor Belt moved from west to east, but evening seemed to arrive especially early today. Or perhaps the long chase that had lasted since morning had chased away even our sense of leisure.

Now that I had regained mine, I watched the setting sun and muttered lazily.

"Whew. We barely got away."

Judging by the result alone, it had been a great success. We had shaken off the military state's pursuit before sunset.

The process had not been as smooth as I had hoped, though. All sorts of incidents and variables had come into play.

Still, I praised the regressor, who deserved the most credit for our escape.

"Shei! That was incredible! Seriously, it was powerful enough to shake the heavens and split the earth! How did you get that much power?"

"Oh, that? It was nothing."

The regressor waved a hand, then scratched her chin as she looked at Jizan hanging at her waist.

'The War Mage was grabbing and shaking the land's current, so I wondered whether I could imitate her with Jizan... It worked?'

The generals who had lost their daughter reacted more fiercely than expected, as though they truly were fathers obsessed with their child. The enraged War Mage ignored even the generals' warnings, landed, and grabbed the Meta-Conveyor Belt to shake it.

The Meta-Conveyor Belt was flowing earth. You could stand on it, but its flow was ultimately created through a combination of magic and earth arts.

The War Mage could not affect the earth itself, but she interfered with part of its flow, lifted it up, and swung it like a whip.

Even I was taken aback by the sight, as though a monster had burst from the ground.

Yet Jizan, one of the regressor's swords, was the very essence of earth arts. Facing the War Mage, the regressor used Jizan's earth arts to calm the land.

'Jiseon's power?! It can't be!'

While the War Mage was flustered by the power of an old friend, the regressor felt Jizan resonating with the earth arts. Tilting her head, she casually slashed deeply through the ground.

Then the Meta-Conveyor Belt broke apart.

The earth following behind Jizan's sword mark came to a halt as though a dam had been built.

With the military state's great artery blocked, the generals, the War Mage, Absolute Spear, and even the military state's main force that had nearly reached us were literally stranded. Horrified by what the regressor had done, the soldiers could only watch us retreat.

The phenomenon did not last long. Damming a flowing river was only a makeshift measure. The pressure of the earth far surpassed that of water, and the dam soon collapsed.

They were still stalled, though, and now that they knew we could cut off the flow, they would not dare approach carelessly...

You did well, regressor. With enough vitality and earth arts, you could even sever flowing land.

But still.

"What do you mean, it was nothing? If you had such an incredible ability, you should've told us sooner!"

"It was Jizan's power, that's all."

Even as she casually waved it off, the regressor was delighted inside. Her shoulders nearly rose on their own.

'What an incredible ability! Jizan's power can control things affected by earth arts. More than that, I freely used earth arts, something that normally requires faith in Mother Earth and receiving her teachings! This is a tremendous achievement!'

Right. She had unlocked an incredible new ability. Of course she was happy. Earth arts were useful too, so they could be applied almost anywhere.

But, regressor.

Did it sound like I was praising you?

"Even if it was Jizan's power, you were the one who wielded it! The weapon's owner is the one who draws out its power. You're the one controlling that power, Shei!"

"Is that so? Hm. Well, I used to draw out Skywarbler's power too. I suppose it isn't particularly surprising that Jizan has a similar power."

'Right. Using Jizan as nothing but a heavy club is a waste. It's just that only an immortal-level earth artist like Jiseon could properly wield Jizan's power, so no one could be found. That was why the Sanctum entrusted the recovered Jizan to me...'

"If you had that much power, why didn't you use it sooner?"

"I only realized it during the battle. The War Mage raised the ground to attack, so I copied her."

'Even if it's dangerous, real combat really is best. Clashes that arise through actual combat often spark inspiration. Hehe. I'm still not very confident with earth arts, but if I can use the authority of both Skywarbler and Jizan...!'

The regressor was excited as though she had found a new toy. For a moment, she imagined a hopeful future.

"Wow. You just slashed the ground without knowing what would happen? Without thinking?"

"Yeah! ...Yeah?"

'Without thinking? Something feels off.'

You only noticed now, regressor?

"Someone who doesn't even know their own power just swings it around like that? Do you have any idea what could've happened to everyone else?"

"Huh?"

Wow. We had gone through nearly ten exchanges before she understood what I meant. When the regressor finally sensed something was wrong, I pressed my advantage.

"Are you kidding me? It's only because I was ahead of you that I was fine. Otherwise, I would've been swept up in that wave of earth! That wasn't water. It was ground! If my feet had gotten buried, I would've ended up trapped between rocks like someone buried alive. You do something like that on a whim?"

"I-I didn't do it on a whim! The War Mage did something similar. I tried using the power to stop her, and then I happened to have a good idea!"

"You happened to? Had a good idea? Are you seriously kidding me? If you have that kind of power, you should think about using it strategically! If you can use earth arts, you should've thought it over beforehand and practiced ahead of time!"

Regressor. Why was everything about her, from her personality and ideas to her awakenings, so impulsive?

Could she at least let me read her thoughts a little sooner? There was too little time between an idea occurring to her and her putting it into action. Even a mind reader couldn't react in time! I nearly got swept away by a wave of dirt!

"Th-the situation was urgent!"

"Which is why it wouldn't have been urgent if you'd known beforehand! Seriously, Shei! Is your power some scrap of tissue stuffed in the corner of a room? If you have the power to sever the earth, learn about it in advance! If I had that kind of power, I'd scrape together every bit of it and figure out how to use it properly!"

"What did you say?! You didn't even show your face during the fight, yet you're all talk!"

"Excuse me? What do you mean, denying my accomplishments? Can't you see these results?"

I lifted the chain in my hand with a clatter. The chain tied to something at the other end shook briefly.

At its end, tightly bound, was Gunner Historia, the youngest of the military state's Six Generals and the military state's daughter. She had tired, languid eyes and a cigarette hanging from her mouth.

"Who do we have here? Gunner Historia. Who captured her? Me. Who tied her up so tightly and made her a prisoner? Also me. Who used Historia to threaten the military state's generals so they couldn't chase us recklessly? That was me too!"

Fact upon fact upon fact. Whatever the process had been, I was the greatest contributor when it came to the result.

Even with the evidence right in front of her, the regressor stubbornly protested, apparently feeling wronged.

"I beat her halfway to a pulp and exhausted her first!"

"Ah, yes. You brought her halfway down, fought the War Mage to a half-draw, and drew a line through the ground half on a whim. Are you going to live your life so half-heartedly, without being certain of anything? What, can you live dozens of lives?"

'How did he know...?'

Just dismiss it as something I said! What did she mean, how did I know? I couldn't even make a joke anymore!

'No, he must've just said it. Still, why am I getting lectured like this? I've worked so hard!'

"Besides, you said the last one you fought was Nabi! You only dealt with an exhausted Gunner and tied her up!"

"Easy for you to say. If it was so easy, why didn't you do it all yourself? If you had subdued and tied up Ria in one second, you wouldn't have to listen to this."

'If I could have, I would've done it already...!'

It was funny to watch her tremble without being able to refute me. Smiling teasingly, I rattled the chain.

"Dried beans are still beans, and soaked beans are still beans. An exhausted Six General is still a Six General! Even though she was tired, injured, and on the verge of death, I didn't let my guard down. I prepared perfectly and attacked with everything I had! I defeated a Six General and captured her!"

I pulled the chain again. Historia followed my gesture for the moment, her expression stern, as if she had bitten into what she thought was a cigarette only to realize it was bitter greens.

"Look at this. A Six General who strutted around so proudly, now helplessly bound in thick chains. What a pathetic sight!"

As I kept pulling and shaking the chain, Historia glared at me with a cold, sunken gaze.

"Stop pulling."

"Huh?"

She sure had a lot to say for a prisoner. I swaggered over to Historia, whose arms were bound behind her back, and tapped her cheek.

"Hey. Do you not understand your position? You're a prisoner. A prisoner. Got it?"

Tap, tap. I slapped her cheek just hard enough to be annoying.

Even if you acted with a particular intention, you couldn't expect that intention to be conveyed exactly as you meant it. Misunderstanding and distortion existed for a reason. Harassment meant to make someone uncomfortable was an exception, though. It was practically the most honest form of communication in the world.

As I kept tapping her, Historia's mood worsened.

"I said stop."

"What if I don't? What are you going to do? Huh? You may be a Six General in rank, but here you're no different from a prisoner. And a prisoner has the nerve to hold her head high, does she?"

Hehe. The sense of superiority from being in such an overwhelmingly dominant position and lording it over the weaker party. It felt great.

While I was busy mocking her, Historia counted the rhythm. In time with my next gesture, she violently turned her head.

Her cheek struck my hand hard.

With a crack, my hand snapped away as though it had been hit by a whip.

...It hurt.

My hand hurt after getting hit by her cheek!

"Shei! Look at that prisoner! She hit my hand with her face even though she's a prisoner! Hurry up and scold her!"

Historia, who had just smacked my hand, was once again lazily letting her gaze wander around.

The regressor muttered as though she couldn't believe me.

"If you're going to do it, do it yourself. She's your prisoner."

"Are you going to be so cold? Even if I caught her, we're companions! We should share responsibility! A bound Six General is still a Six General. What if she regains her strength, breaks free, and attacks us?"

"...Urgh."

'That's true. Unless we kill her, we need to keep watch over her somehow. Hmm. Keeping her prisoner isn't a bad choice for now.'

The moment we captured Historia, the military state's movements visibly slowed. Beyond the fact that she was familiar enough to be called the military state's daughter, she was also one of its strongest fighters. Her incapacitation was a major loss of military strength.

Even three generals would struggle against the regressor with her swords of earth and sky and Tyrkanzyaka, the Progenitor of vampires. The War Mage and Absolute Spear would have trouble opposing them on their own.

'I can sever the earth, so they can't deploy their army either. But they don't have enough Six Generals to raid us with a small elite force. We might even be able to negotiate with the military state by using the prisoner... Huh? This is going suspiciously well.'

Lost in thought, the regressor suddenly looked at Historia with suspicion.

'But why did Gunner Historia let herself be captured so easily? She can't be unaware of what it means for her to be subdued...?'

Footnotes:

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