WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 333: Song of Verdigris and Heatblast - Conclusion

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Juggernauts were special items the Lord of Gold bestowed upon its Lords. They were unique tools that only their respective Lords could properly wield. Designed from the outset around a Lord's abilities, they could perform limitless functions in the hands of a suitable user.

Still, if it was a human tool, then I, the King of Humanity, could handle it too.

I clenched my fist.

One of Rowkett's wings exploded all at once. This was not an external attack. Explosions erupted from within, twisting its frame and destroying its structure. The blast was powerful enough to create a storm in an instant, so the impact Rowkett suffered at point-blank range was severe.

"Argh...!"

"Now!"

The regressor had been preparing an attack, and with Rowkett off balance, this was the perfect opportunity. She drew Skywarbler in a long sweep up along Jizan.

Iron grinding against iron produced sparks, but when earth and sky ground against each other, lightning struck. Scattering an energy too violent to call static electricity, the regressor shouted.

"Heaven-and-Earth Sword and Staff: Reverse Lightning!"

Lightning surged from the ground into the sky. On its way back to the heavens, it found something to linger on in midair: a pitiful human staggering amid scattered scraps of iron, their entire body draped in steel.

Rowkett was reeling from the massive shock, but lightning had no concern for the petty circumstances of a tiny creature.

The lightning spread through the steel in thousands of forks. Countless streams of electricity engulfed Rowkett. Swept up in that raging current, they let out a tremendous scream as their entire body burned.

"Graaaaaaah!"

It was not enough to bring them down. Lightning knew how to take shortcuts too. Given an easy path, it would not even glance at the difficult one. Most of the current flowed through the juggernaut, so Rowkett's body suffered comparatively less damage.

The match was decided regardless. After being struck by both explosions and electricity, Rowkett could no longer fight.

"Lord Rowkett! Are you all right?!"

Someone who appeared to be Rowkett's subordinate hurried over. The fight had lasted long enough that countless people were already watching. It was no surprise that Rowkett's subordinates, who had not dared interfere, were now approaching.

"Lord Rowkett! This way!"

The woman spread her wings and caught the falling Rowkett from below. She nearly fell under the juggernaut's weight, but Rowkett barely regained their senses and restarted the thrusters, allowing her to regain her balance.

Supporting Rowkett, she asked worriedly, "Are you all right?"

"Urgh... First Wing. The Dragonhawk Corps..."

Their "subordinate" answered energetically.

"Don't worry! Everyone is waiting!"

"...Don't wait. Bring them all here...! Have them come and kill those things!"

When Rowkett suddenly flew into a rage, their "subordinate" looked troubled.

"Th-that may be difficult."

"Are you afraid?! Have you forgotten that I hold your lives in my hands? This is an order. Attack them at once...! Or I'll blow up all your thrusters...!"

"What 'I' mean is..."

"What?!"

Just as Rowkett scowled at their subordinate's hesitation, something sharp and cold slipped into their body. It was so stealthy and precise that Rowkett did not realize what had happened until the blade had already torn through their flesh.

As Rowkett belatedly understood and opened their mouth in silent shock, their "subordinate" spoke in a relaxed voice.

"Because they're across the river no one comes back from~. How could we call dead people here?"

Before anyone realized it, the face had changed into Hilde's. Rowkett's eyes widened at the unexpected sight.

A huge explosion followed. Rowkett set off explosions throughout their body to throw Hilde away. Even a qigong master could not absorb the recoil without anywhere to plant their feet. The two were flung apart in opposite directions.

Rowkett spun through the air and fell to the ground. They slammed into the earth, then immediately pulled back their cloak without even having time to recover. Bright red blood welled from the spot where the blade had briefly rested before withdrawing.

"Khk...! Cough. Kgh!"

Hilde landed lightly some distance away, spinning a bloodstained blade as she muttered.

"Hmm~. I was wondering why the blade wasn't going in very well~."

Hilde trailed off as she looked at Rowkett's body beneath the cloak.

Rowkett's back was bent.

Hidden beneath the cloak and juggernaut, it had looked as though they were carrying a backpack. In truth, the bulk was in their abdomen. That was why, even though Hilde had stabbed them with the intent to kill, Rowkett was still alive.

Only for now.

"Heatblast Lord Rowkett. The Lesser States' strongest war hawk. You command a corps that flies through the sky with thrusters, right? According to our information, the Dragonhawk Corps also serves as messengers for the Golden Palace."

"Kh, ngh...!"

"It would've been a troublesome corps to deal with without Historia. I didn't expect we'd get to take care of it here. We're lucky~."

Hilde smiled innocently and turned toward me.

"We can kill this one, right, Father?"

"Wait a moment."

"Oh my? Why again? Is there something you want to check?"

The regressor strode forward and drove Skywarbler into Rowkett's wing. Standing on the sword so Rowkett could not rise again, she asked in an intimidating voice.

"Last chance. Tell me where the Golden Palace is."

"Cough...! You bastards...!"

"If you call yourself a messenger of the Golden Palace, you must know where it is now and what it looks like. If you want to live, tell us honestly. I'll spare your life."

"Huff, huff... That much..."

'They know that much...? The military state should be nothing but fools who killed their own King with their own hands... How do they know even that...?'

Rowkett gave a short laugh.

As if they had made up their mind, Rowkett coughed up bloody foam and spoke in broken fragments.

"...Cough. Fine. I'll tell you..."

'My troops, my reputation, my wealth, even my juggernaut. I've already lost everything. I have no reason to live... and those bastards won't leave me alive anyway. If that's the case...'

They muttered something afterward, but they had not intended anyone to hear it, so the regressor could not make it out. Annoyed, she walked toward Rowkett.

"What did you say? Speak clearly."

As the regressor stepped forward, Hilde naturally leaned forward too, ready to take Rowkett's life if necessary.

That was exactly what Rowkett had been waiting for.

Rowkett activated their Innate Arcane.

The metal that formed their juggernaut, the Dragonhawk, was alchemical steel personally created by the Lord of Gold for Rowkett. It was an immortal alloy that would not be consumed no matter how much Rowkett burned or exploded it. That allowed them to fly through the sky almost forever without worrying about running out of metal.

At the very end, though, they could use even that immortality as fuel and detonate it.

"You... will die..."

"What?"

Rowkett raised a bloodied arm. The last of their mana flowed through it and into the juggernaut. The metal forged by the Lord of Gold was of a transcendent grade, but a Lord could alter its structure, if only slightly.

They turned immortal metal into mortal metal.

So they could burn their enemies away in a single blast.

"...With this legacy bestowed by the Lord of Gold... I'll take you with me!"

Rowkett shouted as they unleashed their Innate Arcane.

It was too late to respond. The final explosion, which would turn everything within hundreds of meters into ruins, was about to sweep up the regressor and Hilde...

Except.

"What are you doing?"

The regressor muttered blankly.

The Heaven-Reversing Boundary did not react. The defensive qigong carved into the regressor's body gave no warning of danger.

Because there was no danger.

"Wh... why...?"

Rowkett stared at the juggernaut as its light faded. The legacy personally granted by the Lord of Gold, their final hidden card saved until the brink of death, was rusting away.

Only metal could serve as a sacrifice for explosions, but rusted and worn metal lost that qualification. Metal that had lost its value could not be used.

Not even by a Lord.

"Ver...digris...!"

Clop, clop.

Leisurely hoofbeats sounded across the dry ground. Perru, riding Aurea, approached Rowkett. Facing Perru's emotionless gaze, Rowkett shouted fiercely.

"Why...?! Why are you interfering with me, Verdigris...?!"

Perru slowly opened her mouth.

"...You were going to self-destruct."

"They should have died here...! Then that land would have become ours...! Why?! Why did you turn my juggernaut into verdigris...?!"

"...It's the same. Your Heatblast and my Verdigris. They're the same. They make the juggernaut unusable."

'...And if both produce the same result anyway, if this act will erase one juggernaut from the Lesser States...'

Perru spoke quietly.

"...Fewer deaths are better."

Perru did not avoid fighting because she lacked the ability to fight. She avoided it because her ability erased value.

But when, as now, the Heatblast Lord was about to sacrifice every last bit of value to leave behind destruction with nothing remaining, something even more terrible than Verdigris, Perru would stop them.

The juggernaut stopped responding. Feeling the Lord of Gold's masterpiece reach the end of its life, Heatblast Lord Rowkett screamed.

"Don't make me laugh!!! You know our long-cherished wish...! You...! You took away our second homeland...!!"

"Yes~. I heard you."

Slice.

The shout stopped as if a blade had cut through it. A moment later, Rowkett's head fell at an angle.

The Heatblast Lord, who had poured fury upon the regressor, the military state, and finally Perru for stopping them, wore a face full of resentment even in death.

A period had been placed at the end of a book covered in soot. Standing some distance away, I bid them farewell in my heart.

Rest in peace, Lord Rowkett. A person like a flame, who burned until their last breath.

When I raised my head after saying goodbye, Hilde was hiding the blade behind her back and offering an awkward smile to the regressor and Perru.

"Don't look at me like that~. 'I' only took on the dirty work that none of you could bring yourselves to do. Could we have just walked away without killing that? I deserve praise instead!"

Playing innocent. Hilde had wanted to kill Rowkett from the beginning.

I was the one who had contributed the most to disabling Rowkett, though. They said not to let the left hand know what the right hand was doing, but wasn't I working a little too hard without receiving any credit?

Anyway, before things got any more awkward, I should go mediate. Sighing inwardly, I called Azzy.

"Azzy."

"Good work, woof!"

"...No, I wasn't asking for praise."

Footnotes:

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