WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 69: Puppet Progenitor and the Unpleasant Puppet Show (6)

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Whoa. Good thing Azzy was here. I could handle humans somehow, but a beast like that was another matter.

I was an ordinary human. I could not even beat an ordinary horse one-on-one.

And I was supposed to fight a blood horse as big as a mountain, one that would not die and was ridiculously strong? I would just become a puddle of blood. A regressor might have had a way, but I did not. Calling Azzy was my only option.

Watching the mythical battle unfold before me, I muttered,

"Hmm. Their compatibility isn't great."

A dog's main means of attack was biting. It latched onto the neck, shook it violently, and snapped the neck bone in a single strike. That was its finishing move.

But its opponent was Rallion, a blood horse made into a familiar through a vampire's power and granted an immortal body. It was an undead monster that regenerated endlessly, even if its flesh fell away or its neck was torn apart.

"A pseudo-sun is already up. If Azzy tears Rallion apart tens of thousands of times and weakens its very existence, she'll win. But Finlay won't just sit around while she does that."

It would take Azzy quite a while to completely destroy Rallion.

The outcome of this fight now rested on our side.

"Anyway, Azzy has cleared a path for us. Are you feeling better now?"

Where Azzy had rampaged lay a mountain of corpses, a sea of blood, and a path carved straight through them. At its end stood a foolish vampire, mindless and reduced to a puppet.

Even the puppets I controlled had been better than that. Clicking my tongue, unable to hide my pity, I said,

"Are you ready to go smack around the head of a dementia-riddled old geezer?"

"You really have a nasty way with words."

One of the regressor's eyes was dyed vivid red, as though soaked in blood.

"Fine. I can move now... But."

Her trembling arm looked pitiful. It shook even harder as she pointed Skywarbler at the vampire. It trembled so violently that I nearly got cut standing beside her.

Was this some new assassination method? I was seriously considering it when she spoke.

"I can't point my sword at Tyrkanzyaka. True Blood has seeped into every corner of my body. I can swing my sword freely against other familiars, but if I try to aim it directly at the owner of the True Blood, it goes wild and interferes."

"Wait. What do you mean?"

The regressor looked miserable as she said,

"I don't want to say this, but... I'm asking you. You're the only one. I'll clear the way, so you... save Tyrkanzyaka."

"Me?"

Utterly bewildered at being singled out, I looked toward the vampire.

I was supposed to deal with all the remaining Black Knights ahead of us.

Defeat Finlay, who was controlling her from up there.

Then wake the vampire?

Come on. If I could do that, I would not have been captured here in the first place.

"That's too heavy a burden for me."

"Don't... exaggerate. I know you're hiding your strength."

How could I hide strength I did not have? This was not a debt collector shaking money out of me. If I did not have any strength, would it suddenly appear just because someone demanded it?

As I stood speechless at the absurdity of it, the regressor drew ragged breaths and said,

"I know you're plotting something. I know you're hiding your strength too! But now is the time to use it, even if you have to, and save Tyrkanzyaka!"

The regressor's eyes were so honest and clear as she shouted that it was hard to imagine she was in immediate danger.

How could she trust people so completely even when facing death? Captivated for a moment, I read her thoughts.

'If he doesn't save her... If he takes this chance to deal with Finlay and claim Tyrkanzyaka for himself! Then I can consider him an enemy from the next round onward!'

My entire future was held hostage, and I shuddered.

No, come to think of it, she was not really in danger. If I acted suspiciously this round, she would start hunting me down from the next one. I had to prevent that.

Phew. For the sake of my present self and my next-round self, I had no choice but to put in the effort. So much for getting something for nothing.

Let me see. I glanced toward the vampire and Finlay.

The small sun casting red light over the ground. The Black Knights, their ranks broken after Azzy had swept through them. Darkness slowed by the light, and Finlay vomiting blood.

Huh? Wait. Could this work?

"Well, if things go well, I might be able to manage somehow."

"...Heh. I knew you'd say that."

Even with blood flowing from the corner of her mouth, the regressor grinned.

The burden on my shoulders was heavy. I did not have the ability to finish this as splendidly as she expected.

Still.

"You can use magic, right? Could you cast something on me?"

"My support magic isn't very efficient, so it won't be much help to someone strong."

It would help. Adding ten to one thousand was a one percent increase, but adding ten to ten made someone twice as strong.

"...Still, it can't hurt. Wait a moment."

The regressor nodded and released Skywarbler.

Wind, Cloud, Rain, Dew, Frost, Snow, Thunder, and Lightning.

Through Skywarbler, a compressed space, she wielded magic that controlled the sky and wind. From it, the regressor drew out the only support spell she could use, and her most powerful one.

"Heavenly Sword Technique, Fair Wind."

The space around the sword unraveled strand by strand. Like a ball of thread scattering in the air, each strand unfurled and softly wrapped around my body.

The regressor squeezed out her magic and spoke with difficulty.

"From now on, every action you take will have the wind's blessing. The wind will blow in the direction you move, and even relentless clouds of dust won't obstruct you. Even if fierce winds blow, the wind surrounding you will keep your body from swaying. For a while, the wind is on your side, so ride that current."

"Good. Now all I need to do is take out my weapon."

As I untied the bundle strapped to my back, the regressor gripped Skywarbler and stepped forward.

"I'll buy time. Get ready."

She gave Skywarbler a slight twist.

Skywarbler was a sword with no thickness. It could cut through anything, but it was not very effective against vampire familiars made of darkness and blood. Even if she cut one, it could simply reform.

So the regressor gave up sharpness. Instead, she adjusted her grip so Skywarbler's broad side faced outward.

It had no thickness, but it had width, and the wind caught on its broad blade.

Giving up the sharpness that could cut through all things, she wrapped it in a violent wind instead. The regressor muttered in a low voice.

"Heavenly Sword Technique, Sword Form Transformation."

Wind poured in as if space itself had cracked. Air enough to fill the entire Abyss settled upon Skywarbler's blade, which was not even a handspan long.

The longer a beast's neck, the lower its cry. The wind's howl flowing through the vast sky used the heavens as its throat, creating a thunderous tremor.

Wrapped in wind, Skywarbler looked like a gigantic fan.

A heavy vibration rose from Skywarbler. Lifting all the wind coiled around it, the regressor shouted,

"Palm-Leaf Fan, Rakshasa Scattering Blossoms!"

She swung it wide across the battlefield.

Every hair on my body stood on end. An intense wave of force, invisible yet unmistakable, swept past. It was closer to a whip than wind, a storm of power compressed to its limit.

The storm swept away the Black Knights in one stroke. Even the clotted black energy on the ground scattered like sand, while black smoke was driven back in a semicircle.

The front opened up in an instant. Biting her lip, the regressor clutched her chest.

"I've opened the path! Go now...!"

Then she looked at me and staggered hard.

"Wait! What are you holding?!"

"What else? I need a weapon too."

"How is that a weapon?!"

What else could it be? It was an armament I had stumbled across while searching the cafeteria because I thought I should grab something.

A blade of demon-breaking... No, blood-breaking, especially effective against vampires.

"The Immortal's Right Arm! Immortal Right Arm!"

"Why are you carrying that?!"

"Why?"

A Black Knight, which had flattened itself against the ground to endure the wind, lunged at me just then. A perfect sandbag had appeared right on cue. I held the Immortal's Right Arm out toward the charging Black Knight.

Its wriggling stump stretched toward the Black Knight. The Black Knight swung its sharp sword to meet it, but...

"Immortal Strikeeeee!!"

The moment it touched the Immortal's arm, the darkness crumbled like wet sand and fell to the ground.

The flesh of an earthfolk was a curse to a vampire's blood. The right arm, which contaminated the very power of vampires, did not lose momentum and pierced straight through the Black Knight's chest.

The Black Knight's entire body stiffened, then collapsed.

Its body did not regenerate.

Blood mixed with impurities had escaped the vampire's control.

After dispatching a Black Knight in an instant, I spun the arm around and shouted,

"This is the strongest weapon for dealing with vampires!"

The regressor stared blankly for a moment, then shrieked,

"That's not a weapon, it's an arm! The Immortal's Right Arm!"

"My body is made of swords. That is the unity of man and sword. So how can I think of my body and blade separately?"

"It's not even your arm!!"

I raised the right arm and showed the regressor how the Immortal's right hand was gripping my own hand tightly.

"The pommel is custom-made, so it can never slip from my grip! In other words, there's absolutely no chance of me dropping it. So can't we consider it an extension of my arm?"

"The Immortal's hand is just grabbing you!"

Tap, tap, tap.

There was no need to put strength into a slash. No need to put weight behind a thrust. Sword paths, sword principles, sword energy. Those were nothing but methods devised by weak people.

All I had to do was tap it against them, and the Immortal's flesh nullified the vampire's power and turned the familiar into nothing but blood.

Its overwhelming performance was enough to make even the regressor consider it with a serious expression.

"...That might not be bad."

"Hehe. I knew you'd understand. You and I are both cold-blooded people who only care about performance."

"Are you sure it's okay to swing that around like that?"

"Of course."

I casually spun the right arm halfway around.

"It's a little unfortunate that its durability has limits, though."

Footnotes:

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