madnovel Chapter 33: Camelot (3)
Chapter 33: Camelot (3)
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 33: Camelot (3)
"...Did they escape?"
Just a moment ago, the lakeside had been filled with the clamor of weapons and magic, but now only silence lingered.
"This makes the tenth time..."
On the blood-stained lake, Mordred looked up at the sky with a vacant expression.
"It's already gotten this late."
The sky had turned gray.
According to her memory, it would soon start to rain.
Mordred was not particularly fond of rain.
That's why she had intended to finish everything quickly from the start, but some quick-witted rats had managed to escape.
Plop.
Drops of rain began to fall one by one through the gaps in the dark clouds.
Plop, plop.
In the end, it started to rain.
Not once had she been able to avoid these raindrops.
When the rain ended, the king would inevitably appear.
The ending was always the same, but today would be different.
"Hunting them down one by one isn't to my liking."
She'd gather them in one place and crush them all at once.
"Right, Clarent?"
Mordred slung the massive sword, [Clarent, the Demon Sword], which radiated a more ominous aura than before, over her shoulder and turned to walk away, hoping this nightmare would finally end this time.
* * *
It had been two days since they had shaken off Mordred and entered the fortress.
[21:11...]
Of course, it wasn't as if nothing had been done during that time.
The past two days had been spent reading books found in the fortress.
[Acquired Low-Level Swordsmanship LV. 4.]
[Acquired Focus LV. 2.]
'I told her to rest, but Mari ended up training anyway, didn't she?'
I had hoped her Intermediate Archery skill would improve, but it hadn't.
Instead, Mari had been complaining of headaches for the past two days.
- Administrator, someone keeps talking in my head.
Thinking it might just be accumulated fatigue, I had simply told Mari to rest.
Despite that, her Focus level had increased.
'It's good that her level has risen, but...'
I was worried she might be pushing herself too hard.
'I need to make sure she's really resting next time.'
I turned to Khan, who had approached silently.
"How are the rebels? Still no movement?"
"Yes, they've shown no activity since the rain started."
I turned my gaze toward the window.
Shhhhhhh!
Heavy rain was pouring down, as if the sky itself was weeping.
"How far did you test them?"
"The [Danakhoe] employees even tried sniping, but there was no reaction at all."
The fact that the knights had stopped moving was something I heard from the company staff who joined us later.
One of the employees from [Emerald], who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"Right? If those bastards hadn't suddenly stopped, we might have died right there."
Each knight was indeed a creature equivalent to rank 6.
For most companies, escaping from even one knight would be a daunting task.
The [Emerald] employee looked around as they chattered.
"To think there would be a place in the fortress that was still intact."
The fire had died down due to the rain, and I had found this relatively intact space.
"I've gathered all the representatives from each company."
Mino, who had approached at some point, spoke.
"We should get moving soon."
"Oh, by the way, before we go, take this."
Mino handed me a dark red pill.
"This is the Awakening Elixir, as I promised earlier."
[Summoning Pill (Awakening Elixir)]
- Instantly heals all wounds and fatigue upon consumption, and increases all stats by 3.
- The effect is permanent and cannot be used multiple times.
The elixir indeed had quite formidable effects, befitting its name.
I put the pill Mino handed me into my pocket.
"I'll use it well."
Mino nodded once and continued walking.
"Let's go, then."
Following Mino, we headed toward the assembly hall.
Every company that had survived was gathered here now.
"Oh, our hero has arrived."
"I never thought there would be such a place in the fortress."
Some of the employees from [Platinum] recognized me and praised me.
'Well, I suppose it's only natural.'
After confirming that the knights had stopped, I had ordered the
“Isn’t that all she’s got? Push her!”
It was still impressive how Mordred dodged or blocked the dozens of strikes, but compared to the first day when she effortlessly slaughtered hundreds, it seemed manageable.
“If we keep this up, we can win!”
Mino, who was watching the battle with me, shouted excitedly.
Indeed, the situation was somewhat hopeful, but I couldn’t shake a vague sense of unease.
‘No matter how weakened, could she really become this weak?’
Something was wrong.
It didn’t take long for me to identify the source of that unease.
“Ha! Now, almost everyone’s here.”
Mordred, cornered, threw her weapon to the ground.
Her tone and actions didn’t fit someone who was backed into a corner at all.
“Clarent!”
For a brief moment, Mordred’s boldness made the employees hesitate.
She grasped the greatsword that appeared in mid-air.
[Warning!]
A chill was felt.
[Warning!]
The battlefield, once filled with heat, suddenly became cold, as if faced with a snowstorm.
[Warning!]
…The flow of the battle had changed.
“What are you doing?! Don’t give her an opening!”
Sensing the threat, the fourth-rank employee scolded the others and quickly rushed in.
“Die!”
Mordred extended her hand and easily caught the edge of the employee’s blade.
Then—
Crack.
Ice began to form slowly from the sword, and in an instant, the fourth-rank employee was frozen in the same pose as when he had charged.
At that moment, a possibility flashed through my mind.
‘…No way.’
We may have been mistaken all along.
The misconception that there was only one creature in this stage.
‘Phenomenon-type anomalous entity!’
The creature we had to face was not just Mordred.
The sword she wielded—
Clarent was also a creature.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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