The Sword and The Shadow

Pops to the Rescue

Annelotte forcefully stopped herself from almost doing something.

As a pureblood human, she hadn't counted on being able to see well in the Dusk Zone, but as a magus, she could use magic to complement what she lacked.

Thanks to the spells dark vision and eagle eye, she thought she saw someone push Leguna away right before the Bigsby's Vajra Palm fell.

Regardless of her excessive worry for Leguna's safety, her expression didn't shift as she continued praying hard she wasn't imagining things.

……

The beaten-up dust caused Leguna to cough profusely. He was surprised he could still do so. It meant that he was still alive.

Wasn't it certain death after being crushed by Bigsby's Vajra Palm? Wait, was he immortal after all?

The shock from the palm caused his mind to be in a blur. He tried hard to figure things out as he observed his surroundings.

The first thing to enter his sight was a beautiful longsword that glowed azure-green. It looked like the highest quality grade, bright but fragile. Yet, Leguna wasn't in awe of its beauty. Instead, he saw nothing but a weapon that enjoyed blood. It had felled countless enemies in its master's hand!

The blade had a name really unsuited to its construction: Azureflash.

"If Azureflash is here, then…"

Leguna focused his gaze and saw the old man some five meters away. It was Annelotte's father and the strongest swordsman on Chino, the galestorm swordsaint.

Marolyt held Azureflash in his right hand and raised his left-hand high. While it seemed like he was holding up the gigantic palm, he was actually pushing against it with a field generated from some kind of unknown force.

Marolyt was wrapped in a bluish barrier. While the barrier had deformed slightly under the pressure, it didn't shatter. Leguna noticed that the ground around them had been shattered by a light-blue impetus.

The range of the barrier was quite large. It seemed Marolyt had used it to withstand Bigsby's Vajra Palm. If he had used his legs to support himself, the huge force would've easily driven him into the ground.

"Pops?" Leguna asked. He wasn't too sure it was Marolyt, as the man had left Melindor without all of a sudden without notice. Leguna thought he had gone to Lance for a holiday, so why would he appear in the dark zone?

[I informed my father just in case before coming to the Dusk Zone,] Annelotte sent.

"Stinking brat… A simple spell like that was able to get the better of you? How weak! Then again, I don't know whether you're brave or stupid for facing off against four magi alone," he said in a strict but casual tone.

Leguna scratched his head awkwardly. Though he was happy he could escape death, being saved by his 'father-in-law' was rather embarrassing.

"Pops, you're just abnormally strong, you know!" Leguna flattered.

"Hah, how else could I have such an amazing daughter?!" He turned around gleefully, but Leguna was shocked to see his state.

While Marolyt seemed mighty as usual from the back, his front looked completely different.

The front part of his robes had been stained crimson. Blood dripped to the ground. His body shook visibly. Looks like taking a Bigsby's Vajra Palm head-on wasn't fun at all.

"Pops, are you alright?" he carefully asked.

"Better than ever!" His face spelled 'hah, this spell can't even defeat my defenses! It only got me to spit some blood!'

"Hey, you call that fine? You're hemorrhaging blood! Look at your clothes! You're barely holding on, alright? You think this is cool? Or are you trying to show off to Annie? You said I was trying too hard, but look at you now!" Despite the perilous situation, everyone was shocked by Marolyt's sudden appearance, giving Leguna enough time to quip.

"Don't mind the small details," he said with an audible gargle. Despite blood filling his mouth, he was still able to joke around with Leguna.

"Are you really fine?" Though he did vomit blood, he didn't seem like he was hurt badly.

"I'm fine," he said, waving casually before spitting out more blood.

[Once a lifeform reaches the saint realm, it undergoes a fundamental change. Don't think Marolyt's like you just because he looks human. This isn't even much damage to him,] Gahrona said. Being a saint-realm orc herself, she was more than qualified to talk about it.

[Alright…] Though he had Gahrona's reassurance, the sight of all that blood still made his eyes twitch.

"Careful. There's another high-order magus hiding somewhere. He was the one who used the palm," Marolyt warned as he wiped the blood off.

"There's another one, huh…" Leguna finally understood Annelotte's abrupt warning.

"I hadn't wanted to help that Eirinn girl. She's Annie's love rival, after all." He shook waved Azureflash and pointed it at the elves. "But since Annie asked for my help, I can't refuse."

"I--"

Marolyt cut him off. "Keep your pointless gratitude to yourself! You know what I want!"

"Don't worry, pops. I'll definitely protect Annie and won't harm her."

"Good. Kid?"

"Yes?"

"Fighting is a man's job, yes?"

"Of course!"

"Then, let's not put Annie at risk, shall we?"

"Of course!"

Annelotte then watched as those two started moving. They charged at the enemy with a fervour they didn't have before. They launched into a bloodbath.

"Members of House Elvin! Are you going to hide behind our allies and let them steal the limelight?" Brani sensed a good moment to turn the situation around and beckoned at her clansmen. "Let them see Elvin courage and might! In Ross's name, we'll exterminate our foes! Praise Ross!"

"Praise Ross!" a good number of elves cried. That didn't mean their blood boiled after hearing those words. They simply knew that there couldn't be a better chance to show off to their new matriarch.

So, the elves that attacked House Elvin suffered the brunt of the seemingly rid-up two humans and Elvin dark elves. Though they had superiority in numbers, the elves of House Elvin were unstoppable. Not to mention, the attackers were not a united force, but rather a collection of many smaller forces.

Faced with House Elvin, who had a saint to pave their way for them, their defeat was almost certain.

At the last moment, Brani didn't choose to remain at the rear like Sala. She joined in the charge While she didn't fighting hand-to-hand like the warriors, she did provide quite a lot of support with her divine miracles and even killed a high-order warrior, causing her repute to once more soar among the Elvins.

Logically speaking, this kill should've been satisfactory enough for Brani, but at the end of the battle, she was surprised to find that Leguna and Marolyt managed to kill two more high-order magi. In other words, apart from the hidden magus that used Bigsby's Vajra Palm, all three other high-order magi participating in the attack against House Elvin had died.

While the death of enemies was certainly good, Brani thought there was a downside to it.

While dark elves had above average talent in magic, high-order magi were still really rare. The great houses of Darklight had at most three such magi. For House Elvin to kill off four of them at once made Brani feel that she was going a little too hard on her enemies.

Now, she had to worry whether the other houses that suffered huge losses would band together against House Elvin. They would no doubt be put under huge pressure.

Yet, that was exactly what Leguna wanted. He hoped Brani could focus all her attention on the Dusk Zone to the point that she couldn't bother with Eirinn. On the other hand, she might have need of his assistance if she was overwhelmed, so she would make sure not to touch Eirinn for his cooperation.

This was Gahrona's idea and it required Leguna to work with Annelotte. Faced with such a result, Brani smiled in resignation. It appeared that she really had no way to deal with Leguna at the moment.

As for that saint… Brani thought he had been shooting her lewd gazes for a while now…

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