76 Chapter 69: The 14th day (3)

It was not long before the encampment's dirty streets were filled with concerned soldiers, who quickly poured out from their hastily constructed tents due to the sudden tremors and shaking grounds underneath their feet, only to see their peers vacantly stared in disbelief as the intense battle between the half ogre, half incubus hybrid and the four arms wolf beastman raged on. The clashes between the hybrid's signature black scythe and the beastman's sturdy swords would inadvertently cause ripples propagated throughout the surrounding area, strong enough to knock several unsuspected soldiers to their knees. Unlike the beastman who fought unconcernedly with a broad grin on his face, the hybrid acted in a much more cautious behaviour, always quickly jumping back away from his opponent after one or two strikes since he did not know what the Yonko could be capable of. Maintaining a certain distance from him while studying and analyzing his power was a much better strategy, yet, despite the battle having been carried on for more than ten minutes, the hybrid was still unable to learn anything about his opponent's power. In contrast with Kibadios' attacks, which utilized both his Nen and his shadows in tandem, wrapping around his body and scythe, causing each of his scythe's swings to become extremely deadly for they easily slid through rows of gigantic trees along his attacking path, the Yonko was able to merely utilize his Nen alone to easily block or parry off any attacks the hybrid threw at him. Kibadios could not risk getting close to him for a long period of time without knowing more about his possible <Artes>, or worse, <Ultimate Arte>; yet, backing away from him did not mean Kibadios could let his guard down, either, for the Yonko could easily fire off a concentrated blast of mana from the guns he were holding on his other two hands. From the hybrid's observation, the guns the Yonko was holding had so far produce two distinct types of attacks: one was a large beam of energy that took the Yonko a while to charge up, much similar to Ryuu's <Dragon Blast>, which could easily erase half a mountain range from existence. Kibadios was lucky to be able to dodge such a blast, though the seemingly straight path of complete decimation that it left behind still unnerved the hybrid. Good thing he did not aim at the encampment behind us , Kibadios thought, though at times, he wondered whether the Yonko avoided the camp was truly due to their fortune or if he did consciously make sure his attack would not decimate those soldiers below. The second type of attack from his gun was not as powerful in magnitude, yet, it was much more tricky to dodge, for it would produce several small energy rays that seeked out to specifically strike at the hybrid. It took Kibadios much time and effort to completely dodge all of them once they were fired. Still, despite already overwhelming his opponent, the Yonko has yet to reveal a single skill, nor his own elemental affinity.

「So this is a power of a Yonko, huh?」said Kibadios before throwing his scythe up, freeing up his hands 「I call upon you, <Damocles>, <Aegis>!」

「Ho? You're a summoner?」noted the Yonko. 「Come at me with your full strength, Kibadios the hybrid! I want to judge for myself whether you're as good as she said!」

「She? Who told you about me?」 Was it Adela? There's no way a Great Demon Lord is in cahoot with an Astral, is there? That can't be… Most likely, it'd be Gilga… Kibadios deduced while the three spiritual swordsmen slowly materialized on his right hand while a large shield appeared on his left. One had to look carefully at the shield handle to be able to realize the shield was held up by a tiny creature dressed in complete Adamantine armor, only its two eyes, which looked like two blue fireballs, were visible.

「Who else but that meddling Gilga would try to interfere with his conflict?」answered the Yonko.

「What did she tell you about me?」asked the hybrid.

「That if I'm bored in the middle of carrying out my contract, I should seek you out for entertainment.」answered the Yonko honestly.「The moment I saw that mutant hybrid carried you on his back, I just knew that you're the individual that hag was telling me about.」

Damn you, Gilga. You're trying to use me as bait to get his attention in order to alleviate some burden from the Princess? Kibadios was annoyed. Though, as much as I hated being used, Gilga was correct in directing his attention toward me. He could easily end the Princess the moment he got to his camp, but most likely because he wanted to fight me, he had allowed the Princess to get away without harming her… But then, that also means he's confident his mercenary group alone is enough to take down the Princess, even though she's under the protection of several heroes and Ryuu… If that's the case, I need to get to her side soon or else I'll be too late… 「Sorry to disappoint you then.」

「Huh? Why?」

「Because I'm nowhere as strong as she made me out to be?」smiled Kibadios.「Especially since I'm unable to call on my trump card now.」

「So, you're telling me you're not at your peak condition yet?」Somehow, the Yonko seemed ecstatic. 「You're telling me that you survived this long facing me despite not being in peak condition? Damn, you're making me hard! This world is truly much more exciting than the sengoku period, isn't it?」The excited Yonko quickly pointed two of his guns at the hybrid and simultaneously released the trigger, allowing the vast amount of energy being charged up to project themselves at Kibadios, evaporating everything in their path into nothingness. Still, unlike the other times, the hybrid did not move an inch from where he stood. Instead, he calmly reached out to the shield of the summon he called <Aegis>, allowing the summon to fuse with him. Now, his whole body cladded in a full impenetrable god-tier armor, his left hand carried the very shield that the summon was carrying before.

「... You're not dodging?」The beastman noticed the change in Kibadios' fighting behavior. 「You're not doing a Benkei, are we?」

Before the blast reached where he stood, Kibadios quickly raised the shield up in front of him, his gaze fixated on the incoming attack, without blinking even for a second. 「I can assure you I don't intend to die...<Absolute Protection>」Despite a direct hit, with the explosion resulting in enough force that blew away majority of the tents at the encampment, the Yonko could clearly see none of the attack had been able to reach his opponent, who stood firmly behind the glowing shield. A thin, partially invisible barrier could be seen enveloping the hybrid.

「Go, <Damocles>. Claim his head for me!」ordered Kibadios. Soon enough, the three spiritual knights in full body armor leapt forth, aiming their sword at the confident Yonko. Though, before their weapons could reach their target, they were stopped short on their track.

「Scarryyyy… You have any more tricks, Kibadios?」grinned the Yonko as two of his swords had somehow, within a blink of an eye, had effortlessly pierced through two of the spirit's bodies, while the third spirit's torso was blasted off by one of his guns.

Fast… Too fast, in fact . Kibadios could feel cold sweat begin to roll down on his forehead. Has he just been toying with me since the beginning? Aside from using his Nen and raw physical strength, he has yet to show me any of his skills… The gap in power between us is simply still too much. 「Well, if you insist.」Kibadios warrily smiled before raising his right hand. 「<Damocles>, fusion!」His scythe quickly reappeared in his hand again, though this time, floating mid air next to the scythe, were the three swords belonging to his summon <Damocles.> 「...Let's go for round 2?」

His summon did not disappear? The yonko noticed. 「Wooo, two fusions at once… By the Kami, it's been a while since my penis has gotten this hard! I think you may be the one I've been looking for.」The yonko now gazed at the

「... Yea… I don't know what you meant, but please don't say something like that while looking straight at me with your dick already half mast. It does send a shiver down my spine.」Kibadios raised his eyebrows.

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「<Dragon Breath>!!!」screamed out Ryuu his signature attack as the small magicule orbs began to aggregate into a large mass of energy in front of his mouth before being projected at the two Captains who have been able to fight toe to toe against him for the past few minutes.

「<Earth Wall>」The captain who belonged to the lizardman race quickly activated his skill, which raised up a giant wall made of the muddy ground beneath their feet. Though, unlike other earthen wall, this thick barrier was reinforced with the Lizardman's own Nen, allowing it to withstand the enormous force of impact caused by Ryuu's attack, only to sustain minor cracks.

「Damn it, not that again.」Ryuu clicked his tongue in frustration. The large, bulky lizardman, who had been assuming an extremely defensive stance, blocking most of the dragonoid attacks, has caused the dragonoid great frustration. 「I'll fucking tear down that wall!」Declared Ryuu as he launched his lance forward. Despite his weapon of choice, the dragonoid's class was, in fact, a <Telekinetic> class of the Range group. This class allowed him to control objects with his mind, though unlike many others in the same class who could control pretty much any inorganic items, Ryuu had put restrictions upon his own power, forcing him to only be able to control his seven-branch lance. Much like Nen users who placed constraints on their ability or limit break skills from JRPG that required special conditions to be met before using, this restriction greatly limited the ways he can utilize his power, though in return, it also greatly amplified its power. This appeared evident as his lance effortlessly pierced through the same reinforced earthen wall that could easily block off <Dragon Breath>, then violently broke it into pieces. Before the dust could settle, the Lizardman stealthily traversed through the falling rubbles before appearing in front of the unsuspecting dragonoid with his two great axes in hands. Although Ryuu was quick enough to block the twin attacks with his dragon scale covered arms, a hard kick quickly sent him flying across the surface of Operon Sea, before another captain with the appearance of a falcon beastman that greatly resembled the egyptian god Horus, swooped down from the air with a heavy punch. The impact was strong enough that it would send Ryuu crashing down to the bottom of the sea, displacing the water around him and creating an artificial circular wave of tsunami, much like when Master Goultard made an appearance to confront Rushu.

「Damn it...」Ryuu's patience has run low. He had tried his best to conceal his dragon appearance since Amber and Thomas were present in the area; however, it was clear that in his current form, he could only evenly fight against the two demon lord class individuals at best, let alone hoping to defeat them.「You're making me really angry, you pests!」Ryuu growled loudly before finally deciding to transform into his dragon form before the displaced volume of water crashed down on him.

「That's his dragon form?」The lizardman captain's hand started shaking for the first time in a while.

「It seems like we have awakened a raging natural disaster.」The falcon beastman, hoovering in the air above with his pair of wings, noted.

Ryuu flew straight up into the air before swirling around, creating shock waves that attracted attentions of all the remaining captains, who have already thoroughly subjugated their respective opponents: Ryan was now lying unconscious on the shore of the lake, even the splashing of the turbulent waves could not wake him up. On the edge of the cliff, a Hyakki Yagyo captain that greatly resembled the human race more than any other demihuman, was grabbing the struggling Yuusei in his shota form by his neck with just one hand, while the other held onto the intact core of the pet slime, who has already been melting down into a puddle. His crimson hair covered his eyes like a generic hentai protagonist, his face was decorated with a sinister crescent smile before Ryuu's dragon form finally caught his attention. Amber and her partner, Floria, did not fare much better for the female hero had already been backed into a corner while Floria was already knocked out.

「Wow, what do we have here?」The female Yves captain who was dealing with Amber quickly noticed Ryuu's transformation.「That's not your average Dragon, is it?」

「That dragon...」Amber frowned. 「... is Ryuu kun?」

「COME AT ME, YOU LOW LIFE MERCENARIES!」Ryuu provoked the captains, trying to attract their attention. Although he was trying to help Ryan and others, he soon found himself in a perilous situation as all six of the captains' animosity quickly turned to him. Half of the twelve captains, whose collective power were said to be able to decimate nations, were now directing at Ryuu and Ryuu alone.

「You think you can take on all of us?」The vampire captain, dressed in Heian clothing, simply smiled. Yet, his eyes were filled with menace, his fingers held onto a stack of talisman paper.

… That man looks like the designated leader of these captains… he's a Runecrafter? Noticed Ryuu. Wait, wasn't he dealing with Sylvia sama's reincarnation? Is she safe? Ryuu quickly glanced at where Yllaner stood. The clash between Futar and Uran against the dryad cousins has been going on for a while without either of them gaining an upper hand. But what caught Ryuu's attention was the clash between Yllaes, who had covered himself in black lightning, and a male figure. Wait, that's not the Princess? Who?... Ahh!! That's...How did he get here???

「Where are you looking at, dragon?」Shouted the vampire before launching a few pieces of his talismans. The harmless paper, inscribed with Rune magic, suddenly transformed into three threatening Kirins galloping straight at the distracted Ryuu. Yet, despite being unprepared, the attack still ultimately failed to reach him, for the seven-branch lance that Ryuu recalled back to his side swiftly pierced through all three Kirin, forcing them to dissipate into thin air.

「Are you trying to probe my power with that attack? Not in a thousand years would such an attack reach me, Vampire.」declared Ryuu. The air around him began to feel heavy, causing a few of the captains to ditch their overconfident attitude. 「I am Ryuu, the last of the first generation dragons. I am Ryuu, a loyal servant of Kibadios sama. I am Ryuu, I am your death!!!!」

ILLUSTRATION: Please click on the comment at the link to see the illustration (or follow the link)

https://imgur.com/peWsVyz

Thank you for Pozon (Pixiv ID: 16230371), who came up with a design for him. Who is this? It's the hentai protagonist captain, who beat up Yuusei. His name is Uri, btw

"I thought he's just another mob character, why he's gotten an illustration?" Well, I wonder why...

PS: I actually altered his appearance a bit because in the original drawing from Pozon, it was meant to be how he'd appear later on (probably much later on)... no spoiler. Be warned, if you check Pozon's pixiv page, you'll spoil yourself on how he would look later on lol.