Chapter 119 - Fake Clash

A/N: The verdict with Velgrynd is almost unanimous. For those worried about Rudra, I do intend on giving him a companion to replace her. Otherwise, the game he played with Guy would just not make any sense.

Rimuru couldn't hold back his laughter as he observed with his universal sense what had become of the army. "That was a good show. I'll reward them all later," he smirked, continuing to walk.

"Please be careful, Master," Ciel, who was walking beside him, said. "I will be going now." She bowed and disappeared from his sight. Even he was having a hard time locating where she had hidden herself.

"Time for our fight, Hinata," he chuckled, drawing his sword.

Walking past the forest, near Blumund's territory, they came to a clearing. It was a place that Blumund was too scared to touch. At best, it served as a small neutral zone between it and the forest.

In that spot, the area was teeming with Holy Knights preparing for battle. From what Rimuru had been told about the plan, the Holy Knights and Hinata would sneak around while the main army focused on the monsters.

"Enemy attack!" one of the Holy Knights shouted. From what Rimuru could tell, it was one of the Ten Saints that Hinata was a part of.

"Stand back!" Hinata called out, her voice steady as she spotted Rimuru. She ordered the rest of the soldiers to move away. "Scan the surroundings! He won't come here alone."

As if on cue, hundreds of ogres, nearing evolution, rushed out from the forest. Their strength was equal to, or perhaps slightly weaker than, that of an average Holy Knight. Considering there were only a hundred Holy Knights, their numbers put them at a distinct disadvantage.

"Don't worry, we have the Ten Great Saints with us!" one of the knights shouted, raising the morale of the troops.

"Lord Rimuru, did we arrive late, perhaps?" Benimaru appeared, accompanied by four Onis.

Rimuru chuckled softly. "No, you just arrived in time. Can you play with them for a bit?" He gestured toward the Saints, who were staring at them in stunned silence.

"With pleasure, My Lord." Benimaru raised his hand, and the Onis behind him moved forward as the battle began.

Rimuru nodded to himself. "Now that the distractions are out of the way, how about we finally get our fight started, Hinata-chan?" he teased, casually resting his sword on his shoulder.

Hinata's eyes twitched at Rimuru's words. While it was all part of the act, it needed to be convincing enough to those watching. Not to mention, she couldn't afford to show any sign of weakness.

It had been agreed that the fight would end in a draw, mainly because Rimuru had the advantage in both strength and numbers. The story would then be spread that the outcome might have been different if it had been a true one-on-one battle, with no interference.

At least, it was something humans would debate until proven. Which would likely be never, in the eyes of the public.

Rimuru smiled as he dashed toward Hinata, his intent clear: to land a decisive blow. Hinata met the attack head-on, expertly blocking the sword and sliding it to the side to redirect the force. The redirected power carved a deep, long gash in the earth beneath them.

Hinata took a quick step back and raised her weapon, her rapier now aimed at the vital points of his body, head, heart, and stomach targeting them with a flurry of precise strikes.

Rimuru grinned, shifting just enough to create a small gap between himself and her blade. The strike aimed at his head missed by barely a centimeter, grazing his cheek, while the one aimed at his heart was deflected slightly by his own blade.

Hinata clicked her tongue in frustration. She knew that Rimuru was a being of strength far beyond hers. Yet, the version she was facing now was weaker than the one she knew from their previous encounter in the Citadel.

Even so, his swordsmanship was superior, something she had once prided herself on after countless duels across the multiverse in her quest to find her way home.

With a frustrated sigh, she dropped her weapon to the ground. In an instant, she materialized her spiritual armor and summoned her legendary rapier, imbued with divine power, a weapon that mirrored her intense skill and determination.

Rimuru looked at her with a grin. In his hand, he held his old weapon, Grey, the blade that had been with him for thousands of years.

Their clash continued.

The battle was not confined to the ground; their clashes and sword strikes reached the sky as the two flew, weaving around each other with deadly precision.

Benimaru watched in awe, even respect, for his Lord's opponent, the Holy Knight Hinata Sakaguchi. Her movements were so swift and precise that only Onis like himself could follow them.

As someone who wielded a sword himself, Benimaru was amazed by their skill. He had held his sword for hundreds of years, sharpening his craft, always waiting for the moment when Lord Rimuru made his move. Yet here, watching their fight, he realized that even after all that time, there were still things he could improve on, things he could learn just by observing them clash.

He wasn't confident he could beat Hinata in swordsmanship. In fact, he was certain he wouldn't stand a chance in a true life-or-death battle. But something nagged at him as he watched.

Maybe it was just him, but there was something strange about the fight. While their swordplay was intense and serious, it felt as though neither had revealed everything they were capable of. Their skills, their true abilities, remained hidden beneath the surface. It was as if the entire battle was just a show.

As the battle continued, a certain individual looked from afar. "Wow, Hinata and Rimuru-san sure are strong," he murmured, his eyes glowing brightly.

(Keep observing them, Yuuki,) Granbell said, using Yuuki's eyes to observe the battle. Having Yuuki on the frontlines ensures he's the one in danger if anything happens. ('They' are on their way there.)

"Right," Yuuki laughed as he sat cross-legged atop a hill hundreds of kilometers away. "I still don't feel safe at this distance..."

"And you are correct for thinking that," a woman's voice answered from behind him. Just as Yuuki was about to turn toward the origin of the voice, he was knocked unconscious, severing his link with Granbell.

(Yuuki, who was that?) Granbell leaned forward in his chair in Stilrozzo, frowning at the sudden loss of connection. "Did he get taken out?"

(Granbell-sama!) Suddenly, the communication was restored, and Granbell observed through Yuuki's eyes once more.

From what he could see, Yuuki was currently running as fast as he could. "I'm being chased by the woman Rimuru-san was with before. I think her name was Ciel."

(Where are you now?) Granbell asked, noting that the greenery around Yuuki was starting to change. In the distance, several houses and the wall of a city could be seen.

"I'm not taking my chances with that woman. She's scary!" Yuuki shouted. "I think I'm around Blumund now. I don't think she's following me. Should I return?"

(For now, no.) Granbell said, frustrated that his eyes on the battlefield had been removed. (I'll have Razul be my eyes. You return to Ingrassia and prepare to escape. They know that you're an enemy now.)

Yuuki groaned. "This is why I said this was a bad idea," he muttered to himself. As soon as the connection was severed, his expression shifted, and he smirked as he made his way back to Ingrassia.

...

Velgrynd observed the massacre of the main army from the city. She was slightly irritated that she was forced to housesit simply because someone had planned to target her if she interfered with Rimuru's fight.

"Someone who can buy time by fighting me..." Velgrynd admitted she wasn't the strongest being in existence, she knew of many who were stronger than her. But she wasn't someone you could defeat easily. "Who could fight me that's an enemy? Rudra, perhaps? But he's busy with the east. I doubt he'll come just to buy some time."

Suddenly, she felt a familiar and dangerous aura approaching the forest. Her eyes widened as a sneer formed on her lips, remembering exactly who it belonged to.

"Why is he here?" Her voice turned cold as she took off. "The Cardinal World should have been blocked from invaders by the Citadel ever since Brother died."

"Hey, love, did you miss me?" The familiar man with black hair that ended in red stood before her. He wore military clothing that Velgrynd didn't recognize. "I came back for a small tryst." He winked.

"Apophis..." Velgrynd created her sword and dashed forward, planning to kill him.

Apophis smiled at her eagerness to end him, dodging her strike as he flew higher into the sky. Velgrynd followed, launching several scorch magic attacks at him.

"Ow, the heat of your attacks still hurts," he joked, his arm singed from one scorch blast that made contact.

Velgrynd, managing to catch up to him, began to strike with her sword and scorch magic. Apophis, now wielding twin swords, received the attacks and deflected them with ease.

He swung at her, but she blocked his strike, and several scorch blasts surrounded him. He flew back, escaping the sudden confinement, and continued to fly, with the flames chasing after him.

He was forced to use his chaos abilities to counter the attack and made the flames disappear. "I heard you're a weaker version. How come you can still fight evenly with me?"

As he turned to face her, Velgrynd was already in front of him, her sword impaling his chest. "Gahk...!" He vomited blood from the injury. Velgrynd, however, wasn't finished. She twisted the blade sideways, slicing open his stomach.

"Wha- wait!" He raised his hand, but Velgrynd wasn't listening to his plea. She prepared to sever his head.

In a desperate attempt, using all the strength he could muster, the chaos in his hand swelled as he aimed at the city in the forest.

"Chaos Annihilation!" He shouted, thinking Velgrynd would retreat to save the city. "Haha, how about... a draw lo-"

His head was severed as he tried to fly away, still laughing.

The beam he had fired was blocked by the large magic formation protecting the city, which was being maintained by the remaining Onis who weren't part of the ongoing battles. They held the barrier firmly, resisting the attack that continuously tried to pierce and destroy everything with the chaos overflowing from the beam.

In fact, the Onis were panting with exhaustion, struggling to maintain the barrier's stability. Apophis' chaos could neutralize magic it made contact with, returning everything to nothingness.

The only reason the barrier held was due to Velgrynd's past experience fighting him. She and Rimuru had managed to create a deterrent for his ability. Apophis' ability wasn't an absolute force that turned everything into nothingness. After all, Velgrynd had fought and won in a battle through brute force, scorch magic, and Raguel.

Apophis' body fell to the ground, but as Velgrynd descended to ensure his death, his body split into several snakes that burrowed into the ground and escaped.

Velgrynd frowned. She raised her hands and planted them into the earth. With a sudden quake, the ground erupted and heated up. Flames and lava began to burn through the ground below.

Hundreds of feet beneath the surface were scorched, while nearby trees caught fire, starting from their roots. The animals fled as the ground continued to emit intense heat, and some areas shot out hot winds from cracks in the earth.

'He got away,' she cursed herself as she returned to the city.

Waiting several minutes after she left, a single snake finally raised from the ground but far from where they fought. He got out near the eastern plains where no one can see him.

He reverted to his more humanoid form, his body in tatters healing but in a slow pace than he would like. "What the hell... that Zelanus lied to me, she's still as strong or stronger than when we fought. I need to report this."

Apophis sighed to himself as he returned to the East Empire and report his encounter with Emperor Rudra.

....

Rimuru was getting tired of waiting for them to ambush. It had been almost half an hour since the battle started between his forces and Hinata's group.

He knew they were already here; he knew they were just waiting for the right time to attack them both. Heck, he even knew how many there were and how strong they were.

Hinata raised her rapier and struck near Rimuru's head.

(Maybe it's because you brought the Onis?) Hinata communicated with him through thought. After a certain amount of time, the two had started chatting during their fight, growing bored of waiting.

Rimuru countered with his own strike, forcing Hinata to fly back several feet. She moved at high speed, encircling him.

Rimuru observed her with a serious expression on his face. (You think so? Maybe I should have them retreat...) Rimuru replied, thinking of ways to make the bait even more tempting.

Hinata rushed at him as Rimuru showed an opening, and the two clashed again. (But that would seem weird, too forced, maybe?) she pointed out.

They both considered the situation for their people. In terms of the result, Rimuru's forces were winning by quite a margin. Having thousand-year-old Onis on his side really gave him the edge, not to mention the hundreds of ogres nearing Kijin evolutions.

(How about this, then?) Rimuru thought of an idea, and Hinata listened to the plan.

Hinata fell to the ground, just near where the main fighting between the Onis and the Saints was happening.

"Everyone, we are at a disadvantage here. Retreat for now. Buy time for the others to escape to Blumund. He won't follow once we reach the border."

"B-but Hinata-sama!" Arnold, one of the captains of the Crusaders, exclaimed.

"Follow my orders," Hinata countered before he could say anything else. "We can't waste our lives here in a fight we're at a disadvantage in."

Rimuru dropped down to the ground, watching this. He called back the Onis that were fighting.

As he saw the Holy Knights beginning to retreat, he turned to the Onis. "Return to Sear. I sensed that the barrier was damaged due to an attack. Help the others with it."

The four Onis nodded and disappeared, returning to the forest. Meanwhile, Benimaru remained, as per his orders, to chase the Holy Knights with the ogres.

Hinata ordered the captains to retreat with the Crusaders. They were tasked with guarding the rear from Benimaru and the ogres attacking from behind. Meanwhile, she volunteered herself to halt Rimuru from chasing them, saying that she could escape on her own once everyone was gone and knowing that she was Rimuru's target all along.

"Now, Hinata-chan," Rimuru grinned, sheathing his sword back into its scabbard. "We are all alone."

Hinata, still playing her part as a Holy Knight, glared at him as the two were the only ones remaining in the area. Her hand still gripped the rapier, ready and waiting for any attack.

"Let's calm down," he gestured to her. "I doubt you weren't exhausted by that fight."

"So?" Hinata replied coldly, still acting her part, not giving Rimuru an inch.

Rimuru chuckled to himself as he walked toward her. Hinata raised her weapon as she took steps back. The two continued their movements, Rimuru took a step forward, Hinata stepped back.

Until finally, they were standing in just the right spot everyone in the area had been waiting for.

And with a large explosion, the moment everyone, and by that, literally everyone had been waiting for finally arrived.

A/N: I was sure it was Saare not Arnold when I wrote it... well the saints never made an appearance again (Maybe) lol. Apophis is pretty pathetic... maybe too pathetic even. Eh, he deserves it. Yuuki being smart and not wanting to fight Ciel.

I've had a lot of free time and inspiration lately, so I managed to write a few extra chapters this week! We're already past 2/3 of the story, so I've updated my Ko-fi for anyone who wants to read ahead:

https://ko-fi.com/coverscribe

$2 for 5 chapters early access
$5 for 10 chapters early access

I just had these chapters stacked up in case of writer's block, and it feels like a waste to leave them sitting. Not forcing anyone, if you aren't interested that's fine.