Volume 10, Chapter 41 – The Dragon-Slaying Witch

“Uwah, no matter how you look at it, this is way too many.”

Yisi, having flown near Adonis’s fleet, couldn’t help but click her tongue.

She hadn’t seen clearly from a distance before, but now, up close, the ship was almost buried by over ten Hydras. They had probably realized the protective light barrier was hard to break, so the Hydras changed their strategy. They stretched their necks as far as possible, pressing their heads down on the barrier, trying to use their weight to push the entire ship into the sea.

“I should take care of some of them first.”

Although over ten level-40-plus Hydras would be a good chunk of experience for her companions, saving people was the priority right now. Hydras weren’t rare in this sea region, and with the Omniscient Map, searching for them wouldn’t be difficult.

“First, the biggest one.”

Unlike the other three-headed Hydras, this one had five heads, and its level was very close to 60. The other Hydras’ movements changed with this five-headed one’s cries; it was clearly the leader-class monster.

Infusing magic power into the hilt, the lightsaber instantly shot out a deep blue blade of light. Considering the Hydra’s necks were rather thick, Yisi extended the blade to two meters this time. Although she felt that turning the blade into a long scythe-like weapon like Lin’s would be more suitable for reaping heads, that was beyond the lens’s capabilities.

‘Water Repelling Blessing.’

This wasn’t to fight underwater, but to prevent water from splashing onto her. A pale green glow lit up her body. Like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, Yisi rushed toward the largest Hydra, landing right in the center of its five heads.

“[Round Dance Slash].”

Lin’s [Round Dance Slash] was just a basic skill in ‘Ragnarøk’. As long as the player was holding a long weapon, they could use this attack, which centered on themselves and slashed everything in the vicinity.

Shhk, shkk.

She smoothly cut through the Hydra’s necks.

What made Yisi raise an eyebrow slightly was that after she cut off two of the Hydra’s heads, the other three heads reacted quickly and dodged the ‘Round Dance Slash’ in unison.

“Is it because I’m only using the strength of a level 50, so it has time to react?”

Unfortunately, if she went all out, she might make Adonis associate her with Viel, who had demolished the palace. Cleaning up the aftermath, in every sense, would be very troublesome. So, she chose not to do anything that would make Adonis draw that connection.

A warning suddenly rose in her heart.

Her ears caught an abnormal sound of wind.

On her left.

Without hesitation, Yisi pulled back to the right, facing the ambusher while simultaneously slashing her lightsaber upward.

First, she felt a slight resistance in her right hand; the lightsaber seemed to have cut something. Then, the corner of her eye caught the true identity of the attacker—a demon with horns, over three meters tall, with cyan skin, black wings, and abnormally developed muscles. In that last exchange, the lightsaber had cut off the right arm it had used to attack her.

Giving the demon no time to react, Yisi caught the instant they passed each other and kicked it in the back.

Crack.

Rеad oո КαtRеaⅾіոgСafе

The crisp sound of breaking bones. Immediately after, the demon shot down like a cannonball, smashing hard into the sea.

Boom!

The sea erupted in a giant wave. The surging torrents caused even the Hydras besieging Adonis’s ship to wobble, and a few that weren’t steady were simply knocked over by the wave.

Ignoring the Hydra whose two heads she had severed, Yisi frowned at the spot where the demon had disappeared. That kick just now was rushed; she could feel that the demon had not died from it.

“The problem is, are the Hydras being controlled by the demon?”

Since it ran out to buy the Hydra time when she was cutting off its heads, it was obvious the demon and the Hydras were on the same side.

The Omniscient Map showed the demon was hiding just beneath the sea’s surface.

“If you’re planning to play dead in the sea, you’d better stay down there and never come out.”

“Tsk, since when did a powerhouse like you appear among the humans.” Slowly flying up from the sea, the greater demon’s gaze shifted to the lightsaber in Yisi’s hand. “…So you’re a lucky one who received aid from the gods. I never thought they’d be able to get past Lord Styx’s blockade to deliver the Sword of the Sun into human hands.”

Too bad, this isn’t any Sword of the Sun. It’s just a weapon I modified from a lens.

But revealing my hand won’t do me any good. It’s more beneficial to let the misunderstanding continue. Easily spotting the Hydra trying to swallow her from behind, Yisi cut off its head with her lightsaber.

“If these Hydras are under your control, I advise you to hand them over to me quietly. Then, tell me every secret you know. If you do, I might just let you live.”

I feel like I just said a villain’s line.

“Don’t get so arrogant, human!”

“Hoh.”

The demon named Cons, level 59, launched a sudden attack on Yisi. Although, by comparison, this speed could be considered quite fast among those in the level 60 domain, in her eyes, it was still about the same as slow motion.

Not accepting my kindness?

Then I’ll just have to finish him. No need to hold back against demons—with exceptions like Tina, of course.

During this exchange, the five-headed Hydra, which now only had two heads, breathed a healing glow onto the demon. Popping and cracking sounds came from the demon’s body as its HP rapidly recovered and its severed arm grew back.

So this is probably the Hydra’s healing magic.

A possibility suddenly occurred to her. The Hydra’s healing magic also worked on itself. In that case, if she only cut off some of its heads, could the remaining heads cast healing magic to make the severed ones grow back?

Combined with the image of several heads lined up in a row, Yisi thought of something quite insulting: harvesting leeks.

Anyway, the Hydra has that evil habit of eating human limbs and then using magic to heal them for repeated use. If I use the same method back on it, no one should blame me, right?

“But I should probably stop there. That’s something a demon would do, and I’m no demon.”

Rеаd оո ΚatRеαⅾіոɡСаfe

Extending the lightsaber from two meters to twenty, Yisi’s lips curled in a happy smile.

◇

“Your Majesty, you must recall General Carl at once!”

Inside the ship besieged by Hydras, Bayldes urged with a nervous expression.

“Your life is more important than a merchant ship!”

Bayldes’s words made Adonis, who was standing on the deck, frown.

“If I recall Carl now and abandon the merchant ships that cried out to me for help, what face will I have to call myself the father of the people? As long as we buy enough time, Carl can slay the Hydras trapping the merchant ships. When that happens, it will only be a matter of time before you and Carl join forces to defeat the greater demon and the five-headed Hydra.”

“But time is exactly what we lack! Right now, we can only rely on your Citadel Ring to delay. Once the ring’s magic power is exhausted, you will be in dang—Urk!”

Before he could finish, the ship shook violently from side to side as the surrounding Hydras slammed into the light barrier. If he hadn’t been gripping the railing tightly, Bayldes felt that last impact would have sent him flying into the orange barrier.

The orange barrier came from a divine-artifact-class magic item on Adonis’s hand called the ‘Citadel Ring.’ When the ring was active, no magic short of a forbidden spell could break the barrier before its magic power ran out. It sounded powerful, but such a defensive item had a fatal flaw: when it was active, the people inside could not attack those outside. This meant that Bayldes, despite all his strength, was useless at this moment.

What was worse, Bayldes couldn’t let Adonis deactivate the Citadel Ring. Even with the defensive enchantments reinforcing the ship, it couldn’t withstand more than a few hits from a Hydra, not to mention that Hydras weren’t limited to physical attacks. A single magic breath attack could shatter the wooden ship to pieces.

As for why the ship was besieged, the reason was the breakdown of negotiations. The greater demon had proposed that Adonis must channel all of the ley line magic into the southwestern sea region. Adonis, however, had come with the goal of shutting off the magic supply to that region and offering the demons something else in exchange. These were, obviously, two diametrically opposed demands. There had been no room for negotiation from the very beginning.

Even so, Adonis, who was keenly aware of the gap between humans and demons, had still tried to compromise. As long as the demons promised never to set foot in the empire’s territory again, she would allow the Tower of Alexia to provide the region with half of the ley line’s magic. This was three times more magic than had been provided before. The empire had not yet developed to the point where it could contend with demons; extreme forbearance was necessary.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Adonis tried to find a diplomatic solution, the situation became non-negotiable the moment the greater demon threatened to harm Adonis’s sister, the Third Princess Vina, who was in the royal capital. As the monarch of a nation, to be blackmailed with a relative in the capital… if she showed weakness at this moment, even if everyone knew it was a difficult situation, Adonis would lose her authority as a ruler. Not to mention, Adonis was not a person with a patient or tolerant personality to begin with.

And so, the battle had begun.

It must be said, if Carl hadn’t been sent elsewhere by Adonis, the greater demon would be the one fleeing with its tail between its legs right now. Adonis was protected by two individuals who surpassed the heroic domain, Carl and Bayldes. Although the greater demon led numerous Hydras, these monsters wouldn’t last a single exchange against those two. All Carl would have needed to do was tie up the greater demon and the five-headed Hydra. Once Bayldes eliminated all the lesser Hydras with wide-area annihilation magic, the greater demon would have had no cards left to play. The problem was, before the negotiations, a distant fleet had sent a distress signal. Adonis, protected by her Citadel Ring, had temporarily dispatched Carl to investigate, which led to the current situation.

Of course, this wasn’t Adonis’s fault for having a narrow view. It was only the timing of sending Carl to rescue the merchant ship that was the issue. If anyone was to blame, it was the demon for being a poor negotiator. Normally, even if negotiations broke down, the two parties at the table wouldn’t just start brawling. In fact, when the former emperor had negotiated with demons, it wasn’t as if they hadn’t reached impasses. It was just that this greater demon, Cons, didn’t understand the rules of engaging with humans. After failing to command Adonis with his usual coercive tactics, he resorted to violence to force her compliance. The entire situation was outside of both parties’ expectations.

Bayldes, steadying himself again, looked panicked.

“Your Majesty, if you don’t make a decision, it will be too late! The Citadel Ring won’t last long against the combined assault of the greater demon and the five-headed Hydra!”

“Lord Bayldes, these beasts are trying to push us into the sea!”

“What!?”

The moment the voice fell, darkness fell over everyone. As they instinctively looked up, the sky was completely blotted out by the long necks of the Hydras. All the three-headed Hydras were pressing their heads down on the barrier, attempting to sink the ship with their sheer weight.

“Dammit!” Cursing under his breath, Bayldes turned to Adonis. “Your Majesty, we cannot let this continue! Please, open the Citadel Ring after I’ve prepared my magic. This subject must go out and fight. At the very least, I must hold them here!”

“You will not. The empire only has three individuals who surpass the heroic domain. To lose you would only make the empire’s future darker.”

Reαԁ оո ΚαtRеαdingСafе

“But if this subject stays here, it’s just waiting to die—”

“Look, there’s someone outside!”

“She’s going after the five-headed Hydra!”

“What?”

Bayldes, who was already frantic, rushed to the ship’s railing. Following the crewman’s finger, he caught a glimpse of the newcomer through a gap in the wall of Hydra necks. Adonis, who had also heard the crewman’s shout and mistakenly thought Carl had returned, also looked outside.

And then, her heart skipped a beat, as if she had missed a step going downstairs.

A face that could topple nations, a dress woven of blue and white, and the iconic silver pigtails with blue-dyed tips. The newcomer was the Cardinal of the Ymir Church, Yisi Enya.

What is she doing here? Even if she was a genius for being able to use ‘Flight’ at her age, it meant nothing against a five-headed Hydra. That monster’s strength surpassed the heroic domain; otherwise, Bayldes could have handled a single greater demon and some three-headed Hydras by himself.

If she dies here trying to rescue me, how am I supposed to explain this to Viel! Even setting the Viel connection aside, a Cardinal dying in the Norta Empire was not something that could be smoothed over. The empire would be set ablaze by mad zealots.

Panicking for an instant, Adonis took a deep breath.

“Bayldes, prepare your magic. I’m opening the barrier.”

“Yes! □□□, □□□□—Eek!”

“What is it?”

Even though Adonis wasn’t a magic caster, she could tell that the sound Bayldes made was not part of an incantation. She looked at him curiously, only to find his mouth wide open, his expression frozen, as if he had seen the unimaginable.

“One slash! How can anyone in this world cut off a five-headed Hydra’s heads in one slash!?”

Just as Bayldes said, Yisi had just used ‘Round Dance Slash’ to sever two of the five-headed Hydra’s heads.

But Yisi hadn’t noticed the greater demon hiding near the Hydra.

Her heart leaped into her throat, her skin tingling with fear. Adonis screamed uncontrollably.

“Watch out for the ambush!”

Unfortunately, the sound didn’t reach Yisi’s ears.

As she saw the greater demon’s clenched right fist less than two meters away from Yisi, Adonis felt as if her soul were about to be ripped from her body. But in the next second, the tables turned so rapidly that Adonis, just like Bayldes, was left with her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Despite clearly not seeing the demon, Yisi dodged. In a flash, she bent back, slashed upward, and kicked. The greater demon that was about to take Yisi’s life one second was, in the next, smashed into the sea, leaving its right arm behind.

The movements were as smooth as flowing water, without a single flaw. Even if Carl had been there, the result would have been the same. No, perhaps Yisi was even better. Carl was a power-focused warrior; he could never perform such fluid and flexible movements.

Just how strong is she?

Rеαd οո KаtRеαdіոgСаfe

A question popped into Adonis’s mind.

“That greater demon is back!”

“That light-sword-thing… it got longer…”

“Hey, hey… that’s already longer than our ship, isn’t it? What is she trying to do?”

Vwooom vwooom vwooom!!

The crewman’s words had barely faded when Yisi’s actions provided the answer.

The twenty-meter-long lightsaber descended from the heavens with world-splitting momentum. The sea surface actually dented under the wind pressure. Those scales, which not even a Mithril longsword could pierce, were now as fragile as thin paper. Any Hydra that touched the lightsaber was bifurcated. But strangely, whether by the Hydras’ good luck or for some other reason, all were left with exactly one head, save for the five-headed Hydra and the greater demon, which were sliced clean in two. The sea was quickly dyed dark red, only to be instantly vaporized into a cloud of white steam by the beam as it cut into the water.

Her expression frozen in disbelief, Adonis muttered subconsciously.

“A forbidden spell…”

“How can a forbidden spell be cast without an incantation! It must be because of that sword! Your Majesty, I cannot accept this!”

“Wait, it’s not over! She’s coming again!”

Just as the crewman said, as the Hydras’ single remaining heads began to use healing magic to restore their other heads, Yisi raised her twenty-meter lightsaber again and cleanly sliced them off.

Only now did everyone understand. It wasn’t that the Hydras were lucky. Yisi was deliberately leaving them with one head. She was treating the Hydra massacre as a form of entertainment.

This was repeated several times.

“The Dragon-Slaying Witch…”

Someone, it was unclear who, muttered in a trembling voice thick with fear.

“Thank goodness she’s not our enemy…”

“Can you even call that human?”

Just as the crew became numb to the spectacle, an intense flash of light suddenly erupted on the distant sea. Because of the distance, the people only saw the light of the explosion; they couldn’t hear the sound. However, judging from the pillar of light and smoke that shot into the sky, it was clear how powerful the explosion was—it could probably be compared to a fifth-tier spell.

Everyone froze, staring blankly into the distance.

Then, Adonis, the first to react, paled dramatically.

“Get us out of here! Or we’ll all be dragged into the sea!”

As if in answer to Adonis, a massive wave, tall enough to blot out the sky, rapidly swept across the sea from the epicenter of the exploding merchant ship. Like a beast pouncing on its prey, it moved to devour everything that dared to stand in its path.