Gacha Kingdom Building

-This Chapter is written using Anna's POV-

After receiving Angelica's healing, I stood up to face Edmond again.

His attack killed every soldier inside the corridor, and the flames he summoned reached Angelica and me.

And I can only imagine what would have happened if not for Angie's quick thinking.

However, more pressing than those dreadful thoughts was the reality of the men invading the castle thanks to the opening the prince created.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was strong.

Unreasonably so...

When we last fought against Edmond and his royal knights, Licia was easily capable of handling him without using any of her tricks.

And yet, even though Mia and I are at least a rank above her when it comes to sheer strength, for some reason, he was now capable of holding me off and even overpowering me.

This made no sense...

I knew there was something weird happening, and even though I promised to shake off the feelings of anxiety and count on the girls' help to win, it was still a little scary.

However!

That alone wasn't enough to tie me down.

It was my duty to stand before him, so I grabbed my sword, took a deep breath, and rushed to face him again.

Thankfully, only a few soldiers managed to invade through the narrow corridor before our men surrounded and blocked them from taking more steps forward.

In the area we were fighting, we could receive the support of our healings, which gave us a big advantage as long as we could contain their invasion.

The only real big problem was Edmond himself.

From what I could see in the brief seconds after his flame subdued, no soldier or knight was capable of holding him off.

This task was up to me.

But if I managed it... The others should be able to regain the corridor, and we could turn the situation in our favor.

Edmond: "...Another dragon. As I thought... What are you planning?"

Anna: "Still fixated on that? Let me tell you something, big boy. Our reason for fighting is not justice-"

Edmond: "I can see that!"

He swung his sword against me from the right.

I was a little afraid to face it directly, so I used my strength to jump and swing mine at him from above, using my strength and gravity to land a powerful blow.@@novelbin@@

Anna: "...Idiot! If you don't want to hear the answer, why do you ask the question!?"

Even though I was using both of my hands, all of my strength, and the powers of my sword...

All I managed to do was push him back a single step.

The first time could have been a fluke, but this confirmed it.

Something had happened.

The prince I was fighting now was completely different from the one before.

Anna: "We fight when Miwen asks us to. That's the entire reason. But if you're really interested, I was happy with the opportunity to kick your ass. That's the whole plan and the reason we are here today."

Obviously, I couldn't go into detail about Miwen's objectives, but it wasn't like I was lying either.

I was eager to punish him for how he treated Isabella.

Edmond: "Ridiculous. That man and that woman... Neither of them are worthy of trust. With monsters and demons by their side... They are this world's true calamity!"

Angelica: "Anna!"

I felt his strength grow even more than before...

If that kept going on, I wouldn't have been able to keep up, so I decided to step back and disengage, but...

I noticed his hands lighting up.

This confirmed to me that the [Fire Magic] from before was a result of his skills and not an effect of his sword.

Since I had already seen it, I knew I couldn't allow him to do it.

Unlike last time, there was no corridor to contain the flames and they would spread everywhere instead of the tupe-shaped tornado they became last time.

He was completely focused on me, thinking I would keep trying to push him away with my sword, but that allowed me to use my legs which were firmly planted against the ground to drive my knee straight into his stomach, briefly knocking the wind out of him.

The fire in his hands disappeared, and I used the small gap created to continue my attack.

Swinging my sword in an arc, I hit his right side using my sword's blunt side, which left me in the perfect position to charge at him and use the handle in a spear-like motion to once again take away the air from his lungs.

Edmond: "Where is the honor-"

He used the little air he had left to reprimand me, but it was to no avail.

The last strike sent him a little further than before, but he struck his sword to the ground to prevent himself from being sent back to the corridor.

However, that made his next movement slow, and it gave me the chance to close the gap quickly to hit his face again and again.

Using the quaking effect of my sword, I kept him pinned to the ground, and before he could stabilize himself, I struck his leg with a powerful downward kick, forcing his knee to buckle.

Strong as he may be, it was obvious that he lacked real combat experience.

Once I started pressuring him, he lost the ability to fight back or even push me away.

I was having the time of my life giving him the merciless beating he deserved.

Even without any special trick or even an elaborate faint, I was making sure neither sword nor magic had any meaning in this fight.

And the results... Well, they spoke for themselves.

In a quick battle, he was almost invincible, but in a prolonged fight, he started to fall behind.

Still... His strength was nothing to scoff at.

When our blades met fairly, without any use of my fists or legs, I had to focus my entire strength just to not be pushed back even when he was in a less favorable position.

Eventually, he was able to get somewhat good footing, and he swung his sword to keep me away.

I thought it wasn't going to be very strong, so I chose to block it and continue the close-combat onslaught, but...

Edmond: "Lauros!"

As soon as I tried to raise my sword, I noticed vines had grabbed my arm.

They weren't powerful enough that I couldn't get rid of them, but they bought Edmond the time he needed.

I had no option but to brace myself for the impact, hoping that he wouldn't be strong enough to cut my head.

However, thankfully, an angel came to help me.

Edmond disappeared from my sight as soon as an incredibly quick shadow reached him.

Angelica, with one punch, had thrown Edmond all the way to the other side of the venue.

Angelica: "Aw..."

It wasn't without sacrifice though...

She used so much of her strength, so desperately, that even her dragon body wasn't able to fully resist the impact, and two of her fingers were broken as a result of punching his face.

Thankfully, her angel blood kicked in, and she quickly started healing herself...

Anna: "You need to be more careful..."

Angelica: "Y-Yeah... Uh... I have bad news."

As if things weren't hard enough already, she gave me a worried look before speaking words I wish I had heard wrong.

Anna: "Their court magician, right? I noticed."

Angelica: "No, not that. I'm talking about the prince..."

Mercilessly, she threw my hopes out the window.

If it was just their mage, I'm sure they would have been able to deal with him.

But Edmond was already as tough of an opponent as it gets.

If what she had to say made him even more troublesome... I wouldn't know what to do.

Angelica: "I sense Divinity permeating his body. I think... The God of this world might have blessed him..."

Hah!

Great...

Anna: "Wait... Are you saying he is a Saint too?"

Angelica: "No... His powerful magic and strong body... I think he became a... Hero..."

...

No way... Why would they do something like this?

Maybe...

You can't be serious...

Isabella's Gift is not that strong, is it?

Can she really be unlucky enough for even the Gods to side against her? Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire

Bea: "As amusing as the idea of her Gift affecting the Gods' will might be... No... I believe it is more plausible that our actions are responsible for this. Remember, we brought this world's greatest calamity to light, and we took the Saint from this world..."

Yeah...

When you look at it that way...

I can see why the Gods might be pissed.

But still!

Why this guy?

Bea: "...Well, he is the one leading the charge and the most honest about rescuing Sabrina. Even if the reasons for that are a little... You know..."

...Right.

In the end, the reasons didn't matter as much.

Both Angie and Bea seemed to agree, so the likelihood of them being right was quite high.

And it would explain why he was so strong...

The problem, though, was...

Anna: "How do we fight him then? Divinity is a miraculous power. As long as he wants to beat us, if he has enough Divinity..."

He will.

Bea: "Hm... You are a little mistaken. He does not possess Divinity. He was blessed by someone with it. Even if that wasn't the case, it takes time to learn how to use Divinity and Demonic Power. He can't perform extraordinary acts like Elizabeth could when she invaded the Kingdom. All he can do is unconsciously strengthen himself. So... Try not to anger him?"

Anna: "...About that."

That was a little too late.

And I'm not that good at hiding my emotions either, so...

We needed a plan B.

Anna: "Speaking of plans, what happened with your support?"

I could tell Angelica was helping me, I felt her strengthening my body from time to time, and she even saved me at the last minute.

But that only happened because their mage intervened.

Bea: "...I underestimated him a little. But it won't happen again."

Anna: "Are you confident you can win against him?"

Bea: "Hmm... Surely~"

Now I understand why Miwen tries to rein in Elizabeth.

These mages and their desire to see their opponents' powers...

It's quite frustrating when we are fighting for our lives.

Anna: "Then... I might have an idea."

Bea: "Hm?"

Anna: "We are stronger together, right?"

The plan was simple.

We would rely on what we had, and what they had not.

That is... Combat experience.

We fought as a group plenty of times.

Our coordination was on point.

Even Angelica, the one who did not explore Dungeons with us, had Miwen's memories, so she should be able to adapt quickly.

Counting on this, we initiated our last charge.

An all-out attack to defeat both.

Angelica and I charged forward. I raised my sword to strike Edmond from above, and he prepared his own to defend himself, but two arrows went past me, forcing him to deflect them.

The split-second opportunity created by Ellie allowed me to use a powerful strike against him, but even after putting my all into it, he was able to block it just in time.

However, Angelica closed in on him. Her fists were clad in a bubble of light and when she punched him, white chains grabbed his neck, biding him in place.

He answered with magic of his own.

I tried to hit him again so that he would lose his concentration, but...

He smiled, his hands still on fire.

A great wave was summoned behind me, crashing against him.

A small shield of light magic covered Angelica and me.

She entered her dragon form for a brief second, and I used my greatsword to protect my body...

And even with all of that...

Edmond: "First comes the spark... Then the flames!"

Even though they weren't his target, even the walls looked like they were going to melt.

All the protection we had was barely enough.

Angelica's body was almost completely burned, and my sword... Was reduced to its handle.

Edmond: "You have no weapon. Surrender, and I will-"

It was hard to breathe.

The air was still hot... scorching...

So I... Raised my fists.

Without the sword, I was able to move much faster.

It was a shame to lose it, but... Now, it felt like I had two weapons instead of one.

With more freedom of movement, I was able to dodge his attacks, and the window of opportunity for striking back increased.

I also learned a lot of different moves from watching TV and playing games in Miwen's house.

And thanks to Mia's training, I had a little experience with them.

It must have been infuriating for him.

Angelica and I, each capitalizing on the timing created by the other, started a flurry of attacks that overwhelmed him.

Even when he tried to slash at us, arrows shot by Ellie immobilized him.

The effects only lasted for a second, but it was enough, especially when she started using the fact that they didn't last long to immobilize him multiple times, making his movements awkward and sluggish, allowing us to land even more blows to his thick skull.

His last resort was his flame attack, but...

Bea, knowing the process he used for his magic, sealed his hands with a dense bubble of water.

Edmond: "Lauros!? You were meant to-"

Bea: "You mean this one? I think it's bad for boys to rely on adults so much~"

Their court magician was also enveloped in a water bubble. A bunch of arrows were stuck to his body.

And speaking of which...

Edmond was struck with plenty as well.

Ellie worked to reduce his defense and strength as much as possible when Angelica and Bea worked together to restrain him.

With her buffs and all the hate I had for this guy, I gave him one last punch, throwing him out of the castle, and out of the barrier.

We also released their court magician in exchange for a small truce. Just one week since the guy, surprisingly, wasn't a noble.

Still, it was good enough for what Miwen had in mind.

It was at least better than having them attack another castle with Edmond's power...

Bea: "Hah... That was tiring~"

Angelica: "...We still need to report to Miwen what happened. Especially the circumstances regarding the prince..."

Anna: "Yeah... Later."

The fight against Edmond took hours.

I was giving it 200% of what I had all that time.

When it finally ended I collapsed to the ground.

I only woke up in the middle of the night, as always, surrounded by the three girls...

Anna: "Hm... This is not so bad, after all..."

Maybe I was still a little too tired, but that night, I slept like a baby.