NOVEL NEXT Chapter 214: Training
"Tsk! You monster! You should have just died before!"
Shang Jian cursed at Bianca while spinning his spear. It was an Artifact Bianca was already familiar with: Gae-bolg, a spear that cursed its target with increased damage for every wound.
The man before her lunged forward and sent stabbing attacks toward Bianca. When she tried to evade, she felt a wave of mana trying to bind her like chains.
Hm? The curse of compromise… and the curse of waste. Like I thought, it was Seraphi who placed the curses on the Flame Swallow and Snow Wolf dungeons.
With a flick of her hand, the mana trying to surround her shattered. And, commanding Ice VII projectiles, Bianca forced the two people she fought against back.
These insidious tricks troubled me a lot when I fought with flesh and blood. How ironic. Now that I fight with only my soul body, your trump cards all become useless.
"Kya!"
A woman in religious robes behind Shang Jian grasped her hands in pain. Bianca could see her hand burned. Probably from the backlash of her curses being overpowered.
"Are you all right, Seraphi?" he asked her in a fluster.
"I-I will be fine," although she looked pitiful, the pope of the Truthsong Church tightened her grip on the staff in her hands. Seeing it, Bianca raised her gun and flew upward, creating distance between them.
Tsk, it's that abominable scepter. How ironic that a woman who fights with curses gains a weapon that hits harder the more kills a person has.
The Scepter of Justice was Seraphi's artifact. It gained attack power based on how many intelligent beings died to the scepter's opponent. Murderers and villains would be made quick work of because of its attributes.
Naturally, Bianca, who is considered a villainess, was no exception. Shang Jian and Seraphi hung in the back. The witch came to end her. Both because of her part in Bianca's death, the trap she used to kill Fluffy, and her attempts to murder Elian.
Bianca meant to duel her in a battle between Anchor's, much like how Elian dueled Gerard Nobel. Sadly, Seraphi had a powerful guard. The last of the big three and the strongest mercenary, the president of the Bloodright of Conquest, Shang Jian.
Yet rather than be impressed, the witch felt pity instead. In the five decades that passed, Shang Jian did not improve at all. His spearmanship, which had already reached the level of masters, had stagnated. As did his level and everything else.
What have you been doing all this time? Don't either of you have a single new technique?
Although it was common for one's progress to slow down as one reached for the summit, Bianca couldn't help but find the two before her to be slothful.
While they had the earth in their hands all this time, they did absolutely nothing with it. They did not create new innovations; no new frontiers were conquered, and their domains did not get any better.
Compared to Elian, you both might as well have been locked up in a cave.
Unknowingly, Bianca found herself giggling. All those years she spent in the darkness, the only thing that kept her going was revenge. It was unbelievable that she could now joke about the matter. But she knew why.
It's because of him. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen this soon.
Elian did not know how to stop. Even now, his plans were marching forward with terrifying momentum. While they were fighting in this crucible, four separate legions were trying to conquer other worlds.
Once the legions who participated in the legions return, Elian's power will only grow even further. Bianca found herself in awe and daydreamed of what the future would hold.
"Time to meet your end, monster!"
Shang Jian's shout caused Bianca to wake up from her contemplation. Her opponent in a feat of inhuman dexterity leaped through the sky using nothing but martial arts. Within a few seconds, he ascended over 15 meters to attack her.
Annoyed, Bianca flipped her rifle and took aim.
"Fralhame Lance Mode K, firing!"
Kinetic bullets rushed out of her rifle's barrel and raced to pierce Shang Jian's head. He tilted his body to the right and avoided the deadly rounds. A wave of light fell down on his body, boosting his abilities.
"Jian! Curses do not work! I used my strongest buffs on you! Take her out!"
"Alright! She won't be able to evade! SONIC PIERCE!"
Invoking a skill, Shang Jian drove his lance forward while slamming his foot into the air. Despite there being no footing, the president was as steady as a mountain.
"I grow tired of this farce."
Bianca was originally cautious and careful not to get hit. Elian, her lover, was extremely overprotective. If she came back with a gash, he would definitely throw a fit.
But the caution seemed unneeded given what she saw. She grew more disappointed as the battle dragged on. They had powerful skills but lacked the proficiency to use them properly. Seeing the way Elian fought, they were below his standard.
With her Valestrian steel glove, Bianca grabbed the approaching spear tip and stopped it.
"W-WHAT? HOW? HOW ARE YOU SO STRONG?"
"Training?"
Of course, compared to Elian, Bianca's stats were more geared towards INT. But that doesn't mean that her other stats were low. Combined with Elian's gear, Bianca was already leagues above regular humans.
Although Shang Jian tried to pry away gae-bolg from Bianca's hand, he couldn't. He paled at the realization that she was stronger than he was in a battle of pure strength. But that couldn't have prepared him for what came next.
From Bianca's gloves surged Dominator variants. Like ashen snakes, they shot out, strangled the former president by the neck, and bound his hands and feet.
"W-What? Release me, you wretched excuse for a human being!"
Hearing the man's pitiful words, Bianca couldn't even bring herself to rebuke him.
Sigh. I spent years of my life hating you people, and this is all you amount to?
Bianca raised her free hand and summoned her sniper rifle. Then, copying Elian's extremely barbaric way of combat, she stabbed it into Jian's face and pulled the trigger.
"MWFHH!!!"
He struggled to talk, but the villainess never gave him a chance.
KRZZZZZ—THOOM!
Without an inch of mercy, Bianca fired the Fralhame lance in Energy mode at point-blank range. Rather than a wound, it was more like Gerard's face vanished from his shoulders. Within seconds, the body tilted to the left and collapsed on the ground.
Pathetic. To think this was considered the epitome of humanity.
"NOOO!!!"
Seraphi screamed in panic at the death of her guard. She turned back and tried to run, but her dress caused her to stumble and fall. Bianca, although irritated, shot her in the knees and crippled her.
"EVERYONE! EVERYONE! HELP ME! I AM GOING TO DIE! CRUSADERS! ANYONE!"
Screaming like a lunatic, the once-proud pope cried out in panic. Tears, drool, and snot streamed down from the orifices of her face like waterfalls. With ragged breaths, she desperately tried to crawl away.
Bianca couldn't help but see her own visage in the crawling woman. Terrified, isolated, and close to death, the villainess dragged herself deeper into the darkness all so she could enact vengeance on her tormentors.
Yet seeing Seraphi's form now, Bianca felt hollow. The sniveling woman in front of her no longer had any dignity to speak of. She even pissed herself when she heard Bianca come closer.
"Let's end this, Seraphi. If nothing else, I sincerely hope your next life will be better than this one."
The pope frantically turned around and grabbed her scepter with both hands while trembling.
"It's all your fault! If only you had died on that day! Earth will be doomed to extinction all because you survived! I should have been the one to gain the Weapons! I should have been the lover of the Elian Reed! I should have been the main character!"
Turning deranged, Seraphi continued to kick and scream while scratching her face with her nails. Bianca, unable to watch any further, raised her rifle and took aim.
Only before she could pull the trigger did a large wave of energy radiate from inside Seraphi's heart.
"Ack! No! NO! NOOO!!! I WON'T DIE LIKE THIS! IT WAS ALL SUPPOSED TO BE MINE!"
The pope's ribcage ballooned out of proportion and deformed her entire torso. Bones snapped and internal organs ruptured as Seraphi died from the inside out.
"AHHH! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! HELP ME!!!! SAVE ME—"
A powerful detonation followed. Her words abruptly cut off when her swollen flesh burst into a disgusting shower of blood, bone, and sinew. Bianca couldn't help but gag at the atrocious detonation of what was once to be the most powerful woman on Earth.
Luckily, as she normally kept a wave of mana protecting her, Bianca's clothes and armor were not dirtied. When she saw that two of her former enemies lay dead, she looked up to the scoreboard and saw the status of the current battlefield.
[The Noble Ascendancy | VS | The Weapons of Valestra]
[Gerard R. Nobel | Tyrant | Elian Reed]
[ — | Anchor | Bianca Valestra]
[ 7 | Knights | 2]
In the short time since the battle started, only a handful of humans remained. Bianca turned to see Elian absolutely dominating his opponent.
"Hmm. He truly is a fine partner. To think he could grow even stronger than the Big Three in the short time we spent together. I am certain he wouldn't stagnate for even a day."
Feeling pride welling up in her chest, Bianca watched the majesty of her lover as he fought to become the owner of Earth. She couldn't help but smile in bliss. Knowing full well that despite all of Elian Reed's power, he would bend over backwards for her.
"Fufu, truly wonderful."