Weapon Master of the Count’s Family

Chapter 88. Great Mage vs. God’s Proxy (2)

With Nidra’s arrival, Ernst’s barrier completely vanished.

In its place, a new golden barrier formed.

It was as intricate as Ernst’s magic but on a different level.

It shifted constantly, as if alive, achieving perfect balance.

Damn, one mountain after another.

The two warships floated in the air, moving somewhere within the circular barrier.

Twenty Reapers appeared behind Nidra, exuding authority.

Checkmate. For both me and Ernst.

I had claimed to be a proxy of the gods until now.

But that was merely a figurative expression.

Now, the true proxy of the gods had appeared.

A being who, in status and skill, truly represented divine authority.

“You’re the human called Ernst.”

Ernst looked up at the floating figure, his face contorting.

He, too, realized the being before him was no ordinary foe.

Swish.

Ernst gripped his staff tightly.

A rune unfolded beneath him, and his body vanished momentarily.

But—

Thud!

He was flung back, crashing onto the deck.

“Ugh!”

He had tried to escape the barrier with teleportation, but it was futile.

“Pointless. Did you think a mere human could breach my barrier?”

Nidra’s living barrier wasn’t just a wall—it was a prison, sealing inside and out.

Yet Ernst didn’t give up.

Gripping his staff, he sought a way to defeat Nidra directly.

“How dare you!”

Golden chains shot from the deck.

They swiftly bound Ernst, restraining him.

Before Nidra, even the slightest movement wasn’t permitted.

“Arrogant from start to finish. To think you’d challenge me. I’d execute you on the spot, but your fate is for my master to decide.”

He then ordered the Reapers.

“Bring him.”

I watched the Reapers descend, as did Gaiard and the mages.

Ernst seemed destined to be captured helplessly.

“Wait! Ernst needs to be taken to Ragnad first.”

I stepped forward, and Nidra looked down at me like I was a lowly insect.

“Don’t spout nonsense. Hel takes priority.”

Nidra was already heading toward the Citadel, maintaining the barrier.

“…”

Nidra was Hel’s loyal servant.

He followed only Hel’s commands.

No words, logic, or persuasion would sway him.

Damn it, as if that guy would listen.

But if I handed Ernst over like this, Ragnad’s wrath would be unavoidable.

Hel or Ragnad—

a deadly choice.

Either way, a wrong decision meant ruin.

Then there’s only one answer.

Having made my decision, I swung my sword, cutting the chains binding Ernst.

Clang!

The sturdy chains broke, freeing Ernst.

Regaining his freedom, he immediately cast a spell.

Boom!

A powerful mana explosion blasted away the approaching Reapers.

Seeing this, Nidra roared in fury.

“What are you doing? Daring to defy a god’s will?”

“Not defiance—trying to resolve this peacefully, you thickheaded fool.”

Nidra’s expression hardened further.

“…I never liked you. I’ll kill you here.”

At his command, the Reapers charged at me.

Gaiard grabbed me, dodging their attacks, and shouted,

“Are you out of your mind? Why provoke him here?”

“Do you think I wanted to? I made a deal with Ragnad to bring Ernst to him.”

“So you’re planning to drag us into the Black Sea? What about Hel?”

“Obviously, I’ll bring him to Hel too.”

“That makes no sense…”

Gaiard stared at me, dumbfounded.

“Make them both come here. Cause as much chaos as possible.”

I scanned the barrier, certain.

“To do that, we need to break this barrier and stir things up to lure Ragnad.”

Nidra, sensing this, deliberately kept the warship airborne, preventing Ragnad in the sea from detecting the barrier.

“Nidra won’t just sit still…”

As he spoke, a Reaper’s spear shot straight at Gaiard.

He barely twisted away, but the spear grazed his shoulder, causing him to drop me.

“Watch out!”

While falling, I deflected attacks from three Reapers.

Clang, clang, clang!

The mages watched, unmoving, realizing this wasn’t a simple fight.

“Head, what do we do?”

“I don’t know. Whose side should we take…”

Suddenly, a lightning orb blasted the Reapers fighting me.

Boom!

Landing safely, I looked at Ernst, who cast the spell.

We exchanged a wordless glance and nodded without hesitation.

The mages finally began to move.

“Shall we help?” Lilith said.

“What? But…”

“There’s a reason for this! And…”

“And?”

“When else will we get to fight those arrogant Reapers?”

Her eyes gleamed with madness.

Though dulled by time, Lilith was still the ‘Calamity Witch.’

“Head…”

The mages valued experience over their lives.

“If the Head says so, we do it!”

“We’re only doing this because you told us!”

The mages unleashed their spells, engaging the Reapers.

Various elemental magics sliced through the air, and the battle began in earnest.

Nidra frowned at the sight.

“To defy Hel while living here…”

Trembling, he summoned his spear.

A golden spear spun in his hand, taking form.

“This is all because of that Evan. He’s stirring trouble.”

Nidra hurled the spear at me.

But instantly, all the mages cast protective spells around me.

Simultaneously, I raised my sword to deflect the spear.

Clang!

The impact slightly altered the spear’s path, smashing the warship’s stern.

I can’t block that more than once or twice.

Deflecting it tore my grip.

A direct confrontation meant suicide.

Of course, I had no intention of defeating Nidra.

The goal was the barrier he maintained.

I asked the mages, who might have an answer.

“Can’t you break the barrier? Even a tiny gap would do.”

The response was grim.

“That’s impossible.”

Lilith said firmly.

“To break a barrier, you need to analyze its mana flow pattern. This one’s not just complex—it moves in real-time.”

“…”

As I stared, Lilith added, “It’s like solving ten multiplication problems at once, but the numbers keep increasing as you solve.”

The analogy made the situation clear.

“Then we need to take down Nidra.”

I said it, but it wasn’t simple.

Nidra was the strongest being here, second only to Hel and Ragnad.

Moreover, the twenty Reapers guarding him were all Expert-level.

Even setting them aside, Nidra is formidable. By our world’s standards, he’s overwhelming.

The title of God’s Proxy wasn’t for show.

Nidra possessed absolute strength befitting that name.

At full power, even a Sword Master couldn’t defeat him.

It was true I’d landed a hit on Nidra before.

But that was when he was unarmed and slightly careless.

Such carelessness was no longer possible, and the gap was stark in a full-on fight.

What do I do…

As I pondered, Ernst, from a distance, held up three fingers and mouthed something.

Though I couldn’t hear, I understood instantly.

Three minutes? He’s telling me to hold out for three minutes?

His eyes burned with firm resolve.

He was certain he’d find an answer if I could endure.

But is that easy? Three minutes against this guy…

It was a near-impossible mission.

Yet, I steeled myself.

“Lilith! One easier request, then.”

“What?”

“Handle the other Reapers instead of me and Ernst. I’ll take the leader!”

Before finishing, I charged at Nidra.

Lilith sighed, exasperated.

“What’s easy about that?”

As she directed the other mages, Nidra, floating in the air, slowly landed.

The moment his feet touched the deck, the distance between us closed instantly.

“Die, human.”

Nidra thrust his spear.

The strike carried lethal intent, and I instinctively dove to avoid it.

Whoosh!

Though the spear missed, its pressure alone violently rocked the warship.

I can’t get hit by that spear.

Rolling aside, I swung my sword to cut the spear’s shaft.

But Nidra twisted his wrist, deflecting the blade, and the recoil sent the spear upward.

With a gesture, he slammed it down at me.

“Ugh!”

I stepped back, and another massive hole tore through our ship.

“Scurrying like a rat.”

Nidra sneered leisurely.

But his spear allowed no respite.

Its relentless thrusts and spins maintained a ferocious assault.

No gaps in its trajectory. A moment’s delay, and it’ll pierce my heart.

An ordinary warrior would’ve buckled under the heart-pounding pressure.

But I remained calm.

I’d crossed the line between life and death countless times.

This kind of battle was familiar.

Nidra, despite his overwhelming power, lacked combat experience.

He solved everything with strength, and thus couldn’t understand why his attacks weren’t landing.

Why aren’t they hitting?

To his eyes, I moved instinctively.

But it wasn’t mere reflex.

My movements were calculated, planned meticulously.

I was waiting for an opportunity to gain the upper hand in this distance-based fight, using the spear’s long reach.

The moment to close that gap.

Thud!

I swung my sword, knocking the spear’s tip aside.

A fleeting gap appeared.

Now.

I didn’t miss it.

I explosively unleashed my Qi, closing the distance to Nidra in an instant.

I thrust my sword into his abdomen.

Swish!

Nidra formed a golden shield, blocking the blade.

Clang!

Using the recoil, he slammed the shield into me, knocking me back.

“This… this insect forced me to make a shield!”

As God’s Proxy, Nidra was absolute.

Human souls here were insignificant.

Yet, he’d instinctively created a shield.

That meant one thing.

He acknowledged me.

He feared the sword of a human he’d always dismissed.

Even without the carelessness of before.

“This…”

That realization cut deeper than a stab to the gut.

Enraged by this unacceptable fact, he hurled his spear at me.

“Die!”

The golden spear, laden with killing intent, tore through the air toward me.

Suddenly, it veered off course, heading elsewhere.

“…”

Its new target was Ernst.

“How dare you!”

He’d sensed Ernst trying to break the golden barrier.

No! There’s still a few seconds until three minutes.

I threw my sword with all my might.

Clang!

The spear’s trajectory shifted slightly.

It wasn’t enough.

“Gaiard! Block it with your body!”

At my command, Gaiard flew in, colliding with the spear.

Thud!

The impact tore Gaiard’s limbs, sending him flying.

Still, he succeeded in altering the spear’s path, which missed Ernst by a hair’s breadth.

At that moment, a crack formed in the impregnable golden barrier.

A human mage had shattered a barrier thought unbreakable.

“What!”

Nidra hurriedly tried to repair it.

But faster, Lilith’s spell slipped through, falling into the sea.

Splash.

The random mana bolt sent ripples deep into the sea.

“How could a mere human…”

Nidra muttered, his eyes filled with disbelief and confusion.

It was the moment his pride as God’s Proxy shattered.

“This can’t be.”

The shock was brief.

Fury at his power being defied consumed him.

“I’ll kill you all here…!”

He rose, summoning ten golden spears in the air.

“Even if Hel punishes me, I’ll—”

Then, the entire barrier shattered.

Crack!

Simultaneously, a blazing red sword pierced Nidra’s torso.

Stab!

“Urgh…”

The flames melted his armor, molten red dripping to the deck.

Dark red flames rose from his body.

Behind him, the figure holding the burning sword spoke.

“Found you. Well done.”

It was Ragnad, the God of Destruction and Apocalypse.

“You followed my orders well…”

But at that moment, a massive turquoise wave struck Ragnad, blasting him away.

Whoosh!

With a loud crash, the sea split in two.

From the rift, another god emerged.

Hel, ruler of the Coast of the Dead and the afterlife.

He gazed down at Ragnad with cold eyes.

“What are you doing, Ragnad?”

Ragnad regained balance in the air, smirking.

“Hel! It’s been a while!”

As their gazes met, time seemed to freeze.