Chapter 399: Wood's Imperial Arm!

"You remind me of my past self... That's right! 'Only the strong survive.' Anyone who lives through pity isn't fit to be called strong. Since you want a fight, I'll grant your wish. I'll prove that I am the one who deserves to survive."

The two figures sprinted at each other at high speed, their long blades clashing in mid-air, generating waves of energy that left deep gashes in the earth below. The speed of their strikes was so intense that Najenda and Lubbock, who wanted to aid Wood, found no opportunity to do so.

The battle between the two swordsmen was so fast that only afterimages of their forms could be seen. Ordinary people would find it impossible to track them with their eyes, and the only indication of the furious fight was the ringing sound of their swords crashing against each other.

The glowing slashes from their blades appeared high above the ground one moment and then flashed down to the earth the next.

Wood's grasp of swordsmanship, refined across different worlds, was formidable, but Esdeath's sweeping military-style sword techniques were equally impressive.

Esdeath was a true prodigy, having hunted large Danger Beasts along the northern border by herself since she was a child. Even without her Imperial Arms, her strength alone was enough to crush more than 99% of other Imperial Arms wielders.

In terms of swordsmanship alone, Wood might have had a slight edge over Esdeath, but it wasn't by much. And besides sword skills, in every other aspect—speed, strength, stamina—Esdeath clearly held the advantage.

After many clashes, Wood, whose physical prowess was inferior, began to falter. Esdeath delivered a powerful slash that sent Wood flying through the air.

Najenda, who had been watching from a distance, saw her opportunity when Wood was knocked away. She immediately squeezed the trigger on her Imperial Arms, the "Romantic Turret: Pumpkin"!

Facing an opponent like Esdeath, Najenda felt the enormous pressure, even though Wood was the one actually fighting her. The Romantic Turret: Pumpkin grew stronger in times of crisis, and while this wasn't Najenda's strongest shot, it was still more than powerful enough.

A massive pink beam burst forth from the weapon, the recoil so powerful that it made the horse beneath Najenda skittish. Seeing the beam hurtling toward her, Esdeath attempted to evade, only to find that her legs had somehow been caught in thin, nearly invisible wires.

The wires led back to a green-haired young man who had all of them gripped tightly in his hand, each of the threads drawn taut.

During the battle between Wood and Esdeath, Lubbock hadn't found an opportunity to intervene, due to their incredible speed. He was also cautious not to accidentally harm Wood. Nonetheless, he'd secretly used his Imperial Arms, "Cross Tail," to set a trap. The moment Wood was knocked into the range of his trap, Lubbock sprung into action.

The wires of Cross Tail were made from the whiskers of a super-dangerous cloud dragon. They could slice through an average person's body effortlessly, and even a Danger Beast with a strong physique would be cut into pieces once entangled.

When Lubbock saw Esdeath entangled in his Cross Tail wires, a confident grin spread across his face. No matter how strong she was, Esdeath was still human. And no matter how strong a human body could be, it was still just flesh and blood!

But just as Lubbock confidently pulled on the wires, he realized that Esdeath wasn't injured at all. Instead, a harsh grating noise rang out, one that seemed to set his teeth on edge. Through the cold transmitted along the Cross Tail wires, Lubbock realized where the sound was coming from.

Esdeath's Imperial Arms, "Demon Manifestation: Demon's Extract," was forged from the blood of a legendary super-dangerous beast that lived in the extreme north. It had once been kept in a jar, and anyone who had drunk even a tiny bit of it had gone insane.

Those who had previously drunk from the jar, even in small amounts, had been driven mad by the rejection of the super-dangerous beast's blood, as well as the raging thoughts it contained. None had survived the madness.

Esdeath not only overcame the power of Demon's Extract but drank every last drop of the blood in the jar!

That meant that, unlike the other Imperial Arms users, Esdeath would be the final wielder of the Demon's Extract. And since she drank all of it, she could wield the Imperial Arms' power to a far greater extent than any who came before.

She was already overwhelmingly powerful on her own, and as the last wielder of the strongest Imperial Arms, Esdeath had become the Empire's undefeated general.

Demon Manifestation: Demon's Extract was a terrifying ice-type Imperial Arms, granting Esdeath the ability to control and command ice.

The reason Lubbock's Cross Tail wires hadn't been able to cut Esdeath was that she had covered her body in a thin layer of ice. Though the wires managed to slice through the icy armor, they didn't even touch her skin, which was why Lubbock felt the chill through his wires.

Lubbock's Cross Tail had failed to sever Esdeath's limbs, but it did manage to restrict her movement.

At that moment, Najenda's Romantic Turret: Pumpkin had already fired its shockwave at Esdeath, leaving her no chance to evade.

Esdeath was certainly powerful, but even she couldn't come out of a direct hit from Romantic Turret's blast unscathed. Najenda didn't expect to defeat Esdeath—her goal was simply to inflict enough damage to slow her down, ensuring that she wouldn't pursue them.

"Not a bad strategy, but if this is all you've got, it's far from enough to defeat me."

Despite her restricted movement and the incoming beam of destructive energy, Esdeath remained calm. With a smile, she seemed almost relaxed as she commented on Najenda and Lubbock's teamwork.

She drove her military saber into the ground, and suddenly, a wall of ice several meters high and at least a meter thick erupted in front of her.

"Boom!————!"

The pink beam from Romantic Turret struck just as the ice wall rose, causing a massive explosion as the energy collided with the ice.

The ice shattered into countless shards, which fell like a glittering snowfall. As Najenda and Lubbock craned their necks to see through the thick dust and snow, wondering about Esdeath's condition, Lubbock suddenly felt an immense force pull on his arm.

Clearly, Esdeath hadn't died. Not only that, but she had counterattacked immediately!

The Cross Tail wires were extremely tough, resistant to being severed even by most blades. But now, that very strength had become a deadly weakness.

Unable to sever the wires, Lubbock found himself being pulled toward Esdeath by brute force. On the other end of the wires, Esdeath emerged from the cloud of dust, entirely unharmed except for some dirt on her clothes.

She gripped her saber in one hand and held the Cross Tail wires in the other, her face twisted into a cruel grin as Lubbock hurtled towards her.

Desperately, Lubbock tried to retract the wires, but the powerful force pulling him left him no room to maneuver. Time was slipping away, and he knew he wouldn't be able to escape.

Just as he was about to be split in half by Esdeath's blade, a blue figure suddenly flashed into view, positioning itself between Lubbock and Esdeath.

A blue saber carved a graceful arc through the air, slicing through the Cross Tail wires effortlessly. The figure then spun around, delivering a powerful kick aimed directly at Esdeath's face.

Faced with the oncoming kick, Esdeath hurriedly raised her saber to block.

"Clang!————!"

A crisp clash echoed through the air, and Esdeath was forced back several dozen meters. The white boots on her feet left two deep furrows in the ground as she skidded backward.

"I see... So this is your Imperial Arms?" Esdeath said, lowering her saber as she eyed the blue figure now standing protectively in front of Lubbock. A smile curved at the corners of her mouth.

Wood now looked entirely different. He was clad in a full suit of armor, completely ice-blue in color.

The armor covered his entire body, and blue pulses of energy flickered like a heartbeat at his shoulders, abdomen, and knees. In his hand was an equally ice-blue long saber, transparent like crystal. This was the blade Wood had used to easily sever Lubbock's Cross Tail wires.

"Demon God Descends: Winter Knight" — this was the name of Wood's Imperial Arms.

In its normal form, this Imperial Arms appeared to be an ordinary long blade, but when activated, it transformed into full-body armor.

The materials used to forge the Winter Knight were thousand-year-old refined iron buried under the ice, combined with the bones of Skasa, the super-dangerous dragon-like beast that had lived in those frozen lands.

When using this Imperial Arms, Wood's overall abilities were drastically enhanced. He also gained resistance to extreme cold and the power to manipulate ice on a smaller scale.

A main character should wield armor, and Wood was no exception. Even if it was a bit flashy, the power boost was undeniable.

Earlier, when Wood fought Esdeath, he hadn't had the upper hand in terms of raw strength. But now, equipped with his Imperial Arms, he had managed to kick her back dozens of meters.

"You and General Najenda should leave. I'll hold her off," Wood said to Lubbock, turning his attention back to Esdeath, who now wore a look of excitement. He knew she was about to get serious, and he needed Lubbock and Najenda out of harm's way.

"Are you crazy? That woman is a monster! If you stay here alone, you'll die!" Lubbock protested. Just from what he had seen earlier, he understood the vast gap in strength between them and Esdeath.

Without mincing words, if Wood hadn't saved him earlier, Lubbock would've been split in half by now. Because of this, Lubbock didn't believe Wood could defeat Esdeath—leaving him here alone would mean certain death.

If anyone had to stay behind to buy time, Lubbock thought, it should be him. Wood could've stayed in the Empire, but because of Lubbock's selfishness, he'd been dragged into betraying the Empire and joining the Revolutionary Army.

"Enough nonsense. I would've let you stay behind, sure. That way, you could boost your approval rating with your goddess, and I wouldn't mind taking credit as a martyr." Wood's voice remained calm. "But can you actually hold her off? Hurry up and take your goddess away. You staying here would just be a distraction to me."

"My Imperial Arms is the perfect counter to hers. Without you two around, I won't have any trouble escaping."

After hearing Wood's analysis, Lubbock reluctantly nodded and agreed. He and Najenda turned and fled.

Seeing Najenda and Lubbock's intention to escape, Esdeath naturally wanted to chase after them. But just as she moved, a blue figure appeared in front of her, bringing a saber down in a sweeping arc.

"Clang!————!"

The sound of blades clashing echoed through the air, and the resulting shockwave kicked up a cloud of dust. The force of their clash left the ground beneath their feet shattered like a broken mosaic.

"General Esdeath, your opponent is me. You can't afford to be distracted until you've defeated me."

With the Winter Knight armor equipped, Wood's previous physical disadvantages had vanished. This time, when their blades met, Wood wasn't sent flying. Instead, they were evenly matched.

After their blades parted, Esdeath looked in the direction where Najenda and Lubbock were fleeing. Deciding to give up on the chase, she turned her full focus to the fight before her. With a single-handed swipe, she summoned countless icicles that rapidly formed in the air before shooting straight at Wood.

The number of icicles was overwhelming, and even with Wood's swordsmanship, it was impossible to block them all. Yet the few that hit his armor shattered on impact, causing no harm whatsoever.

"Our Imperial Arms are quite incompatible, aren't they? The Ice Dragon Skasa was a dragon-type Danger Beast that lived in extreme cold. To it, ice was little more than decoration."