「Encircling them really does make things easier, huh.」
「I know, I know, my strategies are always superior.」
Only five minutes passed since the Protectors appeared, and only one remained of the five.
The Protectors main strength was their cooperation and merging. That had become impossible the moment the Ashen Knights surrounded each of them. No matter how fast they were, they could not break through the defenses of Holy Knights linked onto Ashen Knights, and the Sisters punished any attempt at escaping.
As a result, all of the Protectors were isolated and the Sisters defeated them quickly.
「The barrage fire is too much!!」
While the Sisters who finished their fight returned to face Machina Guardian, only one continued fighting a Protector. Surely enough, it was Christina, the youngest. She used her shield to block the pebbles fired at her rapidly by the Protector, forcing her to advance a bit and then retreat.
That specific Protector had weapons that shot pebbles on both hands. Christina could block them with her shield, but if she got too close it was harder to predict where it would fire, not to mention that it could eventually fire at her head and feet at the same time, which would be impossible to block. Because of that, she was forced to remain at a certain distance where she could still react, and could not get any closer.
「Ahh, my sisters are all done already. What should I do… I’ll get scolded later if I take too long!」
Christina realized that if she took too long in her fight, Alfina would scold her later.
If she used the Ashen Knights to block the pebbles for her, she would easily take the Protector down. But she refused to do that because her sisters had not used them.
She knew that if she was the only one who did that, borrowing Mira’s power, then her training regiment would get even harsher. So that was the dilemma stopping Christina from getting anywhere.
「I have no choice, I’ll have to use that here…」
Continuing to stall would only lead to the same conclusion though. She wanted to avoid extra training at any cost, so she took a deep breath and muttered that to herself, before pointing her sword back while still protecting herself with her shield.
A moment later her shield began to glow, and the light spread to the rest of her body.
「I hate traininggg!1」
She screamed from the bottom of her heart as she began to run. Her body turned into a streak of light, deflecting the incoming pebbles and her sword leaving a glowing trail as she sliced the Protector in two with a single swing.
「Good…that was good…I made it on time! I should’ve made it on time!」
The Protector stopped moving, so she turned her gaze onto Machina Guardian. Seeing that not much had happened there yet, she tried to convince herself she had not taken too long as she brought her troop of Ashen Knights back to the main fight.
「Ohh, that was a new attack.」
Mira sounded impressed, seeing that flash of light for the first time.
「A Protector defeated with a single attack. That’s impressive.」
「I know, she’s really good.」
Mira sounded pleased hearing Soul Howl commend Christina’s fight as well. In a way, she was acting like a grandpa that heard his granddaughter be praised.
『You did well. That was a magnificent move.』
Filled with delight, Mira could not stop herself from praising Christina directly.
『Ah, thank you very muchh!』
Christina’s response sounded really nervous, either it was too sudden, or she had not expected to be praised like that.
The fight continued after that, slowly chipping away at Machina Guardian’s health. Soul Howl and Mira would take turns to use Ascension Rule to recover their mana behind the wall, allowing them to continue using their spells without worry. By the time only forty percent of the army was left, dozens of Cannon Fortress Golems appeared all over the battlefield to assist the Valkyrie Sisters from more angles. That also meant Soul Howl was busier controlling all of them.
That was around two hours after the Protectors appeared.
「Oh, only 30% left to go.」
「Now comes the leg thing, right?」
Machina Guardian’s eyes turned yellow just as it went berserk. Once they saw it settled after the jump, they braced for what would come.
First, Mira told the army to retreat. Usually the five seconds it took for Machina Guardian to recover after going berserk were a good window to attack, but Mira gave it up regardless.
The response was immediate. Alfina relayed the order, and all the troops moved a distance away from the boss.
Isenfald also did as told, moving back while carefully examining Machina Guardian.
Both of them did not hesitate whatsoever, following Mira’s order while ignoring the chance to attack. That also proved their absolute trust in Mira. They just kept a watchful eye on Machina Guardian while retreating fifty meters away.
Machina Guardian began to stand up again. Then its second pair of legs from the back detached and fell on the ground. Both of them were around twenty meters long, and three meters thick.
「They’re here…they’re here…」
「Yes, and it’s as annoying as ever.」
Mira and Soul Howl watched as more Protectors broke out from the fallen legs. Ten came from one, twenty in total, gathered around Machina Guardian. This time they did not run off like the first time either, so it was much easier for them to work with each other or merge. Many players were wiped out at that phase when information about the boss was scarce.
But now they knew to expect that. Mira and Soul Howl had been through that fight multiple times in the past.
「Now!」
Following Mira’s signal, Isenfald unleashed his Dragon Breath on the Protectors. Eletina had also been waiting for that moment, shooting an extra large light arrow. But that was not all, the cannons mounted on the dozens of turrets and along the wall all fired simultaneously.
All of that caused a powerful explosion where Machina Guardian stood, which seemed to shake the entire arena. Then there were blinding flashes and thunderous sounds. If anything had remained near the boss, it would have been blown away, regardless of whether it was friendly or foe.
Leticia was still singing in high spirits during all of that. And no matter how much noise the explosions produced, her voice could be heard clearly, showing the power of a spirit of sound.
「Say, Elder, can’t she match the scene a little bit better?」
「…She’s a free spirit.」
The battlefield looked like a world-ending war, filled with loud explosions, but Leticia’s song sounded rather cheerful, creating a slightly disconcerting dissonance.
That did not affect the result of the attacks though. As the light and smoke cleared, the Protectors and all the damage they suffered came into vision.
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