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Turning Chapter 973
🕑 Added 2024-03-09 05:50:29 +0000 UTCChapter 973
The wave finally began to split into several paths.
"Be careful not to fall down!"
If one had to face the world's largest waterfall with their bare body, would it be this breathtaking? On top of the huge wave that surged up and down, writhing and gradually splitting into several branches, the members tried their best not to fall while relentlessly exerting their abilities.
While the water-wielding ability users spat blood from their mouths and added strength to Yuder, it was the wind ability users who continuously held the reins and applied the brakes to slow down the speed of the splitting waves, protecting those who were doing so.
"I'll catch Steiber, so you guys keep shooting against the wind!"
Yergin Schiller, in charge of commanding the wind wielders present that day, shouted with a hoarse voice, stepping on the wind and leaping. Swaying but quickly crossing the waves, she supported Steiber's back, who was about to fall into the water at any moment, from behind Yuder and supported his arm with a narrow margin. Relying on the power of the wind alone to support a person's weight in the spray of water, she let out an involuntary suppressed groan, unaware of her own pain.
Whoosh......!
Following Yergin's instructions, a transparent wind arrow swirling at the tip of Phieny Moffle's fingers, who had aimed the bow she was holding, was created. The arrow, which contained a strong whirlwind, soon flew toward the waves beyond with a loud bang. The condensed wind mercilessly hit the wave that was about to engulf Yuder, briefly slowing down its rushing speed.
Taking advantage of that gap, Yuder's golden eye, which shone brightly enough to be clearly distinguished even in the fog, met Phieny Moffle's for a very short moment. The brief gaze soon drifted away again, but Phieny smiled.
Months ago, she had accidentally dropped a pouch containing a wrist guard her late mother had made at the training ground shared with the Imperial Knights. When she returned to retrieve it, the Knights, whose training time had ended, coldly refused her entry and drove her away.
It was her colleagues from the Sul Division and Yuder Aile who had stood up for her when she was helpless and unable to do anything. Without them, how could she have returned to the training ground, reclaimed her wrist guard, and exacted her bold revenge on the Knights she had feared?
Until then, Phieny had thought herself too quiet and timid to fit in with the Cavalry. However, her heart completely changed as she shot arrows at the buttocks of those who tried to harm her precious wrist guard and burst into laughter.
She had thought herself lesser compared to Yuder and the other members, but it wasn't true. Phieny Moffle was indeed a rightful member of the Cavalry, no different from the rest.
Since that day, the usually timid Phieny Moffle, often suffering from homesickness, transformed. She never let go of that wrist guard, practicing fiercely, even sleeping with it and her bow. She repeatedly sought Yuder for advice on improving her skills.
Thanks to this, the Phieny Moffle standing here today had become a master, capable of endlessly firing wind arrows that she could originally use only about five times a day.
Yuder Aile might not have thought much of that day's events, but Phieny was overjoyed and happy now that she could fully support what he intended to do. As she shot more arrows, the sharp wind that grazed her arm and the arrow shaft multiplied her wounds, spattering blood, and blurring her vision, but she considered it to be alright.
Phieny clenched her teeth, grabbing the bow that kept slipping from her hands again. Her arrows, made of wind, could be shot continuously as long as she had strength, unaffected by external forces. However, the bow, being a physical object, would break and warp if overused. The one she was currently using was already cracked and twisted, seeming like it would shatter with just a bit more use.
'Just until the waves subside... Please hold on a little longer...!'
She was about to readjust her grip on the bow, gasping for breath, when she heard Yuder Aile's voice somewhere.
"Everyone, prepare not to fall."
His voice, transmitted using the power of the wind like theirs, was terribly hoarse but carried an unusual weight, drawing their attention.
Phieny turned to see Yuder Aile looking somewhere. As she turned her head to follow his gaze, suddenly, the air around her became still.
A figure, whom she hadn't thought would be here, appeared faintly through the mist in the distance.
'...Commander? And... who's next to him...?'
"...Sir Zuckerman, isn't it?"
A colleague using his powers next to Phieny muttered in disbelief. Phieny also realized then that the person near Kishiar, slightly apart, was Nathan Zuckerman.
As if they had climbed invisible stairs, they stood on empty air with their feet. When everyone blinked their eyes as if enchanted by the appearance of the two men who appeared like an illusion, forgetting even the urgent reality, the two men simultaneously raised their swords high.
Then, with the same movement but in opposite directions, they swung them down.
A bright blue light flashed momentarily, and then all was silent.
-......
No sound was heard.
No one could see clearly how they swung.
Nevertheless, the result of that simple single movement changed everything a moment later.
Kwaaaaaaaaa!!!
The members screamed and came to their senses on the collapsing waves, which bent and crumbled as if their waists had been cut in an instant.
"Aaah!"
"Open your eyes! I told you to prepare! Get on top of the waves!"
Phieny, hearing another colleague's shout, reflexively jumped up, stepping on the wind. Had she not heard Yuder's voice first, she would have been too startled to react immediately. Even so, her strength waned halfway, and she nearly fell, but a gust of wind from somewhere supported and protected her. It was obviously Yuder.
'Yuder!'
Turning to where Yuder Aile should be, Phieny gasped at the unexpected scene.
'Ah...'
There he was, relentlessly exerting his power without pausing for even a moment in the perilous situation where the waves he rode were being sliced apart and monsters were bursting forth.
While everyone was surprised and disoriented by this unforeseen situation, unable to exert their powers properly, Yuder Aile alone seemed unfazed, as if he had anticipated this, not even blinking.
Phieny, momentarily losing herself, felt a desire to whip herself back into focus and gathered her powers once more.
Beyond the mist, the shadows of the Commander and Nathan Zuckerman had vanished as if they were never there. However, judging by the waves that had lost their momentum and were now clearly splitting into several branches, what had just transpired was undoubtedly reality.
"Divide the personnel! Each person should take charge of the branching waves based on their current position! Try to slow down the speed as much as possible and keep lowering the height!"
Steiber's shout, carried to everyone's ears on Yergin Schiller's wind, echoed from afar. The members skillfully confirmed each other's positions and took their places.
The five split waves, racing towards the southern coast, were pouring and rushing forward, but they no longer possessed the terrifying ferocity of before.
Phieny, standing atop the farthest wave on the right, cast one last glance towards Yuder, who was on the largest wave in the center. The wave she stood on, being the smallest, visibly lost height and force as it approached the ground, unlike the one Yuder was on.
The wave, though diminished and weakened, still surged high like a galloping horse. The sight of it about to engulf the harbor sent chills down her spine.
'...Hopefully, everyone can hold out till the end.'
Amidst her worries, the waves disappeared into the fog, moving further away.
Yuder, now on a wave that had lost much of its momentum compared to before, squeezed out the last of his strength as he watched the ground gradually approaching. Although the height had significantly decreased, at this rate, the wave would still surpass the breakwater and engulf the harbor. However, he was not as worried as he had been earlier.
Beyond the harbor, the man who had just "greeted" him in anticipation of his arrival was waiting. Everything they had prepared would be there to welcome Yuder; now all that remained was to leave everything in their hands.
Yuder took a deep breath and looked down.
The moment his power reined in the wave for the last time, the greatly overturned wave crashed down upon the breakwater of Charloin.
Comments
Nightwindz
I love this mental image of the waves being a herd of sprinting wild horses and the Cavalry is trying to corral them. Yuder being on the leader of the horses of course π
Nightwindz
Iβm waiting for characters from the east or west to show up again. π₯Ή itβs amazing to see the characters progress after interactions with Yuder β€οΈ
Dani
The author doesn't do throwaway characters. π₯²
