Chapter 77: Armorless Union Dissolution Progress (1/3)

Degenbrecher gave serious thought to whether she should drag the little squirrel all the way back to the Doctor. As she mulled it over, SilverAsh’s parting instructions suddenly echoed in her ears.

It had been a calm afternoon. SilverAsh was playing a solitary game of Ludo, while Degenbrecher sat patiently by his side.

“Degenbrecher, our ally requires your assistance this time. While you are over there, remember to follow his orders to the letter. Although he hides his desire for control quite well, his mind is undoubtedly infinitely more complex than you might imagine. Act first, then ask why.”

Degenbrecher had nodded silently.

Suddenly, SilverAsh’s tone shifted, laced with a strange, almost petty excitement. “But there is one thing you must absolutely remember!”

“Our ally has absolutely zero resistance to fluffy ears and tails. He completely loses all self-control in that regard. Look!”

SilverAsh voluntarily set down his chess piece and proudly raised his own fluffy, lustrous snow leopard tail. “Have you memorized this size? If our ally takes a fancy to some Kuranta, their fur quality certainly won’t compare to mine or my sister’s. But if the tails of other races exceed the size of mine, you must—absolutely must—not bring them back to him!”

“Degenbrecher, you don’t want Karlan Trade to return to its previous state, do you?”

Degenbrecher stared at him. “…Boss, I’m leaving now. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

She placed heavy emphasis on the word “I,” waiting for SilverAsh to offer her some actual tactical advice.

As expected, the suave SilverAsh immediately reacted. “Oh, right. Degenbrecher, the situation in Kazimierz is complex. You must remember to…”

Stay safe? Remain vigilant? SilverAsh’s admonitions were always the same few platitudes over and over; she could guess them even with her eyes closed.

“…Remember to take good care of your horns and tail!” SilverAsh pulled a Caprini horn care kit from the cabinet, then produced a tube of premium tail conditioner from his pocket, handing them to her with utmost earnestness.

“I know you didn’t gain our ally’s trust because of a fluffy appearance, but according to the data, there is an Elafia over there named Viviana, who, like you, is also a Knight Championship winner.”

“You are competing on the exact same track. While I believe in your strength, when character archetypes are highly homogenized, you absolutely cannot fall behind in this aspect!”

SilverAsh looked genuinely nervous. “I’ve looked up many rumors about this Candle Knight. Although most are false, they reflect the obvious fact that her appearance is absolutely outstanding.”

“For the future of Kjerag, we cannot lose!”

Degenbrecher: ‘…’

Thinking back to that absurd conversation, Degenbrecher finally set the Zalak she was carrying down on the ground. “Didn’t you say you wanted to return to the Knight Order? I believe you. Go.”

Sona could hardly process it. ‘I… I was just let go like this?’

Degenbrecher looked down at the little squirrel, who remained dazed and motionless on the floor. “What, do you still want to be taken back as a captive?”

Sona jolted as if waking from a dream. “I’m leaving! I’m leaving right now!”

Although she had no idea what this cold-faced Triple Crown winner was thinking, she had to get out of there. Her friends were still waiting for her!

Watching the Zalak’s red hair disappear at the end of the corridor, Degenbrecher waited another five minutes. Estimating that Sona had safely cleared the core of the sector, she kicked Monique behind her and slowly raised her twin maces once more.

Still without a trace of Originium Arts, without a single ripple of spell fluctuation, Degenbrecher’s arm muscles tensed. Her expression turned deadly serious. After a brief buildup, she exhaled a low sigh.

“Return to tranquility.”

At that moment, Monique—tied up with ropes and lying on her side on the floor—witnessed the absolute pinnacle of martial arts.

The Black Knight’s terrifying physical prowess was put on perfect display.

They were standing beneath the special alloy dome of the core area, a structure claimed to be capable of withstanding the direct charge of a warship.

Degenbrecher slowly drew her right mace back, the muscles across her entire body tightening like coiled steel wires. Then, she struck. A thousand invisible blades seemed to overlap at the exact same point of impact.

There was no deafening crash of collision. The moment the mace touched the dome, the alloy rippled like water, tore open, and silently vaporized into a massive hole. Cracks rapidly spiderwebbed outward from the epicenter.

There was no explosion. Only the teeth-gritting hiss of a material structure being dismantled in the most violent way imaginable. The mobile core of Sector Zero, along with its base, collapsed inward, shattered, and turned into fine dust—like clay being crushed by a pair of invisible giant hands.

Clang!

With a final strike, her left mace sank deep into the main alloy load-bearing pillar. The spiderweb cracks triggered an avalanche of structural failure.

She took a deep breath, pulled out her mace, turned around, picked up Monique, and sprinted outside without looking back. Behind her, the entire core area of Sector Zero began to disintegrate under the weight of absolute force. Along with all the life and creations within it, the sector silently and uniformly collapsed into a dead, silent ruin.

Researchers in the outer areas only then reacted with belated screams, adding a bit more chaos to the Great Partition.

[I knew you wouldn’t leave any for me… (ToT)]

Seeing the message pop up on her terminal, Degenbrecher suddenly stopped in her tracks. She carefully examined Monique, who was currently shivering like a frightened quail in her grip, and then reached out to measure the assassin’s tail.

Monique was on the verge of tears. ‘Is this the kind of monster I just fought?!’

Degenbrecher thought for a moment, turned in a different direction, and found a dusty, unfinished building. Amidst Monique’s terrified and incredulous expression, the Black Knight dragged the Feline’s carefully groomed tail back and forth across the filthy ground three or four times.

She looked at the now-dusty, matted, and shedding Feline tail, nodding with satisfaction.

‘Hmm. Now she can be taken back to the Doctor.’

[Rhodes’s Note:

Enjoying the operation so far, Doctor?

(This daily grind literally pays the landship’s rent! 🙇‍♂️):

Massive thanks for reading and supporting the operation!]