Chapter 73: Helping The Resistance
"Your deal... Ahh, yes. It will be honoured."
The princess responded to Kalon without being able to meet his eyes.
Josinia looked between the two with a confused look on her face.
"Deal?" she whispered to Kalon.
Before the man could respond, the princess swiftly moved on.
"They will need your aid as soon as possible, human. It would be much appreciated if you made your way over there now."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Kalon flashed the princess one last smile before exiting the throne room, leaving the princess alone with her thoughts and her wine.
...
As the princess sat alone, she let out a deep sigh and downed the rest of her orange wine.
He is so forward.
...
Outside the palace...
For the first time, Kalon walked through the streets of Venduros openly.
He passed many Vendurions who stared at him like he was an exotic animal in a zoo.
Luckily, they had already spread the news of a human’s arrival on the planet. People were still shocked, but they were expecting it.
Josinia walked by his side.
"What was that about in there?" she asked with intrigue. "What deal did you manage to strike with the princess?"
It was a question that Kalon wasn’t sure how to answer.
Josinia wouldn’t be jealous, since Vendurions enjoyed men who could seduce multiple women. However, it would make him seem very perverted if he told her the truth.
"If I help the resistance, she’s agreed to spend private time with me whenever I’m ready to," he answered.
"Private time..." Josinia thought about it for a second.
Then she suddenly blushed a darker blue.
"Wait a minute, you can’t mean—"
Kalon smiled and flashed the woman a wink.
「Josinia Seduction +2.5」
﹂Stage Five — 2.5%
That seemed to excite her...
...
Afterwards, Josinia left Kalon so that she could return home.
She would wait for him until he had finished with his battle.
He moved quickly toward the western edge of the city.
When he passed through a side gate and stepped beyond the walls, the full scale of the battle became clear.
The secret entrance the empire was using opened into a wide, open stretch of rocky ground between the city wall and a yellow forest.
There were no buildings here. Just scattered boulders and dry grass.
Empire soldiers in silver-and-gold armour came from a tunnel and pushed hard against the resistance fighters who had come out to stop them.
Lionedis and Handrid fought near the centre of the line too.
The resistance was holding, but more empire troops kept emerging.
Kalon stepped into the open field behind all of the resistance fighters, watching as the battle took place.
The empire’s mages seemed to be powerful, and the resistance didn’t have enough defensive fighters to defend against the ranged elemental attacks.
If the battle continues like this, the empire will break into the city...
Kalon wouldn’t allow that to happen.
He activated Ninefold Sunbreaker.
The moment the nine blazing orbs of fire erupted around him, the entire empire line had its attention drawn towards him.
Even from afar, they knew what that power was.
"Water mages to the front! Now!" a head magus roared. "We’ve heard what those flames can do. Form a barrier before he strikes!"
Ten water mages pushed through their own ranks and slammed their hands together.
A thick, shimmering wall of compressed water rose from the ground in front of the empire forces, stretching wide enough to cover the entire battle line.
The barrier glowed with a deep blue light.
"Tsskk..."
Kalon combined three of the red orbs together and launched them forward like cannonballs.
They slammed into the water wall with thunderous force. Steam exploded upward in a massive white cloud that blocked everyone’s sight.
The water barrier shook violently, cracks of light running through its surface.
But the combined defensive skill of the ten mages successfully blocked the strike.
The orbs detonated against the wall in bright flashes, yet the water barrier refused to collapse.
"It held!" one of the mages cheered. "Push him back, now!"
The ten water mages channelled everything they had into a single counterattack.
A giant sphere of water, denser and darker than the barrier, formed above their heads.
It grew until it was the size of a small house, rotating with terrifying power.
The pressure it gave off felt equivalent to at least an A+ rank skill.
They launched it straight at Kalon.
The resistance forces’ eyes went wide. They had heard many things about this human, but surely even this was too much for him.
They contemplated helping him defend against the attack, creating a barrier of their own.
But Kalon lifted a finger to stop them.
The massive water sphere travelled across the open field, kicking up dust and small stones as it flew.
Resistance fighters nearest to Kalon scrambled backward, certain the attack would crush him.
Kalon did not dodge.
He raised one hand and activated Astral Counter.
The giant water sphere struck his hand head-on and vanished.
The entire mass of water was absorbed in an instant, leaving only a brief shimmer of light in the air.
The field fell silent for half a second.
Kalon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
S-Rank Skill: Colossal Water Boulder
S-... Even stronger than I thought...
He felt the power of the S-rank skill flowing through him.
Meanwhile, the ten mages looked at him in pure disbelief.
So did the resistance fighters, but only for a moment.
Afterwards, they kicked into action, taking advantage of the opening that the human had created for them.
"Charge!" Lionedis shouted.
The resistance line surged forward.
Knights and fighters who had been struggling moments earlier now cut down the disoriented empire soldiers.
Handrid led a group straight toward the tunnel entrance, cutting down anyone who tried to retreat back inside.
Female healers dressed in robes watched from a short distance, pink eyes wide as they remained focused on what had happened.
The human who had just absorbed an S-rank water skill without moving a step now stood calmly while the resistance finished the rest.
Within minutes, the open field belonged to the resistance.
The remaining empire soldiers either lay on the ground or had fled into the forest. Some were captured for interrogation.
The secret tunnel entrance was quickly secured and sealed with earth magic.
Kalon dismissed Ninefold Sunbreaker.
The last sparks of the nine suns faded into the air.
A resistance captain approached him, still breathing hard, armour dented and bloodied.
He looked at the human who had turned the entire battle.
"You absorbed that water attack like it was nothing," the captain said, his voice low with disbelief. "We’ve never seen anything like that."
Kalon gave a small nod.
"It was an honour to help."
Secretly, he felt completely drained on the inside.
In the past hour, he had used all of his SSS-rank active skills.
It was worth it.
Word of the fight would reach the city within the hour.
A human who commanded nine suns, absorbed an S-rank water assault from ten mages of the empire, and handed the resistance a clean victory was on their side.
And he was becoming the reason they still had hope.