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Chapter 363: Ellie’s Pinnacle
A smile of relief bloomed on Ruth’s face, after seeing the members of the Black Dragon Order get pierced by the hundreds of sword blades that Ellie released.
As someone who had watched over Ellie since her childhood and as her aide, Ruth had opposed her decision and tried to stop her.
‘You can’t go, Your Majesty!’
However, Ellie was stubborn. She said, ‘Don’t try to stop me, Ruth. I have to go.’
This happened a few hours ago. Up until this moment, Ruth believed that Ellie’s plan was flimsy and filled with loopholes. But after pondering the steps that she took so far, he could see how much of a genius the woman she had become.
‘She doesn’t fight a battle that she will lose…!’
With this move, Ellie could launch an attack towards her enemies, and also win the favor of the people, right?
“Your Majesty!” Ruth shouted, running to check if she sustained any injuries.
But then, Ellie said, “Sir Cass.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I will buy you some time. Take the people to safety and take the knights and mages with you.”
“…!”
“Your… Your Majesty…?!”
Ruth and Sir Cass both looked at her in horror. Especially Ruth. He could not even understand why she said that. Right now, three of their enemies looked to be incapacitated and could not engage in combat anymore. Their blood was already flowing down their bodies from the sword blades stabbed on their bodies. Ruth was sure that they only needed to twist their neck to finish the fight.
Ellie was a very smart and intelligent commander and warrior. She would never shy away from her enemies if she could fight them head-on. She was the Sword Emperor Ellie, and the greatest Empress of Eivelis Empire. However, this very same woman was telling them to run away.
Ellie just stared at Ruth and Cass before saying, “This is an order.”
“I have received your order.”
Then, Ruth and Ellie’s eyes met.
“Aide Ruth.”
“Yes… Your, Your Majesty!”
“Just in case, can you give the Deep Sea Beef to Minhyuk for me?”
“…!”
Ruth felt his heart break after hearing her words. However, there was nothing he could do. This was an Imperial Order. He was barely able to open his lips and bow his head.
“I…I have received your order…” His voice a deathly whisper.
Cass quickly took the knights and the mages and evacuated the cowering citizens behind the enemies. Ellie just continued to look at the Black Dragon Order coldly. The hiltless sword blades that she had sent out were slowly scattering in the air.
‘Da Zhuang has not made his move yet. And there’s also that man.’
There was only one among the two other remaining members of the Black Dragon Order that had not yet made his move. That man was none other than Anox. Then, at that moment…
Swish—
Swiiiiiiiish—
…the three members of Black Dragon Order that had been stabbed to death by the sword blades melted and turned into liquid. The liquid then turned viscous, wriggling like jelly as they took form once again.
“Phew. I didn’t know she had that ability…”
“It’s beyond our expectation.”
“I was so surprised when I failed to reflect the skill. My Pinnacle Reflection skill has never failed like that before.”
Xu Jiaqi’s smile was greasy.
“…!”
For a moment, Ellie could not understand what had just happened. None of them showed any signs of any damage from her Sword of Annihilation. There was also the fact that their bodies had melted and reformed.
‘A resurrection ability?’
Ellie’s brows furrowed in thought. No, to her, it did not look like it was a resurrection ability. This was mainly because there was no harm inflicted on their regenerated bodies. Besides, she had never heard of an ability that could resurrect three people at the same time.
‘What the hell is it?’
She looked at them in both confusion and disbelief, especially at the man wearing a black mask, Anox. He was someone worthy to take note of, since none of his abilities has been revealed yet. However, Ellie was certain that the reason why the Black Dragon Order could still stand unscathed was because of that man named Anox.
Step, step, step—
Da Zhuang, who just stood still to watch the show, finally stepped forward.
“This fight won’t take long, Ellie. I acknowledge your pride and dignity for coming all the way here.”
Da Zhuang was someone that had awakened to full Pinnacle, and had helped Xu Jiaqi, as well as the rest of the members of Black Dragon Order, to awaken to Pinnacle. He was someone that only existed in the past. However, thanks to the Black Dragon Order, he was able to awaken once again.
Da Zhuang was currently in a situation where his strength was not completely restored. However, he could recover the power that he had lost, once he learnt of the location of another ‘Pinnacle’ and learnt the skill.
Ellie was, in fact, very nervous. Although Da Zhuang seemed to have lost his former strength, he was still a legendary figure of the past, a legend among all of the assassins.
Finally, Da Zhuang made his move.
Shwaaaaa—
The moment Da Zhuang flew out, a splash rang loudly. His body disappeared as if it was sucked by water. Then, the next moment, he appeared right in front of Ellie.
Claaaaaang—
Da Zhuang instantly appeared on Ellie’s right side and launched another attack just as his flying dagger was blocked.
Claaaaang—
‘From what I heard, Da Zhuang can switch his body with nature at will. His speed is also very unimaginable.’
Ellie recalled Da Zhuang’s legends in the past.
Flash—
Da Zhuang moved again after his dagger was blocked. Ellie recalled that there were leaves falling gently behind her. Da Zhuang instantly changed his position with the falling leaves and struck Ellie from above.
“Step.”
The moment Ellie widened the distance between her and Da Zhuang…
Shwaaaaaaaa—
…Arcas moved and grabbed her collar as he punched straight at Ellie’s full plate armor.
Baaaaaaang—
When Ellie staggered back, Da Zhuang had already switched his position with the soil on the ground and stabbed his dagger towards her neck. The worst part was the additional 800% attack power added to his dagger from the power of his attack skill.
Grab—
However, even while Ellie was retreating, she did not forget to grab Da Zhuang’s wrist.
“…!”
Da Zhuang was very surprised.
‘She really is a true genius of her generation.’
Ellie was worthy of the title of genius, being able to fight against those that had awakened the Pinnacle. Meanwhile, Arcas was able to successfully land his second attack.
Baaang!
He struck Ellie head on and was able to push her back. The damage that he inflicted was also stacked. The skill ‘Pinnacle of Consecutive Attacks’ had finally shown its true worth.
[Pinnacle of Consecutive Attacks]
[You have dealt an additional 700% damage after the second successful attack.]
“Ugh!” Ellie groaned as she turned her head. The moment her feet landed on the ground after being sent flying back, she immediately cast Blooming Sword.
Shwa, shwa, shwa, shwa, shwa, shwa!
Hundreds of flowers made of sword blades bloomed on the ground.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
The flowers of sword blades exploded, stopping Anox, Xu Jiaqi and Da Zhuang in their tracks.
“Urk!”
Da Zhuang, who was closely chasing after Ellie, was caught in the explosion, his body tearing apart.
‘What an amazing person…’
Da Zhuang had no choice but to admire Ellie’s prowess. In the meantime, Arcas had already sent out his fourth successful attack.
[Pinnacle of Consecutive Attacks]
[You have dealt an additional 1000% damage after the fourth successful attack.]
“Ughhhh!”
Ellie’s vision grew dark for a moment from the powerful damage. Arcas took the opportunity to raise her body up in the sky.
Baaaaaaaang—
“Urk!”
Shining red blood spurted out of Ellie’s mouth. She was so dizzy that she could not even see what was in front of her. Then, Arcas clasped his hands together and sent his final blow.
Baaaaaaang—
The attack connected with Ellie’s body the moment she fell down on the ground. The impact of the attack shattered the ground and buried her body in it. It was as if a bomb had fallen on that place. From the looks of it, Ellie seemed to be buried around 80 centimeters deep in the ground. Her body twitched slightly, and she could not move.
“Ellie, spit out the location of the Pinnacle. Perhaps, we can spare your life if you do so.”
Da Zhuang acknowledged her pride. This was his final act of mercy towards her. And as an answer to his question, Ellie slowly moved her hand. Da Zhuang, Xu Jiaqi, Arcas, and Anox looked at each other in excitement.
Then, Ellie, despite her trembling hand, raised her middle finger and said, “Bullshit.”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
BJ Luo and the viewers that watched that scene all expressed their awe and admiration.
[Crazy. In that situation…]
[Wow. From today onwards, I’m Ellie’s fan… That’s really freaking cool…]
[Isn’t she showing us that she won’t let her enemies win, even if she’s not stronger than them?]
[But even if I become Ellie’s fan today, she’s still going to die…]
This was Ellie’s great pride and dignity! The odds would not be so tilted had they fought against her one on one.
“Then, we’ll get it by force,” Da Zhuang said as he slowly approached Ellie.
Then, at that moment…
“Your… Your Majesty!!!”
…a man came running towards Ellie. He was just an old man that looked like he did not have the power to lift a sword. However, he still ran towards Ellie while crying out her name. This man was none other than Ruth. He had picked up a sword that someone had left behind and held it with both of his hands. He swung the sword wildly towards their enemies.
“Keep your hands off of Her Majesty!!! Keep your hands off of Her Majesty!!!”
He looked completely ridiculous. Ruth had completely defied the Imperial Order. However, he thought that it was alright even if he died. But, just when he was about to strike at them to protect Ellie…
Fwoosh—
Xu Jiaqi slashed Ruth’s side with her blade. Ruth screamed and fell down from the pain but he still jumped up and came at them.
“Hohohoho! This old man is really funny!”
This time, Xu Jiaqi slashed Ruth’s shoulders.
“Keuaaaaaack!”
Then, she kicked the screaming Ruth, who crawled towards Ellie.
“Your… Your Majesty…!”
“Hohohohohoho!”
Xu Jiaqi and the members of the Black Dragon Order laughed at him.
“Stop. Let him die a painless death. Don’t mock his pride and dignity,” Da Zhuang said as he slowly bowed his head towards Ruth and Ellie. He sincerely admired their pride.
‘I… I have to break… to break the gem in Her, Her Majesty’s necklace…’
Ruth thought about Ellie’s power being restrained by the gem inlaid in Ellie’s necklace. He was sure that they would not be in this situation right now, had that gem been completely broken.
Meanwhile, Xu Jiaqi was slowly approaching Ruth.
“Ruth… I can’t… believe… that… you disobeyed… my Imperial Order…”
“Your… Your Majesty…”
Ruth gathered all of his strength to crawl to Ellie after hearing her voice. That was when he saw Ellie grab the necklace hanging on her neck.
“…?!”
Ruth was very shocked. He thought, ‘Did, did Her Majesty know all along?!’
Then…
“Protect Ellie!!!”
“Let’s gooooo!”
“Waaaaaaaah!!!”
The hearts of the Korean players beat wildly as they watched Ellie fight proudly. A huge number of people had already gathered near the village, over 2,000 players, and they all quickly advanced towards the Black Dragon Order.
Slash—!
“Keheok!”
“Keuaaaaack!”
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
“Don’t back down!”
“Urk!”
These countless players all thought about themselves as a meat shield.
“It seems like Asgan Continent is a very admirable place,” Da Zhuang assessed while looking at the rushing players, before he nodded.
“We should treat them with great courtesy.”
Both the daggers in Da Zhuang’s hands shone brightly, showing off their sharpness. He was about to use his ‘Pinnacle’. Da Zhuang was an assassin that utilized the power of nature. And right now, the mana that surrounded nature was being sucked into him.
Da Zhuang was a great legend of the past. He had used his own power to stop and kill 3,000 incoming enemies at once. Although his power had been weakened, his experience would never be lost.
The mana in nature gathered around him and formed the shape of a bloody red dagger. Then, tens of thousands of bloody daggers appeared in the air the moment Da Zhuang extended his arm. These tens of thousands of daggers all gathered together to form one gigantic, bloody dagger. The dagger, which was the size of a jet, looked extremely domineering. Anyone would be split in half the moment they touched the tip of that sharp dagger.
“Stop them!!!”
“Waaaaaaaah!!!”
However, even though they knew of the strength behind that attack, the Korean players still continued to rush forward. But just when the skill was about to devour the players…
Tap—
Da Zhuang jerked his head back. This was because the place where Ellie was buried was empty. She was nowhere to be found. When he turned back to look back at the players, Da Zhuang saw Ellie standing in front of the man that was at the forefront of the pack.
Ellie’s hair fluttered in the wind. But, instead of the usual bright red, it had now turned into silver. Even her stance as she held her sword looked infinitely soft and light. Ellie slowly clasped the hilt of her sword and lightly swung it down towards the incoming ‘Pinnacle’ skill.
That was right. Ellie only lightly slashed her sword down. At that moment…
Craaaaaaaack—
Da Zhuang’s Pinnacle continued to move forward. However, it was already split in two, and both parts only passed by the thousands of players before colliding against the buildings behind them.
Baaaaaaaang—
The buildings behind them collapsed and created a strong gust of wind. The now silver-haired Ellie looked at Da Zhuang and spat coldly, “I told you to get your hands off of my people, you fucking bastards.”