The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-414

Chapter 414: End Game (6)

Flubber.

Full name: Flubber J. Tarbond.

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel.

Flubber’s role is to cover the exterior of Nouvellebag’s fortress with a thin layer of mucus, preventing water from entering. Along with BDISSEM, Flubber is one of the two pillars sustaining the system of Nouvellebag.

Flubber’s body is a massive blob of mucus, of unknown volume, with two pale orb-like eyes, a long slashed mouth resembling a smile, and grotesquely malformed teeth. This strange creature was now surrounding Vikir and Aiyen with clear hostility.

Vikir and Aiyen each made a remark.

“Remarkable. It’s a creature capable of thought.”

“Indeed. It looks just like the Shadowless King of the Black Sea.”

They had assumed from its appearance that it lacked intelligence, so this was quite unexpected.

Even D’Ordume and Souaré seemed to be struggling to adapt to the situation.

“Flubber, that monstrous creature… still moves like clockwork when Nouvellebag is in danger.”

“It loves this place. That’s why it’s always cleaning, repairing, and maintaining the fortress walls, isn’t it?”

Contrary to Vikir’s guess, Flubber had a different purpose for coming here. It appeared that Flubber had descended not to aid D’Ordume and Souaré, but because it sensed an unusual sign from Poseidon. It aimed to prevent the destruction of Nouvellebag.

No one could understand why Flubber was so determined to protect Nouvellebag. They could only guess that its attachment to preserving and restoring this place was immense.

“Heh heh… Well, even if it’s a monster we can’t communicate with, we share the same goal.”

“Teaming up with this monster isn’t ideal, but we have no choice.”

Finally, D’Ordume and Souaré moved under Flubber’s cover.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

D’Ordume’s attacks and Souaré’s defenses, combined with Flubber’s tentacles constricting the entire field, formed a highly effective combination.

Crack! Thwack!

Whenever Vikir and Aiyen dodged D’Ordume’s axe slashes, Flubber’s mucus would cover the ground.

Vikir and Aiyen had to retreat, carefully choosing where to step.

Bang! Snap!

Whenever Aiyen tried to attack with arrows, Souaré would raise multiple layers of earth shields to block them.

And beyond that, D’Ordume’s relentless attacks kept coming.

“This is getting really troublesome.”

“With three of the five pillars gathered here, it’s no wonder.”

Vikir nodded in agreement to Aiyen’s comment.

This wasn’t a situation that could be explained by simple logic.

The combination of D’Ordume’s attacks, Souaré’s defenses, and Flubber covering the gaps was challenging even for Vikir.

“…It’s a relief that we dealt with Black Tongue and BDISSEM beforehand.”

Vikir muttered to himself quietly.

Aiyen, who had been deflecting D’Ordume’s attacks, was startled and asked.

“I knew you dealt with BDISSEM, but Black Tongue? Was he also strong?”

“Yes. I eliminated him because he would’ve interfered with our escape. And that seems to be helping now.”

Vikir reached into a leather pouch at his waist and grabbed a handful of something inside.

Rattle-

Black pearl-like objects were scattered into the air.

“Hmm?”

“What?”

D’Ordume and Souaré hesitated for a moment.

They were cautious, fearing that the black pellets falling to the ground might be explosives.

However, these were far more troublesome than explosives.

Crack- Crack- Crack-

The surface of the black pearls broke open, revealing what was inside.

These were the eggs of a new species of leech, taken from the Black Tongue after killing him!

Vikir deliberately wounded his palm, letting blood spill over the eggs. As soon as the eggs were soaked in the scent of blood, they hatched immediately.

Tiny leeches began to attach themselves to D’Ordume and Souaré’s bodies.

“Damn it! These are Black Tongue’s leeches! Did they get stolen?”

“Aaagh! That disgusting bastard! He must have betrayed us!”

D’Ordume and Souaré, familiar with Black Tongue’s perverse tendencies and power, couldn’t fathom that Vikir had defeated him. They assumed he either betrayed them or had his leeches stolen.

They scratched their bodies furiously, trying to remove the leeches until they bled.

Vikir clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“I’ll have to use these against someone unaware of their existence. They’re not very useful within Nouvellebag.”

D’Ordume and Souaré’s heightened wariness towards Black Tongue’s leeches rendered them less effective. Moreover, Flubber seemed completely unaffected by the leeches, diminishing their overall impact.

‘But I’ve bought enough time, and that’s sufficient.’

Vikir and Aiyen distanced themselves and moved closer to Poseidon.

“Die!”

D’Ordume once again rotated the axe blade on his forearm.

Death Roll.

The whirlpool of slashes, which had torn countless prisoners to shreds, displayed its terrifying might once more.

Vikir and Aiyen didn’t confront D’Ordume’s attack head-on.

“Do as we discussed.”

“Got it!”

Aiyen swiftly retreated.

They maneuvered behind Poseidon, whose blue light was glowing intensely, and hid behind it.

Boom!

Poseidon was struck by D’Ordume’s attack.

The surrounding lava roots exploded noisily, and the resulting shockwaves were absorbed by Poseidon.

…Flash!

The blue light emitted by the sphere grew even stronger.

The vibrations emanating from the roots became much more intense.

D’Ordume furrowed his brow deeply.

“What’s this? Something’s off. They’re not counterattacking, almost as if they’re waiting for us to expend our energy. And that blue sphere is…”

“Does it matter if something’s off!? We need to finish this and head upstairs for reinforcements! If we don’t kill them, the warden will kill us!”

Souaré stepped forward impatiently.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

She swung her hammer down onto the ground, sending sharp rocks and lava flying.

Crackling-

The hot volcanic bombs were scorching everything around them.

And with each impact, Poseidon’s light grew even brighter and more dazzling.

Vikir sensed the vibrations of Poseidon’s accumulated power through the ground.

[Human! The mana waves are becoming unstable! It seems about half the energy has been stored!]

Hearing Decarabia’s shout from his chest, Vikir felt certain.

‘…50%, huh. It’s charged quite a bit already. Well, we have been here for a long time.’

Once the energy reaches around 90%, the rest fills up rapidly due to the continuous explosions and aftershocks caused by the lava roots.

What will happen when it reaches 100%?

As Vikir estimated the remaining time, he heard an ominous sound growing closer.

“…!”

Vikir looked up to see Flubber grinning with its mouth wide open.

It had silently moved along the stalactites on the ceiling.

“Tch!”

Aiyen shot an arrow, but Flubber simply swallowed it.

As its appearance suggested, it seemed to ignore any physical force.

Slither- Thud- Thud- Squish…

Flubber slid down the stalactites, positioning itself to support D’Ordume’s frontal assault from the rear.

“…This is bad. Flubber doesn’t use physical force, so it won’t help charge Poseidon. It might even hinder it.”

Vikir bit his lip.

He hadn’t anticipated Flubber to be such an obstacle, thinking it wouldn’t significantly impact his plan.

If Flubber absorbed shocks and devoured everything on the battlefield, activating Poseidon would be impossible.

But unlike the anxious Vikir, Aiyen remained calm.

“Don’t worry, my husband. Just as they had a backup plan, so do I.”

“Hm? What do you mean…?”

In that moment, Vikir remembered something Aiyen had said before they came down here.

‘You wouldn’t have managed alone. Didn’t CindiWendy try to stop you?’

‘She didn’t, because I wasn’t alone.’

Aiyen had mentioned her attacks on Donquixote, Usher, and Reviadon Clans.

Seeing Vikir’s puzzled expression, Aiyen smiled confidently.

“I didn’t come alone, either.”

Simultaneously.

Boom!

The stalactites on the ceiling were swept away.

Flubber’s body, which had been hanging down, was chopped into pieces and burned to ashes.

-Oh-Ohhhhhhh!

Flubber let out a bizarre scream as it retracted its tentacles.

At the same time, a massive slashing storm struck from behind D’Ordume and Souaré, who were focused on the front.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With a thunderous shockwave, D’Ordume, Souaré, and Flubber were all sent flying.

The blue flames emitted by Poseidon grew even stronger.

“Ugh!? Who’s there…!?”

As D’Ordume and Souaré, bloodshot eyes glaring, looked up, a sinuous shadow loomed on the other side of the flickering flames.

Hohohohoho-

A lilting laughter filled the air, clearly mocking the fallen D’Ordume and Souaré.

“Are you blinded by rage, where are you looking?”

The voice came from a figure holding a whip that seemed to carry the dancing flames.

Clad in a tight, black bodysuit and wearing high heels with heels over 30 centimeters tall, the figure was unmistakable.

“…!”

For the first time since entering Nouvellebag, Vikir’s eyes widened in surprise.

It was no wonder, as the person who had just stormed onto the battlefield was a familiar face.

Ms. Ouroboros.

Professor Sadi, the professor who had left Colosseo Academy and disappeared, had suddenly appeared in the middle of the battle.