I felt a moment of deflation upon hearing that the great tree-type spirit called Tofam was specialized for agriculture rather than fortresses, but I managed to suppress it and maintain my tension.
According to Valse-san, it was specialized for defense to protect agricultural land, possessing no offensive power.
However, as its specialized nature suggested, its defensive power was astonishing, to the point of being described as a fortress.
The fact that it could withstand God’s attacks was telling enough.
Even Valse-san, my sole hope, couldn’t breach its defenses.
And if it came down to a war of attrition, I would likely lose.
“Haa, I have no choice. Shall we do this?”
In a situation where I couldn’t be picky about my methods, there was no need to hesitate.
The appearance of this spirit removed any doubt about Suella’s strength, but as a general, I couldn’t afford to admit defeat here.
“Do you have a plan over there? Your signature physical attacks won’t be effective, you know.”
Honestly, I didn’t want to use this method.
However, if the opponent was immune to physical attacks, I had no choice.
I reached into my storage dimension and drew out a single sword.
“You seem to have stored quite a bit of magic… wait, is this?”
“It’s a sword I originally prepared to fight against the instructor. I didn’t have time to use it during that battle, so it ended up being shelved. Besides, there would be no opportunity to use it against an instructor moving at high speed anyway.”
At first glance, it looked like just a simple iron two-handed sword.
A double-edged straight sword.
Its simple construction made it indistinguishable from a mass-produced item, yet Valse-san’s eyes widened.
The problem lay in the materials incorporated into this seemingly simple sword.
“By the way, where did you get it?”
“From a certain source. I can’t tell you the details… well, I got it back because someone owed me a favor.”
It wasn’t impossible to obtain, but it fell into the category of extremely rare items.
The material of this sword surpassed substances like Mithril, Orichalcum, and Adamantite.
God Steel.
Said to exist only in the Divine Realm, it was the raw material of divine swords.
Why would a sword be forged from such a material?
Hands, that rascal, had traced connections to acquire it, and tried to fleece me for a considerable sum.
I bought it at his asking price, thinking it might be useful for something, but at first, I could only think of slowly accumulating magic power with it.
However, that idea was overturned by a single concept.
The effect of God Steel was its pure hardness.
Its sole advantage was its sturdiness, but precisely because of that, it could be said to be compatible with all sorts of spell formulas.
So, I thought, along with Hands. How much could it seal spells?
The intended target for this sword was Instructor Kio, who was arguably the best in the Demon Lord’s Army when it came to physical defense.
His defensive power might be worlds apart from this spirit, Tofam.
But honestly, I couldn’t think of any other means of counteraction.
Therefore, I activated it.
“God Steel, the foundation of divine swords, and a single spell formula imbued in this sword: Penetration.”
Given this sword’s durability, I could have incorporated exceptional performance, like increased attack power or a magic sword-like enhancement.
However, even if the attack landed, it would be meaningless if it didn’t get through.
Therefore, to bring it closer to a decisive blow, I continuously applied the concept, completing a sword that merely pierced.
As a drawback, due to the incorporation of all sorts of penetration spell formulas, this sword couldn’t cut when swung.
It could only pierce. And because I had incorporated too many spell formulas to their limit, it would immediately crumble if any other enhancements were applied.
Thus, it could only be used once.
In exchange for that.
“If you can defend against that… you’re amazing, you know?”
The penetrating power of this sword went beyond romance, achieving absurd destructive power.
The Giant race, including Hands, who helped create it, said in unison.
This sword wasn’t a killing sword, but a piercing sword.
All defenses were meaningless before this sword; it created no contradictions.
The spell formula activated, and the sword made of God Steel began to shriek.
As I picked up the sound, I physically reinforced myself.
The power of this sword depended purely on my own strength.
The power of this strike changed depending on whether I could throw this sword straighter and with more force.
“Pile Regret, maximum deployment!!”
Therefore, the greatest utilization of a sword with a penetration spell formula was this.
Preparing thirty-two spell formulas and firing them all – the idiotic Pile Regret’s power is directly converted into propulsion. This is an utterly foolish extreme.
If I had prepared this much, Instructor Kio would have beaten me down and finished me. Simply thrusting it after approaching wouldn’t inflict significant damage.
It was truly a rocket launcher. Momentum was what this sword needed.
“I pray your arm remains intact.”
“Do that!! That’s why I hate this!!”
Pushing that to its limit, to the extreme momentum.
The thought of the backlash and the excruciating pain that would follow made me sick.
Recently, I’ve been conscious of not getting injured, yet I’m using an attack that assumes I will get injured.
A laugh bubbled up as I realized the contradiction within my own heart.
“Defend with all your might, Suella!!”
Moreover, directing it towards the one I love brought a sense of emptiness.
My ultimate attack, devised with no holds barred and solely focused on overcoming defense, was unleashed with a colossal explosion sound that drowned out all other noises.
If I misjudged the timing of the throw even slightly, its power would dissipate, and the sword would be damaged.
However, before the intense pain struck, the sword I threw traced the trajectory of my ideal, inheriting the momentum of Pile Regret, and pierced the wall of air that signifies supersonic speed with its own penetration spell formula.
The terrifying aspect of this sword, designed to pierce all things, is that it pierces air resistance and gravity, removing all causes of deceleration.
Therefore, this sword only accelerates.
Once released, this spell formula has no concept of stopping.
The barrier Suella instantly erected was as weak as paper.
The outcome of this sword was one of two.
“Go!!”
Either its defense would prevail, and it would shatter upon impact, or it would pierce through that defense and fulfill its role as a sword.
Clutching my arm, which was throbbing with pain, I shouted to push the concept forward even slightly.
My opponent was a great spirit that had survived since ancient times.
The years dedicated to its defense were far greater than mine. Although it wasn’t created overnight, the spell formulas applied by the Giants had a considerable chance of failing.
However, even a slight possibility of victory existed.
“Haa!”
I knew that.
Without thinking, I gave a thumbs-up.
Simultaneously, I chugged down a potion as a pain reliever.
“Valse-san! Let’s press our advantage!!”
“Yes, now is our only chance.”
I grabbed the Ore Tree and dashed.
The result of the sword’s attack was a large hole created in the great tree.
It hadn’t pierced everything.
But it had destroyed Tofam’s defenses, which had blocked everything, and as a result, the plan I had prepared had created an opening for victory.
It would probably take mere seconds to rebuild its defenses.
If I missed this chance, I could do nothing more.
“Amaterasu.”
With that thought, Valse-san’s support from behind accelerated my thoughts, allowing me to step outside the confines of linear time.
This space stretched one second into ten.
Moving at ten times the opponent’s speed, I advanced through the world in slow motion, passed through the resulting large hole, and succeeded in striking the great tree’s trunk with the Ore Tree.
“Oooooooohhhhhhh!!”
It wasn’t a clean cut.
An attack that gradually seared through the resisting great tree’s flesh.
Even with ten times acceleration, this was it.
The surrounding spirits noticed me and tried to stop this attack, but my swing speed was still faster!
After swinging the Ore Tree, I left even deeper claw marks of attack.
The effect of Amaterasu left a burning seed in the trunk, preventing regeneration.
I could see the attack slowly approaching.
Fixing my feet in mid-air, I utilized the range of motion in each joint to reutilize the momentum from my swing.
Like a flying swallow making a sharp turn in mid-air, the blade of the Ore Tree came back.
By cutting through it earlier, I had discovered that this great tree could be cut.
Once that was established, it was no longer impossible to cut.
One stroke, one flash.
The more I cut, the easier it became to cut.
Resistance gradually vanished, and the cutting became smoother.
Considering the physical width of the trunk, it wasn’t a width that could be cut with swords or the like that a person could wield.
In the first place, cutting a tree with a sword was an act of madness.
However, in reality, the spirit’s body was being torn to shreds.
“Yeah, yeah, I won’t let you interfere!”
If Valse-san, who had arrived via spatial transfer, blocked the attack pursuing me from behind.
“Kieiyyaaaaaaa!!”
My slash attack that had defeated the Tower of God now unleashed its full power.
Although it wasn’t the over-boosted attack from that time, I was still moving my arms at a speed that made my muscles scream, digging deeper.
With Valse-san protecting my rear, I had no fear of being attacked from behind.
Even a great spirit like this wouldn’t expect to have an attacking technique within its own belly.
If things continued like this, defeating Tofam would only be a matter of time.
To prevent this.
“It had to be this way!”
The only way was to return this spirit to its own world.
Suella judged that it was better to send it back to its world before it could be defeated.
The tip of the blade sliced through space, and I stopped my attack.
However, this was not a signal that the battle was over.
I knew she wouldn’t surrender so easily, and I suspected she still had cards up her sleeve even after revealing such a trump card.
“Hahaha! Just as I thought!!”
And then, what seemed like a cumulonimbus cloud appeared in the sky, succeeding the great tree.
I could feel its magic.
There was no doubt it was a spirit.
“Oh dear, Tempme too? How did your young lady manage that?”
“I’d like to know! But!! I can roughly imagine who lent a hand!!”
Moreover, a great spirit comparable to Tofam had appeared.
And this time, it was an overtly offensive spirit.
Lightning crackled within the dark clouds.
It was charged, as if gathering energy.
“So you’re not going to tell me that one is specialized for agriculture too, are you?”
“That one is different. Its specialty is…”
And then, without warning, lightning struck.
Dozens of bolts of lightning, as thick as a grown man, rained down.
If I couldn’t even cut lightning, I couldn’t possibly be a general.
While effortlessly slicing through the lightning bolts.
“Resort management.”
“You’re lying!?”
“I’m not lying. That one originally managed facilities to entertain the gods. Since it’s boring to have only sunny weather, it was forced to make people rain, snow, and lightning every day.”
“Why do even spirits have a dark, exploitative side?”
“It’s mostly the gods’ fault.”
I couldn’t help but retort, wondering if such a spirit existed.
What kind of spirit is skilled in resort management? Isn’t it enough to just control the weather?!
Furthermore, as a fellow corporate slave, I found another reason why it was difficult to attack.
Well, I would still attack.
“Your gods really are useless, aren’t they?”
“Aren’t the gods in your world similar? I hear they do quite unreasonable things?”
“…”
“Silence often implies affirmation.”
Although I felt a slight weariness, Suella, who was still determined to fight, regained her fighting spirit.
“Incidentally, it’s Tofam’s spouse, so its anger will ramp up its efforts.”
“That’s… difficult to say.”
And then, the battle continued.
Today’s quote:
Mastering one thing leads to adaptability.
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