The New Gate (LN)

Filma and Shibaid met their opponent’s blade a little later than Shin.

Both of their opponent’s blades were large and sturdy.

Thanks to their improved quality, they were not broken by a single blow. 

However, just because a weapon could withstand a blow did not mean the wielder was safe.

The greatsword wielder’s weapon that had collided with Filma’s 『Scarlet Moon 』 cracked its blade, but it held up without breaking.

However, the humanoid’s arm holding it could not support the greatsword. The blades of the clashing swords bounced off, and the blade of the greatsword injured the humanoid wielder.

“We can’t afford to waste any more time.”

The humanoid did not react to Filma’s words.

The first time the humanoid was hit, it was not blown away by the momentum of the attack. But the impact caused the humanoid’s feet to come off the ground this time.

In the second round, the humanoid’s stance collapsed, and in the third round, it fell face down with its greatsword on the ground. If it weren’t for the greatsword, it would have been cut in two at that point. The impact was so significant that the humanoid body was half buried in the ground. Fragments of the blade were scattered on the ground.

By the third round, it was clear to everyone that the greatsword wielder’s abilities had reached their limits. It knew if it did not move, a follow-up attack would come. However, the humanoid body could not move.

Swordsmanship martial arts skill 【Tyrant Beat】.

The humanoid could not do anything as it was continuously struck with a slight paralyzing effect.

This was no longer a battle, but an annihilation.

In the fourth round, the humanoid, unable to move, had no strength left to withstand Filma’s blow.

◆◆◆◆

“It’s not just the shield that’s special, huh?”

Similar to the shattered shield, the quality of the halberd-wielding items that were meant to face Shibaid had also improved.

Shibaid praised the humanoid for throwing down its shield and unleashing a full-body thrust.

Even with its shield shattered, the humanoid showed its ability and moved out of range just as Shibaid’s footsteps stopped.

There was no gap in the humanoid’s stance with the halberd, and it unleashed blows that matched the greatsword and curved sword wielders that were running side by side.

The blows, which were aimed right at Shibaid’s head, bounced off his shield. However, the humanoid was able to use the force of the bounce to spin on the spot. In a quick but wide arc, it came chasing after his legs, while hiding behind Shibaid’s shield. 

On the left side of Shibaid’s field of vision, there was a blind spot due to his shield. However, someone as skilled as Shibaid could read the halberd’s swing direction just by looking at the humanoid’s stance, and he knew the length of his opponent’s weapon.

Still, the battle was not as predictable as expected.

While the humanoid was spinning, another blade extended sideways from its halberd’s blade. It looked like a scythe held by the god of death. By changing the shape of the weapon when it entered the blind spot, it would probably catch the enemy by surprise. Normally, one would not expect a halberd to turn into a sickle in the blink of an eye.

The blade slipped into the depths of Shibaid’s shield.

But the blade never touched Shibaid.

“I’m used to this kind of thing.”

Shibaid took half a step back and shifted his shield to his left side. The blade that had slid in was pushed by the side of the shield, deflecting it from its trajectory toward his leg. 

Instead of blocking it with the shield, he moved the shield itself, deflecting the blade further back from where he stood. From the humanoid’s point of view, this meant that not only was the attack deflected, but the attack was taken away from it. If it had let go, there wouldn’t have been a huge gap, but the humanoid didn’t choose that. 

Shibaid immediately changed the way he held his huge halberd, 『Placid Moon』, and thrust it into the humanoid, which was about to lose its balance and fall forward. 

To deflect the humanoid’s attack, Shibaid turned his body to the left side. In this state, with no build-up and at such a close distance, he could not deliver satisfactory power. 

So, he let go of 『Placid Moon』 in his right hand for a moment and grabbed it again, holding it in the opposite hand near the stone tip. 

He compensated for the unstable aim caused by the length of the weapon and the position of his grip by placing the part near the tip of the spear against the side of the shield.

The humanoid used one arm as a shield in front of the approaching 『Placid Moon』 blade. However, it was useless in the face of Shibaid’s physical strength and the sharpness of the 『Placid Moon』.

Even though the way Shibaid held the blade was different from usual, it was powerful enough. Due to his leaning forward position, the tip of 『Placid Moon』 pierced through the arm it was using as a shield and halfway through the humanoid’s head.

◆◆◆◆

While Shin and the other three fought on the ground, only Milt was in the air.

She did not miss the battleaxe wielder as she jumped into position to leap over Shibaid’s head.

“I won’t let you attack on my watch!”

The battleaxe and the 『Ordgand』 collided. In the air, speed and weight matter more than power.

The two leapfrogged each other with little difference in speed. Their weapons were large and heavy. The obvious difference was the physique of the wielder. 

It was obvious who had the advantage between the petite Milt and the big battleaxe wielder, but it was the battleaxe wielder who was blown away.

Axe technique martial arts skill 【Power Slash】.

It was a skill that only had the simple effect of increasing the power of the weapon once when it was swung. However, it had a hidden effect that even when there was no support, such as in the air or underwater, it could produce the same power as if it had been swung as hard as possible on the ground.

The power of the skill was also affected by the status of the user. The difference between the two was more than enough to compensate for the difference in physique.

“Isn’t it too easy for someone with the same weapon as me to get beaten up?”

Milt, who had knocked the battleaxe wielder into the air, said something along those lines. 

In this formation, she guessed from the timing of the attacks and movements that the battleaxe wielder’s role was either to take advantage of the gap between the front line and the opponent and attack, or to take advantage of the gap to attack or obstruct the rear line.

However, against Shin and his group, there was almost no chance, and the humanoids they faced were defeated in less than ten rounds. This was one of the reasons why the battleaxe wielder seemed to be in a very half-hearted state.

Unlike the first battle in the arena, Milt is currently in the middle guard of Shin’s party, leaning toward the vanguard.

In times of need, while supporting the vanguard with magic and spirit arts, her role shifts to protecting the rear guard from enemies who have gotten through the vanguard.

“If you’re going to use the same type of weapon, you should be a little more active!”

The 【Flying Shadow】, that had created a foothold in the air seemed to activate, kicking through the air in pursuit of the battleaxe wielder who had been blown away.

Milt struck 『Ordgand』 at the humanoid as it stood up.

Her blade penetrated halfway into the battleaxe’s blade. The weight of 『Ordgand』 and the momentum of his movement seemed to have exceeded the durability of the battleaxe. However, it did not result in complete destruction.

Milt pushed the humanoid to the ground along with the weapon, and slammed the palm of her hand as hard as she could at the part of 『Ordgand』‘s handle near the blade.

The impact of the blow immediately pushed the hilt into the ground.

Barehanded martial art skill 【Empty Strike】.

Originally, this skill was used to check and repel an opponent’s weapon in melee combat, but it was also used to drive in a fixed stake or, as in this case, to push a weapon in close proximity.

“Yo!”

Pushed by a shock similar to an explosion, 『Ordgand』, which had stopped midway through the blade, cut the battleaxe in half along with the humanoid, and sank itself into the earth.

Her shout was light, but Milt’s 【Empty Strike】was so powerful that it could send a living human flying by more than 10 mels.

Milt pulled out her 『Ordgand』 that was stuck in the ground and turned her attention to the blade.

If it had been the 『Breogand』 she had used before, she would have to worry about its blade breaking.

“Yeah, It’s fine. After all, it’s easier when I can use equipment that matches my abilities.”

Using a weapon that could break if used with full force was a different kind of tension than fighting a strong enemy.

The fact that Milt did not have to worry about that made her feel more relaxed.

◆◆◆◆

“If it continues like this, it looks like they will become quite strong in the end.”

“That’s right. They might even be stronger than they were in the game.”

After confirming that all the humanoids had disappeared, Shin and his group discussed their impressions of the battle as they walked toward the door to the next area.

During the game, the humanoids only appeared in the final area, so it was natural that both the weapon and its user were strong. 

Even though Shin didn’t know all the abilities given to the weapons, he knew that they were using them. 

However, from the impressions of the player group, Shin and Milt, if the humanoids continued to get stronger, there seemed to be a possibility that they would be stronger than the humanoid version of the final area version that they fought.

They probably wouldn’t lose with the current members, but it wouldn’t be an easy fight. The humanoids they had just defeated were strong enough to make them think so.

“Is it Hades’ influence?”

“Maybe. Even just the gates, the city, and the events are different here and there”

There was no guarantee that the supply areas and arenas would remain as they were.

“Let’s keep our heads up.”

After saying that, Shin opened the door and took a step.

Immediately after that―

“…”

It was different. The moment he saw it, Shin stopped his next step.

It was not the bright supply area it used to be.

The whole area was dark, there were no buildings, and there were cobblestone streets everywhere.

It was almost the same size as the arena. However, because the entire area was dark, he couldn’t feel how large it was as he could see using the map function.

“Shin. Everyone is missing.”

Shin turned around in surprise when he heard Milt’s voice from next door.

There was only a closed door behind him.

Schnee and the others who were supposed to be following behind were nowhere to be seen.

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