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Chapter 63
Vulcanu Victoria
Tuuukwaaahhhhhh──!
1st punch.
Tuuukwaaahhhhhh──!
2nd punch.
Tuuukwaaahhhhhh──!
3rd punch.
Relentless attacks poured out without pause.
[Using the skill “Divine Power: One Punch.”]
[1,000,100 mana consumed.]
[Using the skill “Divine Power: One Punch.”]
[1,000,098 mana consumed.]
[Using the skill “Divine Power: One Punch.”]
[1,000,094 mana consumed.]
Each blow consumed an astronomical amount of mana, reaching over a million each.
This was a method that only I, with “Excess Mana” and “One Punch”, could execute.
[Entering Mana Depletion state.]
[Early termination of Mana Depletion due to mana injection.]
[Entering Mana Depletion state.]
[Early termination of Mana Depletion due to mana injection.]
[Entering Mana Depletion state.]
[Early termination of Mana Depletion due to mana injection.]
Mana depletion?
It wasn’t even a penalty.
“Bring more! More!”
“But we still need mana for the mana cannon—”
“Are you crazy?! This method is way more efficient!”
The dwarves were frantically bringing over mana batteries.
Mana depletion ends once mana is supplied.
Unlike usual, when one had to rely on natural recovery, now massive amounts of mana could be instantly supplied through the mana batteries.
So I continued to unleash One Punch while being supplied with mana.
4th punch.
5th punch.
6th punch.
……
“How can a human wield such power…!”
“The power is one thing, but absorbing mana without resistance is impossible.”
“Whoa. Amazing!”
“Forget the mana cannon.”
“Mana cannon? Don’t even mention that outdated junk!”
“…Wouldn’t a bit of upgrade make it fine? We relied too much on the mana cannon!”
“True. Now we see that with the same mana, you can unleash that kind of destructive power…”
The feeling of defeat that had nearly settled over the dwarves had vanished.
In its place came awe, creative energy, and the certainty of victory.
“Filthy minions of Gaia! Taste the fury of our cursing master’s attacks! Hah-ha!”
“Gaia’s Executioner!”
“Human cannon!”
“…Could you stop giving me weird nicknames?”
Because of this, strange nicknames kept sticking to me, but it didn’t matter.
As long as I could win this battle.
Tuuukwaaahhhhhh────!!!!!
Another One Punch detonated in the enemy lines.
At this point, I had lost count of how many punches I had thrown.
“Ugh, aahhh!”
“Gyaaah!”
“P-please… spare me!”
At least hundreds of enemies were wiped out.
Yet still, many enemies remained.
“Advance! Push forward!”
“The goddess protects us! Fear not!”
The fallen hundreds were instantly replenished, and the enemy approached again.
Ladders were placed along the walls, and siege towers pounded on the gates.
Of course, I didn’t just watch.
Tuuukwaaahhhhhh────!!!
With the siege tower, I wiped out all the troops at the gate.
“Next siege tower, forward!”
“Forward! …The terrain is weird! We can’t advance!”
“What!?”
The destructive power of One Punch didn’t stop at simply defeating enemy troops.
It created huge craters in the ground.
The once-flat terrain now gaped widely, hindering the advance of siege towers.
Suddenly, a thought came to me.
‘If it weren’t for One Punch, this would’ve been a huge struggle.’
It felt like this trial was practically made to make full use of One Punch.
‘Well, I guess it was a trial for dragons from the start…’
This place was supposed to be a trial to become a full-grown dragon.
If this trial was truly prepared for dragons, everything made sense.
One Punch originally resembled the dragon’s power, the “Breath.”
Anyway.
‘For now, the castle gate is safe.’
“Keldric. Let’s head to the points where the situation is critical.”
“Ah, got it! Over there!”
I didn’t stay in one place.
I moved wherever I was needed, resolving the situation there.
“Clear the way! Human cannon coming through!”
“Th-this person…!?”
“Eugene. My closest friend!”
“Ohhh!”
Before I knew it, I had become Keldric’s close friend.
‘…No harm in increasing my favorability.’
On the other hand, another thought occurred to me.
‘I wonder if I can grab a few mana batteries at the end of this trial.’
Mana batteries had been a massive game-changer for me.
A consumable that allowed me to spam One Punch? Though bulky and less useful outside such a large-scale battle, if I could grab a few, they would be extremely useful.
‘Well, for now…’
Let’s handle the immediate situation first.
I sent One Punch at troops climbing ladders on the broken walls hit by the catapults.
[Using the skill “Divine Power: One Punch.”]
[1,000,198 mana consumed.]
Tuuukwaaahhhhhh─────!!!!
Not only the troops on the wall, but even the reinforcements behind them were wiped out.
Extremely satisfying performance.
Meanwhile, the mana cannon fired beside me.
“Mana cannon, fire!”
“Fire!”
Kuuukwaaahhh──!
Kuuung! Kwa-gwaw-gwang!
Keldric’s expression twisted.
And so did mine.
‘Objectively, that cannon is still powerful…’
One Punch was just too strong.
Far beyond comparison.
Since it consumed the same amount of mana, the difference was obvious.
The attack coefficient relative to mana for One Punch was truly enormous.
Then, as I launched another One Punch.
Ding!
[The usage count of “Divine Power: One Punch” has reached a certain threshold!]
[Skill proficiency in “Divine Power: One Punch” has increased.]
[Attack coefficient of “Divine Power: One Punch” greatly enhanced!]
Tuuuuukwaaahhhhhh────────────────!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Twice as destructive.
I didn’t know this skill had a proficiency system, but this was amazing.
“If I hadn’t come here, I’d have achieved this much later.”
Opportunities to spam One Punch like this don’t come often.
Actually, if I’d known about the system earlier, I could have reached this faster.
I could have used One Punch weakly and repeatedly.
But…
“…Would proficiency increase that way?”
Logically, I didn’t think it would.
Well, I could experiment later.
Anyway.
I fired the now much stronger One Punch at the enemy again.
Tuuukwaaahhhhhh──────!!!
In almost a trance, I smashed through enemy lines for a long while.
I could feel my body getting gradually heavier.
“Phew… stamina is running low.”
One Punch consumed a lot of physical energy.
A single strike barely mattered, but after over a hundred uses, my body screamed in pain.
“Eugene. Hang on a little longer! The enemy is nearly broken!”
Keldric was right.
The seemingly endless enemy army finally had an end in sight.
Originally 100,000 troops.
Now, maybe 20,000–30,000 at best?
‘Of course, dwarves took some damage too…’
By ratio, the enemy suffered overwhelmingly.
At this rate, our victory seemed certain.
Then.
“You unbelievers. You’re holding up better than I expected.”
“This voice…?”
The voice of the human king, supposedly the pope of the Gaia faith, echoed across the battlefield.
“But it’s useless. The goddess Gaia has foreseen all this and granted me divine power.”
What was his name again? Richard something, I think.
“Hmph! Pathetic bluff! How about running before you get annihilated? Uhahaha!”
Keldric shouted back through a megaphone.
Normally, this would have been a reasonable reaction.
‘…Damn. Something’s wrong.’
Yet, I felt an ominous foreboding.
Because the human king sounded truly confident.
He might have a trump card to turn the tide.
‘Is there a way to stop him…? Probably not.’
Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do immediately.
I couldn’t pinpoint his location, and he was likely out of One Punch’s range.
He cast a skill.
“Feel the difference in power and despair. Rise once more under the goddess’s blessing. Revive.”
Revive.
Resurrection.
Swaaaaaahhhhhh───
In an instant, the entire battlefield was bathed in pure white light.
The light sank to the ground and seeped into the already-dead human corpses.
“Huh?”
“I-I was sure…”
“This is the goddess’s blessing!”
“Aah… Goddess Gaia…!”
Soldiers clad in white armor were revived.
Of course, the dead dwarves did not rise.
“…Damn.”
What nonsense is this?
Everything I had done with hundreds of One Punches was undone in an instant.
Was restoration always easier than destruction?
And…
“……”
“……”
I was lucky I could at least curse.
The dwarves were literally speechless.
An oppressive silence.
‘Understandable.’
The battlefield flipped in an instant.
Hope vanished in a flash.
Despair settled back into their hearts.
“Hahaha! Behold! This is the goddess’s blessing! Whoo-ha!”
Waaaaahhhhhh────!
Meanwhile, the enemy’s morale skyrocketed.
Of course.
They revive after dying—how could they not cheer?
Even the fanatics?
Moreover, the enemy’s surge didn’t stop there.
“The goddess desires victory! Titanic Bless.”
This time, a massive buff.
Light concentrated and absorbed by the soldiers…
“Ahhhhhh!”
“T-this… is the goddess’s power!”
“The power… overflows!”
The soldiers began rampaging.
“What the hell kind of buff is this…?”
Ridiculous.
Not only were 100,000 troops restored, but they seemed at least 1.5 times stronger.
How could I not be flabbergasted?
There was no answer to this.
“Keldric.”
“……”
“Keldric!”
“…Huh!?”
“Focus. How many mana batteries are left?”
“Th-that… uh…”
Still, there was a glimmer of hope.
One Punch should still work.
Even if ordinary soldiers are strengthened, they can’t block One Punch.
The question was how many times I could use it more.
Keldric blinked, calculating, then spoke.
“One… hundred…?”
“Damn.”
Far less than I expected.
To counter that army, I would need far more batteries.
‘At this rate, there’s no hope.’
I hurriedly opened the Tenauges system.
I needed a new plan.
[Assist the dwarves in holding back the human forces.]
[Time remaining to achieve objective: 2 hours 1 minute]
[Failure if the Dwarf King dies.]
Time left: 2 hours 1 minute.
Originally six hours, we had survived 3 hours 59 minutes.
But now, we still had two hours more to endure.
Both stamina and resources were dangerously low.
I needed another method.
Of course, I had an idea.
‘…Really kidnap the king and escape?’
But this plan had too many problems.
We didn’t know the Dwarf King’s location, leaving the battlefield would prevent using mana batteries, the terrain was unknown, and the king might not cooperate.
This could only be attempted as a last resort.
‘Is there any way to turn this around…?’
Then.
“Vulcanu Victoria──!!”
Without a megaphone, a thunderous shout echoed across the battlefield.
All eyes focused there.
“Wow, it’s the king!”
“Finally!”
“Father!”
‘Dwarf King?’
A massive dwarf, easily three meters tall, stood there.
‘A 3-meter dwarf… what the…’
Momentary cognitive dissonance, but it quickly faded.
It didn’t matter.
“All dwarves, hear me!”
The Dwarf King looked strong.
‘7-star? 8-star?’
Probably around that level.
It seemed the dwarves’ strength was concentrated entirely in the king.
A sudden large force, but still insufficient.
Even if the Dwarf King was 8-star level, he was still only one.
Could he really change the tide of the war alone?
“The Great Being will descend soon!”
The Dwarf King’s firm voice resonated in my chest.
And then I realized.
“Two hours. Just endure for exactly two hours. Then we will survive!”
Two hours.
Somehow…
‘…We can survive!’
Enough hope and a sense of possibility.
And I wasn’t the only one who realized it.
“Vulcanu Victoria──!!”
“Vulcanu Victoria──!!”
The other dwarves too.
The despairing mood was overturned once again.
Cries of victory shook the walls.
“Vulcanu Victoria──!!”
Ding!
[In 2 hours, an absolute being will descend!]
[Until then, stop the awakened human forces.]
[Time remaining to achieve objective: 2 hours]
[Failure if the Dwarf King dies.]
