Roar, Roar, Roar!
Black Smoke — provoked beyond restraint by Ryuji — threw its head back and bellowed. Then it opened its gaping maw and barreled straight at him like a runaway avalanche.
Ryuji leapt.
He used the bodies of the outer-layer Kabanes as footholds, stepping on twisted limbs and shattered armor as if they were stone pillars. One step, two steps, several more — his figure flickered across the swarm — until he slipped behind Black Smoke.
The fused colony charged forward dozens of meters before it realized it had been outplayed. It skidded, turned, and roared again.
Ryuji's gaze sharpened. He drew out the Shadowless Sword.
He rested his hand on the hilt.
In a single burst, he consumed one-third of his mana and forced it into the blade's body like a flood through a narrow gorge. At the same time, he braided in more than half of the Sword Qi he could summon for the entire day.
Inside the drawbridge control room, Mumei stared.
Dazzling, multicolored light gathered in Ryuji's hand — dense, violent, and dazzling enough to make the air itself tremble.
Black Smoke charged again.
Ryuji moved.
With a flash, he drew the Shadowless Sword. The energy that had been compressed to its limit — like it had finally found a breach — erupted from the sword's tip at once.
Veeee!
A humming sound that shook heaven and earth rang out. The sword light was so intense that even Mumei couldn't look directly — her eyes watered on instinct.
The beam struck Black Smoke head-on.
It didn't merely cut.
It pierced straight through.
BOOM!!
A massive explosion bloomed from within the fused colony. Its charge froze mid-stride, then its entire mass convulsed — before it was blown apart from the inside out, shattering into chunks and ash.
〖 Ding! Energy Points +20,000! 〗
〖 Total Energy Points: 45,000! 〗
⤚ — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — ⤙
〖Ding! Hidden Mission [Eliminate the Fused Colony "Black Smoke"] completed! Reward: 4,000 Reincarnation Points, Kabane Treasure Chest ×1〗
⤚ — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — ⤙
〖Ding! Side Mission [Kill 200 Kabane] completed! Reward: 3,000 Reincarnation Points〗
⤚ — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — ⤙
"Turns out there's no need to deal with the core first — just crush it in one hit." Mumei muttered, staring at the pulverized Kabane colony. Her voice carried the faintest sigh, half amazement and half resignation.
The moment the Kōtetsujō rolled out of the shelter fortress, everyone was drawn by the blinding radiance. When their eyes adjusted, broken limbs and wreckage rained down in all directions like a grotesque storm. Faces went pale. Mouths hung open.
In the distance, that tiny figure stood alone.
Awe flooded the train cars.
Meanwhile, Ryuji — after draining one-third of his mana — felt his vision swim. It was like standing up too fast after squatting for too long: a wave of dizziness, a hollow throb behind the eyes.
Mumei dashed over and hugged him with her small body, bracing him as he swayed.
"Heh… Hozumi, I'm fine. I just overdid it."
Ryuji's face was pale. Next time, he definitely wouldn't vent that much mana at once. Unbearable…
"Ryu-kun!" Ayame rushed down from the Kōtetsujō.
Together with Mumei, she helped Ryuji back into the train.
Yukina turned around. Seeing that he was only a bit pale and not injured, she finally let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Inside the cars, everyone had witnessed that blinding light. Now they looked at Ryuji as if they were seeing a legend in the flesh. Only at this moment did they truly understand why Kenshō treated this young man with such respect.
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
After Ryuji shattered Black Smoke and Mumei raised the drawbridge, the Kōtetsujō safely headed for Shitori Station.
"Ah… another beautiful day."
Ryuji inhaled a cherry-blossom-like feminine fragrance. With his head resting on soft, warm thighs, he wore a contented expression.
"Pfft…" Ayame covered her mouth and smiled brightly down at him, "It's all thanks to Yan-kun that we can have such a wonderful day."
She gently stroked his slightly pale cheek, distress flickering in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Mumei was sprawled on top of Ryuji. A faint, adorable snore escaped her.
Just now, she had single-handedly cut down more than a hundred Kabanes to raise the drawbridge — and because of that, her level had reached Level 3.
"Mumei-chan is amazing too." Ayame said. With her free hand, she stroked Mumei's short hair, a trace of envy in her smile.
Her own level was only Level 1. Using [Wind Arrow] twice would drain her mana completely. Even normal light arrows could only be fired a little over twenty times.
She couldn't fight side by side with Ryuji at all.
"Don't envy her. Once you kill a few more Kabanes, you'll level up too. The more you kill, the faster you level." Ryuji said.
He reached out and pinched the two soft "mounds" blocking his view of Ayame's face. Because she was wearing underwear, the touch felt even bouncier.
"Mmm… I got it…" With that pinch, Ayame felt herself get wet below, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
Knock. Knock-Knock.
"Please come in. The door isn't locked." Ayame called.
The door opened.
"Ah, Lord Ryuji — are you alright?"
Shino came in first. Seeing Ryuji's pale face, worry immediately surfaced in her eyes.
"Ryuji-kun, this is the super chicken soup I boiled for you. Eat some to recover." Kajika said as she entered after, carrying a tray.
Then the two little girls ran over the moment they entered and stared at Ryuji with big, cute eyes that blinked in unison.
Well… Now basically all the prettiest ones on the Kōtetsujō were here. If the other men saw this, they'd die of envy.
Uh… it feels like Yukina is still missing.
As Ryuji was thinking nonsense, he reassured them, "Don't worry. I just overexerted myself and got a bit tired. I'll be fine after resting."
"Then, Ryu-kun, drink some chicken soup to fill your stomach." Ayame said, reaching for the bowl in Kajika's hands.
"Lady Ayame, that's not convenient for you. Let me do it." Kajika said.
She sat beside Ryuji. She blew gently on the spoon in front of her lips, and only after it cooled did she bring it to his mouth.
'Looks like pretending to be sick once in a while is a pretty good experience.'
That's right — Ryuji's "weak" look was all an act. With his current recovery speed, one-third mana would recover in minutes.
He was only putting on a show because Ayame's soft, fragrant thighs were too comfortable. Once he lay down, he didn't want to get back up.
Ryuji drank the soup offered to his lips. Then he looked at Kajika — who seemed like a virtuous wife in that moment — and stuck out his tongue, licking her finger that happened to be right by his mouth.
Her finger went numb as if shocked. She stole a glance at him — only to see him wink.
Her cheeks heated. She pulled back the spoon, then, flustered, kept feeding him soup as if nothing had happened.
"Mmm… smells so good…" Mumei groggily sat up from on top of Ryuji.
She sniffed, then licked the drool at the corner of her mouth.
Her cute look drew the other girls' attention.
Because she'd been lying on Ryuji, when Mumei sat up, her soft, perky hips straddled his "frequently used" piercing-buff baguette.
Ryuji shivered in bliss. The baguette instantly gained both Fire attribute and Hardening buffs.
"Mmm… Ryuji, tonight I'll do it with Ayame again… I'm so hungry now…" Still half asleep, Mumei blurted out lewd words without thinking.
"M-Mumei-chan, w-what are you saying?!" Ayame's pretty face went scarlet as she covered Mumei's mouth.
Stare! ×4
Kajika and Shino stared at Ayame.
They hadn't expected that this Lady — daughter of the lord, a proper young lady — had already… with Ryuji-kun.
Could that really feel that good?
Should they also…?
And… should Shino also "serve" at night?
But she was still pregnant. She could only wait until the baby was born, then properly "make it up to" Lord Ryuji.
Those thoughts made Shino's cheeks flush slightly.
Only the two little girls looked innocent and clueless.
"Um… Lady Ayame, do it together… what do you mean? Is it fun?"
"Mmm, I want to play too."
Between everyone's stares and the little girls' words, Ayame's head nearly started smoking. She was too embarrassed to speak.
"No!" Kajika's cheeks were red too, but she still scolded them sternly, "That's something only adults can do. You're too small right now. Absolutely not!"
"Waaah… Sister Kajika is scary…"
The two little girls were so frightened by the scolding that they fled into Shino's arms, peeking timidly at the "fierce" Kajika.
"Um… it's not like you think!"
Only now did Mumei fully wake up.
Realizing she'd just spoken lewd words in front of everyone, her face went bright red as she hurried to explain.
"Ahem. It's fine. We're all our own people here." Ryuji said.
With that single line, everyone's gaze immediately locked onto him. The compartment fell silent.
Ryuji jolted.
Oh no… Is this the part where he gets knifed for his declaration?
In his mind, he could already see his black-and-white photo placed on the ground, with readers leaving offerings of fruit, snacks, and drinks.
Click —
Just as Ryuji was feeling uneasy, the door opened, breaking the silence.
Yukina took advantage of a brief break and ran over to Ryuji's compartment. She panted lightly, then forced herself to calm down.
"Huh?!"
The moment she opened the door and saw seven pairs of eyes staring at her, she instinctively took a step back.
But when she saw Ryuji lying on Ayame's lap, she relaxed. She'd thought she had the wrong room.
"Ryuji, are you alright?" Yukina entered and closed the door.
"Ahem. I'm fine, I'm fine. I'll be fine after resting a bit." Ryuji said.
In his heart, he gave her a thumbs-up. Her arrival had perfectly shattered the awkward silence.
The girls sat together and started chatting about all kinds of topics.
After Yukina returned to her post, everyone except Ayame left the compartment.
Honestly, Ryuji really admired girls' talent for conversation. They could talk about anything.
In the end, they talked about how Ayame had been doing better lately.
She didn't avoid it at all and directly mentioned the underwear Ryuji had given her.
That, naturally, made him the center of attention again.
No choice. He could only "tearfully" hand out several sets of underwear to each of them.
As for the two little girls — they didn't need bras yet. He gave them a couple of panties with animal patterns to shut them up.
Before Shino left together with Kajika, Ryuji stopped her.
"Shino, you're pregnant right now. Don't wear underwire bras. Wear something comfortable. And don't wear anything too tight…"
Before transmigrating, aside from work, Ryuji's favorite thing was staying home to play games and scroll videos. He'd once happened upon a video about pregnant women.
Hearing his advice, Shino only felt how happy it was to be cared for during pregnancy. Sweetness warmed her heart.
"Ryu-kun, you're really amazing… you even know that."
After Shino left too, Ayame looked at Ryuji with pure worship.
"Ahem… it's nothing. Alright, I've rested enough."
Ryuji felt a bit embarrassed.
Being praised for knowledge gained from idling at home and watching videos… was still pretty embarrassing.
It could only be said he was still too young. His skin wasn't thick enough.
"We can see the station!"
The loudspeaker announcement made everyone on the Kōtetsujō rush outside.
"It's Shitori Station!"
✦✦✦
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead of this novel for just $1, as well as smut chapters ($2) or spicy images ($5) or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations (free or starting at $1.5): MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)