The Executed Sage Reincarnates as a Lich and Begins a War of Aggression
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Cale
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 88: The Sage Engages in a Mock Battle
As Yuura approached, she executed a roundhouse kick.
It was a trajectory that would scrape at my face.
There was no hesitation in her attack.
If I hold back, I’ll lose in no time.
I controlled the golem and made it jump away.
The toes of the custom-made golem passed right in front of it.
If my reaction had been just a bit slower, the prototype’s head would have been destroyed.
After I succeeded in evading, I fired the finger guns in rapid succession.
Yuura, on the other hand, moved her hands at high speed.
The bullets were caught in between her fingers.
It seemed she was able to accurately perceive the incoming bullets and had caught them.
Such a feat required tremendously dynamic vision and precise movements.
“Correcting attack speed and effective range — complete.”
Yuura, who had thrown away the bullets, took a large step forward and struck with her fist.
It was much sharper and faster than her previous kick.
I can’t evade this time, huh.
Having assessed that, I activated the protection magic on the golem.
A few moments later, Yuura’s punch shattered the barrier.
Her fist was powerful enough to pierce through it.
Apparently, the power of the protection magic was lacking.
I forcibly tried to distance myself as I used the protection magic continuously.
Although the prototype’s magic power had been greatly reduced, this couldn’t be helped.
It wasn’t a situation where I could care about fuel consumption.
This is a tough battle…
There was a big difference in the basic performance of the two golems.
The reaction speed and amount of magic power of the prototype golem was more limited in comparison to the custom-made golem.
Depending on where it got hit by a melee attack, it could be incapacitated quickly.
Even if I wanted to try something unexpected, my options were limited to the functions that had been installed in the golem.
I asked Yuura through my own body which was outside the barrier.
“Who did you learn martial arts from? That isn’t a self-taught technique, right?”
“Answering the question — I learned it from an individual named Henry.”
“I see.”
I was convinced by Yuura’s answer.
Despite being an archer, Henry had an unrivalled hand-to-hand combat capability.
He was so good that nobody could catch up with him in that field.
Even at the training grounds, I had witnessed him defeat demons with a larger stature than himself one after another countless of times.
Even though he was still a human, he regularly kept pushing past his own limits.
Since she had learned martial arts from Henry, it was understandable for Yuura to be that strong.
Perhaps, he had taught her just out of curiosity.
It was an known fact among the executives that Yuura’s learning ability was extremely high.
Henry might have attempted to nurture Yuura into his sparring partner.
It’s good that everyone has accepted her.
I activated the magic sword that the golem was equipped with.
At present, there was only one advantage I had compared to her.
That was, that person’s swordsmanship.
The golem’s performance skills couldn’t be fully confirmed if I was defeated too early.
Since the purpose of this battle was also for Yuura learn how to use her own powers, I couldn’t lose pathetically.
Regardless of how disadvantageous it was, I had to do my best.
“Master’s threat level is increasing — failed to measure. Correcting the estimation ability.”
Yuura approached and kicked.
It was faster than ever.
It was already beyond the prototype golem’s reaction speed to keep up.
In response to the incoming kick, I used the magic sword to parry it.
The blade made out of magic power was very fragile.
I needed to use it carefully in order for it to not shatter.
“Attack failed — putting evasion to the highest priority.”
Yuura lost her stance slightly.
I immediately slashed with my magic sword.
Yuura kicked the floor and jumped away.
The blade scratched the abdomen of the custom-made golem.
She looked down towards it.
There was a slight crevice in its metal exterior.
“You, you managed to cut it using the magic sword?! Considering the toughness of the material and technology inscribed on the custom-made golem, that shouldn’t have been possible though…”
I heard astonishment in the director’s voice
However, I couldn’t afford to pay attention to it.
Flames jetted out from the feet of Yuura’s golem; she flew up, keeping her in a position where she could look down at me.
Then, she raised her hand.
Magic power was compressed; it immediately turned into a ray that fired.
As the incoming ray came closer, I used the magic sword to receive it.
The ray was cut in half, hitting the barrier, and melting its surface.
A breach appeared on the spell.
The barrier would likely break if it got struck several more times.
“Failure of the attack confirmed — changing attack method.”
Yuura rushed in while flying and released a heel drop while spinning.
I deflected it with the magic sword.
The impact caused unpleasant sounds to be produced from the prototype’s forearms.
Its knees were also shaking.
Yuura turned sideways without landing and made another kick in succession.
She aggressively attacked while taking advantage of the custom-made golem’s flight capability.
I dealt with it using the magic sword as the prototype stepped back.
I parried it with great caution.
That person’s swordsmanship was definitely not inferior to Yuura’s martial arts.
I continued to block incoming attacks and looked for a chance to do a counter attack.
At that time, suddenly, the prototype golem was unable to step back any further.
When I looked at the problem at hand, it appeared that the barrier was right behind me.
It seemed like it had been driven to the corner.
How careless I am. Did she lead me into doing so?
I took a stance with the magic sword as I reflected on it.
As Yuura landed, she jumped up and kicked out.
I tried to avoid it by bending over, only to notice that it was impossible.
Due to the structure of the golem, it wasn’t possible for it to crouch quickly.
In addition, the operation of the various parts of the body were already not working optimally due to the damage that had been accumulated until this point.
I had no choice but to deflect the incoming kick using the magic sword.
As a result of the inadequate response, the kick shattered the shoulder of the prototype golem.
The golem was blown back to the barrier.
“Understanding the superiority in the battle situation — Changing the ratios of offense and defense.”
Yuura who stood in front of the golem threw a punch to press on with her attacks.
I swung the sword before her punch could hit.
Her punch struck the chest of the prototype golem.
Cracks started to run through its exterior and black smoke leaked through the gap.
However, I wasn’t the only one who had sustained damage.
“Arm Damage detected — malfunction confirmed.”
Sparks were fluttering from the elbow of the custom-made golem.
The magic sword had managed to break it.
Yuura created a distance between us and moved her arms.
Apparently, she was checking for damage.
The movements were clearly worse.
Those high-speed attacks would no longer be possible.
I confirmed the prototype golem’s operation.
The kicked shoulder was completely broken and the adjoining arm was dysfunctional in conjunction.
The damage on the chest also couldn’t be ignored.
The Guns and protection magic seemed to be unusable, probably due to related inscribed spells being broken.
In the end, I had no choice but to make do with the magic sword.
Now that we’ve gotten this far, there’s no choice but to fight thoroughly.
Even if I tried to prolong the battle, only gradual defeat awaited me.
I made up my mind and sprinted towards the custom-made golem.
It became a high-speed combat exchange from there on.
I made use of a few openings that appeared from many of Yuura’s punches and kicks.
Each of her attacks were heavy and fast.
By the performance of the prototype golem, detecting these incoming attacks would have made use of all of its capabilities.
On the other hand, I fought using the magic sword.
I blocked incoming attacks, or parried them then followed with a counter attack.
It was an exchange that was possible only due to superior combat skill.
The damage on the prototype golem was gradually increasing.
While the damage was kept to a minimum, this golem wasn’t designed for this kind of combat to begin with.
It quickly wire out, and the contained magic power was also consumed at a considerable speed.
Its mobility was clearly inferior compared to the custom-made golem.
The battle eventually reached its climax.
Yuura’s onslaught was still unabated and she boldly hunted me down.
I wielded my magic sword as I observed Yuura’s movements.
Then, I grasped the habit of her movements.
Her behavior was done in an attempt to provide me with no clues, but I still found some patterns there.
— I should attack soon.
I swung my sword by making use of all of the golem’s body weight in the direction where I expected Yuura would move to.
The two slashes cut both knees of the custom-made golem.
Yuura broke her stance and leaned forward, before using her hand to touch the floor.
As I tried to attack further, the prototype golem’s body didn’t move.
I noticed why immediately after I examined its magic power circulation.
The prototype golem overheated and its operating system was significantly damaged.
The vision sharing function had also started to malfunction, as darkness crept in making it difficult to see.
In addition, I also saw that the magic sword had dispersed.
Apparently, it had reached its limit.
“Detected a fatal gap in master’s movement — shifting to counter attack.”
The next moment, Yuura executed a strong attack that struck the prototype golem’s torso.
Its exterior had been greatly sunk and a hole had been opened.
Its internal parts had also been deformed and had popped out.
The sharp kick with a reaping motion hit the head directly and produced a sound similar to that of an explosion.
My field of vision dimmed at this point.
The prototype golem lost its sense of balance and collapsed.
What I saw from that upturned perspective was the approaching swing from the custom-made golem’s leg.
…So this is the farthest it could go.
I disconnected from the golem.
I confirmed the situation within the barrier from my original body.
The head of the prototype golem had been crushed by the custom-made golem.
There was no way it could move anymore.
The damage on its other parts were also remarkable, and it had been completely wrecked.
Yuura phased out from the custom-made golem and moved outside the barrier.
She stopped in front of me.
“End of simulated combat — Master, thank you for your cooperation.”
“Me too, that was helpful.”
It had been a great opportunity to learn about Yuura’s combat ability.
She was, without a doubt, excellent.
Moreover, she was still developing, so there was plenty of room for her growth.
She could be strengthened further depending on what she learned.
She would become an existence worthy of being known as the offshoot of a Great Spirit.
“Well, that was an amazing fight! Thanks to that, I got valuable some material! I will use this as a reference to repair the broken golems!”
The director spoke with great excitement.
She clasped her hands as she rapidly praised us.
Apparently, the battle just now had satisfied her quite a bit.
It seemed the goal for the time being had been achieved.
“We’ll manufacture an improved version in the near future, so please look forward to it! It’ll surely surprise Demon Lord-sama!”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
I looked at Yuura while responding to the director who was seemingly about to collapse.
Her gaze was fixed at the custom-made golem inside the barrier.
She might not put it into words, but it seemed that she liked it.
After discussing the materials and desired features needed to improve the golem, we left the laboratory.
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