At Eblana's fleeting thought, the crimson orb atop the Shikoutazer flickered with a light so intense it seemed to steal color from heaven and earth.
After a brief flash, a crater deep enough to annihilate half of Lavis City appeared in the empty field outside the imperial capital.
"Is this the power of the Ultimate Teigu?!" Even Esdeath was startled by the destructive force, but...
Just like her Ice Storm Commander-In-Chief, a technique boasting immense attack power and range wasn't necessarily infallible.
If she hadn't prepared for so long, hadn't concentrated the Ice Storm Commander-In-Chief's destructive force into one point, and if Eblana hadn't seemed intent on dodging... winning back then would have been far more difficult.
This display of power certainly caught her attention, but it didn't make her feel it was unbeatable.
Unlike Esdeath, who was unaware of the details, Eblana had a much clearer understanding of this attack.
That last strike... she hadn't channeled much power into it.
Or rather, due to the extreme distance, the power she could inject was very limited.
If this same amount of power were used to drive her flames, the damage would have merely melted a city wall, far from causing destruction on this scale.
This Ultimate Teigu... there was definitely something to it.
She shared her discovery with Esdeath, only to receive an utterly resentful look.
Wasn't this supposed to be the grand final showdown, a chance to fight to her heart's content?
Instead, Budo seemed to have no role for her, and now the Ultimate Teigu appeared to be on their side too. Had she come all this way for nothing?
Seeing this, Eblana swiftly changed tack.
"However, it's still necessary to gauge my dear imperial brother's mettle. It will determine what end awaits him. Coincidentally, I'm also quite curious about the performance of this so-called Shikoutazer."
Hearing this, Esdeath's expression finally brightened.
"Take back some of my flames. I want to enjoy this more thoroughly."
The recently resurrected Esdeath, despite having a seemingly bottomless reserve of energy, actually had lower offensive output than at her peak.
While more than enough for most, it fell short compared to her former self.
Lately, she had pestered Eblana relentlessly for more flames because of this.
What could she do? Once dead, unless she continued to develop her Teigu, the only way to grow stronger was by increasing her flames.
There were just two methods: accumulate them slowly over time, or kill others to spread the flames.
The former was far too slow.
The latter increased Eblana's flames, not Esdeath's.
And developing a Teigu wasn't something that showed results quickly.
Eblana wasn't stingy about sharing her flames. After all, her greatest enemy, Esdeath, was already dealt with.
Giving her flames wouldn't be a waste, so she had essentially force-fed Esdeath until her power surpassed even her prime.
But progressing further was difficult. A servant's capacity had two limits: their own and Eblana's. She couldn't just hand out flames indefinitely.
After recalling the death flames from Esdeath, bringing her back to the level she was at during their battle, Esdeath immediately leaped over the clashing armies with a few bounds, heading straight for the Ultimate Teigu.
The young Emperor and his Minister were currently bewildered.
"Your Majesty, you just...?" Standing over a thousand meters away, Honest couldn't understand why the young Emperor had fired a shot into empty air, wasting his power for nothing.
"I..."
The young Emperor was even more confused than his Minister.
He hadn't manipulated the Teigu just then, had he? Nor did he feel any drain on his stamina. Did the Shikoutazer have a will of its own and fired a shot? And why hadn't it hit anyone?
His bewilderment didn't last long.
Through the Ultimate Teigu, he saw a figure rapidly approaching. A speed normally impossible for him to track was now crystal clear in his vision.
Instinctively, the young Emperor wanted to blast that familiar silhouette, but the response came only after a noticeable delay.
"What's going on? It feels sluggish..." The young Emperor couldn't help but wonder if the Shikoutazer had deteriorated from long disuse.
Shikoutazer: 'I was just full to bursting a moment ago, why do I suddenly feel so weak all over?'
By the time the distantly-delayed surge of power finally ceased, the young Emperor had no time for wild speculation. A wave of fatigue washed over his entire body, as if he'd just sprinted fifty meters.
The white light and dust slowly dissipated. Before the young Emperor stood a battered yet still-standing shield of ice.
The shield, nearly a hundred meters across, had almost completely blocked the attack.
However, the resulting shockwave further ravaged the already ruined palace remnants around them. Esdeath, who had taken the hit head-on as a test, wore an increasingly fanatical smile.
"Impressive...! Truly impressive! This level of force! This pure destructive power! It surpasses even mine!"
"What?!" The young Emperor was stunned that an attack capable of destroying half a city had been withstood unscathed. In his panic, he immediately launched another blast.
A tide of exhaustion washed over him. With just that one strike, fine beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
But Esdeath was no fool.
She had taken the previous hit head-on to test the waters. With her speed, dodging such an attack would have been trivial if she wished.
Before the imperial capital's walls, Eblana frowned at the distant explosion and the massive ice spires erupting from the ground.
If the fierce battle remained confined to the palace area—a sparsely populated hilltop—it would be one thing. Let them fight. But if it spilled over, it would cause significant loss of life and property in the capital.
If she hadn't known she could control the Ultimate Teigu, such losses would have been an unavoidable calamity. But since she could control it and was indulging Esdeath's desires, she now had to confine the battle to that palace hilltop.
With that thought, she surveyed the current battlefield.
The imperial soldiers lacked the reckless ferocity of the Dublinn troops.
After all, when they died, they stayed dead.
Realizing their ranks were steadily thinning while the enemy showed no sign of falling—or quickly rose again if they did—the soldiers saw no point in continuing the fight. It was utterly futile.
Having reached this conclusion, imperial soldiers either fled or surrendered. In a short time, the battle lines had dissolved into chaos.
Budo watched this coldly. While he felt profound contempt for the deserters, facing an immortal legion like the Servants of Lamentations, blindly fighting on wasn't wise either.
So, he chose not to pursue the fleeing soldiers, instead venting his fury on the Revolutionary Army troops.
Seeing General Budo offer no resistance, the imperial soldiers fled even more readily, some even shouting as they ran, "General Budo is sacrificing himself to cover our retreat! Everyone, run!"
This only deepened the grim chill on Budo's already dark face.
With that cry, any remaining will to fight among the imperial soldiers evaporated.
Glancing at Night Raid and the Jaegers, who had clearly gained the upper hand and wore victory on their faces, Eblana smiled slightly.
She then led the Dublinn troops into the heart of the capital.
They needed to evacuate and protect the civilians and property, and do it quickly—before Esdeath and the Shikoutazer expanded their battlefield.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.