The Son-In-Law Of A Prestigious Household Wants A Divorce-Chapter 43: Wall Defense

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[Brikala.]

Unlike the usual Silverna...

Silverna in the future said those words in a somewhat calmer, lower voice.

[It’s the name of the Demonic Beast that Wolfdrün Cardias, the first Family Head, hunted when he established a base in the Northern Region.]

‘Brikala?’

[I think it meant Guardian of Ice Lightning or something. They named the leader of the Great Colony after that thing.]

[Anyway, that leader of the Great Colony was like a natural disaster. With my skills at the time, I couldn’t even dream of confronting it.]

‘Was it really that strong?’

[If you had seen it yourself, you wouldn’t say those words.]

“Kraaaah!”

The beast’s roar buried Silverna’s voice that echoed in Isaac’s mind.

Lightning poured down from all directions, as if trying to protect the beast—Brikala—while it was eyeing the relatively weakened wall with eyes that were filled with hunger.

“R-Run—!”

Hearing Sharen muttering as such, Isaac grabbed her back.

Then, he shouted through his gritted teeth, so that his voice would carry through and be heard by the terrified Sharen.

“If we run now, who’s going to fight that thing?!”

“...!”

“I know it’s scary, but we have to do this.”

Isaac knew, more than anyone, that the moment the wall crumbled, the frontline would be pretty much done for. After that, who knows how far the damage would spread.

It wouldn’t even be an exaggeration to think that all the nearby villages would be annihilated if that were to happen.

The one good thing here was that the creature was visibly injured.

Its blood dripped down from the watchtower it was perking on, while its roars were clearly laced with pain rather than threats.

However...

Even with such wounds, it’s still strong...!

Its throes made it sound like it was tolling their imminent deaths.

The sight of it squeezing out all its remaining strength clearly showcased that it was something in a completely different league than a normal Demonic Beast.

“Where’s the company commander?”

Isaac asked, looking for the company commander in charge of the remaining personnel.

But the answer came in a dejected tone.

“H-He was on that tower over there...”

Even at this distance, the electrical current already made their skin tingle and numb.

It would probably be safe to assume that anyone on that tower and directly below the beast was already dead.

“Raise your spears!”

Isaac shouted.

Straining his vocal cords so that his voice wouldn’t be buried under Brikala’s thunder.

“The main force is coming! Hold on and don’t let it cross the wall!”

Isaac had directly seen the battlefields against the Transcendent Race more than several times.

In such a chaotic situation, it would be ideal if everyone could act according to the pre-arranged chain of command.

But with the commander’s fate unknown, and uncertainty about who was next in the command hierarchy...

At times like this, the one with the loudest voice should take the flag to quickly regain control.

“Raise your spears!”

“Protect the wall!”

“The main force will arrive soon!”

With his status as Helmont’s adopted son-in-law, and a comrade they had been fighting together with...

Isaac was trustworthy enough for everyone to follow his words and start to act accordingly.

Upon seeing the people started to gather around Isaac, Brikala snorted.

The electric current in its breath sparked threateningly with a crackle.

Electricity began to build up in its body again, and the blood vessels in its thick muscles bulged.

“Scatter! Scatter—!”

At the urgent cry, the soldiers hurriedly began to disperse, running along the wall.

In the next moment, Brikala leaped and landed towards where the soldiers were gathering just now; its speed was as fast as lightning.

Boom!

Part of the wall was damaged, but not to the extent that it couldn’t maintain its form.

Dirt, debris, and electricity scattered in all directions.

From its center, Brikala turned its gaze towards Isaac, who was standing directly in front of it.

“Grrrr.”

Crackle!

“Ugh!”

Now that he was seeing the beast up close, the electricity gave him more than just a tingling sensation.

Just standing in front of it was unbearable. His eyes especially, felt like they were burning.

But he couldn’t just carelessly close his eyes.

Because the moment he did that, Brikala would mercilessly slam its fist onto his body.

“Inferno Surge!”

While everyone was intimidated by Brikala’s presence and electricity...

The youngest girl in this place made her move.

Pink-colored Crimson Essence spewed from the greatsword she held, enveloping Brikala.

It kept pouring out, swallowing the electricity surrounding the beast and eventually reached its skin, but...

“Krooaah!”

It swatted it away and then, as if enraged, pounded the ground with its fist.

“W-Why is it reacting like that?!”

Sharen cried, thinking that the beast was overreacting over such an attack.

But Isaac had an idea why the beast was acting like this.

“Rianna and the other Helmont’s knights are part of the main force. It’s probably mad at you for using the same power as them.”

It wasn’t hard to guess that some of the wounds carved into its body were made by Helmont.

As if confirming Isaac’s words, Brikala’s gaze was now fixed on Sharen.

Snorting electricity-laden breath, it charged on all fours with its four hands.

“Jonathan, help!”

“Glory to the great Helmont!”

Jonathan hurriedly stood beside Sharen and thrusted his greatsword into the ground as if forming a wall.

Seeing this, Sharen took the same stance, supporting her greatsword with her shoulder.

Boom!

Brikala’s fist struck both their greatswords at once.

“Kuaaaah!”

“Kuluk! Kueup!”

Though they faced the monstrous strength head-on, the two of them managed to withstand it.

Their Crimson Essence—both had different colors—stood still like a solid wall, but...

The beast’s fist outnumbered them four to two.

Bang! Bang bang! Bang bang!

Seeing the opportunity, it unleashed a barrage of punches without pause.

“Do somethiiiing!”

“I think we’re going to dieeee!”

Before the two finished shouting, Isaac was already leaping forward.

Using Jonathan’s shoulder as a stepping stone, he jumped up.

As he floated in the air, his gaze was locked down at the beast’s head. Amidst the electricity piercing his entire body, he drew the tachi at his waist.

I won’t make a mistake this time.

His failure against Nortemus was still fresh in his mind, hence he practiced this so many times, so that he wouldn’t make the same mistake ever again.

The strongest strike he could perform.

‘Iai’. The reason why it was called as such was because the moment one drew one’s sword from its scabbard, one’s opponent was already slashed.

He drew his tachi silently, and it mercilessly flew towards the beast’s thick neck, cutting through the electricity.

Slash!

That slash hit its mark, that was for sure.

Isaac hadn’t made a mistake.

The ‘Iai’ was executed so cleanly that the Grandmaster herself would have applauded it if she were to see it. It also went in the exact direction he wanted it to go to, but...

Crackle!

It only left a scratch that couldn’t even be called a wound on the beast’s thick neck.

The electricity damaged the blade...!!

The tachi couldn’t even withstand the brief moment of it being drawn.

To follow Isaac’s request, the blacksmith had made the blade light, unbelievably so.

But to make up for that, its durability was terrible, to say the least.

“Kraaaah!”

The beast let out an enraged roar.

It knew.

In that fleeting moment, its neck had nearly been severed.

One of its hands that had been hitting the greatswords changed course and flew towards Isaac.

Isaac felt his life flashed before his eyes for a moment, but...

Just before the beast’s fist reached Isaac, it trembled and stopped.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Because while it was focusing its attention on Isaac, other soldiers had started thrusting their spears into its back.

Thanks to this, Isaac was able to land safely. He let out a sigh of relief, wiping his cold sweat off his forehead.

“Isaac, are you okay?!”

“Thank goodness!”

The two approached Isaac, who was catching his breath with his hands on the ground.

As he gritted his teeth, about to apologize for wasting the golden opportunity they had created...

“...Huh? It’s cold...”

Isaac muttered, brushing his hand across the ground.

His hand was still all tingly, preventing him from feeling anything properly, but the cold was piercing through his skin.

“Of course it’s—!”

Sharen was about to say something, but she quickly closed her mouth.

She realized that the white mist spreading around wasn’t due to the commotion, but because of something else entirely.

“What’s going on?!”

“Ack! It’s cold!”

Though their senses had grown numb from the battle, the cold was still able to pierce through their skins.

That was when Isaac recalled the story he had told the two earlier. His eyes widened in realization.

‘The first head of Cardias suggested enhancing the wall with magic to make the climate even colder. It’s to protect the kingdom.’

He was thinking of the possibility that there was something beyond that.

Such as, what if, the wall had an autonomous magic that would activate by itself in a time of crisis?

Or, what if the beast’s electricity drove the magic formula inside to become unstable and go out of control?

Whatever it was...

“Get off the wall!”

It was dangerous to stay here.

Crack! Crackle!

At that moment, an eerie freezing sound suddenly echoed.

The insoles of their boots were sticking to the ground, making it hard to lift their feet.

But, that shouldn’t be a problem; the Northern’s boots were tough and sturdy, so they could lift them by applying some force.

The problem was that, if they didn’t get away from the wall immediately, they might just get frozen in place.

“Kruaaagh!”

Brikala’s scream echoed from behind.

They turned their heads, and saw it suffering as its flesh tore while trying to forcibly lift its feet.

The beast was also being affected by the coldness of the wall.

Wait, if we can keep it here—!

We might just be able to stop it!

Not only that, we might be able to freeze it solid and subdue it completely.

Running away from this place while bringing the beast down together was actually the more dangerous option here.

After all, that would pretty much give the beast a wider space for it to rampaging around.

It’s really unexpected.

All this time...

He had only been watching the backs of his comrades as they rushed towards life-threatening battles.

Ink Sword Isaac.

Many praised him for his great wisdom.

But Isaac himself felt powerless, as he could only stand blankly behind his comrades, watching their desperate struggles.

Every time that happened, he asked himself.

‘Could I be like that too?’

‘If I were in that position, with a sword in my hand and the opponent at the front...’

‘Could I advance without hesitation towards that fire pit where I’d have to risk my life?’

It’s really unexpected.

The answer was clear.

Before he even thought about it...

Isaac was already running towards Brikala.

All I have left is a tachi and a falchion.

He drew the falchion.

Against the electric current surrounding the beast, the tachi was pretty much useless.

Gripping the falchion with both hands, he stood before Brikala. The beast was trying to jump down into the castle to escape the wall, but.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Isaac swung his falchion widely, slashing across the beast’s thigh.

A long gash was drawn, but no blood flowed.

Its wound froze faster than blood could flow.

“Grrrng!”

Perhaps it was because of that.

The beast didn’t seem to be in much pain, and it once again swung one of its arms to swat Isaac away, as if shooing a fly.

But Isaac had already anticipated its reaction. He immediately pulled his body back while pointing his sword at the beast.

“Kraaaah!”

It let out another roar.

As if questioning Isaac, who was preventing it from going down below the wall.

After all, if they stayed like this.

They would both die.

“Heh.”

He tried to twist the corners of his mouth into a smile, but his cheeks were too stiff to move.

His black hair was covered in white crystals. Perhaps it was due to hypothermia; strength was gradually leaving his body.

But Isaac did not back down.

“Either one of us dies—“

Or we both die.

The cold that felt like it would freeze his lungs prevented him from finishing his words, but...

His intention seemed to have been conveyed sufficiently, as Brikala charged at him, spewing electricity.

And then...

Crimson Essence of two different colors poured from behind him.

“Seriously, what were you thinking?!”

Sharen, her body wrapped in pink Crimson Essence, looked much more composed than the other two.

She wore the Crimson Essence like armor.

It was a common method of utilizing it, but her control of the Crimson Essence was precise and intricate, letting her to wove it like a net, partially blocking even the abnormal cold.

This was her unique way of utilizing Crimson Essence, one that she came out with after experiencing the harsh cold back when she fought the yeti and Pollu a while back.

“Why did you rush in alone?!”

As Sharen approached, Isaac felt his body warm up.

Her Crimson Essence somewhat had an effect on him, stabilizing his shaking hands.

Another wave of Crimson Essence surged.

Its color was dark red, and it looked especially sticky. Jonathan’s.

Though it looked unstable and hole-ridden...

Its nature was rough and fierce, just like a beast.

Being hit by it, Brikala’s body slid across the wall.

“Sir Isaac—!”

Jonathan then stood beside Isaac.

The whites of his eyes had disappeared, replaced by a pure black color—a form Isaac had seen once before.

“Haak! Haak! I-If I become a Transcendent—!”

To Jonathan, who was pleading with tears in his eyes, Isaac smacked the back of his head and shouted.

“Your heart is made of roses, remember! Get a grip!”

At those words, Jonathan bit his elongated teeth into his lip and shouted.

“Kuooooh! Glory to the great Helmont! My heart is made of roses!”

“...Hearing him shouting it that way made it sound like a cultist chant or something.”

Sharen, a Helmont’s direct line, muttered as such, but Jonathan pretended not to hear.

Anyway, it was Jonathan’s obsession with Helmont that was helping him maintain his sanity.

The Crimson Essence of the two, each with a different color, enveloped Isaac.

Thanks to this, he could now endure the cold to some extent, but...

“Grrrng.”

The problem here was that they were up against an intelligent Demonic Beast. It somehow managed to draw inspiration from them.

Blue crystals scattered among the falling snow.

Mana.

An enormous amount of it; enough to be visible, concentrating towards the beast.

“Heuk!”

“I-I’m trembling a bit.”

It was enough to scare Sharen and Jonathan for a moment. Even Isaac, who was completely ignorant about mana, could feel with his eyes and skin how dense the beast’s mana was.

And then...

“Kroaaaaaah!”

Towards Brikala’s head.

A massive blue lightning bolt struck down.

At first, it looked like it was harming itself.

In fact, the beast was clearly taking damage from that.

However...

“Kroah!”

Its saliva dripped down its mouth.

Normally, this was an insignificant thing. No one would slight anyone who overlooked it, but...

“It isn’t freezing...”

At Isaac’s mutter, the other two nodded in surprise.

The beast’s saliva wasn’t freezing.

The electricity enveloping its entire body was incomparably more intense than before.

The white mist, thick like fog, couldn’t even approach Brikala’s surroundings.

Though it was taking damage from it, the beast ultimately had overcome the cold by wrapping its entire body in electricity.

Just like...

“My method...”

The way Sharen had driven away the cold with Crimson Essence.

Brikala, now able to move freely again, charged towards the three with thunderous footsteps.