Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode-Chapter 171

We pushed forward, cutting through the bandits.

The clash of metal and the sharp cries of pain created a cacophony that was as absurd as it was unsettling.

"Muji Absoluta advances! Protect him at all costs!"

At the cry of one of the knights from Linthpia, every knight’s gaze immediately turned to us.

The bandits chasing after me froze in place, momentarily overwhelmed by the knights’ sudden surge of morale.

With a unified roar, the knights charged at the bandits.

The bandits, who had initially seemed ready to flee, were forced to clash swords instead.

This gave us the opening we needed to push closer to the domain.

But the distance to the domain was still too far.

At this rate, the knights fighting defensively to protect me would inevitably take casualties.

"Hunter! Asti! Princess! Hold onto me—tight!"

They looked at me in confusion until they saw the wings unfurl from my back.

Realization dawned in their eyes.

If running wasn’t fast enough, then we would fly.

"Now!"

At my command, they latched onto me.

Individually, they weren’t that heavy, but all three of them together made it noticeably harder.

Still, it was manageable.

I wouldn’t be able to fly high.

Low altitude and reflexes would have to carry us through this.

With a few flaps of my wings, I lifted off, angling my body forward as if I were lying flat.

The Princess let out a sharp shriek—“Eek!”—thinking she was about to fall, but thankfully, she didn’t.

We were barely off the ground—close enough that we could reach out and touch it.

Just high enough to clear obstacles.

"Incoming! Watch out!"

Even in this chaotic moment, the Hunter kept her focus on the front, calling out warnings.

I twisted my body just in time to avoid a collision.

We had no choice but to arc around in a wide half-circle to advance.

"They’re using the power of the Lesser Divines! Shoot them down!"

"What?!"

At the bandit leader’s command, some of the bandits began drawing their bows, aiming directly at us.

I didn’t care if they were targeting me.

I could dodge the arrows if I had to.

But we hadn’t yet broken away from the crowd.

Any casualties now would delay us and cripple the operation’s chances of success.

"Hold tight to me, Raydan Tanthan."

"…!"

The Hunter’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Reflexively, I tightened my grip around her shoulders.

She pulled out something I’d seen before—a revolver.

"Hunter, what are you—"

"Brace for the recoil. Accuracy’s going to suck."

Before I could protest, she started firing.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunshots roared in rapid succession, jarring my body with each shot.

I gritted my teeth and endured it.

Despite the shaky aim, her bullets tore through the bandits preparing to loose their arrows.

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With only one left to take down, we were almost clear.

But then—

"I missed…!"

Asti’s panicked cry made both the Hunter and the Princess go wide-eyed.

It wasn’t actually a miss.

The last bandit had dodged by twisting his head at the last moment.

Calmly and deliberately, he drew back his bowstring, aiming directly at me.

The arrow sped forward, its trajectory flawless.

I could see it.

It didn’t matter how I dodged—either I or the Hunter would be hit.

A moment of desperation.

"Haaaah!"

A thunderous battle cry erupted, followed by the flash of an axe splitting the arrow cleanly in two.

I turned my head mid-flight to see the source.

There he stood—the Saint.

Both hands gripping his axes, one arm raised high in defiance.

"You think a damned arrow like that can stop a knight who brings glory to our Empire? I won’t allow it!"

Without hesitation, the Saint charged toward the bandit who had fired the arrow.

His speed was so overwhelming that my eyes struggled to track him.

"Tanthan! We’re almost there!"

The Princess’s shout snapped me back to focus.

Looking ahead, I saw the gates to the domain—wide open and unguarded, the defensive lines broken from the earlier battle.

This was it.

The true fight began here.

*****

Even after entering the domain, I didn’t stop flying.

The distance to the Second Princess was still too great.

Despite the inevitable motion sickness, no one clinging to me showed any signs of discomfort.

That alone proved how much everyone had staked on this mission.

"Do you think the Saint will be okay? He charged into the Candle forces alone earlier..."

"The Vice Commander said his skills were on par with hers. The Candle’s brute-force attacks won’t even leave a scratch on him."

The Princess sounded uneasy, likely worried about the Saint after he cut down the arrow aimed at me and rushed off.

I offered a logical response to ease her concerns.

The Saint, who often resembled a berserker, was vastly different from the Vice Commander.

He didn’t rely on armor or defense—his sheer durability made him unyielding.

No matter how many hits he took, he simply wouldn’t fall.

I still remembered when he was brainwashed during Gaia’s rampage.

Even after I headbutted him with all my strength, he hadn’t even flinched.

The idea of him dying in battle seemed almost laughable.

"First, we need to find the Vice Commander. Once we regroup, we can draw out the Greater Divines to this location."

"Wait, the formation’s broken here," the Hunter said, glancing around warily.

"That’s not a good sign."

"There! I see the line!"

Asti pointed, and we followed her gaze.

We spotted the Vice Commander—but she wasn’t alone.

A massive swarm of Lesser Divines surrounded her team, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

It was a dangerous situation, even at a glance.

I immediately pulled a party whistle from my pocket and blew it.

The sharp sound pierced the air, and the Lesser Divines snapped their heads toward me.

The distraction gave the Vice Commander’s team the opening they needed.

"Haaaah!"

I saw the Vice Commander plant her greatsword into the ground.

The impact created a massive crack, hurling some of the Lesser Divines back and opening a gap.

Meanwhile, the whistle began summoning Bell, Fiore, Zumya, and Aphta’s manifestations.

In a proper Garden—the Gardener’s domain—the summons would have been instant.

But this was within the Second Princess’s sphere of influence.

It was going to take time.

Which meant we had to buy that time.

"Princess, stay here!"

"Okay...!"

I dropped the Princess onto the roof of a nearby building, leaving her in a safe position, then descended with the Hunter and Asti toward the Vice Commander.

The moment we landed, the two struck combat-ready poses.

Asti’s hands glowed red with energy.

The Hunter cocked her double-barreled shotgun.

While they extinguished the immediate threats, I turned my attention to the flow of Lesser Divines pouring in from the back.

Free of extra weight, I soared high into the air.

The invaders were no different from the bandits—selfish creatures concerned only with their survival.

Their actions betrayed no thoughts of a brighter future—only short-term gain.

I inhaled deeply, pulling every ounce of heat within my body into my mouth.

I forced it to concentrate, expanding until the growing fireball strained my jaw.

It made me appreciate once again why Zumya’s ability to fire blasts instantly earned her the status of a Lesser Divine.

The Vice Commander, noticing what I was about to do, shouted to her team.

"Knights! Retreat quickly through the opening the Hunter created!"

"Yes, ma’am!"

At the Vice Commander’s command, the knights immediately began retreating from the Lesser Divines’ position.

Their battlefield experience was evident—they executed the maneuver flawlessly.

And thanks to that, I could let loose without hesitation.

Fwoooosh!

With a sound like a furnace roaring to life, an enormous blaze erupted from my mouth, engulfing the Lesser Divines completely.

The creatures caught in the flames disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed.

The surrounding buildings were reduced to cinders.

Only the frozen figures left by the Second Princess remained standing, eerily untouched amidst the destruction.

I descended briefly.

It was time to regroup with the Hunter, Asti, and the Princess—and to check on the Vice Commander’s condition.

Most of the Lesser Divines had manifested by now.

We could move forward without delay.

At least, that was the plan—until it happened.

"Tanthan! Behind you!"

The Vice Commander’s shout made me spin around.

There, towering over me, was a Lesser Divine wielding a massive hammer, ready to bring it down on my head.

"Die!"

I wasn’t the type to panic, even when taking a hit.

But this hammer was different.

Yeah.

The kind that could kill me instantly on impact.

"No!"

"Tanthan!"

Bell, who had just finished manifesting, charged toward me in desperation.

But she was too far away.

Meanwhile, the hammer continued its descent.

Time slowed.

I could see it clearly—every inch of the weapon’s movement.

I felt like I should be able to dodge, but my body wasn’t responding fast enough.

Was this it?

Was I really going to die like this?

I hadn’t accounted for any survivors from the earlier flames.

If I died here, the entire war effort would collapse.

Lost in a storm of thoughts, I heard it.

Thud.

The sound was unimpressive—completely ordinary.

But I felt no impact.

No pain.

Just that faint sound in my ears.

"Hah... Just in time."

The voice carried a subtle aggression, delivered in formal speech that somehow felt sarcastic.

It left me baffled—if you’re going to sound like that, why not just speak casually?

When I looked up, the hammer was disintegrating into dust.

The Lesser Divine’s expression twisted in horror as it realized its weapon had been destroyed.

But the moment it laid eyes on the person standing before it, its legs gave out.

It collapsed, scrambling to flee on all fours.

The figure didn’t bother chasing it.

She clearly had other business—with me.

"If you’re alive, you could at least say so. Maybe then I wouldn’t have had to step in at the last second."

When the figure finally turned to face me, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

I hadn’t expected her to show up here.

"I never thought I’d see the day you played the hero, Gaia. Is the sun rising in the west?"

Gaia smirked at my remark.

Her signature sneer carried its usual sharpness as she replied.

"I’m just trying to see if I can trust you—for once."