Blonde Defeated Dog: Speaking of which, all the alternate route Subaru have gone insane with power, but the main storyline Subaru is still pretty weak.
Pain Magnet: Hey, I'm strong now too!
Big Sister is Supreme: No offense, but if not for the gear given by the boss, you'd still be weak.
Pain Magnet: QAQ!
As the sun rose, the earth dragon station opened. Subaru rented a ground dragon and set off toward the royal capital.
Along the way, he noticed that the residents of the nearby cities were all in a state of panic.
After asking around, he learned that many nobles, as well as the kingdom's treasury, had been looted in multiple cities.
Even the Knights of Lugnica seemed weak in the face of the raiders.
If even the knights were struggling, there was no need to mention regular guards. Even some civilian homes had been invaded by the looters.
But they weren't just after money, something far worse was happening.
Some demi-human girls had been abducted, their families slaughtered entirely. As for human girls, they suffered even worse fates, being violated on the spot, acts so heinous that they enraged both gods and men.
Upon learning of this, Subaru hastened his journey to the royal capital. By the time night had fallen, he had reached the outskirts of the capital.
Stopping outside the city walls, Subaru hesitated for a moment as he gazed in the direction of the royal capital.
In the end, he donned a cloak to conceal himself and headed toward the city gates.
His intention was to avoid being recognized by the foreign raiders inside the city.
As the 'protagonist' of this world and the most frequently mentioned character in the plot, if he entered the capital with his real face, he would immediately attract the attention of lurking enemies.
However, he had overlooked one crucial thing.
With the capital in a state of chaos, there was no way the guards would allow a suspicious, cloaked figure to enter so easily.
"You there! Remove your cloak! Show your face! Where are you from? Do you have proof of residence?"
A guard shouted at Subaru, even drawing his sword.
Given the current emergency, someone like Subaru, who was acting so suspiciously, was bound to raise suspicion.
Subaru felt like crying, he had no choice but to remove his cloak and explain himself. Unfortunately, he had no proof of residence.
A transmigrator having such a thing would be absurd.
Normally, Subaru wouldn't have a problem.
He could just name-drop Reinhard, the Sword Saint.
After all, they had met during the Bowel Hunter arc, and Reinhard's name carried weight. But right now, that wouldn't work.
The guards were determined to verify everything.
Moreover, Reinhard was currently traveling between cities, personally suppressing the various looters.
Since the capital still had its Magic Corps and the Knights, its fighting force was considered sufficient, so Reinhard had been sent elsewhere.
That meant no one could verify Subaru's identity.
As for Emilia…
The half-elf girl already faced discrimination in the capital.
Her whereabouts were also a closely guarded secret since she was a Royal Selection candidate.
For a moment, Subaru found himself completely stuck at the city gates, unsure of what to do.
And the commotion he caused had started drawing attention.
Just as the situation reached a standstill…
Suddenly, four arrows shot toward Subaru!
Their trajectories were aimed precisely to cripple his limbs.
Hearing the whistling of the arrows, Subaru reacted immediately, dodging backward in an attempt to evade.
Despite his efforts, one arrow still struck him, piercing through his left arm.
The sharp pain nearly made Subaru scream.
At the same time, three figures in blood-red robes suddenly leaped down from above, charging straight at Subaru.
Subaru ignored the pain in his arm and reached for his waist.
A radiant golden pillar of light shot into the sky as his sword was drawn, humming with power.
Without hesitation, Subaru swung the Blade of the Gods at the three approaching enemies.
The sword sliced through the air, releasing a golden arc of light toward them.
Two of them failed to dodge and were instantly cut in half. One of them, despite being bisected at the waist, wasn't dead yet. His eyes turned blood-red, and sharp fangs grew from his mouth.
His body wriggled unnaturally, attempting to reattach his severed torso.
However, after trying, he realized in horror that the severed area was being corroded by some golden energy.
His regenerative abilities were completely ineffective.
He was rapidly approaching death.
"Damn it! Just a mere native! How could he possibly stand against us reincarnat—"
His desperate scream was cut off as he suddenly exploded into pieces, dying completely.
Seeing their two comrades slaughtered so easily, and witnessing the strange effects of the golden sword energy, the last remaining red-robed figure's face twisted in shock.
Still, instead of fleeing, he dodged to the side and nocked another arrow to his bow.
It was clear now that he was the one who had fired the previous arrows.
Subaru swung the Blade of the Gods once more.
The golden sword energy flashed again.
This time, the last red-robed figure failed to evade completely and lost his right arm. Clutching his wound, he roared in pain, clearly incapable of fighting anymore.
Yet, he still didn't retreat, his eyes remained locked onto Subaru, as if waiting for something.
"Subaru! Are you really Natsuki Subaru?! How do you have such power?!"
He shouted at Subaru in disbelief.
Something felt off to Subaru.
Why wasn't this guy running away?
Then, the world suddenly started spinning.
Subaru's eyes widened in shock.
The arrow was poisoned!
No wonder the last attacker, despite losing his combat ability, still hadn't fled.
With his fading consciousness, Subaru gritted his teeth and yanked the arrow out of his arm.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The arrowhead had barbs.
A large chunk of flesh was ripped from his arm.
Subaru screamed in agony.
But the pain actually jolted his mind back to partial clarity. He fumbled for a small black box and injected himself with the green syringe inside.
The surviving red-robed figure immediately realized the danger and lunged at him, trying to stop him.
But it was too late, the green serum had already entered Subaru's body. In an instant, his torn arm healed completely.
The poison inside his body was neutralized.
His physical stats increased sevenfold once more.
Subaru's eyes turned blood-red, and he threw a punch at the incoming enemy.
The punch directly crushed the man's head, splattering red and white matter everywhere.
With all three enemies dead, Subaru panted heavily, barely holding back the urge to vomit.
If not for the Bowel Hunter arc toughening him up, he probably would have needed half a day to recover mentally, even with his enhanced physique.
But there was no time for recovery now.
Just as the royal capital guards started approaching to check on the situation…
A gray-green mist suddenly spread around the city gates. From within the mist, countless rotting creatures crawled out.
A decayed Tyrannosaurus rex bit a guard in half before lunging at Subaru.
Terrified, Subaru swung the Sword of the Gods again. The golden slash split the dinosaur in two.
But even more rotten creatures poured out.
Among them were even non-living beings, such as towering robots. That thing… looked a lot like Optimus Prime.
In desperation, Subaru pulled out the golden pocket watch and pressed the button.
With a click, time stopped.
In the next nine seconds, he threw out his remaining two Feathers of Energy and turned to flee.
With fourteen times the normal human speed, Subaru dashed like a race car, covering dozens of meters in a single step.
Nine seconds passed.
Time resumed.
The two Feathers of Energy landed in the mist, bursting into radiant blue light.
Everything was consumed—
Even the eerie mist was utterly dispersed.
Countless rotten creatures melted away.
Even the rusted Optimus Prime was obliterated, leaving behind only a scrap of metal outside the blast radius.
With the crisis averted, Subaru fled.
Behind the mist, Greylin stared in shock at the spot where Subaru had just stood.
"Lord Greylin!"
Demon Mask rushed over. Seeing Greylin still alive, he sighed in relief, only to shudder in fear the next moment.
"Subaru Natsuki, where did he get such power!? What's going on with this world!?"
Greylin growled.
Demon Mask was equally baffled and dared not answer, trembling in silence. They both wondered—
Since when was Subaru this broken?
Meanwhile, in the chat:
Pain Magnet: Help! That thing was terrifying!
Big Sister is Supreme: Tsk, your fighting spirit is weak. You could've won that fight.
Spoilers are Fun: Whatever, Subaru is just a regular otaku... Actually, I have an idea. Subaru, send me your world coordinates.
Pain Magnet: Huh? Why?
Spoilers are Fun: I'm uploading it to the Foundation!
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T/N:
Grand Blue Fanfic Published! Check it out!