An Ode to Divorce - Chapter 89

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

#89

 

Even as Orphea’s song continued, the assassins’ attacks showed no signs of letting up, and panic was clearly visible on the faces of the Twins and the coachman.

 

“The song isn’t working…!”

 

But they had no intention of giving up, as the performance continued from inside the carriage.

 

Eurich also had his ears blocked so he couldn’t hear that the song had changed, but what Orphea would try to do here was obvious.

 

‘Since the song doesn’t work on the assassins, she’ll try to enchant the forest beasts.’

 

But he had predicted early on that Orphea could enchant and use beasts with her performance.

 

He had already ordered Hippolytus, the guardian of the forest, to move all the beasts in this area elsewhere.

 

They were like rats trapped in a jar.

 

Under the continued assault of the assassins, the carriage finally overturned.

 

Crash!

 

“Damn it!”

 

As the carriage fell over, the coachman and the Twins were thrown far away. Only Orphea remained helplessly trapped inside the carriage.

 

The Twins swung their battle axes, trying somehow to protect their charge, but it wasn’t easy with the assassins surrounding them.

 

Meanwhile, just as the assassins were approaching the carriage step by step to thrust their swords in.

 

Ding———

 

Along with the low bass sound of a lyre, the assassins who had approached the carriage coughed up blood. Eurich’s eyes widened at the sudden turn of events.

 

“What!”

 

“Even without hearing the music.”

 

At that moment, the door of the overturned carriage opened toward the sky, and a figure slowly rose up and continued speaking.

 

“I may not know about those far away, but I can thoroughly wreck the insides of those who come close. This is my specialty that even Orphea can’t do.”

 

The voice was too low to be Orphea’s. Just hearing that voice would have made it clear it wasn’t Orphea, but Eurich, with his ears blocked, could only distinguish who it was after the figure fully rose and revealed himself.

 

Though thin, his build was hard to mistake for a woman’s. At a glance he might seem similar to Orphea, but with him revealing himself under everyone’s gaze like this, no one would mistake him for a woman.

 

Eurich, realizing the identity of his opponent, gritted his teeth and shouted.

 

“…Linos!”

 

***

 

As soon as Orphea realized Eurich was targeting her, she set a trap.

 

Thinking that Eurich would surely monitor the carriage she rode in to receive information, Orphea prepared an identical carriage and hung the same Artume banner on it.

 

Then she loaded Linos and Castor into it, and switched it with the carriage she was riding in the middle of the journey.

 

Orphea and Linos.

 

Pollux and Castor.

 

No matter how keen someone’s eyes were, they would never be able to tell the difference with just a glance at a moving carriage.

 

She thought Eurich wouldn’t pay much attention to the slight difference in the coachman’s appearance.

 

All of Orphea’s predictions proved correct.

 

“I don’t have time to deal with these kinds of guys… Well, what can I do. Some pathetic thing is targeting my little sister. As her big brother, I should lend a hand in cleaning this up.”

 

Linos looked around at the aftermath he had created and smiled refreshingly.

 

While Linos casually swept his flowing hair over his shoulder with a relaxed attitude, other assassins who hadn’t fallen tried to attack Linos.

 

Ding———

 

“Guhk!”

 

But Linos plucked the low strings with his fingers once more. The assassins who had been flying toward Linos clutched their chests and fell one by one again.

 

“Haha!”

 

People within the radius fell one by one in a circle around Linos. Watching this, Linos laughed with satisfaction. Linos pulled up the corners of his mouth and sneered.

 

“By the way… Everyone seems flustered? You must have thought the music wouldn’t be heard with your ears blocked.”

 

Ding———

 

Ding———

 

Linos’ lyre was custom-made for heavy elegy tones. It was larger than Orphea’s lyre, and the strings were thicker too.

 

When the performer’s will was infused into such low tones, infrasonic wave attacks like this became possible.

 

Every time Linos plucked the strings, the air rippled. Invisible waves spread out in concentric circles centered on Linos, like a drop of poison falling into still water.

 

The waves were so vicious that even Castor’s skin tingled from far away. Castor shouted angrily.

 

“Play that savage music somewhere far away!”

 

He was already upset about losing the coin toss and ending up with Linos instead of Orphea. Displeased with the situation, Castor took it out on the innocent Linos.

 

“Haha, even a renowned hero finds my attack quite threatening?”

 

Linos’ attack vibrates the air within a certain range where the sound waves reach. In that sense, it actually helped that Castor and the coachman had been thrown far away when the carriage overturned.

 

Linos struck the strings once more and pouted as he grumbled.

 

“Still, calling it savage is too much. My music is love and peace, love and peace.”

 

Linos’ touch on the strings was filled with deep love, and the sound that flowed from it was so gentle it felt peaceful.

 

But love makes elegies sadder, and peacefulness amplifies the irony of elegies. The performance that flowed out this way brought unbearable pain to the assassins.

 

Despite blocking their ears, the assassins hesitated as they watched their comrades fall one by one, coughing up blood.

 

But they were also seasoned experts. As soon as they realized they couldn’t get close to Linos, they drew their arrows.

 

Swish!

 

Ding———

 

As soon as the arrow was shot, Linos plucked the strings once more. The arrow couldn’t reach Linos and crashed to the ground.

 

“You think this would work?”

 

Linos’ sneer was brief. Soon the assassins changed course toward Castor, who was interfering with them, instead of keeping Linos in check.

 

What the assassins confirmed by shooting arrows was Linos’ attack range. Nothing would happen as long as they didn’t enter that range.

 

Then it was better to eliminate the troublesome hero first, then deal with him slowly with human wave tactics later.

 

“…Clever, aren’t they?”

 

Linos’ mouth fell open as he noticed the assassins’ plan.

 

No matter how skilled Castor was, it would be impossible for him to handle all these assassins alone.

 

Since he couldn’t just stand there in a daze, Linos gritted his teeth and jumped into the melee to help Castor somehow.

 

***

 

Castor was frantic. Until just now he had been desperately trying to block the assassins charging at Linos, but now he was frantically fending off assassins rushing toward himself.

 

Clang, clang clang!

 

Slash!

 

Castor flashed Keraunos and cut down the assassins, but they didn’t yield and kept charging. It was as if their fear of death had been removed.

 

Moreover, their coordinated attacks were perfectly synchronized. This wasn’t a level you could get by paying pocket change just anywhere. They were definitely people someone had invested money in and raised as private soldiers for several years.

 

‘Orphea said it was suspicious that His Majesty joined hands with Eurich…’

 

Since Castor’s situation wasn’t favorable, he had no capacity to look after Linos’ coachman. The coachman had no choice but to survive with his own strength. Worried about the coachman, Castor shouted.

 

“Be careful!”

 

“How can I be careful when this isn’t something you can be careful about!”

 

Linos’ coachman was skilled enough to defend himself adequately, but not enough to handle assassins swarming endlessly like this.

 

Whoosh!

 

“Oh my!”

 

The coachman barely dodged an arrow that grazed his cheek and shouted while pressing his pounding chest.

 

“Oh dear, master! This is different from what we discussed! What is this because of your sister!”

 

“What can I do. My sister needs her brother’s help!”

 

Even amid the commotion, Linos answered from far away after hearing that.

 

Since Orphea’s side had Pollux and Schneider, Linos’ side also needed one more coachman. So Linos’ coachman, who was a former hero aspirant who used to wield a sword, ended up joining them somewhat unexpectedly.

 

The coachman parried the blades rushing toward him and replied loudly.

 

“That’s your business, master, not this coachman’s business! There was also that incident last time when that young lady came to the carriage with a sword and caused a sword fight! I can’t work for this money!”

 

“Ah, that’s why I said I’d give you a bonus! Orphea said she’d give you a lot too!”

 

“Damn, this isn’t retirement money!”

 

While the master and servant were making a commotion, an assassin’s sword found an opening in the coachman’s defense.

 

Noticing this, Castor extended Keraunos to strike away that assassin’s blade, but another assassin’s attack pierced into Castor’s back.

 

Thunk!

 

“Guh…!”

 

Castor gritted his teeth and counterattacked the one who had struck him. Fortunately, it wasn’t a vital spot. Castor panted and grumbled.

 

“To think I’m going through all this trouble trying to protect men.”

 

“You’re telling me. I don’t want to die alongside men either.”

 

“Master, you can’t die. If you die, I won’t get my bonus!”

 

The three of them exchanged jokes back and forth, putting on an air of complete composure.

 

But they all knew they couldn’t hold out like this for long. Cold sweat trickled down Linos’s back as he continued playing the lyre with a carefree expression.

 

However, even Eurich, who was targeting them, wasn’t feeling comfortable about how the situation was unfolding.

 

“We have this many people on our side, so what the hell are you all doing! You should have taken down at least one of them by now!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————