Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 113: A Strange Duel
A duel is usually initiated by the weaker side against the stronger side.
Both parties agree on conditions, then engage in one-on-one combat until one side dies or surrenders.
Yet Lusha was clearly the stronger side, which made Wuna try to dissuade him:
“Chief of the Sinking Sand Tribe, the Black Wind Tribe’s defeat is already certain. There’s no need for you to duel Zar.”
“No. This is between him and me. I must reclaim my father’s blood debt and the tragedies our tribe suffered before.”
Lusha explained as he looked back.
Since that was his resolve, the others had nothing more to say.
Lusha shouted toward the warehouse:
“ZaR, if you win, I’ll spare your life.”
When no reply came, he tried taunting instead to provoke him.
“Zar, I know you once dueled my father before, and you cried surrender after being beaten. What’s wrong? After losing once, you never dare again? Coward.”
“Enough. I’ll duel you.”
With a dark expression, Zar walked out of the warehouse, his pride forcing him forward. The remaining Bone Warriors followed behind.
“Hmph, that’s more like it.”
Lusha grinned.
The two stood facing each other on the open ground beside the warehouse, separated by more than ten meters.
Lusha set down his massive battle-axe.
Zar readied himself: spear in his right hand, shield in his left. The shield was raised in front, the spear braced across it.
Taking out a small stone, Lusha explained:
“I’ll toss this into the air. The moment it hits the ground, the duel begins. No one is allowed to interfere.”
“No problem.”
Zar answered.
With no objections, the rules were set. Lusha threw the stone upward.
The instant it touched the ground, Zar lunged, his spear thrusting straight at Lusha.
A sharp crack resounded—Lusha had yanked out the “axe handle” and held it across him.
In fact, his battle-axe had been modified: the shaft could be combined with a firearm, its barrel even thicker than ordinary muskets.
Owen had called this weapon a shotgun, a type of smoothbore gun.
Shotguns are highly lethal in close combat, each shot releasing multiple pellets.
After the Sinking Sand Tribe swore allegiance to Owen, they began vigorously forming musket units.
Seeing his clansmen happily equipped with guns, Lusha also coveted one. He asked Owen for one, but was unwilling to part with his axe.
So Owen provided blueprints and design principles to Jita, who redesigned and reforged Lusha’s axe into this hybrid.
Its drawback: it could only fire once—meant for surprise strikes at decisive moments.
Bang! The gun fired, blasting a cloud of lead pellets.
Zar was so close he had no chance to dodge. He never imagined Lusha would carry a gun, assuming he would fight with the axe.
Several holes instantly riddled his chest, and the monster skull he wore on his head shattered into fragments. His body swayed backward and collapsed.
The duel ended faster than anyone had expected.
“Chief!”
The Bone Warriors cried in shock.
Lowering the weapon, Lusha said coldly, “It’s over.”
But just as everyone thought it truly was, the body on the ground suddenly twitched. Zar grabbed his spear and stood back up.
What?! Everyone was stunned.
Hadn’t Zar died? Could he possibly withstand a musket blast at such close range?
“You?!”
How could the dead rise again? Lusha was baffled.
“It worked… hahaha!”
Zar burst into crazed laughter.
Then, turning his gaze to Lusha, he said slowly:
“All along, the five tribes were equal in strength, restraining each other. Occasionally, wars broke out due to food shortages, but no one ever conquered another. Why do you think our Black Wind Tribe could defeat you all again and again? Have you never wondered? It’s because—I am the chosen one!”
“The chosen one?”
Lusha frowned deeply. Feeling something was wrong, he reloaded his musket and grabbed his axe.
The skull fragments fell away, revealing Zar’s face, even with bullet holes in his head.
By all logic, he should be dead.
But he wasn’t. Instead, a strange mark appeared in the center of his forehead, shaped like a ram’s head. It glowed faintly gold while exuding black smoke.
The sight was so bizarre that the Sinking Sand tribesmen couldn’t help but wonder—
Had Zar turned into some kind of undead monster?
Because of the newly set duel rules, everyone else could only watch anxiously from the sidelines.
“Go to hell!”
Zar thrust his spear forward again. His speed was so fast that Lusha could only block in a hurry, raising his giant axe to guard himself.
Clang! Lusha managed to block it.
How strange!
After receiving that strike, Lusha realized his hands were trembling. Zar’s power and speed after “reviving” were far greater than before, completely surpassing him.
Within just a few exchanges, Zar knocked Lusha’s weapon out of his hands.
Immediately after, he pulled his spear back, gathered strength, and aimed a thrust directly at Lusha’s chest.
Boom! Lusha was blasted backwards, crashing into a nearby house and collapsing a corner of it.
“What a pity.”
Zar sighed regretfully.
The spearhead in his hands had a crack—that was caused by his ferocious attack just now.
It had been his strongest strike, yet he felt as though he had stabbed into something abnormally hard, preventing the blow from piercing Lusha’s chest.
The mark on his forehead gradually faded, the light left his eyes, his pupils dilated, and then he fell once again.
What on earth was this bizarre duel? Nobody could make sense of it.
Pushing aside the rubble pressing on him, Lusha clutched his chest and slowly stood up, only to see Zar lying motionless on the ground.
Cautiously approaching to confirm, he found that this time, Zar was truly dead.
The duel was finally over. Though it was strange and confusing, Lusha had won.
Turning to the Bone warriors, Lusha declared with the stance of a victor:
“Are you still unwilling to surrender?”
“No!”
One of Zar’s fanatics stepped forward, walking toward Lusha.
“We will never surrender!”
Bang!
That Bone warrior’s skull was shattered and he collapsed to the ground.
From a nearby rooftop, Xilong had been observing all along—he would never allow any enemy to approach the chief easily.
The Sinking Sand Tribe warriors also raised their muskets, aiming at the Bone warriors.
“Do you all want to end up like him?”
Lusha shouted coldly.
The remaining Bone warriors looked at one another. One of them asked:
“You don’t intend to slaughter us, do you?”
“No, I am not Zar.”
Lusha replied.
“Although you participated in the massacre against the Sinking Sand Tribe, it was Zar who gave the order. You were only following commands. Therefore, only Zar pays with his life. As for you—you will atone in other ways.”
Their chief was dead, and resistance was now meaningless. In the end, the bone warriors chose to surrender.
At Kerman’s order, they laid down their weapons, removed their equipment, and raised their hands.
Meanwhile, Lusha walked toward the three chieftains.
“Please bring all the Black Wind Tribe elders to the shrine. I want to question them about Zar. Also, we need to discuss post-war matters there.”
“Alright.”
Togo and Kes nodded.
Seeing Lusha’s pale expression, Wuna asked with concern:
“Chief of the Sinking Sand Tribe, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
Forcing a smile, Lusha said.
“Go on ahead. I’ll join you shortly.”
“Very well.”
Wuna answered.
The three chiefs left with their troops, while the Sinking Sand Tribe forces managed the surrendering bone warriors, preparing to herd them into the central square for supervision.
Taking advantage of the business, pale-faced Lusha slipped into a deserted corner. Unable to suppress it any longer, he spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground, feeling slightly relieved afterward.
He didn’t want to show weakness in front of his tribesmen or enemies, so he had been forcing himself to endure.
Zar’s final strike had indeed been terrifying, even stirring up his old injuries.
“Chief!”
Kerman, witnessing this, was alarmed.
“It’s alright. I’ll be fine.”
Lusha waved a hand dismissively, then unfastened his clothing, revealing a thick steel plate underneath. There was a deep dent in it—left by Zar’s final blow.
“If the lord hadn’t worried about me before we set out and given me this plate as protection, I might have died from that strike.”
Thinking back, Lusha felt a chill of fear—it was fortunate that the lord had such foresight.
“It was truly terrifying… Chief, you must never fight in such duels again!”
Kerman said, still shaken.
“Sigh… I thought that with the musket Jita forged especially for me, this duel was certain to be won.”
“Chief!”
“Alright, alright, I get it. I won’t do it again.”
Lusha finally conceded.
“Let’s hurry to the shrine. There are still many matters awaiting us.”