Chapter 101
I had the young lady step back and moved one step forward, prompting Lelenoa-san to grow wary and reach for the sword at her hip.
"...Reiji-kun, the head of the family told me to come here because I'm acquainted with you. I've only been ordered to 'bring you here,' so I don't know what happens after that, you know. But if you're going to resist here, then we have options of our own."
"Just because you know me doesn't mean I'll hold back if you point a sword at me, so keep that in mind."
Wrinkles gathered at the tip of Lelenoa-san's nose.
"If you're underestimating House Ebenyu, you'd better rethink that, you hear! We're here to protect House Ebenyu in the Holy King's Capital—"
"I warned you."
"—What the—!?"
I stepped out through the gate, and the next moment, Lelenoa-san's body was flying through the air. How many people even noticed that I'd hit her with 【Wind Magic】?
"And as for the way you talk... it reminds me of a dear companion, so I'd rather not hear it."
Fighting an opponent who was a female halfling with the same way of speaking as Mimino-san was strangely difficult. So perhaps it was fortunate that I dealt with her first. She should be unconscious now, so she wouldn't wake up for a while.
Perhaps surprised by the sudden attack, the armed soldiers stood dazed for a moment.
(What are you doing leaving yourself wide open? I never let my guard down when I was guarding the young lady.)
I broke into a run with 【Sprinting】, slipping between the armed soldiers while firing 【Wind Magic】 in rapid succession.
"Gah!"
"Grr!?"
"Nghaaa!"
About seven of them went flying, while the eighth used a shield to stop my magic. The instant it blocked the spell, the shield flared with a whoosh. Was that Weapon Magic?
"Ngh. Hey, grab your weapons! Get into formation! We're under attack!"
"What a coward!"
They had come rushing at one person with all these men, yet they called me a coward. The nerve. A donut-shaped clearing opened up around me.
(Why are they keeping their distance instead of crushing me? What are they doing with their numerical advantage? Want me to show you an even more underhanded way to fight?)
When I activated 【Dark Magic】 next, five dark bullets appeared in my right hand and five in my left, for a total of ten.
"Shield-bearers, stop his magic! It's coming!"
The armed soldiers switched positions, bringing the shield-bearers to the front, but I ignored them and fired all ten dark bullets in a spread.
"Raise your shields! ...Ngh!?"
I don't aim for people. What I aimed at was—
"Whoa!? What is this!?"
"It's dark!"
The magic lamps. I fired dark bullets one after another and made them cling to the lamps. The spell had no killing power; it merely blocked the light. Furthermore, whether they tried to cut it with a sword or slap it away with their hands, it would not dispel until several minutes had passed.
In an instant, the surroundings were enveloped in the darkness of the dead of night.
"—Heh."
I ran toward the armed soldiers with shields. They must have sensed me, because they raised their shields, but I leaped at them, planted a foot on one of their heads, and vaulted over them into the rear.
Even in this darkness, I had the innate ability 【Night Vision】. It looked like one, two, three... about three of them had 【Night Vision】 too, but that was nowhere near enough.
"Guh."
"Gaff!"
"Huh!?"
I fired 【Wind Magic】 indiscriminately, while pummeling unarmored opponents with punches and kicks. 【Wind Magic】 was great. It left no traces, produced no light, and its powerful pressure could inflict damage even through armor.
"Fire over there! Don't worry about hitting our own men!"
There seemed to be a mage among them, and one of the soldiers with 【Night Vision】 gave him instructions.
Rotating flames appeared in the mage's outstretched hands, abruptly lighting up the surroundings.
"Fire!"
I instinctively touched the ground and activated 【Earth Magic】. An earthen wall burst up through the stone paving, sending two armed soldiers flying as it went, and shattered the ball of flame.
"What!? You can even use 【Earth Magic】!?"
"How many different kinds can you use!?"
The earthen wall made an excellent distraction. While they were distracted, I closed in on the soldiers with 【Night Vision】 and knocked them unconscious with 【Wind Magic】, then punched the mages into submission one after another.
By the time I had finished taking down all the mages, they had even started hitting one another in the darkness—think a little harder about how to make use of your numerical advantage.
"Damn it! How many spells can this guy cast!?"
"Let him keep firing! He'll be out of mana soon enough—ugh!"
Sorry to interrupt you mid-sentence, but I blew him away with 【Wind Magic】.
"Whew, I've cut their numbers in half, I guess."
The 【Dark Magic】 covering the magic lamps wore off—and since most of the soldiers had been thrown to the ground, the area near the ground brightened.
Armed soldiers lay strewn around me in a scene of utter carnage. Since I had been firing my spells with the intention of knocking them unconscious rather than killing them, my mana consumption wasn't particularly high. It seemed I had learned the young lady's four-star 【Mana Control】 as well... I could feel the mana flowing through my body being controlled perfectly.
I took a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped my brow. I had worked up a little sweat.
"Half remain."
After putting away the handkerchief, I activated 【Dark Magic】 one finger at a time, starting with my thumb, making ten dark bullets appear in total.
"You'll keep playing with me right to the end, won't you?"
I smiled and took one step forward. An armed soldier cried, "Eek!" and backed away. Most of the armed soldiers had gone pale, and the weapons in their hands were trembling.
"Hold it right there! Stop this ruckus!"
Just then, I heard the sound of horse hooves striking the stone pavement. My 【Hearing Enhancement】 had barely picked up the faint hoofbeats when the voice came flying over, so seriously, how loud was that voice?
The horse was a size larger than the ones I usually saw, with a muscular build and a blue coat. Even so, the person riding it was so conspicuous that the horse could hardly compete.
A huge man draped in a gray bear pelt. Across his back, he carried a massive two-handed battleaxe that looked to weigh well over a hundred kilograms.
"The margrave..."
A troublesome person had arrived at this point. The margrave was probably strong enough that even all the armed soldiers here together would be no match for him.
When I glared at him, he stopped his horse about ten meters away from the armed soldiers.
"Stop the fighting, right now. I am Margrave Myule. You all understand what this means, right?"
The margrave took out a blue, magatama-like object that had been hanging from his waist.
"The Holy King's plenipotentiary insignia!?"
The armed soldiers began to murmur. Apparently, he had come as the Holy King's representative—or something along those lines.
"If you understand, sheathe your swords already!! Either way, that brat over there is far beyond anything you can handle! And when you get back, tell that little runt from House Ebenyu that this attempt to jump the gun won't be tolerated!"