Chapter 101
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Familiar(?) Attackers
Celine slashed through the oncoming plants while rallying her unit.
She swung her greatsword with calm precision, but inside, she was burning up with anxiety.
- Unit member 3, blonde ponytail elf woman. Her presence wasn't confirmed during the battle, only briefly appearing right before escape. She seemed heavily fatigued, carried away by the bunny-eared woman.
"Elfin, the plants you summon look pretty scary, you know. Are all elves like that?"
"Oh, this? Hehe, cool, right? It's my own custom design, you could say. Elves don't stick to specific types of plants, but everyone has their favorites in terms of appearance. Some just summon plain roots or vines, others call up ones blooming with tons of flowers."
"So this... flytrap-looking thing is unique to you?"
"Hmm, yeah. Anyone could summon it if they wanted, but like I said, elves have their preferences. From what I've seen, no one else calls these out."
"That... visual is a bit... creepy, isn't it?"
"It's not cool?!"
As the same carnivorous plants from her academy days lunged at them, Celine cut them down while her mind filled with increasingly grim possibilities.
Still, she desperately denied them.
No way, it can't be. It's Elfin. Elfin hates Alvis so much—there's no way she'd side with him. And she said anyone could summon them if they wanted. So it can't be Elfin...
Celine barked orders to her unit as she cleaved through the plants.
"Shieldbearers, form a circular phalanx! Protect the priests, and priests, stand in the center and burn those plants away!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Sword of the Goddess unit swiftly reformed their lines.
Those with massive shields formed a wall, while the priests in the center channeled holy power, incinerating the encroaching plants with purifying flames.
Under Celine's command, the unit quickly regained stability, but...
Whirrr—
"Wh-what? Uwaaaah! My body!"
"W-what is this!?"
"This isn't magic!"
"...!"
Suddenly, the unit members' bodies floated up into the air. Celine's body was also caught by an invisible force trying to lift her, but the moment she sensed it, she channeled her mana and shook it off.
At that instant.
Thwip!
"Gahk!"
An arrow flew from the forest.
It struck a unit member's armor with a dull thud, and plants immediately burst from the ground, flinging the struck soldier far away.
"No!"
Celine screamed and tried to retrieve the hit soldier, but he was already flung out of reach, and plants sprouted from the rear to block the path to him.
Thwip! Thwip!
Arrows kept flying from deep in the forest, striking armor with dull impacts. Hit soldiers screamed as plants battered them away into the distance.
"Tch... Haaaaah!!!"
Gripping her greatsword with both hands, Celine poured strength into her body and spun around fiercely.
Whoosh!
With a sound of rending air, a massive sword beam erupted from her swing, slicing through the plants attacking from all sides in one go.
Boom!
The beam didn't stop there—it extended toward the arrow's origin, shattering trees in its path.
Only then did the arrow barrage cease. The floating soldiers landed back on the ground, but those hit by arrows and flung by plants were nowhere to be seen.
"Medical squad, recover the flung personnel! Check survival and provide emergency aid if alive! Squads 3 and 4, escort the medical squad! Everyone else, front shield phalanx—advance! Drive the terrorists back! I'll clear the path! Haaah!"
Celine swung her greatsword vigorously again, unleashing another sword beam toward the arrow source. Trees toppled once more, and no more arrows came.
As the main force prepared to advance with the front cleared...
A sharp blade wind from the rear blocked the medical team's path to the wounded.
Screeech—! Boom!
"E-enemy at the rear!"
"Blade wind... urk!"
"Danger!"
Toppled trees blocked the way to the flung soldiers. The attacker darted between them at blinding speed, unleashing blade winds at the medical team.
Simply kicking the air without any preparation to whip up a gale—it was no magic.
Even without mana, pulling that off meant the attacker was no human, at minimum.
"Enemy incoming!"
"Shieldbearers, forward!"
Before Celine could even order, veteran shieldbearers advanced and raised their shields, but...
Clang!
The attacker charged at incredible speed and delivered a dropkick straight to the shield. The massive steel shield shattered in one blow.
"Guh..."
The shieldbearer flew back from the monstrous impact. Using the falling soldier as a springboard, the attacker leaped high onto a tree branch.
Hood pulled low and mask covering the face, but Celine knew only one race capable of such feats.
- Unit member 1, pink bob-cut bunny-eared woman. Tallest of her trio, movements suggest a martial artist.
Celine gritted her teeth and ordered the mages.
"All mages, prepare frost magic! Restrict the enemy's movement!"
The area instantly turned to ice, limiting the attacker's footing. With no other choice, the enemy leaped straight at Celine.
Clang!
Celine met the charge head-on, her greatsword clashing with the enemy's knuckles.
Knuckles...?!
Celine's pupils trembled violently at the sight of the weapon.
She couldn't make out the face, but it was definitely a bunny-eared girl.
Only they could shatter steel shields with kicks alone and leap meters high on pure leg strength without magic.
How many bunny-eared warriors used knuckles as their main weapon?
Bunny folk faced severe discrimination abroad and were denied education, so few learned proper weapon arts or magic—most relied on bare-handed combat.
That was a fact straight from Ravi, one of her closest academy friends.
In other words, bunny folk who could properly wield weapons were exceedingly rare.
Yet this attacker, confirmed as bunny-eared, wore them.
Celine's grip tightened on her greatsword, making the enemy's knuckles and her blade tremble.
"You... who the hell are you! Show your face!"
"......"
The attacker said nothing, as expected.
Celine slashed horizontally in fury. The enemy ducked and struck upward at the blade with her knuckles.
Then, feinting a punch, she swept low with her leg.
"!!!"
"Haa... haa... A leg sweep? Never saw that coming. Celine, you're sneakier than I thought."
"Chasing honor just gets you killed in a winnable fight. Sparring is practice! In real combat, use every dirty trick to win and survive. Most idiots look down on it as thug or mercenary tactics, but... Ravi, you want to get stronger, right? Then try everything. It's not cheating or a crime."
"Haha, true. Guess I'm still far off. Wonder when I'll beat Celine..."
"You saying that when you're this strong? Sparring you drains me completely."
Recalling her academy spars with Ravi, Celine backflipped, kicking the attacker's arm upward to create distance.
The enemy's relentless assaults matched Ravi's habits from academy days exactly.
The grim suspicion hardened into conviction. Celine's mind reeled, her breaths ragged.
"Hah... hah..."
She wasn't that exhausted, but her heart pounded like it would burst, her head spinning.
Celine had never felt such mental turmoil. The shock was overwhelming; she could barely keep composed.
Her slim hope: she hadn't seen the attackers' faces yet, so doubt hadn't reached certainty.
Seeing them would be terrifying—she dreaded what came next.
Yet she desperately wanted to confirm.
She believed her friends wouldn't betray her. Removing hood and mask would reveal strangers, she told herself.
"I... raaaah!!!"
Celine screamed out her anxiety, slashing upward. The blade tip just barely nicked the attacker's hood.
Shrrk—
Through the slit, short pink hair spilled out. Now sweating coldly, Celine stammered in panic.
"You... no way... it can't be... no, it can't..."
"......"
The attacker leaped onto a tree and vanished into the forest.
Too many trees had fallen; paths to the flung personnel were blocked.
"Vice-captain, your orders..."
Even as her unit asked, Celine's mind froze on that pink hair.
What snapped her out was the enemy's first voice.
"You walked right into an obvious trap and still put up a fight? Guess you earned that much skill. Honestly, I figured your grunts were cannon fodder. My expectations were way off."
Celine, her psyche fraying toward breakdown, whipped her head toward the voice irritably.
Atop a tree stood a handsome brown-haired man, arms crossed, looking down arrogantly.
Recognizing the face, Celine ground her teeth, tightening her grip on her greatsword.
"Alvis...!!!"