Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Simon Tower Assault
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93
4
The Forerunners designate a wide range of targets for their terrorism.
Not only indiscriminate attacks on the masses, but assassinations of key figures and thefts of artifacts are everyday occurrences.
Among them, there are occasional cases like this one, targeting buildings.
Of course, there's always a valid reason.
The newly completed Simon Tower in Riverflow is a mage tower independently operated by the Hilfenberg Duchy.
Even its name is taken from the venerable archmage Simon Sartre.
Its main research fields are magitech and pragmatic magic schools.
These are fields treated as heresies or scorned by the conservative magic establishment.
Magitech, in particular, has already permeated every corner of continental life, yet the mage towers dismiss it as heresy.
Likewise, magitech engineers are admired by the general public but despised by mages, leaving their position ambiguous.
In such a situation, when Duke Hilfenberg announces the establishment of a mage tower championing magitech and pragmatic magic, it's only natural that magitech engineers from across the continent flock to Simon Tower.
Naturally, there are those who find this state of affairs displeasing.
For instance, the entrenched powers in the magic world who fear the rise of magitech engineers.
Or the royalist faction wary of Duke Hilfenberg, the center of the noble faction, absorbing magitech engineers to bolster his forces.
And finally, the Forerunners.
To the Forerunners, commoners are mere sacrificial lambs.
Yet now, those commoners are easily gaining power through magitech.
From their perspective, it's no different from livestock they thought they could casually slaughter suddenly arming themselves with guns.
In fact, magitech guns are quite powerful.
Under equal conditions, simply pulling the trigger is enough to fell an experienced mage.
And with magic bullets, they can even partially substitute for spells, limited though it may be.
Just recall Noel during the wasp swarm attack—no need to explain how potent they are.
Of course, guns and bullets are expensive... but that's a problem that will resolve as magitech spreads further and enables mass production.
The era is changing.
For the Forerunners, it's a disaster.
So there's no way they'd let it slide.
"That's why we're here."
With that brief explanation concluded, Noel nodded.
She'd followed silently when asked for help, but apparently, she was curious about the details deep down.
I'd explained the Forerunners beforehand... but not these finer points.
"Hoo... I'm so tense..."
Now aware of the full situation, Noel kept glancing around like a meerkat.
Simon Tower was just before completion, so the surroundings were a construction site.
The passing workers paid us no mind.
"Don't be too tense, friend. We're not alone here!"
Ethan draped an arm over Noel's shoulder.
It was meant to encourage her, no doubt.
And Ethan was right, for once.
Thanks to Leon handing Beham over to Lucius, every worker on the site today was a Hilfenberg knight in disguise.
Not only that, but knights disguised as civilians were hidden nearby.
If things went south, they'd step in to help subjugate the Forerunners.
Still, no room for complacency.
If it were just bishops or priests, maybe—but a cardinal changes everything.
Cardinals are, simply put, formidable.
The twelve cardinals each excel in different areas, making it hard to summarize their strength.
What's certain is that they top the charts in their respective fields.
Even Dariund, vice-captain of the Ironwall Knights—one of Tekat Kingdom's four great knight orders—ranks just below the middle in raw combat prowess among the cardinals.
That monster, who probably wouldn't die even if stabbed in the back when fully off-guard, is mid-to-low tier.
No need to mention how strong the rest are.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the current cardinal lineup differs markedly from what I know.
This is before the internal strife that led to a reshuffle.
Meaning there are cardinals like Elrigor that I don't know about.
...Well, known or unknown, the key to fighting a cardinal is Leon and the holy sword.
And Leon himself was calmly gazing up at the unfinished Simon Tower, his callused hand resting on the holy sword's hilt, his deep red eyes serene.
"Condition okay?"
"Couldn't be better."
He answers when asked.
His detachment suggests he's not lying.
"Mine's top-notch too!"
Ethan flexed his arm, showing off his muscles.
Whether due to his sturdy build or the excellent effects of the Garmanium hot springs, he looked perfectly fine.
Despite it having been a fairly serious injury...
"I'm doing pretty well too."
Noel nodded, fiddling with her gun.
She still seemed incredibly tense, but there was no easing that.
It was just Noel's nature.
"Everyone's in high spirits."
"What, Theo? You feeling off?"
"So-so."
I shrugged.
Not too good, not too bad.
This state was actually optimal.
"You look pale."
"..."
"You're tense."
I tried to brush it off lightly, but Leon hit me with the plain truth.
Of course I was tense.
A cardinal might show up, for all we knew.
If it were just me at night, free to ignore my surroundings, that'd be one thing—but in broad daylight, with Leon, Ethan, and Noel here.
A single minor mistake could lead to an irreversible disaster.
That fact alone pressed down on me like sinking into the deep sea.
BOOM!!
A sudden explosion roared.
I reflexively gripped my demon sword's hilt.
Through the acrid smoke, a white robe fluttered.
"Attack!"
A knight disguised as a worker shouted.
Instantly, knights drew swords and clashed with the lower priests.
Chaos erupted in seconds.
Amid it all, my eyes locked on one man.
A burly black-haired man with a fierce face.
His upper shirt flung open revealed defined muscles.
But more eye-catching were the pitch-black chains writhing around him like living serpents.
"Onitsusen..."
One of the twelve cardinals I knew.
In pure physical might, he ranked below Dariund.
Still, he was a cardinal.
Fighting him now carried significant risk.
But a crisis is just opportunity in disguise.
If we could take down even one cardinal here?
A powerhouse of that caliber can't be replaced on the fly.
Sure, they'd refill the spot eventually, but for now, it would create a massive gap in the Forerunners' forces.
It would introduce new variables, but at this point, obsessing over every change would make even breathing impossible on my terms.
The pressure still choked me.
Even so, what needed doing was clear, so I moved my lips.
"We take the cardinal."
5
Clang!!
The serpent-like chain slams into the Shield of Restraint.
Sparks fly, but Ethan holds firm.
But the shield only covers the front.
Chains soon flew at Ethan's flanks from both sides.
"Noel, left!"
"Got it...!"
Bang. The gunshot cracks the dry air.
The bullet precisely strikes the high-speed chain.
A normal chain would snap under the impact, but this was the cardinal's special item.
The bullet merely altered its trajectory.
That was enough.
Leon deflected the right chain with Exwise.
Now able to focus solely ahead, Ethan lowered his stance and charged.
"Raaah...!"
He barely advanced a few steps before locking into a tug-of-war with the chains again.
Onitsusen's pattern revolved entirely around mid-range combat with his chains.
The chains themselves were extremely hard to destroy.
Thus, closing the distance was the prerequisite to victory.
Getting Leon past the chains within the holy sword's reach.
That was condition one for winning... but...
"Damn."
I wasn't part of it.
Not nighttime, so no Deathwise powers, and the Ring of the Absolute hadn't recharged since its barrier broke in the last fight—its effects wouldn't activate.
Dimensional magic was strictly for support, not frontline combat, so no reason to dive in.
Coldly speaking, hanging back and assisting with dimensional magic was my proper role.
I gritted my teeth and manipulated my mana.
I swapped coordinates, forcing the chains targeting Leon's rear to collide.
Watching such a perilous fight was unsettling.
Leon, Ethan, and Noel's teamwork was solid, but...
"Haha! Fun! This is so much fun! It's been ages since I fought guys this tough! Come on, entertain me more!!"
"Fun?"
Thwack. Ethan swung his shield wide, batting away the chains.
Leon dashed forward in the opening, growling.
The chains arced through the air toward him.
Ethan blocked for Leon's back with his shield; the ones he missed, Noel shot down.
"What part of this deathmatch is fun?"
"If a fight for your life isn't fun, then what is?! Huh!?"
Onitsusen scowled deeply.
Yet his voice was exhilarated.
Seeing him purely enjoying it, Leon closed in further.
Still, the sword's reach was distant.
As if refusing to let him approach, ten chains lunged at Leon simultaneously.
An assault impossible for one man to fully parry—yet Leon didn't retreat.
Boom!
Instead, space itself compressed heavily.
The Shield of Restraint circulated mana, deploying a translucent dome.
Not all chains were restrained, but their speed slowed, if only slightly.
"Haha! As expected, fu—!"
In that instant, golden light cleaved the world.
A slash using the golden mana rippling along Exwise carved a long gash across Onitsusen's cheek.
Ethan had drawn Onitsusen's gaze with the Shield of Restraint; Leon had circled to his blind spot for a surprise strike.
For most, it would have been a desperate blow, but Onitsusen tilted his head on animal instinct, minimizing the damage.
"Ah... You're climbing all over me when I'm just trying to have fun. That was pretty sharp. But playtime's over."
Licking the blood trickling from his wound, Onitsusen grew serious.
At the same time, dozens of chains erupted from the ground beneath his feet.
An omni-directional assault from outside his awareness.
Against the explosively violent attack, I swapped mana.
"Don't be late...!"
A massive mana drain made my head throb like it would split.
Ignoring my body's warnings, I instant-transmitted Leon, Ethan, and Noel to me.
In the nick of time, the three appeared before me.
But they hadn't fully escaped—Ethan had his side grazed, Noel her left arm.
Leon, closest, was covered in wounds across his body.
Damn, still not enough for a cardinal?
"Hoh! You're the rumored dimensional mage?"
"So... what if I am...?"
"You look fun too. Try dodging this!"
Grinning gleefully, Onitsusen hurled rotating chains in succession.
I tried swapping coordinates to intercept, but my vision warped, and I crumpled from the knees.
The recoil from instant-transmitting three people—no need to see more.
I couldn't even operate mana, let alone move properly.
My brain raced for solutions.
But the conclusion was already set.
Every option blocked.
Even as I tried to move mana for a dimensional dodge—
Clang!!
Intense sparks erupted, and Onitsusen's chains shot skyward.
Golden light shimmered between the writhing chains.
Blocking them was Leon.
Wounded all over yet standing tall, he breathed raggedly.
"Even mangled like that, you keep moving—impressive willpower. But you've lost my interest. Step aside."
Irritated, Onitsusen grimaced.
His emotions synced; countless chains rattled toward Leon.
But not one touched him.
Exwise, cloaked in rippling golden light, deflected them all.
The light grew more radiant with every swing.
Soon, the brilliant glow fully engulfed Exwise.
The glowing blade morphed its shape.
The seam connecting hilt, guard, and ornament loosened, absorbing the light and shifting it to blue.
Cascading blue afterimages mingled with gold, enwrapping Exwise.
An aura like holy radiance and brilliance forged into sword form eroded the surroundings.
Exwise's second form—a stage not yet reachable.
Stepping into that realm, Leon simply aimed Exwise at his foe and growled, serene yet lethally sharp.
"You're facing me."