Kutlanka Ruins (2)
After leaving orders to stay ready to fight at a moment's notice, Commander Pazniri disappeared into the carriage with Plasma alone. The two of them needed to decide whether or not to enter the Kutlanka Ruins — a place that looked like a trap no matter how you sliced it.
Unlike the other two villages, which had been subjected to scorched-earth tactics, the settlement here at the ruins was perfectly intact. The only thing missing was the people. That was precisely what made it feel even more like a trap — and precisely why no one could bring themselves to give the order to attack.
If it were me, I'd have been blasting magic left and right by now. Guess he doesn't think that way because he lacks command experience?
The spot where the punitive force currently stood overlooked the entire Kutlanka Ruins in a single glance. A magical bombardment launched from here would wipe out everyone below, even if the enemy were hiding inside the houses.
The force had no shortage of mages. There was Chae Gillard, the 4-star Fire Mage who somehow kept catching my attention, and Commander Pazniri himself was a mage. Other Masters and Fairies among us held mage classes as well. They were all 3-star and 4-star mages with high Magic stats, and like any proper mage, every last one of them had offensive magic skills. If they poured everything they had into it, razing the village to the ground was entirely possible.
Of course, they shouldn't.
Mages were a critical asset. The magic they wielded could inflict mass casualties and serve as a trump card capable of flipping an unfavorable situation on its head. Dump a weapon that important at the outset, and you'd spend the rest of the fight getting dragged around by the enemy.
I wonder what they'll decide.
I was genuinely curious to see what choice Commander Pazniri and Plasma would make with the enemy sitting right in front of them. And no matter how the battle unfolded, I had no intention of leaving Plasma's side. He was the strongest asset the punitive force possessed — a fighter who could single-handedly sweep the board clean even if the worst possible variable came into play. In other words, sticking right next to him meant my safety was guaranteed. I had no interest in showing off and getting myself killed, or losing my comrades in the process.
A short while later, Prince Pazniri and Plasma stepped out of the carriage. The decision had been made. With a face hardened by tension, he addressed us.
"That place is the den of the Snake Bandits, who have long brought harm to Baidu under the rule of Her Majesty the Witch Queen. With the enemy before our eyes, retreat is unthinkable! From this moment, we attack their main base. Time and again they have launched surprise assaults to bring us down, and time and again we have splendidly fended them off. They cannot defeat us. It is time to prove that justice has not vanished from this land!"
So they decided to attack after all?
I'd already figured Commander Pazniri would choose offense over retreat, so it wasn't particularly surprising. The real question was how they planned to go about it.
"First, I ask that the mages prepare their spells. After approximately two rounds of magical assault, we will enter the village."
"Whew..."
I let out a sigh of relief. Yeah — walking into an obvious trap without any preparation would be suicide. If the bandits really were lying in wait inside the village, they could inflict heavy casualties the moment we stepped in. And even if they weren't, it didn't matter. That village was their home base. Turning their home base into a wasteland would be a decent achievement all by itself.
At the commander's order, every Master and Fairy with a mage class began preparing their skills. They were casting fire and wind-type magic — a pretty standard combination. Deal primary damage with fire, then amplify the blaze with wind for a second wave of destruction. It was the textbook combo that plenty of Fairy Masters players used.
Hmm... what should I do?
I had a wind-type magic skill of my own — Wind Arrow (Lv.11/Normal). And if I contributed to burning down a village that size, I'd rake in a fair amount of skill experience. The one concern was that I'd have to show everyone I could use magic.
Until now, I'd only ever presented myself to these people as a Swordsman. If I suddenly started casting magic, they were going to find it strange. Magic skills were exclusive to the Mage class, after all.
"Well... but I can't pass up the EXP."
"Pardon? What did you say, Master?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
Aquaril, who had overheard my muttering, tilted her head and looked at me. Being a Fairy, she had a habit of not letting even my self-talk slide.
I shook my head at her and immediately began preparing the skill.
Wind Arrow (Lv.11 / Normal)
Wind swirled into being before me, condensing into eleven arrows of pure air. A Normal-grade skill only generated one Wind Arrow per level.
"Huh? Hey, you okay?"
Canisia looked at me with open concern the moment she saw me preparing Wind Arrow. She was worried about me revealing my ability in front of the others. She was the only person who knew I could use skills without class restrictions. During the expedition, she'd thought it strange when she caught me using both magic and healing skills, so I'd told her about my ability. Of course I hadn't told her everything — just that I could use exclusive skills belonging to other classes.
"Huh? Ah, yeah. It's fine. I've already thought it through."
I smiled and waved off her concern. I'd decided to show off my ability to use magic because I wanted the experience from burning the village — but that didn't mean I'd done this without a plan.
...Really.
"What's with that guy? He can use magic?"
"What? Come on, how can a swordsman use magi— wait? He's actually doing it? How the hell can that bastard use magic?"
There were a lot of eyes around, so plenty of people saw me lining up those Wind Arrows. Hoping I wouldn't get caught had been greedy, honestly. How many pairs of eyes were even here?
As half the force stared at me with a mixture of shock and suspicion, Commander Pazniri's firing order came down.
"Fire magic — launch!"
Flame magic streaked toward the Snake Bandits' village. The largest fireball belonged to Chae Gillard, who specialized in the fire element.
KRA-KOOM—!
The spell crashed into the dead-silent center of the village and erupted in a massive explosion. Detonations chained together like a string of bombs. If the bandits had truly been lying in ambush down there, that firepower would have killed them on the spot.
But the punitive force's magical assault was far from over.
"Wind magic — launch!"
WHOOOOOOSH—!
Wind-type magic poured into the burning village. I loosed all eleven Wind Arrows I'd prepared. The flames clinging to every house met the wind and roared to life, swelling like a fish thrown back into water. Heat haze shimmered so violently that the village itself looked warped and distorted.
Wind Arrow (Lv.11 / Normal) — skill level has increased.
Wind Arrow (Lv.12 / Normal) — skill level has increased.
The EXP is so damn sweet.
I couldn't keep the smile off my face as the notification windows bloomed in front of my eyes. I'd used the skill once — just once — and the experience had jumped two whole levels.
"Damn! This EXP is delicious!"
"Let's throw more magic at it!"
"That side over there is still standing! Burn it properly!"
The mages launched additional spells at the village even without an order from Commander Pazniri. Their skill levels were shooting up just like mine.
But what's this? Why do I feel so uneasy?
The smile on my lips lasted only a moment. I frowned and stared down at the village. Something was off. Even if I'd contributed to torching a settlement that size, a two-level jump in a single cast meant there were definitely people down there.
FWOOOOSH—!
They say burning at the stake is the most painful way a person can die. And yet, for some reason, not a single scream rose from the village. Their bodies were on fire. Why weren't they screaming?
...It's not that they aren't screaming.
"It's that they can't?"
An extremely ominous thought surfaced in my mind. And that was the moment.
"E-enemy! The enemy has appeared!"
"What?!"
A soldier's cry rang out across the hill. He was staring at the rear of the punitive force, and when I turned my head that way, I saw them — countless bandits charging straight at us.
"...Heh heh heh. Would you look at these crazy bastards."
I burst out laughing as I watched the Snake Bandits pour in. We were currently bunched together at the very edge of the hill so we could rain magic down on the village. And now the Snake Bandits were flooding in from the hill's only entrance.
Our escape route had been cut off.
What if that was exactly what they'd been aiming for? What if they'd left the village empty to make it look like a trap, then baited the punitive force into launching a magical bombardment? The hill we stood on was the single best position from which to rain down magic. At the same time, if you blocked the entrance, there was nowhere to run — which made it the single best killing ground for the enemy.
We hadn't taken the initiative at all. We'd just danced to the tune they'd been playing.
"What is this guy, a goddamn Zhuge Liang?"
I couldn't hide my shock at the realization that the enemy had orchestrated this entire situation. There was only one way in or out. The choices left to us now were to fight the Snake Bandits flooding toward us with our lives on the line — or jump off the cliff.
"Holy shit."
I looked down and swore at the dizzying drop. The only person who could survive a jump from this height was Plasma, the 7-star Fairy. Fighting the enemy was, for all practical purposes, the only option we had.
"Fuck you, you sons of bitches!"
"Those bastards ain't shit! Just kill them all!"
The others seemed to have reached the same conclusion, because they were burning with fighting spirit. But a trace of unease still lingered on their agitated faces.
"UAAAAAH!"
"Die, you motherfuckers!"
"Kill them!"
And then the punitive force and the Snake Bandits collided.
Vikendi Salmus, leader of the Snake Bandits, felt a chill crawl down his spine as he looked at the enemies driven into a corner. Wasn't this situation far too advantageous?
The hill entrance was narrow, which limited the number of fighters who could engage at once — a disadvantage, to be sure. But that much they could overcome.
Just how far ahead is she looking?
The one who had maneuvered the punitive force onto this hill was not Salmus. It was his superior — the woman with the deep navy-blue hair.
It was Salmus who had ordered the Snake Bandits to launch surprise attacks until the punitive force reached the Kutlanka Ruins. Wearing an enemy down with guerrilla warfare day and night, then annihilating them with the main force — that was his specialty. He had intended to defeat the punitive force, and Plasma, his own way.
In fact, this was never supposed to be the site of their decisive battle. Salmus had planned to engage them before they ever reached the Kutlanka Ruins, the Snake Bandits' home base. But then a new order had come down from the woman.
Confiscate every resource from the villages along the punitive force's route so the enemy would receive nothing. And fight the final battle here — at the place that overlooked the entire Kutlanka Ruins in a single glance.
The woman was not present. As always, she had delivered every one of these instructions through Salmus's dreams. The fact that she had created an overwhelmingly advantageous situation for them without even knowing the detailed circumstances on the ground sent a shiver through him.
And that was not all she had prepared.
Having said that, the woman had told him to hide a hundred people in the home base. Bind them so they couldn't move. Gag them so they couldn't scream.
Honestly, Salmus still had no idea why she had given that order. He had simply obeyed because she was his superior — someone he dared not oppose.
Just what kind of gift did she prepare?
Salmus feared the woman's cruel nature, but he acknowledged her ability. He also knew perfectly well that she did not talk nonsense. If she had prepared a weapon capable of killing Plasma, then a weapon capable of snuffing out Plasma's life would be there. He simply didn't know what it was, because she hadn't bothered to explain.
"Master. Preparations are complete."
"...Right."
At his Fairy's report, Salmus — who had been watching the battlefield with a hardened face — gave a short nod. Behind him waited those of particularly high rank even among the Snake Bandits. Their purpose was singular: to kill Plasma, the Witch Queen's Fairy.
"Everyone, get ready. When the time comes, we kill Plasma."
"Yes, Master!"
"Yes, Boss!"
The Fairies and bandits answered him with force.
Meanwhile, at that same moment—
SSSSSSSS—
Something eerie was unfolding inside the burning village. Within the houses that had collapsed into flame were the hundred people Salmus had hidden away, and unable to flee the fire, they had met an agonizing end.
From the corpses of those who had been forcibly burned at the stake, a dark crimson energy began to seep forth. The ominous aura moved as if it possessed a will of its own — and soaked into the bones of Kutlanka.