Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: The Second Encounter (2)
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“We’re definitely close. Just another kilometer or so…”
Just as Amy was about to explain, a fireball shot out from the forest with a ferocious roar.
“It’s an ambush! Scatter!”
Shirone’s group scattered in different directions. The flame slammed into the ground, devouring the air as it grew before dissipating in a wave of heat.
“A fireball?”
“Amy! Watch out!”
A second and third attack flew in simultaneously.
But Amy didn’t dodge. Instead, she took a fighting stance, glaring at the flames before piercing the fireballs with an equal number of Flame Strikes.
“Come out! You cowards, attacking from the shadows!”
“Quite skilled. It seems getting this far wasn’t just a fluke.”
Shirone’s party looked back at the mountain path. A man walked out from the forest. He was about Rian’s height, with a slender build that hinted at agility.
His hair was slicked back with a confidence that belied his lack of eyebrows, and his pale complexion gave him a snake-like appearance.
“Who are you?”
“Vice-captain of the Parrot Mercenary Corps. Freeman.”
The word “vice-captain” brought a tense look to their faces. But on the other hand, it also meant their destination wasn’t far.
“Shirone, I’ll handle this. When I give the signal, take Rian and Tess and head for the cliff.”
“I can’t do that. It’s too dangerous.”
“And what about you? Did you forget you jumped into a trap all by yourself? Are you going to keep ignoring me like this?”
“I’m not ignoring you. He’s not alone. There are about twenty people hiding in the forest.”
Amy had already confirmed this with her Spirit Zone. But that was precisely why she wanted to send Shirone ahead.
Getting tied down here would only give the surviving forces from the first checkpoint time to catch up.
Trying to persuade Shirone somehow, Amy raised a hand and pointed at Freeman.
“Shirone, look at that man’s weapon. It’s a gun.”
Shirone turned to look closely. The man was indeed holding a weapon that looked exactly like the ones he had seen in books.
While magic bullets fired from a bow required the arrowhead to be replaced, a gun was a specially manufactured weapon designed to use only magic bullets.
It was a device that loaded a small number of magic bullets and fired them forward. Judging by the design, it was a revolver-style weapon, capable of continuous fire by rotating the cylinder.
“See? You know what a gun is, right? It can reload faster than an arrow, and it’s a direct-fire weapon. Unlike arrows that explode on impact, the magic is already manifested when fired, making it specialized for mid-to-long-range combat. The guys hiding in the forest are probably all using the same weapon.”
Shirone understood what Amy was getting at.
“Alright. I’ll leave this to you, then.”
Rian and Tess looked back with puzzled expressions. They had heard the explanation about the gun, but it only made the situation seem more dangerous. Why had Shirone changed his mind and decided to leave Amy alone?
“I’ll buy you time with a Fire Wall so they can’t pursue you. Break through in the meantime.”
“Got it. Rian, Tess, get ready.”
If it was Shirone’s decision, Rian would follow. He didn’t feel good about leaving a comrade behind, but this wasn’t the time to stand around debating, so Tess also swallowed hard and prepared to dash forward.
“Now! Go!”
Amy, having finished concentrating, shouted with her eyes wide open. Shirone took off, with Rian and Tess flanking him.
As expected, flames shot out from all sides of the forest from the guns.
Amy cast Fire Wall in the shape of a massive circle.
The ground began to boil like porridge, and flames erupted from beneath her feet, racing with terrifying speed into the forest.
She then amplified her mental energy, and the wall of fire roared to life, obstructing the enemy’s view.
At the same time, Shirone grabbed Rian and Tess and activated Space Transfer. Though its range was shorter than that of a high-ranking mage, it was effective enough to make them vanish right before the enemy’s eyes.
Hearing the sound of the Space Transfer, Amy finally stopped casting Fire Wall and gasped for breath.
Fire Wall, known as a mana glutton, required a continuous pour of mental energy to maintain the barrier.
The reason its immense power wasn't considered overpowered was because the cost of casting it was simply too high.
But Freeman was purely impressed. The girl standing before him was a teenager at best.
As far as he knew, a mage who could cast a Fire Wall of this scale at her age was extremely rare.
“How admirable. Sacrificing yourself for your comrades.”
“Hmph! Don’t talk about sacrifice. I sent them away because I’m more than enough on my own.”
“Is that so? You look pretty exhausted. Sorry, but we’re in a hurry too, so I can’t wait for you.”
As Freeman finished speaking, his subordinates appeared.
The fact that no one was putting out the fires in the woods was proof that there were no mages among them. However, they were all Schema users, and like Freeman, they held guns.
A fighting style that mixed Schema and magic. On the battlefield, such individuals were called Gunners.
Amy had never witnessed a Gunner in combat, but she could guess what it was like. After all, she could also use long-range magic and Schema simultaneously.
Freeman’s men opened their cylinders and loaded them with magic bullets. It seemed each cylinder held at least six rounds.
That meant twelve rounds of magic per person, and there were twenty enemies. In other words, their combined firepower before needing to reload was two hundred and forty magic bullets.
“Sorry, but your childish little adventure ends here.”
At Freeman’s words, his men raised their guns.
It was clear that a subordinate reflects their leader; these men had a different disposition from the ones Falcoa commanded.
They showed no carelessness or bravado, focusing solely on eliminating their target.
Amy let out a smirk. It was probably because Shirone had taken the lead in their battles so far, but she hadn’t expected to be so thoroughly underestimated.
“You think you can have a shootout with me with just twenty men?”
Amy brought her legs together as if tensing her abdomen and cast a spell.
A gust of wind swirled, and fist-sized stones rose into the air around her, bursting into flames with a roar.
“This time, you’ve picked the wrong opponent.”
Amy’s eyes blazed with a crimson light.
***
Even as he ran, Tess kept looking back. He had trusted Shirone and followed, but the more he thought about it, the more reckless the plan seemed.
Gunners might be inferior to mages in terms of firepower, but they possessed physical abilities comparable to swordsmen.
The thought of Amy fighting among such opponents made his stomach churn.
“Shirone, shouldn't we go back, even now? I’m worried about Amy.”
“She’ll be fine. We’ll be at a disadvantage if we waste time. The surviving forces from the first checkpoint might be chasing us. Getting to the hideout as fast as possible is our priority.”
“I know that, but what about Amy? Wouldn’t it have been better if you had taken care of the enemies?”
Shirone, seeing through Tess’s thoughts, smiled wistfully.
“Not really. A mage’s skill isn’t judged simply by power. It varies by situation and by school of magic. When facing Gunners, Amy is several times stronger than I am.”
Tess looked at him with disbelief.
He knew she was in the graduating class, but Shirone’s feats since their arrival had been nothing short of incredible.
Could a situation where she was several times stronger than Shirone truly exist?
“How is that possible? No matter how skilled she is, there’s still the matter of numerical superiority.”
Like a true swordsman, Tess centered his thoughts on physical force.
Of course, in battle, the sum of physical force calculated by numbers was an important factor.
But things were a bit different when it came to magic.
For a mage who utilized countless phenomena through the combination of omniscience and omnipotence, the number of enemies wasn’t all that important.
Rather, they focused on their superior calculation skills, guiding the situation to bring out the utmost efficiency of their honed abilities.
“The properties of photons and flames are different. Besides, our specializations in the four-way system are different. Amy is a mage who specializes in long-range combat. That’s because it maximizes the advantages of her Red Eyes. No matter how strong the enemies are, if Amy is fighting them within her own domain…”
Shirone said with conviction.
“No matter how many there are, they can never defeat Amy.”
Tess swallowed hard. When he was with Shirone and Amy, he often felt like he was looking after a stubborn, immature younger sibling, but in a real fight, they became as cold as ice.
“You two are really amazing. How can you be so decisive?”
“You’ve got it wrong, Tess. I’m the one who thinks you’re amazing.”
“Tch. Me? You’re the one who destroyed the fortress. I didn’t even help.”
Shirone didn’t think so. It was inevitable that the proficiency of a swordsman and a mage would differ from the start.
While many in the mental disciplines showed results that surpassed their age, swordsmen, who needed physical growth to back them up, tended to distinguish themselves relatively late.
Tess and Rian would only grow stronger from now on. They would each walk their own path, their convictions carried in a single sword.
“Shirone, we’re here.”
As they left the forest, a view of the brilliant blue sea unfolded beyond the natural cliffs.
A brick house was visible on the eastern side of the cliff. That was likely the hideout. But to get there, they had to pass through one final gate.
The operational commander, Falcoa, was waiting for them.
Tess frowned, puzzled. Based on his assessment of Falcoa’s personality, he should have been the type to charge onto the battlefield with his sword drawn long ago.
“What? That bastard was still here?”
“Hehehe, crushing you guys at the start would’ve been way more fun. But we have our reasons, you see.”
Marsha had given the order. It wasn’t a strategy that suited his temperament, but Falcoa had obeyed without complaint. After all, she was the one who had turned him, a man dismissed as a social evil, into a hero of the battlefield.
“Anyway, you made it this far. The captain was right. The woman you’re looking for is in that building over there. Go on in and try to bring her out.”
Falcoa turned his body as if to let them pass. But Shirone’s group couldn’t move. A murderous aura, completely different from what they had felt at the royal palace, blocked the path.
Tess understood how Amy felt. To fight an expert of this caliber, they had no choice but to take some risks themselves.
“He’s trying to disorient us. Rian and I will handle things here. Shirone, you go in and get Yuna.”
Shirone nodded readily. At his matter-of-fact agreement, Tess realized why Amy had smiled. Far from feeling resentful, a warm feeling spread through him.
*So it’s not such a cold world after all. Is this what it feels like to be trusted?*
With Shirone’s skills, slipping away on his own would be no trouble at all. After a moment of observation, he cast Space Transfer, and his body vanished in a flash of light.
But Falcoa didn’t even turn his gaze.
From that, Tess realized. He had intended to let Shirone go from the very beginning.
“Why?”
“Well, the captain gave an order, and besides, I much prefer it when there’s a woman around.”
Falcoa drew his sword and pointed it at Tess. He was clearly a man of vulgar character, but the staggering figure, high on drugs, was gone.
Keeping his eyes locked on Falcoa, Tess explained his plan to Rian.
“He’s a Schema user. I’ll hold him off while you attack.”
He could guess how skilled Falcoa was just from his presence. Therefore, having Tess, another Schema user, on defense was the way to increase their chances of survival.
“No. I’ll block him. You attack.”
“You idiot, how are you going to block him? I hate to say this, but you can’t stop him alone.”
“If it’s too much for me, then I suppose I’ll die.”
“What?”
Tess’s eyes shot open in disbelief. But Rian was serious. And he hadn’t given up the fight. He was simply fighting his own battle.
“We’re here to defeat him. We’re not fighting just to save our own skins.”
Tess couldn’t argue.
“If you defend, we can buy time. But you know it, don’t you? We can’t win that way. We’ll both end up dead. So, I have to be the one to block him, no matter what. In the meantime, you focus on attacking.”
Rian was right. Dull your sword to strengthen your shield, and you’ll never win a battle.
In the end, the proper course was to sharpen your blade, even if it meant laying down your life.