Chapter 242: Clash (3)
Chapter 242: Clash (3)
Trusting Un-ho’s tracking skills—which I’d been half-skeptical of—we emerged from the forest, dodging the artillery fire that had grown sparse but was still raining down.
“Get down!”
Following Un-ho’s command, I pressed my body into the dirt and peered down at the valley situated below the hill.
“They really are here.”
About ten soldiers were hovering Magic Circles in the air. An additional ten or so were moving around the perimeter, keeping watch as if escorting them.
Lieutenant General Par was nowhere to be seen, but given the heavy security, this was undoubtedly the artillery unit we were looking for. It seemed Un-ho hadn't tracked Par themself, but rather the participants who bore their traces.
“Hmm. What do you think?”
“I believe we can win quite easily.”
“Right? I thought so too. It’d probably take about two or three minutes.”
From what I could see, most of them were B-Rank at best. The two with stars on their rank insignias, who were firing the large Magic Circles in the center, seemed to be around A-Rank, but they didn't feel particularly formidable.
We could dive in, sweep them away, and vanish before Lieutenant General Par arrived. It was a textbook guerrilla maneuver.
Just as the three of us were watching them from the tall grass, waiting for the right moment—
The sentries suddenly grew agitated.
“…Did they spot us?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve turned off all detection magic to stay hidden.”
Hmm. If we’d been spotted, we should jump out and strike before they got the first hit. But if we hadn't, charging in would be a blunder. It would be like a small guerrilla unit revealing itself to The Enemy for no reason.
Information was scarce, and mistakes were not an option. Now then, what to do?
Just as I was about to sink into thought—
“No. They haven't found us.”
Un-ho spoke with absolute certainty while looking down at The Enemy camp.
“On what grounds?”
“Um… it’s hard to explain…. Experience, I guess? If they’d found me while I was infiltrating, they’d be moving with more panic. But right now, they look more like… they’re tense because something they were waiting for has arrived?”
Hmm. Un-ho was suddenly acting way too smart.
Feeling a flash of suspicion, I clamped my hand over Un-ho’s mouth and pulled his head back, stretching it out.
“Mmph? Mmph-mmph-mmph?!”
Startled by my sudden action, Un-ho began to flail his limbs as his body stretched like taffy.
Yeah, this chewy texture was definitely Un-ho. I’d been pulling on him for thirty years; I wouldn't forget that elasticity easily. Was he receiving some kind of weird intelligence-boosting radio waves from the Magic Kingdom?
“…What are you doing?”
Al’shel, still pressed against the ground, stared at me with an absurd expression.
“Oh, Un-ho was making sense for once, so I thought he might be an impostor.”
“No way….”
Having cleared his name thanks to the chewiness of his flesh, Un-ho escaped my grip. He seemed to remember we were on a stealth mission, as he whispered his protest.
I let go of my suspicions and focused on The Enemy. Soon enough, the reason for their commotion became clear.
A silver-Purple Flash descended from the sky.
It was the Pillar Bombardment that Al’shel had specifically warned was dangerous. It appeared from the far reaches of the sky and slammed straight toward the artillery unit.
“Defense formation! Assemble!”
A voice loud enough to reach us in our hiding spot echoed through the valley.
Five of the ten artillerymen and eight of the ten guards—thirteen in total—immediately formed a circle. As they reached their hands toward the sky—
Wuuuung.
Along with a massive surge of mana, a giant Magic Circle appeared above their heads. The circle glowed, creating a translucent blue Protective Barrier in the air, composed of countless overlapping hexagonal grids.
Thump.
The two mana constructs—the pillar and the barrier—collided, scattering massive particles of light.
Skreeeeee.
The surrounding area vibrated with the screeching sound of the two forces clashing. At first, they seemed evenly matched, but the balance soon tipped. The Silver-purple Pillar began to be pushed back by the power of the blue barrier.
“Hmm. I can’t tell if the pillar is weak or the barrier is just that strong.”
For all the fuss Al’shel made, the pillar’s power didn't seem like much.
“It’s both. That pillar falling there is weaker than the one that hit us. The magic imbued in it isn't matter disintegration; it’s been swapped for spacetime stasis, making it a strictly non-lethal type…. It’s also missing a lot of the mental manipulation components, like the affinity generation. It seems the one fired at us was a custom-made pillar specifically tuned for our group.”
At my mumble, Al’shel, the magic geek, watched the clash with sparkling eyes. His sticky mouth flapped incessantly even though I hadn't asked for an explanation.
“…Ah, right.”
I gave Al’shel a brief acknowledgment, but my mind was elsewhere.
Customizing disposable projectiles? That’s just flaunting wealth. Or maybe flaunting mana and processing power? Regardless, I didn't think I’d done anything that bad to Ronia to deserve such personalized treatment.
As I lost interest in the collision and turned to observe the other soldiers—
“It appears Ronia’s side has won this artillery exchange.”
Al’shel said something that completely contradicted the visual evidence, so I looked back at the clash. The Silver-purple Pillar was still being pushed back by the barrier.
“It looks like they blocked it to me.”
When I demanded an explanation, Al’shel smirked and continued.
“Have you forgotten, Lee Ha-ram? The true essence of that pillar is revealed when the magic contained within is released.”
Now that he mentioned it, that was true. So, what would happen?
Suddenly intrigued, I watched the collision more closely.
Whirrr.
With a sound like the atmosphere itself trembling, the mana surrounding the Silver-purple Pillar destabilized, and purple smoke began to billow out.
“…! …!”
The soldiers below were shouting something, likely trying to react, but their voices were drowned out.
Creeeeeak.
The sound of the barrier warping was so loud I couldn't hear a word they said.
Swish.
With a light breeze, the barrier was engulfed by the smoke from the Silver-purple Pillar, turning purple for a moment before vanishing with a final flicker of light.
“It’s over.”
“Indeed, it is.”
The two of us looked away, satisfied with the exchange. The winner of that skirmish was clear.
Though the Silver-purple Pillar had shrunk in size, it still existed. Meanwhile, the barrier created by the thirteen participants from Lieutenant General Par’s faction had vanished without a trace. There wasn't enough time for the remaining seven to regroup and cast another barrier.
Those twenty were effectively wiped out.
“Hmm. Un-ho, can you find Ronia’s artillery unit too?”
“Umm… I don’t think they’re around here. I don’t feel anything else.”
Tsk. Since Par’s artillery was gone, I was hoping to take out Ronia’s as well to keep things balanced. No matter how strong I was, there was no guarantee I could win against the combined forces of Par and Ronia. Since I was the shrimp caught in a fight between whales, I needed to make sure the whales kept fighting each other for as long as possible.
I didn't know exactly how strong Ronia was, but that pillar alone proved he was a powerhouse. I could definitely beat Par in their normal form, but I had no idea how strong they were in that grotesque Flesh Monster state.
And that was just the leaders. They likely had subordinates at the director or Brigadier General level. If I had to face them all at once, I might actually lose. So, it was best if they exhausted each other’s resources….
Lost in thought, I rested my chin on my hand and watched the artillery position, waiting for the Silver-purple Pillar to finish its descent.
But as the pillar moved forward and entered the mist of light left behind by the destroyed barriers—
“…My prediction was wrong.”
Al’shel spoke out of nowhere.
“About what?”
“About Lieutenant General Par losing the artillery exchange. This is a draw.”
Hmm? I didn't see it. It wasn't certain if the pillar would wipe them all out, but it was a given that at least four or five would be taken out of commission.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a new light rose from the back.
It was a Magic Circle created by the remaining seven. While everyone’s attention had been on the thirteen in the front, these seven had been preparing something unnoticed.
“Restraint Formation! 3, 2, 1! Activate!”
The screeching had stopped, and the voices of the seven echoed across the quiet plain. On their signal, the Magic Circle flared to life.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
The sound of clashing metal dominated the field.
“…Now that’s a sight to see.”
The words came out naturally. It was a magnificent spectacle.
The purple mist that had scattered from the destroyed barrier vibrated in response to the Magic Circle. It condensed together, forming translucent blades that looked like glass. These countless blades then pierced through the Silver-purple Pillar, which had already spent its energy breaking the barrier.
Skewered by a multitude of glass blades and suspended in mid-air, the Silver-purple Pillar tried to escape by venting more smoke, but having already exhausted its strength, it couldn't break all the blades.
Eventually, its power completely spent, the pillar dissolved into the air and vanished.
It was the draw Al’shel had predicted.
Even though it took twenty people working together to barely stop a single pillar, the way they coordinated their magic so perfectly was quite impressive.
“Filling the gap in power with magic chains? I wouldn't mind learning that technique.”
“You wouldn't be able to use it even if you took it back to Earth, Lee Ha-ram. That kind of feat is only possible because their basic magic systems are all unified under Military Magic. Neither the Star Race nor the humans of Earth have a way to teach magic that systematically, nor can they produce such consistent magical output.”
Hmm. Then maybe we should start magic education from a young age… Ah, never mind. That wouldn't work.
“I’m jealous, though.”
“Instead of such airy sentiments, why not admire the efficiency? They didn't want to waste the mana used to manifest physical force in the barrier, so they recycled it into another spell. That is quite impressive. Oh, I just had a great idea. If you use a barrier once and then leave the materialized force floating around like a mist, you could reuse it multiple times…”
…Was he always this talkative?
I knew he was interested in magic, but he’d become a completely different person since coming to the Magic Kingdom. It was easier to get along with him now that his malice was gone, but his un-Al’shel-like behavior was almost worrying.
“…Come to think of it, if you carry around materials that have been imbued with mana from the start…”
He was still muttering to himself, but he looked happy, so I left him to it. More importantly—
“Un-ho?”
“Yeees?”
“Should we take them out now, or leave them be?”
They all looked pretty exhausted from blocking that one shot. If we attacked now, we could finish them off quickly. Of course, my basic plan was to maintain the balance, but those silver spheres were a nuisance for us too, so taking them out now wouldn't be a bad idea. I didn't think Par was the type to be wiped out just because they lost one artillery unit.
Since Un-ho seemed to be the expert in this field, I figured I’d listen to him. I never imagined the day would come when I’d seriously seek Un-ho’s advice. A master of guerrilla warfare and tracking? Well, I suppose whenever I fought with Un-ho in the past, it was usually a defensive battle or a head-on clash, so there was never an opportunity for him to offer this kind of advice.
“Umm… I don’t think we need to catch them now.”
“Why?”
“You know that Silver-purple Pillar? I think it’s more helpful if we let them keep reducing the number of times those things fall on us.”
Hmm. I thought about it for a moment.
In exchange for the silver spheres disappearing, the number of silver-purple pillars would at least double. And the ones falling on us wouldn't be non-lethal stasis rounds like that one; they’d be the monstrous kind that blow off limbs and erase terrain.
“Does it take time for them to change the ammunition type?”
“I don’t know, but probably?”
“Al’shel! Do you think it takes time to change the type of magic imbued in those pillars?”
“…If I use powder made from my own flesh, the mana affinity would be solved…. Huh? The magic on the pillars? Of course, it will take time. But not that much…”
Fine, I got my answer. Go back to your horrifying fantasies of self-corpse-fondling.
“Then, Un-ho. Can you remember this location?”
“Yep. I can come back whenever we need to.”
“Then let’s move.”
Time to find some other targets worth hitting.
Still, I really can’t get used to Un-ho being useful for things other than fighting. If I’d known he was like this, I would have taken him along when I was playing spy.