Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Knight Cloaked in Blue Light (2)
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"Gatra!"
At someone's shout, the knights drew their swords in unison.
Gatra.
A lesson from the aptitude biology class at knight school flashed into my mind.
A magical beast in the form of a lizard, roughly human-sized, bipedal, and traveling in packs.
Brown body, inverted triangular head. Short front limbs, but a tail as long as its torso.
It crouches low and charges swiftly, attacking with vicious fangs, while whipping its hard, sharp tail at enemies from behind.
True to their pack-hunting nature, five or six gatra began leaping down from the hilltop.
"Maintain formation and defend!"
The White Guard Knight drew his sword and issued the command.
The knights at the front dismounted and rushed toward the plump man to rescue him.
I pulled the reins to calm the startled Rania. Inexperienced as she was, the sudden ambush had her rearing up in excitement.
"Lib."
Father grabbed my arm and made me look at him.
"Circle back to the carriage."
I nodded curtly instead of replying, soothed the now-calmed Rania, and turned her head.
As I returned to my assigned spot beside the carriage, I quickly recalled what to do in this situation.
In combat, each knight's top priority was to hold their position and protect non-combatants.
I needed to check if the barriers and defensive spells were holding, then focus on defense.
Above all, don't rush in first.
"Hyah!"
No sooner had I arrived than Shuren kicked the head of a gatra charging down from the hilltop with tremendous force.
The gatra let out a short yelp and tumbled back up the hill.
I'd barely dismounted and drawn my staff fully.
Shuren adjusted his grip on his sword with one hand and gave me a casual nod.
"You just sit back and watch the show."
Shuren's blade cleaved the fallen gatra's massive head clean off.
Watching that eased the tension in my rigid shoulders a bit.
"Lib? You okay?"
Clemence and Wedin poked their heads out from inside the carriage, faces etched with worry.
I gripped the window frame and forced a smile.
"I'm fine. The defensive spells are holding strong. Stay inside."
Throughout the long procession, gatra roars mixed with knights' shouts and the clash of swords.
Those who could fight held their posts; those who couldn't sheltered under the protective spells.
I closed the carriage window and stood guard in front of it.
Clutching my staff tight, I sharpened my senses. Ready to detect if any spell faltered.
Shuren sliced through gatra lunging at the carriage with swift, precise strikes.
The gatra charged with their grotesque, fang-filled maws gaping wide—making a frontal assault incredibly dangerous.
Shuren twisted fluidly, targeting their relatively slender necks in a single stroke.
One, two, three... Corpses piled up around the formation's perimeter in no time.
As Shuren thrust his sword into the fourth gatra's torso, a fifth one's massive head suddenly loomed behind him.
"Bro...!"
I gasped and summoned mana in panic, but Ash burst in and clamped onto the gatra's neck, snapping it outright.
"Ash, jumping in is cheating! This is my spot."
Ash ignored Shuren's grumbling and dashed off elsewhere.
He was patrolling the delegation's line, aiding knights in dispatching gatra.
I quelled my pounding heart with quiet relief, though Shuren kept muttering.
"That guy's always popping up out of nowhere."
"Don't let your guard down, bro..."
Then, a eerie howl echoed from high on the hill.
Similar to a gatra's cry, but far louder, like claws raking a throat.
Shuren, me, and the nearby knights all looked up in unison.
There, between the trees atop the hill... a man soared through the air astride a gatra.
Midair, he yanked his sword from the gatra's neck, then used its huge head as a springboard for another leap.
The gatra's corpse thudded down right in front of me, and the man landed lightly on the carriage roof.
"Eyes over there, not me. Incoming."
The bearded man in leather armor jerked his head.
I spotted the threat faster than anyone.
A mass of potent mana rippled down from the hilltop.
Yellow light flashed, air tearing with a crack, nearby leaves and branches charring black on contact.
It was lightning.
A gatra cloaked in lightning.
Black skin with vivid yellow stripes, twice the size. Each step scorched the ground, radiating menace.
Unlike any gatra I'd seen so far.
"Black gatra. Shoots lightning—get too close, and you're toast."
The man on the carriage warned, but Shuren reacted a beat too late.
Yellow lightning arced through Shuren's outstretched form.
"Ow, that's a zinger."
Shuren steadied his stance and quipped coolly.
Seems the lightning wasn't devastating at range—just momentary paralysis.
But mixed with regular gatra assaults... lethal.
I gripped my staff tighter.
"Bro, buy me a sec."
"What're you planning?"
Shuren stepped in front of me, raising his sword.
The black gatra halted before us, glaring at Shuren with a low growl.
"Watch this trick."
Like so.
Concentrating mana, it swirled around me, forming a circle at my feet and gathering in my left hand.
I channeled mana into the black staff in my right simultaneously.
The pre-engraved spell activated, a vivid blue magic circle blooming. Tweak the formula here...
Meanwhile, Shuren kept distance, drawing the black gatra's focus.
As it gathered mana for another bolt, the air trembled.
The instant the black gatra unleashed its yellow lightning tendril, I fired the mana from my left hand.
Pzzt!
Yellow and blue sparks clashed, birthing blue crystals.
Crystals that drew in the surrounding lightning.
They formed wherever the gatra's bolts met my mana, crackling fiercely.
The blue crystals devoured the lightning, discharging it in entirely different directions.
"Nice trick."
Shuren grinned, crouching low and readjusting his grip, eyes locked on the black gatra.
Frustrated its lightning failed, the black gatra hesitated.
"Careful, bro."
"Got it."
Shuren lunged inside the black gatra's guard—under its massive head, a blind spot.
He swung upward with gusto, but it twisted away nimbly.
Its elongated tail whistled through the air at Shuren.
"...Ngh!"
Shuren blocked with his sword in shock but was flung back by the force.
"Bro!"
I yelled in horror.
Even with lightning contained, this thing's build and strength dwarfed normal gatra.
"I'm good, I'm good."
Shuren rolled several times down the hill, waved it off, brushed his clothes, and stood casually.
As relief washed over me, someone gripped my shoulder.
"Focus, little mage. Keep that lightning locked down."
The man who'd leaped from the carriage roof.
The mercenary-looking fellow clutched a short sword in one hand, glaring at the black gatra.
"Just pin the lightning, and..."
Pzzt...
The black gatra gathered mana again, its yellow torso stripes glowing as lightning crackled in the air.
The moment it spread, I slammed mana into it once more.
A grinding crackle, blue crystals sprouting everywhere, snaring the gatra's lightning whole.
"...Just a big overgrown lizard pup."
The man leaped from the carriage and charged the black gatra.
It gaped its massive maw to swallow him.
"Danger—!"
Ignoring my warning, he plunged his short sword arm straight into its mouth.
Thud!
Almost simultaneously, its savage fangs clamped his arm—while his short sword pierced through the back of its skull.
Black blood sprayed everywhere.
"Ugh, filthy."
The man shook off his hand and disengaged.
His arm was sheathed in gleaming, solid metal—like his skin had turned to metal itself.
"You're..."
He wiped the bloodied sword and arm on his clothes, then turned to me.
"More black gatra ahead. Gonna need you, little mage."
"Ah... Right!"
Got to help the others.
I glanced back at Shuren reflexively.
A bit winded, but he waved me on urgently.
I turned without hesitation and sprinted toward the front of the line.
Father at the lead, the White Guard Knight, and his white guards faced far more gatra.
Two hulking black gatra mixed among them.
"Arrows!"
At the White Guard Knight's order, half a dozen arrows flew at the black gatra.
But its lightning shroud deflected most before they grazed its black hide.
A few embedded in its torso, yet it ignored them, savagely charging the nearest knights.
"Ngh!"
A young knight struck directly by lightning froze, paralyzed.
In that brief opening, the black gatra's fangs lunged.
"Hah!"
Father intervened with a sword swing; the black gatra twisted aside.
It retreated a step, lowered its stance, and gathered mana for a mighty bolt.
No.
I drew a sharp breath and conjured blue crystals before Father.
They drew in the black gatra's lightning, discharging it skyward.
Boom!
Air shattered like glass; blinding yellow streaked upward.
"Father!"
He grasped the situation with a single glance.
With the crystals siphoning and venting the lightning, the other knights moved freely again.
Father readjusted his sword lightly and charged, severing the black gatra's neck in one stroke.
One down...
Turning to find the other, I saw it baring its fangs and charging me.
My mind blanked. I moved mana instinctively—but too slow.
Thud.
A longsword impaled its skull into the ground.
"Well done, Liberic. Venting the lightning—solid strategy."
The White Guard Knight pulled his sword from the crushed head.
"Ah, th-thanks..."
I sat slumped on the ground, grasping his hand to stand.
Meanwhile, knights freed from paralysis finished off the remaining gatra pack.
Is it over...?
A sigh of mingled relief escaped me.
"Glad I could help."
"Not done yet. If black gatra showed up at the rear too, the silvers might struggle. Go check with your father. Jayden!"
At the White Guard Knight's call, Father handed off to Erner and hurried over.
The White Guard Knight ordered him to scout the rear, then departed.
"Good call."
Father and I hurried to the procession's tail.
Even while walking briskly, he checked on the other knights and assessed casualties.
"Which part? Leaving my post at the carriage? Or venting the lightning with magic?"
"Both."
Only then did Father look down at me.
His smiling face made my cheeks itch anew.