CH 121

Royal Capital Defense

“During the battle, Sheila Danau and I will be the main fighters. Jornwerner will support us with magic-only attacks from a safe distance, as he’s not good at swordsmanship. Leidyrune Centrix will stay further back and support us with healing magic.”

Sheila blinked, surprised by Clauschezade’s words.

No matter how dangerous Jornwerner was, if you thought about it, he was only a researcher at the academic tower, so it was no surprise that he was weak. Somehow, she thought of him as a superhuman who could do anything.

“So, how’s the wide-range attack magic tool coming along?”

Jornwerner pointed to a magical stone embedded with a shining red light. The magic stone with the fire attribute was so pure that it was hard to believe it was for experimental use.

“The magic stone is activated when the impact exceeds a certain level. In this case, I embedded it in the ground, so if you step on it, it will explode. However, although I guarantee its power to turn a wide area into a sea of flames, it’s difficult to specify the exact area. For the sake of clarity, I’ve left the magic stone exposed from the ground, so for now, just make sure you don’t get within a five-meter radius of it, or you’ll get caught in the explosion.”

“Uwaa, that’s too broad….”

Sheila took back what she said before, he was a dangerous man after all. They were the ones who were fooled by his weakness. What’s more, the fact that he was smiling as he explained the situation was more frightening than anything else.

Whereas Sheila turned slightly pale, Leidyrune opened his mouth.

“Clauschezade-sensei, I can’t accept that I’m only a support.”

Leidyrune was probably dissatisfied with the position because of his ability. He understood that the position of his family was taken into account, but it was frustrating that he couldn’t demonstrate his power in an emergency.

However, even when he expressed his frustration, Clauschezade’s heart didn’t move.

“You’re the last line of defense in case something goes wrong with us. You should not make the mistake of thinking that because you’re at the back, you’re in a safe zone.”

“But it is, in fact, the safest position to be in.”

“Of course it is. It would be a problem if something happened to the second son of the Duke’s family. If you don’t agree with me, I’ll have to ask you to leave the front line.”

Leidyrune lowered his head and furrowed his eyebrows.

“…. I understand.”

Was it because he thought there was no point in going against the person in charge of the situation, or was it because he felt the quarrel was meaningless? He obediently backed down, but she could feel the fighting spirit in his eyes growing stronger.

Sheila then asked Clauschezade to strengthen her sword.

If she kept cutting down demons, the sharpness of her sword would eventually become dull. However, by applying this enhancement magic, it would prevent the blade from breaking.

“How nice. I wish I could use this kind of magic, too.”

That kind of assistive magic couldn’t be used in the spirit arts. It was Leidyrune who answered the envious Sheila.

“Strengthening a sword is a surprisingly difficult magic that consumes a considerable amount of magic power. Not everyone can use it just because they’re nobles.”

“Eh? But the dorm leader…. Axe-senpai used it regularly, right?”

“He looks like that, but he’s really good at handling magic.”

The fact that Leidyrune praised him must mean that he must be quite good. It was very unexpected.

Perhaps Axe’s cheerful smile and muscles were some kind of defensive front for him. Sheila eventually shook her head. Only when she was nervous did she think about silly things.

As she retracted her sword to shut out her thoughts, Clauschezade looked down at Sheila.

“By the way, Sheila Danau. Please don’t stand in front of me during the battle.”

“Why? I can fight too.”

Sheila expressed her dissatisfaction at the thought that he intended to fight while protecting not only Leidyrune, but also herself. She didn’t want to be a hindrance.

But Clauschezade shook his head and said he didn’t mean it that way.

“I think you’re a good asset. I only said that because it’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous?”

“Yeah…. Because I’ll have to go all out from the beginning.”

A chill ran down her spine.

Come to think of it, Sheila had never seen Clauschezade in his element. Even the giant tiger that he fought in the mountains of Denan Village was no match for him.

She was able to catch a glimpse of the true strength of a man who was even considered a legend up close. Sheila almost shuddered.

After a while, the rain finally stopped.

Clauschezade had some ration food with him, so they all ate the hard-dried meat little by little at a time.

Then, each of them began to prepare themselves for battle.

Clauschezade was quietly staring at the horizon, while Leidyrune was meditating. Jornwerner was restless and constantly wandering around.

Sheila was warming up as she usually does before a workout. She had been moving her body earlier, but the rain had completely cooled her down. Also, she just couldn’t sit still.

Just waiting for the threat to come was a more uncomfortable time than she had imagined. If she didn’t do anything, she was likely to think about the future, which seemed bleak.

As Sheila stretched out her elbows, she noticed that her arms were trembling faintly. Sheila tried to kill the tremor by clenching her fist.

It was truly unconscious that she looked at Clauschezade’s profile.

Protecting the people of the city was essential. But she also wanted to protect Clauschezade, who would stand in the most dangerous place of all. Thinking of this, her heart strangely calmed down.

The trembling in her arms had subsided before she knew it.

A deafening roar was heard a few more moments later.

The sound was low, eerie, and somewhat unsettling. Sheila immediately squinted her eyes.

Little by little, the full extent of the situation came into view. Black shadows seemed to creep in gradually on the horizon.

It was like a swarm of ants. The sheer number of them made it look like one big creature.

The shapes of the demons varied greatly. Some looked like bipedal bird-like creatures, others had the head of a dog and the body of a snake, and some even looked like a lizard or an insect-like creature.

Yet all of them were both larger and more vicious-eyed than bears. Their sharp claws and fangs seemed to have evolved solely to reap the life out of living creatures.

Sheila took out her sword from the scabbard of the sword belt. Clauschezade and the others were already ready for battle.

“They’re coming. Do your best, every one of you.”

“Yes!”

Sheila and Clauschezade started running as planned. They positioned themselves to protect Leidyrune in the rearguard. However, after advancing some distance, they stopped.

The demons were approaching. Just as they were a few dozen meters away, there was a sudden roar and the demons were engulfed in a pillar of flame.

Booommm!

More than a dozen of them were blown away at once. Jornwerner’s wide-range attack magic tool had been successfully activated.

Sheila was absolutely mortified as she listened to the sound of the demons flying into the air in pieces at different times. She vowed once again that she would never go near the trap.

But there was no time to dawdle. Clauschezade ran ahead of her, bringing her back to her senses, and Sheila hastily readied her sword.

Clauschezade, taking the lead, swung his silver longsword in a single stroke.

But the swarm of demons was still more than ten meters away. She wondered what on earth he was trying to do, but for some reason, the demons were somehow being cut in half.

“Wha…!”

Only after two or three swings, and after most of the demons in front of her had been cleared away, did she realize that his sword was being extended by using magic.

“Wait, what kind of foul play is that!?”

“That’s why I told you beforehand not to stand in front of me.”

Clauschezade replied flatly to Sheila’s cry.

A long, extended blade of magic.

Like a strengthened sword, it was strong without the possibility of breaking, and it didn’t weigh much. At first glance, it seemed too good to be true, but it occurred to her that perhaps no one else could imitate it.

It must be an extraordinary feat to maintain that kind of sword for such a long period of time.

Although Clauschezade never mentioned the amount of his own magic power, it was probably quite plentiful.

Considering that he used it at the beginning of a battle that could last for a while, his power probably surpassed even Leidyrune’s, who was said to have enormous magic power.

Suddenly, a huge ice spear that flew in from behind blew away the demons that were still springing up. Even without looking back, she could tell it was Jornwerner’s doing. Who had mistaken, even for a moment, that he was helpless?

“There’s no point in me being here….”

Sheila muttered dumbfoundedly at the center of the battle.

As soon as Clauschezade rested his hand, Jornwerner shot his magic. After that, Clauschezade took care of the missed shots.

The two were in perfect sync, having fought together during the previous demon subjugation. With them, the battle might be over without Sheila having to do anything. The abilities of these veteran fighters were simply overwhelming.

But Sheila soon regained her composure and ran toward the enemies.

The battle had just begun.