Book 2: Chapter 53

I told the young lady to step back and took a step forward. Lelenore-san warily reached for the sword on her waist.

「…Reiji-kun, I was told by my lord to come here since we’re both acquainted. I was just told to bring you over, so I don’t know what will happen after that. But if you choose to resist, I will have to use force.」

「Even if we are acquaintances, I will not hold back if you point your sword at me.」

Lelenore-san frowned.

「If you’re underestimating House Ebene, I will have to change that perception of yours! To protect House Ebene in the Holy City, I–」

「I warned you.」

「What!?」

The moment I took a step outside the gate, Lelenore-san was sent flying into the air. How many people even noticed that I shot her with【Wind Magic】?

「And your accent keeps reminding me of a very dear friend of mine, so I don’t want to drag this on.」

The other party was a halfling woman, and I found it strangely difficult to fight since she spoke in the same way as Mimino-san. So I dealt with her first. She should be fainted and shouldn’t wake up for a while.

The armed soldiers were astonished for a moment by the sudden attack.

(Why are you guys just standing there full of openings? Whenever I am escorting the young lady, I never lose focus, you know!)

I started running through the armed soldiers with【Sprinting Technique】, and fired【Wind magic】in rapid succession.

「Gah!」

「Guu!?」

「Nuahhh!!」

About 7 people were blown away, and the 8th person used a shield to stop my magic. The shield flashed a light when it stopped my magic. I wonder if it’s a magic shield?

「Hey, ready your weapons! Get into position! We’re being attacked!」

「What a cowardly guy!」

Even though they came with this number of people to face one guy, apparently I was the “cowardly” one. The armed soldiers encircled me completely.

(You’re just gonna keep your distance without rushing me? What are you guys even doing with this huge difference in number? Well then, shall I show you a more cowardly way of fighting?)

When I activated【Dark Magic】next, a total of 10 dark bullets appeared. 5 in my right hand and 5 in the left.

「Shieldbearers! Stop the magic! It’s coming!」

The shieldbearers exchanged positions with the armed soldiers and switched to the front. But that doesn’t matter one bit. I fired the 10 dark bullets.

「Hold the shield!… Nah!?」

I didn’t aim for the soldiers. What I aimed for was–

「Wha!? What is this!!」

「It’s dark!」

The magic lamps. I fired dark bullets one after another and wrapped them around the magic lamp. It does not have the ability to deal damage, it’s just magic that blocks light. Furthermore, whether it is cut with a sword or smacked with fists, it will not be released until after a few minutes have passed.

Immediately, the surroundings were enveloped by the darkness of the night.

I sprinted towards the shieldbearers, and leapt. I stepped on their heads and jumped behind the shield encirclement.

I can see even within the darkness with my skill【Night Vision】. It seems that there are about 1, 2, 3… 3 soldiers who have【Night Vision】, but that’s not enough at all.

「Gugo!」

「Gafu!」

「Wha!?」

I randomly shot【Wind Magic】around me, and landed punches and kicks on opponents who were not wearing armor.【Wind magic】is amazing. It leaves no traces, does not glow, and strong wind pressure can deal damage even through armors.

「Shoot over there! Don’t worry about the nearby guys!」

The soldiers with【Night Vision】shouted instructions to a mage-like person.

A rotating flame appeared in the raised hands of the mage, causing the surroundings to suddenly brighten up.

「Shoot!!!」

I immediately touched the ground and activated【Earth Magic】. A clay wall appeared, breaking through the stone pavement and sending two armed soldiers flying. It stopped the flame bullet shot by the mage.

「Ha!? Even【Earth Magic】!?」

「Just how many can that guy use?!」

The clay wall became a good distraction. In that gap, I approached the soldiers with【Night Vision】and rendered them unconscious with【Wind Magic】, and then downed the mages with a punch.

By the time I took down all the mages, the soldiers had begun friendly fire by mistake in the dark. You guys, think a little more about how to fight by taking advantage of the difference in number.

「Shit! How many magic shots can this guy do!?」

「Let him shoot! He should be running out mana soo— Gah!」

I felt bad for not letting him finish his sentence when I used【Wind Magic】.

「Hmm, I think I’ve taken down about half.」

The【Dark Magic】that covered the magic lamps were released — most of the magic lamps were thrown to the ground, so the ground was brightly illuminated.

Armed soldiers laid sprawled all around me, like heaps of corpses. Since I shot magic with the intention to render them unconscious instead of killing, it did not consume much mana. Hmm, seems like I have also learned the young lady’s 4-star【Mana Control】. I feel like I have complete control over the mana that flows through my body.

I took out the handkerchief in my pocket and wiped off the sweat on my forehead.

「The ones who are still standing!」I said.

After putting away the handkerchief, I activated【Dark Magic】starting from my thumb and made a total of 10 dark bullets appear.

「You will dance with me till the end, won’t you?」

As I took a step forward with a sweet smile on my face, the armed soldier started shrieking and backed off. Most of the armed soldiers turned pale, their hands holding the weapons trembling.

「—STOP!」

And there, I heard the sound of horseshoes hitting against the stone pavement. Just when my【Hearing Enhancement】caught the sound of faint steps, a loud voice reverberated. Just how loud is that voice if it can reach this far.

A horse, larger than the ones you usually see, came into sight. It was a muscular horse with blue fur, but the man straddling it stood out even more.

A giant, wearing a grizzly bear pelt. He carried a massive two-handed ax on his back that likely easily exceeds 100 kilograms.

「Border Earl…」

A troublesome person has appeared. The Border Earl is definitely much, much stronger than these whole bunch of soldiers put together.

When I glared at him, he got off his horse about 10 meters away from the armed soldiers.

「Stop the fight, right now. I am Border Earl Mule. You all understand what this thing means, right?」

The Border Earl took out something which looked like a glowing blue magatama jewel hanging from his waist.

「H-His Majesty’s Proxy Crest!?」

The armed soldiers became noisy. Apparently, the Border Earl is here on behalf of the Holy King—or something like that.

「If you understand that, lower your swords immediately!! That boy over there isn’t someone the likes of you can handle in the first place either way! When you return, tell that shorty Ebene that this little stunt he pulled will not be overlooked!」