Chapter 167: Centaur
“KUGEGYA!”
“GYAGYAGYA!”
Goblins spotted the carriage and attacked, but we relied on the carriage’s speed to break through.
As expected of the kingdom’s latest six-horse armored carriage. It effortlessly repelled the Goblins’ flimsy arrows. I heard it was developed for transporting important figures on the battlefield, and its performance exceeds what I’d heard.
Well, since it uses six horses, its consumption is proportional, though.
Kicking up dust, we headed north along the kingdom’s highway. We were probably about to reach the region known as the Northern Frontier. Traces of human activity were gradually diminishing, and we started encountering monsters.
“It seems like it’s about time I called Lily to the coachman’s seat…”
We’d probably need to advance while scattering monsters with Lily’s magic.
It’s kind of like a tank.
And then, not long after I called Lily to the coachman’s seat, her magic became necessary.
Monsters were crossing the highway as if to block it. They were probably in the middle of a march towards the northern Margrave’s territory. We’d arrived at a bad time. The worst kind of encounter.
The monsters seemed to have noticed us; when they turned this way, magic came flying.
“Lily!”
“Nn!”
Lily invoked her magic. She countered the numerous incoming Fireballs by hitting them with Water Balls.
Not only that, but she also used wind magic to create a tornado, sweeping up the monsters.
I was startled when a tornado suddenly formed right in front of me.
“Is it okay to keep going like this?!”
“Nn. Straight ahead.”
“Roger that!”
I whipped the horses and continued forward. As expected of horses provided by the kingdom. They continued to advance undaunted, even on a battlefield where Fireballs were flying.
When I looked ahead, the tornado that had been raging just moments before had vanished as if it were never there. I felt a strong wind, but both the horses and the carriage crossed the monster line without taking any damage.
All the magic and arrows flying from behind were blocked by the stone wall Lily had erected and didn’t reach us.
“Well done, Lily!”
“Nn.”
When I patted the head of Lily, who was sitting next to me, she narrowed her eyes contentedly. Cute.
Just like that, we continued to encounter monster hordes, scattering them and advancing. We had probably crossed the Northern Frontier territory by now. This was no longer human territory. It was the domain of monsters, of the Evil God.
It was probably time to steer east.
We advanced east along a pathless road. The Evil God should be on the summit of the mountains visible far in the distance.
“We need to defeat the Evil God quickly…”
“Nn.”
Unconsciously, my grip on the reins had tightened.
“Hm?”
It happened while we were racing across the plains, under a never-ending annular solar eclipse.
“Kk?!”
I drew the sword at my hip with my right hand and swung it in front of Lily.
Snap!
The arrow, cut in half, flew past the outside of the carriage.
An attack?! From where?! From atop that hill?! What precision is this?!
I instantly activated my Mystic Eyes of Far Sight and saw the figure of a savage-like man on a horse.
No, that’s strange. The man had no lower body, and the horse had no head. It looked as if the man’s torso was growing out of the horse’s neck.
A Centaur!
“Nn…?”
“Lily, it’s an enemy! Atop that hill! We’re being sniped at with a bow!”
“Kk!”
Lily immediately responded with magic. As she waved her arm, a stone wall, like a Great Wall, ran up, blocking the line of fire from the hill to the carriage.
“Hah…”
“That was close…”
Together with Lily, I let out a momentary sigh of relief. Let’s just outrun them with the carriage.
Just as I thought that.
I heard hoofbeats, like those of horses, other than our six carriage horses. They were coming from beyond the wall.
Checking with my Mystic Eyes of Clairvoyance, I saw about twenty Centaurs running parallel to the carriage. They even had arrows nocked in their bows, aimed this way.
Until now, we’d relied on the carriage’s speed to shake off monsters, but now an enemy that could keep up with the carriage’s speed had appeared. Too troublesome.
“Lily! There are enemies beyond the wall. Can you attack them?”
“Easy peasy.”
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
Deep thuds and earth tremors came from beyond the wall. Simultaneously, the pursuers’ hoofbeats lessened. Confirming with my Mystic Eyes of Clairvoyance, the number of Centaurs was definitely decreasing.
“Schwarz Lanze!”
I also used dark magic with the power of my Dark Twin Holy Swords, finishing off the Centaurs. The twenty Centaurs vanished in an instant.
“Lily, that’s enough now.”
“Nn.”
“How much Holy Power do you have left?”
I’d made Lily use powerful magic many times. She must have consumed a lot of Holy Power.
“Less than half.”
“Got it. I’ll share my Holy Power with you.”
I placed my hand on the nape of Lily’s neck.
“Nn…”
For some reason, I felt like Lily let out a sensual sigh, unbefitting of her age.
I can share my Holy Power with others. It’s an ability I gained when my Gift became Great Sage. With this, I can now recover not just HP, but also something like MP. It’s truly the cornerstone of the party’s ability to sustain combat.
Perhaps because I’ve evolved my Gift twice, my Holy Power recovery rate is high. Just sharing the surplus I recover with my companions should make a big difference. It’s an ability that’s especially compatible with Lily, who consumes a lot of Holy Power.
“Alright, let’s keep moving.”
“Nn…”
When I removed my hand from Lily’s nape, was it just my imagination that she looked dissatisfied?