Chapter 56: Suppression Complete
“Are we still going?”
The Great Bird kept glancing at Waldemar, clearly eager to heal him. It subtly hinted to Henning that if they stopped here, healing could commence.
“Of course! If we end it here, it would be a disgrace to the Royal Guard of the Arclight Kingdom!”
The knights still seemed fired up. A quick glance at my classmates revealed that they appeared to be retreating, their resolve wavering.
“Damn it, weren’t they supposed to be unemployed and incompetent…? I didn’t sign up for this!”
Manaka grumbled, but soon began to gather his Magic Power, showing a flicker of determination.
“Go, Heroes! What good are you if you can’t be useful in times like this? Honoka, focus on healing Waldemar!”
With Henning’s shout, Oda and Hino readied their weapons. True to their title as magic swordsmen, Hino began his incantation. The Great Bird rushed towards Waldemar to cast Healing Magic.
It seemed like the leader’s facade was starting to crack. Just a moment ago, he was addressing Waldemar with “My Lord,” and now it had shifted to “you.” I wonder what kind of treatment Heroes received in this place?
“I just want to hurry and get to the Third Princess.”
“There’s no way I’m letting you go!”
With a sigh, I muttered under my breath, only to be immediately interrupted by Henning. I didn’t need him to respond to every little thing.
But wait, something’s coming from behind. A faint presence, but it must be those guys in black robes.
“Then let’s finish this quickly.”
“Agreed.”
Rio seemed oblivious to the situation, but that was fine. I turned around to position myself back-to-back with her, just as I locked eyes with two figures in black robes, poised to throw their daggers.
I quickly focused on rapid-fire, channeling my Magic Power to unleash two Earth Needles each. I anticipated they would dodge, but I had bought us some time. Now, I prepared to launch a greater number of Earth Needles.
“Rio, take care of that side. We’re going to unleash a barrage.”
“Got it.”
Rio began to float her own Earth Needles around her, matching my rhythm. Though it was a lower-tier spell, the more Magic Power we infused, the greater the power and number of needles. While I could pierce the skin of a Murder Raptor with increased power, that wasn’t necessary here.
With a barrage, control was less critical, allowing us to maximize our numbers. Let’s aim for about a thousand shots. As for Rio’s… there were so many I couldn’t even begin to count.
Before the daggers could be thrown, I scattered the Earth Needles to ensure there was no gap to evade. With a thunderous roar, akin to a cannon firing, a multitude of stone needles soared through the air, effortlessly sending the two figures in black flying.
“Rio?”
When I turned back, Rio was still floating her Earth Needles, seemingly not ready to fire yet.
“I’ve got this. I’ll make sure they scream.”
As she spoke, Hino completed his incantation, while Oda and Henning closed in with their weapons drawn.
“Ice Javelin!”
The first attack came from Manaka, launching five icy spears. It seemed he activated them just with the Command Word, but I wondered if he could also use silent casting. As Rio shot down several of the Earth Needles, she retaliated with an additional barrage of about five hundred Earth Needles aimed at Manaka.
Watching him get pierced by the stone needles and sent flying, I noticed Rio stepping forward, concentrating her fire on Oda’s descending axe.
“Du-fuh!?”
The axe shattered above the handle, sending the blade flying backward.
With a desperate expression, Hino swung down a glowing red sword, possibly infused with fire attributes. Rio conjured ice in her palm to intercept it, gradually dimming the red light. Simultaneously, she unleashed stone needles toward both Oda and Hino, sending them reeling.
“Gyahhh!”
Hino seemed to be bleeding more than Oda, despite Oda having a sturdier build. I wondered why that was.
Finally, Henning charged in with his great sword held low. In a split second, Rio pulled out a wakizashi-like blade from her Dimensional Box.
Wasn’t that a weapon crafted purely for sharpness as a joke, made from Earth Magic…? I recalled it being fragile, but would it hold up?
“This ends now!”
Magic Power gathered in Henning’s great sword, emitting a faint glow. Rio, too, poured her Magic Power into the wakizashi, infusing it with fire attributes and wrapping it in a vacuum blade, reinforcing it to the utmost.
I had played around with weapon enhancement before, but it had only lasted for a single strike, so I had given up on it. However, if it was a product of Earth Magic that I could create myself, it should be fine.
As Henning’s great sword began to move, Rio’s blade came crashing down before he could swing. Despite being a mage, Rio had shown significant growth. With a well-formed stance, her blade cleaved through Henning’s great sword, shattering it in the process.
Without giving him a chance to counterattack, she unleashed Earth Needles upon the stunned Henning, while the Great Bird, who had been healing Waldemar, fell victim to Rio’s Earth Needles as well.
If the front line falls during battle, you need to escape quickly.
“Hmph.”
With a triumphant expression, Rio showcased her victory, and silence enveloped the area.
Well, it seems like she took all the glory for herself. But truly, Rio was impressively skilled.
Now, only the remaining foes surrounding us were left. I had already showered them with about a thousand Earth Needles to clean up the mess.