Chapter 203: The Voice Calling Longdagger 3
There were two miscalculations.
—First, the place where Shara started casting her Chant Magic was just a little too far away.
Because of this, the plan I had, where a part of the horde would immediately react and head towards us, failed.
But this failure should have been easy to recover from.
All we had to do was simply get a little closer and try again.
—Second, Erica increased the amount of bait, thinking, “If the bait isn’t enough.”
And she did it grandly.
An External Support Magic Circle formed beneath Erica’s feet.
External Support Magic Circles—those are things the Knights Order and the like use instead of Chant Magic, which can be quite inconvenient in various ways.
Chant Magic achieves destructive power by constructing a Magic Circle in space after a long chant.
External Support Magic Circles are used when you want to achieve that in a much shorter time.
By the way, while magic using an External Support Magic Circle certainly has a significantly shorter activation time compared to Chant Magic…
Naturally, something that convenient doesn’t exist without drawbacks; normally, it takes five or six people working together to construct one.
Erica-san? Well, of course, she’s constructing it all by herself as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
To my eyes, which can see Magicka, I saw Golden Magicka magnificently erupting from the External Support Magic Circle constructed beneath Erica’s feet.
“Yuunou-san!”
Catching that out of the corner of my eye, I ran while calling out to Maricia and Beardy, who were on the opposite side, flanking Erica and Shara.
“Give me a break, Masked Man!”
Maricia shouted as she ran forward in front of Erica and the others, just like me. Her face was desperate; it was easy to tell since she wasn’t wearing a mask.
Drawing my Sword, I pushed my Physical Enhancement to the limit. There was no time to think about holding back or observing. Full power.
Roars that shook my gut and the sound of feet pounding the ground.
Lure about a tenth of them—that’s what I had been thinking. I hadn’t planned on controlling it perfectly from the start, but…
Still, I thought I had enough experience to skillfully lure a number close to what I’d anticipated.
A huge miscalculation.
The amount of bait Erica added was far too much.
Roughly two-thirds of the horde of Monsters surrounding the Fortress surged towards us.
“A frontal assault?! Is it really coming down to a frontal assault?! Drim, show some guts!”
Lure a moderate number of Monsters, then sandwich and annihilate them with Maricia and the others. That was the plan I’d made, but nothing was going right.
Did I do something wrong?
“What do we do, Masked Man!”
“I’ll cut them down with the first strike,”
I stopped lamenting things going wrong and said.
“Are you charging in alone?”
Despite her panicked expression just moments ago, Maricia’s face instantly turned exasperated.
“Don’t stand in front of me, okay?”
Ignoring her, I gave the warning and took two steps forward.
The distance of roughly two hundred feet between us and the horde was devoured in an instant.
I’ve done this in practice during the battle with a certain Longdagger-san, so I’m not worried, but facing the horde head-on is still nerve-wracking.
Well, even if I fail, Erica is behind me. She’ll probably pick up my bones.
I could feel my own breath burning azure.
Why? Because with the Mask on, my face is covered in flames.
Taking a deep breath, I increased the intensity of my double Physical Enhancement, lowered my stance, and held my Sword horizontally.
From behind, I heard Beardy’s voice, “I got to see the Masked Man’s Azure Flame whoosh-whoosh too!”
Good for you, I thought, extending my Magicka. Full power from the very first move.
In that instant, the Mask shattered, and my vision widened.
“Let them get within twenty feet!”
No sooner had I said that, not even two breaths later, the horde of Monsters reached the twenty-foot mark.
In the thickened time, I could even see the air trembling from the Monsters’ roars.
I swung my Sword horizontally with all my might.
In that moment, I almost screamed.
I screwed up!
As Erica calmly constructed the External Support Magic Circle—something that would normally require at least five veteran magic masters from the Knights Order working together—she thought.
Isn’t my My Lord just a little too cool?
Seeing his back about five feet ahead, Azure Flames erupting from his body as he held his Sword low and horizontal—yes, this was “dangerous,” wasn’t it?
Even though slightly more Monsters were lured than planned, his back, showing no sign of wavering as he prepared to face them, made her heart flutter.
Just looking made her chest ache a little.
No, really, isn’t my My Lord just way too cool?!
Preparing to unleash her magic the moment Shin called out, Erica felt her own heart pounding.
The voice of Shara beside her, shouting, “Shin-san, you liar! What part of that was ‘a little’?!” didn’t reach her ears.
She intended to activate her magic the instant Shin called out and annihilate the horde of Monsters; there was no room to listen to Shara’s voice.
Yet, even as she thought that, conflicting feelings welled up simultaneously.
She wanted to show Shin her good side, but she also wanted to see Shin looking cool.
She thought that Shin’s Supreme Skill—cutting with incredibly pure Magicka—and the sight of her My Lord wielding it, would surely be very, very cool.
Look! The base of his thumb when he grips the Sword tightly! That indentation! Isn’t it just wonderful?!
At the sight of Shin’s back as he swung his Sword horizontally.
Hooooah!
Erica screamed inwardly.