Morning.
Shirone’s group arrived at the edge of the northern forest and surveyed the deserted landscape.
Only the sound of invisible birds could be heard.
Shirone: "The plan is simple."
Shirone dismounted from his horse and spoke.
Shirone: "We’ll cut straight through the forest to the northern cliff. Falcoa’s n might be lying in ambush, but that risk is the sa if we take the mountain path. The biggest problem is if one of us gets separated from the front line. To regroup quickly, we need to simplify our route."
Rian drew his greatsword.
Rian: "So, a frontal assault? No problem."
Tess spoke up.
Tess: "I’ll take the lead. Rian, you cover the rear. The two mages will stay in the middle and watch the flanks."
It was a classic formation.
After tying their horses at the edge of the forest, they began climbing the mountain at a steady pace.
With their lives on the line, even the familiar scenery felt strange, as if they were seeing it for the first ti.
Swish. Swish.
The sound of the wind rustling the leaves could be heard. The more they heard it, the sharper Tess’s senses beca.
If I make a mistake, it’s over.
A mage’s Spirit Zone conveys all surrounding information in the form of synesthesia, but only within a certain radius.
On the other hand, a Schema User can maximize each sense to analyze various information.
Among them, the senses Tess was most focused on now were sll and hearing.
She could detect the scent of humans from hundreds of ters away and pick up the unique sounds of their movents when they were tense, allowing her to protect her allies.
Tess suddenly stopped.
Soone’s here.
The scent seed to be masked, but she heard the sound of sothing hard being drawn.
It’s a bow.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she heard the twang of a bowstring.
Tess: "Dodge!"
Shirone’s group leaped aside, and Tess drew her rapier, turning toward the direction of the sound.
An arrow flew through the bushes.
Even as the sharp tip ca within inches of her, Tess didn’t even blink, turning her head slightly.
Thunk!
The arrow embedded itself into a tree trunk, and the surrounding bushes began to shake.
...!
The relief of having dodged and the anger at nearly dying montarily paralyzed her mind.
But only for a mont. Regaining her composure, Tess looked around and saw that the entire group was now in combat.
Fourteen of them.
There was probably an archer watching from sowhere, but even the imdiate enemies were nurous.
Rian: "Yahhh!"
At Rian’s battle cry, Tess turned her head.
Rian’s swordsmanship, wielding his greatsword with overwhelming strength, was undoubtedly threatening.
But the location was bad.
The long, thick greatsword kept getting caught on things, and the Angmu rcenaries were circling around, taking advantage of that.
rcenary: "Hehe, what an idiot. Using a greatsword in the forest."
The skill of the Angmu rcenaries had already been gauged at the tavern.
They weren’t exceptionally skilled, but they were all seasoned veterans who knew how to fight according to the situation.
Now’s the ti.
The eyes of the leader of rcenary Squad 1 flashed brightly.
It was the perfect mont. The distance between Rian’s movent and the cover, as well as the opening for a surprise attack, aligned perfectly.
Leader of Squad 1: "Everyone, charge!"
Three squad mbers, centered around Rian, rushed in simultaneously.
But they were rely decoys. The one who would deliver the fatal blow was actually Jojing.
Rian: "Ugh!"
Realizing this too late, Rian twisted his body and swung his greatsword, but a tree blocked his path.
Leader of Squad 1: "Hahaha! Idiot!"
Just as the leader was about to pierce Rian’s heart—
Rian: "Yahhh!"
With a fierce shout, Rian’s greatsword cleaved through the tree trunk and surged toward the leader’s neck.
Leader of Squad 1: "Huh?!"
Startled, the leader hastily withdrew his sword and defended his neck as the greatsword clashed against it.
A tallic clang rang out.
Leader of Squad 1: "..."
There wasn’t much impact, but only because the tree trunk had absorbed most of the force.
Leader of Squad 1 (thought): ’I almost died.’
Even if he were a master of schemas, cutting through a tree trunk in such a confined space would be difficult.
The leader, still puzzled, quickly regained his composure.
In war, curiosity about the enemy is dangerous. Thinking should co after cutting down the enemy.
Leader of Squad 1: "You bastard...!"
The leader, still in a defensive stance, scraped his blade forward and aid to slash Rian’s abdon.
Leader of Squad 1: "Ugh!"
A rapier pierced through his open mouth.
The leader’s eyes rolled upward as his central nervous system was severed in one strike. He collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Behind him stood Tess.
Tess: "Rian, are you okay?"
Though her expression remained calm, Rian’s gaze briefly fell to the corpse.
Tess thought this might be his first ti seeing sothing like this.
Tess (thought): ’Seeing a dead body is different from watching soone die and beco a corpse.’
It’s almost like a religious experience.
When soone who was alive and full of emotions just monts ago is stripped of all will and turns cold, humans truly see the essence of life for the first ti.
Tess: "Rian, are you okay?"
Rian responded to Tess’s voice. As always, he smiled boldly and replied.
Rian: "No problem. What about the others?"
When Rian looked around, the Parrot rcenaries were completely overwheld by Shirone’s firepower.
Though the Parrot rcenaries had plenty of experience fighting mages, the Photon Cannon boasted speed and destructive power far beyond ordinary magic.
The flashes of light shattered trees and rocks in all directions, leaving the rcenaries with no chance to erge.
rcenary: "Damn it! What kind of magic is that?!"
The leader of Squad 2, who had been scouting ahead, quickly turned his head as the ground exploded.
Leader of Squad 2 (thought): ’That guy doesn’t even seem tired.’
Such powerful attacks should have so limit, but there was no sign of it.
Leader of Squad 2 (thought): ’Hmph! Even so...’
As he glanced to the other side, a subordinate hiding behind a rock signaled a plan.
It was the archer’s position. If they could lure Shirone out of cover, they could pierce his forehead.
Leader of Squad 2: "Hoo, hoo, hoo!"
After exhaling three quick breaths, the leader lunged forward, and the flashes of light chased after him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With each explosion, his heart sank, but he gritted his teeth and reached the planned position.
Leader of Squad 2 (thought): ’Got it!’
As he leapt behind the hill, Shirone’s position was perfectly exposed to the sniper.
Leader of Squad 2: "Hehe, you’re done for..."
At that mont, a single fireball accelerated toward the sniper’s hiding spot.
A faint scream echoed shortly after.
Sniper: "Aaaah!"
The leader’s eyes widened as he turned to see Amy standing there.
Leader of Squad 2 (thought): ’There’s a sniper on their side too. And a mage at that.’
The leader gritted his teeth.
Their carefully planned ambush had ended in vain.
Leader of Squad 2: "Everyone, retreat!"
As the order was given, the Parrot rcenaries erged from the surroundings and fled up the mountain.
Their concealnt was so effective that Shirone’s group montarily felt as if the landscape itself had shifted.
Tess: "Where do you think you’re running?!"
Led by Tess, everyone gave chase, but the Parrot rcenaries didn’t make it easy to close the distance.
Tess (thought): ’Tch! It’s their ho turf, after all.’
Compared to the Parrot rcenaries, who had trained for five years to morize the terrain, Shirone’s group wasted a lot of movent.
Amy: "I’ll handle it."
Amy ignited a fla in her right hand and swung her arm as if throwing sothing. A fiery explosion arced through the air and crashed down.
Leader of Squad 2: "Now!"
As soon as he shouted, the entire rcenary squad’s bodies glowed and transford into flashes of light, shooting into the sky.
Shirone stared blankly upward.
Shirone: "...Spatial teleportation?"
As Amy’s fireball crashed down, flas erupted, and the air grew scorching hot.
Rian: "Damn it! What was that?"
After waiting for the heat to subside, Shirone’s group rushed to the impact site.
The enemies were nowhere to be found.
Rian: "Did I see that wrong earlier?"
Amy nodded.
Amy: "It was spatial teleportation. I don’t know how they did it, but let’s check our status first. Anyone injured?"
After a battle, the first thing to check is injuries.
In a street fight, even a nosebleed would be noticeable, but in life-or-death combat, adrenaline can mask pain.
After thoroughly checking each other’s conditions, Shirone’s group reviewed the situation.
Tess: "It’s definitely not easy. Their individual skills aren’t particularly impressive, but they’re organized and experienced. Their familiarity with the terrain is also a factor. And most importantly..."
She paused, then asked.
Tess: "How did swordsn perform spatial teleportation? That’s high-level magic. I didn’t see any mages during the fight."
Amy: "I’ll check. I recorded it."
Amy’s crimson eyes glowed. She had used her self-imaging mory to capture the mont the enemies teleported.
Amy: "...It’s a magic artifact."
Just before they disappeared, a light had flashed from their sleeves.
Amy: "Probably in the form of bracelets. It’s too much of a coincidence for all of them to have lights coming from their arms."
Shirone: "Is that even possible? It’s different from embedding active magic like magic bullets. Without entering a Spirit Zone, you can’t set a destination."
Amy was also skeptical, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t impossible.
Amy: "They probably linked it to a magic circle."
A magic circle is a magical diagram engraved into space that emits magical energy.
Amy: "As Shirone said, a magic artifact alone can’t set a destination. But if you use the coordinates of a magic circle engraved in a specific space, it’s theoretically possible."
Tess: "But is that scale feasible for a fallen rcenary group? From what I know, it requires a lot of manpower and funding."
Amy: "If they’re really the Parrot rcenaries, fortifying this place and hiding here isn’t strange. Still, it’s a massive undertaking. Even engraving one interdiate magic circle requires at least five mages working all day. The funding probably ca from Falcoa. Rember what those rcenaries we t at the ruins said? The margins from the loops are huge."
Tess looked around in disbelief.
Tess: "How much did they leave behind? If the entire mountain is a fortress, one magic circle wouldn’t be enough."
Amy: "To properly operate in combat, there must be at least hundreds of magic circles engraved."
Tess: "Hundreds..."
Shirone: "They’ve networked the entire northern forest. In other words, the enemy has escape routes. If we fight like this, we’ll tire out before we even reach the summit."
Rian: "So what do we do now? How about destroying the magic circles as we advance? If the enemy keeps running away no matter where we fight, rushing in won’t work."
Amy shook her head.
Amy: "That’s quite difficult. Magic circles are diagrams engraved on objects, so their durability far surpasses human ntal strength. They’re designed that way. Destroying a few circuits won’t stop them. To nullify the effect, you’d have to devastate the entire space, which could take days."
Tess: "Hmm."
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