𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬
Running across the rooftops with Doug-san, we’re chasing after Rest and Blade.
We can’t see them anymore, but we know where they’ve gone.
That’s because we can hear the sounds of intense battle up ahead.
ㅤ
“That place. . . . . .the barracks!”
ㅤ
Doug-san shouts as he looks in that direction.
It seems that the place where the two are clashing is indeed the barracks.
Does that mean they’ve involved the soldiers there?
Wait a minute.
According to Ruberto-san’s prediction, weren’t the soldiers the first to be targeted?
ㅤ
“Bad news! There are brainwashed soldiers there!”
ㅤ
Ah, I thought as much.
My bad premonition is confirmed by Doug-san’s lament.
Normally, common soldiers wouldn’t have any reason to interfere in a one-on-one between a Holy Warrior and an enhanced hero.
However, they could be used as hostages or human shields.
This increases the factors that could put Blade at a disadvantage.
ㅤ
“This is really bad! Even if it’s Blade-sama, taking on both Rest and them at the same time. . . . . .!”
“. . . . . .What do you mean?”
ㅤ
The way he said that caught my attention.
It sounds as though not just Rest, but also the soldiers are in some kind of troublesome state.
It sounded like they’re a threat to Holy Warrior Blade in terms of combat capabilities, not just as hostages or shields.
ㅤ
“That’s. . . . . .?!”
ㅤ
Just as Doug-san was about to answer my question, a spell flew towards us, interrupting him.
A magic arrow of flame.
And it’s a fairly strong spell.
It doesn’t compare to Auntie Elle, but it has about the same power as one of Demon Mantis’ wind slashes.
Instinctively, I leapt forward and deflected the flaming arrow back at its caster.
ㅤ
“Fifth Strike━『Calamity Return』!”
“Whooooa?!”
ㅤ
The redirected arrow of flame, its course twisted by 180 degrees, exploded as it pierced through the caster’s leg.
The caster, whose leg was scorched by the flame, let out a beast-like scream. He was a soldier with a face twisted by madness, like the others who had been manipulated.
However, his aura felt different than the others.
He emitted a demonic aura similar to Rest, albeit weaker.
And my senses that detect strong opponents also reacted to him.
ㅤ
As if confirming my suspicions, the manipulated soldier leapt towards us.
The distance between us and the soldier who cast the spell was approximately 50 meters.
He covered that distance with a single leap, using just one leg.
That’s a level of physical ability far beyond that of a regular soldier.
He’s probably many times stronger than me.
At this rate, he might even approach the realm of heroes.
ㅤ
“Hah!”
“Guh?!”
ㅤ
But I’m not the kind of guy to lose to that kind of power now.
I deflected the sword strike he launched during his charge with my wooden sword and shattered his remaining leg with my Flowing Blade technique.
This should immobilize him. . . . . .
ㅤ
“Gaaaaaaa!”
“What?!”
ㅤ
Even with both legs shattered, the soldier didn’t fall.
He stomped the ground with his broken legs and prepared to strike again.
Are his shattered legs healing?!
Does he have regenerative abilities like Dragburn?!
ㅤ
“Sixth Strike Deformation━『Heaven Shaker』!”
“What?!”
ㅤ
Surprisingly calm, I dodged the blade and unleashed an adapted form of Sky Rebellion on the soldier’s head.
Originally, Sky Rebellion is a technique that counters an enemy’s attack with one’s own, using the generated impact to destroy the enemy’s weakest point. However, I couldn’t use that on an ally who could potentially be de-brainwashed.
This time, I simply used my physical strength to strike the soldier’s skull, jostling his brain with the impact.
That alone is enough to knock someone out.
It’s not a technique I use often, as it’s largely ineffective against the sturdy bodies of demons and monsters. But in this situation, it seems like it could come in handy.
That aside,
ㅤ
“Doug-san, what’s going on here?”
“As you see. The soldiers have been affected by something Rest did and are in this condition. Many soldiers have been granted the strength to rival the lowest demons. In light of that, I could only retreat and head to Ruberto-sama. . . . . .!”
“. . . . . .Tell me the details while we run.”
“Very well. But it seems we’ll be fighting as we go.”
“Seems so.”
“””RAAAAARGH!”””
ㅤ
Without a break in conversation, more soldiers in the same condition started appearing one after another, attacking us.
Doug-san and I counterattacked.
In total, ten new soldiers appeared.
They neither divided into groups of five nor coordinated with one another. They each simply charged at the first thing they saw.
ㅤ
Six came at me.
When dealing with multiple opponents and not intending to kill, dual-wielding is probably the best option.
Though dual-wielding lacks attack power, it’s not needed for my main technique this time, Heaven Shaker.
I have no intention of delivering a fatal blow, so lower attack power is actually an advantage.
Having two blades increases the number of moves, and my proficiency in dual-wielding has improved since the Dragburn battle.
ㅤ
I unsheathed the shorter wooden sword from my hip and prepared to counter the approaching soldiers.
ㅤ
“RAAAAARGH!”
“Hmph!”
ㅤ
I twisted the first attacker’s downward swing using the Distortion technique with my left wooden sword.
I then drove the wooden sword straight forward, jostling the first man’s brain with a thrusting Heaven Shaker.
It’s a combo move.
That’s one down.
ㅤ
“Ha!”
ㅤ
Next, I dealt with the second and third attackers coming from the left and right.
Were they a well-coordinated duo initially? Despite having lost their rationality, they both attacked diagonally from above in mirror-like fashion.
In response, I dodged by stepping forward and used both wooden swords to knock them out by hitting the sides of their heads.
That makes three.
ㅤ
“””RAAAAARGH!”””
ㅤ
The remaining three were once again attempting to attack me simultaneously.
The soldier in front advanced with a large shield.
The other two, from diagonally behind the shield-bearing soldier, tried to pierce me with long spears.
. . . . . .Despite their lack of rationality, their movements were coordinated.
With the shield-bearer serving as a barrier against my attacks, the spear-wielding duo could attack without worry about counterattacks.
A formation combining offense and defense.
It’s probably ingrained in their bodies.
Perhaps, if the battle were to drag on even a bit and the situation became more complex, the lack of rationality due to losing composure would start to show, and their coordination would fall apart.
Just like the second and third from earlier, at the very least, their initial moves seemed to follow the established patterns that had become second nature through training.
ㅤ
It angers me that the fruits of such hard work are being exploited by demons.
I’m reminded of Fisto, controlled by the Old Witch Demon.
My anger this time far surpasses that, considering even Rest, someone I know, has fallen into this trap.
Whoever did this will pay dearly, and I’ll kill them myself.
ㅤ
Using my right hand wooden sword imbued with Distortion, I parry the spear coming from the right while blocking another spear strike from the left with my left-hand wooden sword.
Firmly blocking the spear tip with the guard and base of the sword, I spin to the right, using the momentum.
I also activate the power of my Storm Leg Armor and deliver a kick accelerated by the wind, aimed at the shield of the shield-bearer, using the technique of Distortion.
ㅤ
“Second Strike Deformation━━『Distortion: No Sword』!”
ㅤ
My launched kick distorts the shield-bearer’s trajectory, making him collide with one of the spear-bearers, causing both to lose balance.
If I had let the shield-bearer continue his charge, he would have likely trampled the first soldier I knocked out who was lying in a straight line ahead.
It was necessary to make the shield-bearer divert his path to avoid that.
ㅤ
And my spinning motion doesn’t stop there.
This time, while spinning, I smash my left-hand wooden sword into another spear-bearer who has left himself open after a missed thrust, knocking him out with Heaven Shaker.
I don’t waste a moment confirming the fallen spear-bearer and quickly rush toward the remaining two who lost their balance, hitting both their heads with my wooden swords.
Heaven Shaker again.
The last two fall, just like the other soldiers.
I managed to eliminate all the soldiers who were coming at me.
All of this in just a few seconds.
I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.
ㅤ
Looking over, all four soldiers who were going towards Doug-san have also been taken down.
All of them had all their limbs severed.
Apparently, these guys can regenerate from injuries like fractures in an instant, but they can’t recover from losing limbs.
It’s a bit brutal, but well, if you don’t have a convenient skill like Heaven Shaker, you have no other choice.
But just to be sure, I knocked them all out with Heaven Shaker.
Once all is over, Rin can heal them.
ㅤ
“. . . . . .Without any unnecessary destruction, to precisely harvest only the consciousness. Your extraordinary skills remain unchanged.”
ㅤ
Doug-san muttered in a somewhat complex voice.
Well, when we first met, I was a brat without any divine protection, and he said things like, “Don’t get cocky,” and came at me swinging. I guess he has a lot on his mind.
But right now, there’s no time to indulge in such sentimentality.
ㅤ
“Thank you. But for now, let’s hurry past such matters. Please explain what happened at the barracks.”
“I understand.”
ㅤ
With that, Doug-san shakes off his sentimentality and begins his explanation as we start running again.
ㅤ
“. . . . . .It all started quite suddenly, about an hour ago. Rest, who looked the same as always, suddenly appeared in the barracks and attacked us.”
ㅤ
━One hour ago.
Just when we were trying to tell Ruberto-san about the gods and had entered the mayor’s residence.
Rest was probably, almost certainly, spying on us.
I let my guard down.
I never thought we’d be monitored by an ally, and that a brief one-hour meeting would be exploited to this extent.
Even though we had a soundproof barrier, it was only to keep the sounds from the inside from getting out.
It does block some external noises, but if there was a loud battle, we would have noticed.
So, Rest or maybe the demon behind him, calculated all that and first knocked out the soldiers who could cause a loud disturbance.
ㅤ
“Caught off guard, I was the first one targeted and took quite a bit of damage. The other knights with divine protection noticed the change and went to intercept, but they were no match for the transformed Rest and were taken down in an instant. I too was about to be taken down when other soldiers came to my aid. They told me to go get Ruberto-sama while they held off the enemy. But. . . . . .!”
ㅤ
Doug-san’s face twisted in anguish.
The expression was that of a man regretting his own powerlessness.
He wore the same face as I did in the previous world.
ㅤ
“The soldiers defeated by Rest quickly started to suffer and turned into that state. The controlled soldiers started biting the other soldiers, and those who were bitten also turned into the same state. Especially the ones who were directly affected by Rest were granted abnormal strength. Due to such quantity and quality of violence, the soldiers were annihilated in a blink of an eye. I somehow managed to escape from the barracks, but it took me an entire hour to evade the pursuing soldiers and the controlled residents, and finally meet up with you guys. . . . . .”
ㅤ
. . . . . .I see.
Certainly, if a group equivalent to the lowest-level demons attacked a wounded spot, even a hero with divine protection would struggle.
Especially when those attackers are controlled allies.
Adding insult to injury, because there are commoners who could die from a slight poke when you have divine protection, you can’t even engage in flashy battles.
It’s understandable that we are struggling.
ㅤ
However, we’ve gained some insight into the enemy from this discussion.
The enemy is Rest plus the controlled soldiers.
There’s a possibility that the two guardian knights, who were initially taken down by Rest and have divine protection, are also being controlled.
Furthermore, quite a lot of soldiers have been given power equivalent to the lowest-level demons.
ㅤ
People who were directly hit by Rest seem to be like this, meaning the closer they are to the source, the stronger the effect, right?
If that’s the case, the two guardian knights with divine protection might possess a strength close to Rest.
Moreover, all of them, if possible, should be spared.
At the very least, we must definitely rescue three individuals with divine protection, including Rest.
In a situation where we’re told to minimize casualties and defeat the Demon King’s Army, we can’t afford to lose three heroes with the power of a thousand.
Damn!
This is quite troublesome!
ㅤ
Nevertheless, lamenting won’t get us anywhere.
I can only do what I can do.
ㅤ
Controlled soldiers appear again from the front.
ㅤ
“Here they come again!”
“There are so many this time, huh!”
ㅤ
While speaking, I strike down the soldier who entered my range with Heaven Shaker.
This time, there are even more than before.
This is a town close to the front line.
Due to the proximity to the danger zone, there are certainly a large number of stationed soldiers.
Normally, they should be reliable allies, but now they are all enemies.
I must get through this without killing them.
It’s different from the usual life-and-death battles.
There’s nothing more difficult than this.
Nevertheless. . . . . .
ㅤ
“I’ll do it! Damn it all!”
ㅤ
Roaring, I accurately aim for each head to knock them unconscious.
Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that I only had a wooden sword.
It makes non-lethal techniques somewhat easier to use.
ㅤ
“Move!”
ㅤ
And so, as we neutralize the controlled soldiers one by one, we moved forward.
Beating them, beating them, beating them, beating them, knocking them down.
At the barracks we finally reached, what we saw was. . . . . .
ㅤ
“How pathetic, Brother.”
“Damn it. . . . . .”
ㅤ
There was Blade, battered and holding his greatsword, and Rest looking down on him, completely unscathed.
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