305 – Face to Face

The inside of the village…is already in a terrible state.
Cavalrymen wearing the same military uniform cover one side.
Buildings are destroyed and fires have been lit in places.

It looks like the Lithovars are fighting back, but…their casualties aren’t small.
The ground is soaked with blood, and bodies are scattered around.

I failed.
I never thought that the enemy could be this numerous.
Should I have stayed here rather than move around?

No, there’s a limit to how many Lithovars can take refuge in a single place.
If the group I crushed earlier all came into the village at once, those in places I couldn’t cover would have all died.
There’s no use thinking about what could’ve been done.
Now that I’m here… I won’t let anyone else die.

Besides… The damage shouldn’t be as bad as it looks.
This village has basements prepared for abyss attacks.
The non-combatants should be hidden underground.
The issue is whether or not they’ve been found, though.

Thinking that I need to drive them away quickly, I look around for a good [Wind Slash] target, but… My head stops moving.
My eye is caught by a man dressed in a way unsuitable for a battlefield.

He looks to be in his thirties.
His hair is curled unpleasantly, and a small, round moustache rests above his mouth.
His horse is fitted with a gaudy tack made of gold, and the person in question is wearing a mantle embroidered with gold.
His appearance stands out from the other cavalrymen.

“Leave the finishing blow to me.
Watch my sword skills!”

He says as he draws his sword, riding towards the kneeling figure of a Lithovar covered in blood.

“As expected of Tolman-sama! What marvellous sword technique!”
“After cutting this one, you should switch to your next sword.
You have yet to test the sword Sabern-hakushaku[1] gave you.”

The atmosphere around the Tolman guy is different.
The others are savage and cruel, but… for these guys alone, it’s almost as though they came here for a spot of falconry.
I’m too taken aback at first to understand, but as I come to my senses my heart is filled with a seething rage.

It’s distant, but… At this range, I should make it in time.
I shoot a [Wind Slash] towards Tolman.

“Mu…? Wh-what’s that?!”

Tolman stops his horse and turns around, shouting.

“Please forgive my discourtesy!”

One of the cavalrymen drives his horse closer, then kicks the horse’s back to launch himself at Tolman.
Tolman is sent flying, soaring through the air.
The cavalryman who dived at him lands on the ground and quickly lies face-down.

The blade of wind cuts the horses in two.
Tolman’s shoulder is grazed, his mantle tearing off in a spray of blood.
The wound isn’t shallow, but nor is it fatal.

【92 experience points have been acquired.】
【Due to the Title Skill [Walking Egg: Lv -], an additional 92 experience points have been acquired.】
【The level of [Ouroboros] has risen from 89 to 90.】

…I missed.

Clenching his shoulder with bloodshot eyes, Tolman screams.

“Gu, guuUUU…!”

“T-tolman-sama!”

“Wh-who is it, who committed such insolence towards me?! Capture them! I’ll torture them to death!”

The attitude of that Tolman guy is clearly different from the rest.
He might be an important figure to them.
Should I kill him…? I’d rather capture him if possible.

“GuuOOOOOOOOOH!”

I look up to the sky and [Roar], packing magic power into my throat before releasing it with all my strength.
If the main force is on their way I want to thin their numbers, but more importantly, I don’t want the village to be a battlefield any more.
When they hear my voice, they should split into those who run away and those who take the initiative and attack me.
Either way, the number fighting the Lithovars should decrease.

As planned, cavalry start appearing from all over the village.
That’s just fine, I’ll take them on together.
However… Before that, there’s him.
Aiming towards Tolman, I break into a run.

“[Summon]!”

The cavalryman who protected Tolman earlier brandishes his sword.
Four lights float in the air, transforming into slender bright red dragons with huge wings.
Supporting Tolman’s shoulder, he mounts one of them.

“…Tolman-kakka has been injured as a result of my mistake.
We’re falling back for now.
Bring down that dragon, no matter what it takes!”

He reports to the surrounding calvarymen as his dragon starts flying away.
That dragon… It’s slower than me, but it’s still fast.
The remaining three fly towards me at low altitude.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Species: Little Wyvern
Condition: Normal
Lv: 26/60
HP: 221/221
MP: 198/198
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

…So it’s a C+ rank monster specialised in speed.

“KigaaaaAAh!” “KigaaAAh!”

“GigaaaaAAAAh!”

I shoot a [Wind Slash] towards each of the three.
Two receive direct hits and crash into the ground, spurting blood, but one deftly somersaults to dodge.

【520 experience points have been acquired.】
【Due to the Title Skill [Walking Egg: Lv -], an additional 520 experience points have been acquired.】

The one that dodged presses on towards me.
I stop its movements with my claws as my partner sinks her teeth into its back.

【270 experience points have been acquired.】
【Due to the Title Skill [Walking Egg: Lv -], an additional 270 experience points have been acquired.】

…The dragon carrying that cavalryman and Tolman is already far away, having become a speck in the sky.
That guy….
His speed of judgement was crazy fast.
He realised he couldn’t win against me and took flight instantly, leaving behind some obstacles.
I might have let a troublesome guy get away.
I guess I should’ve at least checked his status.
I could still easily give chase, but… I can’t exactly leave all the cavalry behind in the village.

“Captain Elan, I was thinking you were late… Where’s your unit?!”

I hear an angry voice from the edge of the village.
Being shouted at is a cavalryman covered in blood.

“W-we ran into a stupidly strong Lithovar brat on the way and were wiped out…”

“A-a brat, you say?! You were done in by a single kid?!”

A kid… No way, is it Aro…? She came close to the village to prepare for their attack?

“Th-that’s not all.
That brat was wielding strange magic… And, we were attacked by monsters! Azalea’s flying dragon caught their interest and I was able to slip away, but…”

“Hmm, if you had to flee before a single brat, perhaps it would have been better if you stayed to die.”

“I-I did my best not to die so I could report…”

…Aro chased after the flying dragon? That guy’s probably a key figure for the enemies.
If those two can be pinned down, the fighting might come to a close.
Entering the village might have brought needless chaos, so her choice might be for the best.
But…a person who can easily summon monsters over C rank can’t be a small fry.

One of them had a heavy wound, but it wasn’t fatal.
If they have healing magic, they can recover right away.
I’m not sure if Aro will be able to handle them… I just have to hope she doesn’t act rashly.

…Either way, I need to deal with the soldiers filtering into the village as quickly as possible.

“H-hey, commander Azalea fled with Tolman-sama.”
“Azalea should be able to slay an amphis without problem… Its physique is different from what we heard, so it might be dangerous…”

Fortunately, it looks like their morale isn’t so good after their leader fled.

“Everyone! Follow commander Alan!”

I hear a bellow from the village centre.
Looking at the source, I spot a giant close to three metres tall.

The horse he’s riding on seems to be a different species from the rest.
It’s a huge black horse with thick legs.
Its mane is bizarrely long, reaching its legs, and a suspicious light shines in its eyes.

“D-don’t falter.
O-Ode has destroyed dragons alone before.
I will also destroy it.”

…A troublesome-looking person has come out.
For that matter… Is that really a human? 

[1] Hakushaku – a count or earl, a rank one step down from a marquis.