by Funa
Splitting into two groups, the enemy advanced toward the Crimson Vow and the Servants of the Goddess. Judging by their numbers, appearances, and the high proportion of individuals taking the forward guard, the Servants clearly came across the greater threat, but perhaps the opposition was not interested in breaking up their practiced team formation—or perhaps they merely thought that they should be lowering their strength to match their young opponents…
At any rate, the battle was currently split into eight against four and eight against five. The kidnappers were twice their number, at least roughly. Even if the division had been seven on four and nine on five, it would not have made much of a difference. A four-woman party that included underage girls should be swiftly dealt with, and then they could concentrate their efforts in taking down the remaining group.
Just then, the enemies came rushing in.
Each group of four was broken into two lines, with roughly two meters between front and back; two of these groups went for the Crimson Vow, and two went for the Servants of the Goddess. More than likely, the front two of the first team planned to engage their opponents’ front line, while the other two flanked to the left and right to launch an attack from the sides. In the meantime, the back team would slip around behind their opponents and take out their back line. It was a formation that would assure an instantaneous victory.
Fighting with an enemy in closed quarters was not merely a matter of taking on their front line; it meant being prepared to deal with their full forces at close range. This was the only proper tactic for a group of swordsmen with no mages among them.
“Gravel, crush my enemies’ eyes!”
The enemies were by no means the only ones who had prepared themselves for battle. Lacelina, who had been murmuring the incantation for her spell underneath her breath, now shouted the command phrase to release her attack.
Actually creating gravel was a bit too much of a challenge for a jack-of-all-trades mage like Lacelina, so her spell merely gathered up rocks, dirt, and mulch from the ground and sent the lot flying. Even if the spell specified “gravel,” the attack really consisted of all manner of debris.
Hearing her words, the enemies reflexively tried to shield their eyes with their arms—all while rushing straight toward enemies who were armed with swords and spears.
“Gwah!”
“Gyahh!”
“Waaaaah!”
Taking a spear through the shoulder, a sword smack to the side, and a blade in the gut, three of the men were felled in an instant. Of the first team, only one man remained.
“Uh…”
At this rate, the rear team would never be able to go for the Servants’ back line. If they even tried it, they would be attacked from the side as they tried to pass through—and even if they did manage to break past, they would be sliced at from behind the moment they tried to launch their own assault.
The last man hurriedly fell back to safety, grouping in with the rear team. Just when it looked as though they would be pushed into a deadlock of five-on-five, Philly, the Servants’ lancer, leaned her body slightly to the left, while Telyusia, to her right, leaned slightly to the right.
“Windsurge!”
At Lacelina’s second shout, the men dug their feet into the ground so that they would not be bowled over by the force of the rushing winds coming their way. But just then—whoosh!—an arrow came flying through the air. Indeed, this was the reason that Philly and Telyusia had leaned away: to allow the arrow to pass.
“Tch, what a wobbly little arrow!”
The man who stood in the arrow’s path gave a leisurely swing of his sword. Though he was apparently unskilled in negotiations, he was well studied in the martial arts. Though perhaps that studying had been only at a dojo and not on the actual battlefield…
“Hmm?”
The arrow struck deep into his right shoulder.
“H-how…?”
The man stared dumbly at the arrow in his arm, so shocked that his brain had yet to register the pain. Indeed, the wind spell that Lacelina had used just prior was not for the sake of knocking down their enemies—such a powerful spell would be beyond a mage like her anyway. However, a soft breeze? Now that she could manage. At least enough to shift the course of a flying arrow just before impact…
They’re strong!
After firing their first shots, Reina and Pauline had left the enemy to Mavis and Mile and were now engrossed in watching the Servants’ bout, their eyes wide in shock. The girls were not particularly skilled in swordsmanship, spears, or magic. This is not to say that they were lacking in talent; however, they were still young. Their technique was unpolished, and their magic was crude and lacking in power.
And yet, they were strong.
Unthinkingly, Reina spoke. “This is what it looks like when you work your way up from F-rank to C-rank without losing a single person along the way… These are the Servants of the Goddess…”
As a party, the Crimson Vow was undeniably strong. However, what they were was merely a collection of strong individuals. Their fighting skill relied on each of their individual strengths—nothing more, nothing less.
The Servants of the Goddess, however, were different.
Though each of their members had only middling skill, they were strong together.
Reina was chagrined.
If the two parties were to face off against one another, there was no doubt that the Crimson Vow would win. Still, Reina could not shake a feeling of deep embarrassment.
And as for Mile and Mavis?
Currently, they were fighting with great concentration and great restraint, trying their best to keep the remaining enemies from approaching Reina and Pauline without hurting or killing any of them. As a result, they had no time to be watching anyone else’s fight.
Speaking of which…
Before the fight began, Mile and Mavis had moved up front, while Reina and Pauline fell to the back, leaving a sufficient gap between them. Though they were fighting against an enemy force that consisted only of frontline fighters, there were no mages stupid enough to approach an enemy if they didn’t have to.
“Frozen Helix Shot!”
“Ice Nail!”
With ample time to prepare, Reina and Pauline incanted their spells in their heads, firing them off with a shout to increase their power.
It was shocking to see that the men had not readied themselves for the possibility of a surprise attack. They knew that there were mages about, but perhaps, seeing that said mages were only little girls, they had underestimated them—or perhaps they had never actually battled against mages before. At any rate, Reina and Pauline welcomed the advantage.
“Gwah!”
“Gyaah!”
The two men who had been trying to slip around the sides of the party stopped in place, crying out in pain as Pauline’s ice nails split into two swarms, striking the men in the shoulders, arms, legs, and guts. Though they were not gravely injured, they crumpled to the ground. At the same time, Mile and Mavis faced the two who were attacking from the front head-on with their swords. The four men of the rear team, who were tasked with slipping past to attack the back line while the front line had their hands full, stepped out to move in for the offense, only to be stopped by Reina’s magical attack, which they took at full force.
“Gah!” cried one.
“Owwww!” cried another.
“Waaaaaah!!” cried the final two.
At Reina’s behest, the soft earth of the forest floor had coagulated into around twenty relatively small helix shapes, which rained down on the men in a high, arcing path, like a parabola. There were three main reasons for such an attack pattern: first, it avoided striking Mile and Mavis, who were up ahead; secondly, it raised the speed and force with which the shots would hit; and thirdly, few people were accustomed to being attacked from above. Finally, so as not to be an embarrassment to the name “Helix Shot,” each shot rotated on its own axis.
Because they were in a fore
st, Reina could not utilize her specialty fire magic. Furthermore, because their allies were so close—and because the Servants would be watching—Pauline could not use her “hot” magic. Nonetheless, simply barring them from using their two most powerful, specialized spells still left the two with a fair bit of leeway.
Of the men who had taken Reina and Pauline’s magical attacks, two were still crumpled, perhaps unable to move. Those who had attacked the party from the front had been struck down by Mavis and Mile. The remaining four were not greatly injured, but thanks to being pierced by the ice nails and pummeled by earthen shots, their will to fight had dropped dramatically. This meant that Mile and Mavis, who were engaging in restrictive maneuvers in an attempt to incapacitate the men without killing or seriously injuring them, were now facing some unexpected difficulties.
Rather than going after Reina and Pauline at the rear, the four had refocused their efforts on Mavis and Mile.
The two of them can handle this, thought Reina and Pauline. Even so, they held a set of attack spells just in case, keeping tabs on their own fight even as they turned to watch the Servants. The attacks they held were ice javelins, which could be fired simply and precisely, meaning that they would be ready to help at a moment’s notice, if need be.
“Huh?”
Watching the Servants of the Goddess, the two were dumbfounded. What they observed was the party emerging safe and sound as they felled their opponents by way of their mediocre magic, swordsmanship, lancing, and archery.
They’re strong!
While they did not voice the thought, this much was clear to both Reina and Pauline. These girls possessed a strength that was quite different from their own. Though they were not especially skilled, they were formidable. Their power was one that Reina had never known when she was alone, relying solely on her own abilities. It was a strength that she now sought to find among the Crimson Vow.
The battle that had started as eight against five was now five on five. On top of that, one of the opponents who was still standing had arrows sticking out from his right shoulder, which meant that the Servants of the Goddess currently had the upper hand.
“These little wenches…”
The men had likewise noticed the individual lack of skill in each of the Servants. Clearly, they judged, the timing of their attacks had just happened to line up. The girls had gotten lucky.
However, Reina and Pauline thought differently.
When it came to actual combat, you were lucky if you could make use of even half of the fruits of your training. If one were to secure certain victory in a real fight, it would only be thanks to training that amounted to hours, weeks, and months beyond the battle in question. Anyone who chalked up the results of the girls’ fighting to mere chance was not someone who had a lengthy future ahead of them.
Every one of their moves had been intentional. From purposely shouting the command word for the spell loud enough to trigger countermeasures, to making the men brace themselves against the wind magic so that they would not be able to dodge the arrows that would strike them down in time, to firing those arrows so that the wind magic would hit them from the side just before impact…
Spears had a long reach. It was difficult for the men to go up against Philly, who was positioned in the middle of the forward three, her spear brandished. Even if they could deflect the spear and leap in to attack her, the very act of moving that spear would leave them open to flanking attacks from the two swordswomen, Telyusia and Willine. Behind them, Tasha’s arrows were already nocked, and Lacelina was murmuring her next spell.
For these men, who wielded only swords, to go up against a party that had been carefully composed to account for everyone’s specialties, was the height of recklessness. Without overwhelming numbers or exceptional skill, there was no hope for the Servants’ opponents. That said, with eight against five, these men did have the advantage of numbers. And though it seemed they had not much actual combat experience, their swordsmanship was nothing to scoff at. They probably assumed that this group of young, female hunters were scarcely better than amateurs, that their skills were nothing special. In fact, this assumption was not incorrect. However…
Even though the battle was now five on five, there were two back and mid-line fighters among the Servants. The clash against the front line amounted to only three against five. Therefore, no matter how hazardous it might have been for the men to attack, owing to the spear’s long range, they would quickly be able to overwhelm the young women with numbers. After a momentary pause to regain their balance, the five of them swooped swiftly in for the kill. Just then…
“Dust Storm!”
In the time that her enemies had wasted before making their move, Lacelina had completed her next spell. The men had done her a great service in providing the mage ample time for her spellcasting.
Normally, an enemy who did not have a mage of their own would deal with an opposing mage as swiftly as possible, even if it meant taking a fair bit of damage. When the first three men had been felled, the fourth should not have fallen back. Rather, the four others should have come up quickly from behind to make a united stand. Had they done so, three of them could have halted the front line, while the other two moved around to take out the back and the middle. Even if an arrow were to be fired their way, they could have struck it down, or—in the worst case scenario—levy one of the men as a sacrifice before summarily taking out the archer, who would be left defenseless in the moment after her attack, and the mage, who would be similarly at a loss, having had no time to prepare her next spell.
In fact, all that would only have been possible if the Servants of the Goddess had not already prepared for just such a scenario.
I bet you they have prepared for just such a thing, thought Reina and Pauline. If they hadn’t, there was no way that they could have made it this far without having a single vacancy among their ranks.
The name of the spell that Lacelina had let loose this time was impressive, but it turned out to be nothing more than a simple gust—a strong wind, lacking even the power to blow a man away. Yet that simple gust began to disturb the ground, swirling toward the enemies in a spiral. Just as the spell’s name had suggested, it was pulling dust up from the earth.
Of course, the men were not stupid enough to be felled by Lacelina’s wind spell a second time. Rather than reacting in the same manner as before, they stopped their feet midstep and turned their bodies to the side, positioning themselves so that the front line of the Servants would serve as their shields. This would not net them a complete defense against the cloud that was swirling toward them, but at least it was better than taking it head-on. Yet just as they narrowed their eyes, calculating the timing of their attack for when the dust storm had ended, the five Servants of the Goddess rushed in.
Yes, all five of them. Tasha had discarded her bow in favor of her dagger—which, though it was called a “dagger,” was not some piddling knife but a blade around fifty centimeters in length that would stand up splendidly to any enemies in whose defenses she could find an opening. Lacelina was there as well, brandishing her staff like a spear. At some moment or other she had shed the iron cap on the butt of the staff (the part which strikes the ground), revealing a fiendishly sharp metal implement.
“A sword…staff?” Reina uttered in astonishment.
“Why that’s no different from a spear!” said Pauline in turn.
Normally, a mage would never participate in melee combat along with the forward guard, and a staff was typically a bludgeoning weapon rather than a tool for piercing. Furthermore, while the two of them had certainly heard of a so-called “sword cane,” which had a blade hidden inside, a “Swordstaff: Spear Edition,” was something new entirely. Yet there was no mistaking that a spear-type weapon—with its longer reach and ease of use, even for a beginner—was the obvious choice for the slight, young Lacelina.
The men, who had positioned themselves in such a way as to avoid the dust cloud, noticed Tasha and Lace
lina’s movements a moment too late. By the time they realized what was happening, the five Servants fell on them at once, with Tasha between Telyusia and Philly, and Lacelina between Philly and Willine.
Thanks to the dust storm, the men, who had stopped mid-attack and were now waiting, could not see clearly. While they’d expected to face a direct attack from the three frontline fighters, they had figured that with five on their side, they could still easily take down the opposition. Stricken with surprise that they were being run down by not only the front line, but inexplicably the middle and back lines as well, they were too slow to react.
In a situation like this, even a moment’s delay might mean a fatal blow.
“Th-they’re strong…” Reina and Pauline said at once, and in that moment, the men facing both the Servants of the Goddess and the Crimson Vow were stripped of the strength to fight once and for all.
“We better get going. We’ll leave them here,” Mile said to the group, after separating the sixteen now-powerless men and binding them all with the fishing line from her inventory.
The line was thin and strong, and in addition to having their arms secure behind them, their thumbs had been bound together, so if they attempted any struggle, the line would slice through, and it would be bye-bye fingers. The men had assumed that such thin thread would be a cinch to break, thinking they would merely have to flex their muscles to snap the strings. However, at Mile’s explanation, the blood drained from their faces. There was no use in this world for a swordsman who had no thumbs.
“We don’t have the time to tort—er, interrogate—them, and I get the feeling that the kidnappers are close by. It’ll be quicker if we just press on from here. Let’s go!”