Chapter 187: Defense of the City of Sandra, Part 2

After having the territory built on top of the hill, I set my sights on firing the first Condense Ray.

From this spot, I could see the town of Sandra to the front left and the river flowing behind us.

First, I wanted to mow down the enemies in front of the town of Sandra, off to the right.

“Let’s go, El.”

“Yes.”

I condensed mana into the fingertips of my right hand.

At the moment the light grew even stronger, the condensation must have been approaching criticality, and I released the condensed mana.

“Shoot!”

A thin beam of light shot straight out from the index finger of my right hand, piercing the Mantises in its path.

The light created a scorching inferno with temperatures reaching 4,000 degrees Celsius, and whatever the light touched evaporated, turning into fuel for the next storm of flames.

I swung my arm and body to the right while emitting the ultra-thin light from my fingertips. It took two seconds.

If someone had seen this scene from above, they would have said something like this… the monsters were mowed down by a sword of light.

Not a single Mantis survived being hit by Condense Ray in that scorching hell where most substances were vaporized.

“El, now!”

“Yes.”

The nearest Mantis was only 5 to 10 mede away from us.

Normally, when water evaporates, it expands to more than 1,500 times its volume.

Of course, when a Mantis vaporizes, it expands to hundreds of times its volume… becoming a gas at thousands of degrees…

El expanded a mana shield into a sphere and used air conditioning magic with all his might to lower the temperature inside the shield.

As soon as my mana recovered, I also used mana shield and air conditioning magic to help El.

From inside the translucent spherical mana shield, we silently watched the surrounding Mantises spontaneously combust and burn out.

(Even if the outside temperature drops, there probably won’t be any oxygen around right away. The oxygen inside this mana shield should last for an hour…)

I used the wind magic that Mother had used before and aimed it toward the Mantises.

Normally, using magic like this would quickly deplete my mana, but here I was inside the territory.

As long as I was careful not to get magic drunk, I could use as much mana as I wanted.

After using wind magic to move the air for about 20 minutes, the temperature dropped and the oxygen levels were no longer a problem.

“El, I think it’s just about okay now.”

“Yes.”

When I slowly released the mana shield, I could feel the hot air drifting around me.

When I checked my surroundings, there were no Mantises left in front of the town of Sandra or where we were.

“El, I’ll leave the next one to you. If things get hot, I’ll use mana shield.”

“Understood.”

With that, El fired Condense Ray at a place where there seemed to be a lot of Mantises.

He shot in a zigzag pattern, not from left to right like I did.

It was the method we’d used during the goblin riot.

Where Condense Ray landed, the Mantises burned up and evaporated, becoming fuel for further flames.

The place El shot this time was quite far from here.

There seemed to be no need for mana shield. However, just in case something happened, I used wind magic to control the direction of the heat wave.

“Awesome…”

Laila was muttering behind me.

I was feeling a little sad, thinking, ‘I’m sure people will be scared of this,’ but then she spoke up, breathing heavily and with sparkling eyes.

“Amazing! Just as expected of Aldo-kyun! Amazing! Amazing!”

She was so excited that she kept shouting “Amazing” over and over again.

Apparently there was nothing for her to be scared of. I smiled wryly and kept Laila in the corner of my vision.

After that, El and I each fired one more Condense Ray and succeeded in driving the Mantises out from in front of Sandra.

“We did it…?”

“Looks like it…”

“El, how’s your mana sickness?”

“I think if I shoot Condense Ray one more time, I probably won’t be able to stand.”

“That’s about my limit too…”

El gave a small smile.

“This time I was able to use more mana, even with the mana shield, than during the goblin riot.”

“That’s right. It seems mana sickness can be overcome through training…”

“Maybe it’s the result of our training.”

This time El smiled happily.

“Now, I have to choose which way to go…”

“What do you mean?”

“The Mantises here aren’t all there is. Either I should get some sleep to prepare for next time, or I should go help Mother and the others…”

“…I see.”

“And even if I sleep, should I sleep in Blue Ring or here? Blue Ring is safe, but if the Miasma Stone is destroyed, I won’t be able to fly back here.”

“…”

There were so many things to do that I couldn’t choose just one. The only good thing was that sleep is the best cure for mana sickness, and unlike restoring mana, it only takes one to two hours of sleep to recover.

“Laila, could I ask you to watch over us?”

“Talk like before…”

“Like before?”

I desperately tried to remember how I’d spoken, but I couldn’t…

“‘Laila will never leave our side!’ Something like that.”

Ah, Laila seemed to hate honorifics. I don’t like them either, so I know how she feels.

“Okay. Is this okay?”

“Yeah!”

Speaking of which, the current Laila looked just right for her age…

Even at this age, I have no idea what goes on in a woman’s heart. It’ll be an eternal mystery.

“Laila, keep watch for us.”

“Understood.”

I turned toward El.

“I’m worried about Mother and Ashera after all. Let’s take turns sleeping for two hours each. We’ll sleep in the same place as before, up in the tree.”

“Okay. Which of us should rest first?”

“I’ll head to Sandra town first.”

“Then I’ll take a break.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

El looked at Laila again and spoke to her.

“It’s just as I said. I’d like you to guard El. I’m planning to have him use sleeping pills, so if the worst happens, I want you to carry El and run.”

“Understood. I’ll protect your brother’s life, Aldo, even if it costs me my own.”

“Uh, okay. Thanks…”

Something was off about Laila’s breathing… I had no idea where this purple girl’s switch was…

I parted ways with El and Laila and used air step to move over the town of Sandra.

Countless Mantis corpses, which Mother and Ashera must have killed, lay scattered around the town.

First of all, I wanted to join up with Mother and Ashera.

I used air step to climb to a higher altitude and looked down on the town of Sandra.

Apparently there were two places where flashy battles were taking place.

The two locations were the lord’s mansion and the pier on the west side.

Come to think of it, the west pier didn’t have a sturdy gate like the south and east did.

I decided to head to the western pier, where they were probably having a hard time.

When I arrived at the pier about 10 minutes later, I saw the knight commander, Fagil, leading the knights in a deadly battle with the Mantises.

“Protect it at all costs!” “Insects!” “Someone use recovery magic!” “I can’t hold on anymore!”

The battlefield looked chaotic, and the formations had long since collapsed. Now the knights and Mantises were locked together in a never-ending war of attrition.

I would rush into the spot where they seemed to be having the most trouble.

If I recovered any more mana than this, I wouldn’t be able to move due to mana sickness.

I had to make do with the mana I had now… but the knights needed time to regroup.

The first fireworks should be big, both to announce the arrival of help and to raise morale.

I brought out mana shields in both hands and applied Reactive Armor.

Using the momentum of air step, I bashed with the right shield, a huge explosion went off, and the Mantises were blown to pieces.

Then I bashed with the left shield while blasting Vernier. Yet another huge explosion went off, creating a momentary empty space without any Mantises.

“I’ve come to the rescue! Royal Shadows, the strongest soldier in the kingdom, has come to help!”

I was embarrassed to say that myself, but I needed to raise morale now… I was really glad I’d worn a mask.

After a moment of silence, cheers echoed around the area.

After that, I just had to show them how I fought. I sent the adventurers’ hand sign for “Regroup” to Captain Fagil. Even if the leader didn’t understand, someone should.

I roared at the Mantises that had gathered again.

From here on, I would fight with only air step, Vernier, and my magic weapon in energy-saving mode.

Individually, they were small fry. While I was hunting Mantises without any particular difficulty, I heard Captain Fagil’s voice.

It looked like they had managed to regroup.

I went over to Captain Fagil for a moment.

“Captain Fagil, please tell me where the fiercest fighting is right away.”

“Ah, yes. The fiercest fighting is here. Next is the lord’s mansion. However, both of your companions headed to the lord’s mansion.”

“I see. Then should I keep fighting here?”

“…”

“…?”

“…Would it be all right if I said no?”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“Thank you… We will manage here now, thanks to Royal Shadows’s help. You also defeated the Mantises outside.”

“Not at all.”

“If possible, I would like you to help the ordinary people… those who do not have the strength to fight. You, who can fly better than any of us, are the most suitable person.”

“…Understood.”

Captain Fagil looked relieved and saluted me.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mr. Royal Shadows!”

From the surrounding knights who had their hands free, countless voices could be heard: “Thank you!” “Long live the royal family!” “Thank you!” “We’re counting on you!”

Feeling a little embarrassed, I raised my hand and ran up into the sky as if running away.

With that many expectations on me, I’d have to work really hard!

Right away, I spotted a Mantis attacking a fleeing parent and child…

I threw the dagger in my right hand from the sky, and a dagger sprouted from the Mantis’s forehead.

The Mantis collapsed with the momentum of its chase after the parent and child, convulsed for a while, and then stopped moving.

I used gravity magic to pull the dagger back to me and searched for my next prey.

The parent and child who’d survived were staring up at me in the air with their mouths open… I’d better get away quickly!

As I gained altitude, I quickly found my next prey.

This time it wasn’t a person but horses. Three Mantises were swarming around a stable and attacking the horses.

I blasted Vernier and rushed into the group of Mantises.

In tight spaces, a one-handed sword is easier to use than a greatsword.

Holding my magic weapon (one-handed sword) in both hands, I swung down with my right hand, made a horizontal ichimonji slash with my left hand, and finally performed a reverse kesagiri cut with my right hand.

The first Mantis was cut through the middle of its body, and the second one’s head was cut off. The third one fell, cut halfway through its torso.

The horses were still alive, but none of them were unhurt… I wanted to heal them, but I couldn’t afford to waste my mana.

Feeling bitter about it, I ran up into the sky in search of my next prey.

And so, in the two hours after parting from El, I think I managed to wipe out all the Mantises in the town of Sandra, probably because I hunted them down one after another.

After that, all we had to do was keep wiping out the Mantises that attacked, and it should be over.

I was pretty tired and headed for the hill where the Miasma Stone was to change places with El.

I could see El, Laila and Ashera on the hill.

It happened as I approached the hill, feeling relieved.

Suddenly, my mana was restored… at that point, my mana had been at about 1/3.

That meant 2/3 of my mana had been used to hunt Mantises in the town of Sandra.

I had told myself, ‘If I shoot Condense Ray one more time, I’ll get magic drunk and won’t be able to stand up anymore’… but it was only natural that I’d get magic drunk if I recovered 2/3 of my mana.

Mana sickness gradually makes it impossible to use magic, and eventually it becomes impossible to stand.

However, that in itself isn’t immediately life-threatening.

The problem was the location. The place where I got mana sickness was about 15 meters above the ground… roughly the height of the top of a telephone pole.

In short, I could no longer use air step in midair. I tried somehow to generate repulsive force at my feet, but I couldn’t use my magic properly.

It was the first time I’d felt this since learning air step… For some reason, I wasn’t really scared of falling from this height.

More than that, I felt embarrassed that everyone was watching me.

I fell to the ground in front of El, Ashera, and Laila.

And for some reason, the moment I hit the ground, my vision was completely repainted in purple.