Kays Translations

Chapter 39: The Black Horde

What's that sound!?

Suddenly, a noise resembling collapsing rubble echoed through the town of Tact.

"I'll go check it out."

"I'm coming too. Don't leave the house, Lauren."

Lauren nodded in agreement.

Lucius and Yuu rushed out of the house, running shoulder to shoulder down the road leading to the main street.

The usually bustling street, where townspeople would walk with smiles, was now in chaos, with people fleeing in panic.

Among them, there were peculiar figures.

Around six or seven individuals wearing black armor were wandering through the crowd. Their appearance resembled Western armor, but they carried neither swords nor shields.

"Yuu, what are those!?"

"I don't know, but it's the first time I've seen so many monsters appearing in a place with such thin magical presence."

The figures in armor constantly looked around, using their metal arms to forcefully create openings in house walls and enter inside.

Are they searching for something?

Each armored figure that walked along the main street broke through walls and disappeared into houses. In their place, another figure emerged, dragging what appeared to be lifeless bodies.

Are they attacking people too?

The damage will undoubtedly escalate if we stand by.

"Yuu, let's split up and take them down."

"Agreed."

They exchanged glances and dashed off in different directions.

One of the armored figures, seemingly reacting to their movements, approached Lucius.

"Come at me!"

Lucius swiftly unsheathed his sword, concentrating light on it.

As the figure approached, it reached out its right hand, but its movements were sluggish.

Lucius swiftly cut through the extended hand.

"There's nothing inside..."

The severed gauntlet was empty, as if only the armor was walking.

Unfazed by the pain, the armored figure used its remaining left hand to grab Lucius once again. However, its movements were not swift.

"You're too slow."

Lucius evaded the left hand of the armor and bisected it with his shining sword.

The armor split into two with a clattering sound and collapsed.

Then, the fallen armor vanished as if it were an illusion.

"The corpse disappeared?"

Sensing the magical power of the enchanted sword, more armors that were scattered throughout the town began gathering around Lucius.

With a creaking sound of armor rubbing against armor, around twenty figures emerged from broken walls, the depths of the street, and rooftops.

A few of them seemed to be engaged in battle with Yuu.

When one figure suddenly started running, the others followed suit.

Numerous armors swarmed Lucius at once.

"They're coming!"

Lucius was immediately engulfed by the swarm of black armor.

After covering Lucius, a black mass wasformed by the armors, like ants converging on sugar.

"Lucius!"

Yuu's voice echoed.

Yuu quickly gripped his greatsword and rushed to rescue Lucius.

As he was about to swing his sword, something shot up from the top of the mass.

A small black sphere.

"What is that?"

Despite the absence of wind, a gust blew violently.

The sphere sucked in the surrounding air, rubble, and armors one after another.

After engulfing the swarming armors, it paused for a moment and then scattered the remnants of black armor in the surroundings.

Underneath it all was Lucius, crushed and in disarray.

"Are you alright!?"

"Yes, I cleared them out with the Dark Obliteration technique."

Yuu glanced at the scattered remains around him.

"...I see."

Then, the scattered armor fragments around him quickly disappeared, as if they never existed.

Lucius stood up, brushing off the dust from his clothes.

"What is this?"

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it."

There was no magical presence in the surroundings.

For a brief moment, they thought the immediate danger had passed, but the screams of the townspeople reached their ears.

"They're coming from over there..."

"Aren't the soldiers coming to help!?"

"They're coming from the direction of the Lord's city."

"Don't run away, fight! Yuu is in this town!"

The townspeople were thrown back into chaos.

When they turned their gazes towards the city gate, they saw another horde of armors advancing from the main street.

"That's the direction of Olivia's castle."

Lauren, who had overheard the voices, also appeared.

Lauren, I told you not to come out."

"I was worried about Yuu-san and Lucius-san..."

Lucius sheathed his sword and retied his shoelaces tightly.

"What are you planning to do, Lucius!?"

"I've defeated the armors in this area. I'm heading to help Olivia now. Considering the direction, the Lord's city might be under attack."

"Alright, then use my gate. Defeat the surrounding monsters as you make your way there, but don't push yourself too hard."

"Understood."

Lauren sent worried glances at the two, and Yuu reassured her.

"I'll be back soon."

Lauren nodded silently, then held Lucius' hand.

"Please be careful, Lucius-san."

"Don't worry, I know."

As Yuu clasped his hands together, space warped, and a gate opened.

"You can't be teleported to the Lord's mansion. This is as close as I can get you."

"That's fine. I'll head there now."

Lucius jumped into the gate.

The scenery changed drastically, and he emerged alone in the middle of a tea plantation, dyed in an unnaturally bright red hue from the sunset.

He quickly noticed that the red glow was not only from the setting sun.

"The town..."

The city where Olivia's castle stood was already engulfed in flames.

Fires were rising from every direction, and cries of agony and anger could be heard even from a distance.

At the same time, intense flashes of light could be seen from the edge of the castle walls.

――Is that where?

Olivia crossed the sky riding her griffon, radiating a brilliant light.

"We're safe now."

The girl riding the King's beast shouted.

It was Olivia.

The cow-like beastman among the soldiers, who was in charge when Lucius first visited Olivia, overflowed with joy.

――The Griffin's daughter.

As Lucius sliced through several armors, he ran toward Olivia.

Despite her spirited shout, her complexion was so pale that she could collapse at any moment.

It seems that Olivia has been using too much magical power.

"Olivia!"

"Lucius... You came."

Olivia's tense face slightly relaxed, as if relieved.

"Are you okay!?"

"Yes, I pushed myself a little too hard... it seems."

Olivia had made a contract around the same time as Lucius.

The assimilation of magical power with the griffin hadn't progressed much yet.

That's why Lucius hadn't manifested the evil dragon.

However, Olivia had seemingly manifested the griffin for an extended period of time, despite the limited assimilation of magical power.

Lucius supported Olivia's shoulder, which was about to collapse from the griffin.

"Rest, Olivia."

Even so, he didn't make the griffin disappear.

"No... that won't do. The people will become anxious..."

Behind the soldiers was a gate.

Further beyond, the citizens gathered in the castle courtyard, watching the girl as if seeking her support.

They had no ruler to serve and had received no proper training. They relied solely on the griffin for support.

If the griffin were to disappear, the panicked citizens would lose their support.

Under normal circumstances, it might be different, but in the current situation, a wrong decision could cost many lives.

Lucius gently placed Olivia's hand, which was leaning on him, on the griffin's neck.

"Understood. I'll finish this quickly."

Olivia, who was merely clinging to the griffin's neck, weakly smiled.

"Yes... please."

Lucius tightly gripped his sword.

"I will fight alongside you."

The cow-like beastman, the leader among the soldiers, and a few others who could still move stood beside him.

However, they were already covered in wounds.

"Please protect the rear and the Lord's guard."

"But this is our homeland. We want to protect it."

There were things they wanted to say.

Why couldn't they trust the new ruler when they had their own thoughts?

Why hadn't the other soldiers undergone proper training?

"...If you want to protect Tact Territory, you should know what needs to be done now. Who should be protected."

The soldiers looked at the blue-haired girl, biting their lips.

And without a word, they surrounded Olivia.

Lucius poured a large amount of magical power into his sword, turning twilight into daylight.

As he held his sword, the horde of armors that had been wandering the town rushed toward him.

――There are around a hundred.

Several armors that were close enough quickly closed the distance to Lucius.

He slashed.

And slashed again.

And slashed even more.

The monsters relentlessly reached out for Lucius' enchanted sword, regardless of their own injuries.

――Are they drawn to the enchanted sword?

He slew all the armors that had entered his range.

Lucius took a breath, then infused his left hand with magical power, creating a black mass before the next wave arrived.

The black mass transformed from a shadow into a sphere and began engulfing its surroundings.

"Abyss Black."

He hurled the black sphere toward the horde.

The sphere, drawing an arc, landed on the ground and rapidly began sucking in the surroundings.

Unbothered by the sense of danger, the black shadows continued to approach Lucius as if attracted to the light, just like insects drawn to a flame.

And one by one, the armors were swallowed by the black shadows.

It was a grotesque sight.

――As if they were puppets.

After engulfing most of the armors in the vicinity, the Abyss Black burst open, spewing out a large amount of scrap metal.

"Hah... Haha."

A dry voice leaked from the soldiers behind him.

Everyone was astonished, staring in disbelief.

Looking around, Lucius caught sight of a black tsunami approaching from the main street, leading to the neighboring Honogura Territory.

"...They're still coming."

Localized battles were futile.

Lucius sent a glance to Olivia, who was desperately maintaining consciousness behind him. Olivia nodded slightly.

"Come!"

Lucius summoned the evil dragon.

As soon as the black particles took shape, the evil dragon opened its mouth wide, spewing forth flames.

However, it didn't release the flames immediately; it concentrated them.

Perhaps due to the distance, it intended to gather power before unleashing the attack.

The intense heat overflowing from its mouth made Lucius and the soldiers involuntarily grimace.

On the contrary, the evil dragon seemed delighted.

Unlike at Mount Kuroon, where it faced a formidable enemy, the evil dragon was filled with joy, even though it was clearly inferior.

The evil dragon enjoyed battle.

However, it usually showed no interest in inferior opponents.

The fiercely refined inferno dispelled Lucius' doubts as it was released.

The incredibly intense heat and the dazzling brilliance caused the monsters on the main street and the ones on the road beyond to disappear in an instant.

"..."

The soldiers and citizens behind him were left speechless.

Some people seemed unable to stand and sank to the ground.

Only red-hot molten rock remained, making it hard to believe that people had been walking there.

Along with the flames that engulfed everything, the magical power emitted by the armors covering the sky also disappeared.

As if witnessing it all, the griffin vanished, and Olivia was thrown to the ground.

"Olivia!"

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