Chapter 471: Fierce Enemies, the Imperial Soldiers

As the battle began in the deserted square, the soldiers in the area, along with Ragune, Ankh, and Zion, revealed themselves and formed a surrounding encirclement.

The Imperial soldiers, however, showed no sign of panic.

“… Moving on to the next stage of the plan.”

Instead, a short command was issued from somewhere, and the imperial soldiers on high alert instantly entered combat mode and began to chant spells.

“Hey now, I won’t let you do that!”

Ankh, with his quick reflexes, charged in at full speed toward the imperial soldiers.

He launched a surprise attack with a flying slash from his great magic sword.

Caught off guard by the unexpected flying slash, one of the imperial soldiers who was chanting spells was cut down, spraying blood.

“We’re dealing with a magic sword user!”

An imperial soldier warned his comrades.

In the meantime, Ankh immediately struck at the next imperial soldier with his great sword, but the soldier’s reaction was quick.

Closing the distance between him and Ankh, the imperial soldier crossed swords with him to block the flying slash while another Imperial soldier slipped in from the side and delivered a powerful slash to Ankh’s stomach through the in his armor.

“Guah!”

Ankh jumped back in pain.

Not willing to let him escape, the imperial soldiers pressed in for the kill, and when they were about to finish him off,  Ragune activated the ability of her prized “Mirror Magic Turtle Shield,” using it to create a barrier that blocked their advance.

At that moment, Zion slipped past and positioned herself between Ankh and the imperial soldiers, striking with the left gauntlet of her “Twin Magic Gauntlet.”

The imperial soldier easily deflected the blow.

But then,  “Gyaa!” the soldier let out a cry and collapsed to the ground.

Zion’s left gauntlet contained a dark attribute that randomly inflicted powerful abnormal status damage on enemies, and that ability had activated.

Yet, the recoil caused Zion pain as well.

Despite this, she showed only a slight grimace, appearing to be unfazed.

“Stay alert of those two’s movements.”

Another soldier among the imperial ranks gave a warning to his comrades.

During this time, the territory soldiers also began to close in on the imperial forces, attempting to surround them. The imperial soldiers completed their spell casting, unleashing their magic, which resulted in several loud explosions, blowing away several areas where the closely packed Territory soldiers had been. 

“The enemy’s formation is breaking; pursue and further disrupt their formation!”

The imperial soldiers remaining calm, trying to execute their mission efficiently, aiming to bind Aeris and encircle the allied troops without waste.

“They’re stronger than I imagined!”

Tauro was fighting while protecting Aeris but was pushed back to the point where he could hardly keep up.

Because they couldn’t grasp the distance of the short sword’s light blade, the enemy has yet to land a hit, but it was only a matter of time.

Even if the Imperial soldiers had been surrounded, they would be able to carry a captured Aeris and escape.

Even though he was also worried about Ankh’s condition after he was injured, Tauro felt he couldn’t afford to spar a thought for that right now, as he too was on the defensive.

While the fierce battle is going on, Aeris was matching the imperial soldiers equally, using her ebony staff to cast spells.

What kind of training did Aeris really go through under the guidance of the True Saint?

It was hard not to wonder, as her movements were fluid, and her combat skills had improved without anyone even realizing it.

However, even Aeris found herself at a disadvantage when surrounded by several enemies.

While Tauro wanted to come to her aid, several imperial soldiers were narrowing in on him, determined to kill him.

Each time, he sliced through the soldiers with the light blade of his short sword like slicing vegetables, cutting them down.

The leader of the imperial soldiers calmly issued commands to his subordinates, confident it was all within their expectations.

However, it was also true that they faced some unexpected difficulties and it was taking a little longer than anticipated.

First of all, the child who was with the target was tougher than expected.

We hadn’t anticipated that the child would wield a magic sword typically used by higher-ranking swordsmen, or his polished fighting style that were more like that of a seasoned veteran.

And as for the saint, we had only heard she was a village girl who had simply been adopted by a noble family. Yet, her magic was top-notch, and her combat skills and staff techniques were nothing short of impressive.

Even so, it wasn’t enough to cause panic.

The quality of the territory soldiers attempting to encircle us was as expected too.

Among them were three who seemed to be adventurers, and I was surprised at their skill at wielding magic swords, magic shields, magic gauntlets, and other magical equipment, but I managed to injure one of them and make him retreat.

At this rate, it seemed feasible to annihilate the surrounding group before capturing the saint and escaping the castle.

Just as he was thinking that…

“『Berserker』!”

Zion’s voice rang out.

She had activated the ability of her “Twin Magic Gauntlet.”

Zion transformed into a feline form shrouded in darkness and charged at the imperial soldiers.

Ragune, who had been keeping Ankh behind her, also joined in.

The synergy between these two was powerful.

Zion’s “Raging Berserker,” with its absolute attack power, thrived in chaotic battles.

In contrast, Ragune specialized in close combat using the absolute defensive power of her “Mirror Magic Turtle Shield,” alongside her magic spear.

When the attack-focused Ankh joined them, their assault became even more formidable, but even the duo alone was sufficient.

With their cheat-like strength, the imperial soldiers found one of their number quickly incapacitated, leading to two more sustaining injuries and forced to retreat, and they began to be pushed back.

Still, the imperial soldiers maintained their offense against Aeris and Tauro, seemingly unfazed by the pressure of the surrounding encirclement.

“Ah!”

Aeris was finally caught from behind by an Imperial soldier and was about to be pinned down.

However, Tauro was fully occupied dealing with the soldiers in front of him.

“Pela, protect Aeris!”

At Tauro’s command, Pela, who had been disguised as a belt to guard him, shed his disguise and attacked the imperial soldier who was trying to restrain Aeris.

Up until now, Pela had been solely focused on protecting Tauro, and had never attacked anyone—it was his first time.

Pela transformed part of his body into sharp spikes, instantly skewering the imperial soldier.

The soldier died before he had a clue as to what happened.

“Stay with Aeris!”

As Tauro caught sight of the situation from the corner of his eye, he felt assured that Aeris was safe and turned to face the remaining imperial soldiers.

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