Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 472: A Battle on a Knife’s Edge
The imperial soldiers surrounding Tauro and Aeris were shaken by another development they hadn’t anticipated.
“A tamer? That’s a slime unlike anything in our records. Watch the monster, kill the boy, and capture the Saint!”
The imperial commander no longer saw any reason to conceal himself. He stepped out from among his soldiers and faced Tauro directly.
“You’re strong for a child. You have survived longer than expected. But you have finally revealed your last resource by sending the monster to protect the Saint. Now that we understand it, you’re no longer a threat.”
He drew his sword.
“Is that so?” Tauro replied.
He knew how dangerous the situation had become.
Ankh had been wounded and forced back. Ragune and Zion were fighting fiercely, but they hadn’t broken the imperial formation. The territorial soldiers who were supposed to be Tauro’s lifeline had been scattered by coordinated magic and sword attacks, and some were already retreating.
Viscount Musai had committed nearly five hundred soldiers to the operation. That number had seemed excessive against roughly fifty infiltrators, yet the imperial special forces were inflicting severe losses and still maintaining their objective.
The explosions had alerted nearby residents despite efforts to keep civilians away. Everyone in the surrounding district now knew that a major battle was underway.
Tauro’s confidence had been based on superior numbers, prepared terrain, and the hidden encirclement. The imperial unit had proved far stronger than he had allowed for.
“Do you still have another trump card?” the commander asked, lowering his stance. “Use it now, or you’ll be dead within seconds.”
Tauro glanced toward Aeris.
Imperial soldiers surrounded her, but Pella prevented them from closing in. Even Pella wasn’t invincible, however. It was Tauro’s strongest ally, but dividing itself between offense and defense would inevitably create an opening. That was why Tauro had ordered it to concentrate entirely on Aeris.
The arrangement protected her, but it left the commander free to focus on Tauro.
“You can’t afford to look away.”
The commander’s voice came from beside Tauro’s ear.
Tauro hadn’t seen him move.
A blade slipped through a gap in the Behemoth Leather Armor and pierced deep into his side.
“Gah!”
Tauro coughed blood as pain tore through his abdomen.
“You should call your monster back. Your life is in danger.”
The commander had deliberately avoided an immediately fatal wound. He intended to force Tauro to recall Pella, creating an opening around Aeris.
“Tauro!”
With Pella guarding her, Aeris was able to begin a healing spell. The commander struck again before the treatment could finish, opening another deep wound.
“Impressive. The Saint’s healing magic is unusually powerful.”
He continued attacking whenever Aeris restored Tauro. Tauro was being driven to the edge, but he wasn’t surviving through Aeris’s magic alone.
His critical condition had activated [Adversity Ability Enhancement], which he was applying to [Super Recovery and Regeneration]. The amplified recovery, combined with Aeris’s healing, kept each wound from becoming immediately fatal.
It couldn’t continue indefinitely.
Tauro made a desperate decision.
He withdrew [Adversity Ability Enhancement] from [Super Recovery and Regeneration], sacrificing the extraordinary healing that had been keeping him upright, and applied the enhancement to [Skill-Killing (Weak)] instead.
Normally, [Skill-Killing (Weak)] could seal only a clearly understood, specifically designated ability for an extremely short time. Tauro had already examined the imperial soldiers with [True Eye]. Under the extreme amplification of his critical condition, he attempted to extend the skill across the entire unit.
“[Adversity Ability Enhancement]—activate [Skill-Killing (Weak)] against every imperial soldier!”
The effect spread through the square.
Imperial magic failed. Physical enhancement skills vanished. Sword techniques that had been activated a moment earlier would no longer respond.
“My magic won’t activate!”
“My technique is sealed!”
“I can’t use my abilities!”
Confusion swept through the imperial formation.
The commander was affected as well.
“My eye… I can’t use it!”
His predictive eye ability had allowed him to read movements and appear beside Tauro without warning. With it sealed, his greatest advantage disappeared.
Ragune seized the opening immediately. Zion tore into the suddenly weakened ranks, and the territorial soldiers recovered their courage and began restraining the incapacitated infiltrators.
“What did you do!?” the commander demanded.
He could no longer read Tauro’s movements, but he understood that the wounded boy had caused the unit-wide suppression.
“It’s my trump card,” Tauro answered through ragged breaths.
“Break through at one point! Put the wounded in the center and withdraw!”
The commander ordered a retreat. The soldiers surrounding Aeris began pulling away to reform around the escape route.
“Letting you escape would be far too dangerous. Pella!”
Pella instantly understood.
It shot from Aeris’s side to the commander with astonishing speed. Its body swelled for an instant, then erupted into sharp spikes.
“Too fast—!”
The commander had no skill or time with which to defend himself. Pella’s spikes pierced him, killing him before the retreat could begin.
Having completed Tauro’s order, Pella immediately returned to his side.
Tauro saw it arrive, and then his vision went dark. Without the amplified recovery supporting him, his accumulated wounds overwhelmed his consciousness.
He collapsed onto Pella’s body.