Chapter 298: The Start of a Battle

Chapter 298: The Start of a Battle

We got ready to launch our pre-emptive strike as we watched the army of monsters beneath us.

“Alright, I’m ready. What about you, Fran?”

“Also ready.”Alll latest novels at novelhall.com

“Woof!”

There wasn’t much holding us back now that all three of us had gotten our preparations in order, so we had Fran give us the signal.

“Awakening!”

All three of us began raining spells down on the army the moment Fran awakened. The battle was sure to be a long one, so we didn’t go as far as activating Brilliant Lightning Rush. Its suicidal downsides made it difficult to use given the circumstances.

“Ekato Kernauros!”

“It’s showtime! Kanna Kamui!”

“Aroooo!”

Fran’s thunderbolts, which rained down over a wide area, caused rampant destruction. The monsters subjected to the attack howled in pain as their bodies were torn apart by the magical lighting. Likewise, my Kanna Kamui, which had landed right in the middle of the vanguard, swallowed well over a hundred monsters, ending them before they could even make a noise. Urushi, the only one of us not to cast lighting magic, had gone with a bit more indirect approach. He had unleashed a toxic mist into our surroundings, one that caused the monsters that inhaled it to convulse as they were subject to an intense pain.

“Gyaaaoooo!”

The monsters began to howl and squeal in confusion as they attempted to figure out where the sudden attack had come from. Confusion quickly spread through their ranks. Operation Pre-emptive Strike success.

“On with the plan!”

“Nn!”

Urushi began running in circles above the army as I pulled rocks and trees out from my inventory and dropped them on the monsters below. Likewise, Fran also followed up by firing magical, flaming arrows.

It was so potent, in fact, that it was even capable of damaging Fran should she inhale it. Fortunately, the wolf was prudent enough not to fire it off in her direction, and I covered for him by using magic to send anything that did drift over away. Of course, it was still a bit risky nonetheless, but we didn’t have the liberty to really care. We had to exterminate as many monsters as we could as fast as possible.

“Haaaaah!”

“Thunder Web!”

“Woooof!”

And so, the battle continued. We were surrounded on all sides, but we kept slaying our enemies nonetheless. Our methods were effective. The army had halted. It stopped advancing in order to focus on moving us out of its way. They only ever moved past us in order to better surround us. Thank god.

The only problem was that casting spells nonstop had taken quite a toll on my mana. We would soon have to shift into a different style of battle.

Of course, I had been making liberal use of Magic Absorption. I wrenched everything I could from our enemies each time my blade struck them. But it still wasn’t enough. My consumption far outweighed my intake.

“I’m going to stop casting for a bit and focus on support instead.”

“Nn.”

I continued to drain everything she slashed of its magic each time she swung me. It would take a good bit for me to recover all my mana given the weak nature of the monsters we were currently locked in combat with, but it would eventually recover. And that was what mattered. Losing time was something that just couldn’t be helped.

We had to be at our best if we wanted to be able to take down the army’s more powerful members.

The monsters began to approach with more vigour when they realized that they were no longer going to be pelted with spells on their way in. But even so, Fran remained unharmed. The weaklings before her were simply unable to cause her any damage.

“You holding up okay?” Still, I was concerned. The catkin was unharmed, and I had been restoring her stamina with my magic throughout the battle, so I knew that she felt no real physical load. But the same couldn’t be said for her mind. She was sure to grow tired eventually, and there was really nothing I could do about any sort of mental fatigue.

“Nn. Fine.”

Her reply, however, indicated that my worries were needless. I could tell that she wasn’t just putting up a front, that she was actually perfectly okay. As far as she was concerned, taking down the enemies that had appeared before her was as easy as a walk in the park. Wow. She really has grown. This kinda thing used to exhaust the hell out of her back when we were helping Jean raid that one dungeon.

Of course, a walk in the park was still a type of exercise, and Fran had indeed accrued a slight bit of exhaustion. Her breath had started to get ragged, but that was basically it.

“We’ve still got a ton of battles lined up for us, so don’t push yourself too hard just yet.”

“Nn!”