CH 50

I peek towards where Rihalzam ran. Should I chase him, or should I stay here and defend the camp with everyone else?

As I think, Kalin starts giving instructions.

“We are going to call those winged armored salmon sky salmon for now! Ahri and Roa, go ahead first and try to keep them in check while gauging their fighting power! Prioritize staying alive over anything else! I will take command of the battle and the evacuation of non-combat personnel. Master Rust…”

Kalin looks at me with her politician expression, and asks me with her eyes if I’m going after Rihalzam.

Letting him go now is bound to bring trouble in the future, but leaving while we have to defend could very well mean more people are going to get hurt. She’s looking at me like she’s asking if I understand this,

Her eyes help me make my decision. If there are casualties here, she’s going to bear that sadness and regret alone as the person in charge of this place. And I can easily imagine her bottling that inside while making sure no one can see it.

I don’t let her say anything else, and speak.

“I’m staying here to defend! We can deal with Rihalzam any time he decides to come back.”

“Very well. Master Rust, please get ready to exterminate the sky salmon.”

“Understood!”

Exterminate? You’re asking a lot, but I’m going to do my best to follow that order.

But then, Ahri yells.

“No! Master Rust, Rihalzam has to be killed now!”

Kalin responds with anger before I can say anything.

“Ahri, quiet! I am giving orders in battle! Fulfill your duty!”

Ahri looks down and bites her lip.

“Yes ma’am. We are going ahead!”

Ahri and Roa run, and I apologize in my mind.

I’m sorry Ahri. It’s not like I don’t trust the future you saw, but I want to stay here and protect you and everyone else in the camp.

I try to shift gears, and run towards my tent.

On the way there I look up and see the sky salmon breaking into two groups. One is descending towards the camp, and the other keeps flying, seemingly heading towards the capital.

The enemy is splitting into two groups? That’s good news for us, but why the capital?

I can see through the spaces between the tents that some sky salmon have landed and are attacking the camp. I can also see here and there Ahri and Roa fighting them.

I really don’t have a second to waste, and I have to get ready as quickly as possible.

◆◇

I’ve worked out everything I need to, and exit the tent.

Just as I exit, a sky salmon spots me and runs towards me to attack right from the front.

It’s clearly bigger than the ones we saw in the river, and part of the armor covering its body has transformed, and looks like wings from afar. I can see the glitter of magic elements on those parts.

Hmm… Is it achieving dynamic lift by capturing magic elements from the atmosphere with those parts? Interesting…

The armored salmon in front me is rapidly approaching as I think about this, but then, thorns pop out of the ground.

The thorns form a wall to protect me, and the sky salmon jumps right into it. The sky salmon’s charge was very fast and probably heavy, but the thorny wall doesn’t budge, instead smashing the sky salmon’s body and crushing its head almost completely.

The thorns raise their prickles and wrap around what remains of the monster. They tear up what’s left of the body into small pieces, and sky salmon blood and meat fall to the ground.

“Thanks Rose.”

After thanking Rose, I head towards where most of the sky salmon are, the square.