CH 99

“Seilook, please go up high!”

“Kyukyu.”

Seilook responds before spreading its wings on top of Hipopo’s head.

As its membranes are filled with wind, Seilook falls to the side and disappears in the blink of an eye, before passing by us and soaring up towards the sky.

I can see the enemy.

Their marching seems very systematic. Are they being commanded by something or someone? This might be bad. I guess even if they’re being controlled, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re like monsters.

The troops I see in the front are clearly soldiers from this country. The vanguard is composed of infantry holding magic guns, followed by a group of riders riding transmuted beasts.

Those are bull-type transmuted beasts… Their charge is no joke. Hn? Oh?

“Roa, do you see that? A lot of them have gaps in their equipment.”

“Yes, a lot. And something’s growing.”

“Are those black mushrooms!? The same ones that the pseudo-mole that attacked us had?”

“I think so too. Master Rust, it looks like they are being controlled by those mushrooms.”

Ahri tells me while using her future sight ability.

“I see. The mushrooms are too big to fit in their metal armor. This might be good news.”

“The enemy alchemists have mushrooms under their robes.”

Says Roa this time, using her power to see through the enemies with undamaged equipment.

“Thank you Roa. All right, here’s the plan. We are going to strike at their left flank. Just a little tap, and then we retreat.”

I want to try something I just thought of right away.

I rummage through my backpack and get ready.

The enemy is closing in on us. Hipopo changes course just as I want.

And then I hear orders given to the infantry, before a volley of magic bullets is fired on us.

The bullets vary in color. The elements of the magic guns have been changed, so this attack is meant to kill people.

Now it’s clear that their goal is to kill on sight.

I activate the scroll I was preparing. Its limiter has been removed.

“《Fixate》 magic bullets. 《Space Coordinates》, immediate activation!”

The scroll activates and manifests a large magic circle in front of us.

As the magic bullets touch this magic circle, they stop, as if frozen in the air.

This happens to all the bullets coming our way.

Hipopo moves towards the enemy’s left flank, until we are running parallel to it and so close we can touch them if we stretch our arms.

This is when I throw what I was preparing at them.

I aim at the damaged part of an enemy soldier’s equipment, and throw a potion. The same potion I used to lift Taula’s curse rains down on the enemy.