Volume 6 - CH 14

Chapter 14 – Eto’s Suggestion

“My aim is to bring the second gate to get under our control as quickly as possible and minimize the sacrifice of the hostages. To achieve that, I propose to form three new special units.”

Eto then began to talk about the strategy to capture the fort that he had in mind. It was a strategy that made full use of his own support magic, centering on Ronaldo’s and Mirei’s skill. And he decided to show the effect of his support magic to the Commander and Captains who are doubtful of its power.

The first special unit proposed by Eto are the twelve elf archers with the addition of Sorano. The members who were attending the strategy meeting were taken to the outskirts of the camp. He also asked Sunny and the elves to join them.

“Sorano, how long do you think the distance from the top of the cliff overlooking the southern fort to the second gate is?” Eto asked Sorano.

“It’s about a thousand meters. It’s like the distance from here to… that cedar tree that you can only see at the top.”

“Well then, I’m going to cast support magic on you, so try aiming at that tree.”

“Understood.”

Sorano nodded as if it was a usual occurrence. Meanwhile, the elves, who were listening to Eto, stared at Sorano with dubious expressions.

“Sorano, my sister, I know that you are a talented archer. However, that cedar tree is too far. How can you aim at it? Or do you perhaps have a special attack method?” Sunny asked on behalf of everyone.

“There is no such thing. I will just shoot an arrow to that cedar tree.”

“Like I said, there is no–”

“Shut up and see.”

Sorano casts a physical strengthening buff on herself before making a stance with her feet. Then, Eto added another physical strengthening buff and enchanted her arrow with wind magic.

As the preparation finished, Sorano slowly brought her bow and an arrow over her head. She then aimed her left hand toward the target and pulled the bow with all her might and lowered her hands. When both of her arms were in the shooting position, silence engulfed the area.

And at the next moment, with a light squealing sound, the arrow shot by Sorano flew toward the cedar tree in the distance. The wind magic applied to the arrow wrapped around it, minimizing air resistance.

“Mu, the arrow speed doesn’t drop?”

Sunny is staring at the flying arrow. The other elves also have serious expressions. The arrow continued to fly straight as if tearing through the air, and then hit the tip of the cedar tree.

“Oo!!”

The voices of surprise and admiration leaked from those who were there.

“That’s my support magic. I want the elves to attack the enemy soldiers on the walls of the second gate. Can you all do the thing that Sorano had just done?”

Those words seemed to fully stimulate the pride of the elves. Every one of them showed a warlike smile and asked Eto to let them try it too.

Although the Commander and Captains were skeptical about Eto’s support magic at the strategy meeting, the demonstration in front of them seemed to have earned some of their trust.

Next, Eto brought the group to the horse field in the camp where the battering ram was placed. As they arrived, Eto saw a metal-reinforced battering ram on the side, and a wooden wall for training at a distance.

“Sorry to keep everyone waiting. You’re from the battering ram units, right?” Eto asked the knights in that place.

“Yes, that’s right. We were ordered to wait here.”

The Captain of the unit replied.

“Ee. I was the one who asked you to. I’d like you guys to try my support magic with my party member, Amou.”

“Support magic?”

“Yes. Proof is better than theory. So, let’s try it on that wooden wall.”

“Haa, we can try it, but even if the strength of one person increases, the destructive power of the battering ram won’t be increased dramatically, you know?”

“Ee. But you’ll never know unless you try it, so please.”

“Yes…”

First, Eto had the Knights attack the wall alone. He didn’t cast any support magic on them and asked them to move as usual. As a result, the wooden wall that was hit by the battering ram trembled violently with a loud noise, but it didn’t seem to be particularly damaged.

After that, Eto cast Strength buff on top of their own Battle Spells. In addition, he also casted Earth magic – Hardening the battering ram. It is the most basic magic that hardens the object.

“Well then, please do it again.”

The members of the battering ram unit didn’t seem to understand what they were trying. So, they just hit the battering ram against the wooden wall, as Eto told them to.

Then, an explosive sound that has never been heard before reverberated throughout the horse field. Because of the sound, the horses in that place neighed in surprise. Meanwhile, the Knights who made that noise didn’t seem to understand what had happened.

“Let’s do it again, everyone! Come on, quickly!”

When Eto said that, the Knights looked at each other and struck the battering ram against the wooden wall again, generating another explosive sound. This time, the surface of the wall that was struck by the ram cracked, leaving a clear mark of the battering ram.

“Amou, join them. It seems matching the timing is important for this.”

“Aa. Leave it to me.”

As Amou joined them, the position was changed. Now, Amou was on the right side of the front row, and Taro, the largest Knight in the battering ram unit, was on the other side of Amou, to match the body size of Amou.

Along with a light shout, the battering ram hit the wooden wall. In just the first try matching their timing, the wooden wall was distorted and stuck in that condition.

The Knights couldn’t hide their excitement on their faces, as if thinking that they, who haven’t been very useful, suddenly gained a great power.

“I want to do my best for the next blow.”

Amou looked over the Knights, and every one of them nodded with determination.

“Let’s show them our power!” Taro shouted.

“Oo!”

Then, the next blow that they did with all their might easily broke through the wooden wall and even smashed the thick stakes that supported it.

When Eto used his support magic on the elf archers and the battering ram, the Commander and Captains were surprised at the magnitude of the effect and finally became enthusiastic about the operation. After that, the group returned to the tent and listened to Eto’s speech.

“The confirmation of the support magic for the elf archers and the battering ram units plus Amou is over. The last is the assault unit responsible for capturing the second gate. Before that, regarding destroying the gate, can I ask Ronaldo-sama and Mirei-sama?”

Eto’s suggestion was based on the premise that Ronaldo and Mirei had the skills to destroy the gate with a single blow.

“Aa. No problem. We also don’t need support magic.” Ronaldo said.

“When you cast it on me before, it wasn’t very effective. Maybe it is less effective for those who originally have high fighting power?”

Mirei also seemed skeptical about the effect of support magic.

“I’ll leave it to you to decide whether to use it or not.”

Unlike when he was still in the Hero’s party, Eto now didn’t seem to care and left the decision to the two.

“Eto, please cast your support magic on me. You’re going to join the assault unit, right?” Lana said.

“Aa, understood.”

“Since this is a rare chance, can you cast it to us too? Eto-san also said that you will never know unless you try, after all. How is it, Ronaldo-sama?”

“I don’t really mind. Do whatever you like, Mirei.”

“Well then, please, Eto-san.”

“Yes, understood.”

The detailed strategy is like this. After the destruction of the first gate, Lana, Kohaku, Narl, Nii and six Knights’ scouts will run through the connecting passage to the second gate. This unit has the fastest possible members. Eto also plans to give them Haste, Strength, Protect and Shield buffs.

The Commander, Captains, and members of the Hero’s party who witnessed the effects of Eto’s support magic seemed to have already decided to carry out the operation. The talk was so smooth that Eto wondered if it was a trap.