CH 136

Please don’t be absurd. Even if you’re super strong, there’s no way you can win against that many cavalries. 」

Hearing Ardis’s declaration, the messenger soldier tried to stop him.

「If our right wing is no longer here, then it is up to here huh……」

Getting off his horse as if given up, the messenger rubbed the horse’s nose lovingly.

「Sorry for dragging you in. 」

Was it directed to the horse, or to the students, his apology resounded as he undone the horse’s harness, its armor and released it into the wild. Without caring, Ardis barged in.

「Sorry for interrupting your touching moment but, if you’re not intending to fight, then the sword you have is unneeded right? Lend it to me. 」

The sword hanging on the soldier’s waist, it seemed to be a higher quality than the weapons used by the drafted soldiers. Ardis would rather use it for his flying swords if the soldier is not going to use it. It’s a waste for it to be unused by a soldier who’s not willing to fight after all.

「Who said I’m not fighting? 」

But the soldier denied it.

「Even if we can’t match them,  I won’t rest easy unless I manage to get one hit on them. 」

Seeing the soldier saying so resolutely with his hand on the sword, Ardis withdrew his pointing chin back.

「……Then it’s fine. 」

Ardis looked at Kyrill and the others, and then faced the soldier again.

「These guys are just students. Look after them. 」

「I can’t guarantee anything but……, it’s my intention to do so in the first place. 」

Even if one soldier joined their side, the difference in power between the two sides isn’t balanced. In front of enemies that have many folds theirs, the 『One hit』 that the soldier wish to deliver is probably disappearing on the horizon too.

「Kyrill, tighten up the defense with the students and try your best. I might let some slip pass with that much of them. Don’t be careless and protect yourselves when the situation needs it. 」

After telling that to Kyrill and the other students with a serious face, he faced back to the front.

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The footsteps and trembling ground caused by the thousand cavalries on their horses had even reached to Ardis and the others. The enemy army are closing in with the ground shaking.

「They have longswords and lances. 」

The weapons that he’d obtained from annihilating the thirty scouts from before was longswords on their waists and lance they use on horseback. The blade of the lance is shaped more like a halberd, it’s a weapon emphasizing on eliminating infantry soldiers.

「The lances……, well they can be of use. 」

Ardis put the longswords and lances that had lost their owners under his control. The weapons that he managed to gather from the remains of Kingdom soldiers and the previous cavalries wave exceeded seventy, and they all rose in a smooth action, with their blades pointed towards the enemy cavalries.

They were like weapons lined up in a formation waiting to be released. But it’s still too early to use them now.

「Thou, the Valkyrie who winds precious death――Bluish joy and reddish joy, I wish for the definite folds of the miracle of fate――」

There’re only enemies in that direction, there’s no fear of involving friendlies even if he casted a large-scale spell.

「Touch and hold, tremble and shake, shoot and penetrate――show the promised path to all who follows the covenant――――Litte・Kyuol・Ro・Berne! 」 (Bow of Rainbow)

That is Ardis’s spell that had easily toppled over hundreds of beasts in Reiten defense battle. It is an art imitating the magic spell, Bow of Rainbow.

The rainbow-colored orb manifested above Ardis and expanded while revolving in the atmosphere. As waves formed on its surface, the curves turned into thin streaks of light arrows and bared their fangs.

Their targets are the approaching enemy cavalries. The arrows made of light were shot continuously from the orb, and flew in the direction of the enemies. And just before those landed, he hurled multiple fierce lumps of flames into the bunch of enemies.

The same flames that had saved Kyrill and the other students in the nick of time, Ardis had casted multiple copies of it without any chanting. While the fierce flaming tornado chased around the enemy soldiers, the light arrows made their late appearance.

「W-What is happening……? 」

「Is it Bow of Rainbow? No, it’s much grander than that……」

Although there’re surprised voices from behind, Ardis didn’t let his focus slip for a moment and continued blasting with magic. As the dust clouds settled down a little after the fierce storm had passed, the enemy cavalries’ footsteps didn’t silence.

「The effect is weak as I thought. 」

Ardis clicked his tongue.

From what he saw, there wasn’t even a tenth of the enemy soldiers who retired. Just as he felt the same from the fight with the thirty cavalries from before, he suspected they had some kind of countermeasures for magic spells.

In other words, only true physical attacks can prove effectiveness in this case. Ardis manipulated the seventy weapons that took up the frontline that was on standby, and advanced them towards the enemies.

The lined-up weapons were shot out at the same time, giving an impression of a volley of arrows, moving in straight line to the flying horses.

If the trajectory will be meddled with, he will just have to apply correction. There was a moment where he felt the resistance on the weapons, Ardis easily corrected it and manipulated the blade to fall on its target.

The enemy cavalries that had gained speed in assaulting, and the flying swords that were like a tempest without stopping. The opposing speed wasn’t like a wind spell or an arrow. The two approaching sides that are coming at each other fiercely caused the impact to be stronger.

Seeing the weapons coming but thinking that they would miss might still be fear inducing, but Ardis’s control wouldn’t miss. One of the flying swords stabbed into one of the enemy cavalry’s chest, and as if that was the signal, the other swords found their targets one after another.

The first wave of seventy weapons had pierced the enemy cavalries through their armor, and their helmet, robbing more than fifty lives in just a few moments.

「Split three ways! Surround him! 」

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The enemy commander’s voice reverberated.

He responded magnificent at the unexpected casualties. Hushed by those orders, the enemy cavalries started splitting into branches from the back into individual units.

「No you don’t! 」

Ardis targeted the front of the splitting ends. Few of the weapons became out of service from the clash just now but, that isn’t a problem at all. After all, in this place, there were more new weapons than broken ones.

More weapons are left behind on the occasion when the enemy were defeated, although the fight started at an imbalance between numbers, Ardis won’t let those weapons go to waste now.

It’s easy to manipulate the weapons that had lost their owners and loitering on the ground. In other words, the more enemies Ardis takes down, the more hands Ardis can have.

Stealing the weapons from the fallen cavalries from the first clash, Ardis used more than one-fold more flying weapons towards the left and right cavalries.

Seventy headed for the cavalries that tried to spread to the left. One of the lances among the many weapons had found itself flying towards the throat of the front runner of the cavalries.

Even while having round eyes at the lance that came his way without any user, the moment he tried to repel it with his own lance, was when he fell of the horse. The soldier that fell off the horse had his stomach ripped open, and dyed red by the blood spewing out.

The culprit――A short sword with a yellowish green blade――without getting stopped by whoever, targeted its next prey while flying low on the ground.

About eighty weapons assigned to the right. The front runners who tried to shield themselves from the flying swords were instead stabbed from the side by another lance. Of course, they were assassins Ardis manipulated with his mana.

Even if the enemy cavalries are elites, as long as they are humans, they can’t possibly defend against attacks from all four sides physically. On top of that, the strange horses that they were riding on, albeit wearing armor, they don’t have the technique to shield themselves.

With the mount bearing an injury and no longer able to run, the cavalries’ biggest weapon is lost. Certainly, the enemy is many, there’s only Ardis alone fighting against all of them, a struggle on his own truly.

But it isn’t that hard. Although he’s by himself, at the same time, it’s obvious that he’s not by himself. While defending against enemies that is approaching on both sides, Ardis had 『Skies of Myriad Colors』 in his hand while casually walking towards the enemies coming from the middle.

Two enemies assaulted with lances in their hands. With the slight delay they have, the front tried to come for Ardis’s neck first.

「Get lost! 」

Along with a shout, the cavalries thrusted the lance in a straight line without mistake to Ardis’s throat. Just before the blade reached, Ardis’s figure swayed like a leaf in the wind, and tilted away. The lance passed through by a margin of ten centimeters from his artery.

Even though it was an attack with the weight of the mount and the soldier, there’s no meaning if they don’t land. At the same time while dodging those attacks, Ardis jumped up.

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The lances that trusted at an angle downwards, tracing it backwards is the owner of the lance. Ardis who leaped upwards, and the cavalries that had dropped their speed upon entering close range showed a mysterious synchro.

From the sides, it would seem like Ardis’s body was pulled up along the handle of the lance.

「What!? 」

From the cavalry’s viewpoint, it would be like Ardis’s head suddenly dived in from the end of the lance. But the cavalry had no way to figure out the strange phenomenon, and no chance to do so ever again.

It was because the moment the cavalry came into Ardis’s range, his live was already lost. The moment when he swung Skies of Myriad Colors, the enemy head had already disconnected and flying in the air along with blood spraying.

Earlier than Ardis managed to land, the other cavalry came a slight beat later. The fact that he had pinpointed Ardis’s landing trajectory and thrusted there showed his skills.

When a human is in mid jump, dodging an attack would prove difficulties. It is because the trajectory that one will take after jumping is easy to predict, and there’s nothing they can do to change it.

If there’s no way to avoid, then defending only has a few options. Deflecting it, redirecting it, or parrying it. In any case, those methods up against cavalries that rushed in with the speed of their mounts would be impossible to execute.

The soldier had probably managed to see through the perfect timing to thrust out his lance after seeing Ardis’s feat of avoiding the attack from the front runner.

「Good judgement. 」

But, Ardis still had the composure to praise his enemy. Of course, those words wouldn’t reach the soldier. Even if they reached, he wouldn’t hear it. His actions wouldn’t change even after hearing words from the enemy, and he’s not that foolish to hear whatever an enemy might say at this occasion.

The lance and the mount came crashing into the ground where Ardis is landing.

「You’re mine! 」

Normally thinking, it’s unavoidable. But he didn’t know. Ardis is a rare specimen that is not in the bounds of that. Just a single fact, just because he didn’t know one thing, the cavalry had chosen the wrong path that would lead to his death.

「What!? 」

His pupils shaken while staring straight into Ardis’s eyes which should had been his prey. Ardis who should’ve been in his trajectory now showed irregular movements.

One meter above ground, it was as if some invisible platform was there, Ardis jumped once again. Ardis who gained speed suddenly flew up in the sky, and the cavalry’s gaze followed suit.

Ardis’s body bent like a 『く』 letter, and then turned half revolution towards him. The cavalry who was looking upwards, and Ardis who had his head turned towards the ground in the air exchanged gazes. It was only a short moment when the speed of the cavalry in a rush and Ardis’s swiftness in jumping intersected.

A period of time where even a blink is too long, Ardis had grasped Skies of Myriad Colors and swung it to the soldier’s neck without hesitation. Then, Ardis completed another half revolution, and landed on the ground softly without any sounds.

「Be careful! He’s powerful! Don’t rush in on your own, surround him! 」

As the two cavalries were done in in just a short moment, the others became even more alert. It seems like the cavalries had become so bloodthirsty for Ardis himself that they forgotten their characteristics. There’s no better scenario for Ardis. After all, the situation he would want to avoid the most here is the enemies heading towards Kyrill and the other students behind him while avoiding Ardis.

It might be alright if he cast earthen walls to protect them if the situation needs it. But assuming all the enemies can use magic, the earthen walls that are only structurally sound towards physical attacks can’t be a dependency.

If so, he just had to take all of them on. Along with a fierce will that wouldn’t let even one cavalry pass through him, Ardis didn’t spare one drop of his strength in removing the enemies ahead.

Without showing any panic at the enemy cavalries that slowly surrounded him, Ardis maintained Skies of Myriad Colors at the same level as the horizon, and slowly pointed it towards the cavalries ahead. It was just like a declaration of war between a swordsman and his enemies.