The duke and his men carried an air of certain victory.
They clearly had no idea the first wave was paralyzed and unable to move.
In fact, the third wave most likely saw the opposite situation.
To them, it probably looked like the first wave was blocking our escape route.
The duke was likely under the mistaken impression that the first wave had already sealed off the prey's path.
"Touka, can you see the man next to the duke?"
Eve called out to me.
I looked at the man.
A massive man sat atop an equally large horse.
He held a huge hammer in his hand.
He wore a helmet and full armor.
"Is that the Costello you mentioned?"
"Yeah."
Costello burst into loud laughter.
"Rejoice, Eve Speed!"
Costello swung his hammer overhead with a smug look, as if trying to intimidate us.
"His Grace the Duke will display your severed head! And he says he will raise that girl by dressing her in clothes and ornaments made from your fur and bones! Buhahaha! How wonderful! That way you can stay together with your precious daughter forever!"
"And—"
The duke continued with a sadistic curl at the corner of his mouth.
"Once I grow tired of that girl, I will immediately sell her off to a brothel! Fuhahaha! Then I'll make her wear a leopard pelt and take customers~!"
"..."
What a thoroughly disgusting way of thinking.
The duke raised one eyebrow.
"Hm? Wh-what…? Those people in purple robes lying there—are they Ashinto? And what's wrong with the soldiers blocking their path…?"
Eve stomped the ground powerfully.
I excluded Eve, who was in front of me, from the targets and activated the skill.
"[Paralyze]"
Then—
[Target count has reached the limit.]
[80/80]
The third wave's movements did not stop.
"..."
Target limit?
"――――――――"
I thought back…
I had never used it on more than eighty targets at once before.
Not during the lizardman swarm.
Not during the Black Dragon Knights.
I had never faced such a large group as a single target set.
The Ashinto had been dismounted, so I had excluded the horses when I cast it.
But when the first wave returned, I had paralyzed the horses along with the riders.
That was to prevent the horses from running off with paralyzed soldiers still on their backs.
As a result, including the horses had doubled the target count.
"I guess I really never had the chance to use it on this many people at once before…"
Some of the Ashinto were still breathing.
From what I could see, not a single person in the third wave was paralyzed.
In other words, they had been the "81st person" onward.
The limit had been reached at a very neat number.
"Damn."
Status abnormality skills.
These skills kept adding information to the display after the fact.
The MP cost had only appeared after the first use.
The target limit display probably worked the same way.
It only showed up once I actually hit the limit.
...
Were the other skills also capped at 80?
Only [Freeze] had shown its limit from the very beginning…
There were still many unclear points about how the status abnormality skills worked.
"Well, this skill is already ridiculously overpowered in other areas… I guess I'll just have to accept this kind of limitation. Besides—"
I thrust my hand forward.
"[Dark]"
My status abnormality skills were not limited to paralyze.
Costello's expression changed completely.
"Wha!? What the hell is this!? My vision suddenly—!? What did you do!? My eyes!?"
Slice.
"U, gu!? Gu, oh…!?"
Eve's blade slashed through Costello's throat.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll get a one-on-one contest of strength… Costello."
Eve declared that, then immediately leaped at the other mounted royal guards without missing a beat.
This was not a blood arena.
There was no need for a fair, head-on duel.
"Gu, gah."
Costello dropped his hammer.
Then, clutching at his throat, he fell from his horse.
I saw the color drain from the duke's face.
"Wh-what happened!? Hey, Costello! What are you doing!? Guh… did that man do something!? What!? You bastard… what the hell did you do to Costello!? And what's wrong with the vanguard!? Why are they all suffering like—?"
"Your Grace! Please fall back behind us for now! Leave dealing with that filthy beast to us!"
The duke ground his teeth.
"Don't tell me Ashinto has been completely wiped out!? Damn it! What happened to 'Please proceed north a little later. By the time you arrive, we will present you with the desired result'? I came here believing you could handle the ones who defeated the Five Dragon Warriors, and this is the pathetic sight I find!? They were completely useless!"
"Your Grace, please leave it to us and step back! And rest assured! Even if the vanguard proved utterly useless, even if some unknown fake curse-user group was wiped out, even if Costello died due to an accident caused by carelessness… you still have us, the royal guards! We will splendidly dye those foolish rebels in blood and prove our power right here!"
"Fine, I understand! Make absolutely sure you kill them! Whoever takes them down will be the next captain of the private soldiers! Damn it! That idiot Costello! Did sand get in his eyes or something!? Fool! He got too cocky!"
The duke retreated behind the royal guards as they raised their spirits and advanced.
"[Berserk]"
"Gaaaaaaaahhh!!"
The royal guard at the back of the front line suddenly attacked the comrade next to him.
"Wha!? H-hey, stop! What are you doing!? Gyaaaaahhh!?"
The royal guards, who had been brimming with confidence just moments ago, immediately lost their composure.
I had already reached the target limit, so [Paralyze] was unusable.
The standard combo was also unavailable.
But I could still fight just fine.
"Fuhahaha! If I take the leopardkin's head, then I will be the next—"
"[Berserk]"
"Gugaaaaahhh!!"
"Hiii!? What's wrong with you too!? Uwa!? S-stop! Gyaaaah!"
At first the enemy had overwhelmed us with numbers.
Numbers were important.
Above all, they gave psychological reassurance.
That was why they had not considered fleeing at the start.
That was convenient for us.
However, Costello's death and the effects of the status abnormalities had begun to change the atmosphere.
A sense of fear was starting to mix into the enemy's ranks.
"Eve!"
I raised my voice and called out to Eve, who was launching a fierce assault.
"You don't need to protect me! If anyone tries to run, kill them! Prioritize that!"
Eve picked up a spear that had fallen at her feet.
"Understood!"
She hurled the spear at a royal guard who was trying to turn his horse around.
"Gyah!?"
The impaled royal guard's body tilted.
Thud.
The royal guard fell from his horse.
"Grrr! That damn Eve! Whoever takes her down will receive a massive reward! Status and women too! Go! Kill that ungrateful trash who repays kindness with betrayal—for the sake of my honor! I won't be satisfied until she's torn to shreds! I won't be satisfied until she's ripped apart!!"
The duke roared in fury.
His eyes were bloodshot.
It did not look like the duke had any intention of retreating.
As expected, he was the type whose blood rushed to his head easily.
He was the kind of man who would fly into a rage and slaughter a prostitute just because she did not match his image.
The private soldiers in the first wave had said it.
The duke was extremely angry.
He seemed to be the type who lost his cool the moment he felt mocked.
Either way, judging by his current state, he would not retreat anytime soon.
That was perfect.
It was easier to deal with him when he was so enraged that he could no longer see what was around him.
I would let His Grace the Duke thrash about for a while longer.