"Have you seen my disciple?"
It was like watching a theatrical farce: this was plainly the solemn setting of two armies facing off, where one slip of carelessness could see you swallowed up by the chaos of battle the instant it erupted—yet that air of effortless, unbothered ease could fairly be called arrogant, cold, even outright foolish.
Old Wilhelm had spent his whole life at war, and in his experience only three sorts of beings could wear such an attitude in a situation like this: the first, those with absolute confidence in their own strength or with something to fall back on; the second, those merely putting on a bluff; and the last—the Demon Race.
For some reason, the old man found himself hoping. If she were of the Demon Race, then this would be interesting—because he would beat her until she begged for mercy, and even if that begging were nothing but a false performance, he still relished the prospect of seeing such a scene.
"Disciple?"
"Green hair, carrying a red staff, a braided plait, around twenty years old."
Every soldier present, friend and foe alike, could scarcely believe their ears—leading a great host fully armed, hoisting flagpoles bearing that bizarre cross emblem, she had suddenly appeared out in the open, blocking an army on the march, and it really was just to look for a person?
What struck Ohaly's soldiers as even stranger was that the supreme commander of the vanguard, who had been observing solely from the skies above all this while—Grand Duke Wilhelm—had actually shown himself in person.
"Ah, allow me a moment to think." Old Wilhelm stroked his snowy-white beard, his brows knitting slightly, and he truly did put on the look of someone seriously deep in thought.
"We have no intention of barring your way. If I have not seen her, I will lead my men and depart of my own accord."
Having obtained the position of acting bishop from Schwenk, Nanoda had only meant to use the army to put on a bit of a show of force; she had no intention of clashing head-on. Even though this was merely Ohaly's vanguard, its scale was still three or four times that of her own side.
She had already prepared herself to come away empty-handed and turn back.
After waiting a short while, Wilhelm suddenly broke into a sly smile and gave a reply that Nanoda could not afford to ignore. "Ah, I remember now—the First-Class Mage who once stood before Lady Serie."
"What do you know?"
"Such a pity—she was killed by the King."
"And the reason?"
Hearing word of Yuna's whereabouts for the first time, Nanoda still kept her composure, unshaken by the other's words. A First-Class Mage was no roadside bug—she would not be killed off so easily.
"Oho, how very calm you are. And what if I told you further that our great King, Anhadī III, has for the time being given up on the Southern Lands and turned the spearhead of war toward the Northern, and that the very first place to be wiped out is that region called Gaderia?"
The blade swept away its rust to reveal its edge; the old man's seemingly gentle, smiling words carried a mocking undertone.
"So the beast has finally bared its fangs. Well? Do you want to kill me?" Still taunting her.
Failing to rein in her killing intent, letting it leak out for an instant—that was a disgrace for one who was an assassin.
But why, exactly, was this? Was this... anger? How long had it been since she had felt such an emotion?
"Tell me everything you know!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Nanoda drew from her leg pouch the two broken horns that served her as dagger and short blade.
"In this world, are there really so many things that can be solved by acting on emotion?"
As he spoke, old Wilhelm rapped his staff once and rose straight into the air by magic. "If you want to know it all, then catch up to me."
His answer was a single, invisible slash.
A small corner was sheared off that little tuft of beard old Wilhelm took such pride in, and the white whiskers scattered down like a drizzle of fine rain.
Leaving behind no commands at all, the commanders of both armies vanished from sight in an instant.
The New God's Faith army and the Ohaly army that had been left behind looked at one another, sharing one and the same bewilderment: was this battle still being fought or not?
Someone—no one knew who—bellowed, "Cut them down!"
And white and red became tangled together.
---------
"BOOM!" A sonic boom came rushing head-on, trailing a white prismatic glow—cruder and more violent than the Ordinary Offensive Magic that had appeared just now; it was likewise a modified version of Killing Magic—Demon-Slaying Magic.
Nanoda swung the broken horns in her hands, imbued with Severance Magic, and the pillar of magical light was cleaved in two the very instant it appeared.
As the Killing Magic, laced with the demon-extermination attribute, dissipated, a few stray flecks of white fell upon her body. Though they caused no open wound, they sent a stab of pain through Nanoda—even a body with extremely high magic resistance, one that could even absorb Mana, was not immune to this kind of harm.
"Just as I thought—you are of the Demon Race."
Wilhelm, in mid-flight, abruptly came to a halt and dropped down onto an open patch of ground below.
Nanoda followed close behind.
The two of them squared off against each other across a not-too-distant gap.
"How rare. I have never seen magic like this before."
Old Wilhelm went to stroke his beard, only to discover a corner of it was missing, and the veins on his head twitched of their own accord. "In that case, allow me to put on a display in the way you of the Demon Race like best."
Strands of hair fluttered uncontrollably, somewhat obscuring his vision; the Mana that came surging forth covered him and a small patch of the nearby area outright. Though it did not match Aura's, from a human's standpoint it was very strong—added to that was his seasoned, fluid manner of fighting, without the slightest dragging or hesitation.
"Won't you put on a display too? Your Mana, that is. If you don't get serious, you may well be killed by me, sent off to keep that disciple of yours company."
"My apologies—I prefer to take only as much as I like to use."
Having weathered his provocation, Nanoda couldn't help feeling that this wretched old codger was surprisingly full of idle chatter in the midst of combat—yet he truly was the strongest human Mage she had encountered up to now.
Her body began to draw in the Mana from all around, and the transparent pillar of light that symbolized her Mana began to swell from its original look of a slender bamboo pole, until it stood level with old Wilhelm's own standard.
"This much will do for now. If I defeat you, then you had better explain every last thing to me clearly, you wretched old codger!"
In the instant she swept her arm through the empty air, six strands of Severance Magic slashed toward her opponent from every angle, the air letting out an ear-piercing whine.
Old Wilhelm's expression turned grave; a hexagonal Defensive Magic unfolded, and six round shields of Defensive Magic precisely warded off the six slashes. The slashes scraped sparks across the Defensive Magic, and the powerful impact stirred up wisps of white smoke.
"Ho ho, you really have no respect for your elders. Still, this is more like it. Let me say it first—I happen to be an expert at dealing with the Demon Race!"
"You talk too much! This isn't what I want to hear."
In the very moment he blocked the attack, a sharp object like a keen blade appeared before his eyes—Nanoda's broken horn had already closed in on them.
"BOOM!"
A magic circle that had been hidden high in the sky all along suddenly took effect; a bolt of Demon-Slaying Magic descended right before old Wilhelm, enveloping Nanoda, who had just closed the distance, outright.
Without the slightest hesitation, the old man deftly reinforced his body with Mana and, with a single backward leap, opened up several more meters of distance again.
In the meantime, the cudgel-like staff in his hand pointed out, and three magic circles unfolded; once again three pillars of Demon-Slaying Magic came blasting down upon the smoke-and-dust-shrouded spot where she had been.
____
👻🔥+40 ch: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Naruto: Is it reasonable to beat up an Otsutsuki with Hamon, right?
Let's achieve our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 extra chapter for everybody