Water Magician

The Priest Graham had a sour expression.

(I didn’t think it would go this way. A magic unit that is so strong in close combat … it’s impossible to find such a unit in the Western Countries … no, it’s almost impossible to find. Scout Maurice doesn’t have good offensive strength so it can’t be helped but even Ash Khan can’t break out of her deadlock. No no, more importantly, that Princess, just what is she … able to fight evenly with Roman. Maybe she’s not a Magician but a Swordsman? … Well, that might be possible because she’s the commander. No, but she fired magic amid their sword fight so she’s definitely a Magician … I don’t think Roman will lose, but to think that all battlefronts would be in a stalemate …)

Even for Graham, the current situation was a first.

(Should I head to the front line … But, if the healer suddenly appears at the front line and is defeated, it would cause various problems … But that won’t do in this situation. I should assist. But who should I help? It is impossible to barge into the swordfight between Roman and the Princess. I would more likely be shredded before I can do anything. That said, even if I assist Maurice with that tricky situation involving that strong downdraft … I can’t think of a good way to slip past that wind. So by elimination, I guess I should assist Ash Khan with Adjutant Jurgen-dono …)

The situation changed as Graham was at a loss.

Ash Khan realized.

The <Party Haste> that was cast immediately after the start of the battle had expired.

<Party Haste> was a spell that gave a haste effect to allies within a radius of 5 meters around Ash Khan.

Once applied, the haste state would remain for a certain period even if her allies left the radius of 5 meters.

However, at present, there were no allies within 5 meters of Ash Khan.

It was no longer necessary for spellcasters who were in the midst of an artillery battle.

She wanted to cast it on Roman who was fighting the Princess, but it would be too reckless to approach.

Maurice seemed to not be able to do anything facing the downdraft, so it probably wouldn’t matter even if she had haste.

In that case, the only person who needed it was herself.

But … the Swordsman in front of her, yes, she no longer considered him as a Magician but a fearsome Swordsman.

He was said to be the adjutant for the Explosive Blaze Magician but he never let his guard down and had no openings.

Moreover, he was aiming for something.

He gave off such an air.

She didn’t know what he was aiming for, but Ash Khan felt that way from the movement of his eyes.

(I want to reapply haste on myself somehow … But if he sees an opening, he would cast magic in that split moment … Will he use a projectile … I don’t know, but I’ll keep it in the corner of my mind.)

Then, the ideal situation arose.

The moment Jurgen backstepped, he slipped a little.

(There!)

Matching that, Ash Khan also jumped backward to gain distance and applied haste before reaching the ground.

“<Haste>”

“<Mud>”

At that timing, Jurgen also cast magic.

Ash Khan expected that.

As long as she landed after applying haste in the air, she could immediately counterattack. That’s what she thought.

However, the magic cast by Jurgen, the Earth-Attribute Magician, was not offensive magic …

Zubo

The moment she landed, she realized that the ground was mud.

Both her legs were buried in the mud up to above her knees.

“Wha …”

It would not be easy to get out in that circumstance.

Naturally, Jurgen, who created that situation, approached Ash Khan and thrust his sword at her nape.

“…… I lost.”

Ash Khan admitted her loss.

The moment Graham tried to help, Ash Khan was caught in the mud and defeated.

“Impossible ……”

Graham had watched everything happen as he was about to go to help.

Ash Khan leaped far backward, and just before landing, a high-speed line ran from Jurgen’s feet and popped slightly at Ash Khan’s landing point.

And then, a small swamp appeared …

(Explosive Blaze Magician’s Adjutant Jurgen-dono … of course his magic would be top-notch too. But with this, the balance is broken … and we’re on the back foot. Now that it has come to this, I have no choice but to take a bet.)

“Everyone, we will start by crushing Maurice’s opponent, Marie.”

“I don’t mind but how? And what about the long-range attack magic from the opponent?”

Gordon confirmed with Graham.

“Aim from above. The strong downdraft hinders Maurice’s movement, but anything coming from above would be less affected by the wind. I will block the enemy bombardment. Okay? 3, 2, 1, GO!”

“<Fire Javelin>”

“<Air Buster>”

“<Stone gravel>”

Fire-Attribute Gordon, Wind-Attribute Alicia, and Earth-Attribute Bellrock bombarded Marie from above.

At the same time, Fiona’s party intensified their bombardment aimed at Graham.

“<Absolute Sanctuary>”

Graham invoked the absolute magical defense that only high-ranking priests could use.

It could be said to be the Western version of the 『Sanctuary Square』 used by the high-ranking priests of the Central Nations.

Its effect, like Sanctuary Square, prevented all magical attacks.

Since it prevented magic from outside the Absolute Sanctuary as well as from inside, it was only cast after the three Magicians released their spells.

And Marie, who was bombarded by the three of them … collapsed. She was out of the fight.

Adjutant Jurgen regretted his slow decision.

His Enchanter opponent surrendered and they finally had the number advantage.

Before he could take advantage of that and go on the offensive, Marie was defeated … and they were once again down to the same number.

After Marie, who was defeated, was judged to be incapable of fighting, she was taken to the outer edge of the training ground by a rescue platoon.

From the look of Chief Recovery Officer Finn, there seemed to be no danger to her life.

(Marie you were too careless … In any case, this is a problem. Marie’s Wind magic is easy to use even in simulated battles, but my Earth magic … would stab the opponent if I’m not careful … It’s difficult to use, but I guess it can’t be helped?)

It seemed that the Hero party had not been decided on a direction yet.

In that case, it would be better to attack fast.

Judging that, Jurgen launched three colored sand bullets that glowed blue.

Fiona and Oscar, the Fire Magicians, launched glowing bullets to relay commands, but Jurgen was an Earth Magician.

Therefore, he fired reflective sand that reflected light in blue.

Blue three.

The meaning was to move forward at maximum speed while attacking.

Under Jurgen’s command, the rearguards of Fiona’s party began to move.

And, while running, they fired magical attacks toward the rearguard of the Hero party.

Led by Jurgen, Fiona’s party’s intention was clear.

To settle with close-quarters combat except for Roman and Fiona.

On the other hand, the tactic adopted by the rearguard of the Hero party was to create a mud field using Earth-Attribute Magic, a delay tactic. In other words, to earn time.

They created a swamp to slow down the approaching Fiona’s party rearguard.

(Why are they trying to earn time?)

Jurgen couldn’t read their intention.

Fiona’s party bypassed Roman and Fiona’s battle in the center and approached the rearguard of the Hero Party from the right when viewed from above, that is, in the counterclockwise direction.

It was planned for Jurgen to join them along the way.

Under such circumstances, what were they buying time for?

(I don’t believe they are waiting for the end of the battle between Her Highness and the Hero … the fight is still balanced. If so, what …)

Jurgen looked at the battle between Fiona and Roman and confirmed that it was likely to continue.

And when his line of sight coincidentally extended beyond that …

That was where Marie and her opponent the Scout were fighting … of course, there was no one.

“Nobody is there?!”

Marie was naturally carried away but what about her opponent?

“Shit!”

Chaos began from the back of Fiona’s party’s rearguard at the same time those words came out from Jurgen’s mouth.

Maurice, the Hero party’s Scout, sneaked further behind the rearguard of Fiona’s party, which had begun to move, and attacked from there.

The Fiona’s party’s rearguard was at the height of confusion.

Second Squadron Commander Nin, who was at the rear, was unconscious by a hand chop to the neck, thus rendered incapable of fighting.

Third Squadron Commander Stock was also defeated before the other members understood what was happening.

That was a display of Maurice, the Scout’s, worth.

Her frontal combat strength was certainly the lowest in the Hero party, but such disturbances from behind, assassination, or incapacitation of the enemy from their blind spot were Maurice’s greatest strengths.

Moreover, during this time, the delay tactics of mud creation by the Hero party Earth-Attribute Magician Bellrock continued.

Aside from Maurice, who was a Scout and didn’t suffer from fighting in situations with poor footing, it was surprisingly debilitating for Fiona’s party.

Offensive spells other than Bellrock’s mud creation were prevented by the Earth wall created by Adjutant Jurgen who had joined up, but the situation was worsening.

At their feet was a swamp, and on top of that, Scout Maurice had released a smokescreen.

There were no particular restrictions on the use of items in this simulated battle.

Fighting a Scout in the smoke while worrying about their footing … it was nothing more than a nightmare.

“This is already …”

When Jurgen muttered that, the voice of Emile, the First Company Commander acting as judge, echoed.

“Stop! The match is over. The winner is the Hero party.”

Looking at the source of the voice, Fiona, who was fighting in the center, had indicated to Emile their surrender.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. If I realized the other party’s intention a little earlier …”

“No, I couldn’t afford to look around because I was so busy fighting Roman-dono. I’m unfit as a commander.”

Fiona laughed as she said that.

“Everyone had a hard time. By the way, it seems that Marie was carried away …”

“From Finn’s look, there didn’t seem to be any problems …. Your Highness?”

When Jurgen looked at Fiona, he realized that Fiona’s line of sight was locked at the top of the spectators’ seats.

“Teacher …”

Standing at the end of that line of sight was Oscar Ruska, Deputy Chief of the Emperor Magic Division.

As the Oscar descended step by step from the top of the spectators’ seats, the members of the division stood up and saluted.

That scene also conveyed to Hero Roman and his party, who were unaware of the situation, that the person coming down was not an ordinary person.

Unhurriedly, not too slowly, but not too brisk either.

While receiving the salute of nearly all 200 members of the division, Oscar arrived in front of Fiona, kneeled on one knee, and gave a salute.

“Your Highness, Oscar Ruska, has returned.”

“Welcome back.”

That was all that was exchanged, but there was a deeper exchange of thoughts between the two, which no one else could see.

However, that was a public place.

Private conversations could be done later.

“I have something to inform Deputy Chief. Here, Hero Roman and his party have been lodging since yesterday. His Majesty the Emperor permitted a simulated battle between you and Roman-dono.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Roman.”

Roman responded after Fiona’s introduction.

“I am Oscar Ruska, appointed as the Deputy Chief of the Emperor’s Magic Division. But the Hero? … I heard that the Hero of this generation was in the Western Countries. Why did you come to the Central Nations?”

“I would like Oscar-dono to give me some guidance.”

Roman’s eyes faced Oscar straight from the front. A straightforward gaze, devoid of any hesitation.

“Hmm … But I have no reason to fight the Hero. And I have a lot of work to do because I have vacated my position for a long time. Therefore, the simulated battle will have to be another time.”

Oscar turned down the battle, looking straight at Roman.

Roman was speechless.

“Please wait.”

The Priest Graham inserted a word in place of Roman, who could not follow up.

“Oscar-dono. I am the negotiator of this party, my name is Graham. Excuse me but His Majesty Emperor Rupert VI has permitted a simulated battle between Oscar-dono and Roman. I do not think it’s a good idea to reject it here.”

“His Majesty has only 『permitted』 and not 『commanded』 to fight, but if there is a compelling reason to fight, then I will be willing. Roman-dono?”

(Even this person tries to take advantage of Roman’s inexperience!)

Deputy Chief Oscar was doing what Fiona had done yesterday so Graham’s mood was souring even further.

But Graham later learned that that was not always a bad thing.

Hero Roman started talking with a stammer.

“Embarrassingly, I was completely defeated the other day. It wasn’t by surprise or deception, it wasn’t an outnumbered fight, it was a one-on-one fight. And my companions had even given me various enhancement magic. The opponent was a Magician, but my sword as a Swordsman could not even graze them. From that defeat, I wished to train myself further, so I decided to visit the Explosive Blaze Magician, who is famous in the Central Nations.”

Oscar reacted a little when Hero Roman stated that the one who defeated him was a 『Magician』. In Oscar’s mind, a Water-Attribute Magician came to mind.

“Can you describe that the Magician?”

“Of course, as much as you want after you give me some guidance.”

The Hero Roman answered Oscar’s question with a smile.

It was the Priest Graham who was surprised at that answer.

(I would never believe that Roman could give such a reply …)

Oscar’s lips tilted upward slightly after hearing Roman’s condition.

“Okay, but your side has just fought, so we will continue at one after lunch.”

“Thank you very much!”