Chapter 302

The magic unleashed by expending all the time they had earned together was akin to a combined attack from the entire party.

Yet, the members of Bebairire were stunned to realize it had been utterly ineffective.

“Teamwork, huh? The way everyone reacted perfectly in sync without a signal was pretty impressive. I was kinda amazed~”

“Completely… unharmed…?”

The green scarf possessed a skill called Crushing, which greatly enhanced actions aimed at crushing and killing.

Combined with a high Earth Magic level and a powerful strike backed by proven strength, it was a formidable attack.

Moreover, they had poured nearly all their Magical Power into it over a long preparation time, making it the most destructive technique their party could muster.

There had been a few instances where enemies survived taking this attack head-on, but never had anyone emerged completely unscathed.

Yet, in reality, Athena, who was even clapping to commend their effort, didn’t have a single scratch or speck of dirt on her.

Suspecting an illusion, the blue scarf turned to the white scarf, only to be shaken by her head, confirming it was real.

“Well then, my turn to strike. I’d be thrilled if you could hold out for at least ten seconds.”

“–”

“No escaping.”

“Fu– Bogh!”

The red scarf leapt forward, brandishing two swords in a V-shape, about to shout for the others to flee.

But before he could finish, Athena casually swung her right hand as if swatting a bug, activating Beast Spirit Technique and snapping both swords, which should have been reinforced to exceptional durability, in a single motion.

Undeterred, the red scarf drew a Greatsword from his back and swung it down from above, aiming to cleave Athena in two.

However, before he could complete the swing, a blow powerful enough to pierce Armor struck his chest, knocking him unconscious in an instant.

“Red! Then I’ll– Aaaaaah!”

“That Shield is in the way.”

“What!?”

When Athena kicked with serious force, the Shield shattered like thin plastic.

Despite his shock, the yellow scarf, relying on his massive frame, discarded the remains of the Shield, raised both hands to his face, and stared straight ahead.

But Athena’s figure vanished from sight– or so he thought, until the white scarf shared information via Understanding Sharing that Athena was right beside his face.

“Wha– Buho!”

“Whoops? Meant to hit the side of your face, but got your face dead-on instead.”

Due to the information shared with good intentions, the yellow scarf’s face caved in at the center, and he bounced to the left, losing consciousness.

“Yellow’s down too, huh? Then as the last man standing, I– Gah!”

“Yeah, yeah, bye-bye~”

While thinking that he should’ve attacked instead of wasting time with speeches, Athena used magnetism to anchor the Dragon Armor on her feet to the ground, landing instantly. Then, using repulsive force, she launched herself forward, delivering a Knee Drop to the blue scarf’s stomach, sending him flying and knocking him out.

Immediately, she shifted her focus to the nearest green scarf. The moment she looked at him, a spiked giant wall emerged from the ground, collapsing toward her as if to crush her.

“That won’t take me down– Hiyah!”

“What is this!? Why won’t it fall!?”

“Green!”

“Magnetism!? What’s that!?”

Athena applied magnetism to the entire giant wall and simultaneously imbued the ground beneath it with the same magnetic pole.

As a result, a repulsive force formed between the wall and the ground, counteracting the green scarf’s attempt to topple it, preventing it from falling.

While he struggled, Athena slipped past the wall’s side, approached the green scarf in one leap, and upon touching him, used Lightning Magic like a stun gun to knock him out with electricity.

Finally, the white scarf remained. She was a Dispel Magic user, a combat support specialist. Athena, on the other hand, was a hardcore combatant. With all her teammates unconscious, the white scarf had no chance of victory unless the Elite Squad watching from the sidelines intervened.

Yet, those who knew Athena’s strength merely hid and observed, offering no help.

“I surrender…”

“Well, you don’t seem like you can fight~”

Dropping her Staff and raising both hands, she stared at Athena, who had appeared before her in an instant.

“Will we die?”

“Nah, I won’t kill you. The Adventurer’s Guild told me not to kill anyone. Right now… let’s just say it’s punishment time for the foolish Lord.”

“The Adventurer’s Guild!? So, you’re here on their request?”

“Not quite. We’re–”

Athena briefly explained their situation, causing the white scarf’s eyes to widen as she realized who the true villain was, her hands trembling with anger.

“So that’s the situation. It seems we were being used by an evil organization.”

“You guys were going on about justice, so I thought something was off. How’d it come to this?”

“Well–”

The white scarf began explaining why they ended up working here.

According to her, they were told the Lord of Lyusiten Territory would fully support them to maintain peace.

Up until now, their missions had indeed been about defeating villains or monsters near the town, so they had completely believed they were allies of justice.

“Well, you were too careless not to investigate properly, but if that’s the case, I’ll go easy on you.”

“Like you did with Green?”

“Well, I don’t like being rough with girls~”

“– You truly are justice… I’m impressed. Before I’m defeated, let me tell you the positions of the remaining enemies.”

“– Oh, so that’s how you nullified my illusion.”

Using Understanding Sharing, she accurately relayed the positions of those hiding behind, unwilling to help.

With her doubts cleared, Athena felt refreshed and imbued her hands with Lightning Magic.

“Please make good use of it. – Or rather, beat them to a pulp.”

“Got it. Thanks for the info~”

“– Ah.”

Athena grabbed the white scarf’s arm, sent a shock of Lightning Magic to knock her out, and headed toward the remaining enemies she had been informed about.

***

Using Detection Magic from the sky, Cardina sensed that Jeanne and Athena were handling things fine on their own. With nothing else to do, she began targeting unoccupied areas to start destroying the castle.

This was to lure out her enemies.

As Magic Bullets struck the castle, causing damage, her prey finally appeared on the rooftop.

These were flying monsters tamed by generations of Lords and their subordinates, along with monsters brought by hired tamers from the Elite Squad.

The former were trained by tamers to obey riders, piloted by Soldiers with specialized riding training.

The latter were directed by tamers from below, who didn’t ride, as they launched toward Cardina in the sky.

The most numerous were sixteen monsters ridden by regular Soldiers: creatures resembling two-meter-tall Saint Bernard dogs with soft brown wings larger than their bodies.

These were successfully bred after a skilled tamer long ago managed to tame both a male and female, allowing their offspring to be raised by other tamers, resulting in a valuable air force.

Others included a giant sparrow and a single butterfly, and an unusual monster: a three-meter-long, segmented, stick-like creature with six lead-colored wires protruding haphazardly, which carried Soldiers by grasping them from behind rather than being ridden.

These were the flying monsters originally possessed by the Lord of Lyusiten Territory.

Additionally, the Elite Squad brought their own monsters.

A three-meter black panther with the Air Walk skill, able to freely run through the sky.

A five-meter giant beetle with two horizontal and one vertical large horn on its head, plus a smaller central horn.

An adult-sized, iron-colored Armor golem with giant wings, wielding a long, needle-like Great Spear.

These were controlled by their tamers from below via magical taming connections, without being ridden.

In total, twenty-two of Lyusiten’s strongest air forces were sent against Cardina.

“Peewee”

In a one-against-twenty-two battle, Cardina felt no threat. Instead, she wondered, (They said not to kill humans, but is it okay to kill tamed monsters?)

Unaware they were being underestimated, the Soldiers believed they could win easily with their numbers and spread out to surround Cardina.

Their coordination, honed by daily training, was impressive.

Cardina couldn’t help but let out a “Peewee” in admiration.

However, even in this situation, the three monsters from the Elite Squad sensed Cardina’s abnormal presence and chose to observe from a distance, using the regular Soldiers as a test.

“Attack–!”

The Captain riding the giant butterfly monster, positioned above Cardina, drew a Bow and fired, signaling a simultaneous attack.

The other Soldiers, slightly delayed, unleashed Ki slashes, Charges, Fire Magic flames, and Lightning Magic strikes in perfect unison.

“Peewee”

Cardina countered with Detection Magic to pinpoint all attack coordinates.

In an instant, she generated Dragon Wing Blade Magic Bullets, firing them in all directions without wasting a single shot, precisely neutralizing every attack.

“What was that– Keep going! Shoot, shoot–!”

The excessive number of attacks meant to hunt one monster was perfectly countered by an equal number of attacks.

The Captain felt a chill of unease but ignored it, relying on their numerical advantage, and pressed for a wave attack.

“Peewee”

Looking coldly at the three observing monsters, Cardina thought, “Boring attacks,” while countering the incoming assaults with Detection Magic and Magic Bullets.

Deciding that continuing wouldn’t yield interesting attacks, she fired even more Magic Bullets than her opponents, precisely targeting the dominant shoulders of the human Soldiers, piercing holes through them.

This caused over half to drop their weapons or Staffs, rendering them unable to wield them effectively.

Yet, Mages capable of attacking without weapons persisted, clutching their bleeding shoulders.

“Peewee”

Injuring monsters risked them falling, and heavy damage could lead to fatal crashes. Cardina had planned to gently shoot them down if they gave up after her first strike, but it seemed unnecessary.

With a cry, Cardina neutralized their desperate attacks with Magic Bullets while preparing a new type of Magic Bullet equal to the number of humans and monsters around her.

It was a mixed Magic Bullet and Earth Magic spell. Sharp earth clumps with barbs, connected to wires from her Item Box, were fired as Magic Bullets.

These pierced through the Soldiers and monsters, the barbs lodging into flesh, making them impossible to remove easily.

Cardina grabbed the wires with her front legs, swinging the flying monsters and humans like a morning star, aiming at the three observing monsters, but they easily dodged.

So, she slammed the nineteen humans and nineteen monsters onto the castle rooftop, knocking them all unconscious.

“Peewee–wee–”

Only you three remain, she signaled with a threatening Magic Bullet fired at each, but as expected, they swiftly dodged by moving through the air.

“That monster… its power is insane.”

“It can shoot bullet-like Magical Power with terrifying precision and use Earth Magic too.”

“But it doesn’t move much, so it might not be confident in mobility. If we can’t win with strength, that’s where we should strike.”

In order, the speakers were Mateo, the ape Beastfolk master of the four-horned beetle; Janice, the half-elf female master of the black panther; and Zeh, a male of the Seed race, half-made of minerals, master of the winged Armor golem.

From the edge of the rooftop where humans and monsters were slammed, they used the tamer skill Perfect Harmony to observe through their monsters’ eyes, strategizing to defeat Cardina. (T/N: Tatsuro and Ai has the skill too. I can’t really remember the details but the two people must trust each other very well before they can get this skill)