NOVEL NEXT Chapter 72
UUUUNNGH.
“Oh, OOOHH…”
“Is that… what the Mage of the Hero Party made? A Golem? Really?”
“It looks strange…”
“I honestly can’t believe it fights for us.”
Most reactions were skeptical, but overall it didn’t feel bad.
After all, the District Guard, including the Guard Captain, felt somewhat hopeful about this lifeline.
At such times, the best thing is to demonstrate performance directly.
“Rui!”
When a Magical Creature that Rapirie had tied up let out a screech, Oplite’s gaze shifted toward it.
Then, after a click of the device confirming the analysis, he slowly moved in that direction.
“OOHH.”
Seeing Oplite approach, Rapirie quickly pulled back, and the creature’s focus turned to Oplite as he neared.
—-!!
A bug-like Magical Creature, about half the size of a person.
The creature resembling a beetle charged at Oplite, clicking its mandibles.
BOOM!
Then something flashed, and with a deafening roar, a cloud of dust erupted.
“What happened… huh?”
As the cloud cleared, there stood only Oplite, majestic and unscathed.
“Crazy…”
Underneath him lay the corpse of the Magical Creature, instantly killed by a Mithril spear.
“W, WOWAAAH!!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
If there was any concern that such power could turn against them, that reaction would never have happened.
[Hey, look at this! Even if I hit it randomly, it won’t fight back at all! Feel free to take a shot if you want!]
Realizing he was a complete ally brought out such enthusiastic reactions.
Well, it wasn’t surprising.
They must have been living in a never-ending hell, with torturous battles followed by immediate shifts to fight again.
In that sense, it would be a greatly relieving and pleasing experience for the guards.
‘Hmm, we didn’t gain much from this, but it’s not bad.’
I wanted to observe more detailed movements, but the power difference led to such a swift death that there was no information to be gained.
Still, I could examine that part separately, and it was good to confirm it could be used as a key weapon against Great Magical Creatures.
“…..Hmm?”
While I listened to the cheers of others with a satisfied expression, the entire Hero Party, including Rapirie, approached me.
“Rui!”
“…..Yes?”
“I’m glad! Congratulations!”
“Yeah, well, um.”
I averted my gaze and thanked them, but Rapirie’s praise didn’t stop there.
“You’re a genius after all!”
“…..Ugh.”
Then Serelin responded.
“I always knew you were a genius.”
“……”
“Me too!”
“Sister, me too!”
“……”
Support from Ariya and Nia.
And then.
“See? Rui is a genius Mage!”
“……Stop it.”
Even Aswel.
Apart from the fact that they were praising me, there was one commonality in their expressions.
They simply couldn’t hold back their laughter.
“Puhuh!!”
“Ahahaha!!”
Ugh.
I had been trying so hard to ignore it!
After completing Oplite, I made my way into the now awkward room, trying to maintain as cold a tone as possible.
Then, after asking them for help with Oplite’s first activation, I successfully completed it.
So, shouldn’t I just let it slide?
But like this, like THIS! They were making me embarrassed!
With a flaming face, I glared at them and said,
“I-I won’t provide gear support from now on!”
“A-AHH! I’m sorry!”
“Rui is really upset!”
“I’m not upset at all!”
“I’ll apologize! This is all Rie’s fault for suggesting it!”
“Aswel?! Don’t pin this on me…!”
Anyway, Oplite’s first activation ended successfully.
After testing Oplite for a few days, it seemed ready for immediate guard duty.
As long as mana kept being charged, it could run continuously, significantly reducing the number of guards needed.
Consequently, the frequency of shifts per guard decreased, leading to an overall boost in morale.
‘Hmm, should I pause on Oplite No. 2 for now…?’
Having received such a tempting result made me consider making a second unit but soon gave it up.
In the end, the important thing was not the success of wall defense but rooting out the cause of this issue.
Now that there was extra leeway in the overall defense formation, it was better for the Hero Party to move.
“Everyone, ready?”
“Yes!”
“Yup!”
“Let’s go!”
Everyone finished their final check at the wall gate.
Considering the need to assess assaults from three directions, it could take longer than expected.
However, we decided against riding horses, due to the unknown number of Magical Creatures.
If we were to be surrounded, it would be hard to fight while protecting our horses, so it was more comfortable to leave them behind.
“Lux, you better behave and not cause trouble, okay?”
I too didn’t want to see Night Lux get hurt or die, so I patted his mane as we said our temporary goodbyes.
Woof!
Hearing Night Lux’s whinny, I waved gently at the guards who were sending us off.
“Goddess of Siege! I will take good care of this metal friend!!”
“UUUUHHHH!!”
“Huh?”
Wait a second, why is that nickname being thrown around here?
I wanted to sort out my confused feelings, but the Hero Party had already begun to cross the gate.
In the end, I followed the Hero Party while alternating looks between the guards and them, suppressing my rising anger.
New scenery began to enter my sight.
* * *
The massive mountain range horizontally encircling the Northern Region of the Empire was predominantly rugged and steep.
In contrast, the smaller Eastern Mountain Range was generally gentle in shape.
“Oh… how fascinating.”
And Wintergard, standing at the meeting point of these two mountain ranges, allowed us to indulge in both landscapes at once.
To be precise, it was three, including the massive gorge that lay between them.
Apparently, during early spring, one can witness both the eternal snows of the Northern Mountains and the spring flowers of the Eastern Mountains simultaneously, with a small river flowing through the gorge.
However, we had no time to enjoy such scenery.
“For now, we start with the Northern Mountain Range.”
Planning to deal with all three assaults, we prioritized the Northern Mountain Range, which would consume the most stamina.
In this manner, we would eliminate the causes in the order of the Northern Mountain Range, the gorge, and then the Eastern Mountain Range.
‘If things go well… we won’t need to leave Oplite at Wintergard.’
A few Magical Creatures would be sufficient for the guards at Wintergard.
“But what on earth is the reason?”
“Reason? You mean the assaults?”
“Yeah. It’s not common for different groups of Magical Creatures to attack alternately.”
“It’s almost impossible.”
As the Hero Party voiced their theories about the current situation, no solid answers arose.
I remained silent.
Ah, it wasn’t because I knew the plot of the original story and thought I shouldn’t blurt it out.
“HEHH… HAH…”
“Sister, are you okay?”
Even if I wanted to say something, I couldn’t catch my breath well enough to have the luxury.
As my consciousness started to fog, I felt my vision blur.
‘This is harder than I thought…?!’
It felt like I had to crawl on the ground to make any progress.
How the heck do others climb this steep mountain…?
“Rui. Why are you crawling on the ground…?! Aren’t you tired?”
“Isn’t one of the Royal Knights’ winter training to crawl while hiking? Why is a Mage like you doing that…?”
Strange.
My party members seemed to stand at an angle as if defying gravity.
What on earth was going on…?
Shak.
“Aswel, should I carry you?”
“No, it’s fine. Rui is light enough.”
“Huh…?”
As I was senselessly looking around, I suddenly realized I was being carried on someone’s back.
“Aswel…?”
“Ah, sorry Rui. We didn’t notice. We’re almost at the first target point, so just hold on a bit longer.”
It’s not that I felt uncomfortable.
Thump.
I quickly adjusted my sweaty hair, fearful that he might look back.
And rather than being idle, I decided to cast additional magic spells on all my party members, including Aswel.
One might think I could have cast all the stamina and strength-related spells on myself from the start.
I did.
That’s how I managed to climb even a third of the mountain.
“…..”
Anyway, once I had cast the spells on everyone, even with Aswel still carrying me, we began to move quickly.
Splash!
“Looks like we’re getting closer. The frequency of the Magical Creatures has increased.”
“Right… I can also see flying-type Magical Creatures now.”
Serelin and Ariya’s predictions were spot on.
Soon the slope started to ease, and we caught sight of numerous clusters of Magical Creatures waiting in the distance.
And behind those hordes, there was a cave that seemed to be the source of their rising numbers.
That cave was likely where the cause of the assaults lay asleep.