Chapter 87

GW.

"Pointing weapons at the master and forming a line... Oh, how foolish."

Anko, who had been summoned, muttered these words in front of the four thousand soldiers. Her voice was gentle, as if pitying the dying.

"Let's go."

Without much further instruction, I gave the signal to start the operation.

Then, Anko suddenly used *Dark Transfer* to teleport right into the middle of the enemy formation. Any shadow within sight was a potential target for this transfer.

"---What...!?"

The soldiers of the Kingdom of Kamel were shocked and flustered. Of course, they would be. A woman in black, who had been far away in the enemy ranks just a moment ago, was now right in front of them.

"Foolish humans."

Anko muttered something and transformed on the spot with *Dark Transformation*.

The darkness dissipated, revealing a large black wolf, about two meters tall. The soldiers must have felt a sudden chill.

"It's a monster—!"

Why was there a monster here! Confusion spread, and then—

"Do not falter! Surround her! The advantage is ours!"

They made their move. They surrounded Anko and charged with their spears, aiming to impale her.

Dozens of spear soldiers simultaneously thrust their spears into the wolf form of Anko. Was that *Silver General Spear Technique*? Well, it doesn't matter. Because...

"It doesn't work, you know."

I couldn't help but mutter, watching from a distance. I felt a bit of sympathy for the soldiers of the Kingdom of Kamel.

Why it didn't work. The reason is simple. "In wolf form, all physical attacks are无效; in human form, all magical attacks are无效." This is the basic strategy for dealing with the Dark Wolf.

"Ugh, unharmed...!?"

The battlefield was in chaos.

The supposedly fatal attacks on the suddenly appearing monster had no effect.

There was nothing they could do—so the soldiers must have thought.

"!"

Immediately after, Anko made a motion as if drawing a breath. That was *Dark Roar*, a wolf-form exclusive skill, a long-range attack with both magical and physical attributes.

If they were to counter, they would need to avoid it. But what would they do?

"Something's coming!"

"...Retreat!"

They seemed to be retreating. Hmm, the right choice.

"!"

From Anko's mouth, a sinister dark mass burst forth. Anko deliberately aimed it "upward." It seemed she was playing rationally.

"Ah, ah, ah!!"

The soldiers of the Kingdom of Kamel were trembling pitifully. On the other side, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Castel were also quite frightened, but... well, it's fine.

"Alright, it's my turn."

Seeing the soldiers of the Kingdom of Kamel start to retreat, I activated *Spirit Summoning*.

"(Possession)"

"(Mm, as you wish.)"

Before Angolmoa and Anko started fighting, I quickly ordered *Spirit Possession*. Immediately, a rainbow aura exploded.

"Oh...!?"

From behind me, the murmurs of the border lord's soldiers could be heard. It was probably their first time seeing *Spirit Possession*. I understand, I understand, it's really cool. I was also captivated when I was a beginner.

"It's a drive-in hunt."

"(I see. My blood is boiling!)"

Sharing thoughts with a sense of unity, we sprinted. Our target was their flank. With high-speed movement leaving afterimages, the distance to the enemy soldiers quickly closed.

"Sorry, but if you die, it's on you!"

After a brief warning, I prepared *Dragon King Sword Technique*... and exactly four seconds later, I drew a line just next to their flank.

"Yosh!"

A shockwave roared through the ground, and dirt and sand shot up like waves hitting a rock.

"Ah!?"

Some of the enemy soldiers, too frightened, fell on their butts.

When the dust settled, the gouged ground formed a perfect straight line. This was a warning. If they stepped outside this line, their lives would not be guaranteed. As expected, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Kamel continued their desperate retreat, moving away from the line.

"What is this! What is this!?"

They were no longer in any shape as soldiers. However, they were soldiers, after all. Their formation was not completely broken.

"---Hehe. Welcome."

Before they knew it, Anko, who had completed *Dark Transformation* and returned to human form, teleported right in front of them with *Dark Transfer*.

...Despair, perhaps. At that moment, the soldiers' feet came to a complete stop.

"Come forth, Black Flame Spear."

Anko's *Dark Summon*—the summoned spear was about three times her height, a massive weapon. Even I would have to accept defeat if it were used against me. In other words, Anko was now in "Ultimate Mode."

"Hehe..."

With a gentle smile, her eyes narrowed to slits, Anko wielded the large spear as if it were a mere stick. Black flames burst from the tip of the spear, creating a range of over ten meters, and still, she launched devastating attacks beyond that range.

Dirt, rocks, tents, and even defensive walls were reduced to ashes. With a single swing of the Black Flame Spear, the area turned into scorched earth.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh!"

The soldiers could no longer maintain their formation.

It was a retreat, no, a desertion. Having completely lost their will to fight, they turned their backs on Anko and scattered.

"Not so fast."

I wouldn't let them go. I enveloped them and unleashed *Dragon King Sword Technique* in front of them. Seeing the explosion of dirt and sand like a geyser, they were forced to change their direction, crying.

With Anko in front, me on the left, and the Steam Border Lord's army behind, they would inevitably flee to the right.

"I will not allow it."

Anko teleported to the right with *Dark Transfer*.

"Please, have mercy!" I could hear the soldiers' thoughts.

With no choice, the soldiers fled to the front, where Anko had been just a moment ago.

"Not so fast, you fish balls."

I prepared *Dragon King Bow Technique* and fired it to land right in front of them.

*Dragon King Bow Technique* is a skill that performs a powerful area attack at the impact point. The preparation time is 6 seconds, which is quite long, but the range and power are excellent. It's a very specialized *Bow Technique*.

Boom! The ground shook and trembled as if a bomb had fallen. The impact point of *Dragon King Bow Technique* was gouged out in a circular crater.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh! What the hell is this already!!"

The drive-in hunt was a well-chosen term. It was exactly that situation.

For a few minutes, Anko and I surrounded them from all sides, playing with them like a ball.

At one point, I saw the silhouette of enemy soldiers approaching. They were cavalry. Finally, they came! Since Anko's strategy was impossible, they aimed to break through me.

Indeed, I was no longer in *Spirit Possession* and was in my human form. Visually, I looked like a normal person. "I can beat this guy," "He's better than that monster," they must have thought.

"Too bad! Transformation!"

Just as the cavalry was about to make contact, I activated *Transformation*. Using the 8-second invincibility of the *Transformation* skill, I repelled the cavalry, sending them flying off their horses. Most of them fell and were no longer functional as cavalry.

However, I couldn't stop their reinforcements. I was quickly surrounded by enemy soldiers.

"Ora!"

With 8 seconds of invincibility, 6 seconds to complete the transformation, and 2 seconds to move freely—this is the essence of the *Transformation* skill.

I ran up to the remaining cavalry, blew them away with a full smile, and then fired the *Infantry Bow Technique* and *Fire Attribute - First Form* combined *Magic Bow Technique* I had prepared 2 seconds earlier, sending a "signal." Then—

"Welcome, Master."

She was summoned into her chest with *Dark Summon*.

The soldiers surrounding me must have thought, "Oh!" It was a kind of illusion.

"...Well."

The enemy soldiers, who had fled in fear of Anko, were quite far behind. We were facing away from them. The reason was...

"I heard it."

Listening closely, the sound of thousands of military boots and the clinking of armor echoed from the darkness.

Ambush—reinforcements from the Kingdom of Kamel.

Their numbers, according to Winfield's estimate, were between eight thousand and ten thousand.

"Please leave it to me."

Anko smiled genuinely and put away the Black Flame Spear.

In the rear, the torches of the Kingdom of Kamel's formation and the moonlight faintly revealed their full appearance. The reinforcements were lined up, ready to surround us.

A chill ran down my spine. No matter what, being surrounded by this many was tough. Instinctive fear welled up inside me.

"Let's go."

Anko said only that, stepped forward without hesitation, and teleported with *Dark Transfer*.

The reinforcements must have been confused. What was a single woman going to do against ten thousand soldiers?

And... their plan to ambush us from the darkness was about to backfire.

"Hehe, hehehehe! Ahahaha! Ah!"

A loud, almost seductive laugh echoed.

Instantly, a pitch-black, extremely evil "mist" spewed from Anko.

Suddenly, my heart tightened, and my body stiffened. My brain, which had deeply understood the danger of that *Magic*, subconsciously went on alert.

*Dark Magic*... anyone who touched that dark mist had their HP forcibly reduced to 1.

The fear. Their fear. It must have been unimaginable.

In the darkness, the laughing woman and the suddenly appearing mysterious black mist. Without being able to gauge the distance to the neighboring soldiers, their HP suddenly dropped to 1—

"Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh!"

Panic.

The *Dark Magic* might have only affected a few hundred to a thousand soldiers in the front row. But that was enough to plunge them into the depths of fear.

No, it wasn't just panic. With their HP at 1, any rough handling would result in death.

Falling and dying easily. Soldiers, desperate to escape the monstrous fear, collided with those moving forward and died right in front of them. Such abnormalities must have occurred all over the formation.

Some were seen calmly drinking potions to recover. But a potion that could instantly restore a soldier's HP from 1 to full would be extremely expensive and not distributed. There was no time to wait for a healer to arrive, and the only option was to drink multiple cheap potions. By the time they barely recovered to half health, their morale was shattered, and they were in no condition to fight.

"Retreat!!"

Thus, in the darkness, fear and confusion spread, and the Kingdom of Kamel's reinforcements, with many near-dead and not a few dead, were forced to retreat early.

The cooldown for *Dark Magic* is 3600 seconds. It couldn't be used for another hour, but the enemy commander had no way of knowing that. The thought of when the terrifying mist would come again made them flee.

"Oh, how cute. Look, look, run more."

Anko summoned a shadow staff with *Dark Summon* and swung it wildly. The gravel that was deflected flew at terrifying speeds, hitting their armor. The sound of Anko's voice, the flying gravel, and the swinging staff must have been terrifying to them.

"Time to go."

Seeing the entire reinforcement force start to retreat, I signaled Anko. In the next instant, I was inside her chest. Uh... this is awkward. Well, it can't be helped.

"Watch closely!"

I prepared the most noticeable *Magic*, *Lightning Attribute - Fifth Form*, and fired it just behind them. The Fifth Form flew like a missile and hit the ground.

Crack, crack, crack! Lightning raged like in a cumulonimbus cloud. Despite the night, the area around it flickered with strong light, and a loud explosion echoed.

The enemy army focused their attention. I took a deep breath and broke the silence.

"It's the Second Fastest! Don't forget my name, you bastards! If you try to get cocky again, I won't let you off easy! I know about Calamaria too! Tell that shit god not to underestimate me! Get home and suck your mom's tits! And return the prisoners, you moron!"

"...Sir Second, are you perhaps going mad?"

"Rude, you!?"

Everything was over. The first thing the Steam Bitter Valley Border Lord said was a half-smiling insult. But I don't hate him.

"Just kidding. I underestimated you... but now I'm embarrassed."

"Yeah, well, if you're embarrassed, be more embarrassed."

"No, let me explain. I think it was justified to underestimate you. What was that attitude? You weren't here to play... I thought. But for you, it was the right attitude. Because you really were here to play."

"Don't flatter me. I'll get embarrassed."

"I'm not flattering you. Well, I am, but I'm not."

"What's that supposed to mean, you..."

"The prisoners were treated with the utmost respect and returned. The Kingdom of Kamel's army, over fourteen thousand strong, retreated. They were left with a trauma they'll never forget. And we are completely unharmed. Do you understand the meaning of this?"

"It was a great success."

I smiled, and Steam smiled too.

"Thank you. I'll say it as many times as I can. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you...!"

Thank you for reading.