Chapter 77

Prince Aurelio and his party, having completed their preparations for battle, set out from the capital and headed upstream along the Crem River.

"Your Highness, what is that on your waist?"

Salvatore, noticing an unfamiliar piece of equipment on Prince Aurelio's waist, asked.

"This? It's a new model of a magic gun given to me by my brother Gaius for self-defense. He calls it a Magic Color Gun."

Prince Gaius had given his brother a Magic Color Gun of the [Wind] type.

"Receiving a weapon at this time means they knew we were preparing to hunt the bear-eating vulture, doesn't it?"

"Hmph, General Samuele must have told them."

"I see. By the way, what's different about this new model compared to the old magic guns?"

"I don't know the details, but apparently it has more power."

Prince Aurelio didn't have an old magic gun, so he couldn't tell how much more powerful it was.

"Did you test-fire it?"

"Of course. I wouldn't carry a weapon without testing it."

Salvatore had heard a story about a magic gun being used to repel a monster when one appeared in the capital. It was said that goblins and ulfars could be repelled, but tougher monsters were more difficult.

"How does its power compare to our magic cannons?"

"The magic cannons are definitely more powerful. However, the Magic Color Gun doesn't require a catalyst, so it can fire repeatedly. In certain situations, it can be an effective weapon."

Salvatore thought it might be the ideal weapon for a mage. Mages are weak in close combat, and the Magic Color Gun or magic gun could cover that weakness. He speculated that mages might have been involved in the development of these weapons.

He also thought that magic cannons were useful for mages, but their high operational cost due to the expensive catalysts required for each shot was a drawback.

On the way, Prince Aurelio's party encountered a group of Trill, a type of monster tree.

"Your Highness, let us—"

A cannon soldier equipped with a magic cannon offered.

"No, wait. It's a waste to use the catalyst cartridges on just Trills. Leave it to the 'Guardians of the Thunderstorm' and the 'Blue Wolf Warriors.'"

There were six Trills, and the monster hunters defeated them with swords and spears.

Salvatore watched the monster hunters and felt they were quite skilled.

The defeated Trills were stored in the prince's storage crystal.

As they approached the village of Abate, which was surrounded by a four-meter-high wall, they saw that the gate was firmly closed. As they got closer, they could see armed villagers on the watchtower.

"It's Prince Aurelio. Open the gate."

The villagers inside the gate hurried, and the gate opened.

Prince Aurelio and his party were led to the village chief's house and welcomed. However, it was a poor mountain village, and the only hospitality they received was the village chief's special tea.

When Salvatore asked about the village's situation, the village chief, with a wrinkled face, explained.

According to him, a few pig-headed demons had been causing trouble in the village, but they had been driven away. However, the number of pig-headed demons appearing was gradually increasing, and the villagers' anxiety had reached its peak.

"Please, help this village."

The village chief bowed deeply to the prince.

"Don't worry. I and my subordinates will take care of the pig-headed demons."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The village chief seemed deeply moved.

That night, the prince and Salvatore ordered the villagers to build several small watchtowers inside the wall to attack the enemies outside with magic cannons.

The village had an abundance of wood, so it was possible. However, the hastily built watchtowers were crude, tied together with ropes.

After that, the prince rested at the village chief's house, while his subordinates took turns keeping watch. The villagers spent an anxious night, and the next morning arrived.

While Prince Aurelio was dozing in his futon, an urgent voice rang out.

"Pig-headed demons—!"

Everyone woke up, equipped themselves, and went outside.

Salvatore approached the prince.

"The village is surrounded by pig-headed demons."

"How many?"

"About twenty, I think."

The prince and Salvatore climbed the hastily built watchtower near the gate and looked around the village.

The pig-headed demons, with their glowing eyes, were staring at the village. The sight made the two of them feel suffocated.

The pressure from such a large number of monsters was considerable.

Prince Aurelio, determined, gave the order.

"Villagers, hide in the village chief's house. Cannon soldiers, get on the watchtowers!"

The village became noisy, and the pig-headed demons outside started to shout.

A child, frightened by the shouting, began to cry. At that moment, the pig-headed demons charged.

"Cannon soldiers, aim and fire! The rest, stop the pig-headed demons that climb over the wall!"

In response to the prince's voice, a rough voice rose.

Magic cannons fired at the approaching pig-headed demons. The timing was scattered, as they hadn't trained for synchronized attacks.

The seven arrows generated by the [Steel Arrow Scatter] spell from the magic cannons flew towards the pig-headed demons. The steel arrows pierced their bodies, causing them to bleed.

Three of the pig-headed demons died from the first attack, hit in vital areas like the head, neck, and heart.

The injured pig-headed demons, despite their pain, resumed their charge.

The pig-headed demons attached to the village wall tried to climb it with the help of their companions.

"Magicians, aim at the pig-headed demons in the back. Cannon soldiers, aim at the ones trying to climb the wall!"

Salvatore cast the intermediate-level [Wind] spell [Shredding Rain] at the pig-headed demons in the back. The rain of shockwaves from above damaged the pig-headed demons.

Two of the pig-headed demons died, and one was injured.

Despite the attacks from the cannon soldiers and magicians, not all the pig-headed demons were stopped, and a few climbed over the wall and entered the village.

The monster hunters rushed to deal with these pig-headed demons.

One of the pig-headed demons that climbed over the wall charged towards Prince Aurelio. If it hit the watchtower, the hastily built structure would collapse.

Two guards tried to stop the charge.

"Grwoooaar!"

The pig-headed demon roared and swung its club at the guards. One guard tried to block it with his sword, but the sword broke, and the club hit his stomach.

The guard spat blood and fell.

Prince Aurelio drew his Magic Color Gun and fired at the pig-headed demon. The shockwave hit the pig-headed demon's right knee, shattering the bone.

"Now! Finish it!"

The prince ordered the other guard.

The guard thrust his sword at the pig-headed demon's chest. However, the thick muscles stopped the blade. Seeing the pig-headed demon raise its club, the prince fired the Magic Color Gun again.

The shockwave hit the pig-headed demon's head, and it collapsed.

The pig-headed demon was dead. Prince Aurelio, looking at the corpse, felt his throat was dry.

Salvatore noticed a problem with the cannon soldiers' shooting. Multiple cannon soldiers often aimed at the same pig-headed demon at the same time.

Sometimes, they easily missed, allowing pig-headed demons to climb over the wall.

"Insufficient training. There's no coordination at all."

At that moment, many pig-headed demons attached to the wall near the gate and started to break it down with body slams and clubs.

The stakes supporting the wall began to tilt due to the multiple body slams.

"Salvatore, if the wall collapses, cast a spell!"

Hearing the prince's order, Salvatore prepared the advanced spell [Nine Heaven Rending Winds].

The stakes tilted, and the wall creaked. In the next moment, part of the wall collapsed, and a group of pig-headed demons rushed into the village.

Salvatore cast [Nine Heaven Rending Winds]. Nine large blades formed from air attacked the pig-headed demons.

Three of the blades cut through the pig-headed demons.

Four pig-headed demons remained.

These pig-headed demons started fighting the guards, and the battle became chaotic, with many guards getting injured.

Seeing the situation, Salvatore clicked his tongue.

"Damn, this is bad, Your Highness."

Salvatore went to the prince.

"What is it?"

"Please lend me the Magic Color Gun."

Prince Aurelio drew the Magic Color Gun from his holster.

"If you intend to use this to kill the pig-headed demons, I should do it since I'm more familiar with it."

"But you'll have to get close to the pig-headed demons."

"I understand the risk."

To kill a pig-headed demon in the chaos, one had to get close to avoid hitting allies.

The prince approached one of the rampaging pig-headed demons. The guards were using shields to block the pig-headed demon's attacks, but a single blow from the crude club sent them flying.

The prince, unnoticed, approached the pig-headed demon and aimed at its legs to avoid hitting allies.

The shockwave from the Magic Color Gun hit the pig-headed demon's legs, damaging its blood vessels and nerves.

The injured pig-headed demon fell to the ground. Salvatore ordered the guards to retreat and the cannon soldiers to finish it off with their magic cannons, considering it the most reliable method.

The combination of the prince's Magic Color Gun and the cannon soldiers' magic cannons proved effective against the pig-headed demons. They quickly killed one after another, and it didn't take long for the last one to fall.

"Attend to the injured quickly."

The guards tended to the wounded, washing their wounds and having the magicians cast [Healing] spells.

Prince Aurelio watched his subordinates move efficiently before wiping the dust off the Magic Color Gun and putting it back in the holster.

"The Magic Color Gun is quite a useful weapon."

"Yes, but the new model is said to be exclusively sold by my brother Gaius."

"Prince Gaius is indeed impressive. He doesn't miss a beat."

Salvatore's words made the prince show a slightly annoyed expression.

After tending to the wounded and storing the dead in the storage crystal to be returned to their families in the capital, Prince Aurelio felt it was necessary to provide appropriate compensation.

Salvatore agreed. If they didn't, rumors would spread that the prince was stingy with compensation for the families of those who died protecting him. Even without that, the prince felt it was wrong to be stingy with the cost of those who died protecting him.

By then, the villagers had come out of the village chief's house and cautiously peered at the dead pig-headed demons.

"What will you do with the dead pig-headed demons?"

"Let's store them in the storage crystal for now and decide later."

While clearing the dead pig-headed demons inside the village, they tried to clear the ones outside when they heard a sound cutting through the air from above.

Prince Aurelio and Salvatore looked up to find the source of the sound.

"Your Highness, over there."

Salvatore pointed to a giant bird flying in the sky.

"Bear-eating vulture... Back to the village and prepare for battle!"

Prince Aurelio's order rang out.

The bear-eating vulture, circling in the sky, dove down. Everyone gasped as the bear-eating vulture grew larger.

The bear-eating vulture seemed to be targeting the dead pig-headed demons outside the village.

Prince Aurelio, thinking this might be the only chance, ordered the cannon soldiers to attack simultaneously. He didn't order the magicians to attack, as he judged there wasn't enough time to prepare.

A strong wind blew around the dead pig-headed demons, raising dust and sand. The sound of the bear-eating vulture's wings cutting through the air grew louder. The bear-eating vulture, landing with its feet first, grabbed the dead pig-headed demons.

"Fire!"

At the prince's signal, the cannon soldiers on the hastily built watchtowers attacked.

Seventy steel arrows, seven from each magic cannon, were fired at the bear-eating vulture, piercing its feather-covered body.

The bear-eating vulture wasn't particularly well-defended. However, its muscles, which allowed it to fly and hover in the air, were extraordinary. The steel arrows, which could pierce a pig-headed demon, were stopped by its powerful muscles, only penetrating a few inches.

Judging the penetration to be shallow, Prince Aurelio ordered the magicians to cast their spells. While the magicians prepared, the cannon soldiers fired a second time, preventing the bear-eating vulture from counterattacking.

Salvatore cast [Crushing Flame], and the other magicians chose [Flame Dragon Tornado].

The bear-eating vulture was surrounded by flames, emitting a terrible roar as it flapped its giant wings, creating a strong wind.

The wind scattered the flames and extinguished the magic-generated fire.

"Impossible... The flames from [Crushing Flame] were extinguished."

Salvatore, with a stunned expression, watched the bear-eating vulture, which was covered in blood but not fatally injured, trying to take off.

The bear-eating vulture roared again and took off, its claws gripping the dead pig-headed demons.

"What! It's escaping?"

Prince Aurelio, watching the giant bird fly southwest, exclaimed.

Salvatore, with a serious expression, said,

"Your Highness, this is bad. That direction is towards the capital."

Meanwhile, Ricardo was in his room making a small magic rod for Monta.

The material was made from a Death Op tree, about the length of a calligraphy brush. He started the surface treatment with purple-attribute-activated magic, the color of the [Wind] attribute.

A fine, complex pattern of snowflake motifs appeared on the surface of the rod, which had turned purple.

"Is Monta's rod ready?"

"It's ready. Here you go."

Ricardo handed the magic rod to Monta, who happily accepted it.

Monta tried to use it inside the room, but Ricardo stopped him.

"Not inside the room."

"Is it okay in the garden?"

Ricardo nodded, and Monta happily went outside.

Ricardo followed to the garden and watched Monta.

Monta gripped the small magic rod and released magic, which was purple-attribute-activated. Ricardo had to concentrate and spend time to attribute-activate his magic.

However, Monta was different. He could release attribute-activated magic relatively easily, specifically [Wind] magic.

The effects of the examination in the magic realm had influenced not only Ricardo but also Monta. After the examination, Monta could release attribute-activated magic and use spells.

Monta had tried to use magic before, but the incantation was a bottleneck. However, now—

Monta, channeling magic into the magic rod, shouted,

"Kyu Kyue" (Wind Slash)

and cast the spell.

Monta had omitted the incantation and cast the spell. The air formed a blade and flew forward.

The air blade sliced through the target log and flew away. Seeing the result, Monta jumped for joy.