Chapter 62

As the Teroops and Blakuls kicked away the hunters and mages on the defensive wall, they charged toward the drawbridge. Their invasion speed was extraordinary.

The charge of the Teroop group, which resembled a cavalry charge, was taking place on the defensive wall where there were almost no front-line swordsmen. Arrows and magic were fired at the Teroops, which were thrusting out their extendable horns, but the Teroops overcame the bodies of their fallen comrades and continued their charge.

Valuable mages and hunters were helplessly being defeated.

"…Shiraha, you don't have to follow me if it's too much."

To avoid arriving late at the drawbridge, Rio decided to take a shortcut. He looked up at a two-story house from the paved road and used both feet to leap. Grabbing the rain gutter with his right hand and hooking his left foot on the balcony to support his body, he landed on the balcony with the momentum of his right foot. Without stopping, he placed his left hand and left foot on the balcony railing and leaped again, quickly ascending to the roof of the house.

He sheathed his sword to prevent it from shaking and held the hilt, then sprinted across the roof. He increased his altitude from a two-story roof to a three-story roof, using the ladder of a watchtower for monitoring fires as a foothold to leap to the roof of the house on the opposite side of the street. Glancing back, he saw Shiraha following at a distance. She was probably securing a position to support with magic in case of an unexpected encounter rather than being slow.

Looking down at the street, he saw residents and outlaws armed with weapons stationed in front of shelters and offices. They seemed to be cooperating in an emergency, with outlaws helping to set up barricades in front of the residents' shelters. However, the presence of adventurers was sparse; they were probably rushing toward the drawbridge. The drawbridge was now in sight.

"We're a bit late."

At the gate in the defensive wall leading to the drawbridge, the adventurers were forming a crescent-shaped formation to fight the Teroops. They were clearly struggling. The mages and hunters on the defensive wall were under attack from the Teroops, and long-range support was not functioning. The adventurers were resisting to prevent being pushed into the narrow drawbridge but were gradually retreating.

Rio drew his sword and called out to Shiraha.

"Until the reinforcements arrive, we'll work with the adventurers at the drawbridge to hold the Teroops and Blakuls here. We'll sandwich them from both sides."

Although the situation on the defensive wall was concerning, a quick glance showed that the old man and Yomban were leading the front line. Once the adventurers at the drawbridge could move, it should be possible to provide support to the defensive wall.

Rio landed in an alley from the roof of a house, picked up a flower pot, and apologized inwardly. As he burst out of the alley, he threw the soil from the flower pot to obstruct the vision of the Teroops charging toward the drawbridge.

"--- A chain of ice pillars, the great snow flower."

Taking advantage of the sudden blindness that stopped the front line, Shiraha did not miss the moment when the Teroops, in a charging formation, became densely packed. Ice crystals slowly fell onto the Teroop group. As the Teroops in the center, unable to move due to the density, were cut by the ice crystals, Rio slashed the front line from the side.

He knew the Teroops' weakness from the guild's records. Rio, running low to the ground, quickly slashed the lower jaw of a Teroop. Before the blood could spurt, he moved to the next target and inflicted massive bleeding on three Teroops in quick succession.

The Teroops in the front line, recovering from the blindness, noticed Rio and neighed. Rio took a backstep and threw the empty flower pot at the Teroops. The Teroops immediately reacted, shaking their heads. The two horns on their heads extended and knocked the flower pot away.

Observing the extension and retraction of the horns, Rio leaped to a balcony and surveyed the battlefield. The battlefield was divided into four major areas.

Outside the defensive wall, the Teroop and Blakul groups were attempting to invade the town, facing the defense led by the defense commander.

On the defensive wall, a few front-line fighters, including mages, hunters, and Yomban, were engaged in a fierce battle with the white Teroop group.

Inside the defensive wall, the adventurers who had been redirected from the defense and the Teroop and Blakul surprise attack force trying to isolate the defense were engaged in a battle at the entrance to the drawbridge.

And Rio and Shiraha, preparing to charge the Teroop assault force at the entrance.

"Is there a commander in the assault force…?"

The Teroops were shouting in anger at being stopped just before the charge. However, if there were a tactical commander, they would have launched a counter-charge before the shouting. The confusion in the assault force suggested either a lack of command or a low level of authority.

He turned his attention to the surprise attack force threatening the defense from the rear. The formation that had been opened for the assault was being resealed. This quick reformation indicated the judgment that the assault force's confusion had ended and the understanding of the strategic goal to push the defense into the drawbridge.

"Shiraha, there's a commander in the surprise attack force. Can you cause confusion?"

"I'll shoot a large one, so buy some time."

"Got it!"

Shiraha nodded and disappeared into a large guild building through a window, probably to cast a spell. Rio leaped from the balcony and charged straight into the assault force. As expected, the Teroops tried to intercept him. Using his trained footwork, he made a near-right-angle turn and attacked the back of the surprise attack force. The Teroops in the back, aware of Rio's movement, had the Blakuls jump down from their backs.

"That's how you run."

With ten tentacles gripping the ground, the Blakuls leaped toward him, causing Rio to frown.

"Disgusting."

Holding his favorite sword at his waist, Rio observed the Blakuls' movements. The Blakuls, which moved by leaping, cushioned their landing with all their tentacles to avoid shock to their weak points, the tentacle bases.

Adjusting his stride to maintain momentum, Rio timed his step to coincide with the landing of the leading Blakul. At the moment the Blakul landed and was unable to move, Rio delivered a full-body kick.

Despite his small stature, Rio's kick, delivered at maximum speed after body reinforcement, caused the Blakul to stagger backward, exposing its weak point, the tentacle base.

"One down!"

As he planted his kicking foot, Rio flipped his wrist, held his sword horizontally, and delivered a sharp thrust. His sword, deeply embedded in the Blakul's tentacle base, inflicted a fatal wound to its heart before being pulled out.

Using the momentum of pulling out his sword, Rio spun 180 degrees to face the charging assault force. Although the Teroops resembled camels in appearance, their sturdy build meant the pressure of their charge was comparable to that of a bull. Rio, aware of his physical limitations, had never intended to expose himself to the charge.

Lightly leaping backward, Rio stepped firmly on the tentacle of the Blakul he had just killed. Immediately, black wax, pushed out by Rio's weight, spurted from the tentacle's tip. The black wax, which solidified upon contact with air, was sticky, forcing the Teroops to stop to avoid being entangled.

Ignoring the Teroop assault force, Rio turned again and charged at the Blakuls. At that moment, a red net woven from red threads was thrown from the guild building. The red net, which moved in an odd way for a solid object, burst into flames upon contact with the Blakuls. Instinctively, the Blakuls secreted black wax to extinguish the flames. However, the red net continued to burn and reignited immediately after being extinguished. Only Rio knew it was Shiraha's magic. The disturbance spread to the Teroops, who were allied with the Blakuls, but it quickly subsided, thanks to a single Blakul tapping the ground with its ten tentacles bundled into one.

The next moment, the Blakuls turned to attack Rio. However, Rio was already gone. He sprinted across the black wax, which had solidified upon contact with air, thanks to the body control techniques he had learned from Galdrat.

Noticing Rio's movement, a Blakul swept its tentacles horizontally. However, Rio had anticipated this. Since the moment he identified the commander, he had been constantly alert to where the tentacles could be swung.

The moment he saw the tentacles sweeping horizontally, Rio planted his sword as a third leg to slow down and quickly moved out of range.

Returning to the spot immediately after the tentacles were swung, he used the open space to accelerate and charged directly at the commander.

"--- Found you."

Despite being covered in black wax, the body of the Blakul, with thin red lines running through it, was visible. Lifting his sword from the waist position, he pointed the tip at the Blakul, intending to thrust with his full weight and momentum. His target was the gap between the ribs, the joint-like part where the black wax formed a horizontal line.

Just as Rio was about to deliver a precise thrust, the Blakul used its tentacles as a shield. Realizing the defense, Rio stopped his thrust and moved to the side of the Blakul without breaking his momentum. There was no need for him to finish the job himself.

From the top floor of the guild building, a white flame shot by Shiraha hit the Blakul commander. The smell of burning and melting wax filled the air. Confirming the direct hit, Rio immediately moved away from the commander.

The Blakuls, which did not have eyes, used their tentacles to sense vibrations and determine the position of their opponents. However, in the battlefield, various sounds came from all directions, making their reactions slow. Now that the commander was down, it would be easy to break out of the encirclement.

As Rio turned to regroup with Shiraha, a white ceramic wall suddenly appeared in front of him. A single sheet, almost the same height and width as Rio, appeared before his eyes.

"…Magic?"

While muttering, Rio slid his right foot to avoid the wall. He heard the sound of tentacles being struck from behind. Reflexively, he turned around.

The Blakul commander, using the white ceramic wall as a shield, was deflecting Shiraha's magic, striking the ground with its tentacles at regular intervals, which were smoking.

Realizing he had missed the kill, Rio quickly moved to his next action. He immediately turned, shouldered his sword, and took a step toward the commander. Without a moment's delay, the surrounding Blakuls struck the space where Rio had been with bundles of tentacles.

"---"

He shuddered. The movement was too precise and well-coordinated to kill him. If his judgment had been a split second slower, Rio would have been reduced to a pile of flesh. His instincts sounded the alarm. The Blakuls' movements were completely different from before.

The Blakuls, which relied on vibrations to attack, had slightly delayed movements. The time it took for vibrations to reach them and the noise of the battlefield had caused a delay in their actions. However, the recent movement was different. They had accurately determined Rio's position and coordinated to crush him, leaving no escape route. Rio had only avoided serious injury by choosing a counter-attack instead of fleeing.

The Blakul commander struck the ground with its tentacles again. Rio instantly closed in on a nearby Blakul and slashed its tentacle base. Behind him, the sound of tentacles digging into the ground echoed. The white ceramic walls, which had appeared suddenly, vibrated, reflecting the sound of the Blakul commander's tentacles.

"…Echo?"

Although he did not understand the principle, the Blakuls' movements had significantly improved since the appearance of the white ceramic walls. Therefore, the magic of the white ceramic walls must have enhanced their coordination. If so, cutting the magic of the white ceramic walls would return them to their original state. Rio took a deep breath but stopped just before and sprinted at full speed toward the commander.

If he shouted to cut the magic in the Blakul group, which coordinated through sound, he would be surrounded. He had to directly cut down the commander using magic. Realizing Rio's intention, Shiraha began to use magic to restrain the Blakuls around the commander, creating a one-on-one situation between Rio and the commander. Rio, with his sword held horizontally, stepped into the range of the commander.