Ch.48Imperial Invasion (6)

“Khan… Will he be alright?”

Mary looked worriedly in the direction where Khan was fighting. While his sturdiness was a great advantage for surviving in this world, that same sturdiness seemed to have become a disadvantage, making him never hesitate to step forward.

Whether arrows were flying in, strange things were shooting concentrated mana, or when mages collapsed the ravine with their magic.

All Mary could do was heal him from afar or cheer him on. Still, when Khan finally rammed his horns into the wall, she cheered, thinking that’s our Khan.

“My goodness, he really did it. Wow, he’s truly tough. That’s a degraded version of the magic armor the Mado Empire used to use, right? Even though it’s degraded, it seems to have the mana equivalent of an 8th circle spell… To ignore both an 8th circle spell and a degraded magic armor hit.”

“Hmm. It seems the Minotaur Lord exceeds our expectations. At this level, even our vice-captain would lose, wouldn’t he?”

“Oh come on, I wouldn’t lose… Hmm… Actually, I would. Looking at his four horns, he’s still in normal form… Amazing.”

Rian, Captain Run, and Vice-Captain Ravi were conversing as they watched the scene. Even for them, withstanding such magic would be impossible—they would either avoid it or kill the caster first, yet the Minotaur was enduring it.

“It seems the human side will have a tough time. How many Masters are there… Oh, 15? Are all those who just jumped down Masters?”

“Hmm. Seems like it? Wow, that’s a lot. For a short-lived species that lives at most 100 years to have so many Masters? Our people are called geniuses if they become Masters by 150.”

“I guess when we return, I should tell them to train properly. If short-lived species can achieve this much, how can we elves be like this?”

Hearing that 15 Masters were rushing at Khan, Mary cried out in surprise and spread her wings, ready to fly over immediately, but Captain Run calmed her down.

“Now, now, calm down, Miss Mary. If it seems dangerous, of course we Elven Knights will step in. But if it’s not dangerous, it’s better for the Minotaur Lord to experience such situations.”

“How can being surrounded by 15 Masters be good for Khan? What on earth are you saying?!”

The Elven Knights watching the battle between the Minotaur and the Masters turned in surprise toward their captain and Mary, wondering how such volume could come from such a small body.

“Well… Miss Mary, since you’re in a support role and don’t fight, you might not understand… But we’re here and can intervene to sweep them away at any time, so he’s fighting in a safe situation. And such opportunities won’t come again in the future.”

“But… if he gets hurt…”

“Hahaha! Getting hurt is natural for combat roles, and even more so for a monster like the Minotaur Lord. The fact that the Minotaur Lord is burning with fighting spirit means he can handle it. Trust him, Miss Mary.”

Despite the captain’s words, Mary couldn’t hide her worried gaze as she continued to watch the battle between the Minotaur and the Masters.

* * * * *

“Push forward! The beast’s horns are stuck in the barrier—he can’t move, the cripple!!”

Lepil’s sword was enveloped in aura, and aura also surged from the swords of the Masters who had jumped down from the barrier. One of them, Slain, was holding a massive siege hammer with aura swirling at its tip.

“Hyaaah!”

Slain, holding the siege hammer, was the first to charge at the Minotaur. Spinning around as he fell, utilizing the hammer’s weight, he aimed for the Minotaur’s head and brought it down.

“Die!!!”

As if reflecting his personality, the red aura rising from the tip emitted a fierce energy as it flew toward the Minotaur. Soon his hammer would smash that monster’s head, and he would be standing on top of it.

That’s what he thought, but reality was different.

Moo—!!

The Minotaur, locating him just by sound, swung its tail and struck Slain.

“Ugh—!!”

He quickly blocked with the side of his siege hammer, but the Minotaur’s tail, over 2 meters thick, was enough to push Slain away. He flew instantly and crashed into the defensive barrier activated on the wall.

“Don’t act stupidly! Think of this monster as having the same intelligence as us humans! Move with the mindset of stopping a catastrophe-level demonic beast!”

Lepil slashed the Minotaur’s arm skin as he fell, and the other 13 Masters also left wounds on various parts of the Minotaur’s arms, neck, shoulders, and more.

But whatever the beast’s skin was made of, even cuts with aura didn’t lead to fatal wounds.

“Damn—! One of you rescue Slain, the rest keep inflicting damage while he’s stuck! Mages, notify us immediately when penetration magic is ready!”

“Yes!”

Following Lepil’s instructions, 13 Masters began inflicting large and small wounds on the Minotaur’s body. Like 13 sword masters performing a sword dance, they moved elegantly while focusing their attacks on the Minotaur’s ankles.

The wound on the ankle gradually widened. As they charged in, avoiding the Minotaur’s tail and flying hooves, the wound on the Minotaur’s heel grew increasingly severe.

The Minotaur tried to drive away the attackers by emitting lightning through its continued wounds, but the lightning all flew toward the iron rods thrown by the mages on the barrier.

Acting like lightning rods, the iron rods lay scattered on the ground. The 13 Masters installed these rods on the ground and continued their offensive.

However, green energy was seeping into the wounds they had inflicted, gradually healing them.

“Tch—!! This bastard is healing! Push harder than its recovery speed! Just a little more!”

As the Master who had rescued the unconscious Slain (who had been hit by the Minotaur’s tail) joined the battle, 14 Masters were working to take away the Minotaur’s mobility when…

Crumble…

Poof—!!

Whether the defensive magic circle’s mana was depleted or not, the defensive magic circle disappeared, and the Minotaur’s horns, which had been stuck in the wall, came free.

“Everyone be careful! The monster’s head is free! Watch out for it charging…”

Kwaaang—!

As Commander Lepil was warning them to be careful, the Minotaur instantly approached a long-haired Master and swung its fist.

Whoosh—!!

The Master avoided the fist that was larger than her body, but the tail flying from behind caught her.

Crack—!!

“Kyaaaah!!!”

Crunch—!!

Unable to withstand the pressure of the Minotaur’s tail, the long-haired Master Akasha went limp in the tail with the sound of her spine breaking.

And then, the Minotaur ate her corpse. It chewed up the titanium sword and armor she had been holding, then grinned at us.

“This monster bastard dares to… Akasha…!! I’ll kill you!!!!”

“No! Don’t charge in alone recklessly, Incline!”

Perhaps they were lovers, as Incline lost his reason and charged forward, putting as much aura as possible into his sword to create a 5-meter-long blade. And as he swung it…

Grab—!!

Crackle—!!

The Minotaur caught the aura with its hand, preventing it from moving further. Though the Minotaur’s hand kept crackling due to the repulsive force of the aura, it seemed to feel no particular pain, and was about to swing its tail to finish off Incline when…

“Everyone retreat! Magic will be fired!”

A mage on the wall announced to those on the ground using amplification magic, indicating that the spell was complete. Lepil immediately retreated with those around him, but Incline, blinded by revenge, did not back down.

No, rather, he released his aura, making the Minotaur’s hand flail in the air, then enlarged the aura again to create a large wound on its thigh.

Moo—!?

“I’ll hold the beast! Shoot now! This is our chance!”

Though they thought he had lost his mind after his lover Akasha died, he was instead shouting that he would sacrifice himself. Admiring his resolve, Lepil made a decision.

“Fire!”

“Spiral Piercing Arrow—!!!”

At Commander Lepil’s order, the mage immediately fired the spell. The arrow that left his hand flew toward the Minotaur in the blink of an eye.

Mooooo—!!!

The monster howled in pain. It saw the magic coming and tried to block it by surrounding its left hand with lightning, but the S.P.A., known as the strongest among 8th circle spells in terms of penetration power, ignored the Minotaur’s resistance.

In an instant, the lightning-wrapped hand was penetrated, and the Minotaur suffered a deep wound that reached its chest. Seeing the beast’s wound, the Masters began their attack, but…

Crackle…

“Lightning—!! Everyone scatter!!!”

Black lightning generated around the Minotaur’s body.

Those who had already received information from headquarters and witnessed the lightning just released pulled back, but Incline and another Master, seeing the hole in the Minotaur’s chest as an opportunity, rushed in, trusting only the lightning rods.

Kwaaaang!!!

The lightning discharged around the Minotaur demonstrated enough power to create a large hole. Fortunately, 11 Masters and Slain, who were outside the lightning’s range, were able to escape its power, but…

Incline and one Master, though they maintained their form as Masters, were charred black and stood frozen like statues.

Even the iron rods acting as lightning rods couldn’t withstand the powerful lightning that created such large holes—they were already melting from the intense heat.

“Incline! Zurin!”

Boom—!!

Those who had been frozen like statues scattered in the wind with one stomp of the Minotaur’s foot. The Minotaur, with its hand and chest pierced, exposing bone and dripping blood, grinned at those who were shedding tears over their comrades’ miserable deaths.