Guardian

“Master. Why do you look so displeased? Isn’t a place with water a good thing?”

Isabella asked after hearing my explanation about the oasis. She seemed not to understand my expression.

“It is good. It’s the only place in the sand desert where you can get water. The problem is that there’s a guardian protecting the oasis.”

“A guardian?”

“Yes. A unit of sand soldiers will be guarding the oasis.”

“That’s a bit troublesome.”

“Let’s approach it first.”

We slowly approached the oasis. I carefully examined the surroundings. We might encounter other adventurers as well.

A large pool of water. Trees and grass were lush around it. It felt like that place alone was not a desert, but a different space.

Rumble―

As we approached the oasis, the ground around us shook.

“Fire.”

I immediately used my divine power. Isabella, who was beside me, also drew her bow.

Bang―!

Sand surged up and a sand soldier appeared, but it looked very different from the ones we had encountered so far.

A chariot led by a horse made of sand. Three sand soldiers riding behind it, each holding a spear, shield, and bow.

Rumble―

The chariot raised sand dust and rushed toward us. A sight that seemed like it could only be seen in mythology.

Bang―!

“Ugh….”

Inis blocked the arrows shot by the sand soldiers. As the chariot approached at a fast speed, we scattered to both sides.

“Spread out!”

I stretched both arms forward and created a wave of flames. The chariot approaching this way suddenly changed direction and rushed toward Isabella.

“Never confront it head-on.”

I advised Inis, who had somehow come in front of me. She nodded as if she already knew.

Whoosh―

Isabella avoided the chariot with quick movements. The enemy who had run far away turned around and charged toward us again.

“How should we deal with that?”

“First, we need to reduce its mobility. After all, they’re no different from ordinary sand soldiers if they’re not on the chariot.”

“So in the end, we need to do something about the horse. That won’t be easy.”

It would be great if Inis could step forward, but facing a chariot head-on would be too reckless.

Whizz―!

Isabella kept shooting her bow to keep the enemy in check. However, unless she hit the magic stone, it was all in vain.

Rumble―!

The chariot, realizing Isabella wasn’t much of a threat, rushed toward me. It realized that I, who used divine power, was the most troublesome existence.

“Fire.”

I summoned a flame and placed it in front of me. Meanwhile, I spoke as I watched the chariot closing the distance.

“Wall of Fire!”

With the feeling of magical power leaving me, the fire spread to both sides. At the same time, flames soared high into the sky.

A wall of fire blocked in front of me. Through the flickering flames, I could see the sand chariot approaching.

Bang―!

The chariot crashed into the wall. The wall of flames shattered like glass and subsided. At that sight, I quickly threw my body to the side.

Whoosh―!

A strong wind brushed past my hair. Sand dust entering my eyes and nose made tears and mucus flow involuntarily.

“Ptoo ptoo!”

I spat out the sand that had entered my mouth along with saliva. As I raised my head with a slight frown, I saw the chariot coming again.

“Master. Let me carry you.”

Inis showed her back with her knees slightly bent in front of me. She meant for me to get on her back. Although it hurt my pride a bit, there was no other way at the moment.

“I’ll count on you.”

I got on. I wondered if we could avoid the chariot in this state, but she easily avoided it using physical enhancement.

“Am I not heavy?”

“No. If I use magical power, this much is light.”

I looked at the chariot that had passed far away and racked my brain. I had no idea how to deal with it.

“Master. Sand soldiers are ultimately sand. If we spray water on them, wouldn’t they flow down or scatter?”

“Hmm. Let’s try it since we don’t have a better idea right now. If we just catch the guardian, we can get water from the oasis.”

“Then let me try after we avoid it one more time.”

Whoosh―!

Inis avoided the chariot again and put me down on the ground. She was seen taking out a water canteen from the bag.

“Isabella!”

At her call, Isabella urgently approached. With a request to take care of me, she ran toward the chariot.

Inis and the chariot were getting closer. She stood still, waiting for the enemy, looking like a bullfighter waving a red cloth.

Swish-

The moment the two beings came within a stone’s throw, Inis swung the bottle in her hand like a sword. Water escaped and wetted the sand chariot.

“Oh!”

The water spraying itself was successful. The sand chariot actually flowed down a bit and slowed down. But that was it.

“Ah.”

The chariot gradually regained its original form and charged with fierce momentum again.

“Master!”

Isabella embraced my body and avoided the attack. Sand dust scattered around. A fierce momentum.

“It failed.”

She sighed deeply, looking at the chariot that had gone far away again.

“Yeah. Well, if it were possible to conquer with water, adventurers wouldn’t have a reason to find the guardian difficult.”

We had to face the sand chariot with what we had. And that was not easy at all.

Because it was a chariot that attacked the enemy while running at high speed, even Inis found it difficult to attempt an attack. Isabella kept hitting arrows, but unfortunately, since they were sand soldiers, it didn’t have much meaning.

In the end, it meant I had to do it. The problem was that my divine power wasn’t effective against sand soldiers either.

“Can’t just blast that thing away….”

Isabella’s mutter. Hearing that, a certain magic suddenly came to mind.

‘Fireball.’

Magic that throws a mass of flames at a target and explodes it.

In other creative works, it was often a spell that even novice wizards could use, but not in this world.

Fireball was something that only those who had reached the height of Pyromancers could use. Could I use it right now? No, I couldn’t.

‘But if I could even imitate it….’

What I needed now was a shock for the sand soldiers. Given the characteristics of enemies made of sand, even a small explosion could inflict significant damage.

“Inis! Buy me some time! You too, Isabella.”

“Yes!”

Inis ran toward the chariot with her water canteen while leaving her longsword. Isabella also started firing, which she had stopped.

The sand chariot began to rampage at the attacks from the two. Seeing that it wasn’t coming to me, I immediately used my divine power.

“Fire Arrow.”

The reason I made it in the form of an arrow rather than a flame was because it was the most familiar and comfortable.

An arrow that scattered heat around. I began to compress it little by little. The divine power, inheriting my will, began to get smaller bit by bit.

Flare-

As a result, the flames rising from the arrow became even more powerful. I bit my lips tightly at the pressure applied to my body. It felt like I was being pressed from all directions.

“Phew.”

When the arrow had shrunk to some extent, I controlled the heat escaping outside. I made it go into the arrow rather than outside.

The flames that had been rising from the arrow gradually subsided. The refraction of light caused by the hot air disappeared.

A trembling arrow. The occasional leakage of flames clearly showed that it was unstable.

Drip, drip-

Sweat flowing down my face. There wasn’t a single place on my body that wasn’t sweating right now.

Grr-

“Isabella. Tell Inis to lure it this way.”

“Yes! Senior-!!!”

I forcibly turned my head, which hadn’t been moving. Inis was splashing water on the chariot. Having heard the voice, she began to run in this direction.

I began to control the arrow while exhaling. It moved sluggishly, which was truly frustratingly slow. But this was the best I could do right now.

“Should I take the hit for that?”

“……..”

I couldn’t answer. Not only did I not have the leisure, but as Isabella said, it didn’t seem like the chariot would fall for this.

Whizz―!

She suddenly started shooting her bow. Probably to draw attention.

The arrow slowly approached the chariot. Inis, having seen my divine power, came straight toward me. She covered the attack with her body.

Whoosh―!

Inis, who was being chased by the chariot by a hair’s breadth. The moment she got close to the arrow, she moved her body sharply to avoid the divine power. Then the chariot rushed in and collided with the arrow.

Bang-!

With a loud noise, flames shot up. A truly small explosion. Considering the will and magical power invested in it, it was a ridiculously disappointing power.

“Oh!”

But if you asked whether the attack had no effect, that wasn’t the case either.

The sand horse that took the explosion head-on collapsed, and the sand soldiers riding behind rolled on the ground.

Swish―!

Inis immediately drew her longsword and rushed toward the soldiers. Isabella’s arrows mercilessly attacked the enemy.

The three soldiers had their magic stones broken before they could get up from their positions. In the end, we were able to win the battle.

We approached the oasis with our tired bodies.

Whoosh-

A cool breeze blew as we entered. Inis and Isabella’s faces brightened considerably.

“We can stay here tonight, right?”

“Yes. Let’s do that. We can take a bath after a long time. I was feeling uncomfortable because of the sweat anyway.”

We took out the tent from the bag and set it up. Then we gathered fallen branches and grass from around and lit a fire.

We poured all the warm water in the canteen into the pot. We dipped the canteen into the oasis to draw water and took a sip.

“Ugh….”

The water was so cold that my teeth hurt. After boiling the water in the pot and taking a light bath, night had already fallen.

Inis placed the pot on the bonfire and immediately started preparing dinner. I silently watched her.

“Master!”

Isabella, who had been playing around the oasis, urgently approached us.

“Adventurers are approaching this way!”

“What?”

At those words, I jumped up. Inis tried to follow, but I told her to continue preparing dinner.

I followed Isabella to the opposite side of the oasis. There, I could see a small light flickering in the distance. The flames were growing. They were clearly coming this way.

“Hmm.”

Encountering another party at the oasis. Somehow, I felt a bit uneasy.