Chapter 42 | Battle Time

With a cold glint in his gaze, Ragnar stared off the cliff. The boss had led his men through the front lines, bringing them directly into the inner south. After taking down the knight company here, they would settle down and create an encirclement force by gathering men from the nearby villages and settlements.

Well, supposedly, at least. Ragnar did not believe this bunch of incompetent bastards could pull off such a maneuver. Not in a billion years. He rubbed the slave crest on his nape again. This had become a frequent habit of his, blinking in a corner of his mind again and again.

Fortunately, the crest was a low-level one, and it wouldn’t detect traitorous thoughts. Or else…

“Ragnar! You are here!” A gruff voice bellowed in a jolly tone. It was the boss. “The fight is near, my dear subordinate! We shall go and fight to our heart’s content, don’t you think?”

“Of course, boss,” Ragnar’s frown immediately changed into a sleazy smile. “Whatever pitiful tricks they pull off, they can’t match up to your might!”

“Hahaha!” The boss slapped Ragnar’s back, causing him to stumble forward. A first-rate warrior was truly terrifying. Even such a casual tap with no aura involved was enough to send him, a third-rate warrior, stumbling forward.

Hopefully, this would be the last time Ragnar dealt with his antics. Everything was set, and his people were ready to follow his orders.

Aaah, he sighed mentally. I wonder what I should do once this bastard is dead. I really want to go to a brothel. Tch.

With a last glance at the forest, Ragnar turned around and followed The Boss down the cliff.

It all started with a whizzing noise. Theo was trying his best to follow Satou’s advice, and he had immediately realized how fucked he was. Every time he tried focusing, he would either think about his system or some bizarre internet posts from his past life. It was like his brain was actively fighting against him, constantly flashing him pictures of random bullshit to distract him.

Still, he had managed to detect that whizzing sound. Twisting his body mid-air as he was incapable of stopping, Theo had managed to dodge an arrow by angling himself in a bizarre manner. Once he reoriented himself, he had noticed the arrow formation of the knights immediately shift under the three knight captains’ orders.

“Quick! Pincer movement! 13 to the left! 14 take the middle! 15, right!”

As they shifted, several more arrows were launched from the forest. Most of them clanked against the knights’ armor. Satou simply disintegrated them with his aura, while Theo slapped his hands on the floor and lifted a little mound of dirt, which was especially effective in either stopping arrows or misdirecting them.

Once the pincer movement neared its success, bandits poured from the bushes. About fifty of them were there, brandishing mostly sabers and axes.

This was it.

The engagement started with all the knights crashing against the wave of bandits. They were outnumbered, nearly two to one. Seeing that, Satou gave one last look toward Theo and dashed in, joining the fray. Theo gritted his teeth and did the same.

And when he did, he found himself face to face with two bandits, ready to take him down. His robes seemed to cause their eyes to widen for a moment. But they knew, if he was a mage, there was even less time to be surprised. They had to act.

One of them dashed forward in a wide arc, while the other directly headed for Theo. This was a mistake, as two long strides from Theo kept the distance the same, leaving both of them several meters away from Theo. With a flick of his hand, Theo conjured a fireball. He slid on dirt and threw it in their middle. The fireball slammed against the ground and scattered scorching flames around.

The crimson plasma bit against the two bandits’ skin, but they weren’t scorched. It seemed they could protect their bodies with an aura, but their swords were uncovered, meaning they were only third-rate.

Seeing that Theo didn’t have another spell ready yet, the bandit duo closed the distance with grins plastered on their faces.

Theo gave them a strained smile and swung his hand.

The two were confused at first, but when the brilliant, searing dirt settled on their body, dug through their clothes, and stuck to their skin, they could only grunt in pain. Smoke rose, causing them to step back.

But Theo wouldn’t give them an inch. Stepping forward, he dipped his hand into his water pouch. The bandit to his right swung his scimitar, but it was a clumsy swing. Nothing like Satou’s attacks.

Time seemed to slow down as Theo’s perception was brought into action. He backhanded the sword, and the sword strayed off course, just enough for it to miss Theo by a hair’s breadth.

Seizing the chance, Theo brought forward his hand, and a sizzle of flash-vapor assaulted the man’s face, causing him to scream in soul-wrenching pain. His eyes became runny and melted off his face, his face becoming a pink mass of flesh.

Theo cringed and felt his stomach rise at the sight as he stepped back. He felt his eyes tear at the disgusting sight, but wiped them with the hem of his shirt.

The other bandit was terrified by what had happened to his fellow and wanted to try and disengage.

But Theo wouldn’t let him. In the end, this person was his enemy at war, and he could hurt someone else.

Not to mention, if Theo was the one screaming in terror and running, would he have spared him?

With a slight frown, Theo chased after him. He brought his hand forward and unleashed his flamethrower. Not expecting the sudden slurry of fire washing over him, the bandit ducked. He dashed, jumped, stepped sideways, but he was too easy a target for Theo’s perception and dexterity working in combination.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

He struggled and struggled, but the fire completely melted his backside and penetrated through his aura. After what felt like hours of chasing a screaming bandit through the forest, the man went silent and fell forward.

Theo felt the need to puke, but he was in a battlefield. Steeling his resolve, he turned around and went back to join the main force.

With Satou’s aid, the engagement was already approaching an end. The bandits were a disorderly bunch. They rarely landed hits on the knights, and whenever they did, the knight pulled back and took out vials from their pouches filled with Theo’s potion. They took a sip, let their wounds scab, and went right back into the fight. Just like that, the group of sixty bandits was quickly taken care of without a single casualty.

Theo, for the rest of the fight, stood to the side and occasionally threw fireballs to aid.

Once Satou took care of the last bandit, he walked up to Theo and patted him on the back.

“How do you feel? Are you okay?”

Theo thought for a moment. He grimaced.

“I think I am. But my spells are a bit…”

“Your spells are effective. That’s the only important part,” Satou said. “And good job. Most people don’t adapt as well.”

With one last slap on his back, Satou got up and nodded at the knights. The arrow formation was recreated in an instant. Theo pushed himself to follow along. Whatever he was supposed to process, he could do so while running.

To be honest, his first kill wasn’t as bad as he expected. It had made him feel… Empty. Yes, his immediate reaction was revulsion, but it wasn’t necessarily because of the act itself but because of how gory his methods had been.

As Satou had said, there wasn’t a way to be sure how you would react.

Taking a deep breath, Theo reoriented himself. Once he reopened his eyes, he was ready to continue. The horrifying images of battle were already fading into the background in his mind.

Sparing one last glance at the battlefield, he continued.