欧美Tⅴ另类图片

Chapter 189 Part 2

Translator: “Hakou”

A rocky mountain to the north of the giant hole.

As I hid myself at the top of the mountain, my heart was filled with astonishment.

(Even our method of attacking is the same)

I thought I was the only one who could do the hover movement.

However, all of the classic green and white Knights showed up using hover movement.

(And now they’re using long-range magic attack)

The Knights took out their rifles and took a shooting stance from the surface, aimed at the hole.

And the magic attack that followed was like a meteor shower.

It’s completely different from the Kingdom knight order’s B-class Knights, who shoot magics little by little as if they don’t want to be wasteful.

(Just who are they?)

I can’t think of any possibilities as to who they are.

That level of combat power and mobility.

I hate to say this myself, but if you have five of them, you could probably destroy a nation’s knight order.

(And that amount of magic, I’ve never seen anything like that)

The source of their strength, long-range magic attacks and hover movement. Both of these require a large amount of magic power.

I use the Akashic Magic lent to me by the stone statue to cover the cost of magic needed for it.

(Is it someone like the self-proclaimed sage?)

A mysterious magician who was erased without a trace at the castle of the Count of the East.

If someone like him was the pilot, then it makes sense.

(Or perhaps, they have found a technique that is extremely efficient?)

I don’t know. But my gut was telling me that neither of those are true.

A hazy thought circled in my head.

There were five pilots with magic power on the level of the self-proclaimed sage. Moreover, they are also acting in an organized manner.

The one they ride is a B-class Knight of unknown affiliation. It’s not even listed in the Empire Blacksmith Guild Knight’s Almanac.

(If we’re talking about five B-class Knights, it’s on the class of small and medium-sized countries’ knight order)

It is a force you can’t possess if you are not at least a ruler of a country.

Talented people who have a large amount of magic power and a good sense for magic. A power that can prepare them as pilots.

And expensive looking Knights with a lot of delicate decorations.

They seem to be connected, but I still can’t figure out what it is.

(But… I feel like I’ve seen those design before)

I searched the bottom of my brain as hard as I could.

「Ahh!!」

I shouted unintentionally.

(I remembered. I’m pretty sure it was the handbag the mother had when I had Oyakodon at Cione)

『My husband gave this to me』

The married woman with a copper badge smiled happily.

She proudly showed me the design of her handbag. I felt there’s a similarity between them.

It’s like how cars have a similar feel from one manufacturer to another.

If I had to put it into words, it’s the same feeling when I was convinced and say,『Ah I see! So it was a car made by that company, huh』.

(I’m sure she said it was something made in the elven village)

The goods from the elf village are high-class goods. The price of their product can be different by a digit than that of the same item produced somewhere else.

Many people liked it and it was often used as gifts for their loved ones.

(Could it be that… they’re elves?)

They have a large amount of magic power and an excellent sense of magic. Those are some of the characteristics of the elven race.

Now that I think about it, they have everything a pilot needs, aren’t they?

(But I never heard that the elves have a Knight)

“No”, I retracted my thoughts. Actually, it would be strange if they don’t have Knights.

They must have some reason why they don’t make themselves known.

For the time being, I decided to proceed on the assumption that they were elves.

(They’re going to be a troublesome opponent)

I think again.

High mobility, magic attack from a long distance. Their strengths are exactly the same as mine.

On top of that, they are undoubtedly much better at close combat than I am.

In the first place, it is wrong to compare me, who never learned even a single martial art, with an expert in combat.

(I will need to be more careful)

I bent my mouth into a letter へ and continued to watch the knights in the giant hole.

***

The elves had descended about two-thirds through the giant hole.

The diameter of the hole has been reduced to a few hundred meters.

『There’s no end to them, Captain』

One of the Knights whined.

There were no more clay golems around, and almost all of them were stone golems. And albeit rare, there were even a few heavy stone golems around.

『We haven’t confirm anything yet』

The World Tree, Ambrosia, or Zaratan. They came investigating on the assumption that those are here, but all they have seen are rocks and golems.

『As I thought, we should go to the very bottom』

『I told you, it’s impossible』

It doesn’t matter if we are elves, there’s a limit to the amount of magic power we can use. When he said that, even him, the captain, had to reconsider.

The orders from the high elves in the village or their own capabilities.

After weighing between the two, he gave out his answer.

『……Let’s go back to the surface for the time being. Then let’s rethink our strategy once we arrived on the surface』

The Knights around him showed relieved expression.

Although not as fast as when they descended the hole, they’re still going up the gentle slope using hover movement with ease.

Ignoring the spiral slope, their course is almost in a straight line or zigzag.

(It’s impossible to climb up in one breath huh?)

They continued to leap over the nearly thirty meters of steps in succession.

However, one of the Knight’s speeds gradually slows down after realising it has become harder for him to climb up.

He stops at one of the steps to fix his posture.

(Hm?)

At that moment, he saw something unexpected in front of him.

(A Knight? Not a golem?)

For a moment, he couldn’t comprehend it and froze in place.

Immediately after, the tip of the Death Scythe was slammed into the Knight’s face.

The pain was so great that he fell from his back to the floor below. The pilot’s breath caught in his throat as the impact added to the intense pain.

『Stick to the ledge and don’t move. If you run, they’ll find you』

The Grim Reaper told the frontier knights and boldly stepped forward.

His appearance attracted the gaze of the four Elf Knights.

『Grim Reaper!』

『When did he…!?』

They spread out upward while shouting with their mouths.

Even though they looked down on the human race, they could not underestimate the close combat abilities of the Grim Reaper.

(I was careless!)

The captain tightens his lips.

(If this place was related to Ambrosia, then it was not surprising that the Grim Reaper was here. I should have taken it into account)

He had been too distracted by the group of golems.

(I can reflect about it later. Right now we should deal with him first)

Along with his men, he kept a high position at a distance and readied his staff rifle.

Grim Reaper, on the other hand, was looking up at them through the eyes of his Knight.

(There’s no choice but to cut our way up through them)

He judges as such and starts running down the slope toward the surface.

Right after, long range magic attacks began to pour down around him.

(What a number of bullets. I have to bring this into close combat in an area with more covers)

While running, he uses the surrounding clay golems as shields. He also mixes in some feints to ensure his movements don’t become monotonous.

But, even though he does this, he can’t dodge everything.

(The firepower to destroy A-Class with a single blow. That doesn’t seem to be the case)

The vice-commander of the expeditionary force and her subordinate. The two A-class Knights both lost their pilots’ lives in a single blow.

This fact was the only good news in his current predicament.

The frontier knights were watching his backs from the distance.

(Lord Grim Reaper…)

The Grim Reaper is drawing the enemies’ attention and trying to move the battlefield to the surface.

At present, it became clear to them that they will only drag him down after seeing the storm of magic attacks flying around.

(Please be safe)

Even though he is one of the best fighters in the empire, he is being attacked one-sidedly by magic in a place with poor footholds.

The odds were clearly against him.

The only thing they can do is to stay hidden so as not to cause any trouble for him.

They gritted their teeth at this fact, but continued to follow the Grim Reaper’s orders.

***

Streaks of light constantly appeared in the giant hole.

It was a sign that magic attacks were being casted.

(This is too one-sided)

The Grim Reaper still survived, but it was probably only a matter of time before it gets dangerous.

Although what he’s riding is an A-class Knight, the enemy is just as good at long-range attacks as I am. With four of them, the conditions were too unfavorable.

I took a moment to think.

(I have to shoot them down)

To be honest, I don’t even think of the Grim Reaper as an enemy.

The Empire tried to distribute a poor quality aphrodisiac. I can’t forgive that, but that’s the Empire’s fault, not Grim Reaper’s. If I had to be blunt, the Kingdom knight order that tried to use me as bait for their heavy lancer subjugation is the one I call as enemy.

(Well, I’ve gotten my sweet revenge on them though)

Me, the bait, who was not eaten and managed to escape, guided the heavy lancers to strike the main force of the knight order.

As a result, many high and intermediate-class pilots lost their lives, including the vice-commander.

All of them were sympathizers of the vice-knight commander. They were the ones who had nodded in agreement to the plan to make me a disposable pawn, so I was not heartbroken at all.

(And sniping the expeditionary force was also for my own sake)

If the imperial army had invaded as they planned, my familiars and I would have lost the garden forest.

We might even have gone wandering around with the medicinal tree in a flowerpot, feeding it to Imosuke.

The heavy lancers who had just arrived would have been driven out of their safe haven.

To prevent that from happening, I did what I had to do.

(Besides, The Grim Reaper made me rediscover what SM is all about)

It has been renamed as『Sin and Punishment』and is spreading throughout this world.

I’ve been enjoying my life since I moved to this world. I wanted to give back to the culture of this world, even if only in a small way. I’ve continued to carry that feeling.

It was thanks to the Grim Reaper that I was able to do just that, albeit a little.

(It would left a bad taste in my heart if I let him die here)

And the classic green and white Knights who are shooting at the Grim Reaper. If my guess is correct, the elves are the ones who ride them.

(The elves are my enemies no matter how I think about it)

They are parasites for the human world, sucking the living blood of others.

And yet, they have no sense of modesty or gratitude. They do nothing but make fun of the human race.

The scales in my mind tipped heavily to the side of the Grim Reaper and I heard a metallic sound as it hit the floor.

(It’s decided)

I take a deep breath for a moment.

(But, l have to be careful. The Elven Knights have the same power as the Old Lady. I’ll be in danger if they spotted me)

Without the advantage of hover movement, it’s unclear whether I can escape.

Moreover, the other side was better at close combat. In fact, there is no pilot who is worse than me in that regard.

(Carefully…)

While silently breathing repeatedly, I lifted my rifle and took a stance with it.