Fish and fishing rod

Chased after the fleeing men.

Kept pace just close enough to see them clearly, and followed.

Since I didn’t know where Malart was, I figured I’d let the fleeing ones guide me.

“Hah… hah…”

Risha’s breath started to falter midway. Her feet wobbled, her speed dropped.

“Switch.”

I put Risha into the Eternal Slave mod, and brought out Mira.

Chased after them with Mira. After a while, Mira’s breath grew ragged too, so I swapped her out for Risha, who had rested and recovered inside the blade.

We repeated this, chasing on.

(Thank you, my master.)

“Sorry for the trouble.”

—— Magic power charged: 3,000.

—— Magic power charged: 5,000.

“Don’t worry about it.”

I kept chasing while charging magic power.

Then, it looked like we’d finally reached the destination.

We reached what looked like a town, and one of Markovitch’s subordinates dashed inside.

The town itself had no distinguishing features, but the mansion in the center was so large it could be seen from outside the town.

Actually.

"...Gold?"

"Gold, indeed, my lord."

(...Terrible taste.)

A massive, gilded building utterly despised by both Risha and Mira.

Is Malart really in there?

As I approached the town, soldiers poured out from within, armed and ready.

"Let's go."

"Yes!" (Yes!)

I gripped the Eternal Slave Modified tightly, charging straight at the enemy soldiers.

They didn’t hesitate—immediately attacked.

A line of enemy soldiers, each wielding long spears, formed a wall of spears.

They advanced like that—then surged forward all at once.

"Fu—!"

The spear tips were swept aside with a slash of flame. I brought down one enemy soldier with a counter-thrust, then the next wave of spears came rushing in.

I blocked it on instinct, the blade meeting the charge. At that moment, arrows rained down from the city streets like a storm.

I poured in magic, boosting the flame to sweep away both the spear points and the arrows, then leapt back.

I counted the enemy. Even just the ones standing out front with spears—probably not less than three hundred. Add in the archers, and the number swelled even more.

“Too many.”

(What shall we do, my lord?)

“Do what we can. Mira, stay close. There’ll be shifts—changes in position.”

“Yes!”

I pulled Mira along and resumed the fight.

I’d already felt the weight of their formation. Not easy, sure—but manageable if you knew what to expect.

I poured magic into the blade, cranking up the fire’s intensity.

I led Mira forward, aiming for a single-point breakthrough.

I slashed aside the incoming spears and arrows, mercilessly cutting down the enemy soldiers standing before me.

Cut. Push. Move forward.

Pushing through the central breach, focused on one point.

“What… what the hell is this?”

“I’ve never seen a weapon like that.”

“Eeek!”

After a while, the enemy soldiers’ morale began to waver. Some crumpled at the sight of us, others turned and ran.

We carved a path through, entering the town.

Once inside, the pressure lessened further.

“O-oh, master… I’m sorry…”

Mira looked exhausted, so I switched with Risha and pressed on.

We charged toward the massive golden building ahead.

“Nghh—!”

Suddenly, pressure came from the side.

I intercepted something slicing through the air with the water blade.

“Gh!”

The force was monstrous. I blocked it—unharmed—but the impact sent me flying through the air.

"Master."

Risha came rushing toward me.

I landed, turned to look in the direction the attack had come from.

There, mounted on a horse, stood a massive man.

Size alone defied reason.

A giant frame, bigger than even a bipedal horse, wielding a massive sword with a hilt—something like a Blue Dragon Blade.

He grinned, a cruel twist of the lips, and charged straight at me.

"Who are you?"

I asked, calm.

"Who dares not know me? From which backwater are you from?"

"Impossible."

"That's right. This one is Lord Marat."

"You're... Marat?"

"Address me properly!"

A horizontal slash cut through the air.

The wind screamed so loud it hurt the ears.

"—Hmph!"

I channeled more magic than usual, meeting it head-on with the water blade.

Pahn! The crack of splintering air echoed across the field.

“Nuuu!”

“…Fuu.”

I took a step back, exhaled.

Meanwhile, Malart’s horse staggered. Took a few steps, then collapsed.

Malart lunged forward before hitting the ground, landing on his own feet.

His face went pale.

“What the hell are you?”

Suspicion sharpened in his eyes.

In that moment, his soldiers caught up, closing in from all sides.

But the soldiers were more shocked than he was.

“Malart-sama… being pushed back…?”

“Nuuuu!”

The Blue Dragon Blade roared. The soldier who spoke was split clean in half, vertically.

“Daaaah… that’s what ‘pushed back’ means…?”

Malart glared at his subordinate.

“Name?”

“Akito.”

“I’ve heard you. You want the two towns—Beesk and Magatan, right?”

“Not that I want the towns or anything…”

“Huh?”

"Just don’t like being bullied by you."

"Bullied? Hey, now that’s a total misfire."

Malart snorted.

"I’ve protected those people with this power. I’m just getting paid for it—nothing more."

"Your pay’s outrageous."

"Outrageous? Hell, even that’s not enough. What do you expect? I’m personally guarding them. I could ask for more without a damn thing being wrong with it."

"Yet Magatan nearly collapsed because of it."

"Ah, didn’t know that. Lazy bastards eating the food I carried without lifting a finger—blame them."

"...Scum."

Clutching Eternal Slave Re: tightly, she lunged again.

Channeling magic into her strike, the water sword began pushing Malart back.

Forced by sheer strength, Malart countered with mental pressure.

"Scum’s them, not me."

"What?"

“They’re lazy parasites. All they do is gorge on the food you bring them. They don’t lift a finger themselves. Isn’t it proof enough that you’re here alone?”

“……”

“I don’t care what you’re thinking, but those people don’t care who they’re feeding. As long as there’s food, it’s all the same to them.”

“S-so—”

“That’s not true at all!”

*Paa!*—light flared, and Mira burst out from Eternal Slave Kai.

A woman suddenly leaping from the sword made Malart stagger, stunned.

In that instant, Mira ranted on.

“Master does something completely different! Not at all, not even a little, the same!”

“Indeed, that’s correct.”

Risha chimed in, nodding.

“Master doesn’t just hand out food. Yes, they gave immediate sustenance—but they also think ahead. Master isn’t just giving fish. Master gives the fishing rod too, after the fish.”

That's right, that's right. I brought plenty of fishing rods too.

Risha and Mira took turns defending me, back and forth.

"Hah... what a waste of effort. Those people—"

"Lord Marait!"

One of the soldiers cut in.

She lunged at Malart, but was kicked away in a rage.

After kicking him aside, Malart asks.

“What?”

"T-the enemy's attacking!"

"Enemy attack?!"

Yes! Hostiles with weapons are approaching from the east and south—engaged in combat just outside the town!

"Who the hell are you?!"

“B-Biisku and Magatan’s lot…”

“N-no, no, no!”

Malart, face flushed crimson, veins standing out as she raged.

She glared at me with a face like a demon.

You damn—

I'll tell you one thing.

Compared to Malart, I was pretty calm.

"I only taught them how to make weapons. Before I arrived, Magatan's weapons weren't even finished."

They should've still been just magic circles.

"Yet they finished them. Took them. Stood up. Still a parasite?"

"Idiotic! That's absurd! They don't have the guts for something like that!"

"But they're here. Right now."

"——!"

Malart roared, swinging the Azure Dragon Sword in a massive overhead arc.

I dodged at the last second. The blade slammed into the ground, carving out a crater.

I sealed Risha into the Eternal Slave Model R, and faced Malart head-on.

"Got you now, Malart."

"Die, you bastard!"

The Azure Dragon Sword came down again, even more forceful than before.

"Hmph!"

I deflected it with my flaming blade—Risha’s. The two blades clashed, and the Azure Dragon Sword melted like butter, splitting cleanly in two.

"What—?!"

Maraht’s shock didn’t even last a heartbeat before I pressed forward.

“End of the line.”

“Gah—!?”

I split Maraht clean through, top to bottom, in one swift motion.

Split in two, crumbling to the ground—Maraht.

Seeing that, her subordinates scattered like spiders’ eggs in the wind.

Faced with the tide of townspeople rushing in from Beesuk and Magatan, Maraht’s soldiers broke apart completely.