Elven Village Defense Battle ④

【Lornant】

The barrier shatters. The army advances.

Yet something feels off about the way the barrier broke.

"Master, what is it?"

"Hmm. How do you interpret the manner in which the barrier broke earlier?"

"Indeed, Master, you too found it unnatural?"

"Would I fail to perceive what even my foolish disciple sensed?"

If even a dull-witted student noticed it, it is certain.

That break did not come from the large spell we prepared.

That spell itself was an advanced technique unknown to me, yet the magic users wielding it were weak.

They claim to be church mages, yet their skill is so poor it appears they are being manipulated by the magic itself.

But if not their magic, what caused the barrier to break?

At the moment of impact, it seemed another force struck the barrier simultaneously.

Then there must be something else acting beyond our own forces?

What is its purpose?

A feint by the elf pretending to be an ally?

If so, advancing forward as we are now would be dangerous. Hmm.

"We shall now proceed separately from the main force. Follow."

"Eh!? Wait—Master!?"

"What? That fool Yugou isn’t watching the whole formation. He won’t notice if we split off."

"Is that really the issue!?"

"Perhaps we should leave a messenger behind."

"Is that really where we should focus!?"

My instincts say otherwise.

The entity that shattered the barrier must be verified.

If so, there is no reason to hesitate.

From the fracture pattern of the barrier, approximate positioning can be calculated.

We began advancing toward that location.

Yet, we were met with continuous attacks from all directions within the forest, and were forced to halt our advance shortly thereafter.

Elves fired magic and arrows from between the trees.

"Indeed. Our footing is poor, advance impossible, while they use the trees to gain advantage. The entire forest functions as a vast trap."

"Don't just stand there—work, master!"

The disciple desperately countered the elf's magic.

The battle remained evenly matched.

Losses occurred on our side, yet none of the foolish disciples had fallen.

Slight disappointment.

"Elves, is this all?"

"Master? Are you even listening to me!?"

Elves are, at most, the world's greatest mages.

That was my assessment. But upon actually seeing elves, I realize that evaluation was incorrect.

The fact that they can only match fools like my disciples is proof enough.

Elves are no match for me.

"Hmph."

Constructing magic.

Activating.

The elf fell, pierced through by my magic.

Is this enough now?

Y-yes.

I have eradicated the elves. I begin walking again through the forest, now silent.

The speed of that magical construct.

That may be true, but can it really be possible to generate such a volume of magic all at once?

No—originally, that spell shouldn’t have had tracking capability. Adding such an effect to a spell… he truly is a genius.

To make such a fuss over something so trivial—disgraceful.

Hmm?

Deflect the incoming spell.

Hoh.

Considerable force.

The elves just annihilated differ in drill from these.

A novice, then.

Verify with the far-sight ability.

As with the elf earlier, the tactic of using wood as a shield and attacking from a distance remains unchanged.

A somewhat stern opponent for the disciples.

Which one.

Perhaps it’s time to show real effort.

Construct magic.

Ten times the previous number.

Twice the power.

Tracking performance increases with distance.

The elf’s breath hitched. No reason to grant mercy.

The spell I cast pierced through the elf’s body.

Some deployed defensive magic, but it was pierced through entirely.

Some attempted to cancel it, but failed to fully neutralize it and were pierced.

Some tried to evade and flee, but were caught by the tracking spell.

Teleport.

Before my eyes, after teleporting, stood the one elf who had managed to block my spell.

Yet not completely. The body was stained crimson.

"Master of teleportation already. Monster."

"I am not the monster. You are simply weak."

"Bluster."

The elf summoned magic with the last of its strength.

Too slow.

My magic, initiated later, activated faster. The elf died without resistance.

"Excellent."

"Flattery. Defeating an opponent of this caliber earns no pride."

"An elf, after all. Their magic surpasses humanity by far. To dispatch one so easily—only a master could achieve such precision."

"If that one were present, she would have ended it even more swiftly. This one was weaker than the previous hero."

"Teacher, why did you withdraw that time?"

I paused, considering the disciple's question.

Indeed, as the disciple suspected, I might have prevailed had I exerted full power.

Alone, my odds were below fifty percent. But with the disciples, victory might have been possible.

Yet I had no intention of risking it.

I was too soft.

I did not wish to see the disciple die.

And the sight of a hero’s death.

I had one disciple.

A disciple I could not raise properly with my own hands, burdened as I was by politics and various entanglements.

Our time together lasted only thirteen days.

One who, had I kept them close, might have developed further.

They fought primarily with a sword, yet their true talent lay in magic.

Had I trained them myself, perhaps they would not have fallen to the demon race.

All of it hypothetical.

In thirteen days, there was little I could teach.

Still, the previous Hero, Julius, was undeniably my foremost disciple.

That he instructed me—this is fact.

Yet, as I began teaching others, I sensed something vital.

Had he foreseen this?

I do not know.

His true intent—something beyond my grasp.

The younger brother of a former disciple had indeed grown into a capable individual.

Yet, the sense of guilt for failing to properly guide Julius did not diminish simply because of this. There was, however, a certain sentiment.

Therefore, engaging in battle at that moment had not been an option.

"Caprice."

"Huh."

To conceal the truth, he deflected with a casual evasion.

Well, if I were to encounter that hero again, perhaps I should put a little more effort into it this time.

Victory would be certain against simple strength. But if I do not insist on winning, there are countless ways to proceed.

I might even teach him how to fight without losing.

Of course, whether I will meet him again remains uncertain.

For now, surviving this battlefield takes precedence.