Outpost Battle: Oni vs. Wind and Thunder ③

This is it… finished.

Control the weather.

Had not expected it to be this troublesome.

A fierce wind strikes against my body.

In a previous life, memories surfaced of news footage showing people immobilized by typhoon winds, struggling to move.

Upon hearing wind magic, the first image that comes to mind is thorn-tornadoes or whirlwinds.

Whirlwind blade, cleaving with the force of wind.

Tornadoes are easily imagined as natural disasters.

Yet even without such things, wind is inherently strong.

Experiencing it firsthand.

The force of the wind hitting them was strong enough to blow one off their feet if not careful.

If even I, with my high status, am in this state, then ordinary humans would have long since been blown away.

The future, where momentum carries them straight into the ground or some other destination.

The wind speed is unknown, but the impact felt by the body suggests it is equivalent to, or exceeds, that of a super-large typhoon from a previous life.

Even in past lives, such typhoons could displace cars and tear off rooftops.

The outcome of being struck directly by such force is self-evident.

Fortunately, I have not been blown away. Even if I were, my high stats would prevent fatal injury from impact.

Yet, the constant barrage of wind restricts nearly all movement.

Moreover, the direction of the wind shifts unpredictably.

A moment of inattention, and the sudden change in direction will send me flying.

And as I am held in place by the wind, lightning descends upon me.

Literally, lightning falls in a rain-like pattern, striking intermittently.

I intercept the lightning with four lightning blades, held between the fingers of one hand—two as backup.

One blade alone could no longer contain the onslaught.

Whether it was more efficient to strike through the clouds than direct the lightning from the beast’s body, the assault was overwhelming.

The rain soaking my body also contributed subtly.

As a result, HP decreased steadily.

Not all lightning was blocked—small shocks accumulated, proof of partial failure.

I withdraw an arbitrary magical sword from the air, using it as a lightning rod.

The lightning is drawn to the blade.

In that instant, I unleash fire from the opposite hand, wielding a flame blade.

But the fire’s momentum dissipates instantly, overwhelmed by the downpour—unreachable by the leopard dragon.

By the time the lightning rod—my thrown sword—was shattered by lightning, the storm had turned its fury back toward me.

Completely trapped.

Stranded completely by the gale-force wind, forced to take the lightning attack head-on—already difficult to evade.

Additionally, this attack will be nullified by the rain.

The leopard dragon and the pteral dragon do not approach in close combat—they remain aloft, circling without descending.

HP and MP were decreasing steadily.

Weather manipulation of this scale, intermittent lightning strikes.

The other side likely does not consume lightly either.

Yet they continue attacking like this—presumably confident that I will exhaust my strength before their MP depletes.

That means trouble if we continue like this.

Something must move from our side—this formation must be broken.

Transference.

Unfortunately, my skill level in spatial magic is not particularly high.

I use Empty Space frequently, yet the rate of skill progression remains negligible.

Improving skill level in spatial magic among all magical disciplines is difficult.

Not without reason is it considered a rare skill.

Thus, in practical combat, I can effectively use only Empty Space.

Within that Empty Space, is there a magical blade capable of breaking this situation? No.

The Flame Sword and Thunder Sword currently in my possession are, in fact, my finest creations.

If even these masterworks are ineffective, the remaining blades are unlikely to succeed.

The only viable path forward remains close combat—yet to initiate that, this deadlock must be broken.

Yet I have no cards left to play.

...It is a dangerous gamble, but remaining idle leads only to stagnation.

There is no alternative.

Waiting for the wind to shift.

As it stands, the wind is heading toward where Ariel and the others are.

That would not do.

Then, the wind changed direction.

At that instant, I released all tension from my body.

Immediately, my body was lifted and carried away by the wind.

To willingly ride an enemy’s attack—such a thing is impossible.

It could easily place me in an even worse situation than before.

Yet, doing nothing would make changing the situation impossible.

A pterosaur assault likely awaits from here.

I must evade it, and somehow redirect the flow toward us!

‘Ah!?’

‘Wait!? You’re not supposed to be escaping!?’

‘I-I’m sorry! I just… uh… sorry…’

…There was nothing where I was blown to.

No anticipated assault. Nothing at all.

Could it be… these people are even more foolish than I thought?

‘Ah, crap.’

‘Huh?’

『MP, nearing depletion』

『Hey! What the hell are we supposed to do!?』

『Shut up! You dropped that lightning—normal people would be dead by now! It’s his fault he didn’t die!』

『I thought you were going all out—so that’s the real deal!?』

『Be quiet. Or I’ll forcibly close your mouth.』

『Y-yes, sir』

...Idiots.

They were idiots.

So just enduring like that would’ve been advantageous—MP depletion already in progress?

What was the point of my panic...?

A heavy feeling of disappointment rose, alongside an uncontrollable surge of anger.

Was I really being pushed around by these people?

...Fine.

I’ll crush them.

Completely.

With that resolve, I charged forward toward the Pteral and the Leopard Dragon.

『Hah. Whatever.』

The Pteral exhaled loudly.

『I can win on my own just fine.』

The next instant, wind struck with force.

From directly above.

“Gh—!?”

Impact like being hit in the head with a hammer.

A sickening crack echoed from the neck. A shockwave surged through the entire body.

Collapse under pressure. Fall to the ground.

Withdrawn!

From the demeanor, assumed the Leopard Dragon was superior.

But no.

This was different.

The Pteral Dragon was far more dangerous than the Leopard Dragon.

Animation started!

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