"W–Whoa, what's going on?!"
The advancing Herman soldiers were startled by the sudden appearance of the black figures. It was understandable—shields raised, nerves stretched tight in preparation for a bloody battle, and then without warning, a strange silhouette silently appeared beside them. That alone was enough to terrify anyone.
When the Herman soldiers turned to look, they saw that the figures were pitch-black, like living shadows. In the next instant, however, the shadows snapped open snow-white eyes and bared snow-white teeth, roaring at the soldiers like savage beasts trying to tear out their throats!
"Waaah!!"
Faced with these horrifying shadows, the Herman soldiers instinctively raised their weapons and slashed at them!
In an instant, the entire front line descended into chaos! Every soldier began swinging their weapons at anything beside them, trying to eliminate the suddenly appearing shadow monsters. But what they did not expect was that these creatures were unbelievably fragile. The moment a sword struck down, the shadow dispersed like a wisp of thick smoke—
Yet immediately afterward, a blade swung in from the opposite side. Another soldier had attacked from the flank, slashing directly at his comrade!
"Stop! Stop attacking!"
While blocking blows from his own men, a squad leader shouted desperately.
"They're just illusions, stop fighting—"
Before he could finish, a shadow suddenly appeared beside him. A shadowy sword flashed, and in the next moment blood sprayed from the squad leader's throat. His eyes widened in shock as he collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Seeing this, the surrounding soldiers panicked even more.
Indeed, perhaps these strange monsters were not very durable—
But they could kill.
That alone was terrifying enough.
On the city wall, witnessing the scene below, Urzze and the others were equally stunned. In contrast, the Manaria group looked completely unsurprised, as if this were routine.
"Wow, her magic is still as insidious as ever."
"I really don't like this kind of magic…"
Watching the chaotic Herman army below, the Manaria students commented one after another. Hearing them, Urzze and Qierdi stepped closer curiously.
"Excuse me, what kind of magic is that?"
"Oh, it's just a type of illusion magic."
"Illusion magic…?"
Qierdi frowned.
"You mean it's just an illusion?"
"No, no, that girl's magic isn't that simple."
Hannah chuckled and pointed at the girl beside her.
"Did you see the match she's holding?"
"…Yes."
Following Hannah's gesture, Urzze and Qierdi nodded. The girl was indeed holding a lit match, simply standing there watching the battlefield. That in itself was strange to them, because in this world's understanding, magic required chanting and deliberate release. Casting a spell just by lighting a match was something they had never seen before.
"It's simple. The spell she's using now is an illusion spell. In short, the light from that burning match shines onto the Herman soldiers. And as you know, where there is light, there are shadows. She uses magic to manipulate those shadows. In other words, those soldiers are fighting their own shadows."
"…That's possible?"
Urzze and Qierdi were completely shocked. They had never heard of such bizarre magic.
"Of course. Magic can accomplish many things. And her ability doesn't stop there. Under the right conditions, she could even transform the entire environment into an illusion. However, her magic has a flaw—it can only be used at night or in dim lighting. During the day, it's not nearly as effective."
After all, it was illusion shadow magic. Without shadows, its effectiveness was naturally greatly reduced.
But in this pitch-black night, it was the perfect tactic.
Shadows could not be completely killed unless the person casting them was killed. Even if you destroyed one shadow, another would soon appear.
Though fragile as paper, their attacks were just as lethal. One strike from you meant death for them. One strike from them—
Meant death for you.
There was simply no way to fight this!
Soon, the front-line soldiers began retreating rapidly. The troops behind them, unaware of what was happening, also fell into confusion. Fortunately, the illusion magic had a limited range. Once the soldiers retreated far enough from the walls of Fortress Boen, the shadow monsters that had clung to them vanished.
Upon learning of the situation, Kriolyov was astonished. But he could not possibly give up so easily. He tried several more assaults in succession. After suffering casualties without making even the slightest progress, Kriolyov was forced to temporarily withdraw. Morale had already been low. If this continued, the army might collapse entirely.
For Qierdi, Urzze, and the others from this world, the scene was beyond belief.
"I never imagined magic could be this powerful…"
Urzze clicked her tongue in amazement. She knew magic was strong, but she had never expected such strange spells to be this effective. That girl's shadow magic was practically perfect for night operations.
I really want to visit that country…
Earlier, Urzze had heard Duanmu Huai describe Manaria. It was a magical kingdom even stronger than Seth, yet it lacked Seth's oppressive second-class citizen system. That had surprised her. She had long wanted to see it for herself. Perhaps she could learn from them and apply those ideas to governing Seth.
After this adventure ends, I should talk to the Inquisitor about it.
Thus the night passed.
When the sun rose the next day, Kriolyov assembled his troops once more and launched another assault on Fortress Boen.
Since it was daytime, shadow illusion magic would be useless.
And so—
"Please leave the next part to me!"
The girl dressed like a magician leapt lightly onto the wall, holding her top hat and cane. Facing the aggressive Herman soldiers charging once again, she showed no fear. Instead, she raised her staff.
"Mana infusion!"
At her call, a magic circle appeared in her hand and quickly overlaid itself onto her staff. The staff began to glow. Chunks of earth rose from the ground at her feet, circling around her. With an elegant spin, she pointed her staff forward.
"Heed my call! Appear, loyal shields! Protect your master until you are shattered to pieces!"
As she finished her incantation, the ground trembled violently. Then, from beneath the earth, two enormous mud colossi emerged—each taller than the walls of Fortress Boen, shaped like bowling pins with arms and legs. They raised their hands, opened their mouths, and let out booming cries of "Bo-oh——!"
"W–What are those things?!"
The sudden appearance of the mud colossi threw the Herman soldiers into panic. The girl merely pointed her staff forward, and fragments of earth quickly fused onto the colossi, forming an indestructible suit of armor.
"Destroy the enemy, mud colossi!"
"Bo-oh——!!"
With the flower mage's command, the two mud colossi roared and charged at the Herman army!
"H–How are we supposed to fight that?!"
The Herman soldiers were utterly dumbfounded!
"Attack! Attack! They're just made of dirt! Don't be afraid! Take them down!!"
Though they rallied their courage and charged forward, the colossi were simply too massive. Their strength alone was enough to overwhelm the soldiers. After tremendous effort, the Herman troops finally managed to chop the two mud colossi into fragments—
But nearly everyone was wounded. In this battle alone, seven to eight hundred front-line soldiers were injured.
However, they failed to notice that the girl on the wall was watching them calmly. Then she raised her staff again.
"This is only the beginning. Now taste the true power of alchemy… Come forth!"
"Rumble!!!"
Before the front-line soldiers could even catch their breath, the ground split open again. A massive earth dragon burst forth, formed entirely of soil. It glared viciously at the enemy and opened its mouth.
In the next moment, a soul-shaking dragon's roar echoed across the battlefield.
"Damn it, this is impossible to fight!"
By the time Kriolyov and his men finally killed the earth dragon rampaging across the field, it was already dusk. The First Legion had suffered grievous losses. Hundreds had died to the dragon, and over a thousand soldiers and knights were wounded.
And the enemy—
Not only had they suffered no casualties, they likely hadn't even been scratched.
More importantly, they had never seen magic like this before. They had no idea how to counter it!
"Shall we continue, sir?"
"Of course…"
Clenching his fists, Kriolyov panted heavily. During the fight with the earth dragon, he had been struck by its tail and nearly lost consciousness. Fortunately, it was not a real dragon—otherwise, he would not have survived.
"Frontal assault won't work. In that case, dispatch scouts and assassins to infiltrate Fortress Boen!"
For Kriolyov, there were no better options left.
(End of Chapter)