The clan creation test held by the Seeker Guild--the contest over Dantalion, was going to proceed as scheduled.
The location of the test was the dense forest at the foot of Gustav Mountain, which boasted the tallest peak in the Empire. As Abysses formed easily in this mana-filled forest, it was under the constant supervision of the Seeker Guild.
Near the entrance of the dense forest was the area encroached by the Abyss, which was circular in shape, and about five kilometers in diameter. The surrounding areas had already been closed off, and armed guards were posted at key points to keep the public out.
「I’m delighted to see everyone from Sky Winged Knights and Blue Beyond welcome this day in good health. Looks like the preparations for both sides have been completed」
Harold, who was serving as the witness, surveyed all of us.
「I'll explain the details of today's test once more. Going forward, both parties will be exploring the Abyss in front of us, and will have to subjugate its core, Dantalion. And, this is a contest. Interfering with each other is allowed as long as it doesn’t rise to the level of causing deaths. The winner is the party that defeats Dantalion first. That party will be allowed to create a clan. For the party that loses, it will have to be dissolved. Is that okay with all of you?」
We nodded. The fighting spirit of the members of Sky Winged Knights, who were standing face-to-face with us, was tremendous, bearing testimony to the fact that they were battle-hardened Seekers. If we fought them directly, the three of us would probably be unable to do anything but get suppressed by them.
「Before starting the test, the leaders of both parties, step forward. Please shake hands and swear to fight fairly」
As instructed, Leon and I stepped forward and shook hands with each other.
「Noel, as I said before, I'll give it everything I’ve got」
「Yes yes, let's do our best, I suppose」
Harold raised one hand as we returned to our respective parties.
「Well then, test start!」
The instant Harold swung his hand down, everyone from Sky Winged Knights made to rush in unison towards the dense forest. On the other hand, we unhurriedly put our knapsacks on the ground.
「Both of you, I’m going to spread the sheet, so remove the stones on the ground」
「Got it」「Understood」
When Kouga and Alma had cleared away the stones that were in the way, I spread the sheet that I had brought on the ground.
「Alright, I guess that’s fine. --Well then, shall we eat?」
We sat on top of the sheet, took out large lunch boxes from our knapsacks, and started eating lunch.
Inside each lunch box was a luxurious selection of not only sandwiches and meat dishes, but also desserts containing seasonal fruits. It was the special Seeker lunch box that was handmade by the boss of the Stardrop Inn.
「......Noel, what’s the meaning of this?」
I looked up and saw Leon standing there with a bewildered look.
「Hey there, Sky Winged Knights. Is it alright for you to take your time? It’s a contest, you know?」
「No, that’s my line…… What are you guys doing?」
「What are we doing? As you can see, we’re having lunch」
At my reply, Leon pinched his cheek.
「I don't understand the meaning of what you're saying. Why is there a need to have lunch here?」
「Because we can't fight on empty stomachs」
「This is a contest, you know!? This is not the time for you to kick back and relax!」
「Slow and steady wins the race, is how the saying goes, right?」
「Wha, y, you……」
Leon, whose shoulders were trembling in anger, turned his gaze to Harold.
「Harold, what's the meaning of this!?」
「Err, even if you ask me……」
Harold, also looking bewildered, approached me.
「Noel, what are you doing? I already declared the start of the test, you know?」
「Like I said, I’m having lunch」
「Hnn? ……Are you forfeiting the test?」
「No way! I'm not going to do that」
「Then, hurry up and stand. Otherwise, I’ll consider it as your forfeiture of the test」
「There should be no such rule, right? Then, there’s no reason for me to obey」
「That's correct, but……」
The moment Harold faltered, Leon shouted with rage.
「Stop messing around! Stand! Stand and fight!」
「I don’t want to. If too much time passes, my lunch will go bad」
「Don't you want to create a clan!? If you lose this contest, let alone creating a clan, you’ll have to dissolve your party, you know!?」
「I know」
「In that case--」
「However, I have no intention of hurrying. I’ll let my senior have the first move, so please go ahead」
「YOU!!!」
Enraged, Leon reached out to grab my lapel. One step ahead of him, Kaim grabbed the arm he extended towards me.
「Stop it. Let's go」
「B, but!」
「Leon, don’t lose sight of your goal」
「……Got it」
Leon shot me a glance and turned on his heel.
「Noel, I’m disappointed in you……」
†
†
Leon and his party cautiously explored the Abyss. Using Ophelia's detection Skill to investigate, Dantallion, the core of this Abyss, seemed to be two kilometers ahead from their current location.
「Including its subordinates, they number around 500. --Oh, wait a minute」
Ophelia's ears twitched, listening to the far-away situation.
「An advance force numbering 200 is coming. I wonder why they started upwind from us where we would be able to smell them? But, because their speed is slow, I think we’ll encounter them in about five minutes」
Leon surveyed their surroundings and pondered deeply.
「Alright, let's engage them here. This just happens to be a location where the spacing between the trees is wide. After defeating the advance force, we’ll proceed once again. Everyone, prepare yourselves for battle」
Following Leon's instructions, Kaim and Ophelia readied their weapons and got into position. However, Vlaclav didn't move and raised his hand instead.
「Leon, can I have a little bit of everyone's time?」
「Did something happen?」
「It’s probably something that shouldn’t be said at a time like this, but still, I want to say it while we have the leeway for it. The other day, Noel Stollen visited me」
「Huh? What do you mean?」
「He asked me to betray Sky Winged Knights」
In spite of himself, Leon was taken aback by Vlaclav’s confession. Kaim and Ophelia were also so surprised that they were at a loss of words.
「Of course, I refused. I couldn’t stand to listen to the nonsensical things he kept going on about. However, the possibility that he might have visited someone other than me exists. I don't want to think that there are traitors among us, but I want to clear it up right now」
Vlaclav looked at everyone in turn. This was something that Leon knew absolutely nothing about, so his head automatically shook. But Ophelia raised her hand nervously.
「He visited me too……」
「What did you say!?」
「O, of course, I refused too! After all, it's impossible for me to betray everyone!」
Ophelia desperately defended herself. Her words were not suspicious, but they were shocking.
「Actually, he visited me too……」
When even Kaim admitted it, Leon increasingly felt chills run down his spine.
「……Then, Noel tried to entice everyone other than me?」
「It’s because Leon’s the leader. He probably thought that there was no way you could be enticed. All the same, wasn’t targeting us extremely silly?」
When Kaim smiled wryly and shrugged his shoulders, Ophelia breathed a sigh of relief.
「Actually, I was just a little bit worried that we might possibly have a traitor among us. ……Oh, it’s just a little bit! Really!」
Ophelia was flustered by her slip of the tongue, which she had made perhaps because she felt relieved. Seeing that, Leon’s state of mind finally settled down.
「I know. There's no way that any of you will betray Sky Winged Knights」
「In the first place, I didn’t quite understand what Noel was saying. He said that he would give me freedom in return, but I can only think of it as a nonsensical remark」
As Vlaclav tilted his head, Ophelia clapped her hands.
「I was told that too! That’s so incomprehensible, isn’t it?」
「He told me that too. Haha, it was the funniest joke that I’ve heard」
Looking at Kaim also nod his head, it appeared that Noel had used the same words to entice all of them.
「What was the flow of the conversation like when he said that?」
It was simply curiosity on his part. However, when Leon asked, all three of their expressions stiffened and they shut their mouths. Despite them saying that those words didn't make any sense, they felt the same fear and anxiety about the context of those words.
「W, well, isn't that enough about Noel already? There’s no traitor among us. In all likelihood, his goal is probably to make us jump at shadows and sap our will to fight. If we worried about it, we'll be playing right into his hands」
What Kaim said was exactly right. Listening to the current topic, Leon also realized the reason why Noel was in no rush to compete with them.
「It appears that he's counting on us to turn on one another and self-destruct」
Therefore, he probably planned to charge in after calmly waiting for the best opportunity to do so.
「……I see, he came up with something interesting」
Looking only at the result, Noel’s plan had ended in failure, and above all else, it was a strategy that he couldn’t approve of. But when he realized that Noel had also intended to fight seriously, Leon was happy.
In retrospect, Sky Winged Knights had always been alone. They had no rivals that could compete with them and push each other to greater heights, and had fought this far only with allies encouraging one another.
Meanwhile, Blue Beyond had appeared like a comet and, as Kaim had said, they had the potential to become a good rival.
However, now that Noel's scheme had fallen apart, Sky Winged Knights would be the winner of this contest. Once the test ended, the fate of being dissolved awaited Blue Beyond.
Leon thought that it was a pity.
「Look, I want to discuss this with everyone, but do all of you want to try inviting Noel and his allies to join Sky Winged Knights after the test is over?」
The three of them widened their eyes at his proposal.
「They have a bright future ahead of them. They’ll definitely become good allies. The condition was that the loser couldn't work with the same members, but if we, the winners, bow our heads and ask, I think that Harold will probably allow it. Everyone, what do you think?」
In truth, Leon thought that he would probably be met with opposition. Because, no matter how promising Noel was, his conduct was not praiseworthy.
However, the reaction was surprisingly not bad.
「I think that it's a good idea……」
The first to agree was Ophelia, who should have been at odds with Noel.
「It’s what I heard from Leisha, but it appears that Noel was betrayed by his allies who stole the party funds. And so, he sold them into slavery in order to get the money back. All the same, I can't accept what he did, but I’ve realized that he had a proper reason for doing it. Above all, I think that Noel’s hungry mentality of always aiming upwards will inspire us in a good way」
Next, Vlaclav nodded.
「I have no objections. In any case, once we become a clan, we’ll need to increase our members」
Finally, Kaim nodded.
「I agree too. But first, we have to finish the test safely」
His eyes weren't looking at Leon, but in another direction.
「Leon, the advance force has increased its speed. They’re coming all at once」
Ophelia informed everyone of the situation, and fitted a magical arrow created by her Skill to her bow.
「I'll make the first move. Eliminate the enemies that remain」
After saying that, Leon, holding a sword and shield, emptied his mind and waited for the enemy.
Before long, countless small lights could be seen from the depths of the forest. They were the glittering eyes of Dantalion's subordinates. Densely packed like a wall, troops of Demon Monkeys with white fur started their attack.
Dantalion was a Beast that could read minds. Naturally, its subordinates had that ability too. Even if he tried to dodge or counterattack, they would be able to read his thoughts and respond immediately. Therefore, just one of the subordinates alone was rated as depth six. Even for a party solely composed of B Ranks, it would not be easy to win against it. And there was a horde of 200 closing in on them.
「Kiiii, yaaaaaa!!!!」
The screams of the Demon Monkeys were deafening. The first troop to leap out were about 30 in number. They leapt at Leon and his party, as if to tear them limb to limb using their sharp claws and fangs.
But the Demon Monkeys hit an invisible wall and stopped moving.
Knight Skill: Holy Shield
A Knight’s defensive Skill that created an invisible barrier.
The traits of a Knight are protection and healing. A vanguard that served as a tank, he would use his defensive Skills to protect his allies and his healing Skills to heal the damage that they took.
However, no matter how outstanding those defensive Skills were, the Demon Monkeys should have been able to see through his movements under normal circumstances. The reason that didn't happen was because Leon could activate Skills without any preparatory actions.
For example, like how shouting loudly increased one’s strength, shouting out a Skill’s name had the effect of making the activation of that Skill smoother. Even if the name of the Skill wasn't shouted out loud, there were many cases where controlling the magic power to activate Skills required preparatory actions that would give the user's hands and feet a certain rhythm.
Through many years of training, Leon had succeeded in completely eliminating such preparatory actions. In other words, he was now able to activate his Skills the instant he thought of using them.
No matter how fast the enemy's ability to read minds was, there was no way to deal with Skills that were activated before they could be read from Leon's emptied mind. Of course, this was not a technique that could be imitated by just anyone. Leon had managed to learn this technique only because the flow of his magic power was innately smoother than that of ordinary people.
In one breath, Leon chopped off the heads of the Demon Monkeys that had been blocked by the barrier. In that moment, while the Demon Monkeys that had hung back were stunned by what Leon did, Kaim's spear, Ophelia's arrows and Vlaclav's heat rays pierced their hearts instantly.
In less than a minute, 200 of the depth six Demon Monkeys had been annihilated. Their movements were quiet and thoroughly refined in every aspect. This was the way the strongest party among B Ranks fought.
「Everyone, let's proceed ahead. The moment we encounter Dantalion, use area-of-effect attacks to wipe out the small fry. We'll finish off Dantalion without a moment's delay」
「「「Understood」」」
Having destroyed the advance force, the members of Sky Winged Knights proceeded further into the depths of the dense forest.
†
†
「Is it really okay for us to be doing something like this……」
Kouga, who was chewing on a sandwich, voiced his anxiety.
Before long, 30 minutes would have passed since the members of Sky Winged Knights entered the Abyss. If I strained my ears, I could hear the sounds of battle.
However, we still hadn't moved and had continued eating the entire time. In particular, Alma, who needed a lot of energy for my strategy, continued to shovel food into her mouth without saying a word.
「If we leave them alone and they go on to defeat Dantalion, won't that spell the end of us? I, I'm worried……」
「They can win. With their strength, it's quite possible for them to defeat Dantalion」
「Eeehhh!? Wh, what!? If they're going to win, we can't be relaxing here, right!?」
With an exclamation of surprise, Kouga shot to his feet. I drank the tea in my flask and shook my head.
「No, they can win. But--」
「Then, it'll be our loss, won't it!? The party will be dissolved, you know!?」
「Idiot, let me finish. There's an essential requirement that they'll need to meet in order to defeat Dantalion. However, it's impossible for them to meet it」
「Essential requirement?」
「They'll need to fight tooth and nail」
When Kouga tilted his head, I continued my explanation.
「Leon is an exceedingly outstanding command tower. He doesn't just possess excellent combat abilities, but also excels in grasping the battle situation. It's one thing if he's a rearguard, but the number of people who are able to serve as the command tower despite being a vanguard can be counted on one hand, even in the imperial capital. However, such excellence will sometimes become a shackle. In other words, he'll only look towards securing unequivocal victories」
「What's wrong with unequivocal victories?」
「That will be shown to us by Sky Winged Knights shortly. Don't worry, Kouga. We'll win. Definitely」
At my declaration, Kouga grudgingly complied and sat back down.
「Well, I’m Noel's blade. So if you tell me to believe, then I'll have no choice but to believe. Hmpt, in any case, I’m stupid so I won't understand anything anyways」
「Men shouldn’t sulk, it’s disgusting. Besides, the seeds have been sown. Our victory is certain」
「No way, did you do something evil again?」
Kouga leaned closer and spoke quietly while watching Harold. Harold was a distance away and had his eyes closed, seemingly using his Skill to keep an eye on the situation inside the Abyss.
「I didn’t do anything evil」
「Liar. In that case, what kind of seeds did you sow?」
「I simply told everyone in Sky Winged Knights, other than Leon, something that’s definitely going to happen」
「What’s that?」
I turned my gaze in the direction that they would be fighting, and twisted my lips.
「Sky Winged Knights will collapse. Because of Leon's betrayal」
What that what you expected? All Noel did this chapter was eat lunch, drink tea and chat. XD
Did you catch that reference to Part 1 though? Hint: Chapter 20. That’s 2 references in 2 chapters. Actually, author has been uncharacteristically giving out hints all over place in the recent chapters. Have you guys figured out the name of this arc yet?
Has Noel's plan really failed? Or is there more to it? What could he possibly mean when he said that Leon will betray Sky Winged Knights!? 4 more chapters till this arc ends. Stay tuned. ( ^ω^ )
I'm unbelievably grateful that you're enjoying my work, but paying bills is an issue at the moment, so it's only with your support that I will be able to continue to provide such translations! Every little bit truly helps!! Thank you so much! Stay safe and healthy, everyone!!!
My other works: Talker Manga, Foreigner(Ihoujin) WN and UHT.
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