That’s right. The arrow was entirely destroyed, leaving no damage to the wall. It didn’t punch into the building, nor did it smash through the stone. It simply broke apart. Aside from the incredible power behind the shot, it was clear the arrow was perfectly ordinary.
Oh, this was really interesting. Turning to see my attacker, I saw a man in a heavy cloak vanish into the darkness. I imagined that cloak was a relic as well.
A single glance was enough for me to get a grasp on his abilities, though.
The fact he only hid himself after firing the shot meant that this particular individual could only use one relic at a time. His method of attack was a relic bow. He likely fed mana into the bow itself, hardening it at the moment of the shot. That would increase the power of the shot significantly, far more than one could expect from a shot fired by a human being.
The cloak likely had some ritual in it to hide the wearer. Something like embroidery would cease to function if it bent and twisted with the wind, so it wouldn’t be reliable. There must have been some kind of metal plate inside it where the ritual was engraved. Though actually, the cloud of darkness that concealed him had come from the entire cloak at once, so there must have been more than one plate. The plates would then have to be connected by Fairy’s Silver or some other material like monster bones, allowing mana to flow between them so they could function as a single relic.
That’s really impressive. Way to go, Kawshman!
While I dodged the blade of another attacker who had suddenly appeared beside me, I was celebrating inside. There were four men pursuing me in total, each and every one of their relics far better than I had anticipated. I doubted every single one of them had been made by Kawshman himself, but there was no doubt that the foundation he laid had been instrumental in their development. After all, the ritual used on the first attacker’s bow was one that he had thought up while I was still in Odine.
“You use a bow, right Acer? Wouldn’t a magic bow be interesting? You could make it so that drawing back the bow to a certain point completed the form of the ritual, activating the spell at the perfect moment.”
He had seemed so proud of the idea. At the time, though, I had told him it would be too dangerous, as strengthening the stopping power of a bow like that would make it difficult to tell where the arrow was going to end up. It seemed he had remembered my criticism and worked a way around it. Though it wasn’t perfect, he had made it in a way that fired the arrow straight forward.
As my teacher, my student, and my rival, Kawshman was truly incredible. Even while I was under attack, I couldn’t stop grinning. A bow like that would inevitably be quite difficult to use, but the attacker’s first arrow had been on the right course to hit me.
The second attacker’s sword was wreathed in lightning, meaning if it struck someone wearing metal armor, it would still deal significant, possibly even fatal, damage.
Excellent relics, wielded by elite warriors. I could understand completely how the military in Odine would be afraid of this information leaking out to other countries. That said, not just anyone could make use of relics, and it didn’t seem like the impact those few people had would be enough to change wartime tactics on a grander scale yet.
And if it mattered, the skill and power of those pursuing me were still a far cry from being able to capture or kill me. To the point that even without the aid of the spirits, I was confident they wouldn’t be able to beat me. Though the possibilities these relics created were quite interesting, just like seven-star adventurers, they still weren’t quite at the level needed to take me on. If the production of relics and skills of their wielders continued to develop at this pace, they might manage it someday, but I didn’t know if Odine would be capable of such advancement now that Kawshman was gone.
At any rate, it was about time I put a stop to the attack. If I used my sword to cut them down, I’d damage the cloaks beyond usefulness. On top of that, once I defeated one or two of them, there was a possibility the others would run. Taking them all down at once with the help of the spirits felt like the best option. I had a deep interest in all of the relics they were using, so if at all possible, I intended to take every single one of them for myself. They would have to serve as my personal souvenirs from the Alliance.
The military would no doubt be angry at their loss, but they could always make more. Skilled wielders for their relics would be much harder to come by, though, so I would leave them alive to return home. It was perhaps a softer hand than was necessary for dealing with people who had come to take my life, but considering how little danger I was in and how little effort it would take to fight back, it seemed appropriate.
In other words, the four men were still far too weak to qualify as real enemies.
“Spirits of the wind.”
I called upon the spirits lingering in the cold night breeze.