Rivage fired his magic at Nazelbart again.
I need to achieve results! For His Majesty!
Although Nazelbart stopped for a moment after getting hit by the magic, he quickly went back to normal. Rivage suddenly turned his attention to the person flying behind Nazelbart. It was a suspicious man who was covering his face with a bandana.
“Are you all right, Lord Nazelbart?” the man called out. “That’s unmistakably Robin’s magic! I’ve used release on it before so I can tell! I’ve always thought that Prince Rivage’s magic was sealing, but his actual magic is undoubtedly duplication!” It seemed that the man had figured out Rivage’s magic. He had been flying on his mountbeast close to Nazelbart for some time now, so he might have been able to examine the magic’s effect up close. And there was no doubt that he was the one nullifying Rivage’s magic.
Now that the mystery was solved, Rivage only needed to deal with this problematic individual.
“Aim for the man behind Nazelbart! Do that and we can win!” Rivage ordered his nearby subordinates. Next, he used his mental recovery on all enemy soldiers besides Nazelbart at once. How about this? Even if this suspicious man could nullify Rivage’s magic, it would likely be difficult to nullify it on such a large number of people.
Just as Rivage expected, the enemy soldiers fell into disarray. The man with the bandana couldn’t nullify the magic on many people at once, perhaps because he didn’t have all that much mana.
I see now. If I cast my magic at Nazelbart with all my strength, I might be able to overpower that man’s magic. If we both simultaneously used our magic at full power, I would come out on top... In that case, Nazelbart will also be affected by my mental recovery. In short, Rivage just needed to exhaust his enemy’s mana. With victory once again within sight, a faint smile curled on his lips.
Very well. I’m going all out! Rivage raised his hand toward the approaching Nazelbart. However, Rivage was unable to use his magic, because a large flock of birds suddenly descended right in front of him.
These are...satie condors, birdlike manabeasts that live in deserts? These were incredibly ferocious manabeasts that attacked anything that came close, be it man or manabeast. They were also carnivorous. But they shouldn’t be the kind of manabeast that moves in flocks... Between the parala scarabs earlier and now these, something’s wrong.
Rivage just barely avoided the satie condor flock. Right after the manabeasts passed him by, the purple wyvern appeared at point-blank range.
“Wha—”
Rivage’s subordinates quickly fought back but were easily brushed away by the man with the blue hair riding the wyvern.
He’s strong even though he isn’t using any magic?
Furthermore, as if acting in concert with the blue-haired man, the satie condor flock charged at Rivage. The birds were moving like they were trying to hinder Rivage and his men and help the Desnimers. Parala scarabs were also gathering at Rivage’s feet. Fortunately, since he was riding a hard-skinned ribbon lizard, he wasn’t injured at all and didn’t come into contact with the scarabs.
Many manabeasts with extremely unpleasant traits had gathered. Even if we try to exterminate them, all these manabeasts are difficult to aim at because of their small size.
“Are you a subordinate of Nazelbart, the Margrave of Sutrena?” Rivage asked the blue-haired man.
“You must be joking,” he replied with a disgusted expression. “I don’t have a specific job at the moment. I was living a quiet, reclusive life on a tropical island, until you got in the way.”
Rivage didn’t really understand why, but this man seemed to be bearing a heavy grudge against him. It was incomprehensible...
Ugh, dealing with Nazelbart, the man with the blue hair, and the one with the bandana all at the same time is really difficult. Rivage’s reliable subordinates were busy fighting with the parala scarabs and satie condors. At some point, snakelike and centipede-like manabeasts had also appeared. They’ve shown up in a very unnatural way. This must also be the result of someone’s magic.
Even those among Rivage’s men who could use powerful magic such as flamethrower, sand diving, envenom, or stone throwing couldn’t use them to much effect since Sutrena’s soldiers were simply invincible. What on earth was up with those invulnerable soldiers?! Not even poison worked on them! The people of Sutrena were not to be underestimated. They were definitely all under the effects of some kind of magic.
I want to learn the cause! But cutting my way through this place comes first.
Rivage ordered all of his men to retreat. They couldn’t fight properly like this. The other Desnimer forces, besides the ones from Sutrena, had firmly fortified the rear lines, so invading farther into Polpystani territory seemed unlikely now. With Desnim’s appearance, Rivage’s original plan had completely gone out the window. He’d sent spies to Desnim in advance to investigate the situation there, in order to quickly notice if they sortied and either obstruct the movement or prepare for it. However, there had been no sign of a massive army like this one approaching. No one had noticed them crossing the highway or moving en masse atop their mountbeasts.
Just where did they appear from? The mystery only deepened.
“Am I right to assume you are the one in charge of this assault?”
As Rivage was running away from the purple wyvern, Nazelbart circled in front of him on the pink wyvern.
“Nazelbart!”
“I have no interest in your conflict with Polpystan, but I can’t turn a blind eye to you trying to mess with our handmaiden. I’m ending this worthless fight, Your Highness.”
“Ugh...” Rivage prepared his mental recovery magic. This time he would surely send Nazelbart into a daze and seal his mana, then escape from here. “Eat this!” Rivage’s magic flew straight at Nazelbart and hit him directly. As expected, the man with the bandana nullified his magic from a short distance away, but Rivage’s output was stronger.
I can do this! But at that moment, the ribbon lizard Rivage was riding lost its balance. Plants were rapidly growing under its feet, blocking Rivage’s path like a thick, tough embankment. They blocked the space between Rivage and Nazelbart, interrupting his mental recovery magic. I was so close. The plants started multiplying to surround Rivage. He didn’t have any magic he could use against this.
I’ll be in trouble if this continues. Results, I need to achieve results, I... As Rivage grew anxious, parala scarabs gathered by his side. As if to deliver the coup de grâce, they all used the stingers on their tails to open holes in the spheres they were rolling. Paralyzing fog was released from the spheres, enveloping Rivage along with his mountbeast. This feat would be impossible for a single scarab, but their power was unimaginable in such a large swarm.
I can’t move. Even without him inhaling the mist, Rivage’s entire body became paralyzed just from contact with it.
“That will do,” Nazelbart said in a somewhat satisfied tone at the same time as Rivage lost consciousness.