ALL NOVEL Chapter 170
170. Skill Is Something You Only Truly Understand By Witnessing It Firsthand, Isn’t It?
The tentacles wreaking havoc on the ship were swiftly repelled by Raidoc and Eva’s quick action.
That said, there’s no guarantee they lack regenerative powers like the legendary Eight-Headed Hydra.
The main body of the massive squid emerged a short distance from the shore, its remaining tentacles writhing ominously. Its sheer size exceeded even the largest of ships; approaching by swimming would be suicidal.
Yet, Raidoc turned back without a hint of concern and uttered a single word.
“Eva.”
“Leave it to me, Raidoc-sama!”
Eva adjusted the brim of her wide-pointed hat, a design favored by ancient wizards, and raised her equally archaic wand.
Taking a deep breath, she initiated a complex magical formula, pulling in an immense concentration of mana.
While Eva had always been an exceptional magician, acquiring the Wiseman’s Emblem elevated her power to an extraordinary level, akin to that of a sorcerer from the flourishing magic civilizations of old.
Then, she quietly invoked her spell.
“[Thorned Rose Convergence Binding Prison]”
A prison of steel-thorned roses appeared, encasing the giant squid.
Wait a second—wasn’t that supposed to be a defensive spell?
No, the name of the spell is different.
Rather than protect the squid, the thorns ensnared and constricted it, driving their steel spikes deep into its flesh. Like serpents, they twisted and tore their bodies apart.
…Gruesome!
In just a few minutes, the monstrous squid was reduced to scraps less valuable than a tattered rag and sank pitifully into the sea.
Rest in peace.
“Raidoc-sama! Did you see that? I’ve modified [Steel Thorned Rose Prison] into my original spell!”
“Uh…yeah. That was…an incredible spell.”
“I worked hard on it!”
Eva beamed with pride, but honestly, Raidoc looked more disturbed than impressed.
Should I tell her?
Before I could decide, the fishermen, who had been watching in stunned silence, finally snapped out of it.
“Y-You guys are incredible! I always thought Imperial adventurers were useless, but I guess there are exceptions!”
Since arriving in this country, I’d heard whispers about Imperial adventurers.
It seems there’s some exchange between the kingdom and the eastern empire.
As I debated whether to correct their assumption, a thunderous roar reverberated.
Another massive water column rose, and three more giant squids surfaced near the harbor.
“Why the hell are there so many krakens in this cove?!”
“This is no joke! Where’s the navy?!”
“You all should run too!”
The panicked fishermen and sailors bolted toward the road leading to the northern gate, where a cloud of dust rose in the distance.
It turned out to be a cavalry unit, about a hundred strong, charging our way.
In Mizuho, it seems cavalry traditionally ride bipedal birds—just like Persia. Unfortunately, my trusty mount, Tebasaki, was back at the inn.
When the leading rider arrived, the samurai scanned us and the fishermen.
“We heard krakens appeared and rushed here. I’m glad everyone seems unharmed.”
To my surprise, the samurai was a woman. And quite a beauty at that, with striking black hair and a sharp, commanding presence.
She looked younger than me. Her armor was notably light compared to the other samurai, suggesting she wasn’t one to command from the frontlines.
“Nobuna-sama! There are four krakens near the harbor!”
“That’s serious! …Wait, I only see three?”
The samurai, apparently named Nobuna, tilted her head as she observed the rampaging squids.
“These people already defeated one!”
“Yeah! With amazing swordsmanship and magic!”
“I’ve never seen anything like it!”
The fishermen’s excitement made Nobuna’s expression hard to read.
“So…you’re saying they’re stronger than us?”
“What?! No, that’s not—”
“Compared to your swordsmanship and Onmyou magic, Nobuna-sama…”
The men hesitated, clearly wary of her reaction.
Finally, one of the samurai—though his attire was more flowy and white than the others—spoke up.
A few similarly dressed riders followed him, likely part of a mage unit or something similar.
“Nobuna…that’s enough. The krakens aren’t going to deal with themselves, you know. People are depending on us.”
This man, called Kanetsugu, had a strangely deferential demeanor, a stark contrast to the commanding presence of most samurai I’d encountered.
Combined with his attire, he came across as somewhat weak—though perhaps that’s unfair.
“If you don’t start giving orders, we can’t act.”
“I understand, Kanetsugu.”
It seems this nervous man was indeed Kanetsugu.
“All samurai, draw your blades! Focus on the legs attached to land! Onmyou practitioners, attack the main bodies! Target the nearest one first!”
“““Yes, ma’am!!!”””
Armored samurai began attacking the tentacles damaging the ships, with Nobuna leading the charge.
“[Shining Rainbow Slash]!”
The young girl unleashed an incredibly powerful technique.
“What the hell was that?! So cool!”
“Totally unfair! I want to shout awesome move names too!”
As we gawked at the flashy technique, Raidoc gave a thoughtful “Hmm,” swung his sword lightly, and smirked.
“I’ll lend a hand. The rest of you, guard Kyle-sama.”
“I’ll join too!”
“Then it’s me and Solar. Everyone else, hold position.”
“I’d like to—”
“No, Eva. Without proper training, you might disrupt their coordination.”
“…Understood.”
Solar shot Eva a condescending look, and she glared back.
Please, cut it out.
“Let’s go, Solar! We’ll handle the one they’re not targeting!”
“Right!”
The hundred or so soldiers of Mizuho concentrated their forces on a single kraken, leaving the other two mostly unchecked. Raidoc and Solar moved toward one of these.
“[Shining Rainbow Slash]!”
Raidoc’s technique mirrored Nobuna’s earlier attack but was noticeably stronger.
One strike severed a tentacle into seven pieces, which fell onto the shore with a thud.
The samurai, especially Nobuna and Kanetsugu, stared in disbelief.
Nobuna’s expression twisted slightly in irritation.
“Impressive…but can you handle this? [Infinity Blizzard]!”
Her massive single-edged blade unleashed a flurry of frost, an awe-inspiring display of willpower manifesting in a supernatural phenomenon.
It was undeniably stunning.
Still…
“This country’s sword techniques are ridiculously cool!”
“I second that!”
Eva nodded fervently.
Seriously, what’s with this place?
And yet, the most unfair one of all was still Raidoc.
“[Infinity Blizzard]”
A freezing storm surrounded a tentacle, shattering it into countless fragments with hammer-like force.
Even Nobuna and Kanetsugu were left slack-jawed.
Ignoring them, the white-robed mages held up talismans—Kanetsugu’s unit.
“““We beseech thee, come forth from the netherworld! [Ubume Doji]!”””
The talismans transformed into eerie creatures resembling large birds with female torsos.
“Whoa!”
I instinctively braced myself, but the summoned creatures targeted the kraken instead, swarming it.
Once they finished off their target, they reverted to talismans and vanished.
“I’ve never seen magic like this. Is it some kind of summoning art?”
Eva murmured, fascinated.
“Yeah. The world’s a big place. But they’ve definitely got emblems.”
“True. Generis would be thrilled to learn about them.”
Hearing the emblem official’s name made me smirk.
“Yeah, he’d be losing his mind right now.”
We exchanged a knowing laugh.
“Two more to go.”
Well, it’ll be fine.
After all, Solar’s prepping to unleash something big.