Almadianos Eiyuuden

【”What is Oliveira doing?”】

Ross was becoming more and more irritated as the current situation failed to progress in any way .
Oliveira had said that he would prepare a monster that would kill the princess instantly, but Ross could not think of any way to stick a monster to the princess for a second time .
Ross knew that once again using the help of his nephew, who belonged to the knight order, would be too dangerous .

【”I’m surrounded by good for nothings!”】

And that was not all .
After Oliveira killed Casper, it seemed like Ross’ retainers started looking at him in a new light .
Of course, Ross had pa.s.sed off that death as being due to the natural causes, but even so, Casper was a loyal retainer who was very popular among the retainers, and his violent death had left them deeply shaken .
Ross figured that this atmosphere was the main reason for why Oliveira was thinking of leaving the Isengard territory .
But for Ross, Oliveira was still a useful tool that he did not want to part with .

Originally, Ross was a timid and cowardly man .
It was thanks to the power of the monsters gathered by Oliveira that Ross was able to behave in such a high-handed manner now .
He was not capable enough to accept the fact that, by himself, he was nothing more than a foolish feudal lord who could not develop his territory and who only knew how to sacrifice his own people .

Contrarily to him, his father was known as a great and reliable feudal lord .
Perhaps Ross’ distorted ego was a consequence of a complex he had regarding the difference between himself and the great feudal lord that was his father .

At the same time, Ross’ cowardly personality made him well aware that he had taken a very dangerous path .
Therefore, if anything happened, he was planning to feign ignorance and pin everything on Oliveira’s back .
Hence why he was worried that Oliveira would go out of his reach .

【”W-we have a big problem!”】
【”What’s going on!?”】

The chamberlain that Ross had sent to look for Oliveira came back, gasping for breath .

【”Oliveira said that there are trespa.s.sers in the territory and left  towards the swampland in the north!”】
【”Trespa.s.sers?!”】

Ross shouted with a pale face .
Isengard was not a closed territory .
The people of the Jormungand kingdom could come and go as they pleased, so if Oliveira called someone a trespa.s.ser, it was highly likely he meant that that person was a spy .
And if by any chance that spy could get evidence about the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on the princess, everything would be over for Ross .

【”T-this is bad! Gather the knights! Have them follow Oliveira!”】

–
【”Oh, looks like he’s so confident that he came by himself . ”】

Oliveira grinned after receiving a report from an Adria hawk; a familiar of his which was sent to scout ahead .
In the past, Oliveira had been branded as an unqualified mage, and he used to wander at the bottom of despair, but now, he knew the art of controlling monsters .
By employing the special powers of monsters, which could not be mimicked by humans, Oliveira had exceeded the level of normal mages .
He was proud of that .
The stronger the enemy was, the more useful he would be as a sacrifice .
Then, one day, Oliveira would reach heights well beyond the grasp of mages .

【”I’ll teach you the power of Oliveira Armitage!”】

While waiting for Oliveira’s arrival, Kurats found and moved to a vacant place which offered a relatively clear view of the forest .
There were two or three rocks here and there, which were so big that Kurats had to look up to see the top . Those were probably what was preventing trees from growing in the area .
Usually, Kurats would pick a place with many obstacles when fighting against multiple opponents, but this time, he chose an environment that would make it easier for him to use his strength .
He believed that no matter how many enemies there were, he was not going to lose if he could use his full strength .
This choice was the result of Kurats’ absolute confidence in his own power .

【”Man, there as so many, and they just keep increasing . ”】
『Against a man who can control this many monsters at once, even the head of the royal court’s mages would probably have a very hard time . 』
【”Well, that guy is not suited for fighting at all so that’s not saying much . ”】

【”Well, that guy is not suited for fighting at all so that’s not saying much . ”】

While Kurats was having a dialogue that would make Mordred explode from anger if he heard it, he glared at the Adria hawks that were flying in circles above him .
There were already more than 30 monsters surrounding him within the forest, and their numbers kept rising .
This was originally the habitat of these monsters, but the fact that they were all being controlled by a mage was what made the situation dangerous .

Then, that man appeared at last .

【”Looks like I kept you waiting . ”】
【”It’s fine, the wait was enjoyable in its own way . ”】

With bold smiles, Kurats and Oliveira spoke as if they were meeting for a previously arranged date .
Perhaps that was because, while their goals differed, their hearts were in the same place in this battle .

【”―― By the way, just wanted to ask, are you the one behind the abductions that have been happening around here?”】
【”Me, abducting someone? That’s outrageous .  I am an upstanding scholar, I’d never do such a thing . Well, I did collect a few specimens for my research . ”】
【”I see, and I guess you don’t care which species those specimens belong to . ”】
【”How about you? What kind of spy are you? Were you sent from Bessendorf or the royal capital, I wonder . ”】

Both parties kept on smiling as they a.s.sessed each other .
Of course, they knew that the battle could start at any moment, so they were both already in a fighting mindset .

【”You were being way too showy . I mean, I wasn’t even the one who realized there was something going on . ”】
【”It might look that way to you, but I was actually being extremely patient and careful . Otherwise, I’d have experimented much more for the sake of my research . ”】

Both of them understood what each other meant without having to clearly state it .
Even so, they wanted to try to get to know each other better, it was the instinct of a fighter to want to know the kind of person their opponent really was .
Because knowing the opponent would double the pleasure of defeating him .
In that sense, it might have been fair to say that Kurats and Oliveira were equally sick .

【”Seems like my cute monsters brought you some trouble . ”】
【”Nah, there is no way those things could trouble me in any way . Maybe if you sent some more resilient ones, that could do the trick!”】

Kurats’ words of disdain towards Olivera’s monsters was like a signal .

Kurats’ words of disdain towards Olivera’s monsters was like a signal .

【”Very well! I’ll make sure to make you satisfied this time!”】

After declaring that very loudly, Oliveira gave an order to the monsters that followed him .

【”Go, my elites!”】

Suddenly, from underground, a big mole-like monster came to attack Kurats .
At the same time, three Adria hawks started swooping down from the sky, aiming for Kurtas’ eyes .
On top of that, some ogres appeared from the bushes with huge clubs in their hands and rushed towards him as well .
It seemed like Oliveira wasn’t just showing off when he said that he would make Kurats satisfied this time .

【”But he still has some way to go before he can get a pa.s.sing grade from me . ”】

Kurats casually grabbed the mole-like monster that tried to bite his foot and then pulled it from the ground before throwing it towards the sky .
Kurats’ inhuman strength sent the mole at a speed of a hundred kilometers (62 miles) per hour . As it hit the Adria hawks on its path, the monsters created a b.l.o.o.d.y firework in the sky .
One of the Adria hawks barely managed to get away and then proceeded to bravely continue to rush towards Kurats, but it was futile .

【”Humph!”】

Kurats smoothly spun his body and sent a spinning kick upwards .
By inclining his foot ever so slightly, his kick became akin to a sword slash that cut the Adria hawk in half .

【”Raaaaaaaaaaah!”】

Perhaps because they were angry that their allies had lost much faster than expected, the four ogres that had come out from the bushes roared as they rushed towards Kurats .
The ground trembled under the thumps generated by their weight .
The ogres were not as foolish as they seemed . They separated in two groups of two in order to launch a pincer attack, and they matched their timings to attack at the same time .
It would have been impossible for a normal human being to handle the four simultaneous attacks .
But Kurats was no normal human being .

【”That’s more like it!”】

Kurats shouted happily with a smile .
It hadn’t been that long since his fight with red-eyed bear, but he still felt like it had been a while since he last found himself in the mindset of a hunter again .

Kurats shouted happily with a smile .
It hadn’t been that long since his fight with red-eyed bear, but he still felt like it had been a while since he last found himself in the mindset of a hunter again .
In a face off of pure strength, Kurats used his right arm and left leg to block the club of the ogre that was coming from straight in front of him .
However, the ogre’s strength failed to match Kurats’ inhuman power, and, together with the sound of an impact, his club bounced off and dragged the other ogres’ clubs together with it .

【”Impossible… His physical strength is higher than that of an ogre?”】

Although he had been silently watching the fight so far, Oliveira’s facial expression changed .
Kurats’ techniques were still quite rough and weren’t at the level of a knight yet, but what Oliveira had just witnessed was a threat that was far greater than any fighting technique .
That was because, no matter how much he had trained, it should have been basically impossible for a human being to become stronger than an ogre .

【”You b.a.s.t.a.r.d… Who are you? Aren’t you supposed to be a mage?”】
【”Yeah, even though I’m a fighting maniac, I guess I sort of am a mage on the side . “】
『Whaaat?! I am the magic king! What’s with that “on the side” nonsense?! Unacceptable!』

Without caring much about Bernst’s objection, Kurats asked Oliveira a question .

【”Are you done yet? ’cause if you’re not, I’m gonna have to punish you now . ”】
【”Don’t screw with me!”】

Although he had come here to play around with Kurats, he was the one being played now .
Upon realizing that, Oliveira’s pride took an extremely terrible blow, surprising even himself .
(This can’t be . I can’t possibly be acting this weak right now . I’ve sacrificed more lives than I can count, all so that I could become a master of monsters and reach a height that no one else should be able to reach . )

【”It would be embarra.s.sing if that was my limit! You’re a mere human facing off against the power of monsters!”】
【”A mere human? And just what the h.e.l.l do you think you are?”】
【”I am a man who reigns over monsters, a master of monsters! I’m nothing like a frail and pathetic human being such as you!”】
【”You got a few toys and now you think you’re above humans? Don’t make me laugh . ”】

Kurats smiled arrogantly and cracked his knuckles .

【”Guess I’ll just force my way through this childish fight . ”】

【”What is Oliveira doing?”】.

Ross was becoming more and more irritated as the current situation failed to progress in any way Oliveira had said that he would prepare a monster that would kill the princess instantly, but Ross could not think of any way to stick a monster to the princess for a second time Ross knew that once again using the help of his nephew, who belonged to the knight order, would be too dangerous

【”I’m surrounded by good for nothings!”】.

And that was not all After Oliveira killed Casper, it seemed like Ross’ retainers started looking at him in a new light Of course, Ross had pa.s.sed off that death as being due to the natural causes, but even so, Casper was a loyal retainer who was very popular among the retainers, and his violent death had left them deeply shaken Ross figured that this atmosphere was the main reason for why Oliveira was thinking of leaving the Isengard territory But for Ross, Oliveira was still a useful tool that he did not want to part with

Originally, Ross was a timid and cowardly man It was thanks to the power of the monsters gathered by Oliveira that Ross was able to behave in such a high-handed manner now He was not capable enough to accept the fact that, by himself, he was nothing more than a foolish feudal lord who could not develop his territory and who only knew how to sacrifice his own people

Contrarily to him, his father was known as a great and reliable feudal lord Perhaps Ross’ distorted ego was a consequence of a complex he had regarding the difference between himself and the great feudal lord that was his father

At the same time, Ross’ cowardly personality made him well aware that he had taken a very dangerous path Therefore, if anything happened, he was planning to feign ignorance and pin everything on Oliveira’s back Hence why he was worried that Oliveira would go out of his reach

【”W-we have a big problem!”】. 【”What’s going on!?”】.

The chamberlain that Ross had sent to look for Oliveira came back, gasping for breath

【”Oliveira said that there are trespa.s.sers in the territory and left  towards the swampland in the north!”】. 【”Trespa.s.sers?!”】.

Ross shouted with a pale face Isengard was not a closed territory The people of the Jormungand kingdom could come and go as they pleased, so if Oliveira called someone a trespa.s.ser, it was highly likely he meant that that person was a spy And if by any chance that spy could get evidence about the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on the princess, everything would be over for Ross

【”T-this is bad! Gather the knights! Have them follow Oliveira!”】.

–. 【”Oh, looks like he’s so confident that he came by himself . ”】.

Oliveira grinned after receiving a report from an Adria hawk; a familiar of his which was sent to scout ahead In the past, Oliveira had been branded as an unqualified mage, and he used to wander at the bottom of despair, but now, he knew the art of controlling monsters By employing the special powers of monsters, which could not be mimicked by humans, Oliveira had exceeded the level of normal mages He was proud of that The stronger the enemy was, the more useful he would be as a sacrifice Then, one day, Oliveira would reach heights well beyond the grasp of mages

【”I’ll teach you the power of Oliveira Armitage!”】.

 .

◆　　◆　　◆.

 .

While waiting for Oliveira’s arrival, Kurats found and moved to a vacant place which offered a relatively clear view of the forest There were two or three rocks here and there, which were so big that Kurats had to look up to see the top . Those were probably what was preventing trees from growing in the area Usually, Kurats would pick a place with many obstacles when fighting against multiple opponents, but this time, he chose an environment that would make it easier for him to use his strength He believed that no matter how many enemies there were, he was not going to lose if he could use his full strength This choice was the result of Kurats’ absolute confidence in his own power

【”Man, there as so many, and they just keep increasing . ”】. 『Against a man who can control this many monsters at once, even the head of the royal court’s mages would probably have a very hard time . 』. 【”Well, that guy is not suited for fighting at all so that’s not saying much . ”】.

While Kurats was having a dialogue that would make Mordred explode from anger if he heard it, he glared at the Adria hawks that were flying in circles above him There were already more than 30 monsters surrounding him within the forest, and their numbers kept rising This was originally the habitat of these monsters, but the fact that they were all being controlled by a mage was what made the situation dangerous

Then, that man appeared at last

【”Looks like I kept you waiting . ”】. 【”It’s fine, the wait was enjoyable in its own way . ”】.

With bold smiles, Kurats and Oliveira spoke as if they were meeting for a previously arranged date Perhaps that was because, while their goals differed, their hearts were in the same place in this battle

【”―― By the way, just wanted to ask, are you the one behind the abductions that have been happening around here?”】. 【”Me, abducting someone? That’s outrageous .  I am an upstanding scholar, I’d never do such a thing . Well, I did collect a few specimens for my research . ”】. 【”I see, and I guess you don’t care which species those specimens belong to . ”】. 【”How about you? What kind of spy are you? Were you sent from Bessendorf or the royal capital, I wonder . ”】.

Both parties kept on smiling as they a.s.sessed each other Of course, they knew that the battle could start at any moment, so they were both already in a fighting mindset

【”You were being way too showy . I mean, I wasn’t even the one who realized there was something going on . ”】. 【”It might look that way to you, but I was actually being extremely patient and careful . Otherwise, I’d have experimented much more for the sake of my research . ”】.

Both of them understood what each other meant without having to clearly state it Even so, they wanted to try to get to know each other better, it was the instinct of a fighter to want to know the kind of person their opponent really was Because knowing the opponent would double the pleasure of defeating him In that sense, it might have been fair to say that Kurats and Oliveira were equally sick

【”Seems like my cute monsters brought you some trouble . ”】. 【”Nah, there is no way those things could trouble me in any way . Maybe if you sent some more resilient ones, that could do the trick!”】.

Kurats’ words of disdain towards Olivera’s monsters was like a signal

【”Very well! I’ll make sure to make you satisfied this time!”】.

After declaring that very loudly, Oliveira gave an order to the monsters that followed him

【”Go, my elites!”】.

Suddenly, from underground, a big mole-like monster came to attack Kurats At the same time, three Adria hawks started swooping down from the sky, aiming for Kurtas’ eyes On top of that, some ogres appeared from the bushes with huge clubs in their hands and rushed towards him as well It seemed like Oliveira wasn’t just showing off when he said that he would make Kurats satisfied this time

【”But he still has some way to go before he can get a pa.s.sing grade from me . ”】.

Kurats casually grabbed the mole-like monster that tried to bite his foot and then pulled it from the ground before throwing it towards the sky Kurats’ inhuman strength sent the mole at a speed of a hundred kilometers (62 miles) per hour . As it hit the Adria hawks on its path, the monsters created a b.l.o.o.d.y firework in the sky One of the Adria hawks barely managed to get away and then proceeded to bravely continue to rush towards Kurats, but it was futile

【”Humph!”】.

Kurats smoothly spun his body and sent a spinning kick upwards By inclining his foot ever so slightly, his kick became akin to a sword slash that cut the Adria hawk in half

【”Raaaaaaaaaaah!”】.

Perhaps because they were angry that their allies had lost much faster than expected, the four ogres that had come out from the bushes roared as they rushed towards Kurats The ground trembled under the thumps generated by their weight The ogres were not as foolish as they seemed . They separated in two groups of two in order to launch a pincer attack, and they matched their timings to attack at the same time It would have been impossible for a normal human being to handle the four simultaneous attacks But Kurats was no normal human being

【”That’s more like it!”】.

Kurats shouted happily with a smile It hadn’t been that long since his fight with red-eyed bear, but he still felt like it had been a while since he last found himself in the mindset of a hunter again In a face off of pure strength, Kurats used his right arm and left leg to block the club of the ogre that was coming from straight in front of him However, the ogre’s strength failed to match Kurats’ inhuman power, and, together with the sound of an impact, his club bounced off and dragged the other ogres’ clubs together with it

【”Impossible… His physical strength is higher than that of an ogre?”】.

Although he had been silently watching the fight so far, Oliveira’s facial expression changed Kurats’ techniques were still quite rough and weren’t at the level of a knight yet, but what Oliveira had just witnessed was a threat that was far greater than any fighting technique That was because, no matter how much he had trained, it should have been basically impossible for a human being to become stronger than an ogre

【”You b.a.s.t.a.r.d… Who are you? Aren’t you supposed to be a mage?”】. 【”Yeah, even though I’m a fighting maniac, I guess I sort of am a mage on the side . “】. 『Whaaat?! I am the magic king! What’s with that “on the side” nonsense?! Unacceptable!』.

Without caring much about Bernst’s objection, Kurats asked Oliveira a question

【”Are you done yet? ’cause if you’re not, I’m gonna have to punish you now . ”】. 【”Don’t screw with me!”】.

Although he had come here to play around with Kurats, he was the one being played now Upon realizing that, Oliveira’s pride took an extremely terrible blow, surprising even himself (This can’t be . I can’t possibly be acting this weak right now . I’ve sacrificed more lives than I can count, all so that I could become a master of monsters and reach a height that no one else should be able to reach . ).

【”It would be embarra.s.sing if that was my limit! You’re a mere human facing off against the power of monsters!”】. 【”A mere human? And just what the h.e.l.l do you think you are?”】. 【”I am a man who reigns over monsters, a master of monsters! I’m nothing like a frail and pathetic human being such as you!”】. 【”You got a few toys and now you think you’re above humans? Don’t make me laugh . ”】.

Kurats smiled arrogantly and cracked his knuckles

【”Guess I’ll just force my way through this childish fight . ”】.