1081: Covenant Magic
Freeing the water dragons went way easier than expected. The presence of Marle inside Fran must have helped us earn their trust.
They remained completely still as I cut through their chains and harnesses. It took less than five minutes to free both.
Raydoss soldiers found us at the last moment, but it was already too late.
「KWOOOOON!」
「KUROOOOOH!」
The two water dragons roared, generating a huge wave. What was left of the two Water Dragon Battles.h.i.+ps capsized, as well as a chunk of remaining vessels.
「Master, we need to keep up with them!」
The rampaging water dragons were practically annihilating the entire Raydoss fleet by themselves. Seeing this, Fran began to worry that she might lose her prey. We hurriedly joined the fray.
『We can’t use thunder magic because it would hit the water dragons.』
「Then we slice through!」
『Got it!』
I transformed into anti-wars.h.i.+p mode, and Fran joined the a.s.sault alongside the water dragons.
We easily cut through even their largest s.h.i.+ps, which then sunk as a burning heap thanks to our Elemental Sword. Some sailors jumped out to the sea before sinking, but the water dragons’ magic made the waves so vicious that they quickly drowned.
Fran’s slashes and the water dragons’ breath attacks sank all the s.h.i.+ps in the fleet one after another. In less than half an hour, the grand fleet was reduced to a wreckage at the bottom of the sea.
There were no survivors.
I thought they would have some special forces to take on strong opponents like before, but no one ever showed up. Just as I was thinking that, one of the water dragons surfaced with something in its mouth.
「Who’s this guy?」
「Kwon!」
It presented the corpse of a man dressed in crumpled armor to us. After an appraisal, I found out he was a Demi-Demonoid.
Pretty strong too, a high level magician capable of casting storm magic. While his physical strength wasn’t too impressive, his magical abilities were on the Rank A level.
In addition, he must have had potent regeneration since he was a Demi-Demonoid like Valusa.
His armor was also high quality, forged of orichalcon and enchanted with barrier and levitation properties. Moreover, I discovered he had a mana circuit connecting him and the Water Dragon Battles.h.i.+p. I’m guessing that gives him access to a virtually unlimited mana supply for casting magic.
Was he supposed to be their secret force? Taking him on at sea might be a bit tricky.
Yet thanks to Marle, he suddenly got cut off from the battles.h.i.+p’s mana supply. He probably attempted to flee the s.h.i.+p when it got sunk out of nowhere, then the dragons struck him down while he was still panicking.
『…Alright, we’ve eradicated their navy now.』
「Next is Shallus!」
『Hey, don’t make it sound like we’re trying to wipe an entire country off the map. To be more precise, we’re going after Raydoss’s ground forces invading from Shallus.』
「?」
It seems Fran considered Shallus to be one of Raydoss’s allies, so she actually wanted to get rid of them for good.
However, attacking across the border without any request from our country will obviously cause an international problem. Intercepting the invasion near the border is still a bit of a gray zone.
『But first we have to figure out what to do with the princesses.』
They may be unconscious now, but they’ll fall under the slave collar’s control when they wake up. Perhaps they’ll even lose their mind and lash out at us.
The only way to break a slave contract is to destroy or overwrite the contract directly… But the fact they have not been released suggests their contracts were not kept onboard the Water Dragon Battles.h.i.+ps.
『I’ll try contract magic… No good.』
「It can’t be overwritten?」
『It’s repelling my attempts. Someone with a higher skill level than me probably made the contract.』
「…Can you use points to raise your level?」
『…Sure. I guess that’s our only option.』
Black market slave traders will be Fran’s eternal enemies, and she’ll do whatever it takes to save a slave. Self-evolution points are a small price to pay to fulfill that wish.
『I’ll try maxing out contract magic first.』
《Contract Magic has reached Lv Max. Skill Covenant Magic Lv1 has been added. Fran has received the t.i.tle Contract Mage.》
I think I heard about the existence of covenant magic back in Belioth once. Well, now I have it. Will it work?
I decided to attempt casting covenant magic. Just like contract magic, there was only one usable spell.
『Covenant!』
Then, I got the sensation of interfering with the contract. Rather than overriding it completely, it felt like I was only capable of rewriting part of it.
This should be able to break the contract once I overcome the original contractor’s level. In that case, let’s try raising the level even higher.
One by one, I increased the level and tested it out each time. Finally, when I reached level 4 in Covenant Magic, I sensed that it was possible to completely break the contract binding the princesses. Honestly, my level probably isn’t high enough, but my gut told me I could overcome the difference with enough effort.
『Covenant activate! Tear apart all of these contracts!』
「Good luck, Master.」
『Thanks!』
There was a considerable amount of recoil, causing both my durability and my mana to fall rapidly. If I was still a flesh-and-blood human, I think my body wouldn’t even survive the tremendous pain and exhaustion. This was seriously enough to kill someone.
『Doryaaaah!』
「Wow! Master, this is amazing!」
I continued forcing my covenant magic through against the recoil, and the princess’s collar shattered within a minute. The contract binding her had vanished completely.
Yeah, I think anyone else would have needed a higher level in covenant magic.
「Master! Yay, you’re so super cool!」
『T-Thanks.』
Fran’s joy was off the charts. To her, slave collars were like a symbol of despair. My ability to tear one apart with sheer power may have seemed like a beacon of hope in comparison. Maybe I should have invested in this skill earlier.
『From now on, we can save any slaves we come across. Just point me to a collar and I’ll rip it off for you.』
「Nn!」