The front line forces of the Southern Army stood still, some of them hunched over, after facing a volley of artillery fire from the opponent.
Well, that was natural.
Just when they thought they were a goner after facing a thousand magic bombardments, an invisible wall of ice appeared in front of them and repelled everything.
The magicians of the Emperorās Magic Division were also surprised inwardly, although none of them uttered a sound.
Their bombardments had been repelled by a single wall of ice.
Although, there were about four who were not surprised.
What broke the situation, where no one could move, was the sound of multiple footsteps coming from behind Ryo.
And a couple of voices.
āIs that Baron Hagen Bendaās <Teleportation>?ā
āMost likely. However, even in our familyās information network, we have never received a report that a group of people can be teleported. As expected of the Empire. They must have kept the information thoroughly hidden.ā
Itās the conversation between Abel and Phelps.
The two stood beside Ryo while having that exchange.
Baron Hagen Venda.
He is a āBaron assigned to the Imperial Armyā, which was a very strange position.
He is the only man in the Central Nations who can use what is called āSpace-time magicā.
Known magic are <Infinite Storage> and <Teleportation>.
Both are extremely useful magic for the military, so he āconstantlyā moves with the Imperial Army.
What makes his āSpace-time magicā special is also how he came to be able to use it.
His father, the previous Baron Venda, was also able to use āSpace-time magicā.
While his predecessor was able to use Space-time magic, the current Baron Hagen Venda was unable to use Space-time magic.
And the moment his predecessor died, Baron Hagen Venda was able to use Space-time magicā¦ as if he had inherited the family curse.
While Abel and the others were talking about this, two figures from the Emperorās Magic Division came forward.
Sure enough, it was Princess Fiona, the leader of the group, and Oscar, the second-in-command and known as the āExplosive Blaze Magicianā.
āAre theyā¦trying to have a representative match?ā
āI guess so.ā
Ryo asked and Abel answered.
āBut youāre going to have a tough time dealing with those twoā¦ā
Abel said this with a frown, and Phelps added.
āThe intel on the Explosive Blaze Magician is that he is unequaled in close-quarters combat. In a previous Imperial martial arts tournament, he left some pretty impressive records. Also, Princess Fiona is reputed to be more skilled than any other magician in history in using the treasured sword Raven, which she wears on her waist.ā
āAre there that many magicians roaming about who are also good in melee combatā¦?ā
Abel let out such words with a small sigh.
āIām not surprised. I mean, if they can close in on their opponent, itās all over, isnāt that kinda badass.ā
āYeah, I have no idea what youāre talking about.ā
Abel denied Ryoās words completely.
āWell, jokes aside. Before calling yourself a magician or anything like that, I believe that as a single individual, you should be able to fight in close quarters as part of your self-defenseā¦thatās all Iām saying.ā
āā¦I wish the other magicians could hear this.ā
āRin has Warren, and Rihya has you, Abel, right? To protect them.ā
āAnd you haveā¦Sera, huh?ā
āNah, I will be the one protecting her.ā
āI-I seeā¦so youāre going to be better than Seraā¦in close quartersā¦ā
Itās a degree of magnitude that even Abel could not fathom at allā¦.
Ryo took a step forward and chanted.
ā<Avatar>ā
A body clone appeared.
As expected, the sight startled even the Imperial master-disciple duo.
Ryo thought he could hear their gasps.
Then he dared to say in a loud voice so that they could hear him.
āIām more than enough to deal with these two.ā
āWait, Ryo!ā
Understandably, Abel must have thought that it was a bad idea. And called out to stop Ryo.
āYou understand that I canāt allow you to take the stage right? If by some stupid mistake you were to be taken outā¦ā
āIām still an A-rank swordsman, you know. And Iām sure you also know that thereās no reason for anyone but me to step forward in this situation. The Emperorās daughter versus the new King, seems fitting, donāt you think?ā
His Majesty the King was full of motivation.
Thatās right, he was undoubtedly an adventurer and a swordsman before he was a King.
Ryo deactivated his <Avatar> and Abel stood beside him.
āPlease try not to die.ā
āYou too.ā
Saying this, Ryo and Abel fist-bumped each other.
They didnāt need to exchange words with each other.
The battle, divided into two pairs, began abruptly.
Swordsman versus swordsman.
Abel uses a large, two-handed sword that can be used as both a two-handed sword and a one-handed sword, a type of sword known as a Bastard Sword.
The slender Princess Fiona wields the treasured sword Raven, which is a bit shorter than Abelās sword.
The effect of the treasured sword Raven puts Fiona in a pseudo-haste state, making her faster than usual, which is abnormal, to say the least, but Abel was able to handle it.
He refrained from making large swings, but adjusted the angle of his sword slightly and let it flow. He dodged using footwork. He even mixed in some feints using his vision.
By harmoniously combining everything, he negated the difference in sword speed.
In addition, his attacks were not all defensive but were timed appropriately to prevent Fiona from activating her offensive magic.
The same melee magic combat during a sword fight that had once put even the Hero Roman at a disadvantage in a mock battle, was now being completely restrained by Abel.
(An A-rank swordsman indeed. He is superior in everything but speedā¦. The only other person I have struggled this much against was master.)
Fionaās expression did not change at all.
But she was quite bewildered in her mind.
It wasnāt that she had underestimated him by any means.
But she honestly thought that with the pseudo-haste buff from the treasured sword Raven, it shouldnāt be that difficult to outperform him.
But as it turns outā¦
(I donāt think I stand a chance of defeating himā¦)
(Her swordsmanship definitely lives up to the rumorsā¦)
Abel was astonished.
Of course, he had heard that Princess Fionaās swordsmanship was great.
And had also read the reports before.
But there was a big difference between reading about it and experiencing it.
He was well aware that the difference in speed is critical in sword fights.
But even so, he honestly thought that he could make do with his superior skills.
But as it turns outā¦
(I may have made a fatal mistake when I decided to step forwardā¦)
The sword fight between Abel and Fiona proceeded to a sort of stalemate.
The other pairā¦while both drew their swords, somehow opened the fight with a magic showdown.
The cause, of course, was a remark that Ryo made.
He said.
āFreezing the princess and displaying her in the royal capital should make for a very good exhibition.ā
Robbing your opponent of their cool is the very basic of the basics.
āYou bastard!ā
Oscar shouted and immediately chanted.
ā<True Universal Collapse>ā
Naturally, Ryo intercepted it.
ā<Icicle Lance 256>ā
Thick ice lances intercepted the rain of flaming rocks that poured down from above.
Repeatedly annihilating each other in mid-air, all the flaming rocks disappear.
But that wasnāt the end of it.
ā<Flying Flame Lance>ā
Flame lances suddenly appeared all around Ryo, and flew toward him.
ā<Dynamic Steam Mine>ā
Ryo then in turn intercepted them not with ice walls but with steam mines.
That was because the light generated at the time of spell mutual annihilation is dazzling.
In other words, a smokescreen of sorts.
And after setting off the smokescreen, an attack would obviously follow!
Ryo rushed in with his Murasame at the ready.
Howeverā¦
ā<Flame Falls>ā
Oscar attacked, with a waterfall of flames flowing sideways.
He had seen through Ryoās move to transition to close combat using the smokescreen.