TLNote: Enjoy the chapter guys
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Ossan, into the forest of Ramuff.
Translator: OssanTL
Proofreader: Enkiros
The mercenaries headed for Ramuff forest gathered at the Mercenary Guild. From there, they went on carriages, and along the way they were joined by other carriages carrying students from the academy, numbering about 38. Making up the total number, these carriages had varying sizes and were also transporting food alongside the 250 students.
Many of the carriages were borrowed from nearby farmers and merchants, so their loading capacity ranged. The larger ones carried food and other supplies, while the students and mercenaries alternated between traveling by carriage and on foot, changing vehicles as they headed for the site.
The field training lasted four days, but including the time spent traveling back and forth, the total duration was ten days.
However, after three days of walking and traveling in a carriage, fatigue sets in, and students who are not physically fit will run out of steam and withdraw from the training.
The purpose of this field training is to raise the level of the students in order to prepare them for the battlefield. Anyone who withdraws during the course of the training is considered unsuitable for actual combat and will be marked down as an unskilled student who has not trained himself. This is a difficult situation for researchers.
Kreuz, in particular, was nearing his physical limit and was certain that he would collapse if he did not get on the carriage soon.
After two days of walking, he was already at his limit.
“Hey…… Kreuz, are you okay?”
“Somehow…… but it’s going to be tough unless I get on the carriage soon”
“You, you don’t have any stamina left…… You’ve got at least an hour before your shift’s over.”
“There are many carriages, but they are borrowed from farmers for transportation, so there is limited space for people to ride. I doubt there is room for me to ride.”
“You’ll probably collapse before that. That’s why I told you to work out……”
Kreuz was at a loss for words.
He was usually shut in his room alone and spent all his time on his research.
His physical strength was less than the average, and he looked tired as expected.
“Becoming the top student, that’s not something I wanted to be…… Forced participation is annoying.”
“You’ve come this far, don’t give up. That’s how much they expect you to do.”
“Those expectations I didn’t ask nor wished for…… I knew they’ll be a nuisance.”
The top students of the academy are forced to participate in the field training. The purpose of this event is to raise the rank of the students at the top of the academy, and at the same time, to motivate those whose grades are below a certain level by showing them the skills of the better students.
However, most of those who want to participate in the field training are aspiring mercenaries and have no intention of following the government’s policy.
Students at the academy are forced to serve as reservists in case of emergencies, but if they become mercenaries, they are relieved of this reserve role to a certain extent. The reason for this is that mercenaries are constantly engaged in fighting monsters all over the country, playing a role in maintaining the security of the land.
The decision was made that it would not make sense to impose reserve military service on those who originally made a living from fighting.
“Your sister’s got more stamina than you, doesn’t she? Look, it looks like she’s in front of you, see?”
“…… Because she’s been leveling up at the Far-Flung Forest. Of course she’ll have more stamina than I do.”
“Looks like it. For some reason, she’s also equipped with a mace, and it seems like she’s ready for a real battle.”
Makarov wondered why Celestina, equipped with the school’s protective gear, had walked for the past two days without riding in a carriage.
The weight of the equipment alone was unexpectedly heavy. He never imagined that Celestina, who was small and slender, would have so much strength.
Aside from the level difference, Kreuz and Celestina would normally have a difference in strength due to their physiques, but in reality, Celestina was much more physically stronger than him.
“You’ve ruined your reputation as a big brother, haven’t you?”
“・・・・・・・・・・・”
Celestina continues to walk while chatting happily with the beast girl.
Kreuz looked at his sister with envy.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Celestina was with her friend Uruna, and Cristey, who was riding in the carriage to relieve her fatigue.
Celestina and Uruna were naturally strong, but Cristey was the same as Kreuz.
She was a researcher and worked mostly in herbal concoctions, which made her unsuitable for such large-scale exercises, but she had skipped a few classes and was short on credits.
Of course, despite her reputation for alchemy and potion brewing, she was forced to participate in this field training, as she spent most of her time researching instead of attending her physical training class.
“Cristey doesn’t have any physical strength either. While Celestina-sama is unaffected……”
“I, I’m not cut out for this kind of thing! The other girls are just as exhausted as I am!”
“I have been working out, so my physical condition is a little better than theirs. Uruna.”
“Hmm, that’s surprising. I had an image of Celestina-sama sitting by the window reading a book.”
As a beastman, Uruna found it surprising to see the gentle Celestina walking around armed, but for some reason, she didn’t feel tired even after a long walk.
On the contrary, Uruna sensed a much stronger presence from Celestina than from other students of the same age. The beastman tribe can sensitively sense the strength of their opponents.
“Anyway, Celestina-sama ……. Don’t you feel a strong presence? There are two of them…… and one of them feels awfuly scary.”
“A strong presence? Is it Sensei? And the other one is…… somewhat confusing.”
“Also, there were three signs that had just started to move out at great speed from this area. This presence is also very strong.”
“Uruna-san. Does that mean that there are at least five very skilled individuals as guards? One of them is Celestina’s private tutor, and I’m wondering who the other four are.”
Cristey had heard that Zeros was among these mercenaries from his talks with Celestina and Kreuz. She wanted to meet him in person, but she felt uncomfortable talking to him for the first time.
She has heard that he’s a mage who wants to live a peaceful life in hiding, so there’s no way that a member of a Marquis family like herself can just casually approach him. Moreover, he was working for the Duke’s family.
“One of them’s nearby, see? Looks like she’s coming towards us……”
“What? Do you know who it is?”
“I’m wondering. Maybe it’s a nice gentleman.”
“Can you see it coming? Oh, there she is.”
In the direction Uruna pointed, she could see a party of female mercenaries.
They seem to be unaware that the three of the girls are paying attention to them, as they walk quietly towards them.
“Ah~ …… I’m bored! I’m hoping some orcs will show up~”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Honestly, with this many targets to protect, it’s going to be troublesome.”
“Iris…… you’re too extreme for such a pretty face, okay? Keep it down until we get to the forest safely. I’m holding back, too.”
“Eh~? Because I’m bored~. With Ojisan and me, we can defeat most of the monsters~, I don’t want to be lumped in with Rena-san~!”
“No, they’ll get the prey before that, won’t they? Those three chickens……”
A party of female mercenaries walked towards them noisily, while everyone was showing signs of fatigue.
A female mage of the same age with twin-tailed black hair and two women with red and sweet chestnut-colored hair, respectively.
However, Celestina and Cristey were looking at something else.
“…… Oh, that’s…… big.”
“Yes…… very much.”
They were looking at the chest of the red-haired female mercenary.
Then they both look at their own breasts at the same time.
“That thing is not fair……. It’s as destructive as wide-range magic.”
“I agree with you……. I’m jealous of how they got…… like that.”
“Is that so? I think it’s a hindrance when fighting.”
“She’s tall and well built. Even as a woman, I find her proportions attractive…… I don’t know why I feel so defeated……”
“I know what you mean. I feel the same way……. Especially in the breasts…….”
“”I’m still winning against that black-haired twin-tailed girl!””
Their minds were in perfect sync. And their confidence had been restored, if only slightly.
As you can tell by now, the mercenary women’s party was of course Iris and her friends.
It was due to Jane that they had tasted defeat, and Celestina and the others had pinned their hopes on Iris.
Iris probably didn’t think that her slippery puny figure would be useful to others, but it was rude to think about it.
“But hey, that red-haired woman looks kind of rough, doesn’t she?”
“That’s naive, Uruna-san! For someone like her, her feminine qualities are unusually high!”
“She cooks and does laundry skillfully, and she might be reading embroidery or poetry. Most likely, she loves pretty things!”
“H, How do you know?”
The girl power scouter that the two of them have is not half bad.
They were able to detect the presence of their natural enemies and predicted their fighting strength with great accuracy.
Uruna, who has very little feminine power, was taken aback by their uncanny power.
“Ah!~”
“Eh?!”
Celestina was baffled by the black-haired twin-tailed Iris who pointed at Celestina for some reason.
Inwardly, she wondered, ‘Could it be that she sensed that I was thinking something disrespectful?’ Cold sweat broke out in her heart.
“A—–h, I knew it! She’s one of ojisan’s students, isn’t she? What was her name again……?”
“Iris…… it’s rude to point fingers at people, okay? So, does this mean she knows the ossan?”
“Yeah. I think she was the one that ojisan was tutoring. I think I saw her when I was captured by the bandits. He said he was a teacher.”
“Come to think of it, it was indeed ……. Lucky for me at the time, I almost got tainted by those filthy scum.”
“No, because Rena (san) is already tainted ……. How many people did you prey (on) last night?”
As a side note, Jane was in bed with an off-season cold when the two of them received the request.
Consequently, the two of them received a request to escort a merchant and ended up being caught.
“Ojisan? Are you an acquaintance of Sensei’s by any chance? I’m sure I’ve seen you before somewhere……”
“Yes, we did. Thanks to ojisan, we were saved. Recently, we’ve been having trouble finding work♪.”
“Even though we know each other, we can’t stay in the care of the orphanage forever. So we are grateful for that.”
“Orphanage?! Are you by any chance acquainted with Luceris-san?”
“Do you know Lu-? We’re childhood friends who grew up in the same orphanage. That’s a surprising connection.”
“Th, that’s right……”
Celestina said inwardly, ‘I can’t tell you ……. I can never tell you that I was being quite rude to you just now!’. She was quite nervous.
No one knows where the connection is.
In this case, it’s the ossan connection……
“Where is Sensei? I have not seen him……”
“Ojisan? Hmm, that reminds me, where is he? He was by my side earlier……”
――― Goba~aaaaaaaaaaaaaan! !
Suddenly, something flew up high from the nearby forest, spun around, and fell, plunging into the ground.
If you look closely, it looks like a person, but for a mercenary, the outfit is rather messy.
The girls again see humans being blown out of the forest in the same way.
“Rena, are these bandits?”
“Probably, but no way……”
“Hi~, A person just fell out of the sky?! What’s going on?!”
“Amazin’…… They’re sinking into the ground, right?”
“No way, Sensei?!”
“U ~ n, close, but probably not. Perhaps the white devils?”
Celestina and the girls didn’t know what it was, but it was enough to convince Iris and her friends.
The absence of those three vicious chickens in this place made them realize the answer.
“””White Devil?!”””
Celestina and the other three Solistea siblings were unaware of this.
That it’s not just humans who are escorting them…….
The white devils had eliminated the obstacle by themselves.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Zweit was walking behind a carriage full of mercenaries.
He himself didn’t look too tired, but his friend Dio, holding his walking stick, was walking like a stranded person. It seemed that he too was lacking in physical strength.
“…… Dio. It’s time for you to get in the carriage, okay?”
“Fu……Zweit. There are times when a man has a will that needs to be carried out. How can I ride in a carriage when Celestina-san is walking from the start……”
“No, what if we arrive there and you can’t move? Wouldn’t it be more embarrassing for you to look cool and then be useless? You should at least pace yourself and take a break.”
“I’ve decided that I’m going to be stubborn, even if it means being miserable…… You can laugh at me if you want, but that’s who I am……”
Dio was stubborn.
This was simply out of love for Celestina, but it would be a problem if he were to drop out during the field training. Even so, he continued to walk, and although in the wrong sense, he was still a man.
“If you fall down here, what will be your excuse in front of Celestina? Are you going to say something like, ‘I couldn’t rest in the carriage while you were walking……?’ That would be annoying.”
“Ugh?! You’re right……. But, I don’t want her to think I’m pathetic.”
“We’re way back here, okay? I don’t think she is looking at you. Besides, what if she asks, ‘Why didn’t you take a break?’ You can’t use Celestina as an excuse.”
“……That’s shameful. All right, Zweit, I’ll get on the carriage next.”
Dio’s behavior was spiraling out of control as he fell in love.
In a desperate attempt to impress her, he went in the wrong direction and made a fool of himself.
Understandably, he would want to look good for the girl he is interested in, but if he causes trouble for others, he may end up making a bad impression.
Lately, he has been too impatient with Celestina, whose popularity has been on the rise, and his hasty actions have become evident.
It would have been better if he hadn’t been in such a hurry and had considered his own pace, but unfortunately, he didn’t have that much room in his head and was too focused on trying to make a good impression.
Dio, however, is oblivious to the fact that Celestina is becoming more and more popular than he is. She is ignorant of what is going on around her.
A while later, Dio got into the carriage and took a break.
But it is not only the students of the academy who are here. There are also mercenaries, of course, and you can recognize them easily if you know them.
“Oh? Could that be you, Zweit-kun?”
“Is it…… Shishou?”
When he turned his head back to look at him, he saw an old man who was covered in black.
He was wearing a jet-black robe made from the skin of a black dragon, gauntlets, and greaves made from the shell of a black dragon, and two combat knives at his waist.
He wears a helmet made of black ore spider silk and mithril fiber, and a mask that resembles a demon to cover his eyes.
The magic staff in his hand was also jet black, with a sword-like weapon integrated into the staff, and mechanical parts attached to the details. [Magic Staff Type Sixty-four Remodeled], which looks like Hozoin Cross Spear, but it was still a magnificent staff for wizards. There is also a gunblade type, by the way.
(*Hozoin Cross Spear)
He looks like a priest, but somehow he exudes a sense of evil.
For a moment, Zweit didn’t know who he was because he had shaved his beard and had his hair in a bun.
“I thought I was mistaken……. It’s not your usual outfit, is it?”
“It was at the request of DelSacis-dono, he wanted to give the impression that he had a skilled man on his side. I guess it’s a little intimidating because they might be hesitant to attack if they’re in the presence of someone who looks like a real threat.”
“……wow, don’t you think it stands out? It’s not just that it’s different from the other mercenaries, but also that it’s so wicked……”
“I’ll put them back when I’m done, they’re too overpowered no matter how you look at it. I’m sure DelSacis-dono is working behind the scenes, so for now it’s enough to just be cautious.”
“It’s my father……. He’s trying to take down the underground organization from its roots.”
“I don’t know what the hell that guy is doing behind the scenes…… He looks like a Mafia don. He looks nothing like a duke, doesn’t he?”
“Even if you were to ask me, I wouldn’t know, would I? My father is a mystery to me, even though he’s my own parent……”
The Duke of DelSacis was famous for being a man of many mysteries even within the nobility.
Once the nobleman showed hostile intentions, he made the territory’s finances collapse from the bottom up. No one knows how he did it, and the nobleman finally bowed his head in tears and begged for his life.
Like the ossan, he is merciless to his opponents, but he is also a schemer who does not act outwardly but leads them to ruin from behind the scenes.
He is a dangerous man who cannot be considered a proper nobleman.
“I mean, since he asked Shishou for help…… Is there a high possibility of an attack?”
“From what I’ve read from DelSasis-dono, probably……. There’s a good chance they’ll be coming with an elite few.”
“He moved a bunch of nasty people, Samtroll bastard…… I’m gonna beat the crap out of you later!”
“So, Sabuibo-kun is not participating? I was given a profile of the individual to be wary of, and it said that he was a top student. I can’t help but smell something fishy here.”
“I’m sure he’s participating, but I can’t find him. Probably……”
“The attacker’s guide? He’s just small fry. He would be a perfect pawn to throw away……”
Samtrolls and other lineageists were there when they left for the Ramuff forest.
But at the moment, they are nowhere to be found. He predicted that they had split up on the way and were working behind the scenes.
“Who else is here besides you, Shishou? It wouldn’t be surprising if there were other escorts on my father’s payroll.”
“Aside from me, there are three mercenaries I know, and three…… cuckoos that have undergone abnormal growth.”
“I’ve heard about it from Misuka, but…… a wild cuckoo? I don’t see how a chicken like that could be useful.”
“Don’t underestimate them. They understand our language, and above all, they are strong. They are so strong that they can defeat all the mercenaries that are here now. When I first saw them, their level was already over 200.”
“Are you serious? What’s with the unusually strong chickens? Shishou…… what have you done?”
The ossan silently took out a cigarette, lit it with magic, and quietly filled his lungs with purplish smoke.
“Fu~u ~~……”
“What are you trying to do! What the hell did you do to that wild cuckoo?”
“Fu, I’m only fighting with them every day…… These days, I’m starting to get some good fist (wing) strikes…… Should I get my license soon? And no, it’s not a wild cuckoo, but a subspecies……”
“It’s a chicken…… right? Fist? I don’t understand……”
“The wings are gradually becoming sharper and sharper…… One day, they might even slice through an orichalcum’s sword.”
“With wings, how is that even possible?! Explain it to me!”
The ossan smoked again, puffing the smoke languidly.
“Don’t try to see it with your eyes. Just SENSE it.”
“That’ s why I can’t make sense of it! I don’t know how to perceive what I do not understand!”
“You don’t have enough faith, Zweit-kun…… You should close your eyes and listen carefully. You will hear…… the desperate cries of the foolish……”
“Ha~a!?”
The moment Zweit raised his voice in confusion, something flew up from the forest 20 meters away.
It descended at high speed, spinning in a circular motion, and dropped down piercing the row behind him.
“W, what the hell?!”
“They are probably bandits, but they seem to have been discovered and instantly eradicated by the cuckoos. Fu…… I see that they’ve improved their skills……”
“What the hell! That’s crazy! Wild cuckoos aren’t supposed to be that strong!”
“Zweit……”
“How can it be a monster that can annihilate humans! I can only imagine what Shishou has done to them!!”
“Zweit!”
“What the hell, Dio! I have something I need to ask him right now……”
“Zweit…… it’s not safe for you to be out there, okay?”
“Ha~a?”
――― Zugsha~aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! !
A man who looked like a bandit fell from the sky again, spinning in front of Zweit’s stunned voice. And then it pierced through the hard and flat ground of the road, causing dust and sand to rise up.
“…… That’ s dangerous……… I mean, that guy is……”
“Fufu, he’s not dead. Good, good, good. It seems that things are going well. They’re improving.”
“……Are they holding back? You’d normally be dead, right?”
“In a way, you might be better off dead. It was a fatal mistake to be spotted by a ferocious beast.”
“No…… chicken… right?”
The fallen bandit might as well have been dead.
His arms and legs were bent in strange directions, and his entire body was swollen from the blows. Normally, they would have died, but because of the [Go Easy] skill, they couldn’t die.
“Hurricane. I thought it was a mixer, but I was surprised to find that it was a rising fist. The fist that is clothed with magic power, spinning itself and shooting out at super high speed, instantly exceeds the speed of sound. The whirlwind generated by the rotation sends them spinning upwards, and at the same time, they lose their sense of balance and fall downwards.
Sometimes, after a combo is set up, it is launched as a special attack…… Fu…… good techniques.”
“That is not a technique a chicken would use!? I mean, chickens can’t do that!! Are there any bandits left in the area!?”
In other words, Wu-Key and the others made contact with the bandits first and entered the battle.
They understood the language and judged them to be enemies, and thought, ‘It’s okay to beat them, right?’ Alas, the bandits had been used as test subjects for the techniques used by the three chickens.
The ossan quietly smoked his cigarette and gave a thumbs-up thrust with a good smile on his face.
“No, I don’t understand why you’re giving such a refreshingly good smile.”
“Zweit-kun, this world is full of mysteries. Don’t you think a person can’t know everything about the world?”
“I, for one, am afraid of that unknown thing……. That’s just crazy.”
“He’s an even more…… insane Shishou than I had heard. Zweit……”
Dio, a bystander who was listening to the conversation beside him, was sweating unceasingly.
The ossan puffed on his cigarette, ignoring Zweit’s words.
The ossan had already stopped thinking about the details. No, he may have simply given up.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Let’s go back in time for a bit.
One bandit was in the forest, waiting for the students of the academy to pass by on the road in front of him.
A week ago, they were asked by a certain source to attack the students of the academy. It was not from [Hydra], the underworld organization, but from a nobleman who had been a good friend of theirs.
The request is to kill the son of a certain nobleman, but other than that, they are free to do as they please.
Most of the students at the academy are boys, but the presence of at least one girl has suddenly motivated them, and they are hiding out along the road near the Ramuff Forest, waiting for the right moment.
The boys have no use for them, but they will enjoy the girls, even if they are a little young, and most importantly, they will fetch a good price if they are sold in the black market.
It’s disgusting, but this is how the bandits make their money.
The equipment from the students of the academy would be traced back to them if they were sold, and as long as it was an academy event, they would never get any money. So naturally, they’re going to go after the girls from the academy.
“I’ve found them. Leader……”
“All right…… get the bows ready. Take care of the mercenaries first.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a woman in my life. Hehehe…… Let me have some fun even if they’re kids.”
“The client also said that we could keep a few of them, so keep the beautiful woman and kill the rest……”
There is no age limit for bandits.
As long as they have sexual desires, it doesn’t matter if it’s a young girl. But this time, their luck was too bad.
“Koke~!”
“What the hell? Why is there a wild cuckoo here……”
“What? Do you want me to get rid of it?”
“Yeah, inedible chickens are just a distraction. Their meat is really tasteless.”
―― Bogu~u! !
The bandit was struck speechless for a moment by the sudden sound of blows.
When he realized that the man who was standing beside him was dead, he was pinned to a large tree behind him.
He had been blown away by Wu-kei’s blow and slammed into the tree, killing him instantly. It was a tremendously powerful blow.
“Koke…… (He’s dead…… It’s not easy to hold back.)”
“Kokke~e ~ (What are you doing? What’s the point in killing them? Some of us are looking for opponents to master our skills.)”
“Koke~, kokkoke~e (Shifu is capable of fighting us with ease. It won’t be easy for us to hold back now so as not to kill them.)”
Wu-kei, Zan-kei, and Sen-Kei have become too strong.
They can kill most of their opponents with a single blow, and if they’re not careful, they can even kill their friends. Their training is intended to prevent this, but they seem to be having some troubles.
“Koke~e ~…… (Fu…… It went well with those guild people, but it’s not so easy to master.)”
“Koke (You don’t need to worry about it. Fortunately, there are plenty of prey. I’ll let you go this time.)”
“Kokke, kokke~e ~ (First come, first served. How about we compete to see how much prey we can kill? Of course, a man does not intend to lose.)”
“”Koke~e ~!! (Interesting, I’ll accept that!!)””
The three chickens turned to look at the group of bandits.
The chickens look cute, but they are emitting a strange kind of domineering energy.
The bandits didn’t know that they were having a disturbing conversation, but they had a bad feeling and were preparing to flee.
They should have been the first ones to flee, but because they were observing, it was all too late. And then…… the horror began.
The bandit was struck with a powerful blow to the jaw as Wu-Kei closed the distance and made a spinning fist (wing).
At the same time as the nasty sound of jawbones being crushed echoed, the bandit’s body was hoisted up by the whirlwind that was generated, and he was blown high into the air and disappeared into the sky.
“Wh, what are…… these cuckoos, what the he———ll!?”
Zan-Kei also started running towards the bandits.
For some reason, countless afterimages appear even though he’s just running, and the moment the afterimages pass by, all of the bandits’ weapons and armor are destroyed.
Some of them were slashed with a painful blow, and some of them collapsed in a spray of blood.
It was the beginning of a nightmare for the bandits who were in good spirits.
“Koke~…… (Nu ~u…… They’re too weak. It’s hard to go easy on them.)”
“Hi~, hi~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!?”
“Ru, ruuuuun!! They’re not normal!?”
“Shit! These things are obviously crazy!?”
A single white feather pierces the bandit’s head.
Sen-Kei takes care of the bandit without showing his face. Bouncing freely through the trees and in the air, he throws the feather from his wing like a shuriken, aiming for the killing blow.
“Goddamn it!!”
“Koke…… kokkokekko (It’s just an afterimage. …… GO TO HELL)”
He muttered coolly and stabbed a feather at the bandit’s head from behind.
Although the bandit was fortunate not to die, the location of the attack was bad, and the feather that was shot into his brain caused a powerful paralyzing effect that prevented him from moving his body as he wanted, forcing him to be bedridden for over six months.
The terrors of the Cuckoos attacks were not only the powerful blows but rather the aftermath of the additional side effects were the most frightening.
Wu-Kei’s attacks sometimes contain [Petrification], which causes the body to stiffen like stone and does not recover.
Zan-Kei’s is [Deadly Poison] that cannot be cured by any ordinary antidote, and Sen-Kei is a powerful [Paralyzing Poison] that will render you unable to use your limbs for some time.
All three of these chickens have the same abilities, but due to their different fighting styles, they seem to have different ways of attacking that cause abnormal status, and they are given special attacks that are most compatible with them.
They are starting to acquire the abilities of the cockatrice, which is also a higher species, and because of their level, their effects are frightening. The generally available recovery medicines were useless.
A hellish scene of shouting and screaming.
The bandits who were targeted by the Cuckoos were quickly subdued and regretted their misdeeds for the rest of their lives.
Soon, rumors spread about Cuckoo Monster, and it became an object of fear among mercenaries and criminals. All of this was caused by these three chickens.
The horror of the wild cuckoo soon spread throughout the country.
But, as mentioned many times before, Wu Kei and the others are a subspecies.
It would take 50 years for researchers to realize this.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
“…… Aw, awful……”
“What’s happen, with these people……”
“It failed…… Damn! That Zweit guy, he’s lucky……”
“No, it’s not a matter of luck!? Something’s obviously wrong, those cuckoos!!”
Everyone twitched at Samtroll’s muttering.
The one who hired the bandit was a member of the lineageist faction, and he was observing the situation with his [Bloodline Magic], [Far Sight].
Bloodline magic means that a person is born with a particular magic, and those who possess that magic have made up an unofficial faction called the Lineageists.
Bloodline magic has a disadvantage because it’s is inherited from birth and resides within the subconscious mind, which prevents it from being learned like any other magic, and because the magic formula itself is assimilated into the subconscious mind, it cannot be improved to make the magic more efficient.
The magic [Far Sight] is a magic that uses a magical medium such as a crystal ball to project images of a specific area, but it cannot be used very often because of the distance that can be observed. It’s not only that the magic power consumed depends on the distance, but also the magic power consumption is very high when including the effect of transferring the image.
“Did you see those cuckoos wearing a collar? Somebody’s got to be raising them, don’t they?”
“It’s crazy! Who would raise a cuckoo with such ridiculous strength? What’s more, they’re incredibly fierce.”
“It was obvious that they were protecting the academy students. Perhaps……”
“The Duke of Solisthea sent them…… It may look ridiculous, but if you look at it in terms of strength, it’s terrifying……”
The anomaly of the cuckoos that they saw before their eyes shocked and frightened the members of the lineageist faction, including Samtroll.
After all, they can take out the bandits with a single blow, which is not the strength of ordinary cuckoos. Rather, they’ve deviated greatly.
“Didn’t they live in Far-Flung Forest? I think they tamed them……”
“That means there’s someone even stronger than that chickens! What are we going to do? If this gets out, we will all be hanged as criminals!”
“I don’t know anything about it! Samtroll started it this on his own!”
“Yeah, the blame should fall entirely on him.”
Samtroll’s actions have backfired.
Even his own people have begun to abandon him, and he is now becoming isolated.
The Lineageist faction has existed for a long time and has some connections to the underworld.
However, they are just born with a flawed magic, and they don’t do much to be great. They are just a bunch of paranoid people who like to drag others down.
Some of them indeed have powerful bloodline magic. However, such magic has some risks and versatility problems, and many of them are not very useful.
In addition, even though they have not made any achievements, their attitude is really arrogant and disliked by other mages.
“Damn it! If only there was a successor to the bloodline magic [Future Foresight], this wouldn’t be happening……”
“I heard that the bloodline has already ceased to exist, so there’s no point in talking about something that doesn’t exist.”
“He’s a power-hungry guy with underhanded method……”
These people think they are superior, and it is irritating to be told so by their own peers.
“It pisses me off, but we just have to let them do the rest……”
“We’re going to fail, aren’t we? How the hell are we supposed to win against that thing?”
“This group, it’s over, isn’t it? We’ve made too many enemies……”
It would be too late to regret it now.
They are only students at the academy and have nothing to do with the world of power and intrigue that swirls around them.
He may be good at harassing people, but he was useless the moment he made an enemy of the duke who can move government agencies, but he still doesn’t realize that.
After all, they are a bunch of spoiled brats who can’t see reality.
“We have no choice but to go to…… the rendezvous point.”
“You’re the one who’s responsible, okay? Don’t drag us into this.”
“Yeah, yeah, you started it all on your own, didn’t you?”
“・・・・・・・・・・・”
These people here still believe that they are safe.
Their thinking was too childish to know that they were wrong.
In the end, these Lineageist students began to move to the rendezvous point with the assassins as planned.
However, Bremite was nowhere to be seen in this group.
Where he disappeared to, no one knows.
TLNote: Enjoy the chapter guys
————————————–
Ossan, into the forest of Ramuff.
Translator: OssanTL
Proofreader: Enkiros
The mercenaries headed for Ramuff forest gathered at the Mercenary Guild. From there, they went on carriages, and along the way they were joined by other carriages carrying students from the academy, numbering about 38. Making up the total number, these carriages had varying sizes and were also transporting food alongside the 250 students.
Many of the carriages were borrowed from nearby farmers and merchants, so their loading capacity ranged. The larger ones carried food and other supplies, while the students and mercenaries alternated between traveling by carriage and on foot, changing vehicles as they headed for the site.
The field training lasted four days, but including the time spent traveling back and forth, the total duration was ten days.
However, after three days of walking and traveling in a carriage, fatigue sets in, and students who are not physically fit will run out of steam and withdraw from the training.
The purpose of this field training is to raise the level of the students in order to prepare them for the battlefield. Anyone who withdraws during the course of the training is considered unsuitable for actual combat and will be marked down as an unskilled student who has not trained himself. This is a difficult situation for researchers.
Kreuz, in particular, was nearing his physical limit and was certain that he would collapse if he did not get on the carriage soon.
After two days of walking, he was already at his limit.
“Hey…… Kreuz, are you okay?”
“Somehow…… but it’s going to be tough unless I get on the carriage soon”
“You, you don’t have any stamina left…… You’ve got at least an hour before your shift’s over.”
“There are many carriages, but they are borrowed from farmers for transportation, so there is limited space for people to ride. I doubt there is room for me to ride.”
“You’ll probably collapse before that. That’s why I told you to work out……”
Kreuz was at a loss for words.
He was usually shut in his room alone and spent all his time on his research.
His physical strength was less than the average, and he looked tired as expected.
“Becoming the top student, that’s not something I wanted to be…… Forced participation is annoying.”
“You’ve come this far, don’t give up. That’s how much they expect you to do.”
“Those expectations I didn’t ask nor wished for…… I knew they’ll be a nuisance.”
The top students of the academy are forced to participate in the field training. The purpose of this event is to raise the rank of the students at the top of the academy, and at the same time, to motivate those whose grades are below a certain level by showing them the skills of the better students.
However, most of those who want to participate in the field training are aspiring mercenaries and have no intention of following the government’s policy.
Students at the academy are forced to serve as reservists in case of emergencies, but if they become mercenaries, they are relieved of this reserve role to a certain extent. The reason for this is that mercenaries are constantly engaged in fighting monsters all over the country, playing a role in maintaining the security of the land.
The decision was made that it would not make sense to impose reserve military service on those who originally made a living from fighting.
“Your sister’s got more stamina than you, doesn’t she? Look, it looks like she’s in front of you, see?”
“…… Because she’s been leveling up at the Far-Flung Forest. Of course she’ll have more stamina than I do.”
“Looks like it. For some reason, she’s also equipped with a mace, and it seems like she’s ready for a real battle.”
Makarov wondered why Celestina, equipped with the school’s protective gear, had walked for the past two days without riding in a carriage.
The weight of the equipment alone was unexpectedly heavy. He never imagined that Celestina, who was small and slender, would have so much strength.
Aside from the level difference, Kreuz and Celestina would normally have a difference in strength due to their physiques, but in reality, Celestina was much more physically stronger than him.
“You’ve ruined your reputation as a big brother, haven’t you?”
“・・・・・・・・・・・”
Celestina continues to walk while chatting happily with the beast girl.
Kreuz looked at his sister with envy.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Celestina was with her friend Uruna, and Cristey, who was riding in the carriage to relieve her fatigue.
Celestina and Uruna were naturally strong, but Cristey was the same as Kreuz.
She was a researcher and worked mostly in herbal concoctions, which made her unsuitable for such large-scale exercises, but she had skipped a few classes and was short on credits.
Of course, despite her reputation for alchemy and potion brewing, she was forced to participate in this field training, as she spent most of her time researching instead of attending her physical training class.
“Cristey doesn’t have any physical strength either. While Celestina-sama is unaffected……”
“I, I’m not cut out for this kind of thing! The other girls are just as exhausted as I am!”
“I have been working out, so my physical condition is a little better than theirs. Uruna.”
“Hmm, that’s surprising. I had an image of Celestina-sama sitting by the window reading a book.”
As a beastman, Uruna found it surprising to see the gentle Celestina walking around armed, but for some reason, she didn’t feel tired even after a long walk.
On the contrary, Uruna sensed a much stronger presence from Celestina than from other students of the same age. The beastman tribe can sensitively sense the strength of their opponents.
“Anyway, Celestina-sama ……. Don’t you feel a strong presence? There are two of them…… and one of them feels awfuly scary.”
“A strong presence? Is it Sensei? And the other one is…… somewhat confusing.”
“Also, there were three signs that had just started to move out at great speed from this area. This presence is also very strong.”
“Uruna-san. Does that mean that there are at least five very skilled individuals as guards? One of them is Celestina’s private tutor, and I’m wondering who the other four are.”
Cristey had heard that Zeros was among these mercenaries from his talks with Celestina and Kreuz. She wanted to meet him in person, but she felt uncomfortable talking to him for the first time.
She has heard that he’s a mage who wants to live a peaceful life in hiding, so there’s no way that a member of a Marquis family like herself can just casually approach him. Moreover, he was working for the Duke’s family.
“One of them’s nearby, see? Looks like she’s coming towards us……”
“What? Do you know who it is?”
“I’m wondering. Maybe it’s a nice gentleman.”
“Can you see it coming? Oh, there she is.”
In the direction Uruna pointed, she could see a party of female mercenaries.
They seem to be unaware that the three of the girls are paying attention to them, as they walk quietly towards them.
“Ah~ …… I’m bored! I’m hoping some orcs will show up~”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Honestly, with this many targets to protect, it’s going to be troublesome.”
“Iris…… you’re too extreme for such a pretty face, okay? Keep it down until we get to the forest safely. I’m holding back, too.”
“Eh~? Because I’m bored~. With Ojisan and me, we can defeat most of the monsters~, I don’t want to be lumped in with Rena-san~!”
“No, they’ll get the prey before that, won’t they? Those three chickens……”
A party of female mercenaries walked towards them noisily, while everyone was showing signs of fatigue.
A female mage of the same age with twin-tailed black hair and two women with red and sweet chestnut-colored hair, respectively.
However, Celestina and Cristey were looking at something else.
“…… Oh, that’s…… big.”
“Yes…… very much.”
They were looking at the chest of the red-haired female mercenary.
Then they both look at their own breasts at the same time.
“That thing is not fair……. It’s as destructive as wide-range magic.”
“I agree with you……. I’m jealous of how they got…… like that.”
“Is that so? I think it’s a hindrance when fighting.”
“She’s tall and well built. Even as a woman, I find her proportions attractive…… I don’t know why I feel so defeated……”
“I know what you mean. I feel the same way……. Especially in the breasts…….”
“”I’m still winning against that black-haired twin-tailed girl!””
Their minds were in perfect sync. And their confidence had been restored, if only slightly.
As you can tell by now, the mercenary women’s party was of course Iris and her friends.
It was due to Jane that they had tasted defeat, and Celestina and the others had pinned their hopes on Iris.
Iris probably didn’t think that her slippery puny figure would be useful to others, but it was rude to think about it.
“But hey, that red-haired woman looks kind of rough, doesn’t she?”
“That’s naive, Uruna-san! For someone like her, her feminine qualities are unusually high!”
“She cooks and does laundry skillfully, and she might be reading embroidery or poetry. Most likely, she loves pretty things!”
“H, How do you know?”
The girl power scouter that the two of them have is not half bad.
They were able to detect the presence of their natural enemies and predicted their fighting strength with great accuracy.
Uruna, who has very little feminine power, was taken aback by their uncanny power.
“Ah!~”
“Eh?!”
Celestina was baffled by the black-haired twin-tailed Iris who pointed at Celestina for some reason.
Inwardly, she wondered, ‘Could it be that she sensed that I was thinking something disrespectful?’ Cold sweat broke out in her heart.
“A—–h, I knew it! She’s one of ojisan’s students, isn’t she? What was her name again……?”
“Iris…… it’s rude to point fingers at people, okay? So, does this mean she knows the ossan?”
“Yeah. I think she was the one that ojisan was tutoring. I think I saw her when I was captured by the bandits. He said he was a teacher.”
“Come to think of it, it was indeed ……. Lucky for me at the time, I almost got tainted by those filthy scum.”
“No, because Rena (san) is already tainted ……. How many people did you prey (on) last night?”
As a side note, Jane was in bed with an off-season cold when the two of them received the request.
Consequently, the two of them received a request to escort a merchant and ended up being caught.
“Ojisan? Are you an acquaintance of Sensei’s by any chance? I’m sure I’ve seen you before somewhere……”
“Yes, we did. Thanks to ojisan, we were saved. Recently, we’ve been having trouble finding work♪.”
“Even though we know each other, we can’t stay in the care of the orphanage forever. So we are grateful for that.”
“Orphanage?! Are you by any chance acquainted with Luceris-san?”
“Do you know Lu-? We’re childhood friends who grew up in the same orphanage. That’s a surprising connection.”
“Th, that’s right……”
Celestina said inwardly, ‘I can’t tell you ……. I can never tell you that I was being quite rude to you just now!’. She was quite nervous.
No one knows where the connection is.
In this case, it’s the ossan connection……
“Where is Sensei? I have not seen him……”
“Ojisan? Hmm, that reminds me, where is he? He was by my side earlier……”
――― Goba~aaaaaaaaaaaaaan! !
Suddenly, something flew up high from the nearby forest, spun around, and fell, plunging into the ground.
If you look closely, it looks like a person, but for a mercenary, the outfit is rather messy.
The girls again see humans being blown out of the forest in the same way.
“Rena, are these bandits?”
“Probably, but no way……”
“Hi~, A person just fell out of the sky?! What’s going on?!”
“Amazin’…… They’re sinking into the ground, right?”
“No way, Sensei?!”
“U ~ n, close, but probably not. Perhaps the white devils?”
Celestina and the girls didn’t know what it was, but it was enough to convince Iris and her friends.
The absence of those three vicious chickens in this place made them realize the answer.
“””White Devil?!”””
Celestina and the other three Solistea siblings were unaware of this.
That it’s not just humans who are escorting them…….
The white devils had eliminated the obstacle by themselves.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Zweit was walking behind a carriage full of mercenaries.
He himself didn’t look too tired, but his friend Dio, holding his walking stick, was walking like a stranded person. It seemed that he too was lacking in physical strength.
“…… Dio. It’s time for you to get in the carriage, okay?”
“Fu……Zweit. There are times when a man has a will that needs to be carried out. How can I ride in a carriage when Celestina-san is walking from the start……”
“No, what if we arrive there and you can’t move? Wouldn’t it be more embarrassing for you to look cool and then be useless? You should at least pace yourself and take a break.”
“I’ve decided that I’m going to be stubborn, even if it means being miserable…… You can laugh at me if you want, but that’s who I am……”
Dio was stubborn.
This was simply out of love for Celestina, but it would be a problem if he were to drop out during the field training. Even so, he continued to walk, and although in the wrong sense, he was still a man.
“If you fall down here, what will be your excuse in front of Celestina? Are you going to say something like, ‘I couldn’t rest in the carriage while you were walking……?’ That would be annoying.”
“Ugh?! You’re right……. But, I don’t want her to think I’m pathetic.”
“We’re way back here, okay? I don’t think she is looking at you. Besides, what if she asks, ‘Why didn’t you take a break?’ You can’t use Celestina as an excuse.”
“……That’s shameful. All right, Zweit, I’ll get on the carriage next.”
Dio’s behavior was spiraling out of control as he fell in love.
In a desperate attempt to impress her, he went in the wrong direction and made a fool of himself.
Understandably, he would want to look good for the girl he is interested in, but if he causes trouble for others, he may end up making a bad impression.
Lately, he has been too impatient with Celestina, whose popularity has been on the rise, and his hasty actions have become evident.
It would have been better if he hadn’t been in such a hurry and had considered his own pace, but unfortunately, he didn’t have that much room in his head and was too focused on trying to make a good impression.
Dio, however, is oblivious to the fact that Celestina is becoming more and more popular than he is. She is ignorant of what is going on around her.
A while later, Dio got into the carriage and took a break.
But it is not only the students of the academy who are here. There are also mercenaries, of course, and you can recognize them easily if you know them.
“Oh? Could that be you, Zweit-kun?”
“Is it…… Shishou?”
When he turned his head back to look at him, he saw an old man who was covered in black.
He was wearing a jet-black robe made from the skin of a black dragon, gauntlets, and greaves made from the shell of a black dragon, and two combat knives at his waist.
He wears a helmet made of black ore spider silk and mithril fiber, and a mask that resembles a demon to cover his eyes.
The magic staff in his hand was also jet black, with a sword-like weapon integrated into the staff, and mechanical parts attached to the details. [Magic Staff Type Sixty-four Remodeled], which looks like Hozoin Cross Spear, but it was still a magnificent staff for wizards. There is also a gunblade type, by the way.
(*Hozoin Cross Spear)
He looks like a priest, but somehow he exudes a sense of evil.
For a moment, Zweit didn’t know who he was because he had shaved his beard and had his hair in a bun.
“I thought I was mistaken……. It’s not your usual outfit, is it?”
“It was at the request of DelSacis-dono, he wanted to give the impression that he had a skilled man on his side. I guess it’s a little intimidating because they might be hesitant to attack if they’re in the presence of someone who looks like a real threat.”
“……wow, don’t you think it stands out? It’s not just that it’s different from the other mercenaries, but also that it’s so wicked……”
“I’ll put them back when I’m done, they’re too overpowered no matter how you look at it. I’m sure DelSacis-dono is working behind the scenes, so for now it’s enough to just be cautious.”
“It’s my father……. He’s trying to take down the underground organization from its roots.”
“I don’t know what the hell that guy is doing behind the scenes…… He looks like a Mafia don. He looks nothing like a duke, doesn’t he?”
“Even if you were to ask me, I wouldn’t know, would I? My father is a mystery to me, even though he’s my own parent……”
The Duke of DelSacis was famous for being a man of many mysteries even within the nobility.
Once the nobleman showed hostile intentions, he made the territory’s finances collapse from the bottom up. No one knows how he did it, and the nobleman finally bowed his head in tears and begged for his life.
Like the ossan, he is merciless to his opponents, but he is also a schemer who does not act outwardly but leads them to ruin from behind the scenes.
He is a dangerous man who cannot be considered a proper nobleman.
“I mean, since he asked Shishou for help…… Is there a high possibility of an attack?”
“From what I’ve read from DelSasis-dono, probably……. There’s a good chance they’ll be coming with an elite few.”
“He moved a bunch of nasty people, Samtroll bastard…… I’m gonna beat the crap out of you later!”
“So, Sabuibo-kun is not participating? I was given a profile of the individual to be wary of, and it said that he was a top student. I can’t help but smell something fishy here.”
“I’m sure he’s participating, but I can’t find him. Probably……”
“The attacker’s guide? He’s just small fry. He would be a perfect pawn to throw away……”
Samtrolls and other lineageists were there when they left for the Ramuff forest.
But at the moment, they are nowhere to be found. He predicted that they had split up on the way and were working behind the scenes.
“Who else is here besides you, Shishou? It wouldn’t be surprising if there were other escorts on my father’s payroll.”
“Aside from me, there are three mercenaries I know, and three…… cuckoos that have undergone abnormal growth.”
“I’ve heard about it from Misuka, but…… a wild cuckoo? I don’t see how a chicken like that could be useful.”
“Don’t underestimate them. They understand our language, and above all, they are strong. They are so strong that they can defeat all the mercenaries that are here now. When I first saw them, their level was already over 200.”
“Are you serious? What’s with the unusually strong chickens? Shishou…… what have you done?”
The ossan silently took out a cigarette, lit it with magic, and quietly filled his lungs with purplish smoke.
“Fu~u ~~……”
“What are you trying to do! What the hell did you do to that wild cuckoo?”
“Fu, I’m only fighting with them every day…… These days, I’m starting to get some good fist (wing) strikes…… Should I get my license soon? And no, it’s not a wild cuckoo, but a subspecies……”
“It’s a chicken…… right? Fist? I don’t understand……”
“The wings are gradually becoming sharper and sharper…… One day, they might even slice through an orichalcum’s sword.”
“With wings, how is that even possible?! Explain it to me!”
The ossan smoked again, puffing the smoke languidly.
“Don’t try to see it with your eyes. Just SENSE it.”
“That’ s why I can’t make sense of it! I don’t know how to perceive what I do not understand!”
“You don’t have enough faith, Zweit-kun…… You should close your eyes and listen carefully. You will hear…… the desperate cries of the foolish……”
“Ha~a!?”
The moment Zweit raised his voice in confusion, something flew up from the forest 20 meters away.
It descended at high speed, spinning in a circular motion, and dropped down piercing the row behind him.
“W, what the hell?!”
“They are probably bandits, but they seem to have been discovered and instantly eradicated by the cuckoos. Fu…… I see that they’ve improved their skills……”
“What the hell! That’s crazy! Wild cuckoos aren’t supposed to be that strong!”
“Zweit……”
“How can it be a monster that can annihilate humans! I can only imagine what Shishou has done to them!!”
“Zweit!”
“What the hell, Dio! I have something I need to ask him right now……”
“Zweit…… it’s not safe for you to be out there, okay?”
“Ha~a?”
――― Zugsha~aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! !
A man who looked like a bandit fell from the sky again, spinning in front of Zweit’s stunned voice. And then it pierced through the hard and flat ground of the road, causing dust and sand to rise up.
“…… That’ s dangerous……… I mean, that guy is……”
“Fufu, he’s not dead. Good, good, good. It seems that things are going well. They’re improving.”
“……Are they holding back? You’d normally be dead, right?”
“In a way, you might be better off dead. It was a fatal mistake to be spotted by a ferocious beast.”
“No…… chicken… right?”
The fallen bandit might as well have been dead.
His arms and legs were bent in strange directions, and his entire body was swollen from the blows. Normally, they would have died, but because of the [Go Easy] skill, they couldn’t die.
“Hurricane. I thought it was a mixer, but I was surprised to find that it was a rising fist. The fist that is clothed with magic power, spinning itself and shooting out at super high speed, instantly exceeds the speed of sound. The whirlwind generated by the rotation sends them spinning upwards, and at the same time, they lose their sense of balance and fall downwards.
Sometimes, after a combo is set up, it is launched as a special attack…… Fu…… good techniques.”
“That is not a technique a chicken would use!? I mean, chickens can’t do that!! Are there any bandits left in the area!?”
In other words, Wu-Key and the others made contact with the bandits first and entered the battle.
They understood the language and judged them to be enemies, and thought, ‘It’s okay to beat them, right?’ Alas, the bandits had been used as test subjects for the techniques used by the three chickens.
The ossan quietly smoked his cigarette and gave a thumbs-up thrust with a good smile on his face.
“No, I don’t understand why you’re giving such a refreshingly good smile.”
“Zweit-kun, this world is full of mysteries. Don’t you think a person can’t know everything about the world?”
“I, for one, am afraid of that unknown thing……. That’s just crazy.”
“He’s an even more…… insane Shishou than I had heard. Zweit……”
Dio, a bystander who was listening to the conversation beside him, was sweating unceasingly.
The ossan puffed on his cigarette, ignoring Zweit’s words.
The ossan had already stopped thinking about the details. No, he may have simply given up.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Let’s go back in time for a bit.
One bandit was in the forest, waiting for the students of the academy to pass by on the road in front of him.
A week ago, they were asked by a certain source to attack the students of the academy. It was not from [Hydra], the underworld organization, but from a nobleman who had been a good friend of theirs.
The request is to kill the son of a certain nobleman, but other than that, they are free to do as they please.
Most of the students at the academy are boys, but the presence of at least one girl has suddenly motivated them, and they are hiding out along the road near the Ramuff Forest, waiting for the right moment.
The boys have no use for them, but they will enjoy the girls, even if they are a little young, and most importantly, they will fetch a good price if they are sold in the black market.
It’s disgusting, but this is how the bandits make their money.
The equipment from the students of the academy would be traced back to them if they were sold, and as long as it was an academy event, they would never get any money. So naturally, they’re going to go after the girls from the academy.
“I’ve found them. Leader……”
“All right…… get the bows ready. Take care of the mercenaries first.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a woman in my life. Hehehe…… Let me have some fun even if they’re kids.”
“The client also said that we could keep a few of them, so keep the beautiful woman and kill the rest……”
There is no age limit for bandits.
As long as they have sexual desires, it doesn’t matter if it’s a young girl. But this time, their luck was too bad.
“Koke~!”
“What the hell? Why is there a wild cuckoo here……”
“What? Do you want me to get rid of it?”
“Yeah, inedible chickens are just a distraction. Their meat is really tasteless.”
―― Bogu~u! !
The bandit was struck speechless for a moment by the sudden sound of blows.
When he realized that the man who was standing beside him was dead, he was pinned to a large tree behind him.
He had been blown away by Wu-kei’s blow and slammed into the tree, killing him instantly. It was a tremendously powerful blow.
“Koke…… (He’s dead…… It’s not easy to hold back.)”
“Kokke~e ~ (What are you doing? What’s the point in killing them? Some of us are looking for opponents to master our skills.)”
“Koke~, kokkoke~e (Shifu is capable of fighting us with ease. It won’t be easy for us to hold back now so as not to kill them.)”
Wu-kei, Zan-kei, and Sen-Kei have become too strong.
They can kill most of their opponents with a single blow, and if they’re not careful, they can even kill their friends. Their training is intended to prevent this, but they seem to be having some troubles.
“Koke~e ~…… (Fu…… It went well with those guild people, but it’s not so easy to master.)”
“Koke (You don’t need to worry about it. Fortunately, there are plenty of prey. I’ll let you go this time.)”
“Kokke, kokke~e ~ (First come, first served. How about we compete to see how much prey we can kill? Of course, a man does not intend to lose.)”
“”Koke~e ~!! (Interesting, I’ll accept that!!)””
The three chickens turned to look at the group of bandits.
The chickens look cute, but they are emitting a strange kind of domineering energy.
The bandits didn’t know that they were having a disturbing conversation, but they had a bad feeling and were preparing to flee.
They should have been the first ones to flee, but because they were observing, it was all too late. And then…… the horror began.
The bandit was struck with a powerful blow to the jaw as Wu-Kei closed the distance and made a spinning fist (wing).
At the same time as the nasty sound of jawbones being crushed echoed, the bandit’s body was hoisted up by the whirlwind that was generated, and he was blown high into the air and disappeared into the sky.
“Wh, what are…… these cuckoos, what the he———ll!?”
Zan-Kei also started running towards the bandits.
For some reason, countless afterimages appear even though he’s just running, and the moment the afterimages pass by, all of the bandits’ weapons and armor are destroyed.
Some of them were slashed with a painful blow, and some of them collapsed in a spray of blood.
It was the beginning of a nightmare for the bandits who were in good spirits.
“Koke~…… (Nu ~u…… They’re too weak. It’s hard to go easy on them.)”
“Hi~, hi~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!?”
“Ru, ruuuuun!! They’re not normal!?”
“Shit! These things are obviously crazy!?”
A single white feather pierces the bandit’s head.
Sen-Kei takes care of the bandit without showing his face. Bouncing freely through the trees and in the air, he throws the feather from his wing like a shuriken, aiming for the killing blow.
“Goddamn it!!”
“Koke…… kokkokekko (It’s just an afterimage. …… GO TO HELL)”
He muttered coolly and stabbed a feather at the bandit’s head from behind.
Although the bandit was fortunate not to die, the location of the attack was bad, and the feather that was shot into his brain caused a powerful paralyzing effect that prevented him from moving his body as he wanted, forcing him to be bedridden for over six months.
The terrors of the Cuckoos attacks were not only the powerful blows but rather the aftermath of the additional side effects were the most frightening.
Wu-Kei’s attacks sometimes contain [Petrification], which causes the body to stiffen like stone and does not recover.
Zan-Kei’s is [Deadly Poison] that cannot be cured by any ordinary antidote, and Sen-Kei is a powerful [Paralyzing Poison] that will render you unable to use your limbs for some time.
All three of these chickens have the same abilities, but due to their different fighting styles, they seem to have different ways of attacking that cause abnormal status, and they are given special attacks that are most compatible with them.
They are starting to acquire the abilities of the cockatrice, which is also a higher species, and because of their level, their effects are frightening. The generally available recovery medicines were useless.
A hellish scene of shouting and screaming.
The bandits who were targeted by the Cuckoos were quickly subdued and regretted their misdeeds for the rest of their lives.
Soon, rumors spread about Cuckoo Monster, and it became an object of fear among mercenaries and criminals. All of this was caused by these three chickens.
The horror of the wild cuckoo soon spread throughout the country.
But, as mentioned many times before, Wu Kei and the others are a subspecies.
It would take 50 years for researchers to realize this.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
“…… Aw, awful……”
“What’s happen, with these people……”
“It failed…… Damn! That Zweit guy, he’s lucky……”
“No, it’s not a matter of luck!? Something’s obviously wrong, those cuckoos!!”
Everyone twitched at Samtroll’s muttering.
The one who hired the bandit was a member of the lineageist faction, and he was observing the situation with his [Bloodline Magic], [Far Sight].
Bloodline magic means that a person is born with a particular magic, and those who possess that magic have made up an unofficial faction called the Lineageists.
Bloodline magic has a disadvantage because it’s is inherited from birth and resides within the subconscious mind, which prevents it from being learned like any other magic, and because the magic formula itself is assimilated into the subconscious mind, it cannot be improved to make the magic more efficient.
The magic [Far Sight] is a magic that uses a magical medium such as a crystal ball to project images of a specific area, but it cannot be used very often because of the distance that can be observed. It’s not only that the magic power consumed depends on the distance, but also the magic power consumption is very high when including the effect of transferring the image.
“Did you see those cuckoos wearing a collar? Somebody’s got to be raising them, don’t they?”
“It’s crazy! Who would raise a cuckoo with such ridiculous strength? What’s more, they’re incredibly fierce.”
“It was obvious that they were protecting the academy students. Perhaps……”
“The Duke of Solisthea sent them…… It may look ridiculous, but if you look at it in terms of strength, it’s terrifying……”
The anomaly of the cuckoos that they saw before their eyes shocked and frightened the members of the lineageist faction, including Samtroll.
After all, they can take out the bandits with a single blow, which is not the strength of ordinary cuckoos. Rather, they’ve deviated greatly.
“Didn’t they live in Far-Flung Forest? I think they tamed them……”
“That means there’s someone even stronger than that chickens! What are we going to do? If this gets out, we will all be hanged as criminals!”
“I don’t know anything about it! Samtroll started it this on his own!”
“Yeah, the blame should fall entirely on him.”
Samtroll’s actions have backfired.
Even his own people have begun to abandon him, and he is now becoming isolated.
The Lineageist faction has existed for a long time and has some connections to the underworld.
However, they are just born with a flawed magic, and they don’t do much to be great. They are just a bunch of paranoid people who like to drag others down.
Some of them indeed have powerful bloodline magic. However, such magic has some risks and versatility problems, and many of them are not very useful.
In addition, even though they have not made any achievements, their attitude is really arrogant and disliked by other mages.
“Damn it! If only there was a successor to the bloodline magic [Future Foresight], this wouldn’t be happening……”
“I heard that the bloodline has already ceased to exist, so there’s no point in talking about something that doesn’t exist.”
“He’s a power-hungry guy with underhanded method……”
These people think they are superior, and it is irritating to be told so by their own peers.
“It pisses me off, but we just have to let them do the rest……”
“We’re going to fail, aren’t we? How the hell are we supposed to win against that thing?”
“This group, it’s over, isn’t it? We’ve made too many enemies……”
It would be too late to regret it now.
They are only students at the academy and have nothing to do with the world of power and intrigue that swirls around them.
He may be good at harassing people, but he was useless the moment he made an enemy of the duke who can move government agencies, but he still doesn’t realize that.
After all, they are a bunch of spoiled brats who can’t see reality.
“We have no choice but to go to…… the rendezvous point.”
“You’re the one who’s responsible, okay? Don’t drag us into this.”
“Yeah, yeah, you started it all on your own, didn’t you?”
“・・・・・・・・・・・”
These people here still believe that they are safe.
Their thinking was too childish to know that they were wrong.
In the end, these Lineageist students began to move to the rendezvous point with the assassins as planned.
However, Bremite was nowhere to be seen in this group.
Where he disappeared to, no one knows.
