Chapter 695: 541 Unspeakable Thing
The battle that engulfed the entire city finally came to a close.
Amid the battlefield that had turned to ruins, Reiger turned his head, looking at the Woodworth disappearing like scattered ash, and was silent for a long time.
It was not until much later that Reiger finally murmured to himself.
"So, you can cry too?"
After leaving behind those words, Reiger turned around, ready to leave this place.
There was no time to delay.
Although Woodworth had been dealt with, the elite fairies of the Tusk Clan that Woodworth had brought were still in Norwich, battling with Altoria and the others.
These elites of the Tusk Clan were all exceptionally strong. Even though one or two might not match Altoria and her companions, the sheer number of them meant that, even with the two Knights of the Round Table, Matthew and Tristan, the situation was taxing.
Moreover, with the "Calamity" still ongoing, if Reiger did not head over there, over time, even if Altoria and the others wouldn’t be killed by the Tusk Clan elites brought by Woodworth, they would be swallowed by the continual surge of Moors into Norwich.
Therefore, Reiger needed to hurry there to resolve the fairies from the Tusk Clan once and for all.
However, just as Reiger was about to activate the transportation magic to join Altoria, a sudden, stunning palpitation surged from deep within his heart.
"......!"
Reiger’s expression changed, and he swiftly turned his head, looking toward the direction of Norwich’s harbor.
In the next second, a huge shadow appeared there.
Reiger stared tightly at the shadow, and after a long while, he whispered.
"So you have finally arrived?"
.....
At the same time, Altoria and her companions also sensed the anomaly.
At this point, just as Reiger had predicted, they were engaged in a strenuous battle with the elite fairies of the Tusk Clan.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
One after another, the fairies of the Tusk Clan turned into afterimages, continually rushing toward the carriage, brandishing their claws and striking on Matthew’s shield, kindling a series of piercing sparks on the thick black cross shield.
Matthew firmly blocked all the attacks from the Tusk Clan fairies, and even if someone tried to bypass her to strike from behind, they would be repelled by ranged attacks from the rear.
"Ding-dong——"
Tristan had played his harp countless times, releasing numerous invisible attacks, slicing the air continuously, hissing nonstop.
"Boom!"
The missiles from Da Vinci’s backpack seemed to be depleted, so she had to extend robotic arms, operating them to attack the approaching Tusk Clan fairies who deftly avoided them, their missed strikes creating deep pits in the ground.
"Bang!"
The magic bombs thrown by Altoria exploded successfully, the blast pushing back quite a few fairies of the Tusk Clan; occasionally, she would also raise the Staff of Selection, releasing beams that plowed through the ground towards the ranks of the Tusk Clan fairies, causing significant destruction.
At first glance, the group seemed to be faring quite smoothly, but a close observer would realize that the condition of Altoria and her allies was not good.
Da Vinci’s missiles were gone, Tristan’s fingers were bleeding, and Altoria’s Magic Power seemed to be running low, causing the strength and ferocity of their attacks to wane.
In contrast, the fairies of the Tusk Clan who had come with Woodworth were not blindly rushing towards Altoria and her companions; instead, they swapped positions from time to time, changed direction and angles, with a very methodical onslaught.
Seeing this, Alberon, who had been sitting at the carriage’s driver’s seat, couldn’t help but curse.
"Damn it! They are deliberately dragging this out, trying to wear us down!"
This was indeed the case.
This fact was evident from the mocking expressions that never left the faces of the Tusk Clan fairies.
They were purposely dragging out time.
They were purposely wearing down the enemy.
They were playing with Altoria and the others, taking pleasure in slowly cornering their enemies into a desperate situation.
They were also waiting for the Moors to come and encircle Altoria and the others, waiting for Woodworth to return triumphant from defeating the enemy—in short, they felt completely sure of their victory, thus, like a cat toying with a mouse, they gradually toyed with their opponents.
And it must be said, their tactic was very effective.
Outnumbered and only able to organize a resistance to the enemy’s assault, everyone except Matthew, who had exceptional stamina, inevitably showed signs of exhaustion and could no longer maintain their condition.
"No, we can’t go on like this," Tristan said, his expression grave, his eyes scanning for a weak point in the enemy’s encirclement.
"If only the Master were here," Da Vinci also realized the dire nature of the situation, and couldn’t help but silently wince.
If Fujimaru Ritsuka were awake now, then with his command spells and Magic Power to supplement and assist, their situation would certainly improve significantly.
"Everyone! Hold on a little longer!" Matthew shouted over her shoulder to her companions while maintaining her shield.
Altoria clenched her teeth and once again squeezed out some Magic Power to keep attacking.
Her consumption was the greatest; she had to counter with magic, while also maintaining the Enchantments on everyone—if it weren’t for the second Pilgrimage Bell that had greatly increased her Magic Power, Altoria would have likely already collapsed.
If this continued, defeat was just a matter of time.
"Tch, is this the end?" Alberon, who had been looking for a way to retreat, seemed to already envision their doomed ending.
He had already seen the new Moors surging from the other side of the street.
The number was so great that Alberon didn’t even bother to count.
Five hundred?
Seven hundred?
Or a thousand?
Anyhow, there were too many to count, more than enough to engulf them all without any problem.
"Prepare to retreat!"
The fairies of the Tusk Clan had naturally noticed the arrival of the Moors, and the one leading them had actually shouted such an order.
They still had plenty of strength left, and as soon as the Moors closed in, they could easily leap away, kicking Altoria and the others to the Moors and letting them deal with Altoria and her companions.
This had been their plan from the beginning.
The "Calamity" of Norwich had already erupted, and they did not wish to engage in serious battle here. Even if they could win, the fight would cause significant attrition, and it was entirely possible that they would end up being threatened by the Moors.
Therefore, they had adopted this method of warfare, which was quite roundabout for the typically brutish and simple-minded Tusk Clan, whose heads usually worked far less nimbly than their limbs.
This also proofed that the fairies indeed harbored an instinctual fear or wariness of the Moors, to the point where even the usually brawn-over-brains Tusk Clan had to resort to cunning, which was quite thought-provoking.
All Altoria and the others could do was to watch helplessly as the fairies of the Tusk Clan began to slow their assault, dragging them along without letting them escape, while also gradually retreating, ready to jump onto nearby buildings at any moment to escape using them as platforms.
"Damn it!"
Alberon cursed again and gripped the reins tightly, preparing himself to charge forward on horseback at any moment.
Suddenly—
"Moon Breathing·Sixteen Forms·Moon Rainbow·Lonely Moon!"
A figure suddenly appeared behind the group of Tusk Clan fairies and instantly drew the black blade in his hand, releasing several giant blade gusts.
The blade gusts fell from the sky like tornadoes descending from heaven, shattering the ground as they overwhelmingly enveloped those of the Tusk Clan.
"Gushing sounds" "Gushing sounds" "Gushing sounds" "Gushing sounds" "Gushing sounds"......
As the blade gusts churned, the earth shattered, and the fairies of the Tusk Clan caught within them were mangled as if thrown into a meat grinder, their skin ripped and flesh burst.
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh—!"
Screams erupted from the mouths of the Tusk Clan fairies, who had worn smirks moments before, turning them from overconfident to utterly routed; they were either killed on the spot or blown away with the shattered earth.
The elite of the Tusk Clan, whom Altoria and the others had struggled so desperately against, were dispatched with a single slash.
"Reiger!"
"Mr. Reiger!"
Altoria and Matthew both perked up, calling out his name.
"Huff..."
Da Vinci and Tristan simultaneously let out a sigh of relief, knowing their own crisis had been averted.
"Did you win?" Alberon’s eyes lit up as he quickly asked, "What about Woodworth?"
Clearly, he was very concerned about Woodworth’s movements, knowing that Woodworth was the most threatening enemy.
If Woodworth wasn’t dealt with, their crisis might still be unresolved.
To this, Reiger made no response.
"Go!"
Without another word, he said this to the others.
"The real trouble is here!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was initially startled, but then a shiver ran down their spines.
A sense of instinctual dread, as though something terribly horrific that could not be directly faced had been hooked, made them all widen their eyes.
"What, what is that...?"
Guided by an inner instinct, Altoria looked in a certain direction and uttered a trembling voice at what appeared there.
The others also looked in turn and immediately held their breath.
...
In that moment, all the fairies and humans in Norwich saw it.
They saw the most filthy, the most vile, the most terrifying entity in the world.
From the direction of Norwich’s port, the sea kept spewing massive numbers of Moors, and a gargantuan shadow had emerged silently.
It had antler-like gigantic horns.
It had a towering stature, reaching for the sky itself.
It was a pure black, indescribable entity standing in the sea, exuding nothing but massive magic power and an ominous aura from every part of its being.
Fear...
Helplessness...
Despair...
A swell of negative emotions spread from its center, casting a dark curse over Norwich.