Chapter 170: Intermission – Saviour of the Fortress City
Alex Buster stands on the gate behind the sun. The gate beneath him was casually open to one side. From there, it was just after sunset and the demons that were the time of activity entered the fortress one after another.
“That is……”
No doubt for Dianne´s party. Its a fake. Distort information by becoming high-ranking people. This is the simplest and most effective military use of illusion magic.
“Haahaa”
The Alex impostor laughs in high spirits.
“The castle has been snatched away! If the predecessor also falls into their hands, what will become of Rennesto! Die, people! Just scream and drink liquor!”
“Kuu……!”
Naris stops Tetes from jumping out.
“Wait, it’s no good, Tetes-chan”
“Wh, Why!”
Dianne opens her mouth.
“Lord Buster opened the gate with drunkenness. And Tetes jumped at him. …….Anyway, If you can win by one shot, you better leave this place alone……or we won’t succeed”
“Why! If we fend off such a fake”
“That’s why Lord Buster wasn’t bad by sneaking a drunken scandal on a nasty impostor……what an excuse”
“Tsk……”
“……As far as I guess from that mouth, I think he broke into the former Queen as 『Lord Buster who ran away』 rather than Count Pound. And he tried to overthrow Rustan Giltz and make it through to the predecessor……naturally, the predecessor said NO. Lord Buster, who has become desperate, is now in turmoil as he engulfs the town. That’s a plot”
“That”
“It’s a shot from the start. If that impostor is blinded, Lord Buster, who is hiding the clouds, becomes a 『Disbelief knight of evil who worked with a wild wolf』 and Pound becomes an ally of justice who tried to suppress him by hand. Because the Queen is famous for being concerned with Lord Buster, even if the Queen’s defense is defended, it is refused as 『The words of a young girl in love』. If even Lord Buster can be a bad guy, then Count Pound will have everything in just a cause”
“Clever……Count Shayne Pound, I can’t wait till I cut him into pieces”
Naris desperately holds down the raging Tetes. Almeida gazes at Dianne and Dianne nods.
“Either way, we can’t let the monsters go wild. Go, Dancing Spear”
“Okay……I’m going!”
Almeida attacks the monsters at a speed that exceeds the speed of an arrow. Dianne bent down, looking at the fake Alex. Even if it is impossible for Tetes and Naris, Dianne can reach in a moment and defeat the impostor with a single blow. Her attack power and mobility are comparable to those of Gold Arms. But.
(……Opening the gate alone……isn’t it at least average in terms of power?)
Hesitation. A huge gate that only a few people can move. Whether the real Alex can move the gate alone, the contents of the impostor are likely to be formidable.
(At least Laila or Maia……Becker or Anzeros would also be fine, unless there was another strong guy who could move on purpose)
Dianne laughs at herself. There is no one. As a soldier, she wouldn’t be able to tell if it was a better situation at least. Dianne makes a decision. Then, at the moment when she was about to bounce off, her legs suddenly lost their strength.
“!?”
“I’m sorry, War God Dianne. Let me take care of this”
Passing by, is the same outfit and golden gauntlet as on the gate. It was Alex Buster himself.
“W, What?”
“Don’t worry, it’s a gas-transforming magic that loses its power after a few seconds. ……Ah, damn it, I’m the one who hates that much”
Whining and complaining, Alex walks down the street with a slow pace. Neither the monsters nor the citizens notice him. He uses such a special magic.
“Hey, Alex Buster. Do you have a good drink?”
And he calls out to the impostor who is laughing and appealing at the top of the gate. The impostor giggled at the voice and smiled.
“I don’t know who you are, but its a fake. I’m in a bad mood right now”
The impostor decided that the real Alex was a fake. By doing so, he was trying to execute the scenario that 「A relative who wants to hide Alex’s ugliness is acting and holding down the real Alex and trying to crush the case」. By doing so, even if Alex is arrested by the impostor, the impression alone will give him an advantage. ……Sensing such a clever strategy, Alex made a dry laugh.
“I don’t know whose idea it was, but it’s done well. It’s good. Oh, I’m so sorry for my personal obsession”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s more, something wrong with those monsters?”
False truth. The two Alex Busters stare at each other with stale eyes.
————————–
“Damn it, it’s time……what are those monsters!”
“Brother!”
“Felios, this is not the case anymore”
Felios and his friends were about to plunge into the royal villa, but the roar and noise of the monsters are immediately noticeable. Felios hesitated for a few moments and turned his back to the royal villa.
“……Ah. Let’s get rid of them all at once”
“I understand”
“Do you want to do this, here?”
“It’s easier on a normal plain, but……we should be able to do it”
Felios walks fast and heads for the main street. All the monsters he saw on the way were cut down in an instant.
Facing the hordes of monsters that have fallen into the main street like an avalanche. There may be dozens of enemies or hundreds of them if you do poorly. Only three elves, with the exception of a few soldiers pulling spears out from the alley, are responding.
“I wonder how many opponents we will face?”
Berga says interestingly.
“It’s ridiculous to count. We don’t have that much time”
Sharon throws away the sheath and pulls out her sword. Then Felios turns his sword, wet with the blood of monsters, to the flock.
“People! The Golden fangs are here! Stay inside the houses and close the doors! If that’s not enough, lie down!”
Felios declares loudly and focus his attention on what is in front of him.
“Berga”
“Yes”
“Sharon”
“Yes”
“……I’m going, 『Tempest』”
Felios turned all the monsters on the street to himself with his eyes. Raising the sword.
“Arcus sword method Berga style. Special, enjoy it”
Then he swings the sword down. The cobblestones of the city jump up as if something had exploded in the ground.
“Haa!!”
“Teii!!”
Berga and Sharon also swing down their swords. Two swords hit the ground and all the cobblestones jump up as if they were awakened. Then, Felios holds his sword and rushes into the heavy rain of stones.
“Kuraeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”
As it is, the same vibration as hitting the ground with the sword is spilled out while rushing at ultra high speed on the main street. The crushed material in the air receives the vibration and swirls and flies with Felios without being allowed to fall to the ground. Felios literally marched on like a storm, involving all the stones, rocks, dirt and monsters.
——————————–
Both Alex are facing each other. The two glared at each other, accompanied by Almeida, Naris and Dianne knocking down the monsters.
“……To be frank, are you going to beat me? Oii”
The real Alex provokes. The fake Alex on the gate laughed with a snort.
“The times are changing, Old man. It’s about time I put away the two pairs of Shadow Chancellor and Hero Knight, as I got tired of wearing it”
“No, no, not really”
The impostor instantly lowered his voice.
“… I always thought that even a knight doing one-handed work should be sent out from the top. I don’t like being exaggerated by the old credit. Good age, good enough. I think it would be happier to leave the politics to the Count and the heroes to me to disappear without listening to my miserable story”
“……Its you, Macles Hernan”
“Okay. Well then, it’s about time for me to leave. If you want to settle it, come later, give me guidance……”
The fake Alex bends over. And at that time he tried to escape leaving an illusion.
Dogon, the gate he rides on, split in half and collapsed.
“Nua!?”
The fake Alex is beaten to the ground carelessly and panics. It was a huge iron bar that collapsed the gate. A pillar rather than a stick. The woman who carried it up was an ogre who looked even smaller than the pillar. There was also a figure of a lion beast person on his knees next to her.
“……Annette. It’s overkill”
While standing up, Lister looks bitter.
“Hmm, what did you know. Which one of you put the monsters in the city?”
Annette and Lister. Two Gold Arms. In front of them are two Alex Busters.
“Which one is the fake?”
Lister growls. Neither Lister nor Annette have any magical background. There is no way to tell if it is an illusion. Annette grinned and threw out the iron bar and punched her fist into her palm.
“It could be either. Alright, Lister, you take care of the left one”
“Wait Annette”
Annette’s eyes emit a golden light and her hair begins to stand upright. Gold Arm, Annette Lange. The full-powered form of the woman who is said to have the greatest offensive power on the continent. A golden demon clad in a blitz appears.
“I take care of the right side”
“But one of them may be the real one”
“If its Alex, he knows me”
She sticks out her fist.
“He can’t die or is killed just because you and I hit him”
“……That’s right”
Lister also got ready. The color disappears from the complexion of the fake Alex.
“Maa……”
“Dieeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”
“Excuse me!!”
Two sounds overlapped.
—————————–
Sieg Becker was sneaking into the royal villa. There are no other infiltrators. All devote themselves to fighting the monsters in the city.
“……Well, this situation isn’t bad, either”
Stunning a soldier while fainting. Everyone was on their guard because no one but Sieg showed up. There were a few Red Arms, but Red Arms, who are strong in frontal combat, cannot detect the presence of Sieg. Sieg is a man who is good at such a fight, no, killing them with poisoned needles one after another and if he feels like it, only one person survives in a 100-man corps without a sound. Without the refrain of a foreign country and Dianne’s instructions, all the soldiers who defended here would have parted from the torso and crying. It is easier. Then, when he defeated almost all the soldiers and invaded the inner bedroom, a hurt mature man and a woman, a little older than Sieg, were still sitting on the bed. The former hero, Rastan Gilts and his wife and former Queen Sherfa Lilac.
“Good evening. I am the Celesta princess rescuer”
“Who!?”
“What, you are……!”
“I’m here to rescue you in the strategy of Great Knight Chief, Alex Buster”
The two, who were a little shocked and frightened, still looked down when they heard Alex’s name.
“Ku……Alex……!!”
“Alex……why?”
“?”
Sieg doesn’t know the situation in the city. This mission was the highest priority.
“It was Alex who attacked this mansion……that man, I wanted to chase him out of the city, but Sherfa hesitate……”
“Count Pound comes when he insists that he will break his throat if he wants to take me forcibly”
Sieg laughed.
“Hahaha”
“What’s wrong”
Rastan, the wounded man, dislikes.
“Why does a magician who can make a person into stone, threatens to harm himself?
“That is……but……”
“…………”
“You were deceived. By Count Pound”
“……That”
Rastan looks shocked. On the other hand, the queen with a wretched look looked at Sieg in a gloomy manner.
“That’s why you are here……I mean, Pound´s soldiers”
“I let them sleep”
“……So”
The former queen suddenly became expressionless, then sighed and smiled.
“So, shall we come to complain to Alex”
“Oh?”
The former Queen smiled glamorously at the annoying Sieg. Rastan has a confused look on his face.
“What do you mean, Sherfa?”
“Huhu. ……I don’t think you really trusted that Pound?”
“Wa, Wait, you really are from the beginning……”
“If that Alex had such a good interest, you would have been forced to fall asleep ten years ago?”
“…………”
Lending a hand to the messy Rastan, the former queen stretches her back and stands up.
“Come on, let’s go. If you can get out of here safely, you don’t have to pretend you’ve been deceived anymore”
————————
There’s no Alex in the place where Lister hit. He jumped away, substituting the stones that were there. And Alex, the one Annette hits……was holding the glowing fist with one hand.
“……Tsk, you hit me seriously. Take care a little of an old man”
“Noisy Devil. Even if I hit you with all my might, even a rock doll wouldn’t be so calm that it would fly away”
Annette smiles happily. Almeida, who was watching it, was absent minded.
“……What’s going on?”
“That is Buster’s power”
Tetes explains while cutting down the last few of the monsters that Almeida let escape.
“Physical hardening, momentary enhancement, blitz blocking, sensory acceleration, shock diffusion, etc……Buster now utters a total of 24 original spells at once and is preparing to accept the impact of Great Knight Chief Annette”
“24 Originals!?”
“All original spells!?”
Almeida and Naris are startled. Both are rare elves who aren’t good at magic, but they knew the significance of the matter. Usually, even a simple spell takes a few seconds to cast. If you get better, you can improve efficiency by making full use of casting techniques such as shortening and compounding, but even with a simple illusion, the spell that exerts an effect on the substance does not go for a moment. It is difficult to cast in such a form and it usually takes a long time to cast an original spell that you developed, rather than an ordinary spell that was cast and cast by many spell casters. When it is executed with the number of 24 types, it takes at least 100 seconds at the shortest even if it is usually considered.
“If I cast the same amount, I can’t say it faster than 45 seconds……but my brother has completed casting in less than 2 seconds”
“…………”
“Devil……”
Naris’s muttered words permeated everyone on the spot. It is not a work that humans can do. Even elves and dragons can’t do that. It needed something out of the standard.
“Now my impostor. Don’t say so long, let’s settle it here”
“Ku……”
The fake Alex who was trying to escape finally solves the illusion. What appeared was a human magic warrior about 30 years old. It was the Black Arm, Macles Hernan.
“Th, There are three Gold Arms……so how can we do it!”
“Don’t worry. I´m good enough to fight you all alone
Kokin, Kokin, Alex snaps his neck. Then, he makes a gesture that invites Tetes with his finger. Immediately, Tetes threw away her two-handed sword. Alex caught it with his golden gauntlet.
“In the past. I wanted to be like Arthur Bonaparte”
A two-handed sword that is too big for a girl to handle with one hand. It is shaken lightly to make Alex fit it in his hand.
“But I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have such a sword talent. It was magic, there were a lot of incredible guys at that time. I couldn’t catch up. I’d be fighting people such as Lister, Annette latter……which I can’t win. I´m like a jack of all trades and master of none”
“……Bullshit, are you associating with me”
Macles tried to run away, but for some reason he ran straight ahead. He noticed it at once and stopped walking.
“What, I should have gone behind you……”
“Well, don’t hate it. A old man is talking to you and it’s a long story, so don’t worry”
“……You, magic……co, cowardly”
“Oh, yeah. That was the story. That is why I decided to aim for ultimate dexterity. No sword or magic can be the best, but only the repertoire can be the best, so I became a dexterous guy. Well then, I can’t just leave politics and money bills to people like you……”
Alex holds his sword on the top.
“There are so many means I can use, or rather people who can’t do it are cowardly. Be prepared, I won’t go easy on a coward opponent”
“……Don’t underestimate me!”
Macles unleashes his sword. With a smirk, Alex opens his mouth.
“────!”
A few moments of chanting. At the end of that, Macles was blown into the air with his arms cut off.
“!?”
“Don’t think you’ll die easily. You hurt the people of Rennesto”
Catching up in the air, Alex hit Macles´s face with his fist and hit him to the ground. When he bounce on the ground, Alex kicks his belly from the side and hit him into the stone of the collapsed gate. Alex casts magic ti Macles who dragged himself out of the collapsed gate.
“『Become a stone』”
Macles immediately begins to be petrified. His face is dyed with fear. But the magic stops at half the body. The limbs were petrified so that they couldn’t be used at all, but only the chest and head were not petrified.
“Hii……Wh, Why……”
“I told you I won’t kill you in an effortless way. ……You’ll still be useful. If you don’t help, I’ll hand over your family to the people who were killed in this turmoil”
“……Eh, I’m so sorry”
Annette smiles at Naris’s impression.
“It’s like fighting a devil”
————————-
“Did everyone gather together?”
In the city’s central square, Gilbert Grants looked around at the Sword Saints. The square at night should be a little more lively, but it’s quieting down now. After the monsters rampage, there’s no help for it.
“Bay squad, no injuries”
“Dean squad is also healthy”
“The structure of this city is good for hiding from the big monsters. Houses and people were used to such emergencies. The monsters didn’t seem to have caused much damage as I expected”
“The monster extermination is over. It is a story that Trot cannot think of, such as fighting against so many monsters in the city”
“That’s right”
Grants nods. Looking back, he smiled at the dozens of Gauntlet Knights, led by Felios, who were behind him.
“Were we useful?”
“…………You were very helpful”
“That’s good”
All Gauntlet Knights were tattered, but the Sword Saints still have plenty of strength. Even so, they are almost the same number of people and have doubled the battle results.
“……This is the Sword Saint Brigade……”
“Already……no, it’s still a self-proclaimed one”
The Trot Knights proudly throw out their chests.
——————————
Almost at the same time as the gate breaks, Laila arrived at Rennesto. The Sword Saint Brigade and Annette and Lister respectively scattered the monsters, and thanks to Laila’s escort to the Queen, Alex was able to move.
“Ho. That ogre called Annette attacked me when she saw me. If that cat beast didn’t stop me, I would have burned and killed everyone at the fortress”
“Lister is a lion beast, not a cat beast……it looks like he crossed a dangerous bridge”
“Hoho, well, it was exciting”
Laila and Queen Flare arrive at the central square while chatting. She must prove Alex’s innocence in the name of the Queen, while still smelling of blood from demons and victims. With the monsters threat gone, Queen Flare screamed loudly from the same height as the frightened people who had come out of their houses.
“Everyone! It’s an uproar to the golden knight Alex Buster due to the turmoil of this time, the strategy of Mistral Count Shane Pound! Please calm your heart and don’t let the wicked fool you!”
Soon, when people are surprised at the appearance of the Queen, Count Pound raises a voice from another part of the square.
“It’s a lie! I’m innocent! I’ve been accused by Devil Buster, the queen was taken out to the city at night and made to speak! It is absolutely unforgivable to take advantage of the young queen and to take this Renfangas at will! He’s a mean man who’s trying to drive me out of Rennesto, who raised his voice!”
The people were confused by the speech of those two who suddenly appeared in the town. The queen tries to raise her voice further, but Laila gently raises her hand to control her.
“Why are you stopping me?”
“You’re a queen. ……So silence here is fine”
“Eh……?”
“Sometimes, the more you say, the weaker you look. You just have to believe and stand here”
“…………”
Queen Flare wanted to argue against Count Pound, but obeyed Laila. In any crisis, the Queen is in Rennesto. There is a proud Queen behind the back of a hero. As the classic poetry said.
The people turn their eyes to the queen and look down on Count Pound who raised his voice. They remembered.
“I believe in the Queen”
“……Me too, because Lord Buster isn’t that kind of person. Lord Buster has been protecting this city and the Queen all the time”
“Is that person really a Count? I have lived in Rennesto for 40 years, but I have never seen him”
“Usually Lord Buster used to treat everyone at our store even when the former queen got married. While saying, bastard bastard……he isn’t like that now, so it’s a different person”
“I don’t think it would be best if Lord Buster isn’t with the Queen and rules the country alone”
“Yes. That’s right!!”
They remembered. The appearance of a hero. The heart of a hero.
“Don’t be fooled! Alex Buster is a good vassal only on the outside! He is……”
Queen Flare and Laila quietly look at Shane Pound, who seems more profanity as he raises his voice. Then four Gold Arms appeared. The people are enthusiastic about the appearance of these four people who have continued to fight the monsters in this hell-like Renfangas.
“Pound. ……There are good things and bad things”
“Buster!”
Two aristocrats facing each other. A quiet place. There, the former Queen Sherfa, taken by Sieg and Rastan, the injured hero, also appear.
“Qu, Queen! Queen you must have seen, that Buster who broke into the royal villa……”
“…………”
The previous Queen ignores the voice of Count Pound. She smiles at Alex in a nasty way.
“You purposely made us a decoy, Alex”
“……Did you see through it?”
Playing dumb, Alex stretches out his cheek. In front of the stunned people, the previous Queen smiled.
“It’s a replacement for Rastan”
“It hurts”
“……And you protected my daughter……the Queen. I’ll give you a praise”
“……That’s the promise”
“Yes”
Count Pound flares up over Queen and Alex, who create a mysteriously mellow atmosphere.
“He’s a traitor!! He took the castle, took you and tried to sacrifice the city to monsters…… ”
“A castle is something that you can get by contracting with a queen. No one can stop it. If he want to take me away, he would have taken me before I was so old. Above all……attacking Rastan. Alex isn’t as weak as that. Did you think that this nonsense blinds my eyes, Shayne Pound!”
“Tsk……”
Pound shuts down. As expected, the majesty of the former queen was different from that of the present young queen.
———————-
“Well well, I haven’t been out so long, but I feel nostalgic”
Alex stands in the castle hall and looks up at the ceiling.
“The hairline has dropped again”
“……Can’t you just look there?”
Alex has a bitter look at the words of the former Queen who speaks frankly.
“Rebuilding during the audience, repairing the main street and the west gate, there is a lot of work to do……my head hurts”
“Well, good luck!”
“I think you broke it, Annette!”
“Don’t get angry, Lister. There’s no such thing. If it’s destroyed, it’s Felios´s fault”
“No way, you can’t fight hundreds of horned leos without using Tempest. I don’t have the ability to discharge”
The Gold Arms make a loud noise.
“Good grief, it’s dangerous and there’s no reliable protection like this”
“Ho. It doesnt care us”
Laila and Dianne shrug their shoulders, while staring at their backs. And Tetes approached the two with a serious look.
“That, 100-man commander Dianne”
“What”
“That……10-man captain Smithson and the Hero Neia went missing……”
Communication magic with the hand mirror has finally arrived.
“!!”
“Dianne, let’s return immediately”
“Yes!”
They jump out of the castle in a hurry. ……By the time they return, the case is already closed.