To Protect What's Precious
Watching the magical beast draw closer, Leje tightened her grip on her sword.
The pressure she felt was on a completely different level compared to the Chimera she had faced before.
[Goooooooooooo-!!]
With a low, resonating roar, the beast trampled everything in its path.
It was like a natural disaster, beyond human control.
But even so, she didn't stop.
Just as it was for Rudell, Weinstein County was a precious place for Leje.
The most precious place in the world.
It was her only friend's hometown, a place filled with memories of their childhood together.
It was where she had cast aside her title as a princess of the Dukedom and built memories as a boy and a girl.
Seeing such a place being mercilessly trampled filled her with an indescribable rage.
"How dare you…"
Having approached a sufficient distance, Leje gritted her teeth and walked towards the nearby debris.
The remains of a building, collapsed beyond recognition.
Standing before it, she channeled her magic power and reached out to grab a massive piece of debris.
It must have weighed several hundred kilograms, but it wasn't that heavy for her, empowered by magic.
"Huu…"
Looking at the rampaging magical beast, she took a short breath and composed herself.
Her physical abilities were simply on a different level compared to ordinary people.
It was a blessing, but also a curse.
Different from others.
That alone had caused her considerable loneliness in her childhood.
Because she excelled at everything she did, she lost interest in most things.
Moreover, due to her status as a princess of the Dukedom, no one saw her as just Leje.
Everything felt dull, and she tried to fill that loneliness with all sorts of mischief.
Then, she met Rudell.
A strange guy.
That's what she thought when she first saw him.
But, before she knew it, he had become the most precious person to her.
Her abilities, status, appearance, family…
None of that mattered to him.
Just a friend of the girl named Leje El Ragrind.
Leje felt the greatest joy seeing Rudell content with just that.
And now, at this moment, her precious friend's territory was being trampled by a suddenly appearing magical beast.
"How dare you…"
As she tightened her grip on the debris, it cracked with a loud ‘kwaddeuk!’
Taking a short breath and composing herself, she gauged the distance and threw the debris.
-Kwaang!!
[Goooooooooooo-!!]
The debris flew at tremendous speed, colliding with the magical beast with an explosive sound like a cannonball.
The intense impact caused the beast to stagger and let out a painful roar.
[Goooooooo…]
As if trying to grasp the situation, the beast turned its head to look at Leje standing in the distance…
[Oooooooooo-!!]
Then, with a roar filled with hostility, it started charging towards her.
Every time the magical beast took a step, the surroundings shook as if an earthquake had struck, and everything in its path crumbled.
But even so, Leje didn't budge from her spot.
Soon, the magical beast reached her, raising its massive front paw as if to crush her…
"Get out of here!!"
Shouting, she swung her sword.
* * *
At the temporary command post, far from where Leje and the magical beast were clashing.
"Whoa…"
Rudell let out a low groan as he watched the grand confrontation unfolding in the distance.
He already knew that she possessed tremendous strength, but seeing it firsthand was a completely different experience.
"Incredible. Is she really human?"
"100% pure human. And don't tell Leje that."
Rudell chuckled awkwardly, looking at Kurt who spoke in disbelief.
Considering his straightforward personality, it was wise to give him a warning in advance.
"A-amazing…"
Meanwhile, the Count's soldiers and Carlos were also watching the duel between Leje and the magical beast in disbelief.
Even though they were quite a distance away, the air vibrated every time Leje and the beast's attacks collided, so their reactions were understandable.
However, now was not the time for that.
"Father."
"Ah, I'm sorry. I got carried away."
When Rudell spoke to Carlos, who was staring blankly at the scene, he turned his head with a gasp.
This must be the typical reaction of people who see her monstrous strength…
Thinking that, Rudell looked at the map on the table.
A detailed map of the County.
It was the latest map, even showing recently developed areas.
"What are you going to do now?"
"First, we need to lure it to a less populated area. I'm thinking these three locations as candidates."
Saying so, Carlos marked three uncharted areas on the outskirts of the County on the map.
"That would be for the best. What next?"
"That's where the problem lies. I can't be sure if we can kill it with our abilities…"
Rock and turtle.
As could be seen from the combination of two symbols of sturdiness, the magical beast's defense was beyond imagination.
Indeed, even with Leje's attacks, only the rocks attached to its shell were falling off, and the main body didn't seem to be taking much damage.
If Leje and the magical beast continued to exchange blows like this, the center of the County would be reduced to ruins.
From Rudell's perspective, he had to find a solution before that happened.
"There must be a way…"
Feeling a headache coming on, Rudell desperately tried to come up with a solution.
'If only I could use shadow magic…'
Shadow magic had the ability to create a subspace and store objects within it.
Normally, it would be difficult for him to put a magical beast of that size inside, but now he had the bracelet Kahran had given him.
The magic power contained in the bracelet made of magical beast teeth was at least twice as much as Rudell's own.
If he poured all of his magic power and added the magic power of Kahran's bracelet, it would be possible to put the magical beast into the subspace, even if only for a short time.
However…
'If I use it in a place like this…'
Shadow magic had a sinister visual that could be compared to black magic or the blood magic of vampires.
Furthermore, since no one knew of its existence at this point in time, there was no way to know what would happen afterward.
In the worst-case scenario, rumors could reach the Cult, and Inquisitors might come after him.
'Not yet…'
It would be wise to save the use of shadow magic as a last resort.
Shaking his head, he racked his brain to come up with the next move.
But no matter how much he thought, he couldn't come up with a good solution.
In the face of an existence akin to a natural disaster, there wasn't much a human could do. That was the reality.
"Kurt, any good ideas?"
After pondering for a while, Rudell turned to Kurt and asked.
In times like these, asking an expert was the most likely way to find a solution.
Since the Nord tribe had an inseparable relationship with magical beasts, there might be a good solution from him.
"I've never seen a magical beast like that before. To catch something like that, you'd have to collapse a mountain or something."
"I guess… that's true…"
But what could Kurt do?
If there was a tribe powerful enough to catch a magical beast of that size alone, the Winterfang tribe wouldn't have been pushed to the outskirts of the Eternal Winter Plains.
As Rudell let out a short sigh at Kurt's words,
"Wait… collapse a mountain?"
"Why?"
Suddenly, that sentence flashed through Rudell's mind, and he muttered to himself.
Kurt tilted his head, looking at him.
At the same time, the puzzle pieces in Rudell's head began to fall into place.
When he turned his head, he saw the towering mountain range on the outskirts of the County that seemed to pierce the sky.
The Blade Ring Mountains.
"That's it!! Kurt, you're a genius!!"
"Did you come up with a good idea?"
"Father! Gather all the cannons in the territory right now!"
Carlos asked, looking at Rudell who shouted, and Rudell said to Carlos.
Let's see if you can withstand this.
With that thought, Rudell glared at the magical beast fighting Leje.
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