Kanna no Kanna Chapter 59

action chapter after a while ??

100% accuracy and grammatically correct not guaranteed. revisions, corrections and edits are periodically done. only on my site tho

obligatory text doosseiii

Crushing introductory remark to one's advantage

ara ara sorewa dame dayo kanna. chanto kiki nasai

zokuri! !

「Wh?!」

My conciousness returns in a flash as I suddenly felt a presence.

I hope I had enough sleep time.

This presence, there's no doubt about it. That valley when I was ambushed by a goblin horde. Its the [same presence] as that guy who suddenly appeared and tried to bomb us to ashes!

I jump out of the tent and scrutinize the surroundings. At first glance, there's no change from before I went to sleep. But it was definitely [that strange presence] that sent a tingling along my spine.

Hey hey, aren't they a.s.sa.s.sins targeting Faima? What are they even doing here when there's not even a Fa from Faima? Could it be that Faima is inside this camp right here and now? No it couldn't be, she's a n.o.ble lady of an aristocratic house. There's no reason for her to visit such a squalid encampment.

Driven by a sense of uneasiness, I hurry over to the source of the presence. My direction will directly lead me to the central part of the camp huh. I don't feel any killing intent but I'm not foolish enough to be relieved just with that alone. Rather, I'm more anxious about the purpose of this [strange presence].

I have a bad feeling about this.

Without hesitation, I start running towards the presence. I've been advised not to enter any other area other than what was a.s.signed for adventurers but there's no other way around it.

「Oi, you there. This area is strictly off limits for non-personnel.」

Along the way, I come across another soldier who was guarding the camp interior. He rushes over to me with weapon in hand. I repeat the same thing I did at the entrance and take out both items to show him but in my hurry, it kinda looked like I threw it at him.

「Th-this is that personage's…………」

「It's an emergency! Follow along without questions!」

Perceiving something alarming happening from my fierce appearance, the soldier obediently nod and follow behind me.

ーーーshakin.

「Nguooo?!」

Pain resulting from something like static electricity came without warning and stabs me all over, causing me to let out a strange yell. At the same time, it felt like I broke through something like a thin film.

I stop unintentionally.

「Wh-what is mana presence? Why hasn't anyone noticed until now?!」

The soldier who followed along exclaims in his surprise.

Hm it's certainly an indication of a powerful mana. What's more, it's a considerably large amount. But before I experienced pain from the static-like electricity, there was only a thin presence of mana.

「Questioning comes later. Let's go!」

Less than a few minutes after running again, both of us reach the camp center. Unlike the surroundings where tents and supplies are placed in various places, only a few things were placed on this area, leaving it s.p.a.cious.

The s.p.a.ce reminds me of a school ground used for a school a.s.sembly. Though currently, I'm seeing a strange sight stretched across the empty s.p.a.ce.

First of all, there's a huge magical formation with a radius of about 5 meter long drawn on the center of the ground. It emitting an ominous red glow along with an enormous amount of mana. And in the center of it all stands the source of the presence I felt.

A man in a magician-style robe. He noticed our footsteps and turn around. I match eye with the goggle-eyed man for only a brief instant.

「………hm? Strange. I thought the barrier for repelling humaーーー」

「Victory to the swift!」

「hebua!?」

First things first, before he can say anything, I throw an ice pebble to his face.

The robed man tumbles on the ground following the momentum and with his face upwards, he stopped moving just like that. Lucky for me that he pa.s.sed out with that one throw.

Introductory remarks? I got no obligation to listen nor to let it finish.

For further details, they can just torture it out of him.

「………Isn't that a little too rough?」

Although it's a somewhat abnormal situation, the soldier put in a tsukkomi with a stiff voice against my somewhat excessive action (I'm aware of it). The reason why it didn't move pa.s.s tsukkomi is because he clearly understood the relation between the suspicious robed man I just blew away with the similarly suspicious magical formation on the ground.

「I couldn't care less about that goggle-eyed man right now. Rather than that, do you know what this magical formation is for?」

「Pl-please give me a moment. I am not quite familiar with magical formations but I will try to read it somehow.」

The soldier observes the suspiciously glowing magical formation and before long, he opens his mouth.

「…………It may possibly be a magical formation intended for summoning. It is not the kind of spell for seeking a contract but rather one that simply calls for [something] from far away. I am sorry but I do not know anything more than this.」

「………It really stinks of suspicions.」

The goggle-eyed man also said something 100% suspicious like that [human repelling barrier]. Most likely, it's that static electricity and the feeling of breaking a thin film that I felt earlier.

There are two possibilities for laying down measures to keep people away. It's either to protect something very important or to do something terrible.

In this case, it's definitely the latter.

As I'm busy thinking about it, several new footsteps came closer. Because I broke the repelling barrier, other soldiers who remained in this camp sensed the mana flowing from this magical formation and rushed over.

「Adventurer-dono, what happened here?」

The soldier stationed at the entrance rush over to us.

「It seems that the goggle-eyed man lying over there was preparing a summoning magical formation here. He was being thorough, to the point of using a human repelling barrier. Even though it's mostly empty, he is bold enough to stand in the middle of the encampment where Imperial Army still maintains.」

I explain that while pointing out to the fainted goggle-eyed man.

「………From what I am able to see, this magical formation is on the verge of completion. The only step left is to pour in mana.」(gateguard)

Now that goggle-eyed is unconscious, the [strange presence] I'm sensing from him is thinning as well. My guess is, he must've triggered my [presence detection] because of the need to knead huge amount of mana necessary for the final step.

「You also can't understand more details from it?」

「If it is related to summoning spells, our head knight would be able to comprehend more. At my level, I can only determine whether or not it belongs to a summoning system.」(gateguard)

The soldier move his gaze and turn towards the fallen goggle-eye. The other soldiers flip him around and tie him with a rope.

「It is going to be a little while more before we can listen to his story.」(gateguard)

「My bad. I made him faint the moment I saw him.」

「………I don't mean to blame you. If this magical formation was invoked, who knows what kind of things will be [summoned]. It was a reasonable decision.」

Like the hero who appears in every story, if I had gone out of my way to listen to what the enemy has to say, that goggle-eye will undoubtedly be able to complete to spell in the meantime.

One of the Kannstyle winning strategy is…

ーーーListen to your opponent after you win.

I'm relieved after receiving approval from the guard post soldier.

「Ughaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa」

A scream resounds in the area.

The source isー

ーーーthat goggle-eyed man.

He's tied up with a rope and his mouth gagged. Despite that, he's screaming with an ear piercing sound while biting down the gag and blowing off all the soldiers to the side in the process.

There's just a matchstick body wearing that robe, where did he get that much power?

His eyes are bloodshot and wide open. It looks like it'll pop out of his eye socket. He's also clenching his teeth seemingly to withstand severe pain, resulting in his saliva overflowing.

Even at a glance, this situation doesn't look good.

Goggle-eye, even with his hands tied to the back while squeezing a scream from his throat, runs to the magical formation drawn on the center of the ground.

「Hold him down!」

Someone raised his voice but goggle-eye had already reached the center of the magical formation.

And then.

「gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa」

A dry sound like a balloon popping echoes. As goggle-eyed screams and writhes with increasing intensity, red liquid spurts from [every orifice] of his body. Fresh blood gushes out, then he sinks into his own pool of blood.

His eyeb.a.l.l.s ruptured and with his eardrums in a similar state, blood is pouring out of his ears. It goes without saying that………he's certainly dead.

Soldiers attached to the knight order should've come into contact with death scenes in no small number. However, even they involuntarily avert their eyes from this scene.

As one would expect from a normal guy, even I can't help but feel nauseous. But it seems that there's no leeway for vomiting.

The magical formation that was stained in red suddenly increase in brilliance. Along with that, all the blood pouring out from goggle-eye's corpse loses its color. It was as if the magical formation is swallowing the blood.

「………No need to even guess that this is seriously bad news.」(kanna)

「Even without guessing, it is clear that this is dangerous! Men, clear the area! Hurry!」(gateguard)

The brilliance of the magical formation increased to a level which can't be directly seen with naked eyes. Me and the soldiers shield our eyes while backing away from the magical formation. There was no time to collect goggle-eye's corpse. The spell's brilliance reaches its climax and intense light burst forth.

「What the heck is this? !」(kanna)

「It's likely that the mana that needed to be refined over time was forcibly refined through blood as a medium! Only an act of sheer madness can be used to describe this sacrificial conduct!」(gateguard)

The torrent of mana settle down and the light subside. When I lower my arm, goggle-eye's corpse couldn't be seen anywhere. But we can't afford to be distracted by such a [trivial matter].

「goooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa」

Even now, the magical formation is glowing ominously.

The reason is because a grotesque figure appeared in the center of the formation with a height of approximately 3 meters. It comes with a set of overly developed muscles with its arm thickness comparable to a woman's waist.

Its also armed with a similarly huge club. Sharp fangs protrude out of its mouth, which is also releasing some wild breaths. And on its head, there's two sharp horns. But compared to the horns of ryujin folks, this one is rougher and more sinister looking.

[That thing] is a well-known fantasy monster.

An [ogre].

Ogres are categorically the same as goblins which are humanoid magic beasts but as a species it's above and beyond goblins, boasting huge frames and ferocious temperament. It's a tyrant of violence matched by its vicious frame.

To reliably subjugate one, it's best to have several C-rank adventurers teaming up. If one intends to challenge it alone, the ability and [equipment] fitting for a B-rank adventurer is indispensable.

「goooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa」

Once again, it releases a roar that causes a shockwave.

「tch I sure can't hear that as [let's be friends ‘kay]」(kanna)

「No no no what are you even suggesting! I'd say that one is screaming [show me blood!].」(gateguard)

Unexpectedly, this guard post soldier is good at following my rhythm. Did he awaken his persona during his gatekeeping questionings? While I'm thinking of silly things, the abnormal situation plunged further into chaos.

Imagine my surprise when the summoning magical formation glowed again, only for another ogre to make an appearance as if it had risen from the ground.

「T-this is a permanent summoning spell.」(gateguard)

「Somehow I can imagine but any details?」(kanna)

「As the name suggests, this is a spell that will continuously summon a target. However, it is difficult to control and if done poorly, enemy and allies alike will suffer great damage. For that reason, any research and usage concerning this type of spell should be prohibited.」

「It's actually being used now though.」(kanna)

「Nothing I can do even if you complain to me.」

「Both of you, leave your manzai act at that! They are moving!」(calm soldier)

Both the summoned ogres raise their battle cry and comes rushing with clubs held high. Their movement looked slow at first glance but because of their giant body, the distance covered by each step dwarfs those of humans.

One came close to us in no time at all.

Me, the gatekeeper bro and the other soldier hurriedly vacate the area where we're standing just as the ogres swing down their clubs at the very same spot. The clubs crash into the ground first, then came the sound of the air being pushed produced by that swing a moment later. The ground itself got obliterated along with a thunderous roar.

The sight of devastation reminds me of that ice giant.

After avoiding the a.s.sault I create an ice axe and drive it into the defenseless back of the ogre. However the blade made of ice didn't stand a chance. It only managed to cut for just a bit before stopping.

Feeling angry from my axe slicing into it, the ogre turns its sight towards me and swings its club around. Without hesitation, I let go of my axe and retreat some distance away, narrowly avoiding the club smashing into the place I was standing just before. The resulting wind pressure slams onto my face and made me shudder in fear.

「The sheer muscle ma.s.s of ogre forms a natural armor! Direct attacks will not work!」

Soldier bro, wish ya told me that earlier.

「[I raised my proficiency and beat em all using laws of physics] but when the enemy does it, it's just plain unreasonable, d.a.m.n it.」

I produce 3 ice cones and fired it all. Two got repelled by the club.

Though the last one did reach its body, it's not particularly effective as it only manage to pierce for just a little bit. The ogre pulls it out with one hand and toss it away.

When I sneak a peek at the other ogre, it's storming at other soldiers gathered in the other direction. The soldiers are evading its attack with well-trained movement and coordination but they seem to be just as lacking in firepower as well.

「Adventurer-dono. You look the part as a magician but the magic that works against it isーー」(bro)

「Unfortunately, I'm lacking in ability. I can't use anything other than physical attacks using ice element.」(kanna)

「gh Normally that would be a valuable firepower of a high-level attribute.」(bro)

「Pardon me for the incompetence.」(kanna)

「Oh no It was not my intention to criticize you.」(bro)

3 of us managed to continue evading the ogre's fierce onslaught while slipping in attacks. The two soldiers slash at it with their equipped sword while I pile up mine with ice axe and ice cones.

However, none of our attacks are capable of inflicting fatal wound in the face of its thick muscles. At best, our effort only amounts to increasing the number of scratches.

「gwaaaaaa」

It's from a human.

One of the soldier who had been dealing with the other ogre got caught up in a frontal blow and blown away. He doesn't seem to be dead but I don't think he'll be able to return to the frontline anytime soon.

d.a.m.n. At this rate, this predicament will gradually get worse.

Do I crush it with an ultra ma.s.sive ice sledgehammer like I did to defeat that flame magician?

Well, it's not like I can't do it but that action consumes a tremendous amount of mental strength. There is a possibility that it can evade the attack and even if I do manage to knock it down, there's still one more left. I can't use it carelessly.

「uwaaa!?」

I heard a voice from nearby while I'm busy thinking about strategy. Soldier bro slipped and fell. In front of the soldier, the ogre raises its club overhead. If that blow connects it'll be an instant death!

「Like I'll let youuu!」

I thrust my hands forward and manifest an ice wall to cover him. The ogre's club smash into it, causing a crack to form in the wall.

d.a.m.n it all, its raw power is at the level of Real. That strike shaved away quite a bit of my mental strength.

「eh? What?」

「Get outta there fast! I can't keep it up for long!」(kanna)

Soldier bro who couldn't process the fact that he barely managed to cling to his life due to the sudden appearance of my ice wall got shocked and paralyzed.

At the same time, the ogre slams into my wall repeatedly, causing the crack to increase and widen. The other soldier grabs the scruff of the paralyzed soldier bro and forcibly drag him from that spot.

Immediately after that, the wall finally got shattered by the ogre but at least soldier bro is safe. Good job, another soldier-san. Oh I dunno neither of their name.

「T-thank you adventurer-dono.」(bro)

「Thank me later, just think about how to breakthrough this situation! At this rate, we'll be tormented to death!」(kanna)

「…………Normally, magic of the flame system would be used to burn it down but everyone with ability to use magic had gone to partic.i.p.ate in the goblin subjugation. On the other hand, our current equipment does not possess enough sharpness to pierce through the ogre's skin.」(calm)

Soldier bro thanks me with halfway tearful eyes, the other calmly replied while biting the bitterness of our state.

At any rate, the most troublesome thing is the toughness of that muscle.

Although it's not a strong as steel and it can be sliced with both sword and my blade of ice, that only affects the surface layer alone.

That huge body definitely contains a befitting amount of vitality.

No matter how many scratches we inflict upon it, we won't be able to take it down at this rate.

As I am now, it takes too long for me to create a sharper blade than what I currently have.

ーーーNo, wait.

For a while now, pointed tip was able to pierce it.

My ice have the minimum offensive capability. In other words, there's not enough raw power to push it through.

However my image has its limits.

If that's the case, what happens if I superimpose additional power to the image. Since I'm in a deadlock anyway, I'll just try it and see how it goes!

First of all, instead of an axe, I create a [sledgehammer]. Of course, not an ultra ma.s.sive size utilizing all my mental strength, but still a big one. Only to an extent that it's not unreasonable to wield. Still, the thickness of the handle is about the same as the club that ogre has.

In order to ascertain my chance, I'm going to evade its onslaught like the two soldiers. If I concentrate fully on evading and pay careful at reading the presence of the ogre, it's not too difficult a task.

What I'm aiming for is a single ma.s.sive blow.

And then.

「goooooooooooaaaaaaaaaa」

Did it grow impatient of us darting about under its nose?

After the ogre raised a battle cry that can make my soul tremble, it displays a dreadful charging speed and swings its club down to me.

Lucky.

The other two would've been slower in their response. As for me, I sensed what it wanted to do before the charge even happen. Predicting ahead of the a.s.sault, I easily evade the blow with plenty of room to spare.

The club sinks in the ground, obliterating it but even with all that tremendous destructive power, if it doesn't hit, it's all but meaningless. That big swing created a chance I've been waiting for. If this fails, then there's nothing else I can do.

As I jump aside while holding the sledgehammer with my right hand and letting most of it rest on my shoulder, I thrust my left hand forward to produce an ice cone. But this time, I didn't launch it right away and kept it in the air. I let the spirits determine where to aim so that I can swing my ma.s.sive hammer with both hands.

「dorraaaaashaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! ! !」

A no-holds-barred full-powered swing.

Swinging the hammer like a baseball bat, I drive it into the bottom of the floating cone. If I launch a cone as it is, it won't be powerful due to the unclear image. The same rings true even if my ice blade hits the ogre directly.

If that is so, then I'll just have to add a direct blow to the cone and raise its penetration force using image + propulsion power. The ice cone pierces through the air at a terrific speed. It flies at an entirely different league compared to launching it directly and hits the ogre's torso.

The cone tore through the solid muscles which can even withstand sharp blades. It even swallows up internal organs and crushes the ogre's spine before finally boring a hole at the back for its exit.

「gu…………goo………」

After the ogre raised its final death cry due to the hole in its body, its crashes into the ground while scattering blood all over.

「…………Oh」

The result was truly beyond my imagination and got me surprised.

The two soldiers are also equally surprised and went stiff at the sight. That penetration was certainly an unexpected outcome because I only expected the cone to pierce it. What a nice miscalculation it was.

「………hah! Adventurer-dono! Please take down the other one as well!」

The recovered soldier bro directs me to my next target.

The other soldiers are………still holding on, except for the one who was blown away. However, their movement lacks the composure they had in the beginning. If the situation continue as it is, it will only be a matter of time before someone else gets. .h.i.t by the ogre.

I once again create an ice cone and get into position so I can [strike] it at any moment. My preparation is complete. I nod to signal soldier bro who then raises his voice.

「Men! Clear away from the ogre! ! !」

Everyone in the vicinity of the ogre clear away after hearing soldier bro's warning. The ogre who is puzzled at the sudden retreat of its prey turns its neck to look around.

It's too late even if you notice me now.

「dosseeiyaaaaaaa」

Another full power swing.

The impact from my sledgehammer propels the cone to an explosive speed and hit its head.

Far from penetrating, the cone flashily annihilate its head while scattering pieces of skull and brain matter. Having lost its head, the ogre stagger on the spot and collapse without a death cry (got no head after all).

The two powerful magic beast had been silenced.

Quietness hang in the air as if the fierce battle just before was an illusion.

ーーーgan

I stab my sledgehammer to the ground.

「We wooooooooooon!」

My victory shout comes a little bit later.

ーーーOooooooooooooooooooooooo! ! !

All of the soldiers let out cries of victory.

「You've done it, adventurer-dono! As expected of the one Lydeal-sama sent!」

Soldier bro pats my shoulder while crumbling into tears. The other soldier nods with his arms crossed. All of the remaining soldier sink down on the spot.

「Hold on, the one that got blown away, is he okay?」

「We were not trained by our leader for nothing, he won't die of something of that level. At best, he might have broken one or two bones.」

Soldier bro said so cheerfully but just hold on a sec.

「One or two broken bones are quite serious though?!」

「Don't sweat it. It's a daily occurrence for us. But all our healers are out subjugating, so he'll have to tough it out until then.」

「…………This knight order are a pretty violent bunch aren't they.」

I'm glad that no death occurred. But the problem isn't over yet.

「Speaking of which, other than the first two ogres, not a single one got summoned again.」

Soldier bro said earlier that this spell will continuously summon new ogres but there's no sign of the third one coming. The magical formation is still glowing ominously though and it seems to be gradually getting stronger.

「The mana that was produced by that mysterious man's sacrifice was consumed in order to immediately summon two of those ogres. But it looks like this spell has a built-in mechanism to draw and acc.u.mulate mana from the surroundings. Given enough time, a new ogre will be summoned again.」

If we a.s.sume so, was it a mistake to take down that goggle-eye before confirming the situation? If the end result doesn't change with or without him, it probably would've been fine to extract as much information as possible. Whether or not soldier bro was able to read it from my expression, he laughs wryly.

「Please don't be discouraged. I think your judgement was correct. This built-in mechanism is far less efficient at collecting mana than a magician pouring it in directly. Compared to facing two at once, the situation would've been impossible to handle if a summoning occurred every few tens of second or minutes.」

The soldier next to him also nods in agreement.

「But, just as he said just now, this magical formation will continue to acc.u.mulate mana from the air, albeit inefficiently. With time, a new ogre will be summoned.」

「In other words, it would be better to break it down before that happens.」(kanna)

「I agree. Adventurer-dono, can we ask this of you?」(bro)

「Ou, leave it to me.」

The soldiers evacuate from the inside of the magical formation.

I stand at the edge of the formation and create an ice sword.

「seiya」

After imagining a satisfactory image, I stab the sword into the ground. An ice mountain protrudes out of the ground, swallowing the five meter radius magical formation and thoroughly destroys its geometrical pattern. The ice mountain disappears after I pull out the sword. All that is left is a small protuberance. Naturally, the magical formation loses its color.

Although it's a large scale spirit art, it doesn't pose any problem so long as I have time to solidify the image, as that will result in only a small consumption of mental strength.

「…………There's no more indication of mana. It seems that the summoning spell has been successfully destroyed.」(bro)

Soldier bro kneels down and checks the ground to confirm.

I also sense that this magical formation is no longer emitting mana.

It's safe to say that the immediate crisis has gone away.

hontou ka na kanna yo?

chapter length is all over the place. cant even fix a schedule even if i wanted to. oh well, at least author doesnt spread a fight over a few ch