A Horde Of Magical Beasts

The next morning, they departed from the town of Mail.

“Yesterday was quite an ordeal,” Captain Camil remarked from across the carriage.

“Did they talk at all?”

“No, they’ve been surprisingly tight-lipped, so we haven’t gathered any details yet.”

“I see. Well, I’ll leave that in your hands. Thank you.”

“Understood.”

From this point on, the scenery outside gradually began to feel more like a foreign country. Nature became far more abundant, and even the air felt distinctly different.

“I’m hoping we can make it to this town today,” Captain Camil said, spreading out a map.

“The town of Selen?”

“Yes. If all goes smoothly, I believe we can push this far.”

“Right. Let’s make the town of Selen our goal for today.”

Given what had just happened yesterday, Vim could only hope that today would be trouble-free. Yet, it was practically a rule of this world that problems tended to crop up exactly when one wished for peace.

With that thought in mind, Vim listened to the rhythmic clattering of the horseshoes as the carriage rolled along.

They passed through two towns. The sun slowly began to set, painting the landscape in shades of madder red. They had made good progress so far, and it looked like they would reach Selen before dark.

“Hmm? This… might be bad.”

“Is something wrong, Lord Vim?” Misa, sitting next to him, asked.

“A massive horde of magical beasts is heading our way. The count is somewhere between one and two hundred.”

Vim’s detection magic was picking up an absurd number of mana signatures. There were too many to get an exact headcount.

“Are you certain?!” Captain Camil’s face filled with shock.

“I don’t think I’m mistaken. Though I have no idea why such a massive horde is coming straight toward us.”

Normally, even when magical beasts pack together, they travel in groups of a few dozen at most. An increase by an entire order of magnitude meant there had to be a reason behind it.

“If you say so, Lord Vim, then there’s no doubt. What’s the plan?”

“We’ll have to take them down. It’s only a matter of time before they catch up to us anyway.”

Fortunately, the surrounding area was entirely empty—nothing but vast, wide-open plains.

“Stop the carriage.”

“Understood!”

At Vim’s command, the carriage came to a complete halt. Stepping outside, Vim walked up to the very front of the knight order’s line.

“What do you intend to do?”

“Blow them away, of course. All of them,” Vim said with a smirk.

“All of them? But you said there are two hundred.”

“Yes, but it’ll be fine. I’ll just shoot one massive blast.”

“I see…” Camil replied, a look of wry resignation washing over his face.

“Everyone, fall back! Do not stand in front of Lord Vim under any circumstances! You’ll only get in his way and get blown away with them!”

Following Camil’s orders, the knights quickly retreated behind Vim.

“Are you going to be okay?” Hana looked up at him, her eyes filled with anxiety.

“I’ll be fine. It’s dangerous here, Hana, so head to the back.”

Vim gave Hana’s head a reassuring pat.

“Alright, let’s do this. It’s been a while.”

The stampeding horde of magical beasts had just drawn close enough to be seen with the naked eye. With that, Vim began to deploy his magic.