Chapter 2:
The Red Wyrm's Upper Jaw
THE UPPER JAW ITSELF was a single road that took us through a
narrow valley. The path wasn't as straight as the Holy Sword
Highway, but it was just as simple. There were no side roads or forks
to worry about.
This place was basically a border zone, unclaimed by any nation.
It was also a choke point for trade. After a few hours of travel, we
met a large caravan heading in the opposite direction.
At a glance, I saw about a dozen covered wagons and more than
fifty horses laden with goods. They probably belonged to Asuran
merchants on their way to the Magic Nations. There were also
tougher-looking sorts trudging along on foot at regular intervals:
adventurers who'd been hired as guards, judging from the way they
glared at us.
The sight brought back some memories. I'd joined a caravan
much like this one on my way up to the Northern Territories. It had
been a smaller one, though, with younger guards and merchants.
Back then, I was all alone in the world, and feeling very sorry for
myself. In the immediate aftermath of Eris' disappearance, I was
convinced that my future would be bleak and lonely. I lost the ability
to put my trust in anyone or anything. The only things that kept me
sane were my routines: training myself, and mumbling prayers to my
holy idol.
I'd come a long way since then.
Thanks to Sylphie, I'd regained my confidence. I was a father
now—maybe not the best one in the world, but still. I'd cleared up
that misunderstanding with Eris and married her as well. Somehow,
I'd even wound up married to my beloved teacher Roxy, who'd be
having my second child soon.
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With three loving wives, I wasn't spending many nights sad and
lonely anymore. What would young Rudeus say if he could see me
now? I had purpose in my life, and all the emotional support I
needed.
"…Are you gonna say something, or what?"
Eris' voice pulled me out of my thoughts; I guess we'd ended up
riding side by side at some point. I wasn't much of a horseman, so I
was riding pillion with Sylphie.
"Hey, Eris…"
"Yeah?"
"Can I grope you for a minute?"
"What? No. Don't be ridiculous!"
Hmm. Well, I could ask for emotional support, at least.
Anyway… the sight of me flirting with my wives probably
wouldn't cheer young Rudeus any. He'd probably just smile weakly
and say "Congratulations," then slink away as quickly as possible.
That was just the way I was back then. I knew other people were
capable of being happy, but I'd convinced myself that it was never
going to happen for me. The least painful option was to keep my
distance.
"…"
"Uhm, Rudy?" asked Sylphie, glancing in my direction. "Why did
you ask Eris for permission, but not me?"
As I was thinking about the past, my hands had apparently
worked their way up to Sylphie's chest. No wonder I'd been feeling
something soft against my palms.
"Whoops! Sorry, sweetie. Didn't even know I was doing it, I
swear."
"There aren't any monsters around here, so it's not that big a
deal… but keep your hands to yourself once we hit the forest, okay?"
"Thank you, Sylphie! You're an angel! I'm sorry, really!"
"You do realize you're still groping me, right?"
Smiling slightly, Sylphie scratched behind her ears in a gesture of
mild embarrassment.
To be honest, I'd been doing this a lot ever since we got
married. At every available opportunity, more or less. Sylphie had
sort of gotten used to it by now, and I definitely wasn't getting tired
of it.
"You can ride behind me tomorrow, Rudeus!" said Eris, from
beside us. Before I could respond, she spurred her horse to the front
of our party, blushing furiously.
Aw, did I make her jealous? Heh heh…
Anyway. We were coming up on the end of the valley, and the
entrance to the forest. I had to assume there was an ambush waiting
for us in that place. It was time to focus on the job at hand.
At the very end of the Red Wyrm's Upper Jaw, we had an almost
panoramic view of the forest that stretched out ahead of us. The
entrance to the valley was elevated enough that we could see all the
way to the fortress walls on the other side. Still, the trees grew tall
and dense here, so it was impossible to trace the road we'd be taking
past the point where it twisted into the woods. There was no chance
we'd spot anything that might be lurking deep inside waiting for us,
and it was clear enough nothing that happened in there would be
visible from the outside.
The fortress' walls were tall enough that the soldiers on that
side could easily monitor the valley entrance where we stood. In
other words, they could keep track of who entered the forest and
who left it.
But we couldn't see the fortress' gate over the tree line from
our vantage point. Anyone coming from the Asuran side had a
geographical advantage. This really was the perfect place for them to
attack us.
"Well… I guess we're finally back," Sylphie murmured quietly,
bringing her horse to a halt at the entrance to the forest. Luke had
stopped as well, along with the carriage. Eris and Ghislaine drew to a
halt a moment later.
Ariel's two attendants disembarked from the driver's seat of the
carriage. Without a word, Sylphie and Luke dismounted. A moment
later, the princess herself emerged from inside the carriage, carrying
a small bouquet of flowers.
The five of them walked together toward a stone sitting at the
side of the road. It was a perfectly ordinary-looking rock for the most
part, but someone had carved an X deep into its surface.
Ariel stepped in front of the group, bent down and placed the
flowers on top of the stone, then brought her hands together in the
Millis style of prayer.
I knew the princess wasn't particularly religious. This was the
first time I'd ever seen her pray, in fact. Luke and Sylphie weren't too
pious either, though I wasn't sure about attendants. But they all
knew the people buried under that stone. It was the final resting
place of all the knights and mages and attendants who'd fallen
fighting for Ariel in this forest. They'd been attacked numerous times
on their journey to the north, but many had died in an ambush here.
And some of those people had probably been believers.
"There's a much greater risk of ambush here," said Ariel quietly.
"Let's camp just outside the forest for today, and then push through
it in a single day tomorrow."
With that, Sylphie and the others walked back to their horses,
looking much more serious than before.
That night, we went over our battle formation one more time.
We also reviewed our techniques and skills, and discussed how we
should react to various combat situations.
Eris and Ghislaine would be our frontline. Sylphie, quick-witted
and versatile, would be supporting them in the mid-field. And I
would hang back, trying to position myself so I could monitor the
entire battlefield with my Eye of Foresight.
Luke and the two attendants would be focused solely on Ariel's
personal safety. Their gear was solid, but in all honesty, we didn't
want to integrate them into our battle plans. They'd just get in the
way on the frontlines with Ghislaine and Eris. Anyway, we wanted
someone close to Ariel at all times, in case of any surprise attacks.
Cleane the attendant would be acting as a body double for the
princess, with the help of a magical implement that could change her
hair color and facial features. This was the reason why both
attendants had hair of similar length to Ariel's. They were a little
different in build and height, but there wasn't much we could do
about that. Cleane was closer to Ariel in height, so the role had fallen
to her first. If she were killed, Ellemoi would take on the job in her
place.
In a sense, Ariel was starting out with two bonus lives. Our goal
was to get through this without losing any of them. I didn't know
Cleane or Ellemoi very well, but it would still feel terrible if we failed
to protect them.
Tomorrow, we'd proceed on the assumption we were walking
straight into a trap.
"We saved a lot of time by teleporting here," someone
objected. "Won't the assassins be dispatched much later?"
"Minister Darius is a very thorough man," Ariel replied. "He
likely took action the moment he learned of my father's declining
health."
The real question was what kind of "action" he'd taken. None of
us could say for sure. We did know that he'd retained the services of
two powerful swordsmen; and it seemed reasonable to expect that
the North Emperor Auber Corbett would be the one to attack us
here.
I had considered telling everyone about Auber's style and how
to counter it. But if he and Luke were both disciples of the Man-God,
that might come back to bite me. It seemed safer to keep my
silence… the last thing I needed was to have Auber ready and waiting
for my strategy. For this first battle, at least, I needed to handle him
by myself. It would require constant vigilance to protect everyone in
the party.
Well… Ghislaine could probably take care of herself no matter
what. But still.
I had to be on top of my game tomorrow.
The next morning, we set off bright and early in the formation
we'd agreed on.
Ghislaine and Eris took the lead on horseback, followed by
Sylphie, with whom I was riding with again. I'd wanted to take Eris up
on her offer, but I needed to be further back so I could assume my
position if necessary. The carriage with Ariel and her attendants was
a few lengths behind us, with Luke bringing up the rear on his horse.
As we moved cautiously down the single path through the
woods, we approached a sharp curve with poor visibility. There was a
mark carved into a small tree just before the bend which looked a bit
like a dollar sign.
This was a signal Orsted and I had worked out in advance. It
meant there was an ambush waiting for us just ahead. Apparently, I
wouldn't need to resort to faking an attack on my own party.
Gripping my staff tightly, I activated my Eye of Foresight and fed
mana to the Zaliff Gauntlet so I could use the stone of absorption in
its palm at any time. Poison darts or arrows might come flying from
the woods at any moment. They might even hit us with a high-tier
offensive spell. With my Eye activated, I'd be capable of responding
to either situation.
As it turned out, that wasn't necessary. Maybe a dozen armored
soldiers waited for us around the curve, blocking the road
completely.
"Whoa!"
Eris and Ghislaine drew their horses to a sharp halt, then
paused.
"Who are you?!"
The armored soldiers didn't respond to Ghislaine's words of
challenge. Their full-face helmets hid their expressions completely.
One of them had a large, colorful plume on their helm—could that
be Auber?
No. It was probably just their captain. Auber was supposed to be
much flashier.
The soldiers remained silent, but didn't move. They clearly had
no intention of letting us pass.
"Hop off, Rudy," Sylphie said quietly.
I got off the horse and backed up closer to the carriage. Sylphie
promptly spurred her horse forward, positioning herself between
Eris and Ghislaine. "I am Fitz, guardian mage!" she called out, her
eyes fixed on the plumed soldier. "Are you aware that this carriage
carries Ariel Anemoi Asura, Second Princess of Asura? Who are you,
and who do you serve?!"
Wow. That girl can sound really intimidating when she wants
to…
The plumed soldier didn't say a word in a response. Instead, he
drew his sword. The rest of the soldiers quickly followed his lead,
filling the air with the sound of ringing metal.
In that same moment, many more armored soldiers emerged
from the forest on either side of the road. The majority carried
swords, but I saw a few with staffs as well.
"We're under attack!" Sylphie shouted.
I risked a quick glance backward. Luke had already gotten off his
horse and assumed his position in the rear, watching our backs.
Ellemoi was frozen in the driver's seat of the carriage, gripping the
reins with a tense expression on her face; I could see Cleane inside
the carriage itself, disguised as Princess Ariel.
Everyone was in position, in other words. I turned my attention
back to the soldiers in front of us.
"Hraaaah!"
"Graah!"
Eris and Ghislaine were already barging into the enemy's
frontline, cutting down the heavily armored soldiers like wheat, their
strokes so swift I couldn't even see them. The enemy had drawn
their weapons first, but we'd still gotten the first blow. That was how
just fast those two were.
"I'll take care of the magic!" Sylphie called, countering a spell as
it flew in their direction.
So there were mages some distance behind the main force,
although I couldn't see them from my position. The enemies I could
see numbered more than thirty at this point. More were still
springing out of the forest, so their actual force was surely larger. But
against the likes of Eris and Ghislaine, mere numbers didn't mean
much. They were thinning the enemy's ranks faster than the enemy
could replenish them.
Eris moved quickly and impulsively. Ghislaine followed close
behind, covering her blind spots. And Sylphie supported them both
with quick, accurate spells. Together, they were cutting efficiently
through the entire squad of trained fighters, never giving the enemy
a chance to surround them.
I knew all three of them were skilled, of course, but even so I
was a bit surprised by how smoothly they were working together. I
guess they'd gotten used to working as a team during our expedition
to the Library Labyrinth. In any case, they seemed to have the
situation under control for now.
"Luke!" I called, shooting another look back toward the carriage.
"Are there any enemies coming at us from behind?!"
"None!" came his reply from the rear.
Weird. It's like they're inviting us to retreat, huh? Maybe it's a
trap?
Yeah, I'm thinking trap.
"Should we fall back?!" Luke shouted.
"No, I think we can break through them," I replied. "Let's push
forward and…"
I turned my attention back to the frontlines, and trailed off midsentence. The enemy ranks had parted suddenly, and someone was
striding forward through them.
Eris and Ghislaine stopped dead in their tracks.
The new arrival was… less imposing than I'd expected. He was
less than a meter tall, in fact.
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It was a halfling. A halfling in full body armor—polished, shining
body armor. His squat little body was gleaming so brightly that I was
reminded of a disco ball.
Still, the enemy soldiers looked visibly relieved to see him
stepping forward. They clearly had some respect for his skills. Was
this little guy a master swordsman? Maybe even Auber himself?
"I am the North King Wi Taa, one of the three blades of the
North God! They call me Light and Darkness!"
Do they really, though? Never heard of you.
"I take you for the Black Wolf Ghislaine, madam. I challenge you
to a duel!"
With those words, the walking disco ball drew his sword. The
thing was made to match his proportions, so it was only around
thirty centimeters long. Just like his armor, though, its blade gleamed
brilliantly.
I wasn't sure why he was asking for a one-on-one duel with our
strongest single fighter, given that his forces significantly
outnumbered us. Maybe he had some kind of trick up his sleeve?
"Hmph," Ghislaine snorted, pointing her blade at the little
swordsman. "Very well then! I am Ghislaine, the Black Wolf of the
Sword God Style! Your challenge is accepted!"
This seemed to bring the formalities to an end. Ghislaine
squared off against her foe, holding her sword at her waist.
For everyone else, it felt like time had stopped moving. The
enemy soldiers had broken off their advance, and were watching at a
distance. Sylphie glanced in my direction, then took a few steps back
as well, keeping a watchful eye on the enemy soldiers. The North
King's sudden arrival had turned a chaotic melee into a tense,
dramatic stalemate.
It might have stayed that way, too, but Eris apparently hadn't
noticed the change. Now that Ghislaine had the North King occupied,
she took the opportunity to charge straight at the passive enemy
soldiers.
"Graaah!"
"Wha— Eris?! Wait!"
Startled, Sylphie hurried forward to lend her support. Within
seconds, Eris was right back in the thick of a wild battle, with Sylphie
covering her back.
Could those two hold out on their own? There were a lot of
enemies… but for the moment, they hadn't even grazed anyone on
our side. Yeah. They seemed to have it under control.
I wanted to join in, of course, but I couldn't risk moving or using
any spells right now. For one thing, Eris' wild charge had opened up a
dangerous amount of space between our frontline and the carriage
that we needed to protect. And more importantly, Auber hadn't
shown himself yet. I had to stay put until I saw him.
The North Emperor was an expert when it came to surprise
attacks. His favorite strategy was to wait until his target was
distracted, then pop up behind and cut them down. The concept was
extremely simple, but his timing was flawless. He'd come for you in
the one brief moment where your mind was elsewhere, or your
attention flagged.
When facing powerful mages, he particularly liked to attack
them right after they cast a spell. For that reason, Orsted had firmly
warned me not to use any magic in this battle if Auber wasn't
visible—even if my allies were in danger. It was just too risky. As long
as I waited patiently enough, Auber would eventually change his
target from me to someone else who'd let down their guard. The
instant he appeared would be my best chance to take him out.
Because of all this, I really wanted to stay put for now. My most
important job at the moment was keeping a careful watch on
everything around me.
This was going worse than expected, though. We hadn't
anticipated that a North King would be here as well. If Auber had any
other powerful allies waiting in the wings, we might have to risk a
retreat.
"Kuh!"
"Haha! What's the matter, Black Wolf? Not so bold now, are
you!"
As it was, Ghislaine wasn't faring that well against Wi Taa. Her
movements were kind of strange, honestly. Whenever she started to
attack the halfling swordsman, she'd pause momentarily to look
away, and Wi Taa always took advantage of those opportunities.
Moving with remarkable speed for such a rotund little man, he
would dart right up to her and launch a series of quick thrusts.
Ghislaine managed to evade these attacks, but it was forcing her
back, and he'd landed a few grazing blows that left her bleeding.
For some reason, Ghislaine couldn't get on the offensive. I kept
seeing her about to swing her sword, only to flinch to the side and let
Wi Taa take advantage of the opening. The halfling was doing
something to her, but I couldn't tell what it was from where I stood.
I turned my attention to Wi Taa and watched his movements
closely. The little disco ball's armor was shining so brightly that it was
hard to even look at him, honestly. When he wasn't on the offensive,
he seemed to be keeping a set distance from Ghislaine. Every now
and then, he'd swing his left hand forward, although he wasn't
holding anything in it. Could he be using some kind of magic?
Just after he moved his left hand, I saw Ghislaine flinch once
again. Maybe he was throwing something in her face? Some kind of
sand or powder?
No, that didn't feel right. I was staring right at his hand, and I
didn't see him throwing anything. Sometimes he didn't even point
his hand directly at her. But there was definitely a connection
between that movement and the way Ghislaine kept hesitating.
…Wait, I get it.
He was hitting her with light. He was using that mirror-like
gauntlet to deliberately reflect the sun right into Ghislaine's eyes,
dazzling her in the moment she tried to attack.
Talk about a cheap trick. It was surprisingly effective, though. At
this rate, Ghislaine might actually lose. I had to decide whether I
should intervene. This wasn't looking good, and if I hesitated now I
might lose my chance to help.
Damn it. What do I do?
I didn't know for sure if Auber was even here. Was I going to
watch Ghislaine die because I was too scared of some guy who might
be a hundred miles away?
…All right, let's do it.
Channeling mana into my staff, I formed a combination Earth
and Water spell—a loose variation of my go-to spell, Quagmire.
"Mud Rain!"
Dark clouds covered the sky, and chocolate-colored rain poured
down across the battlefield. This was nothing more than muddy
water, with no offensive effects whatsoever, but once it hit the
ground, it quickly transformed into a soupy morass, throwing off the
enemy troops. Within seconds, the armored soldiers were slipping
and falling over each other.
Eris and Ghislaine had trained to fight in any conditions, so the
mud didn't affect them much. Sylphie wasn't bothered either,
although her hair quickly took on an unpleasant brown tint.
"Nwhaa?! What is this trickery?!"
But unfortunately for Wi Taa, his beautifully polished armor was
now covered in sludge. Which meant its reflective effect had
disappeared entirely.
"Graaaah!"
Ghislaine's roar of challenge echoed through the forest as she
whipped her blade forward from the hip. Wi Taa tumbled nimbly to
one side, but he was too slow to react, and Ghislaine's Sword of Light
was too fast. There was a loud metallic clang, and Wi Taa fell back
with blood spraying violently from his shoulder.
Okay, we're good. Now back to looking for Auber.
I spun around to check the area behind me…
"Huh?"
"Oh?"
…and the guy was standing right there.
His appearance was eccentric, to say the least. He wore a
rainbow coat with loose pants that only reached his knees and
carried three swords at his hip. There was a colorful tattoo of a
peacock on his cheek, but his gravity-defying satellite-dish hairdo
was just as striking. Dirt poured off his drab brown cloak as he
pushed his way through the trees; the path he'd made led back to a
nearby hole, perfectly positioned outside of Luke's range of vision.
The man had been hiding behind us all along. In a hole in the
ground.
"…"
His outfit and his approach to combat matched Orsted's
description perfectly. This had to be the North Emperor Auber.
"My goodness, you actually noticed me."
In the next moment, my Eye of Foresight showed me Auber
moving.
He brandishes the sword in his right hand.
"But I'm afraid a mage stands no chance at this distance…
Goodbye, my friend!"
He swings his sword down.
Reflexively, I brought my left hand forward. The Zaliff Gauntlet I
wore felt all but weightless, but Auber was still going to be faster.
I did have one last card to play, though.
"Fly, my hand!"
"Whoah!"
At my command, the gauntlet launched itself forward with
incredible speed. But Auber had sensed the danger and rolled
backward at the last moment, just managing to get out of the way.
The gauntlet slammed into a tree somewhere far behind him.
Wide-eyed, Auber looked back toward the gauntlet, then back
at me. "W-Well, that was certainly peculiar…"
It seemed I'd startled him. That was good, since I wasn't
especially calm myself right now. My heart was pounding fiercely in
my chest. I'd known Auber was going to try something. Orsted had
warned me in advance. But I'd ignored his advice and landed myself
in a mess. I had to hold him off by myself.
My enemy was an Emperor-class swordmaster. Ambushes might
be his specialty, but that didn't mean he was weak in a duel. The one
thing I had going for me was that Orsted had also told me how to
fight effectively against his style.
Calm down, man. You're strong. You got this! You're number
one! I'm strong. I'm stro-ong. I'm Stallone. The Italian Stallion!
"So you're Quagmire Rudeus, eh…"
Whoops. Right, I already have a nickname. And I'm not a
boxer, I'm just Rudeus.
Page | 43
For some reason, Auber wasn't attacking. He was just standing
there… and talking to me.
"I've heard plenty about you, but I see there's some truth
behind the rumors. This might be something of a challenge."
Why was he hesitating? I couldn't counter his attacks unless he
went on the offensive. "Where did you hear about me?"
"Oh, this was back when I was teaching a certain wild beast how
to use the sword. The little creature was always going on about how
incredible you are."
Wait, what? This guy knows Eris?
"I knew a man capable of charming that young tiger had to be a
peculiar sort, but I never imagined you could actually shoot your
hand off like a rocket…"
It sounded like my robot punch had made a big impression. He
seemed to be watching me warily, in case I had any other tricks up
my sleeve. He seemed to think I was some kind of sideshow.
I would have been offended, but his cautious attitude suited me
just fine. In the corner of my eye, I saw that Ghislaine had chased off
Wi Taa, and was heading our way. Once she got over here and made
this a two-on-one fight, our odds of victory would go up dramatically.
"Hmm. Eris, Ghislaine, Silent Fitz, and Quagmire Rudeus. I
brought along Wi Taa mostly as a precaution, really…but now that
I've failed to finish you off, this might prove rather challenging."
Auber paused for a moment, then nodded to himself. Was he
finally going to make his move?
"But a worthy challenge is always welcome!"
It sure sounded that way. Fortunately, all I had to do was hold
him off for a few seconds; once Ghislaine was here, we could hit him
from both sides. And I knew most of the moves he was likely to open
with.
I could do this. We could take him out.
"My name is Auber Corbett, the North Emperor!"
Returning the sword in his right hand to its sheath, Auber drew
another with his left hand. I channeled mana into my staff, ready to
intercept his charge—
"And I shall now… depart! Adieu, my friends!"
At which point he spun around and ran off. Not toward me, but
directly back at Ghislaine.
Uh, what? Is he… leaving?
"Auberrrr!"
"Oh my! Hello there, Ghislaine! It seems…"
"Graaaah!"
"…you haven't changed a whit, my dear."
Auber grabbed one of many small bags from his coat and tossed
it in Ghislaine's direction. It arced slowly toward her; reflexively, she
slashed it apart in mid-air.
The thing exploded into a cloud of what looked like smoke,
which then hit her right in the face. This wasn't good.
"Stone Cannon!"
"Goodness!"
My spell was targeted precisely at Auber's back, but he dodged
it easily without even glancing my way. Ghislaine could have
followed up on this opportunity; unfortunately, she was too busy
sneezing and wiping the tears from her eyes. He'd apparently hit her
with some kind of pepper spray equivalent.
Auber didn't slow down to attack her, though. Instead, he
scuttled past her like a cockroach and sprinted to the frontlines of
the battle, where Eris and Sylphie were on the verge of wiping out
his forces.
"Retreat!" he called. "Fall back! We'll have to try this one
again!"
The surviving soldiers turned to flee into the forest, and Eris'
head snapped around. She hadn't noticed Auber until now, but she
reacted quickly, leaping in front of Sylphie to meet his charge.
"Graaaah!"
"My blade, be as a flaming torch!"
With this brief incantation, Auber's sword burst into flame.
Sidestepping nimbly past Eris' attack, he grabbed something from his
hip and brought it to his mouth.
I'd heard about this move from Orsted. And I had time to react.
"Fwoooh!"
"Water Wall!"
Auber spat out all the oil in his mouth at once, igniting it with his
burning sword. A stream of flame rushed toward Eris. But just before
it could reach her, the fire hit the wall of water I'd summoned up at
the last moment, and was instantly extinguished.