Volume 5 Chapter 3 Simulated Combat
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Fortunately, the Fire Arrow did not hit Annabella thanks to the magical barrier Lina hastily put up, and it dispersed.
”Mr. Clayd! What are you doing? Annabella has nothing to do with this!”
”Indeed, she is an ally of my virtual enemy, Kent. The only reason Annabella is targeted is because you failed to take me down. Everything stems from your judgment error. If you had incapacitated me, this incident would not have occurred.”
It seemed Clayd was subtly hinting that if I really wanted to protect, I should eliminate the threat beforehand.
Otherwise, it felt like he was warning that those I wanted to protect would continue to be targeted.
”That said, targeting spectators is cowardly.”
”There are no cowardly tactics in battle. If you survive by any means, you win. Winning is all that matters. The aesthetics of defeat are mere whining of the losers.”
If my relationship with Gwain deteriorates, I believe the opponent will come after me using any dirty trick they can.
At such times, I felt I should be prepared to use dirty methods to survive, but I hadn’t fully steeled myself for that, which Clayd seemed to discern.
”Now that you’ve taken Dee as your bride, half-heartedness won’t let you survive from here on out. Even if you have skilled bodyguards, if you lack the will to survive, that scoundrel Gwain will crush you.”
”Ugh.”
I was at a loss for words.
It’s because my father-in-law had said something similar to me.
After it was revealed that Dee was the Princess of the Black Dragon, when I visited my father-in-law together with Dee and Milly, he pressured me to make a decision.
He even told me to consider becoming a Demon Lord if I wanted to survive.
In other words, it seemed my father-in-law was suggesting that I could even take over the kingdom to survive.
If I were to oppose the Demon Lord, a threat would come to everyone related to me.
To prevent that, I was reminded of the harsh truth that I must at least take away the position of the Demon Lord to survive in this world.
To survive, I have to kill someone… If I were a monster, I wouldn’t hesitate… but do I have the guts to take a life…
”Now that we’ve come this far, if you’re still hesitating, there’s no chance for you to survive. Abandon your status, your honor, your women, and live quietly in a corner of the kingdom.”
”I have no interest in status or honor, but I can’t accept abandoning the women who’ve gotten close to me!”
I have no desire to survive at the cost of abandoning the women who love me and would even offer their lives.
However, if I delay my judgment, I could end up in a situation like what just happened with Annabella.
I’ve decided to become a dirty, cunning man in order to protect the people I hold dear.
”Then, be prepared to survive, even if it’s for those women. Do whatever it takes to live for their sake.”
”I’ll do that without being told! My place of death will be on my bed!”
Clayd unleashed multiple Fire Arrows.
At that moment, I called out to Dee, who was watching the mock battle without hesitation.
”Dee, hold Mr. Clayd back. Just distract his magic Concentration.”
”Mmm, Kent, are you telling me to hit my father?”
”Yeah, I’ve decided to be cunning to survive. I’ll target Mr. Clayd’s weakness. If you help me, I’ll treat you well later.”
Upon hearing my words, Dee immediately took action.
She charged into close combat against Clayd, who was trying to cast magic.
Clayd, attacked by Dee, seemingly lost his Concentration, and the Fire Arrows he had cast vanished.
”Kent, you’re cowardly! Using Dee to attack! You know I can’t go after my own daughter, right? Hey Dee, are you going to hit your father?”
”Father, I’m sorry. I must hit you as Kent’s wife. This is my earnest wish. Please let yourself be hit.”
Dee’s powerful fist seemed to hurt even Clayd, who desperately dodged.
I also approached Clayd to support Dee and unleashed Rapid Fire Ice Shots.
Normally, using magic in a chaotic battle could lead to friendly fire, but since Dee, a Black Dragon, has high resistance to magic and was challenging Clayd in close combat, I fired Rapid Fire without hesitation.
Clayd was deflecting the scattered ice shards with a magical barrier, but he couldn’t deflect them all, and part of his foot froze, slowing his movements.
”Tch, to think I’d be hit by someone like Kent! Don’t get cocky! Whoa!”
The wind attribute Attack Magic ‘Mine Blast’ that Clayd had set up in his escape route was activated.
It was a magic he hurriedly prepared while Dee engaged in close combat.
Clayd was launched high into the air by the blast.
”Mr. Clayd! I’ve got the win!”
I activated the maximum number of Fire Arrows to deliver the finishing blow to Clayd and completed the lock-on.
Then, I swung my hand down towards the target.
However, the Fire Arrows did not shoot out.
A dud?
No way!
Feeling a chill run down my back, I saw Clayd grinning at me.
In that moment, the Fire Arrows I had activated shot back towards me.
Caught off guard and at such close range, I couldn’t dodge them all.
I writhed in pain as my own magic hurt my body.
”Kent!”
”Gyaaaaaah!”
”You really messed up. I took over your magic. But I’ll give you credit for making me use this technique. Next time, you should finish me off with a magic that doesn’t take so long to activate.”
Amidst the agonizing pain and burns, Clayd stood before me, looking triumphant.
Dee had also paused his attack now that I had fallen.
”Sir Kent, let me treat your wounds.”
Talia rushed over and began healing my wounds with Heal.
”I’ve never heard of someone being able to take over magic…”
”This is like a secret technique passed down in the True Demon Clan. There’s no way someone from the Majin Clan like Kent would know about it! By the way, even if you ask Carly, she won’t know. I haven’t taught her yet.”
It seems that Clayd’s techniques are known by only a handful within the True Demon Clan.
Since the magic is linked to the consciousness of the caster, in order to take over that magic, it would require some form of external intervention to change the authority of the caster.
Isn’t that a cheat technique… the True Demon Clan is so unfair…
”Well, this attack was somewhat dangerous. Especially using Dee as a decoy to scatter ice projectiles on me was a good idea. However! Talking about making babies in front of her father is unacceptable. Kent, you need to train a bit more with me. I’ll push you so hard in the night that you won’t be able to manage it. Others can join too. Make sure to defend before Kent gets wrecked.”
Excluding Carly and Annabella who were watching, Feria, Ines, Talia, Lina, Dee, and Aurelia immediately rushed towards me.
”We must protect Mr. Kent’s nighttime energy!”
”Here, I’ll defend Sir Kent and make sure to get my share of affection!”
”Ines, no cutting in line. I want Kent to take care of me too!”
”I’ll be the first!”
”Lord Kent’s desires are under my guard!”
”I will heal Sir Kent. Afterwards, we can quietly watch together.”
They stood before Clayd, openly expressing their desires.
”Heh heh heh, your wives are much braver. Besides, they are true to their desires.”
”Well, I can’t deny that. But they are the best wives. I want to protect them.”
Having healed by Talia, I took a combat stance again towards Clayd.
At that moment, Milly’s voice echoed across the meadow from where she remained in Estfort.
”Kent! This is serious! The Black Dragon Clan is coming!”
Clayd also looked shocked at Milly’s words.
I began to sweat cold, thinking that the issue with Dee had been uncovered by the Black Dragon Dukedom.
”Mr. Clayd…”
”Idiot! I haven’t said anything yet! If I tell Fabulanova, I’ll be strangled to death. To her, a 16-year-old Dee is just a wobbly little child. There’s no way I can say she’s getting married and having kids!”
If Clayd hasn’t said anything, what could be the intention of the Black Dragon clan’s visit?
I couldn’t find a reason for the Black Dragon clan, who rarely leave their territory of Black Dragon Dukedom, to come to Estfort.
”W-well, for now. Let’s stop the training and head back to the castle.”
We decided to return to the castle where the representative of the Black Dragon clan was waiting, riding in the carriage that Milly had come in.
New magic
Phantom… A beginner-level Stealth Magic that creates a doppelgänger of the caster using magic elements.
The doppelgänger can’t do anything complex and will disappear after moving to a target location or taking a certain amount of damage.
Interceptor Arrow… A beginner-level Support Magic that senses the magical power of guided magic and fires an energy bolt for interception.
The maximum number of interceptions is 30, and it does not activate against unguided magic.
Ice Shot… An intermediate-level Attack Magic that scatters hundreds of ice particles at close range to freeze the target.
Due to its short flight distance, it is used as a close-range magic.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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