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쿵, 쿠웅.
The coastal scenery was, in some ways, magnificent,
and in others, cruel.
The pirate ships, which had arrived in such numbers that the sea was hardly visible, lined up parallel to the coastline and continued to fire cannons.
The coastal defense forces also fired cannons at the pirate ships in rapid succession.
Davian noticed a group of pirates who had just disembarked from a landing craft clashing with the Marquis's forces.
"Let's go over there!"
Davian and Bonita at the front.
Followed by Latia and Karin.
Nubes and Bellum on either side.
Luna and Liber at the rear.
This wasn't a formation they had only used once or twice in actual combat.
The eight friends formed their ranks as naturally and familiarly as soldiers who had trained together for a long time.
Davian didn't bother to rush forward, only dealing with the pirates who came close.
Bonita, having tightly tied her hair back, rampaged around, cutting down pirates.
And most of the pirates were
too busy losing their will to fight and running away from Latia and Karin's magical attacks.
"There's an incredible magician!"
"Watch out for those guys in school uniforms!"
Latia and Karin's combined attacks were a disaster for the pirates.
Giant pillars of fire poured down, and before the scattered flames could be extinguished, whirlwinds arose, fueling the fire even more.
Just when they barely escaped the hellish flames,
Swoosh!
A sharp gust of wind blew from somewhere, cutting through arms and legs.
Even the Marquis's own magicians were in awe of their skill.
"I've devoted my whole life to magic, but I might never have the control that blonde girl has, even when I die."
"But your mana is much greater, isn't it?"
"Well, of course, I've been practicing for 20 years longer. Even then, the difference doesn't seem that big."
"I've already been surpassed by that girl in every way. And she's young enough to be my daughter..."
The Marquis's magicians' assessment was accurate.
Originally, she had mana affinity that was rare even once in hundreds of years.
She had shown exceptional talent in mana control since she was young, earning her praise as a genius.
Her sense of purpose was clear, and she was also intelligent.
Among her peers, she was a talent that was hard to match.
Until Davian from the 4th timeline appeared.
Then, this time, she met Davian, an opponent she couldn't possibly surpass, which further strengthened her mentality.
In addition,
In the first semester of her first year, she followed Davian and Liber and obtained the Stone of Enlightenment, which doubled her training efficiency.
A year and a half at Elton Academy.
It was enough time for Latia Meridiem to grow beyond comparison to what she was before entering.
Karin Obelia, a secret weapon of the royal family who had been recognizing Latia as a rival, had already internally acknowledged that her skills were superior.
Of course, she wasn't showing it on the outside yet.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Several pirates who seemed to be officers waved their hands above their heads, ordering a retreat.
The pirate hordes that had landed on the coast like a tide began to recede like an ebb.
Gregory Garrett, who had been cutting down pirates at the forefront opposite Davian's group, shouted to his adjutant.
"Tell them to prepare the ships!"
"Yes! Marquis."
As the adjutant turned around and gestured, a bugler put a large bugle to his lips.
Poo, poo, poooo.
"I thought they would scatter, but they keep gathering together and running away?"
"Are they going straight to the mainland base like this?"
"Surely... They know the Marquis's forces are chasing them like this, right? Pirates are overwhelmingly disadvantaged on land, aren't they?"
Davian, who had been listening to Bellum and Liber's conversation absentmindedly,
was struck strongly by Liber's words.
'Pirates are overwhelmingly disadvantaged on land...'
It was common sense.
No matter how much the Marquis's forces had been helpless against the pirate alliance recently,
that was a story on the sea.
He had brought half of the Second Guard's troops here, and there was no way they would be pushed back by pirates on land.
'But earlier, they got off the ship and attacked the coast.'
It was a ridiculous act when you think about it.
It might be possible to harass the Marquis's forces on the sea,
but it was absurd to land and attack.
'It was a ridiculous fight from the start.'
Then it was clear that charging to the coast was
a plan to properly lure the Marquis's forces.
'Marquis Gregory probably knows this, right?'
The Marquis's warships were still chasing the pirates at full speed.
Although they had been having quite a bit of trouble with the pirate alliance recently,
Marquis Gregory Garrett wasn't such a naive commander.
'He's chasing them even though he knows it's a trap. He's thinking of pushing through with force, whether it's a trap or not.'
The opponents were just pirates.
Rather, the pirates were much more likely to not properly understand the enemy's strength.
If they were underestimating the Marquis's forces, who hadn't shown much activity, and caused this,
and if they had a plan to swallow the Marquis's forces at once,
and if that place was land,
then the pirate alliance would be annihilated today.
The opponents were half of the Second Guard's troops.
If they set foot on land, they would never be pushed back, no matter how many thousands or millions of pirates were waiting.
At that time,
"I see an island over there!"
A lookout who was high up shouted.
Tat, tat, tat.
Davian climbed to the top of the mast with light movements.
As the lookout said, an island was visible,
and the leading group of the pirate alliance was already mooring their ships on the coast and getting off onto the island.
Latia asked Davian, who had come down to the deck.
"What about the pirates?"
"They're landing on the island ahead."
"Is that their base?"
"Probably."
"What, they're going to fight on the island instead of on the sea? Just pirates? Against the Marquis's forces who guard the border?"
Bonita chimed in.
"Right. Even if we count the newly recruited soldiers. The soldiers who came down from the capital were from the Second Guard. Aren't they crazy? How are they going to fight on land?"
Liber, who had been pondering with a serious expression, placing her hand on her chin, opened her mouth.
"I think this is..."
"This is?"
"What is it?"
"The pirate alliance seems to be underestimating the Marquis's forces too much. They keep getting pushed back at sea, so they think they're nothing and are dragging them into their base to annihilate them completely. They can just turn their ships around and run away if they're at a disadvantage fighting at sea. It seems like they're planning to end it completely this time. I wonder if they know that their opponents are the Second Guard who came down from the capital?"
Bonita nodded.
"With the information capabilities of pirates who can't even properly set foot on the continent, that could be the case."
It was a plausible deduction.
They had been repeatedly fighting against the Marquis's forces, who were too busy turning their ships around and running away, so it was easy to underestimate them.
While his friends were all nodding,
Davian couldn't shake off an unsettling feeling.
'Even so, for pirates to try to annihilate the Marquis's forces...'
"Has everyone disembarked!"
"Yes!"
The island's coastline.
Thousands of the Marquis's forces were lined up in a long formation.
Among them was Davian's group.
Marquis Gregory Garrett shouted.
His firm voice, filled with inner strength, echoed on the coast.
"The pirates who arrived before us have hidden in the forest behind me. It seems they're plotting to annihilate us on this island."
A murmuring sound was heard from here and there.
But the murmuring was all from the newly recruited soldiers.
The swordsmen and magicians belonging to the Second Guard were only listening to Gregory Garrett's words with straight postures.
"They seem to be taking us too lightly! But! We are the army that guards the most important border of the Alcancia Kingdom. We will let the pirates know that today's choice was a big mistake! And from today, we will prevent pirates from running rampant in the waters off Portus City again!"
"Waaaah!"
The soldiers, who were encouraged, raised their respective weapons and shouted.
"Now, go! Go and show the arrogant pirates who we are! From now on, we will annihilate all the pirates who have entered this island! 1st Army!"
"Yes!"
"The 1st Army will enter that forest with me and hunt down the hidden pirates. 2nd Army!"
"Yes!"
"The 2nd Army will guard this place so that the pirates cannot get back on their ships and run away!"
The 1st Army was the force that Gregory Garrett had brought with him from the capital.
The 2nd Army was the force that had been newly recruited from Portus City.
"1st Army, advance! Don't let a single pirate who lured us to this island survive!"
"Waaaah!"
Although it wasn't as flashy as the armor they wore when they were in the guard,
the soldiers of the 1st Army, wearing lighter armor that was easier to move in, rushed into the forest in a scramble.
"We should go too."
"Yeah! Davian!"
"Let's go!"
Davian's group of eight also naturally formed their ranks and rushed into the forest.
Before long, the sounds of various weapons clashing and magic exploding echoed from various parts of the forest.
Davian's group also poured out tremendous attacks whenever they found a pirate.
"This is too easy, isn't it?"
"If we completely wipe out the pirate alliance today, will our experiential learning be over? Ah... I want to play more in Portus City."
"Yeah. At this rate, we'll have combed through this entire island in less than half a day."
"There they are!"
Bellum's finger pointed to a group of pirates.
Bonita rushed in first.
Latia and Karin prepared attack magic.
Clang!
Davian, who had been looking around to see if there were any other pirates, turned his head in surprise.
'Clang?'
Until now,
after Bonita rushed out like that,
no pirate had ever blocked her first sword.
Following that,
Woosh!
Bang!
Latia and Karin's magic attacks also poured in.
It was extreme control that didn't affect Bonita, who was tangled up with them.
Normally, the situation should have been settled around this point.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of swords clashing against each other was heard again and again.
Eventually, Davian leaped towards where Bonita was.
"Bonita!"
"Oh, Davian! Come and help!"
The opponents were six people with swords, three people with strangely shaped weapons, and one person who appeared to be a magician behind them, for a total of ten people.
Swish.
Davian, who had created an ice sword, stabbed a swordsman who was swinging his sword at Bonita.
Clang!
The swordsman hurriedly lowered his sword and deflected Davian's ice sword.
'He blocked it?'
At that moment,
Woong.
Along with a short vibration sound,
a bright ray of light poured out from the end of the staff of the person standing at the very back, heading towards Davian.
It was a form like a laser attack from an SF movie.
Davian quickly created an ice barrier.
Kwaang!
The magic attack that hit the ice barrier shattered the ice barrier in one go and disappeared.
'Strong!'
The swordsmen, and the magicians with strangely shaped staves.
They had skills that were on a different level from the pirates they had met so far.
"We're even being pushed back in numbers! Bonita! Join the formation!"
"Okay!"
That impulsive Bonita Portis.
The fact that she was immediately following Davian's retreat command meant that she had also sensed something.
Latia asked Davian and Bonita, who had joined the formation.
"What? Who are those people?"
"I don't know. They're not at the level of pirates."
"Where did those skilled people suddenly come from..."
Ting.
Along with a notification sound that only Davian could hear.
A hidden quest window popped up.
'What... is this?'
At the same time.
It wasn't just Davian's group that had run into such skilled people.
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