The Chronicles of a Lost Man in His Forties Founding a Nation ~Commonsense is Hindering Me From Becoming TUEE~ Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Strongest Attack Spell

 

Thinking about it afterwards, there was no need to be that worked up.

“Please go ahead first. It is going to be dangerous, so please put as much distance between yourselves and the valley as possible. Mora-san, the phantom horse is yours to use!”

I am shouting over my shoulder at the adventurers and Mora, who are looking at me with surprise—or is that suspicion?—as I run off. I've already instructed the phantom horse to acknowledge Mora as its rider. This is all I can do for them. After running back up the mountain road for about 100 meters at my top speed, I peek down at the valley through the trees. The back figures of the marching anki army is gradually getting farther away. Turning around, I confirm that I’m also out of sight of Mora and the rest. 

(T/N: I don’t think 100m is as far as the author is making it sound lol.)

“Alright.”

I slap both cheeks with my hands to psyche myself up. I turn my attention to the invisible force field currently enveloping me. It is the effect of one of the spells that I had chanted as a precaution after exiting the fort. 

“Uuu……”

Supported by the force field, my body gently floats up. My mood turns dark after recalling the ‘flying sickness’ from earlier, but this is no time to be paying that any mind. 

I am rising towards the sky, thanks to the [Fly] spell. 

“So scary……”

It is the first time in my life flying through the sky by myself, and it is even scarier than riding the phantom horse. The force field surrounding me is protecting me from wind and air pressure and the like, but to think that it would be this unnerving to not feel anything under my feet…… 

“Alright, let’s just get going……”

I fearfully fly off in pursuit of the anki army. 

[Fly] can output a maximum speed of 50kmph. Along the way, I take a detour to where I think Mora and the rest would be, but it only took a few minutes to catch up to the head of the anki army. 

(T/N: I, too, fail to see the link between the two clauses here, but it’s what was written.)

“By means of this spell, may there be a firm wall of stone below me of thickness 15cm, width 15m, and height 5m. [Wall of Stone].”

Because of the spell, an enormous stone wall materializes in the valley. Its size has been tailored for this narrow part of the valley, so it perfectly stops the entire anki army. 

I lower myself down to land on top of this wall. 

Why I am going to all this trouble is because I want to see the anki closer up before I go about wiping them out. The effects of the spell that I have in mind will be the same regardless of the distance, but it’s just that I still have some reservations about ma.s.sacring such a large number of living creatures. It’s not so good for appearances, and there might be the 1 in a million chance that I can actually talk with them. 

“........... u…... “

A stone wall had suddenly appeared in front while they were marching. Naturally, all of them are showing signs of being unnerved. However, that only lasts an instant. The moment they see me, a human, on top of the wall, anki numerous enough to bury the valley floor raises piercing shrieks. 

“KISHAAAAA!”

“GYAGYAGYAGYAGYA!”

“GURUOOO! GUGAHHHH!!”

Both small demons and large demons alike spray spittle from their mouths while gnas.h.i.+ng their teeth. I can hear the ‘gachigachi’ sound all the way up here. The eyes that they are glaring at me with are eloquently expressing their thoughts of “We can’t help but to hate you hate you hate you hate you f.u.c.king hate you.”

“...... This, is hopeless indeed.”

Though belated, I now fully understand. Anki are humanity’s natural enemies. There is zero possibility for coexistence. 

“Gugyah! Gyahh!”

Something is flying at me from the rear ranks. It is a rain of arrows, shot by small demon archers under commands from large demons. Their ability to follow orders with discipline despite being so crazed with hatred only makes them that much more frightening. 

But all of the thick, black arrows change trajectory before reaching me and end up flying off towards aftermorrow. It is the effect of another spell that I had cast as precaution, [Protect from Missiles]. 

“GYARUUUU!”

“KISHAAAAAAAA!”

Seeing the ineffectiveness of arrows, the commander flourishes a hand. All the small demons that I can see immediately start a mad dash towards the stone wall. 

Pus.h.i.+ng and shoving, as if hoping to hack at me with their axes and swords even one second earlier, they begin to climb the wall by stepping on each other. I had set the wall to be 5m high, but it takes less than a minute for them to almost reach and overwhelm me. 

But of course, I don’t have to play along with that. 

“GyaUUuuu?!”

I simply fly upwards. Arrows and throwing axes follow, but they are of no consequence. 

“...... W-Well then. In a way, this……  gives me relief, I suppose.”

Having come into contact with such fierce hostility and hatred, my mood is obviously in the pits. My throat is parched, and the cold sweat wouldn’t stop pouring out. However, gaining a.s.surance on my actions—this suddenly makes everything feel easier. 

The real me continues flying upward until reaching a height where I can see the entire valley, then hovers in place. On the other hand, inside my heart, the Inner World me pa.s.ses through the Door of Wizardry, and descends the spiral staircase. 

Despite having done this twice yesterday, the pressure on the 9th floor still manages to surprise me with its intensity. While suppressing my hurriedness, I enter [Spell Archive of the Great Wizard] and confirm the 7 books still lined up (I’ve already used 2 of the 9,and haven’t yet had the chance to re-charge any). 

…… There it is. 

To be frank, there aren’t a lot of pure attack spells in D&B. 

The most common representative is the level 1 [Mana Bolt]. Then there are the level 3 [Fireball] and [Lightning], level 4 [Ice Storm], then the list jumps straight to [Meteor] at level 9. Now of course, there are spells to poison or paralyze or to cause to sleep, as well as spells to create tornadoes or monsters, so the variety of spells that can be used as an attack is high. It’s just the flashy spells that have absolutely no other use than for attacking with that are limited in number. There are a few original ones invented by the me and the game master of the time, having been inspired by anime and manga, but there was an unwritten rule between us. 

In short, the rule is that the strongest attack spell is——

“By means of this spell, may 8 falling stars be summoned and descend upon the head of mine enemy. [Meteor].”

The chanting of my real self and my Inner World self together releases the energy of the spell. 

A breath later…… the blue sky is torn asunder by 8 lights. 

The 8 lights, guided by my aiming, fall onto the anki army trapped within the crooked valley. 

The rock demon and commander large demon, upon being struck by the light, both burst apart like balloons popped with a needle. The raging inferno caused by the crash of the meteor buries the entire valley floor, incinerating the anki to their very bones. Trapped by the cliffs, the shockwave has nowhere to go but up, slicing the burning bodies into thousands of pieces on its way. Without losing any momentum, the inferno and shockwave rushes over the valley like a tsunami before blowing into the air. 

“Wh-, whoahhhh!?”

A wall of air batters me, causing my inner organs to shake. Although my body is protected by the [Fly] force field, it is still blown about like a leaf. The roar of explosion is so incredible that I can’t hear the screams and bellows of the dying anki. 

“What the h.e.l.l is this?!”

The footage of a nuclear experiment that I had once saw on TV comes to mind. 

I confirm the effect of the spell while covering my face with both hands. I can’t see everything due to the flames and smoke, but I can confirm that the innumerable anki that had been there just now—small demons, large demons, rock demons, the whole lot of them—have all become reduced to pieces of flesh and charcoal. 

Back during the game, I have indeed used [Meteor] to wipe out an entire citadel, but it is something else entirely to see it with my bare eyes…… 

♥♦♣♠

“Ah!”

Due to the shockwave from the explosion, the cliffs on either side of the valley are breaking off and falling down. Seeing that, I finally realize it. 

“With such a explosion, Mora-san and the others……”

While cursing my own idiocy, I fly along the mountain trail in search of them. 

There they are, 50 meters ahead on a cliffside road. Most likely having followed my instructions, they are now quite a distance from where we parted. 

However. 

“WATCH OUT!”

There is a fissure running towards them, threatening to cut off the cliff that they are standing on. 

Question is, are there 10 seconds left before the ground gives way and throws the entire group to the bottom of the valley?