Chapter 118: Chapter 189 – Town Defense

Everyone soon found themselves in the master bedroom back at the castle. A moment later, a deep shadow swirled on the ground and a dark pillar formed a feminine silhouette. Silvia was revealed from behind the ominous curtains as they receded back into the floor. She met Ast’s gaze while lightly rubbing her eye.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry for waking you up but it seems that we’ll be under attack in a moment. How are you feeling?” Asterios asked.

“No matter how tired I might be, I will never choose to rest leisurely while my people are in danger. Thank you for your concern, though. I’m fine,” Silvia replied with a confident tone.

“You are going to be an amazing queen one day. Not that you aren’t an incredible princess already.” He smiled warmly and she responded with a gentle smile too. “Let’s make sure that no one gets hurt on our watch, then.”

“What are we going to do?” Tina stepped closer to him.

“Venuz? Anything you can tell us about the situation?”

~The birds spotted a few small mixed groups of beasts heading towards us through the forest. They are coming from the same direction, the southwest. We should have a few minutes before they arrive. They are also supposedly spread unevenly so it doesn’t seem like a coordinated attack.~

“Thank you.” Asterios nodded both mentally and physically. “Ted mentioned that the appearances were quite random so it doesn’t look like anything changed. Have you informed them about it?”

~As you have requested. The protectors are running around the settlement and urging people to stay in their dwellings for now. The human you mentioned is gathering the strongest fighters and will soon head in the direction of the upcoming assault. Though, if I intervene, I can get rid of the issue before it even reaches us,~ the Storm King stated with a proud tone.

“Thank you for the offer but we would like to see and examine the monsters on our own. I’m sure you could squash the entire force with a flick of your claw. Would you mind leaving it to us and watching for any enemies that manage to slip by?” Asterios asked.

~Very well. None shall pass the edge of this village,~ the Dracodon responded and Asterios could sense that he really didn’t mind.

“Great. Which watchtower is the closest to the direction the enemies are coming from?”

~The southern one.~

“Thank you.” Asterios nodded once more and turned to the girls. “Let’s check if we can see them approaching.”

Silvia stepped closer to him and the two held hands as Umbra’s shadow swallowed them. In a blink, the darkness faded away and they appeared on the wooden scaffolding surrounding the top of the southern watchtower, surprising the two scouts stationed inside. The girls hastily joined the duo through their own means. They spread out along the railing and gazed into the distance.

“I don’t think I can see anything yet,” Miria said as she leaned over the iron bar.

Asterios wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her close. “They must still be quite far. Let me try. We just need to confirm if they are coming from only one general direction.”

He closed his eyes while drawing on the scorching hot mana and funneled it into his sight. The more he trained to enhance various body parts with his draconic energy, the easier and faster it became to achieve the desired results. In less than a second, he lifted his eyelids and gazed into the forest ahead.

Trying to use their old Ranger friend’s Farsight technique as the base, Asterios channeled his energy in a similar way and almost gasped out loud when his vision jumped forward so much it felt like he was about to slam face-first into one of the trees. The girls grabbed him as his body suddenly jerked and he let out an awkward chuckle.

“I’m good. Didn’t expect to suddenly watch ants climb some bark hundreds of meters ahead.”

“You really can see so far?” Tina turned her face to him with an amazed expression.

“Yeah, but it’s not that easy to control. I’ve experienced Farsight in the past but this took me by surprise. Give me a second to adjust.”

Focusing his mind on the boosted technique, Asterios practiced increasing and decreasing the range of his piercing gaze until moving his eyes around didn’t make him flinch anymore. He scanned the tree crowns from a distance and noticed movement. Enhancing the image as much as he could, he finally saw some flashes of animals through the dense leaves.

“Common beasts, just as Ted said. I can’t tell much from this angle. Judging by the shivering leaves, we should be able to handle them with our numbers if we spread a bit along the edge and they don’t split any further,” Asterios said while running his gaze from side to side.

“Amazing,” Bryn sent honest praise his way.

He returned his sight more or less to the neutral state and turned to his companions. “Let’s get down and prepare the welcome party. Are we ready?”

“Race to the bottom?” Selene smirked mischievously and jumped onto the metal railing without waiting for an answer.

“Oh, no, you are not getting a headstart!” Miria’s lips twisted into a joyful grin and she immediately vaulted over the balustrade.

As the fox lady began running down the ethereal stairs she created under her feet, the panthergirl used the small, defensive windows in the tower’s structure to descend like an excited monkey, throwing herself from one opening to another.

Bryn soared into the sky with a powerful flap of her magnificent wings and barrelled towards the ground while Tina threw a big javelin of water over the edge at a sharp angle. It left a suspended, leaking trail in the air and she hoisted herself over the protective guardrail without a second of hesitation. Landing with both feet on the liquid line, she began to skillfully slide down in a lowered stance.

Asterios glanced at Silvia and she chuckled quietly. “Not much I can do with my fire yet that doesn’t require a chant or a brief dance.”

He extended a hand to her with a smile. “Do you mind?”

She shook her head and let Asterios pull her closer. He swept the fiery princess into a proper princess carry and dashed towards the railing. Right in front of it, he spun on his heels and pushed himself off the wooden platform. As his back passed over the metal bar, they began falling to the ground while upside down.

Two seconds later, wings sprouted from Ast’s back and he gained control of their descent, letting them continue falling like a boulder until he felt that it was time. They reached Miria, who had just jumped onto the roof of the closest building to the tower while shifting into her panther form, and he spread his wings wide.

Their trajectory quickly curved into an arc and they shot forward barely inches above the tiled roofs, zooming past the running panther like a ballista bolt. A challenging growl reached Ast’s ears from behind at the same time as a pleasant laugh arrived from under him. 

Glancing down, he realized that it came from Silvia and their eyes met. They smiled at each other before he focused on pushing them forward with his powerful wings. Tina and Selene were still descending in their own ways but he could see Bryn already edging on her victory.

“Hold on tight,” Asterios instructed and the princess wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.

Gathering plenty of spiritual energy in his wings, he spread them to their limits and made a mighty flap that sent them into a spinning motion right after the leathery appendages wrapped themselves around their bodies in a protective fashion. An echoing explosion traveled through the air as they surged forward like an oval cannonball.

Silvia couldn’t see anything except for the quickly traveling spots of light penetrating the dark crimson membranes of Ast’s wings and her ears were full of a loud whizz of air as he tore through it with his figure. Asterios had left a small hole in front of his eyes to judge the distance and squinted to fight against the powerful wind assaulting them.

Bryn readied herself to land and secure her first place when she heard an incoming high-pitched whistle and her head snapped towards the source. Her eyes widened and she hastily somersaulted to the back as a big, dark crimson projectile crashed into the ground underneath her.

Steadying herself in the air with a few awkward flaps, she followed the two tracks it had left in the mud and found Asterios at their very end with his wings spread wide. He was leaning to the back to combat the force of impact with Silvia still in his arms. She hastily flew to the duo and descended next to them.

“Damn. I thought my legs would end up ripped off.” He chuckled while digging himself out of the ground and setting the princess on her feet. “Did we win?”

The Valkyrie assisted Silvia as she regained her balance and began preparing a spell to heal Asterios but she noticed the crimson scales covering his feet and calves, now partially visible as the spiritual material had been torn away by the intense friction from their landing. Dark red flames were already reconstructing the missing clothing.

Just then, Selene joined them on the grass and Tina reached the end of her slide made by Hydran. A black panther jumped down from the nearby roof and stopped next to them while panting heavily with her rosy tongue lolling out.

~Ugh! Even Tina beat me to it!~ Miria complained telepathically as she shifted back.

The blue-haired girl giggled adorably. “I almost fell a bunch of times, though.”

Asterios approached the panthergirl and petted her cute ears. “You good?”

Miria beamed at him. “Yes! Don’t worry, I won’t let it get to me, Master. I know I’ve been in a tough spot since the very start.” She rubbed her cheek into his and then suddenly withdrew herself back. “But that was awesome, Master!”

Silvia let out a quiet, soft chuckle. “It was. My heart is still beating like a drum from that landing.”

“Sorry.” Asterios shot her an apologetic smile. “Let’s get back on track, though. We have a town to defend.”

Everyone nodded and they walked the remaining distance to their destination together, which was the very middle of the southwestern border of the town, where the buildings started.

Pushing through a few bushes, Asterios suddenly paused and the girls glanced at him curiously. He pointed ahead and everyone found an angle to peek forward. Glancing from behind their respective trees, they noticed a human man looking outwards from the town with a shiny greatsword in his hands. The tip rested on the ground ahead of him.

“Wait. Isn’t this that guy from the drawbridge?” Miria whispered as her brows knitted in confusion.

“John.” Silvia nodded. “But what is he doing here? How come he beat the guards and even us?”

You are reading story Rise of the Weakest Summoner at novel35.com

“We’ll have to think about it later. They are here.” Asterios glanced to the side and everyone heard the approaching beasts.

A quite sizable wild boar jumped out of the shrubs and sprinted towards the town. The man stepped into its path and awkwardly swung his greatsword with a shout. He managed to hit the boar’s snout and the blade cut deep into its front. The ferocious pig squealed in pain for a moment and dropped dead as half of its head got split open.

“That’s clearly an enchanted weapon,” Silvia commented. “There’s no way he can swing that blade so easily while he can’t even retrieve it.”

Just as she said, the man struggled to pull the sword out of the boar’s flesh, trying to leverage himself with his foot on the dead beast. They heard more rustling from the side and everyone exchanged glances.

“Let's spread out and assist each other when necessary. Miria to the far left, Selene to the far right, Tina left, Silvia right, and I’ll remain in the middle with Bryn to look after everyone. Try not to lay complete waste to this area,” Asterios gave his orders and the girls jumped into action.

Miria switched into her panther form and dashed ahead to reach her position while Selene brought three tails out and jumped in the opposite direction. Tina brought a slip of paper from her pocket and it flashed with an azure magic formation on it. Wings erupted from her back as she grabbed Hydran in his scythe form and she bolted after the panther. Silvia summoned her staff and flaming armor before joining the fox lady.

All the movement shocked the greatsword user but his attention was quickly brought back to his front as a wild wolf lunged at him. He tugged on his stuck sword but it was still deep in the boar’s skull. Before the canine beast slammed into him, something pierced its neck with a quiet whizz and it fell to the ground, starting to tremble.

Asterios showed up by John’s side and kicked the blade while reloading his bracer, setting the sword free.

“Get the fuck out of here before you get yourself killed,” he shouted and ignored the foolish guy.

Three rabbits jumped into his view and confused Asterios a little. But, he quickly noticed that they were hostile too and had sharp, moose-like antlers sprouting from their foreheads. Their size was that of a common dog. The fluffy beasts bounced forward as a group and Asterios unsheathed his Spellslinger, slotting a simple earth-based spell into the niche. Bryn erected a barrier in front of them and the duo got to work.

Miria remained in her panther form and ripped the throat of a black-furred lion without an issue. The beast hadn’t even paid any attention to her until her fangs literally sank into its delicate flesh. The lioness dashing right after the male didn’t so much as flinch at the death of her possible mate and continued forward.

Spitting the bloody remains aside, the panthergirl twisted her body and leaped after the dashing feline with a taunting roar. It had no visible effect but she reached the back of her opponent nevertheless and dug her claws into the lioness’ behind. That evoked a reaction as a pained yowl filled the air and the two tumbled ahead.

She wasted no time grappling with the enemy and shifted into her humanoid form. Drawing one of her swords out, Miria skilfully drove it into the wild cat’s chest and pierced the beast’s heart. As life slowly escaped her opponent’s slumping body, she tossed it away and sprung to her feet.

Noticing the familiar sensation of her favorite spell washing over her warmed-up body, she smiled joyfully and sent plenty of appreciation to her beloved master through their bond. Leaning forward, she disappeared with a loud thump. Nothing was going to get past her.

Selene stood still with a fan of spiritual javelins hovering vertically behind her back. She supported her chest with one arm while flicking the other hand towards any intruder stepping into her range. A big crane flew above her head and she didn’t even lift her face to follow it. Three blue spears soon shot towards it and skewered the bird to death.

The frequency of incoming enemies wasn’t high and she didn’t even have to break the tiniest sweat while defending her position. Once in a while, more than one opponent showed up, like the current pair of oversized badgers with a coat of spikes similar to those belonging to a hedgehog.

She felt no threat from the attackers as they didn’t really aim for her. Picking one of the sharp polearms from behind her back, she stepped forward and used Ethereal Shift to blink behind the two animals with a sapphire flash, her weapon directed to the side. Both beasts suddenly exploded in fountains of blood and she wiped her face of the gathered crimson stains.

As her senses suddenly grew sharper, thanks to a supportive technique she quickly recognized, Selene smiled to herself softly and glanced to her left. She could spot orange explosions of light not that far from her and the silhouette of the princess flickered between the trees. Returning her gaze forward, she sent her lord a mental kiss on the cheek and aimed her fingers at an incoming deer.

Silvia made sure to control her flames to her utmost abilities. She was fully aware that her element was the most destructive in their current environment. Still, she had trained for years not to let such conditions render her useless and she dispatched her opponents with precisely aimed blows and noble grace.

A bush rustled at her side and a gray-skinned lizard crawled out of it. A layer of stone covered its back and its tail split into three. Each ending curled to the front and ended up with a vicious spike resembling a scorpion’s stinger.

Assuming that its underside should be one of its weaknesses with how the top of the body was heavily protected, she backstepped and spun her black battle staff. Chanting in a whisper, she made a few pirouettes and shoved the tip into the ground just when the beast was reaching her position.

The dirt underneath it glowed as a yellow formation appeared on it and orange flames erupted upwards like a small volcano. The armored lizard shot into the air while wiggling in pain and fell onto its back. Silvia was next to it in a flash, boosting her lunge with tiny jets of fire coming out of her heels, and stabbed the singed belly of the beast. Its insides lit up and soon burst open with violent fire which killed her enemy without a doubt.

Doing a quick scan of her surroundings, she confirmed that nothing had caught up on fire by accident and smiled to herself. She could hear others facing their own opponents and saw Asterios working together with Bryn not that far from her. He kept masterfully juggling simple spells to efficiently kill various different beasts. 

Their eyes met briefly and he made a respectful nod clearly meant to commend her efforts. He was obviously keeping an eye on her and everyone else. As he dove back into his battle, so did she. Just a little bit, she wished she was able to communicate and coordinate with him just like the other women could but she shook her head to focus on her task. The safety of the townsfolk was the top priority and there was no use in getting distracted.

Tina flapped her wings strongly to dodge a wild coyote and spun mid-air, slicing it in half with her water scythe. So far, only two beasts had come to her, and that one was the second. She felt a bit down that she couldn’t show Asterios what she really could do but her mind was immediately filled with loving appreciation as he apparently sensed her mood, which caused her to blush heavily.

As per her request, a massive grizzly charged in her direction with a mighty roar. Her eyes widened for a split second but she jumped into action at once. Fishing another paper slip out of her pocket, she infused it with a pulse of mana and it disintegrated, leaving only a glowing azure sigil of quite the complexity hovering in the air.

Catching it with her free hand, Tina slapped it onto her face and the array merged with her skin. Bluish patterns snaked around her entire body and she felt pure power turning her muscles burning hot. Her vision grew sharper, and while she couldn’t see it, her irises turned gold as her eyes resembled that of a proud lion.

Hydran reshaped himself into a magnificent, crystal-clear longbow and she held it forward in her left palm. As she drew the bowstring with the fingers of her right hand, a helix of fierce wind mana coiled around her arm and reached the quickly forming water arrow. The two elements fused and the projectile unexpectedly expanded to the size of a barrel in a blink.

That sudden change spooked Tina as she had been focusing her eyes on the bear and she gasped, accidentally releasing the bowstring. Overbearing silence descended onto the battlefield for a fraction of a second so heavily that one could hear a pin drop to the ground, and in the next moment, a pillar of merciless, horizontal tornado twice as big as she was blasted forward, filling the surrounding area with unbearable droning noise.

Tina yelped at the size of her attack and her eyes turned into saucers right after it ended. A perfectly round corridor of nothingness extended about twenty-five meters ahead. Everything in its path had been ground into inexistence. Some trees at the edges barely stood straight with half of their trunks evenly evaporated. Droplets of water and blood dripped off the remaining leaves with no grizzly in sight.

Hearing a chuckle in her head, she blushed so hard her face turned into a full tomato. As Asterios reassured her that it was fine, she swore to herself to be very careful with anything regarding Esil’s powers. Doing her best to regain control of her mind, she turned Hydran into a scythe again and waited for the next beast.

Right in the middle of their formation, Asterios and Bryn had some great fun together. He hadn’t had many occasions to properly use his Spellslinger in the recent weeks so he burned through low-level spells while treating the combat as a decent training. The Valkyrie danced around him with her staff and skewered any beasts he had left for her. 

She was content with just watching from afar and making sure that everyone stayed uninjured, but appreciated his effort of including her in the fight. All the girls fought bravely and skillfully, avoiding gathering any wounds. It had to be expected; they were defending against pretty normal-looking beasts of low strength.

Additionally, they didn’t have to worry too much. The knights had arrived shortly after them and formed a line right in front of the town’s edge, waiting for anything to slip past the valiant defenders. Even Guildmaster Suanori was present and she had erected a short wall made of vines that the archers could use as ramparts. Unfortunately, everyone could only watch in awe as Asterios and his companions mowed down any incoming attacker with extreme ease. The enemy’s numbers were way too low to give them trouble.

The defense operation lasted for slightly over half an hour. A single beast still popped up now and then but Ted urged Asterios to leave some fun for his boys and called his party to the sidelines so they could rest. The girls gathered around the two men and flashed each other nice smiles as they calmed down their breathing.

“So, it’s like this every time?” Asterios asked after taking a sip of water.

“Pretty much. A few of them sometimes manage to get into the town if the scouts notice movement a bit too late but there usually aren’t any injuries or damage, even amongst the soldiers,” Ted answered.

“Was it only me or does it feel like the beasts completely ignore everything and just run ahead?” Miria placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head a little.

“I noticed that too.” Selene nodded while stroking her chin.

“There certainly is something wrong with them,” Asterios agreed. “No matter the species, their eyes are completely black. Like, entire eyeballs are pure darkness. That’s not normal.”

“Oh. I haven’t noticed. I should have paid more attention.” Miria’s shoulders slumped a bit.

He quickly wrapped his arm around the panthergirl and rubbed her side. She smiled at him sweetly with rosy cheeks.

“It’s a small detail, easy to miss. But, it might be connected to their unusual drive to just charge forward. I tried to test it, and even after getting hurt, they chose to continue ahead instead of fighting back, unless they had no other option,” he explained.

“It really feels like the town itself is their target, doesn’t it?” Silvia pondered out loud.

“Anyway, what’s up with that John guy? He was here in the beginning but he’s nowhere to be seen now.” Tina looked around with a frown.

“The lord’s bastard son?” Ted raised a brow at her and everyone nodded. “No idea but he’s always there to fight off the beasts alongside our men. Mostly getting his ass kicked, to be honest. But, I’m not going to send away anyone who has a good weapon and is willing to help defend the town. Perhaps that’s his way of coping with not becoming the lord? Much better if he takes it out on some rabid wolves rather than people.”

Asterios and the girls exchanged a pointed look. It definitely felt weird, especially with how quickly the man had made it to the edge of the town.

“We’ll have to question him, I guess. First, let’s take a short trip to the site of the interference before it gets dark. We should at least take a quick look. Maybe we’ll find some hints right after a fresh attack. If the two are connected in the first place, of course,” he suggested.

“Alright. Our men will handle things here until it’s completely safe,” Ted replied and extended his arm. “Thanks for the help.”

“Do me a small favor,” Asterios said as they shook hands. “If a weak beast shows up, let it into the town. Follow it and see what it’s going to do. Kill it whenever you deem it fit or if it gets too risky.”

“Got it, boss.” The man nodded. “A few of them made it in the past but we got them fairly quickly so they were still running. I’ll have a detailed report ready for when you are back if a worthy test subject volunteers for this experiment.”

After one more handshake, Ted jogged away to join his men while Asterios and the girls prepared to depart.

 

You can find story with these keywords: Rise of the Weakest Summoner, Read Rise of the Weakest Summoner, Rise of the Weakest Summoner novel, Rise of the Weakest Summoner book, Rise of the Weakest Summoner story, Rise of the Weakest Summoner full, Rise of the Weakest Summoner Latest Chapter