I Became a Mythical-Tier Tamer Due To A System Error

Chapter 216 : Counterattack

The path leading to the castle wall split into two routes, one to the left and one to the right.Each path had three watchtowers positioned along it, and only after all the watchtowers on one side were destroyed could the castle wall itself be attacked.

'I should scout first before deciding which side to attack.'

Just as I started walking toward the left path—

Jingle, jingle...

The sound of bells began to ring. The ringing was both loud and rapid.

It was a signal that someone was approaching this way.

I immediately hid behind a nearby tree.

...A moment later.

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of footsteps crushing fallen leaves reached my ears.

“Nothing here either... I can't even see a single shadow.”

“They cleaned out all the monsters. Aren't those bastards completely insane?”

Keeping myself pressed against the tree, I quietly observed the situation.

I spotted two Schuler wearing blue armbands.

They were my enemies.

“Coming all the way into someone else's territory just to steal things? Isn't that shameless? What are they even trying to do?”

Judging from how they were searching for monsters in the forest, they were probably responsible for both defense and supplies.

What should I do?

Avoid them as they were, or launch a surprise attack?

I pulled a knife from my Subspace and gripped it tightly. The cold metal rested against my palm.

As I watched for an opening...

“Ah, we got a message.”

One of them said while touching his ear.

The frowns that had been on their faces disappeared in an instant.

“Thank goodness. Kaelyn's still keeping those three tied down. It was the right decision to leave the right path to Kaelyn.”

“As expected of Kaelyn. I knew we could count on her!”

Even the voice that had been grumbling moments ago suddenly brightened.

'Those three are getting pushed back by Kaelyn alone?'

Even if the allies had somehow ended up fighting among themselves, they weren't the kind of people who would collapse that easily.

The two let out sighs of relief and continued talking.

“Even Kunking is grinding his teeth because of Kaelyn's Watchtower Golem.”

I blinked.

'...A Watchtower Golem?'

Putting their conversation together, it seemed Kaelyn had turned a watchtower into a golem and was riding it.

That was exactly how it had been in the game.

During Mock War, Kaelyn displayed several different random tendencies.

An ordinary Kaelyn.

A lazy Kaelyn.

An aggressively rampaging Kaelyn.

And so on.

But among them all, the Kaelyn who turned watchtowers into golems was by far the strongest.

Not only did the moving watchtower continuously bombard enemies with cannon fire, but Kaelyn herself also unleashed magic nonstop from atop it.

It became a monster with overwhelming offense, defense, and mobility.

'Tsk... Of all times, when I need to finish in the Top Five Contribution Ranking, I end up with this absurd version of Kaelyn...'

Clicking my tongue, I continued listening.

“His Highness Arlhardt and Elined are pushing hard on the left path. The enemy can't even move.”

I narrowed my eyes.

'...So our team is getting completely overwhelmed?'

From the information those two revealed, I could roughly picture the battlefield in my head.

On the right path, Kaelyn alone was holding the front line.

Opposing her were Heidel, Kunking, and Sia.

There were probably several more supporting them as well.

Normally, the side with greater numbers would be the one advancing.

But when the opponent was Kaelyn, that logic no longer applied.

When it came to magical power, she was one of the greatest monsters even in Yggdrasil.

The Blue Team had committed all three of their aces just to contain her.

'I figured Kaelyn would become a variable... but I didn't expect it to be this bad.'

The real problem was the battle unfolding on the opposite side.

On the left path, Arlhardt and Elined were steadily pushing forward.

The moment even one of Kunking, Heidel, or Sia went over to reinforce that side...

The balance restraining Kaelyn would collapse.

And once that balance broke, Kaelyn would probably destroy a watchtower in no time.

But if no reinforcements were sent, the left path would be broken through by Elined's group.

A true dilemma.

'I don't like this situation.'

For me, the team's victory was absolutely necessary.

Winning meant earning an additional Contribution Score bonus.

I had intended to leave the team's victory entirely to the three aces, but it seemed unrealistic to expect good results by relying on others.

'Yeah... I've never gotten many good results by leaving things to other people.'

I changed my strategy.

...In the end, not only did I have to secure a place in the Top Five Contribution Ranking, I also had to personally bring the team to victory.

'The problem is Kaelyn.'

Even with my bug-like puppet army, I couldn't defeat Kaelyn while she was riding a Watchtower Golem. She herself was practically a bug-like existence.

'Still, what choice do I have? I have to win anyway.'

The opposing team was currently pressing the attack.

They had likely left only the bare minimum of defenders behind at the watchtowers, making them practically undefended.

That was only natural. Their team was on the offensive, while ours was too busy desperately trying to hold them back.

It was finally about time for me to join the battle.

'But first... I'll deal with those two.'

I'd gathered enough information about the current situation.

I pulled a dagger from my Subspace.

D-rank - Low-grade Assassin's Knife

'...Come.'

The two Schuler wearing blue armbands slowly approached my position.

Although they appeared to be searching for monsters throughout the forest, they weren't being particularly careless.

Their footsteps drew closer.

The moment they entered my seven-meter effective range—

I swiftly swung my arm.

Whoosh!

The knife, aided by the correction effect, sliced through the air.

However—

...Clang!

The knife bounced away with the sound of metal striking a solid wall.

A translucent barrier surrounded them.

'So they don't intend to go down easily.'

Even if they were lower-ranked Schuler, they were still talented individuals acknowledged by their professors.

They weren't easy opponents.

Both of them summoned a staff and a grimoire into the air.

At the same time, their eyes focused on one place.

The direction the knife had come from.

Which meant...

The tree I was hiding behind.

They raised their staves toward me.

“You coward. Show yourself.”

A blue magic circle formed at the tip of the staff.

The moment I recognized what spell it was, I quickly grabbed at empty space.

Just as my feet sank into Shark's Darkness—

Boooom!

A massive torrent of high-pressure water exploded forward.

The force was so tremendous that the tree couldn't withstand the pressure and shattered apart with a loud Crack!

Wood fragments flew in every direction, but thanks to Shark's ability, I barely managed to evade the spell.

...Splat, splat.

Stepping through the wet mud, I revealed myself.

“Isn't that Villed?”

The two immediately smirked.

The student widely known for having no talent for magic.

That was me.

Besides, it was two against one.

Their expressions were full of confidence.

One of them picked up the dagger lying on the ground.

It gradually disappeared in a brief flash of light.

“An Object? Trash like you can use an Object?”

“Wait... Was it you? The one who cleared out all the monsters?”

I didn't answer.

Instead, I reached into my Subspace.

Pulling out a handful of daggers, I threw them toward them.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The knives shot through the air one after another.

Thanks to the correction effect, their trajectories were exceptionally sharp.

But—

“As expected of a Dedencman. You don't learn very well. That's useless.”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Every dagger bounced away helplessly.

A Shield Spell had blocked them.

It wasn't anything extraordinary.

It was simply one of the most basic combat spells that every Second-year Student at Yggdrasil could use.

'These really don't work at all.'

To begin with, these dagger Objects were weaker than an ordinary offensive spell cast by a Schuler.

The result was only natural.

“We were getting bored anyway, so we'd love to have a little fun...”

“Villed, you're the one who took all the Objects, aren't you?”

Apparently unhappy about losing the Objects, they grinned sadistically.

“We can't just let this slide!”

One of them raised his staff.

A magic circle formed in the air.

Then—

Swoooosh!

A compressed water cannon shaped like a razor-sharp scythe flew toward me.

Timing it with the completion of the magic circle, I barely dodged using Shark's ability.

But that wasn't the end.

“Hahaha! You're pretty good at running! Make this more entertaining!”

Slash!

Swoooosh!

The same attack came flying at me again and again.

Dodging continuously, I kept running while reaching into space.

I pulled out my final dagger and threw it at one of them.

“I told you it's useless!”

Clang!

Just as expected, it bounced off the shield.

But Shield Magic wasn't invincible.

The user's concentration, magical power, magical skill...

All of those determined its defensive range and strength.

...And I had already confirmed that.

'That last throw wasn't an attack.'

'It was to measure the shield's range.'

The area he had defended was roughly thirty centimeters.

Rather than covering his entire body, it was a focused defense over a specific area.

'Knowing that is enough.'

Pretending to flee, I continued circling them while waiting for my opportunity.

Like a planet revolving around the sun, I ran in a wide circle with them at the center.

Their eyes remained fixed on me.

“As expected of Villed. I was wondering how you even became a Schuler. Did you impress the professors with your running skills?”

“It'll be over the moment we hit you!”

The two Schuler never moved from where they stood.

Instead—

Boom!

Slash!

They continued pouring spell after spell toward me.

Their attention was completely consumed by trying to hit me.

'...This is enough.'

While I deliberately kept running away, my plan proceeded smoothly.

Within the forest's shadows.

Behind rocks.

Beneath fallen trees.

My puppets quietly took their positions one by one.

But with all their attention focused entirely on me, they hadn't even realized they'd already been surrounded.

'Time to finish this.'

The moment my puppets had fully secured their positions, I snapped my fingers twice.

Boom!

BOOM!

Explosions thundered through the forest.

The puppets surrounding the area had fired their cannons.

“Aaaagh!? What is this?!”

“Objects?!”

While the enemy Schuler staggered in confusion—

Fwoosh!

I rushed forward and swung Illaune's Heart, now engulfed in flames.

Once.

Twice.

Then a third time.

The instant three seconds had passed, I snapped my fingers twice again.

Boom!

Boom!

“Urgh!”

“Aaagh!”

Once again, they were left completely defenseless.

I immediately followed up with consecutive critical strikes.

At that moment, a yellow barrier enveloped both of them.

Within this Special Battlefield, Professor Ruber's protective spell was in effect.

Therefore, whenever someone suffered damage that would have been fatal in reality...

Heehee~

A translucent fairy appeared in midair.

They seized the eliminated participants and carried them back to the Throne.

The process usually took between one and ten minutes.

The two were trapped inside the yellow barrier as the fairies carried them away.

“What?! That's it?!”

“This is cheating, Dedencmaaaaan!”

“What cheating? There are no such rules in a war like this.”

When I answered with a smile, their expressions twisted.

“Dedencmaaaaan!”

“We'll remember this!”

The fairies carried them away.

'We'll see. I doubt we'll meet again.'

Without paying them any further attention, I quickly headed toward the enemy watchtower.

...After walking for some time.

The dense forest ended, revealing an open plain.

Not far away stood a single blue watchtower.

It looked to be around five meters tall.

There was no one inside.

According to the game's mechanics, once an enemy approached, the magic placed on the watchtower would automatically fire cannon shells at them.

Its attack range was roughly ten meters.

Although the watchtower itself was empty, several Schuler wearing blue armbands remained nearby.

'So the minimum defensive force is three people.'

One defense leader.

And two defenders.

On top of that, there was the watchtower that automatically attacked anyone who approached.

'I can't recklessly get close.'

I'll need bait.

I took out a replicated puppet from my Subspace.

'I wanted to test this too. Perfect timing.'

Along with the puppet, I pulled out another Object.

B-rank - Remote-Control Dynamite

Press the button on the remote control to trigger an explosion.