My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 224

“Ugh!”

“Where’s the potion?!”

As Praus faced Lichen alone, screams and crashing noises rang out endlessly at the border.

They were holding up much better than expected, but as one by one they began getting infected by the demons’ magic, the situation spiraled into chaos.

“Protect the magician! If we don’t, we’ll all die here!!”

If the magician dies, there will be no one left to use teleport, and that means we’d lose our escape route. But running all the way to the second line of defense was far too distant. Before we got there, we’d be caught and killed by the demons.

However, amidst that chaos, there were a few who remained calm. They were the S-Class.

“Hey, do you see that?”

“It’s too chaotic to focus, what?!”

Inkuro asked while slicing the neck of a demon knight climbing the city wall. Urka, who was dealing with two demon knights beside him, swiftly beheaded one and answered nervously.

Inkuro pointed to two figures fiercely battling at the center of the oncoming demon army.

“That guy, who looks like he could be infected with magic just by getting close, has to be the Legion Commander, 100%.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, ‘so’? Praus is facing the Legion Commander by himself. Isn’t that amazing?”

“You’ve faced a Legion Commander before, haven’t you?”

“Back then, Habito was infected by the Grand Anti-Demon Magic, so we could handle it.”

He clicked his tongue as if to complain. He didn’t dare mention that it was a struggle even with Ella’s help, for that would sting his pride.

Strong warriors tend to have an objective view of their strength. Inkuro was no exception. He knew he couldn’t be like Praus, and that’s why he felt jealousy.

“That bastard Praus… His mana seems about the same as before, but his movement is on another level.”

“If you have time to talk, shouldn’t you kill another demon?”

Boom!

The city wall shook violently.

“I just came to ask if we should retreat since it feels like the wall is about to collapse.”

“Retreat? Then what about Praus?”

“That guy has already made plans to run away. He’s like a cockroach; he’ll manage to survive on his own.”

Kaboom!

The wall shook again. The demons were causing tremors to the ground while climbing the wall.

“Damn it! At this rate, the wall will collapse!”

“With so many of them, even with the Grand Anti-Demon Magic in place, we can’t help but get overwhelmed!”

Inkuro and Urka shouted as they continued to slice through the demons streaming over the wall.

“If the wall collapses, the Empire will be swallowed whole by their forces in an instant.”

“Praus assumed from the start that the wall would be breached. We just need to buy as much time here as possible. Although, I doubt we can last a few hours!”

As Inkuro swung his greatsword, the armor of a demon knight crumpled and fell outside the wall.

“So at least bring back the head of the Legion Commander, Praus.”

*

Evil Spirit Fusion.

A technique that massively consumes magic to temporarily increase power. Since it can only be used with magic, I, who lacks it, cannot replicate it.

“Hah!”

Clang!

It was on a completely different level than before.

Even though I had increased my strength by copying him, I was still being pushed back. My speed barely kept up.

“Show me that energy from before!”

Kaboom!

As Miles crashed to the ground, the demons charging at the wall stumbled and fell. Have they lost all sense of allies and enemies?

Miles looked far more monstrous than when I smashed him. The horns under the blade of his sword and the chaotic mix of purple and red colors gave me a strange sense of unease.

“Phantom Sword.”

Swish!

Lichen’s clavicle was severed. But it quickly recovered. Since the magic was condensed inside, it didn’t mean anything unless it was a fatal blow.

But if I waited until the Evil Spirit Fusion ended, my copying would finish first.

In the battle against the Legion Commander, a moment’s hesitation could lead to death. I had to finish it before that.

“What a strange sword technique… I thought I blocked it, but it seems it twisted and came in. But there’s no time to waste!”

Boom!

I bent my waist to dodge. In that instant, I gathered magic onto the sword and unleashed a technique.

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique, 6th Form: Demon Burst Slash!”

Kaboom!

It was indeed a massive explosion.

Had I been even a moment late, I would have been caught in it. I landed on a gigantic fragment floating in the air and dashed toward Lichen with the intention of smashing him.

“Phantom Wave Slash.”

The sword strike sliced through the air and rained down on him. There was no way for him to block the torrent of sword energy coming at him without a single error.

He would definitely dodge.

And just as I expected, he dodged his body away, prompting me to thrust again.

“Phantom Day Slash!”

Clang!

I swung with all my might, aiming to completely sever Miles, but since Lichen shared Miles’ magic, only a crack formed and he wasn’t cut.

“You’re impressive. Quite impressive!”

As the battle intensified, his excitement seemed to rise as he wildly swung his sword while occasionally using skills.

I did my best to avoid getting hit, successfully parrying the ones I couldn’t dodge.

“Impressive reactions! I hope you give me an even more intense thrill!”

Clang! Clang!

I parried his strikes, but my body swayed slightly. I was slowly starting to tire. I could feel my strength draining.

“I wanted to clash with you at full volume! I’ll unleash all my magic on this attack! Come on, try to replicate it!”

Magic began to coalesce around Miles. It was far more vast than when he used Evil Spirit Fusion.

This is…

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique, 8th Form…!”

Before his sentence finished, I drew another sword I had at my waist and shouted.

“High-Speed Movement!”

Lichen’s ultimate technique was an area attack, and its power was far greater than Peremus’s Destruction Fist. If this technique poured towards the wall, we would have no choice but to start the war in the worst possible situation.

“Evil Spirit Extermination!!”

“Dynamic Action!”

I shouted as I approached just before his sword swung down.

Clang!

The glass of greed intercepted Miles’s attack and absorbed the magic.

“…What? How did you block that?”

Ignoring his bewildered question, I tried to swing my sword.

But my fingertips began to tingle.

Naturally, Lichen wouldn’t let my poor attack hit and countered immediately.

“Evil Spirit Sword Technique, 4th Form: Twisted Sword Strike.”

Swish!

I could see blood splattering.

I barely blocked the sword that came for my neck, but I could not fend off the strike that hit my side and thigh.

Damn, the recoil…!

“This seems to be it for you, Praus. You fought well, but it’s just the limit of a human, isn’t it?”

I rummaged through my pockets and put a round, red object in my mouth. It was made from freezing a potion.

“…Is that a healing potion?”

“Who knows?”

“Do you think such a trivial potion can heal injuries laced with magic?”

“The recovery is not for the wounds you inflicted.”

Since I had the Purification Stone, I didn’t need to worry about the magic.

“So then…?”

By using my Copy technique, I had discovered something I hadn’t known until now.

That was, if I took a potion before my Copy ended, the recoil upon its end would be lessened.

Of course, that didn’t mean I could move exactly like I could before casting Copy.

“Why should I tell you this?”

I wanted to sever Lichen’s head, but that was being overly greedy. Cutting off his lifeline would have to be left to the Hero.

My joints screamed, and my muscles twitched; I felt like it wasn’t even my body anymore. The pain radiating throughout me was so intense I felt faint, making even the slightest movement a torturous endeavor.

But I had to endure and keep moving.

“Alright. I don’t know how you blocked my ultimate technique, but this should be the last, then. It was fun, Praus.”

“…Ah, it’s not over yet.”

“What?”

I moved my creaking body and looked at the wall. Fortunately, thanks to the Grand Anti-Demon Magic, we had managed to hold out.

“What are you looking at!”

“True Word!”

The target, of course, was Lichen.

He, who was rushing towards me, suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. I don’t know what state his eyes were in, but the fact that he had halted meant my True Word had taken effect.

The Miles in Lichen’s hand exclaimed, “Kiek?” in confusion, but Lichen was too distracted to hear him.

“Uh… Ariel!”

I called her out, squeezing my voice.

“I’ve been waiting!”

Ariel wrapped her arms around my waist and took to the air. In an instant, we reached the city wall.

From above, we looked down at the demons. The demons below were starting to glance upward at me, preparing to use the Evil Spirit Sword Technique.

“Eat this.”

I swung the glass of greed upward from below, shouting.

“Evil Spirit Extermination!”

A massive surge of magic rained down on the demons below, causing a tremendous explosion.

Kaboom!

As the magic poured onto the demons on the ground, the earth erupted, and dust rose heavy into the sky. Even the wall built to resist the demons shook under the impact and began to crumble.

If this stuff had poured onto the wall, we would have been pushed back to the second line of defense without being able to do anything.

That can’t happen.

I had to buy more time, even if just for one minute or one second longer. Until the Hero brings hope to this world.

“…Ugh!”

I felt like I was going to die.

I didn’t want to do this again…

Despite recovering with potions, I felt like I was about to faint from the pain. I barely managed to roll my eyes and saw Ariel.

“Ariel… I’m counting on you…”

“Don’t worry.”

For some reason, her words made me feel relieved, and I was able to close my eyes comfortably.

“Teleport.”

*

“Kiek!”

Thud!

After Praus vanished, Miles stabbed his thigh as he saw Lichen still dazed.

“Ugh! What the hell…?”

“Kiek!”

As Lichen finally came to his senses, Miles explained it all. Then the tip of Miles’s sword turned toward the city wall. Only then did Lichen, realizing the situation, clench his fist and burst with rage.

“Praus, that bastard…!”

The battle lasted barely two minutes.

Yet even so, Miles was left in tatters, Lichen lost all his magic, and one single strike killed thirty percent of the second army.

As a result, Lichen claimed victory in a duel because Praus had run off, but he ended up failing not only his first mission but also his first public victory in war.